After Ninth Royal Uncle and Princess Serenity left, the Bloodcloak Guard returned to its usual calm—at least on the surface.
Before Princess Serenity departed, the words she threw out left Commander Lucan Lu deeply uneasy.
Just as he was worrying about his official hat and his own life, Serena Feng—the one who should have left—came back.
"Commander Lu, I want to take the prisoner from Yellow Cell No. 96. They say I need your signed official document."
There was no other way—Ninth Royal Uncle's answer had been far too vague, but she didn't mind borrowing his authority for a bit of bluff.
When you don't have enough power yourself, you have to know how to leverage others. Ninth Royal Uncle makes a good backer.
Commander Lucan Lu lifted his head with a cold, murderous look.
Which idiot dared to interrupt him while he was trying to figure out a way out?
But when he saw it was Serena Feng, all the fierceness vanished from his face, and he immediately put on a friendly expression.
What was he even worrying about? His backer was right here. All he had to do was keep Serena Feng happy and have her put in a good word for him with Ninth Royal Uncle.
"Miss Feng, you haven't left yet?"
His sudden friendliness made Serena Feng's hair stand on end, but she quickly understood what Commander Lucan Lu was thinking.
Power.
Ninth Royal Uncle was right—only power decides everything.
Serena Feng gave a reserved smile, keeping her distance. When she spoke again, her tone was firm and impossible to refuse.
"Commander Lu, I want to take the prisoner from Yellow Cell No. 96."
"No problem, I'll have someone arrange it and bring the person over right away," Commander Lucan Lu agreed instantly.
"That's not necessary. I'll go myself. Just prepare an outer robe for me," Serena Feng replied calmly.
She didn't want anyone from the Bloodcloak Guard touching Xavier again.
Even though she hadn't been mistreated at all in the Bloodcloak Guard, she really couldn't bring herself to like this place.
This place is a tiger's den. As long as she lived, she'd never come back again.
Still, she was curious about why her mother had been taken into the Bloodcloak Guard. Of course...
She wouldn't ask Commander Lucan Lu about it. Back then, he was just a low-ranking soldier and wouldn't know the inside story anyway.
"Alright, Miss Feng, shall I go with you?" Commander Lucan Lu asked, but he was already walking ahead to lead the way.
Heaven, Earth, Black, Yellow—the Yellow block cells. Since Commander Lucan Lu had taken charge, he hadn't been there once.
Luckily, the Bloodcloak Guard's layout was a simple square, so the Yellow block was easy to find.
All along the way, Commander Lucan Lu kept trying to build rapport with Serena Feng, hoping to find an opening so she would speak up for him in front of Ninth Royal Uncle.
Serena Feng responded halfheartedly, thinking to herself: It's true, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west.
Five days ago, she was just like Lucan Lu—trying every possible way to find an opening, hoping to suffer less in the Bloodcloak Guard. And now?
They're still the same two people as five days ago, but their roles have completely swapped.
Unfortunately, the walk wasn't long enough. They soon reached Yellow Cell Block No. 96, and Serena Feng politely interrupted Commander Lucan Lu: "Commander Lu, please have someone go in and check if the prisoner is dead."
This was the real Bloodcloak Guard—if a prisoner died, they wouldn't even know. Maybe only when the corpse started to rot would they notice.
"No need, no need! How could I not trust Miss Feng's word?" Commander Lucan Lu waved his hands, thinking Serena Feng wanted to take the prisoner out alive.
But Serena Feng didn't accept the gesture: "Commander Lu, it's better to have the coroner check. Ninth Royal Uncle said everything must follow Bloodcloak procedure—no one can break the rules."
Serena Feng brought out the signboard of Ninth Royal Uncle.
Sure enough, Commander Lucan Lu's eyes brightened—even if Serena Feng spoke up for him, his life would be saved.
Seeing Serena Feng insist, Commander Lucan Lu said no more and immediately sent someone to call for the coroner.
Whether it was because Ninth Royal Uncle and Princess Serenity had just visited, or because Lucan Lu was anxious, the Bloodcloak Guard's efficiency today was unprecedented.
In no time, the coroner rushed over, barely daring to breathe, entered the cell, confirmed several times that Xavier was dead, issued a death certificate, and Commander Lucan Lu prepared the official document for a family member to claim the body.
Everything was handled strictly by the book.
Later, when Princess Serenity tried to make trouble over this, she found there wasn't a single flaw to seize on.
Xavier's corpse was a horror—there wasn't a single intact patch of flesh left. Half his body was burned, half was rotting, but since the weather wasn't too hot yet, the smell wasn't unbearable.
Seeing this, Commander Lucan Lu eagerly offered to have someone carry Xavier out for Serena Feng, but she refused.
Serena Feng took the outer robe handed to her by the Bloodcloak Guard, carefully wrapped Xavier, then bent down and picked him up.
The movement reopened the iron-comb wounds on her back, and beads of blood began to seep out.
Serena Feng took a breath and forced herself to ignore the pain.
Xavier—just a teenager, but he weighed no more than a child. There was nothing left but bones, not a scrap of flesh anywhere.
"Xavier, big sister is taking you out now."
Serena Feng bowed her head and murmured softly.
Step by step, she walked toward the exit of the Bloodcloak dungeon.
If it weren't for Xavier, she would have left long ago.
As they neared the entrance, Commander Lucan Lu grew so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead.
Serena Feng was truly slippery—she said a lot, but never gave any real promise. Commander Lucan Lu was so frustrated he could cough up blood.
When Serena Feng reached the doorway, she stopped, holding Xavier, and bowed slightly to thank Commander Lucan Lu.
She knew that, as the saying goes, the King of Hell is easy to deal with, but the little devils are troublesome. Commander Lucan Lu was still a figure of influence—even with Ninth Royal Uncle's backing, she couldn't afford to offend him.
Commander Lucan Lu hurried to support her, saying repeatedly, "You flatter me, you flatter me."
Serena Feng straightened up with his help, her face sincere: "Uncle Lu, you deserve it. In the Bloodcloak Guard, I have been under your care. Without you, I wouldn't have seen the light of day again."
"Uncle Lu, rest assured, I will keep your matter in mind. I will definitely speak for you with Ninth Royal Uncle. But as for how His Majesty will decide in the end, I can't say for sure."
"Also, the item you wanted, I've already given to your trusted aide. He'll pass it on to you."
"Uncle Lu, don't worry. I'm both a doctor and your junior—I know what to do. I won't cause you any trouble."
"Just now in the dungeon, with so many people around, I couldn't say much. I hope Uncle Lu understands."
After this exchange, both were satisfied—Serena Feng had done everything she should.
As for Commander Lucan Lu's fate?
As always, it would be decided by His Majesty.
Commander Lucan Lu was all smiles, calling Serena Feng 'niece' at every turn. He was so friendly that, seeing no one had come to pick her up, he immediately offered to prepare a carriage for her.
Serena Feng did not refuse and thanked him again.
Pick her up? How could anyone come for her? Once inside the Bloodcloak Guard, few ever left alive—and even then, barely clinging to life.
When the carriage arrived, Serena Feng took Xavier and got in. She originally wanted to go to the Feng residence to reassure everyone, but...
With Ninth Royal Uncle involved, those people must already know, so she went straight out of the city to handle Xavier's funeral—it couldn't wait.
But Serena Feng didn't know that just as she left the Bloodcloak Guard, someone left the palace and secretly contacted an underground gang in the capital.
A conspiracy against Serena Feng was brewing in the capital, growing ever more intense because she hadn't shown up in time...