If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

The air in the study seemed frozen.

The candlelight flickered gently, casting dappled light and shadow on Qin Shuang's cold and beautiful face. Her hand was still resting on the armrest of the sofa, her fingers unconsciously tightening, her knuckles turning a faint white.

Zhou Yang looked at her, his face still bearing that lazy smile, as if the price he had just paid was nothing more than a string of candied hawthorns from the street.

He didn't urge him, but simply picked up the cup of tea on the table, which had already gone cold, and slowly took a sip. The tea was very astringent, with a rusty taste. But he drank it calmly.

After a long silence, Qin Shuang finally spoke. Her voice was even colder than before, like a pebble striking ice in the dead of winter.

"Zhou Yang, do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I know." Zhou Yang put down his teacup, the bottom of which clinked softly against the table. "Commander Qin, it's best if we make things clear. I can earn the gold myself. I can seize the cultivation techniques myself. But the information about the Dragon Spine fragment... only you have it."

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice.

"This is a transaction. I'm exchanging my value for your intelligence. It's perfectly fair."

Qin Shuang's pupils contracted slightly.

value.

The way Zhou Yang uttered this word always carried a raw, cold ruthlessness. Unlike others, he didn't talk about feelings, loyalty, or serving his country. He only talked about value and exchange. Like a shrewd businessman carefully weighing the price of each item on a shelf.

And he himself is the most expensive item.

"You're too confident," Qin Shuang said. "You've turned the Imperial Father-in-Law's mansion upside down, and you think you've won? No, you've just put yourself on the hot seat. Now, countless eyes in the entire capital are watching you. The Heavenly Principles Sect wants your life, the remnants of the Imperial Father-in-Law's faction want to skin you alive, and even in the palace... there are some who think your blade is too sharp and want to sharpen it."

Her words were like knives, stabbing me one by one.

"If you leave the capital now and hide in Jiangnan or beyond the Great Wall, with your abilities, who can find you? Once the storm has passed, you can come out again and be a hero again. That's the most worthwhile deal. Staying here, you're just a target."

Zhou Yang smiled.

He shook his head, a hint of worldly-wise mockery in his smile.

"Leave?" He pointed to his chest. "Commander Qin, do you think this thing inside me will allow me to leave?"

Qin Shuang's gaze fell on his chest.

The clothes there were neat and tidy, showing no signs of anything amiss. But she knew what kind of monster lurked within. A source that even the Blackwater Dharma King was driven mad by.

"The greatest danger also comes with the greatest opportunity." Zhou Yang's voice was soft but powerful. "The waters of the capital are deep. But the deeper the water, the more big fish it harbors. If I leave now, I'll be handing over the fat meat that's already in my mouth to someone else for nothing. I, Zhou Yang, don't do such a losing deal."

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

A cold wind blew in, causing the candlelight to flicker.

"I can smell it," he said.

"What does it taste like?" Qin Shuang asked instinctively.

"The smell of blood, and... the smell of treasure." Zhou Yang turned to look at her, his eyes flashing eerily in the dim light. "Beneath this capital city lie treasures. Treasures that can make me stronger, treasures that can make me live longer. Why should I leave?"

Qin Shuang fell silent.

She looked at Zhou Yang's profile, which was etched with undisguised desire and ambition. For the first time, she realized that she... seemed unable to understand this man anymore. He wasn't like a pawn, but more like a gambler who only wanted to be a player. He was gambling with his own life.

"Is the opportunity you're looking for related to the Dragon Spine Fragment?" Qin Shuang suddenly asked.

Zhou Yang neither admitted nor denied it, but simply smiled and asked, "What do you think?"

Qin Shuang took a deep breath, as if she had made a decision. She stood up, walked to Zhou Yang's side, and looked out the window at the deep night with him.

"There is a forbidden area in the royal family." She spoke slowly, her voice extremely low, as if each word weighed a ton.

"It's called a 'blood bank'."

Zhou Yang raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.

"That place isn't inside the palace, nor is it anywhere in the capital that's openly visible. It's very secretive. It doesn't hold people; it holds 'materials'."

Qin Shuang's tone carried a hint of disgust.

"Various strange bloodlines, prisoners with all sorts of innate talents. From infants still in swaddling clothes to ancient monsters who have lived for hundreds of years, there's something for everyone. The royal family keeps them like livestock. When needed, they're taken out for blood sacrifices, or... refined into certain special elixirs."

Zhou Yang's heart skipped a beat.

Danmu!

The restlessness and longing in the Danmu within him after absorbing the blood of the Blackwater Dharma King was precisely a yearning for these "special bloodlines."

The emperor's father-in-law needs these materials to refine elixirs. The Heavenly Principle Sect also needs these materials to find sacrificial offerings. And the royal family itself is the biggest source.

The stench of blood in the capital city was emanating from here.

"Is this 'blood bank' useful for what I told you about?" Zhou Yang asked, feigning calmness.

"I don't know," Qin Shuang shook her head, "but I can be sure that the 'materials' stored inside are the purest and most abundant in the entire world. If the opportunity you mentioned is related to bloodline, then that is the only treasure map."

She turned her head and looked directly into Zhou Yang's eyes.

"I'm telling you this secret. In exchange, you have to do more than just help me; you also have to ensure that this knife is never pointed at the royal family. That's my bottom line."

Zhou Yang smiled.

"Commander Qin, you seem to have misunderstood something." He extended a finger and gently tapped Qin Shuang's shoulder. "I am not your blade. I am your partner. We cooperate because we have a common enemy and common interests. Once these enemies and interests are gone, our cooperation will naturally end."

His fingers were slightly warm, causing Qin Shuang's shoulders to stiffen slightly.

"As for the royal family..." Zhou Yang withdrew his hand and put it back in his sleeve. "As long as they don't provoke me, why should I bother with them? I just want to live a few more years and live comfortably. For a businessman, overturning the table is the least worthwhile thing to do."

He spoke with such confidence and composure, as if he were a true businessman.

Qin Shuang looked at him, her eyes shifting uncertainly.

She suddenly felt that the man before her was like a bottomless whirlpool. You knew it was dangerous to get close to him, but the power and potential he exuded made you irresistibly drawn to him.

Perhaps keeping him in the capital is a more correct, but also more dangerous, choice than letting him leave.

"Alright." Qin Shuang finally uttered a single word. "I can give you the information about the Dragon Spine Fragment. I'll also help you get clues about the blood bank. But remember, from this moment on, every step you take will be under my surveillance. If you show any sign of betrayal..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but her cold gaze said it all.

"Deal." Zhou Yang smiled like a smug fox.

He picked up the cup of cold tea again and raised it towards Qin Shuang.

"To our...new collaboration."

Qin Shuang looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then picked up her own teacup and gently touched it to his.

The porcelain cups collided, producing a crisp sound.

In this quiet study, the sound was like the taking of a contract.

Outside the window, the night grew even darker.

In the capital, unseen undercurrents began to surge in an even more bizarre direction because of this secret meeting. Zhou Yang knew he had made the right gamble.

What he wanted was never to escape, but to venture into the tiger's den and take the tiger's cubs.

Now, he has obtained the most crucial key to entering the tiger's den.

He drank the cold tea in his cup. The tea was extremely bitter as it went down his throat, but it invigorated him.

For within his chest, that ominous cinnabar was emitting a faint, almost imperceptible flutter of joy.

It was hungry.

And the entire capital city will be its feast.