"So, what's your relationship with Ming Shuiyun?"
Le Yu felt Qing Lan's gaze suddenly sharpen.
But his conscience was clear, and he said calmly, "We're collaborators."
"Just collaborators?"
"More than collaborators."
Le Yu smiled bitterly. "I don't even know what feelings I have for her right now—not romantic feelings—but I don't know whether what I feel for her is real or not."
"One reason I came here was that I asked White Night to find you," Qing Lan said. "The other was that your sisters—Qian Yuya and Qin Yueshi—hoped White Night could get you out of the Blood Prison so you could meet Ming Shuiyun."
"They said you had a way to suppress the hundred thousand rebels outside without Ming Shuiyun having to wield Holy Sword Huiyao. That was the fundamental reason White Night went all out to send us in here to meet you. Although White Night doesn't want Flame Capital destroyed either, they want a new emperor wielding the Holy Sword even less."
"It's said that throughout history, every emperor who personally wielded the sword was destined to usher in a golden age, suppress factional strife, ease conflicts, and become a wise ruler for the ages. For most people, that's a good thing. But to White Night, a so-called wise ruler is merely a repairman for this backward country, extending its life for a century through absolute violence. That's why history keeps repeating itself."
"They'd rather have a foolish ruler than a wise ruler who wields the sword, but they also don't want Flame Capital to suffer the devastation of war. You can satisfy both their needs. So they agreed to fulfill my and Qian Yuya's demands and send us into the Eightfold Blood Prison to save you."
"Still, you don't have to go meet Ming Shuiyun." Qing