Holding the script, I want to give up.

"Tsk, troublesome, they don't even have the will to survive."

A boy dressed in a light black and red shirt with a red headband finally found her after wandering around for a while.

He turned on the switch, and the cage rose from the hidden slot. A little girl lay lifeless inside the cage, bleeding from her seven orifices.

"We're too late. Have they already drowned?"

The boy's unique, clear voice sounded out of place in the dungeon, but unfortunately, she was dead and couldn't hear it.

He went over, opened the cage, and knelt down to check if she was still breathing; she was dead. He removed the chains binding her and gently wiped the blood from her face, ears, and neck with a handkerchief.

"You couldn't hold on until I came to rescue you, but I did notify your family. They're family to me too."

After speaking, the boy casually tossed the handkerchief on the ground, then got up and left.

[Host has been detected dead. Resurrection card activated.]

Shangguan Zitong suddenly came back to life, as if she were experiencing a final burst of energy before death; the scene was somewhat eerie.

"Ah Li, are you there? Have I... come back to life?"

Seeing that it didn't respond, Shangguan Zitong assumed it was a self-protection mechanism of the system for the host.

Shangguan Zitong propped herself up slightly. She had experienced that feeling of being on the verge of death for the second time. She hugged her knees and cried weakly.

"Why are you doing this to me? Am I being punished by heaven?"

"I want to go home, Ahri, please talk to me, okay?"

"I really want to give up on these missions, they're just too damn hard."

"This torment is troubling my nerves. I'm afraid I'll have a relapse someday."

Shangguan Zitong sobbed uncontrollably; she really couldn't take it anymore, but the system still didn't respond to her.

"Oh, is this a zombie coming back to life? Or do you have some secret?"

The boy intended to go back and pick up the handkerchief, but instead stumbled upon this shocking secret.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

Shangguan Zitong looked up at the person walking towards her. He was well-dressed, had a pleasant voice, and looked similar to her brother. Could it be related to her father, the Emperor?

"That old woman's child."

"...Why did you choose to save me when I was lifeless?"

Shangguan Zitong looked at the chains on her body, which were no longer there, and saw the bloodstained handkerchief on the ground. She understood what was going on, stopped crying, and sat cross-legged.

"So, you really are dead and then you've come back to life?"

The boy squatted down in front of Shangguan Zitong and asked curiously.

"No, I'm not dead. This is just my body protecting itself. Please keep this a secret."

Shangguan Zitong coaxed.

"Oh, okay, I will. But what's in it for me?"

The boy was skeptical.

"I will give you lots and lots of money; these are all I have."

"...Money and such things are really vulgar."

Why do you look so much like my brother?

Shangguan Zitong harbored doubts.

"Is your brother Shangguan Nuoyou?"

"How did you know? I've never used the term 'I, the Empress' before?"

"Because I am that emperor's illegitimate son!"

The boy smiled helplessly.

"So you're my little sister now, and you're quite cute."

"...Could you tell me more specifically what happened?"

"Ah, well, that's a long story."

The boy seemed to recall something from a long time ago, and felt a bit disgusted.

"Then let's make a long story short."

“My mother had a crush on my father, but he only loved the Empress. So my mother secretly drugged him, and that’s how I got pregnant. The Empress didn’t know about this.”

"So, who is your mother?"

"My mother was a princess of the previous dynasty... She wanted to kill you because the witch clan prophesied that she would die because of you..."

"Wow, this is really a bit outrageous."

Shangguan Zitong could already connect this to the legendary love triangle. And this feudal superstition can really kill a person.

“Let me take you out. Sister, consider it an atonement for my mother’s sins.”

After the boy finished speaking, he carried Shangguan Zitong on his back and walked out slowly, as if he had walked for an eternity.

"This is not your fault, you don't need to blame yourself."

Shangguan Zitong lay on him, letting him carry her, her whole body indeed sore and weak. Well, at least there was free labor.

"Ah."

......

Outside the dungeon, the Southern Emperor, along with his crown prince, was besieging the remnants of the previous dynasty.

"I'm asking you, where is Zitong? Speak quickly, or else..."

The Southern Emperor's side and the woman's side were on the verge of exchanging blows.

"It was my son who told you where I was, but you're too late. She's already drowned."

The woman laughed like a villain.

"Kill without mercy."

The Southern Emperor ordered the Imperial Guards around him.

"Then you should all be buried with her, she is too lonely all by herself."

The prince ordered the archers around him to prepare.

“You can’t kill me, or you’ll never know which dungeon she’s in.”

The woman watched as the assassins around her shielded her from swords and arrows, only to fall one by one.

Seeing an arrow flying towards her, she casually grabbed a maid to shield her.

“I mean what I say. You will never see her again. This is the result of your own actions.”

"Kill her, then let's build another imperial mausoleum here to bury her."

The Southern Emperor said without any mercy.

"Archers, cease firing."

Shangguan Nuoyou still couldn't bear to see her sister lying outside the actual imperial mausoleum.

"Father, let go. Let my sister leave with some dignity. She wouldn't want to see this."

"Damn it, she's a remnant of the previous dynasty, she must die."

It's unclear whether the Southern Emperor was truly acting in the best interests of the nation, cruelly slaughtering the people of the previous dynasty, or if he was acting in his own self-interest. After all, the people of the previous dynasty consisted of only that woman, who couldn't possibly cause any trouble, let alone make a comeback.

When Shangguan Zitong and the boy came out, they saw countless corpses. She had never seen such a scene before, which made her feel physically uncomfortable. She leaned on the boy's back and dry heaved.

"Father, please have mercy! Your son is still alive."

Seeing that the former dynasty princess no longer had many loyal followers, Shangguan Zitong weakly addressed the Southern Emperor and his entourage.

"Zitong, don't worry about it."

The Southern Emperor snatched an arrow from the archer, drew his bow, and intended to shoot the woman himself.

"Father, ...you."

Shangguan Zitong covered the boy's eyes with her hand.

"Don't be afraid, I will protect you, brother."

“When my mother was planning this, I knew it would turn out this way. This is her karma.”

A tear rolled down the boy's cheek. He brushed her hand away and ran toward his mother on his back.

The boy put down Shangguan Zitong, knelt before the woman, and embraced his mother, weeping bitterly. The woman stroked his face, smiling gently.

"Ah Jin, don't blame him, it's me who doesn't want to live anymore."

"Why did you protect him and speak up for him until your death? Was it worth it?"

The boy cried uncontrollably.

"Ah...Jin, don't cry. Your mother hopes you...are safe and happy, and that you won't...live with hatred on your back."

The woman breathed her last, and the boy was stunned.

"What did my mother do wrong? She just fell in love with the wrong person in the prime of her life."

The boy questioned the Southern Emperor.

The Southern Emperor gazed at his face, which resembled that of the Crown Prince, and fell into deep thought.

"Her mistake was that she harbored inappropriate thoughts towards me."

The Southern Emperor drew his bow and prepared to shoot at the boy.

Shangguan Zitong's small figure blocked his way.

"Father, I beg you to spare him. He has already lost his mother."

"How dare you, Shangguan Zitong! Have I been too lenient with you? How can you be so unable to distinguish right from wrong?"

"He is my savior, and moreover, he is my brother. What's wrong with me wanting to protect him? It's Father who's so anxious..."

Shangguan Zitong was soaked to the bone, her face was pale, and she looked so frail that she seemed like she could be blown away by a gust of wind.

"You've really gone too far! Is this how you speak to me?"

The Southern Emperor did not lower his arrow, continuing to point it at the boy. The meaning was self-evident.

Shangguan Zitong became even more determined to block her way.

......