Upon hearing the old woman’s words, Hou Dayong and Zhang Yuqiu exchanged a glance, helped Xiao Shu up, and prepared to leave the white marble hall. However, before they could even fully support her, Xiao Shu raised a hand to signal them to stop. “I cannot leave like this; it goes against the very reason I came here,” she declared, then turned her head toward Xiaoyu and asked, “Are you willing to stay here?”

Xiaoyu nodded to her. “The task I need to accomplish is not yet finished, so I won't leave now. Since the old madam said you can leave first, then you shouldn't disappoint the earnest efforts of Yuqiu and Dayong. You all should go ahead.”

“What about Wang Jue?” Xiao Shu turned to ask the elderly couple. Hearing Xiao Shu mention him, a fresh wave of emotion surged through Wang Jue.

However, the response from the two elders was clear: “He wishes to stay and accompany his friend; otherwise, how can we keep this disobedient child in check?”

Only then did the realization dawn on the group: the two elders were playing a game of hostage exchange. The ones they truly cared about were not Li Xiaoshu, the subject of their recent earnest discourse, but rather Ming Xiaoyu, who sat silently beside him. The history of humanity across generations had proven that a disobedient heir always posed a significant threat to an aging sovereign. While saving Yingzi from a sea of fire and swords was certainly their wish, it paled in urgency compared to controlling Ming Xiaoyu. Moreover, those heartfelt words had already taken root in Xiao Shu's heart; his love for Yingzi meant that protecting her was already enough of a burden.

Xiao Shu stood quietly by the table for a moment, analyzing the current situation. Even if she stayed, it was uncertain whether she could help Xiaoyu escape the clutches of the two elders. Consequently, she walked to the long-dried corpse of Li Bingyu, knelt down, removed the necklace from its neck, tucked it into a pocket close to her chest, and then walked straight out of the hall with Zhang Yuqiu and Hou Dayong in tow.

Wang Jue sighed inwardly, wondering what the next encounter would be like now that they were leaving. He let out an involuntary breath. His sigh was so light that even Xiaoyu beside him didn't hear it, yet the two elders sitting opposite heard it with perfect clarity and addressed him: “There is no feast that does not end. Your friendship with them concludes here. If Xiao Shu brings back our daughter, you remain friends; if she fails, you become eternal enemies.”

Hearing this, Xiaoyu gave the two elders a sidelong glance but remained silent. However, the elders’ eyesight was exceptionally keen; even that fleeting glance, lasting only a ten-thousandth of a second, was noted. The old madam’s patience wore thin, and she began to chatter incessantly: “You children have been educated into fools since childhood, unable to distinguish right from wrong. Your Li family has always repaid kindness with enmity and repaid grace with vengeance, yet you insist on protecting them…”

Xiaoyu closed his eyes, feigning ignorance of the words. He thought to himself that for every immortal body gained, ninety-nine lives were sacrificed. How could she speak of others in this manner? Wasn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? If the spirits of the dead were wicked, the living dead were hardly virtuous.

Seeing Xiaoyu’s prolonged silence, the old madam grew more agitated. She jumped up and exclaimed, “I know what you are thinking! Can’t you consider the issue from another perspective? Without us, how would this world keep the spirits in check? Existence has its own rationale. If the immortal bodies vanished, all living people would either be killed by the spirits or turned into zombies or spirits themselves, and the order of the entire world would descend into utter chaos.”