At this very moment, if Xiao Yu were present, mentioning the word "asylum" would likely send him into a hysterical breakdown. That forced treatment, those futile attempts at justification—the more he insisted on his sanity, the more he was treated as a grave case. That experience was etched deep within him. It seemed the mental hospital was a hell where black and white were inverted, a place where right and wrong dissolved. All that mattered was sheer power, using medication to impose tyranny over the patients. It didn't matter if your IQ was 140 or zero; here, everyone was deemed mad, needing treatment to suppress cerebral activity. Sleeping and dreaming, dreaming and sleeping, were the two primary occupations of the inmates.

However, Xiao Yu was absent now. He wouldn't be the one tense about dissecting the dark-skinned man at the asylum. The truly anxious one was Xiao Shu, because he knew Xiao Yu being confined to the mental hospital was no accident. Who else could hold the ultimate authority over his release or retention but the director? Since this person had once helped Li Xiaohao, there was bound to be an inextricable link between him, the director, and Xiao Shu's own father. Now, going there to dissect the dark-skinned corpse—could it be another trap, another conspiracy?

Just as Old He and a few colleagues were loading the dark-skinned man's body bag into the trunk of the police car, Xiao Shu stood frozen in place, seemingly detached from everything happening around him. In truth, he didn't want to go to the asylum; he didn't want to meet someone who might be connected to his own family. Yet, Old He was unwilling to let him remain alone. After leaving the shelter, Xiao Shu had been sent back repeatedly, each time enduring a heavier blow. Despite having just said goodbye moments before, Old He now preferred Xiao Shu to accompany him, to uncover the truth behind the dark-skinned man's bizarre death. At least that path held no immediate danger to his life.

"Are you coming or not? Come with us to clarify the cause of death for the dark-skinned man; perhaps it will shed more light on the reasons behind this catastrophe," Old He asked, tilting his head toward Xiao Shu.

"I... I still won't go," Xiao Shu paused, gritting his teeth. When he had taken Xiao Yu's sister, afflicted with the Gu poison, to the asylum to meet Xiao Yu, he had felt an inexplicable unease about the atmosphere there. Returning now left him utterly lacking confidence. Finding Xiao Yu first was the better strategy. Unearthing the architect of this catastrophe was not his immediate primary task. Rumor had it Xiao Yu only had three days. He needed to hurry, to speak with him before Xiao Yu sold his soul to the devil. Whatever the outcome, just having that one conversation might finally loosen the thousand knots tied in his heart for Xiao Yu.

Seeing Xiao Shu's firm refusal, Old He felt a wave of helplessness. He had to ask his colleagues to drive the dark-skinned man's body to the mental hospital. Watching the car disappear into the distance, Xiao Shu pulled the bottle of Man-Eating Ghoul Bugs from his coat. It couldn't be used unless it was the absolute last resort, for a single one could devour the entire city's populace. He understood this consequence more clearly now than ever before. He just didn't know where the person he sought was at this moment, what his heart felt, or if he was still the brother with whom he had faced life and death.

"Xiao Yu, where are you?" Xiao Shu let out a long breath toward the sky, murmuring the question to himself.

"I wish I knew where he was too," a soft voice, gentle and familiar, drifted from behind him.

Xiao Shu spun around sharply, realizing the speaker behind him was none other than Xiao Yu's sister.