Just then, Xuanyue and Mu Zimo arrived together. Seeing Lie Yan lying disheveled on the bed, her expression dazed, a complicated yet understanding look flickered in their eyes.
It was the sympathy of those who had been through it, and the unspoken understanding of those who shared the same suffering.
Neither said much. They simply walked quietly to the bedside and sat down, their gazes falling on Lie Yan's skin, covered in red marks, as though seeing themselves not long ago.
Sensing movement beside her, Lie Yan turned her head with difficulty.
When she saw these two former traitors, she did not angrily rebuke them as she once would have. Instead, as though a crushing weight had been lifted from her shoulders, her lips curved into an utterly bitter smile that nevertheless held a strange hint of relief.
"Whew..."
Lie Yan drew a deep breath and said, "I finally... understand why you betrayed us."
The glory of the Divine Realm, steadfast loyalty-all of it seemed so pale and powerless.
She had once thought it was depravity. Only now, caught in it herself, did she understand that it was an intoxication impossible to resist.
Hearing this, a helpless, faint smile appeared on Mu Zimo's cool face. She reached out and gently patted Lie Yan's small hand, which was still trembling slightly.
"We can't escape, Lie Yan." Mu Zimo's voice was soft, yet carried the fatalism of someone who had seen through the ways of the world. She said quietly, "From the moment he set his sights on us, our fates were sealed. Accept it... in this man's hands, resistance only brings more torment. Obedience, at least, lets us find a little pleasure as women."
Lie Yan closed her eyes briefly, tacitly accepting this cruel reality.
After a brief silence, Lie Yan