Even their innocence was sacrificed in the process.

"Young mistress!" Bailu cried out. Struggling to rise from the ground, she managed to grasp her long spear and stumbled toward Gu Fei.

Ada, however, had already noticed. Ignoring a strike from You Er that left them both wounded, he flicked his brass knuckles from his grip like a hidden weapon, sending them flying toward Bailu’s shoulder blade.

With a loud clatter, the spear fell from Bailu’s hand. Her right shoulder blade was pierced, and the sudden, searing agony was so overwhelming that she lost consciousness instantly.

Gu Fei could faintly hear Bailu’s voice, but the lack of oxygen clouded her vision, leaving her unable to see or hear anything clearly. She only remembered that she had to be more ruthless than Mo Geyi. If he wanted her dead, she would drag him down to hell with her.

Driven by this singular, fierce conviction, she held her breath and pressed down firmly on the scarlet eyes of the fox adorning her black-gold obsidian hairpin. With a soft "clink," the hairpin transformed like a sheathed blade being drawn. The obsidian fox fell away, revealing a needle-sharp, black-iron blade that spanned the length of her palm.

A cold glint flashed. Without a second thought, Gu Fei drove it deep into Mo Geyi’s body.

"Ah!" Mo Geyi shrieked in pain, his grip faltering as his strength waned.

Gu Fei seized the brief moment to breathe, her consciousness sharpening. She immediately yanked the fox hairpin out. Crimson blood sprayed into the air, tracing a haunting arc before landing on Gu Fei’s pale lips, staining her alabaster face with a vivid, macabre color.

"If you want me dead, I will take your life first!" she spat out, her words cutting to the bone. She raised the hairpin once more, aiming carefully, and plunged it into Mo Geyi’s leg.

The blade was razor-sharp; with minimal effort, Gu Fei severed the tendons in his leg. This was a modification You Hu had made to the hairpin after acting on his own initiative; he had insisted she keep it and even demonstrated its lethality on the spot. Gu Fei had found it small and unobtrusive, so she had kept it, never expecting it to prove so useful today.

"You bitch!" Mo Geyi cursed, his features twisting into a hideous, vengeful mask, his eyes dark as ink.

He was a man, and his physical strength still surpassed hers. The pain in his leg, while agonizing, helped him regain a shred of his senses. He pinned Gu Fei down, his upper body surging upward, causing the girl who had been using him as a cushion to lose her balance. He struck out violently, seizing her throat once more.

With the cold, slick malice of a venomous snake, he leaned into her ear and hissed, "You bitch, I will make you beg for death, unable to find it or cling to life!"

Before the words had even faded, his grip tightened even further. Gu Fei’s face turned from flushed red to a sickly, deathly pale. Her breathing grew faint, sustained only by a stubborn refusal to yield.

She drew the hairpin out again and plunged it back into the wound. She drove it in to the hilt, her hand burying itself into the flesh like a burrowing insect, her fingers splaying and twisting with all her might.

"Ah..." The torture, far worse than a dull blade slicing through meat, nearly drove Mo Geyi insane.

They were like two souls damned, locked in a struggle to the death. It was a contest of whose hatred ran deeper; whoever held on longest would be the victor.

"Squelch, squelch." Gu Fei’s hands were slick with warm blood, having thoroughly shredded the tendons in Mo Geyi’s leg.

"Hah... hah..." Gu Fei felt darkness encroaching. Breathing became increasingly difficult, and the strength in her hand began to fade.

She feared neither life nor death. Knowing the journey was fraught with peril, she had set out without hesitation, not even bringing more men. The Mo family of Dajing had become her obsession, and the siblings Mo Geyi and Mo Qingge were her demons. From the moment she saw Mo Geyi again in Yizhou, she had been yearning for this moment—the moment she could settle the score with her own hands.

Whether it was an obsession or a curse, she had to do it herself, even in the face of such life-threatening danger.

"Young mistress!" Nightingale had regained consciousness at some point. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Mo Geyi gripping her mistress's throat, both of them drenched in blood, locked in a struggle where neither would concede.

Nightingale crawled toward them, her eyes rimmed with red. She rushed to Mo Geyi’s back, grabbing his arms and pulling with all her might, screaming, "Let go! You bastard, let go!"

But Mo Geyi seemed to hear nothing, nor did he feel the pain in his leg. A twisted, unnatural smile curled his lips; he looked less than human, his sanity shattered, leaving only the singular, lingering impulse to snap the porcelain-white neck in his hands.

No matter how hard Nightingale pulled, she could not budge him. She burst into tears and turned to call out to You Er, who was locked in a desperate struggle with Ada, "Brother You Er, kill them all! Save the young mistress!"

You Er had seen everything, but he was powerless to intervene. Ada fought with increasing frenzy, as if Gu Fei’s impending death had fueled his madness, and he was throwing his life away just to hold You Er back.

Nightingale told herself to stay calm. She scanned the ground, scurried a few steps, and picked up a stone the size of a human head, intending to smash it onto Mo Geyi’s skull. One strike would surely kill him.

In the blink of an eye—the moment of decision—a copper coin whistled through the air, striking Nightingale’s wrist.

The force was immense. Nightingale felt a sharp ache in her wrist, and the stone dropped with a thud, sending her sprawling to the ground in terror.

