——————【Memory】——————
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Li Hua knocked on Zhang Zhuanghao’s door.
Unexpectedly, the door was open.
Under the force of his two knocks, the door crept open just enough to reveal a narrow gap, letting some light spill out from inside.
He hesitated, peeking through the crack. The decadent Zhang Zhuanghao was holding a glass of red wine, savoring it.
He downed half the glass in one gulp, his muscular body tense, and his face flushed a deep red.
Suddenly, his eyes widened as he clutched his neck and looked down at the glass in his hand.
Through the door crack, Li Hua’s single eye saw the scene and his pupils shrank.
Very quickly, the surprise in his eyes faded, replaced by a smile.
He had no intention of saving Zhang Zhuanghao. He just stood silently by the door, watching him clutch his throat in agony as if he was dying.
Let him die stupidly.
The medicine took effect so fast that Zhang Zhuanghao barely managed to struggle toward the door before seeing Li Hua standing there.
He painfully reached out his hand to Li Hua for help, making “ho, ho” sounds from his throat.
Li Hua sneered, sidestepping Zhang Zhuanghao’s dark, fat, dirty hand.
“Foolish.”
He showed no shame in the disgust reflected in his eyes toward the dying man.
Zhang Zhuanghao collapsed painfully, his skin a vivid cherry red. A strange smell filled the air—rotten almonds mixed with rust.
With one last twitch, he departed from this world, lying motionless on the floor.
Li Hua had been watching coldly. He had seen too many dead bodies for this to be surprising.
But when he looked down at Zhang Zhuanghao’s vibrant corpse, a storm of emotions churned inside him.
His eyes flickered with a sickly obsession, and his fingers twitched unconsciously.
No.
His gaze turned cold. His left hand stroked the knife inside his pocket.
Using the left hand should be fine.
He hadn’t killed the man. He was just helping to deal with the corpse, which should be okay.
Just can’t let anyone see.
He dragged the corpse into the room and locked the door behind him.
Not far away, Cheng Li hid behind a wall, watching Li Hua close the door.
A smile curved at the corner of his mouth as he greedily stuffed several Gold Bars into his pocket.
Now, it’s not him who killed the man.
——————【End of Memory】——————
That day, when Cheng Li came to chat with Fu Ruxue, he admitted that the moment he saw them seriously discussing something together, he completely panicked.
He soon found Fu Ruxue and warned her.
Growing more and more uneasy, beneath his calm exterior, his inner madness nearly consumed his remaining consciousness.
When cooperating to take down the Duke, he even once thought about killing the defenseless Fu Ruxue.
But just as the knife was about to strike, reason told him he couldn’t.
He couldn’t afford to offend Xunian. If he couldn’t return to the real world, it would be a dead end.
Li Hua didn’t hesitate to insert the Key into the keyhole of the door lock. His hand holding the “Key” paused mid-air.
No, dude?
Li Hua’s eyes filled with confusion as he aimed at the keyhole and shoved the “Key” in again with force.
His hand remained suspended in mid-air. The “Key” poked the air, causing transparent ripples to spread, yet the “Key” didn’t move an inch forward, stuck stubbornly mid-air.
Only now did Li Hua realize what Xunian meant.
Xunian knew there was no way out here, but she also knew the door’s location.
Looks like he can ask Xunian about it.
He knew what Xunian needed.
To rescue her from the Duke’s Daughter’s hands.
……
Two pairs of beautiful eyes met, and the air seemed charged with sparks.
The Duke’s Daughter smiled lightly, staring eye-to-eye with Xunian inside the room.
They looked like they intended to hold out against each other until the seventh day ended.
Previously, the Duke’s Daughter always disappeared without a trace, but for some reason, this time she could keep looking at her, and her stamina seemed terrifyingly strong.
Xunian glanced coldly at her. “I want to get out.”
“After one day, you can.”
Sure enough, she wasn’t wrong. After seven days, the Exit Seal would be completely sealed.
If they couldn’t get out, would she forever be the Duke’s Daughter’s prisoner?
Just thinking about it made Xunian’s legs go weak. One or two days was still bearable, but her small body really couldn’t take this kind of torment…
She normally didn’t exercise much and would get out of breath just running, let alone this.
No!
She had to get out.
Xunian tugged at the Duke’s Daughter’s sleeve. “If I’m not leaving, can you at least get me a book to pass the time?”
“Fine.”
She agreed so readily?
Xunian waited a moment, but the Duke’s Daughter still stared at her without moving.
Speechless, she poked the Duke’s Daughter. “Why don’t you just go get it…”
“Right away.”
The Duke’s Daughter smiled sweetly and reached out to take her hand.
Soon after, a knock sounded at the door.
Her hand was released. The woman swept her golden hair back behind her shoulder and stood to open the door.
Outside, a Housekeeper with braided pigtails peeked in. “What’s wrong, Miss?”
The Duke’s Daughter instructed her, “Get me a book.”
Tsk.
Xunian toyed with the Iron Chain binding her, quietly clicking her tongue at her own failed plan to lure the Duke’s Daughter away.
The Duke’s Daughter was too wary of her now—looks like she really had messed up.
The Housekeeper asked, “Miss, what book?”
“What book?” The Duke’s Daughter glanced back at Xunian.
“It’s on the desk in the room I stay in.”
Since arriving here, Xunian hadn’t really stayed in that Room, living a shameless life day and night instead.
The Duke turned back to the Housekeeper, “It’s on the desk in the Duchess’s Mother’s Room.”
“Okay.”
The Housekeeper turned to leave.
Before going, she cast a look of admiration at Xunian.
The Housekeeper was so touched she nearly teared up, murmuring, “Miss finally has a friend…”
But it was far from friendship.
Soon, the Housekeeper returned with the book.
“Here.”
She handed it over, and Xunian took it, flipping through it a few times.
Her mind was nowhere near the book.
Her eyes glanced at every corner of the Room, but still found no escape route.
Besides the door and windows, there was simply no way out.
Under the Duke’s Daughter’s piercing gaze, she was forced to read the book.
One line caught her attention:
This medicine is a painkiller.
Beside it, the labeled medicine was very familiar—both its color and description pointed to the bottle she recognized, the one first discovered by the Duchess.
She quickly closed the book and casually flipped through other pages.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
The door was knocked again.
The Duke’s Daughter raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing.
“How can I open the door like this,” Xunian said, raising her hand to show the silver ring firmly locking her wrist.
Reluctantly, the Duke’s Daughter stood and opened the door. Seeing who was outside, her expression shifted instantly from gentle to ice-cold.
“What do you want?”
“Xunian.”
Li Hua stood outside, facing Xunian inside the room. The dim light obscured his expression.
“Fu Ruxue asked me to ask you, where is the door?”