Three-Five-Seven: Zhi Chen.

She knocked out two more guards, acquired the key, and headed towards Cell Number 357.

The passageway was eerie, the two rows of low prison cells housed petty criminals, and at the northern end was the inner prison reserved for death row inmates.

Monk Zhi Chen was detained in the deepest part of the inner prison.

Out of fear, Ye Zhi quickened her pace, holding the torch as she hastily checked the cell numbers, swiftly using Qinggong to pass through.

One could say Ye Zhi was brave, but in this eerie prison, her round, beautiful eyes were filled with fear, her face tense, ready to snap at any sudden surprise.

One could also say she was timid, yet she dared to venture alone into the unknown prison.

Just as she was on the verge of screaming in fear!

The number 357 cell in the inner prison appeared particularly sacred under the torchlight.

Thank heavens!

She lifted the torch to illuminate the darkness inside the cell, "Master Zhi Chen? Are you here? Master Zhi Chen?"

Inside the cell, a frail-looking monk lay motionless on a stone bed, his body covered with dozens of whip marks, his face also marred with two whip scars.

He did not respond, and Ye Zhi kept peering into the cell, "Master? Are you dead? Weren’t you supposed to be executed in two days? Have they tortured you to death early? If you hear this, respond to me."

Still, there was no response.

She paused slightly, "Great, now Ming Yan doesn’t know what kind of chaos she’ll cause."

The sound of rustling came from within Cell 357.

Ye Zhi, terrified, was stunned in place, as if Master Zhi Chen had come back to life...

She gradually leaned in to take a closer look; it turned out he wasn’t dead, struggling to sit up silently...

"Master, I am Ye Zhi from the Minister’s Mansion, the master of Ming Yan, you absolutely must not die. I’ve noticed Ming Yan has been acting strangely these past two days, she might commit suicide."

As she spoke, she used the key she found to unlock the cell door and walked inside.

Monk Zhi Chen stiffened slightly, his eyes flickering dimly, as he rasped, "I remember you, you should leave. I’m about to be executed soon, a dying person isn’t worthy of anyone’s affection, let her live well after this."

Unexpectedly, the woman who was coldly rejected by him so many times was still concerned about him at this moment.

In another life, perhaps they might have been together.

In this life, it was impossible to fulfill that wish!

Despite his appearance, he didn’t seem heartless, and Ye Zhi was puzzled, "Master, what made you want to assassinate the Emperor?"

"My father was once a Sixth Rank prefect, honest and upright in his office. Because he disagreed with the Emperor in court, they argued, and the Emperor, in anger, executed my father. Later, believing false reports, he exterminated my entire family of forty-nine, sparing none, only I escaped. This hatred must be avenged."

The icy tone in his voice could not be ignored.

Even though so much time had passed, his parents’ faces had become blurred, but there was always a voice in his heart saying: He must kill Emperor Jingping.

Such brief words couldn’t convey the despair he had felt at that time.

Ye Zhi’s face was complex beneath her black mask, her heart shocked, how desperate Master Zhi Chen must have been back then. She also understood a truth, that his repeated rejections of Ming Yan weren’t due to indifference, but because he had already resolved to die.

The man closed his eyes, his voice calm, "So, you should leave."

She refused to give up, persuading, "No, you must leave with me. I originally came to gather information, but with so few guards now, there’s no better time than today. We should return to the inn first. Out of the three kinds of unfilial acts, having no descendants is the worst. If I’m not mistaken, you don’t have any descendants yet. After you die, even in the underworld, you won’t be able to face your parents."