With an air of effortless grace, a handsome man in a scholar’s green robe descended like a god. His eyebrows slanted toward his temples, his phoenix eyes were long and fox-like, his nose was refined, and his lips were thin and cold. His face was as pale as snow—a figure of unparalleled elegance.

Nightingale froze for a heartbeat before wailing, "Young Master, save the young mistress! I beg you!"

The newcomer was none other than You Hu.

You Hu did not spare a glance for anyone else in the room. He stared only at Gu Fei. Amidst the pool of blood, her lake-green dress looked like emerald lotus leaves, her dark hair splayed like seaweed. Her pale, small face, furrowed brows, and half-closed eyes were filled with a suffering that tugged at the heart.

Yet, her hands were still performing a horrifying task.

The wound on Mo Geyi’s leg had become a mess of mangled flesh; there was no doubt that even if it healed, he would walk with a permanent limp.

You Hu approached and crouched down slowly. His fair, handsome face was expressionless, but his phoenix eyes were deep and dark, as if all his emotions were suppressed in an abyss.

He placed his hand over Mo Geyi’s. Without any apparent effort, he pressed and kneaded several acupuncture points. Mo Geyi’s arms went limp, his strength completely drained.

With a thud, Mo Geyi collapsed to the ground, finally losing consciousness.

Gu Fei, too, was on the verge of fainting. Even though Mo Geyi had released her, her body had been deprived of air for so long that it seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.

You Hu scooped the blood-soaked girl into his arms. He frowned, pulled back her eyelids to check them, and felt her pulse. He sighed, "Tsk, I was away for a moment, and you’ve managed to get yourself into such a mess, young mistress. How am I supposed to rest easy..."

He spoke with a teasing tone, and before Nightingale could even feel relief, he gently lifted Gu Fei’s chin, forcing her pink lips to part, and leaned down to cover them with his own.

Nightingale’s eyes widened, and she held her breath until she choked on it.

You Hu did not linger on Gu Fei’s lips for long. He pulled back for a fleeting second, as if to breathe air into her, then leaned down to kiss her again.

He repeated this several times until he heard a soft, kitten-like whimper from Gu Fei.

As his lips remained pressed against hers, the sensation of that soft, intimate touch and the unfamiliarity of the contact stirred something wicked in You Hu. He parted his lips and gave the tip of her tongue a light bite.

He did not rush to pull away, but kept his eyes open, watching as Gu Fei began to stir. Their eyes met, the distance so close it felt intimate. Seeing that she was still dazed, he blinked and whispered against her lips, "Young mistress, I’ve sacrificed my own innocence to save you. How do you intend to make it up to me in the future?"

The voice, the tone, the appearance, and the unfamiliar scent—all of it left Gu Fei dazed for a long time.

She realized their posture was improper and, without a second thought, shoved him away. Once she had gained some distance, she noticed her hands were covered in blood; the shove had left a smear of red on You Hu’s green robes.

Her brows knitted together. She grabbed his lapel and began wiping the blood from her hands as if it were a rag.

You Hu’s smile vanished, and his brow twitched—he was clearly struggling to maintain his composure.

After wiping most of the blood away, Gu Fei pushed You Hu aside. Her ink-black eyes stared coldly at the unconscious Mo Geyi on the ground, and she offered a chilling sneer. "Is he dead?"

You Hu shook his head. Seeing that Gu Fei was unharmed, he turned his gaze toward You Er and replied indifferently, "Not yet, but you’ve severed the tendons in his leg and mangled the wound so badly that he’ll walk with a limp for the rest of his life."

Hearing this, Gu Fei’s sneer deepened. She laughed uncontrollably, her dark hair falling forward to mask most of her expression. "A limp... a limp... there could be no better outcome than that..."

You Hu reached into his robes and produced a few more copper coins. His phoenix eyes narrowed. With a flick of his fingers, the coins flew out like arrows released from a bow.

His aim was unerring. The coins struck Ada’s limbs, forcing him to his knees on the spot. You Er seized the opportunity, striking Ada’s chest with both palms, leaving him critically wounded and unable to rise.

*Cough, cough, cough.* The exertion triggered a violent coughing fit in You Hu. He hurriedly turned away from Gu Fei, pressing his fist to his lips.

Where Gu Fei couldn't see, his slender, well-defined fingers stretched away from his lips, stained with dark red blood.

You Er saw it clearly. He was about to speak, but a single, indifferent glance from You Hu caused him to swallow his words, not daring to mention a thing.

You Hu turned back. He saw Gu Fei wiping her black-gold obsidian fox hairpin and picking up the small sheath to conceal the sharp blade once more. His gaze shifted from Mo Geyi to Gu Fei, a thin, cool smile playing on his lips—an enigmatic, mocking expression. "Young mistress, surely you don't think I came here to save you, do you?"

Hearing this, Gu Fei’s eyes flickered. She looked up at him, her jawline tight and tense.

You Hu leaned in, hovering above her. His silky, black hair slid down his back, brushing against Gu Fei’s neck and leaving a trail of cool, ticklish sensation. He said, each word clear and precise, "If you stop defying me from this day forward and prove yourself more obedient, I shall naturally desire what you desire, worry about what worries you, and fulfill whatever you wish."