The moment Li Taiming walked away, Bing Yu followed him out of the guardhouse like a shadow. Only Xiao Shu remained, hesitating beside the old man’s corpse. He was truly going to see Xiao Yu now. After the separation at the hospital, what would their reunion be like? He didn’t know; nor did he know if Xiao Yu harbored any remorse deep down for the harm Hua Gu had suffered. His sister and Old He were anxiously waiting for Xiao Yu to come home. Did he truly intend to return, to reconnect with the family and friends he once knew? As these thoughts accumulated, the fiery enthusiasm and urgency he’d felt moments ago about finding Xiao Yu instantly cooled. Whether to see him or not had become an intractable knot in his heart.

“Hey! What are you thinking about? Hurry up and catch up! We aren’t out for a casual stroll; anything can happen if we get separated.” Seeing Xiao Shu frozen in place, Li Taiming’s amplified voice boomed at him. Only then did Xiao Shu snap out of his reverie and run to follow the other two.

However, at that very instant, a pair of eyes outside the guardhouse window had witnessed everything with crystal clarity. Seeing the three of them heading toward the death row section, a sly smile crept across that face, curving the lips.

The prison was a colossal institution, especially Xiangcheng Prison. It was like a self-contained world, complete with its own infrastructure and its own immutable laws of survival. If the entire prison population consisted merely of the dead bodies scattered on the exercise yard, then the place wouldn’t deserve its name. In reality, those who had been unexpectedly cut down were just inmates or guards let out for exercise. The true prisoners remained behind the cast-iron bars, quietly observing this sudden upheaval.

“Walk this way.” Noticing Xiao Shu lagging behind again, Li Taiming turned, beckoned him over, and pointed toward a corner of the yard. “See that row of roofs that are only half-submerged?”

Xiao Shu hurried a few steps to catch up, grunted an affirmation, signaling that he saw them.

Li Taiming continued, “Those are the air vents for the underground cells. Only those serving heavy sentences or awaiting execution are kept down there. They have no freedom; they don’t participate in the daily routines of other inmates, nor do they perform hard labor. They just wait quietly beneath those skylights for the day they are taken away.”

“Oh,” Xiao Shu responded unconsciously, a wave of revulsion washing over him. “What are you bringing Xiao Yu here to do?”

“That question…” Li Taiming tilted his head up to the sky, pausing as if speech failed him, before finally stammering out, “I told him who is locked inside, then I handed him the prison guard. That guard has the keys and codes for every cell. What happens next, only the Old Man knows.”

“You told him to hijack the guard to open the cells and commit murder?” Upon hearing this, Xiao Shu’s eyes had turned bloodshot. He lunged forward, intending to land a heavy blow on Li Taiming, but Bing Yu pulled him back. Bing Yu said, “He merely gave Xiao Yu a chance to choose. What ultimately happens still depends on Xiao Yu himself.”

Seeing Bing Yu defending Li Taiming, Xiao Shu was so furious he couldn't speak for a long time. He strode forward alone, quickly leaving the other two far behind.

As they neared the entrance to the cells, layer upon layer of iron doors swung open, and a low, mournful sound drifted out from within. Xiao Shu assumed the death row inmates were begging Xiao Yu for mercy, and he broke into a run toward the source of the crying. At the far end of the corridor, he saw Xiao Yu huddled into a ball in the corner. Beside him, a prison guard was squatting, gently patting his back while murmuring comforting words.