Darkness, an impenetrable blackness.
It was another gate directly facing the back of this one.
Ye Zhao had already entered the Hui Character Gate and was urging her, “Hurry up.”
Shen Qingyao was stunned for a moment, then followed with a creeping sensation on her scalp.
The interior of the Hui Character Gate resembled a cave dwelling. Passing through it revealed a hidden world, but Shen Qingyao widened her eyes in astonishment, her gaze captured by the massive sight directly ahead.
In the night, a mansion stood silently before her eyes—completely pitch-black, with walls, eaves, and roof tiles all in ink-black.
Moonlight reflected not a single glimmer upon it; only two faint flickering lights shone at its highest point, like the eyes of a giant beast.
The entrance was dark, bottomless, and utterly silent, resembling a yawning, soundless abyss waiting to devour her whole.
The sight sent an involuntary shiver down her spine. Holy crap!
Her materialism was no longer materialistic. The rumors were true—this Punishment Mansion was genuinely terrifying.
Ye Zhao continued walking forward, and she had no choice but to follow. After a short distance, she finally glanced around and realized she had already entered a heavily guarded perimeter.
The entire square lacked bonfires, but she could clearly see rows of uniformly black-clad Punishment Guards on both sides.
They held large blades, standing as silent as statues.
As they neared the massive entrance, Ye Zhao stopped, and she followed suit, instinctively taking a few steps closer to him.
Ye Zhao glanced at her sideways, then coldly turned his gaze toward the entrance.
Shen Qingyao saw several figures emerge from the dark entrance. Leading them… was a middle-aged man dressed in official robes.
Behind him followed four young Punishment Guards.
All wore stern, emotionless expressions.
Was this her handover?
Shen Qingyao panicked, her heart pounding like thunder in her chest.
Mo Sen approached the two of them. As he examined Shen Qingyao, a flicker of barely noticeable admiration flashed in his eyes. But seeing her unharmed and neatly dressed, he felt a hint of confusion.
He asked Ye Zhao, “What crime?”
Two words, concise and clear.
As the Chief Punishment Officer, he was one of Song Jiuchen’s most loyal confidants, holding a status equal to Ye Zhao’s.
However, Ye Zhao did not answer. Instead, he gave him a meaningful look. Understanding, Mo Sen stepped aside with him to talk privately.
Shen Qingyao watched them, unable to hear their conversation, but the sound of her own heartbeat echoed clearly in her ears.
For a moment, she entertained the thought of returning to Song Jiuchen to submit.
In the face of unknown terror, her principles and sense of obligation no longer seemed so unyielding.
If the exterior of the Punishment Mansion was this horrifying, she dared not imagine what lay inside. The initial flicker of excitement had long since vanished.
“Remember His Highness’s instructions. Do not make even the slightest mistake, or I won’t be able to save you either.”
Ye Zhao whispered his instructions to Mo Sen.
Mo Sen nodded. “Alright, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”
His Highness really… sending her to the Punishment Mansion but not allowing her to suffer—what’s the point then?
Just to give her a tour?
“Hmm!” Ye Zhao turned and left.
Shen Qingyao, on her side, glanced back at him, wanting to speak up and follow him back, but she forcibly held herself back.
“Stop looking. Go inside.”
A stern command startled her, making her turn to face Mo Sen. She swallowed hard, nodded, and walked ahead of him, following the four Punishment Guards.
The moment she stepped inside, it was pitch-black. If not for the guide ahead, she would have been completely lost.
Immediately, a chilling coldness swept over her entire body.
She stepped inside, her eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness before she could barely make out the interior contours by the faint light seeping in from the doorway behind her.
On both the left and right sides, narrow, steep spiral wooden staircases wound upward, disappearing into deeper darkness.
Moving further forward, a massive statue loomed directly ahead.
The statue depicted a human figure with a blurred, twisted, and agonized face, yet it was molded into a grotesque posture with three heads and six arms. Each hand held a different, chilling instrument of torture.
She stared, her mind trembling with fear.
Following the Punishment Guards to the front of the statue, one of them vanished into the darkness.
After a moment, a dull click of a mechanism echoed. To her astonishment, a section of the ground at the base of the statue slowly sank downward, revealing a staircase entrance just wide enough for two people side by side, descending further below.
So the prison cells were underground?
“Move.”
She was shoved from behind, stumbling forward.
Without looking, she knew it was Mo Sen who had pushed her.
Not daring to turn around and curse him, she followed the three Punishment Guards to the entrance of the passage.
Then, a thick, nauseating mix of damp, fishy stench and foul odor surged from the opening, hitting her face.
“Ugh—” Overwhelmed by the smell, she couldn’t help but retch.
“Go down.”
Another command came from behind. Suppressing her nausea and panic, she descended the passage with the three Punishment Guards.
Inside, there was a bonfire, and the downward staircase was clearly visible. However, the further they descended, the stronger the damp, fishy stench and foul odor became.
Faint screams could also be heard—both men and women.
At this moment, she was truly terrified!
An unprecedented sense of helplessness suddenly washed over her.
Should she still hold on?
She asked herself silently.
When she finally stepped off the last stair and looked around, the sight before her turned her face pale, leaving her stunned on the spot.
Was this still a prison?
It was nothing short of a horrifying hell on earth.
As far as the eye could see, prisoners were suspended, bound, or restrained in various cruel and ingenious ways, undergoing torture.
Men and women alike moaned in pain, suppressed wails echoed, and the metallic clangs of torture instruments reverberated through the damp air. Blood dripped from the instruments, pooling into dark streams on the ground.
Both the executioners and the guarding Punishment Guards wore indifferent expressions, like emotionless puppets—especially the executioners, who carried out their “work” with practiced ease.
There was no interrogation, only the most primitive, brutal physical torment and will-breaking cruelty.
Shen Qingyao trembled from head to toe, her face deathly pale. Her mind spun, and her stomach churned violently.
Mo Sen stood nearby, his eerie gaze slanting toward her face, taking in her reaction.
Heh, scared now, aren’t you?
“Still not moving?”
Feigning a sharp shout, he deliberately drew the attention of the executioners and guarding Punishment Guards, all of whom turned to look in their direction.
Pairs of eerie green eyes fixed on Shen Qingyao, widening her pupils in fear. Almost instinctively, she turned to beg Mo Sen.
“Sir, this humble woman wishes—”
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly changed her mind and rushed toward the wall.
Better to die by crashing into it than to beg that man.
But before she could take more than two steps, Mo Sen grabbed her. Her entire body stiffened, and she began struggling frantically, turning to claw wildly at his face and arms, even trying to bite him.
“Ouch—” This woman!
Unable to bear the pain, Mo Sen decided it was easier to knock her out. He was certain his face was now scarred.
The Hall of Heavenly Mandate was still lit, and Liu Hui slowly walked out from within, his face ashen.
He had been completely dismissed from his post, and his family was removed from the Twelve Surnames of Merit and Nobility.
He now understood the whole story, and only one thought remained in his mind.
Shen Qingyao was too foolish—she should not have sacrificed her own life for the sake of his official position.
He knew what the Punishment Mansion was: a living hell. Almost no one who entered could come out alive, and even those who did emerge as hostages were driven mad.
It was a pity he had not been there at the time; otherwise, he would have surely persuaded Shen Qingyao.
But when he asked Song Jiuchen if he could go to the Punishment Mansion to try and talk sense into Shen Qingyao, Song Jiuchen disdainfully refused.
From this, he understood that the prince had completely lost faith in his virtuous niece and no longer wanted her.