Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

It was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. After a while, even the rustling wind that had been whistling past your ears disappeared.

Xia Ximo stood there, instinctively reaching for the Soul-Crossing Lamp in his arms, but his waist was empty…

"No worries?"

She called out, but in the darkness, no one answered, and she could not sense Wuyou's presence.

Is it an illusion created by Xueyin?

She subconsciously took two steps forward, her footsteps echoing clearly all around.

From this, one can infer that one is currently in a spacious area.

There was no one or anything around, not even the Soul-Crossing Lamp or Wuyou.

Xia Ximo began to walk in the darkness. This feeling was not unfamiliar; it seemed as if he had experienced it before.

However, she couldn't remember exactly when she had experienced it.

Wuyou once said that the memories of those who ferry souls before their death are all painful.

Xueyin, however, said that someone had risked their life for her and given up everything, yet she turned around and forgot it all.

So, was this also painful for her?

I have no answer in my heart.

But in this empty and quiet space, thoughts began to sprout in my mind like bamboo shoots after a spring rain…

However, at that moment, another set of footsteps sounded beside him, approaching from afar.

Xia Ximo stopped in her tracks. As the sound drew closer, she could clearly hear her own heartbeat…

"Who?"

She stopped and turned around, only to hear a familiar voice behind her.

"Miss Xia?"

Because they couldn't see each other, the two almost bumped into each other...

Ren Fengjue hurriedly stood up and gently helped her up.

In the ensuing silence, the two spoke simultaneously: "Have you seen anyone else?"

They answered in unison, "No."

Ren Fengjue seemed to smile for a moment, but quickly composed himself and said seriously, "We should be in an illusion."

Moreover, it's a very realistic illusion.

Xia Ximo replied casually, "We'll have to look around and see if we can find them..."

Unable to discern directions in the darkness, she took two steps and then slowed her pace, clearly waiting for the person behind her.

Ren Fengjue took a step forward, but almost bumped into her again...

"Sorry, it's too dark to see clearly."

Xia Ximo didn't say anything, but instead reached out and grabbed his sleeve, "Don't get lost."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a whooshing sound of wind came from all directions, making quite a commotion.

Without a second thought, Ren Fengjue grabbed her tightly, "Miss Xia, little..."

The sound of the wind instantly swallowed his voice.

Clearly, the wind was too strong for humans to handle. The next second, the two were swept up by the gale and tumbled in mid-air.

Amidst the chaos, Xia Ximo felt that Ren Fengjue's hand was firmly gripping her wrist, without loosening its grip even in such a perilous situation.

So she reached out her other hand and grabbed his wrist as well.

"pay close attention."

A moment later, the wind suddenly stopped, and the two of them plummeted from the sky...

At that moment, a hand wrapped around Xia Ximo's waist, suddenly closing the distance between her and Ren Fengjue.

The impact of the landing made them lose their footing.

Ren Fengjue fell backward, and Xia Ximo landed right on top of him.

My heart was pounding in my ears, like a drumbeat, and for a moment I couldn't tell if it was from shock or something else...

Xia Ximo immediately sat up and subconsciously asked, "Are you okay?"

Ren Fengjue was also flustered by the close contact, and only when he came to his senses did he realize the pain in his lower back.

He sat up as well, "It's nothing..."

Having served in the military and practiced martial arts continuously over the years, he is still quite physically strong.

Xia Ximo suddenly stared at him for a while, "Your face is so red, are you really alright?"

Under her gaze, the young marquis's ears also turned red.

"I'm really fine..."

His gaze shifted downwards, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Xia Ximo looked down and realized she was still sitting on his lap…

Her expression froze slightly, but she quickly recovered and stood up calmly.

It was only then that they noticed a sliver of light in the dim space.

"There seems to be an exit over there."

Xia Ximo said something and was about to go over to find out what was going on.

But he paused again, and involuntarily turned around to wait for the person behind him.

Ren Fengjue stood up and happened to see this scene, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

The two walked side by side toward the light, but before long, the scene before them caused their expressions to change drastically.

The Nine Netherworlds are extremely cold places, located in the deepest part of the Underworld.

A blood moon hangs in the sky year-round, surrounded by eerie winds and swirling mists, and the ground is barren.

Although it never snows there, the bone-chilling cold that seeps out from the "Cold Abyss" is incomparable to ice and snow.

Once, a hundred years of imprisonment, living in a daze, what was colder than the body was the heart.

At that moment, I saw that scene again and felt that chill.

Xia Ximo's state of mind was different now, because there was someone else by her side.

"Don't move."

She spoke up and reached out to stop Ren Fengjue.

"This place?"

"It is the Nine Nether Hell of the Underworld."

Wuyou once said that Xueyin was originally a servant of Hanyuan, the head of the twelve servants of the Ghost King Palace, and was granted the title of Earth Deity, holding an extremely high position in the Underworld.

Therefore, she naturally knew what Jiuyou was like.

In addition, she was born for the "Cold Abyss," which is equivalent to the "lifeline" of the entire Underworld.

With her abilities, setting up a "Nine Nether Prison" would not be difficult for her.

Ren Fengjue seemed to be taken aback for a moment: "Forgive my ignorance."

Xia Ximo did not hide anything and explained calmly: "Those who commit heinous crimes will go to the Nine Nether Hell after death. I was there for a hundred years."

"..."

She clearly saw the shock in his eyes and deliberately asked, "Scared?"

Ren Fengjue's expression was complicated. He glanced around again, then asked, "You've actually been in a place like this for a hundred years?"

Xia Ximo was stunned for a moment, then asked him in return, "Aren't you curious about what heinous crime I've committed?"

Ren Fengjue shook his head, his eyes sincere: "I'm just curious, how exactly did you get through these past hundred years?"

Xia Ximo awkwardly looked away and said, "I am more terrifying than any evil spirit you have ever seen in this world."

"If that were true, I would have died a hundred times over by now, wouldn't I? You didn't kill me, so you probably wouldn't bother killing me anyway."

He spoke softly, without a trace of fear.

Xia Ximo paused for a moment, then suddenly moved closer to him, her cold eyes fixed on him.

"Want to see what I really look like?"

Ren Fengjue was stared at by those cold eyes, but he did not back down. Instead, he said, "I think I have already seen your true colors."

"When?"

"That woman in red who saved me in the illusion at that dilapidated temple on the outskirts of Beijing, that must have been you, right?"

Hearing him say that, Xia Ximo had a vague recollection, but she stubbornly insisted, "I don't remember that."

Ren Fengjue smiled and said, "It's good that I remember."