Interrogation Room.
"You—Gù Míng," Yáo Jǐng said, leaning forward.
"Since your friend here said he was the killer, what role did you play in the process?"
"Han Yuan did not kill Wèi Bó," Gù Míng replied, his voice flat. "Nor did I."
Yáo Jǐng raised an eyebrow. "Your friend just confessed. Now you're saying he didn't? If you want to lie, at least get your stories right."
"The murderer is someone else," Gù Míng added.
"Oh? Then who is the murderer?"
"I don't know."
"You—" Before Yáo Jǐng could finish, a guard burst into the room.
"Head Investigator! We have found his body!" Yáo Jǐng's face went rigid. She spun her wheelchair around and left immediately, leaving Gù Míng and Han Yuan to be escorted back to their cell.
Heavenly Prison Cell.
Gù Míng sat down, leaned against the cell wall, and closed his eyes. Han Yuan remained standing, leaning against the opposite wall, just staring at him.
"Why do you keep staring at me?" Gù Míng asked, his eyes still closed.
"Because you are so handsome," Han Yuan teased. "It makes it impossible to resist."
"Ask what you want to ask."
"What's the point?" Han Yuan said, his playful tone gone. "You won't give me the answer I want."
"It's good you know," Gù Míng replied.
A heavy silence filled the cell.
"I've been living in prison all my life," Han Yuan said quietly.
"So this feels familiar. Even if it is not colder than the heavenly cold palace." He paused.
"I learned how to talk all by myself, just by observing what the palace maids were saying. I don't know how to read or write. I don't have any parents, or family."
He looked at Gù Míng. "Will you be my family?"
Gù Míng's eyes opened slowly. He stared blankly at the wall in front of him.
"What's the point? I will die soon. And again, you will have no family."
"Do you want to die?" Han Yuan asked, his voice now tight with concern.
Gù Míng closed his eyes again, offering no reply. Han Yuan crossed his arms, slowly tapping a finger against his arm. He, too, closed his eyes.
After a moment of quiet, Gù Míng spoke.
"You wanted to lure out Yáo Jǐng. The investigators of the Heavenly Realm are well hidden. You want to use her to threaten the Heavenly Elder, Jìng Tiānmíng. Am I right?."
Han Yuan's eyes snapped open. A slow smile spread across his face.
"A-Ming is indeed so smart. But why? Are you interested? Why did you come here?"
"I wanted to figure out what you are up to," Gù Míng said.
"Oh? A-Ming is interested in my actions?" Han Yuan asked, walking over and squatting down in front of Gù Míng.
"But why? Are you going to stop me if you figure out what I am doing?"
"No," Gù Míng answered, eyes still closed.
"I am not going to stop you. It is just out of curiosity. Nothing else."
"Really?" Han Yuan mused, observing him.
"I really can't figure you out."
Sometimes he is cold and quiet, sometimes he is... Han Yuan thought.
"I am also curious about something," Gù Míng opened his eyes.
"Ask," Han Yuan replied with a smile.
"With your powers, you could have just kidnapped Yáo Jǐng back then. There was no need to trouble yourself and come all the way here."
"Ah," Han Yuan said.
"If I did that, I would have had to kill the other minions with her. I just didn't expect you to come along, or else I would have killed them off silently. Wouldn't you have gotten angry at me for killing people from your Heavenly Realm? You looked angry when I said I killed that old man."
"Angry? I wasn't angry. I don't care about you killing them or not."
Han Yuan's smile widened. "The inheritor of the power of the Light Realm is supposed to be pure-hearted. As for you, A-Ming... you don't care about the lives of your clansmen. You are really interesting." He tilted his head.
"By the way, you kept saying that I didn't kill the old man. How did you know?"
Gù Míng looked away.
"You don't seem to care about what I am doing," Han Yuan teased, his voice dropping.
"Or did you come here because you are afraid I will get into trouble?"
Gù Míng did not respond.
"Don't worry, these heavenly realm people won't be able to do anything to me."
Gù Míng kept looking away.
"But you, A-Ming..." Han Yuan said, leaning closer.
He placed his hand on Gù Míng's chin, turning his face to meet his.
"If you keep doing these cute things..." He leaned in until his lips were next to Gù Míng's ear and whispered, "I don't think I will be able to control myself."
"Ehem!" A sharp throat-clearing echoed from outside the cell. Yáo Jǐng was sitting there in her wheelchair, glaring at them. Han Yuan tilted his head to face her.
"You really have a terrible timing."
"I'm taking you to interrogation," she said, nodding to the guards to open the cell. Han Yuan stood up.
"As much as I would like to stay and play around with you, I don't think A-Ming wants to stay here any longer."
He pointed two fingers—middle and index—at Yáo Jǐng. Instantly, she was lifted from her chair into the air, an invisible force suppressing her.
"What are you doing? Let go!" she shouted, struggling.
I can't... I can't use my energy. I feel... suffocated. Who is this guy? she thought, panicking.
The guards charged. Han Yuan didn't even look at them. He waved his hand, and they all collapsed, fast asleep. He walked out of the cell, the doors unlocking with a thought. Yáo Jǐng was still floating helplessly behind him. Gù Míng, however, walked in the opposite direction.
"Where are you going?" Han Yuan asked. "Kitchen."
Gù Míng went to the prison kitchen, found a large sack, and began filling it with steamed buns, roasted meats, and fruits. He then met Han Yuan at the exit. Han Yuan looked at the sack of food, then at Gù Míng's blank face. He was speechless.
"You were curious about why I came along," Gù Míng said.
"The truth is, I figured that in prison I will get free food. Easy way. I won't have to fight for it. It looks nicer than the run-down temple. I can live comfortably here."
Han Yuan shook his head, his smile full of affection. "You really haven't changed."
A few minutes later, when Lù Chén came back from his other missions, he entered the prison and found all the guards sleeping. In a panic, he ran over to one of the guards and shook him.
"Wake up! Wake up!"
The guard slowly woke up.
"The-the two guys who were arrested earlier, they took the Head Investigator away," the guard said, barely able to talk because of fear.
Lù Chén angrily punched the ground with his fist, then ran out for a search.