Although Fourth Prince Xia Houhong was thrown into the Heavenly Prison, after all, he was the former Crown Prince, and his cell was the most spacious in the entire prison.

Xia Houhong, in prisoner's garb stained with blood, had gone to great lengths to change Emperor Xia's mind this time.

The flesh over his heart had been genuinely cut out by his own hands; a mere inch deeper and he would have lost his life.

The sound of a lock clanging echoed on the door of the cell.

Someone was coming in, and Xia Houhong's face lit up with joy.

Noble Princess Consort Luo had earlier sent word, claiming that she would definitely get Crown Prince Hong out tonight.

It must be his mother who had sent someone to release him.

Xia Houhong struggled to sit up, but this movement pulled at the wound on his chest, causing blood to flow again.

"Fourth Prince, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not here to release you." This voice, thick with sarcasm, stiffened Xia Houhong's body instantly.

Why her?!

Looking at Ye Lingyue, who was walking into the Heavenly Prison bowed over, Crown Prince Hong's expression turned wonderfully complex.

"Ye Lingyue, what are you doing here! Where is Father Emperor, where is Mother?!" Xia Houhong roared in furious embarrassment.

Today, he was supposed to have Ye Lingyue murdered, yet not only did this woman survive, he ended up being the prisoner.

As Xia Houhong pieced together the sequence of events, he suddenly realized he had been set up.

And the most likely person to have orchestrated it was Ye Lingyue.

"Emperor Xia is doing well, the Sixth Prince is currently with him. As for your mother, I heard that she vomited blood when she returned to the palace and is now in a critical condition," Ye Lingyue slowly walked to Xia Houhong's side, watching him tremble with fury.

It's all over, Xia Houhong thought as he saw Ye Lingyue appear here, knowing he had no chance of getting out.

"You demoness, I will kill you," Xia Houhong, enduring his pain, lunged at Ye Lingyue.

Ye Lingyue dodged to the side, avoiding Crown Prince Hong.

"Fourth Prince, don't get agitated, or the blood from your chest will flow even more," Ye Lingyue, smelling the increasingly strong scent of blood in the cell, covered her nose.

"If I can get out, I will have this little demon flayed and sliced," Xia Houhong had never hated someone so much.

"Babbling nonsense at your death's door," Ye Lingyue stepped on Xia Houhong's chest, exerting pressure. Xia Houhong screamed in pain. "Xia Houhong, everything that happened today is what you deserve. Those children you killed suffered a hundred times more than you."

"Someone, someone help." Xia Houhong kept screaming, but the Heavenly Prison remained silent, with no one coming to help.

"Fourth Prince, you might as well save your energy. I am here on Emperor Xia's orders to treat you. I have already notified the prison guard. I mentioned that the treatment might be painful and you would likely scream, asking them to not come in, so as not to disturb the treatment," Ye Lingyue said, then slowly lifted her foot off him.

She took out a bottle from her bosom, which was filled with salt, and slowly poured it on the wound she had just created by stepping on him.

When the salt met the wound, it felt like a thousand ants were frantically gnawing at Xia Houhong's flesh. He writhed in pain, rolling on the ground, and at last, Xia Houhong did not even have the strength to scream or cry for help.

He lay on the ground like a wild dog, breathing shallowly.

"Xia Houhong, I'll come back every day to 'treat' you. Don't worry, with my medical skills, you definitely won't die, but I will make you suffer a hundred times more than death," Ye Lingyue looked at Xia Houhong's state and felt much satisfaction.

"Ye Lingyue... I, Xia Houhong, swear to kill you." Inside the Heavenly Prison, Xia Houhong's voice grew weaker and weaker.

After returning to the Lan Residence, Ye Lingyue told Lan Cai'er what had happened.

"Tsk, I've always said that Crown Prince Hong is no good, but I didn't expect his tastes to be so twisted." Lan Cai'er had a bad impression of Xia Houhong already, but she never anticipated that he would be so deranged to not even spare young children.

"Ling Yue, although you were eliminating a threat for a good cause, the Fourth Prince is still Emperor Xia's son. By treating the Fourth Prince that way, could it be possible that..." Lan Cai'er didn't know exactly how Ye Lingyue tortured Xia Houhong, but she had never seen Ye Lingyue's eyes so cold before.

"You haven't seen those children's conditions; otherwise, you would also wish you could kill him immediately. Don't worry, before the Ancestral Affairs Office interrogates him, I won't let him die." After speaking a few more words, Lan Cai'er found it difficult to say anything further.

Ye Lingyue didn't tell Lan Cai'er that another reason she kept Crown Prince Hong alive was precisely to lure out the mastermind behind him.

Killing Yao Concubine, tormenting Noble Princess Consort Luo, deposing Crown Prince Hong—through these actions, she couldn't believe that person could still endure.

Sometime just before the third watch, the light in Ye Lingyue's room went out.

"Sect Leader, all preparations are in place," Yan Che whispered outside the door.

Ye Lingyue nodded, and as she walked out of the room, she had already transformed into Hong Shisan.

The two of them swiftly left, departing from the Lan Residence.

Inside the General Mansion, Lan Yingwu turned over in his sleep, while Lady Lan was half asleep.

"My lord, what is it?"

"Nothing. I just feel that tonight, many people won't be able to sleep," Lan Yingwu closed his eyes.

Woosh woosh woosh—

Shh shh shh—

Around the third watch, in several alleyways of the Xia Capital, faint noises sounded as if a strong wind was passing through.

Multiple figures, like countless small streams, came together to form a colossal force—this was the Ghost Sect.

These seemingly insignificant individuals, hidden in inconspicuous corners during the daytime, transformed into the sharp blades of Ghost Sect at night.

Among them, thirteen were particularly conspicuous—that was the Ghost Sect Thirteen Kills. As the fastest rising assassins in the Xia Capital over the past year, even the weakest among them had reached the Postnatal Peak; the strongest among them was, without a doubt, Vice Sect Master Yan.

Tonight, Ghost Sect Thirteen Kills led a group of Ghost Sect disciples gathered here, for one purpose: to annihilate the Sha Sect!

After enduring quietly for several months, when everyone thought the Ghost Sect had been completely suppressed by the Sha Sect without a fight, Ghost Sect finally took action.

Two figures landed on the ground like specters.

Hundreds of Ghost Sect disciples gazed with reverence at the two young men in front of them.

They had seen Vice Sect Master Yan on the left rear side before, but for most of them, it was their first time meeting the one accompanying Yan Che.

That youth, emanating a gentle glow like moonlight, with a faint smile and no strong fluctuations of Primordial Power around him, you would be gravely mistaken to see him as a mere youth.

Because, she was none other than the Sect Leader of Ghost Sect, Hong Shisan.

~ Additional chapters at 120 and 140 monthly tickets, sprinkle salt, pickle Crown Prince Hong, anyone interested? ~