"I... deserve to die a thousand deaths!!!"
Suddenly, Shuang Yu shot her hand upward, gathering all the power of her barrier into her palm, and struck toward her own forehead.
If that palm connected, she would die instantly.
But in that very moment, Shuang Xue seized her wrist.
"Are you out of your mind?" Shuang Xue stared at her younger sister, eyes filled with shock, as though looking at a lunatic.
"Lord Nianqing has shown me boundless grace, and the Young Lady once saved my life. Yet I... I did something like that to her child."
"I deserve to die. I deserve to die a thousand deaths!!!"
"Sister, please just let me die. Otherwise my heart will never be at peace — living is more painful than death."
Shuang Yu wept bitterly, her face set with resolve. She was not pretending. Her remorse was genuine, and her desire to die was real.
"You do deserve to die a thousand deaths, but your death won't solve anything."
"You know what kind of situation the Young Master is in. Setting aside the consequences if the Seven Worlds Sacred Palace learned of his identity..."
"Just speaking of now — his talent, his way of handling things, are bound to arouse the jealousy of various powers. They will see him as a threat."
"Take you, for instance. Wasn't it because you were jealous of the Jie Zhou toward him that you joined forces with the Jie Zhou to sabotage him?"
Shuang Yu fell silent, because every word Shuang Xue spoke was the truth.
Chu Feng had not provoked anyone. He had even saved people from the Seven Worlds Sacred Palace while deciphering the hidden grounds — including the Jie Zhou.
But his brilliance was too dazzling. It was inevitable that he would overshadow others, inevitable that jealousy would follow, and inevitable that trouble would come.
That was the way of this world. There simply weren't that many good people, and there weren't that many who repaid kindness with kindness.
The evil of human nature was beyond imagination!!!
"If you had died protecting the Young Master, your death would have been worth something. But dying like this — even in death, it would be for nothing." Shuang Xue said to her.
"You're right, Sister. You're right."
"Please, take me to see Lord Nianqing. Let me earn redemption through my actions. Even if I must die, I want to die protecting the Young Master." Shuang Yu knelt before Shuang Xue, begging desperately.
"Lord Nianqing knows of your loyalty to her."
"Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have erupted with such fury. Isn't it simply because the Young Master is too special?"
"She carries a deep debt of guilt toward the Young Master, and that caused her to lose her reason."
"For now, stay here and accept your punishment. Once Lord Nianqing has calmed down, she should give you a chance to earn redemption." Shuang Xue said.
"Very well. I will accept my punishment here with you." Shuang Yu nodded.
"If that's the case, then I'll activate the formation." With those words, Shuang Xue stepped out of the cell, activated the formation, and departed.
The moment she left, countless wisps of green flame emerged within the colossal prison cell.
They shifted between flames and humanoid shapes — like vengeful ghosts seeking lives, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, they lunged at Shuang Yu and the Jie Zhou.
This was the power of the formation within this Prison Cage!!!
Shuang Yu had been prepared. She sat cross-legged, clenched her teeth, and let the wraiths attack.
But even so, when those claws truly tore into her flesh, ripping her skin and muscle apart, when those fangs clamped down on her body, shredding it into a bloody mess, the agony twisted her face beyond recognition.
"Aagh—"
And in the next instant, an even more horrific scream echoed through the cell — it was the Jie Zhou.
He had been gravely injured by Lord Nianqing and had fallen unconscious. But after being struck by the wraith formation, the pain jolted him awake.
Not for any other reason, but because this wraith formation was far more cruel. It was a formation designed specifically to torment people.
This was why even someone of Shuang Yu's stature trembled with fear upon learning she would be locked inside.
"What is this?!"
"Get away from me — all of you, get away!!!"
At first, the Jie Zhou was completely bewildered. He released the power of his barrier to attack the wraiths, only to find it utterly useless.
"Stop struggling in vain. This is the Prison Cage." After hearing Shuang Yu's voice, the Jie Zhou finally noticed that she was here as well.