In this world, there are no parents who don't love their children, but Yan Ruyu's father broke this rule. Such a father deserves to suffer in infernal torment for a thousand lifetimes. Boil him in oil, burn him with fire, execute him by slow slicing—nothing can compensate for even a fraction of his sins.

"Heavens, are you blind? How can you let such things happen? You're blind, you're blind—" Luo Chao shouted angrily at the sky.

"Heh, my father. He thought it was so easy. After Li Bin possessed me, he didn't fulfill his promise and instead forced my father to repay the debt. In the end, my father disappeared, whether he escaped alone or found a hiding place, or was killed by the Qingmu Society—nobody knows." Yan Ruyu said sarcastically, as if mocking her father, Li Bin, or perhaps herself.

"After that incident, I intended to leave, but I ultimately didn't. I feared that if I left, my father would die. Yet, he just disappeared. Heh, he disappeared! And as for me—" At this point, Yan Ruyu paused, the pain in her eyes deepening with irony.

"And as for me—I was captured by the Qingmu Society." After a long while, Yan Ruyu said flatly.

"Captured by the Qingmu Society? So afterward—" Luo Chao was no longer foolish enough to roar about justice or question the police's involvement.

The clearer you see the reality of this society, the more you detest it. People usually have two ways to deal with something they hate: distance themselves from it or change it. Though I, Luo Chao, am not a saint or a hero, I refuse to back down. Therefore, I choose to change it. If the dark is unjust, I will control it. If the bright is unjust, I will steer it, making it something that serves the people broadly, but through governing means. —— "Luo Chao's Memoirs"

"Hmm, after they captured me, they injected me with drugs, and then they took me to their hotel to entertain guests!" Yan Ruyu said flatly. Though she looked pained, she was not as agitated as before.

"This gang, I, Luo Chao, swear today that in my lifetime, I will ensure these beasts will face retribution. The underworld? The overworld? Are there truly boundaries?" Luo Chao said furiously as a terrifying idea formed in his mind.

"So what happened next, why did you end up at the place before?" Furiously as he was, Luo Chao still wanted to know why Yan Ruyu ended up in the apartment he rented.

"Although they forcibly sent me to the guests, every time I refused to cooperate and made the guests unhappy. They beat me, cursed me, humiliated me, and it was always the same. In the end, they couldn't bear to ruin their reputation because of me, so they rented a room and increased the drug dosage, making my life unbearable. I attempted suicide, but the Qingmu Society watched over me every day, foiling every attempt. When the addiction took hold and I lost control, they forced me to agree to their terms."

"And so, I became their secret hostess, or as you call it, a streetwalker. Every day they brought wealthy clients to me. I endured their coercion silently. Even with no one around, I'd quietly lick my wounds. Moreover, I earned nothing from servicing guests, as they collected the money upfront. If I disobeyed, they'd beat me. Dying would have been a relief, a way to escape the living hell. To avoid suffering worse than death, I silently complied."

"But I had to eat. Without money, I'd starve to death, so behind their back, I reluctantly took on extra clients to survive. Heh, maybe that's called falling. Even I don't recognize myself anymore. When one loses the most precious thing in life, life loses all meaning. Living becomes merely existing like a walking corpse. A life without a soul, can it even be called life?" Yan Ruyu laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Qingmu Society, Li Bin, live well, and wait for me to slowly torture you to death. Make you wish you'd never been born." Luo Chao held Yan Ruyu tightly, swearing silently in his heart.

Yan Ruyu, what a good girl, thus teased by fate to become a pariah of society, living daily in endless purgatory, enduring both physical and spiritual torment. What could be more painful in this world, Luo Chao couldn't imagine.

"I couldn't escape, couldn't die, in the end, only enduring silently. I kept thinking, was it because I did too many bad things in my past life that the heavens want me to suffer such a great punishment to atone, plunging my life into Darkness?" Yan Ruyu murmured weakly, leaning against Luo Chao as if in a dream.

"No, it's not that. The heavens are just blind!" Luo Chao's voice was bitter, hiding unspeakable pain.

Never before, never before had such despair, such sorrow filled his heart...

"Sister Ruyu, what's wrong?" Feeling Yan Ruyu in his arms, Luo Chao was startled and asked urgently.

"So cold—I'm so cold—" Yan Ruyu's body was clenched tight, her voice trembling as she spoke with difficulty.

"I'm so cold, hug—hug—hug me tight—" Eyes tightly shut, a look of agony crossed Yan Ruyu's face.

"Sister Ruyu, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me. Please tell me what's happening?" Luo Chao pulled the blanket around Yan Ruyu, holding her tightly, with a face full of anxiety.

"The addiction—the addiction—is—kicking—in—" Yan Ruyu's body trembled like a leaf, eyes shut, her face twisted in pain as she stammered.

"The addiction is kicking in!" Luo Chao exclaimed. He was just puzzled why Yan Ruyu didn't seem affected by the forced drug use by the Qingmu Society after spending so much time with him tonight. But as soon as he thought about it, it happened; maybe this coincidentally matched Luo Chao's feelings at the moment.

"What should I do?" Looking at Yan Ruyu's body, her almost distorted face, Luo Chao's heart wrenched.

"How can you let a girl suffer so in your presence? Are you even a man? Are you any sort of man? Your vow, have you forgotten it? You're useless, useless! Luo Chao, oh Luo Chao, for all the books you've read, you can't even help. All you do is hurt the one you love. What else can you do? You think to join the underworld? Look at this, is this your so-called underworld? Cruel beyond belief—"

Inwardly roaring with anger, Luo Chao cursed himself in pain, watching Yan Ruyu suffering so, helpless as he was. Seeing Yan Ruyu's gut-wrenching pain, Luo Chao felt his heart bleeding.

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