[The Emperor's Wrath]
"It was you!" Hades You Nian's voice shook the very foundation of the Great Hall. "You ordered the mute to throw her into the vortex! Because of you, my daughter was lost to another world for twenty years!"
His red eyes burned with a lethal radiance, a storm of killing intent directed solely at Wan Luo.
Wan Luo collapsed, her forehead striking the cold stone. In a desperate bid for survival, she threw out a name like a jagged blade. "It wasn't my idea, Your Majesty! It was Feng Mian! He threatened me!"
She wept, her forehead bloodied from kowtowing. "He said the Princess's blood was impure... that she would bring ruin to the Underworld. He forced me! If I didn't obey, he would have slaughtered my entire clan!"
[The Missing General]
The mention of Feng Mian caused a chilling silence. The general had been ordered back from the Yao-Capital days ago, yet there had been no word. Silence, in this case, was the loudest proof of betrayal.
"If he has truly betrayed me," You Nian hissed, "I will hunt him to the ends of the earth and grind his bones to ash."
He looked down at Wan Luo with eyes devoid of mercy. "Whether you were the mastermind or a puppet, you will not escape this. Guards! Throw her into the Dark Dungeon!"
As Wan Luo was dragged away in chains, You Nian turned his gaze to the trembling Fu Ying. "Mute, for being a mere tool of threat, I grant you your life. But you shall be locked away as a living witness. If one word of this is false, you die."
[The Brother's Lament]
In the damp, lightless depths of the Dark Dungeon, the iron door groaned open. Gala stepped inside, his beast-like eyes reflecting the flickering torchlight.
"How could you be so foolish, little sister?" Gala's voice was heavy with disappointment.
"I did it for the Underworld... Feng Mian said—"
"Enough!" Gala slammed his fist against the iron bars. "You didn't do it for the Underworld. You did it for You Nian! You've been obsessed with him since the day he rescued you from the filth of the tribes. He gave you a shred of dignity, and you turned it into a noose for yourself!"
Wan Luo broke down, clutching the bars. "He was the only one who ever looked at me with respect, Brother! He saved me! I did everything to keep his throne stable... I am the only one who truly cares for him!"
Gala looked at his sister—once a proud official, now a broken prisoner of her own heart. He wanted to strike her for her crimes, yet the memory of their shared childhood suffering stayed his hand.
"You have failed yourself, Wan Luo," he whispered, turning his back on her. "And you have failed me."
The heavy iron door slammed shut, leaving Wan Luo alone in the darkness, her tears falling silently onto the frozen floor.