Long Jinyu sat up straight and looked at Blood Prison. There was neither the sharpness of judgment nor the softness of sympathy in his eyes. It was a kind of temperature that was difficult to define, between "spectating" and "getting close".
"Blood Prison Douluo, everyone has a past that they can't bear to look back on - and a hidden pain that they would rather put in a coffin than be known to others. If you don't want to talk about it, there must be some difficulties for you."
Blood Prison raised his head suddenly.
He stared at Long Jinyu with wide eyes, as if to confirm whether there was any hook hidden in this sentence.
But Long Jinyu did not avoid his gaze.
"I did some homework before I came here. Not all of Holy Spirit Cult's twelve offerings are murderous Evil Soul Master."
Long Jinyu said, "There are many people among them who have been trapped by the times, misunderstood by the world, and fell into darkness because of desperation. There are even some people who have no choice since they were born. I know that for a proud person like you to reach this point, he must have encountered some difficulties that he cannot escape from."
He paused.
"This world is not black and white. It doesn't matter if you don't say it. We will check it ourselves. That's it for today -"
He stood up, his silver hair drawing an arc under the lamp.
"Someone will bring breakfast later. The food here should be no worse than what you have at Holy Spirit Cult."
"Sister Yu, let's go."
"Okay."
He didn't ask any more questions and just responded gently.
The two turned around and walked towards the door. The sound of footsteps was particularly clear in the empty interrogation room, one step, two steps, three steps.
Blood Prison looked at the two figures from behind, watching the silver-haired boy walking further and further away, getting closer and closer to the door.
Something moved in his chest.
The hinges of the iron door made a low grinding sound.
Long Jinyu's hand has already pressed on the door edge.
"Wait--!"
Blood Prison's urgent voice came from behind.
Long Jinyu's hand paused.
"Dean... maybe you will be interested in the location of Holy Spirit Cult headquarters!"
"Where is the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters?"
Long Jinyu turned around and walked back to the table, but did not sit down.
"If I remember correctly, you Holy Spirit Cult people should have been put under certain restrictions - once you try to leak the location of the headquarters, you will explode and die on the spot. Is this possible?"
"There is such a limit."
"Then you still say?"
"Man is mortal."
Blood Prison raised his head and said, "Instead of lingering in a cage, it is better to die with more value. It is my honor to be able to contribute a little bit to the dean's future revenge."
Long Jinyu stared at him for three breaths, and then smiled. He did not answer the question of "revenge" and only said:
"Blood Prison Douluo, with what you said just now, did you really want to help me, or... did you want to use my hand to commit suicide?"
He leaned down and put his hands on the table, eye level with Blood Prison.
"I don't need your life in exchange for information. And I said, I know you better than you think. The location of Holy Spirit Cult headquarters--"
Long Jinyu said word by word, "Just outside Evil Demon Forest, which is close to Sun Moon Bright Capital. Right?"
Blood Prison's pupils contracted slightly, then slowly relaxed.
"... The dean is so... knowledgeable."
"And--"
Long Jinyu straightened up and put his hands back into his robe pockets, "Even if you really say it, you won't die. Heart-Questioning Pavilion has multiple enchantments and areas to specifically overcome the 'curse lock' on you. The 'explosion' restriction has no effect here at all."
He tilted his head.
"So, don't think about committing suicide in this way. Here, you don't have the final say about life and death. The post from Lord Yama cannot be sent to Yanhuang Lingyun."
Blood Prison looked at him and couldn't say a word.
Long Jinyu turned around again and walked towards the door.
This time, he didn't pause.
"When we have a clear investigation, we will try you again."
"Or--"
"Whenever you are willing to speak, I am always willing to listen."
The iron door slowly closed behind him, and the shadow narrowed from the crack in the door.
The footsteps became farther and farther, became lighter and lighter, and finally disappeared at the end of the corridor.
The interrogation room fell silent again.
Blood Prison sat alone under the lamp, the dark golden chain on the back of his hand glowing coldly.
He looked down at the cup of cold tea in front of him and smiled softly.
The laughter was very short, as if it was cut off by something. The curve of the corners of the mouth fell before it was fully opened. What was left was a trace of bitterness and a trace of helplessness.
He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair.
It was as if not only his strength had been taken away, but also the confidence in his bones that allowed him to sit upright.
--All his trump cards, all his calculations, and all his escape routes were clearly revealed by that young man.
What he thought was a secret was already known to the other party;
What he thought was a dead end was already blocked by the other party;
The wisdom he is proud of is like a wall that has been seen through every line in front of the other party. It is only superficial and can be broken at the push of a button.
But he had no anger or fear.
What surges in the chest is a taste that I have never tasted in hundreds of years - astringent with a little warmth, as if a gap suddenly opened under the permafrost, and a ray of light came in from nowhere.
This person may really be different from the so-called "righteous people" he has met.
He didn't step you into the mud just because you were worshiped by Evil Soul Master, nor did he insult your dignity just because you were a prisoner.
"I have lived for most of my life... this is the first time I have met such a person."
he murmured.
Immediately, he frowned slightly.
"No..."
He opened his eyes, a trace of confusion flashed in his bloody pupils.
When they were talking across the table just now, he was only a few steps away from the young man.
Although Soul Power was banned, the perception of blood would not deceive others - the development level of the boy's skeleton and the immature vitality in his bones were clearly far less than eighteen years old.
Even... not even fourteen years old.
"A teenager... has such a temperament--"
He didn't know what to say.
"This kid... is simply a monster among monsters."
Go to the corridor of the core area.
The Soul Guidance Lamp on both sides made a low buzz above their heads, stretching the shadows of the two people very long.
The unique fresh medicinal fragrance of the Heart-Questioning Pavilion still lingers in the air, mixed with the aftertaste of rust.
Yue walked beside him, following his pace leisurely.
Turn the first corner.
The second bend...
Long Jinyu's steps began to become irregular - one step was long, one step was short.
It was like something was loosening from between his shoulder blades little by little.
He continued to take two steps forward.
Then--
He leaned to the side.
There was no warning.
He was like a vine that suddenly lost its support, slowly falling in the direction of Yu.
He didn't reach out to support the wall, nor did he try to steady himself. He just gave her his weight.
Yu Yue was not stunned. She turned sideways almost at the same time, and her arms caught him firmly from below. The dragon's tail gathered up, wrapped around his waist, and enveloped him in her arms.
Her movements were very light, as if she had known this moment would come for a long time.
"Are you tired?" Her voice echoed lowly in the corridor.
Long Jinyu closed her eyes, rested her forehead on her shoulder, and her silver hair was scattered on her green clothes. Her breathing was slower than usual, as if she could finally let out the breath she had been holding back with confidence.
She didn't urge him any more. She put one hand around his back, raised her other hand, gently covered the silver hair on the back of his head, and stroked it one by one. Her fingertips carried a very faint green life energy, which quietly penetrated along the hair.
The corridor was very quiet. The lights dimly lit above their heads, blending their shadows into one.
After a few breaths, he lowered his head and looked at him.
"Go to System Treasure?"
"... Hmm." His voice was muffled and slightly nasal.
He said nothing more.
She tightened her arms slightly, and the emerald light spread silently from her feet. The ground beneath her feet rippled, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them had disappeared into the corridor.
Only a faint wisp of green light dust was left on the spot, mixed with a very faint medicinal fragrance, slowly falling under the light.