Chapter 61: Deep Corridor

In the long, dark corridor,

Xu Yuan said nothing, neither spoke nor urged—only gently placed his hand before hers.

Su Jinxuan's slightly hurried breath was the only sound; she bit her lower lip tightly, her small tiger-teeth breaking the skin at the corner of her mouth, blood seeping out, yet she did not notice.

Xu Yuan watched her silently.

He watched her hesitation,

her irritation,

her unwillingness,

and,

her wavering.

Because he had lived through it himself, Xu Yuan knew exactly what Su Jinxuan needed at this moment.

For a long time, silence hung in the air.

Su Jinxuan took a deep breath, her arms that had been tightly wrapped around her legs loosening slightly.

It's alright...

This is not surrender. It's merely a trick to deceive this fool...

To make him lower his guard...

Yes, only to make him lower his guard, not to surrender...

As long as she lives, as long as she keeps him near her, she still has a chance...

With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Su Jinxuan slowly extended her hand, trembling slightly, reaching out to grasp the only person within reach.

But before her fingers could make contact, the figure in front of her withdrew his hand.

"Since Miss Su is not willing, then let it be."

"......" Su Jinxuan.

Xu Yuan gently lifted his hand, and the Blood Heart Fallen Technique stirred silently. A flame rose from the palm of his hand—weak, alluring, crimson.

The flickering glow of blood-fire illuminated the long, narrow, shadowed passage. The sudden brightness made Su Jinxuan's eyes ache momentarily, but the light was faint enough that she could still see the smile flickering in the narrow eyes of the man before her.

"......" Su Jinxuan's fists clenched instantly.

Xu Yuan glanced once at Su Jinxuan crouched against the wall, said nothing, and let out a dry, mocking laugh before turning and walking away.

Su Jinxuan lowered her gaze, breathing rapidly and unevenly. Her fingernails gently embedded themselves into the flesh of her palm, yet she was utterly unaware.

She was being played with by this man.

A storm of tangled thoughts overwhelmed her, making it hard to draw breath.

Yet Xu Yuan's footsteps did not falter with her stunned silence. He continued upward, slow and steady.

The flicker of flame and the sound of his steps faded slowly, receding into the distance. Only when the darkness seemed about to swallow her whole again did she finally snap back to awareness, glanced down at the hopeless void beneath her, and bit her lip fiercely before rising and rushing forward—toward the fading light.

A moment later,

Listening to the footsteps that had been trailing closely behind him, Xu Yuan suddenly let out a soft, amused chuckle:

"Seeing you refuse to leave just now, Miss Su, I half thought you had grown fond of this secret chamber."

"........"

A two-second silence ensued.

Su Jinxuan's ethereal voice drifted up from a dozen meters down the staircase:

"The rumors are indeed true... Xu Changtian, your disposition is truly as wretched as they say."

"Wretched? Do not speak so recklessly, Miss Su. I consider myself quite mild-mannered."

Su Jinxuan's voice trembled slightly:

"Mild-mannered? Xu Changtian, you engineer such bizarre methods of torture, yet you have the audacity to call yourself mild-mannered?"

"What conflict is there between these two?"

Xu Yuan's tone remained unchanged, his smile unchanged: "Is studying criminal law evidence of a bad temperament? And, Su, have you misunderstood something?"

"Our relationship is not that of friends or relatives."

Pausing briefly,

Xu Yuan's voice carried a hint of mockery and sarcasm:

"Would you really expect me, Miss Su, to forgive you—someone who nearly killed me—and treat you as if you were a friend?"

The echo of You's voice stretched long and hollow.

Su Jinxuan, trailing behind, fell silent instantly.

No further words were exchanged.

The two moved side by side along the narrow staircase until they reached the end of the platform.

The platform was small, yet it held a single stone door.

Su Jinxuan came to a halt two meters behind Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan turned around slowly, looking down at the silent, bowed figure of Su Jinxuan, and casually tossed a long strand of black silk toward her, giving a nonchalant command:

"Put it on."

"......"

Su Jinxuan caught it purely on instinct, glanced at the silk in her hands, and raised her eyes once more, a faint trace of wariness flickering in her gaze.

Yet Xu Yuan merely met her stare with an expression of utter indifference.

In the end,

Su Jinxuan averted her eyes, lowering her head as she silently began to bind the black silk around her two snowy wrists......

"......"

Xu Yuan watched the woman's movements, his eyes betraying a strange expression.

He couldn't understand what she was doing.

"Y-ou... what are you doing?"

Su Jinxuan lifted her gaze and coldly retorted:

"Didn't you tell me to bind myself?"

Her voice was icy, yet due to her naturally alluring body, it carried a faint, elusive hint of seduction.

Xu Yuan sighed helplessly, shaking his head:

"Who told you to bind yourself? This silk is meant to cover your eyes."

Su Jinxuan's eyes grew even more wary.

Xu Yuan merely stared at her indifferently, smiling lightly:

"You have no cultivation within you. If you don't want to go blind, best listen to me. It's a bright day outside today."

"......."

Su Jinxuan bit her red lips and turned away.

She realized what he meant.

Silence stretched for several breaths—no words, no thanks—only quietly wrapping the long black silk around her eyes.

Darkness fell once more.

The light before her vanished again. The surrounding darkness seeped back into her mind, spreading once more the endless terror she had known before.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yep." she replied.

"Then I'll open the door."

Xu Yuan's voice dissolved into the quiet.

A heartbeat later,

the stone door sealing the chamber groaned open with a heavy rumble.

Sunlight poured down the hidden passage, though it was a sight Su Jinxuan could not see.

In the desolate blackness, a suffocating dread washed over her like rising water, yet she forced herself to master the tremors of her fear, groping forward through the dark by memory alone.

"You don't seriously intend to walk out of here blindfolded, do you?"

A voice laced with amusement drifted from just ahead.

Then, he reached out and caught her wrist as she blindly searched the cold stone wall.

The sudden warmth of his palm brought a rush of comfort, causing her to instinctively tighten her grip.

Xu Yuan glanced at the Soul-Seducing Fiend Flesh, whose features had grown visibly rigid, and said with a smile:

"Relax a bit—I would have told you about the stairs beforehand. There's no need to be this tense."

With that,

he pulled her out of this dark and silent chamber.........