Was there anyone in this world truly trustworthy? Bingyu was utterly bewildered. A flicker of compassion in her heart had been instantly frozen by the sudden assault. Why? she asked herself again and again. Why would someone who appeared honest and reliable secretly engage in deceit?

"Stop spacing out!" As she wrestled internally with the scene that had just transpired, Li Taiming gently rested a large hand on her head. "What your eyes see isn't always the truth, much like how you're standing here vibrant and alive now, but perhaps gone from this world in the next moment."

At these words, Bingyu stared at Li Taiming with fury. Xiaoshu remained silent beside them, feeling that bringing up the Life and Death Pact now was purely pouring salt on an open wound. Even though Bingyu was deceased, her humanity hadn't entirely vanished; she still felt sorrow and anger upon seeing the "innocent" injured, and the sacrifices she chose were only those she deemed deserving of death. Xiaoshu couldn't fathom whether Li Taiming’s words at this juncture were meant to provoke Bingyu into fulfilling their agreement or if he harbored some other design. In any case, this uncle figure acted strangely, leaving them utterly confused.

The three of them stared at the old man’s corpse in silence for a long while. Finally, Xiaoshu broke the stalemate, addressing Li Taiming. "You didn't bring me here just to watch a zombie turn, did you? We need to get back to the main topic: Where is Xiaoyu?"

"Xiaoyu..." Li Taiming glanced around, gesturing vaguely this way and that. "He might be in the prison, or he might have already slipped out."

"What?" Hearing this, Xiaoshu’s eyes burned red with anger, and she lunged forward, grabbing the collar of Li Taiming’s coat. "I don't enjoy being toyed with. You’d best tell me where he is before my patience wears thin, or else..." Before she could finish, Li Taiming simply turned his head and completed her threat, "Or you'll see me vanish completely from this world!"

"En." Seeing his composed demeanor, Xiaoshu felt her temper had flared a bit too much. She loosened her grip on his collar and said softly, "Have you ever had a friend you’d die for?"

"I have!" Li Taiming answered affirmatively. "But she has passed away now."

"Sigh!" Hearing such a rare moment of sincerity, Xiaoshu felt this so-called uncle was beyond saving. All he seemed to think about, moment by moment, was women; he was perpetually playing the part of a libertine. Whether following him would lead to finding Xiaoyu had shifted in Xiaoshu's mind from an exclamation point to a question mark.

Thus, Xiaoshu plopped down onto the ground, muttering to herself, "I just want to see him one last time. Life and death are matters of fate; no one can control it. If he truly disappears from this world, my grief and his sister's will be the deepest."

"He has a sister?" Hearing unexpectedly that Xiaoyu had a sister, Li Taiming’s eyes suddenly lit up. He yanked Xiaoshu up from the floor by her collar. "He really has a sister?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Xiaoshu shot him a glare, thinking he was incorrigibly indecent.

"Alright, do you know if this prison has a section designated for death row inmates?" Li Taiming immediately shifted his tone, speaking with sudden seriousness.

"No," Xiaoshu replied. Seeing he wasn't joking, she stood up straight, staring at him with equal gravity.

"Everyone locked in there is awaiting execution—about a hundred people, give or take. Since he couldn't get past that hurdle in his own mind, I brought him there. Fate determines life and wealth; I don't know the current situation." With that, Li Taiming turned and strode out of the reception room, heading toward the death row block.