bookrandom Chapter 1318 Weakness
Chapter 1318 Weakness
Because they've hit this weakness so accurately!
"No need to be nervous, Prince Xiao."
Rhys deliberately softened his tone: "As I said, this is merely a grace allowing you two a brief reunion. It's time; Headwoman Eva needs to return and rest. As for your child..."
He paused deliberately, his gaze seemingly piercing through the mask, landing on Xiao Ce's tense face, admiring the undisguised anxiety and tension in his eyes.
"As long as you cooperate with us!"
Rhys's voice carried a hint of persuasive enticement: "I promise you, your family will be reunited soon. In a safe and comfortable place. No one will hurt them again, and you will see your children grow up safely. This is our promise."
Xiao Ce's voice was filled with distrust and suppressed anger: "Cooperate? What do you want me to cooperate with? Who exactly are you people?!"
"You don't need to know who we are for now."
Rhys remained emotionless as he said, "You just need to know that your choice is simple: cooperate, and you and your wife and children will be reunited safely; don't cooperate... or try to pull any tricks..."
He didn't finish speaking, but the threat in his cold tone was already self-evident: murder, or even more cruel torture.
The ice cellar was deathly silent.
All that could be heard were Eva's suppressed, intermittent sobs and Xiao Ce's heavy breathing as he suppressed his anger.
The cold air seemed to solidify into lead, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts.
Xiao Ce stared intently at the black-robed man at the door, his eyes flashing intensely.
Anger, humiliation, resentment, struggle... a complex mix of emotions clashed violently in his eyes.
His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged, as if he were about to launch an attack at any moment and tear the threat in front of him to shreds.
But in the end, the clenched fist trembled slightly and loosened very slowly amidst Eva's whimper filled with endless fear and pleading.
That look in his eyes was filled with pain, self-blame, and a sense of helplessness that he had to bow his head for the sake of his loved ones.
Time seemed to stretch out many times over. Every second was filled with silent torment and the weight of making choices.
Finally, Xiao Ce took a deep breath of the cold, rusty air, as if trying to suppress all his anger and resentment deep within his heart.
He turned back to look at Rhys, who stood at the door like a messenger of death, and said in a hoarse, low voice, as if he had resigned himself to his fate:
"it is good......"
He uttered a single word, and his whole demeanor became noticeably more dejected...
"...I'll cooperate with you."
The sound was calm and undisturbed, yet it was like an echo from the abyss, containing a power capable of devouring everything.
Xiao Ce is really enjoying himself right now...
He felt that if he could travel back in time, he would definitely be a contender for the Academy Award for Best Actor...
Looking at Xiao Ce, Rhys, whose face was hidden behind his mask, revealed a smug and triumphant smile.
He knew that this tiger, for the sake of its cherished cubs and mate, had finally... temporarily lowered its proud head.
The plan has successfully taken its most crucial step.
"Very good. A wise choice."
Rhys's voice carried a hint of satisfied approval: "Chief Eva, please. Your husband needs to rest." He stepped aside, gesturing for the guards to lead the man away.
Two guards immediately stepped forward, their movements still wary, but less aggressive than before.
They held out their hands, gesturing for Eva to leave with them.
Eva's body trembled violently as she gave Xiao Ce one last, deep look.
Her eyes were incredibly complex, filled with guilt, pain, worry, and a hint of bewilderment—a feeling she herself was unaware of—as she was moved by this "deeply affectionate" performance.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but under Rhys's cold gaze and the guards' watchful eyes, it ultimately turned into an even more pitiful sob.
She lowered her head resignedly, letting the guards hold her arm as she was led away from the cold, icy cell, staggering and looking back every few steps.
Xiao Ce stood still, motionless, as if he had been transformed into a stone sculpture in an ice cellar.
He watched Eva being led away, her desperate and helpless figure disappearing behind the heavy iron gate that slammed shut again. Until the gate closed completely, emitting a dull, resounding crash that symbolized isolation...
His entire demeanor suddenly changed at that moment...
He slowly returned to the stone bed...
The entire ice cellar fell into a deathly silence...
Only the occasional restless flicker of flame in the bronze lamps on the wall, emitting a faint crackling sound, and the faint, intermittent whistling of wind coming from outside the thick stone walls...
Xiao Ce sat there quietly, without moving.
Like a wounded lone wolf, licking its wounds, gathering strength, waiting for the pair of lurking eyes in the darkness to lower their guard.
However, only he knew that in the shadow of his lowered head, deep within his eyes hidden by his disheveled black hair, all the rage, despair, pain, and compromise he had just displayed had vanished!
Instead, there was a cold, unfathomable calm, like an ancient, frozen glacier.
Beneath that calm lay a rapidly working mind, a web of calculations, and a true killing intent a hundred times more dangerous than the anger he had just feigned!
Cooperate?
He sneered silently to himself, a laugh so cold it could freeze the soul.
He will cooperate.
He would "cooperate" with them, step by step, moving towards the center of the stage they had carefully prepared.
Then, at their peak, when they thought they had everything under control and victory was assured...
They themselves destroyed the magnificent stage they had built, along with all their greed, scheming, and ambition...
Tear it apart completely!
...
Rhys stood in the dimly lit corridor, removed the cumbersome mask, and took off the cloak he was wearing.
He exhaled a long, white breath, filled with extreme satisfaction. The chill of the ice cellar seemed less biting because of his current mood.
He turned around and looked at Eva, who was still being held by two guards, her face as pale as paper, and her body still trembling slightly.
Rhys grinned, revealing a smile that was a mixture of smugness and cruelty. He even stretched out his hand and began to clap, a hint of flippancy and admiration in his eyes...
"Well done, my dear sister!"
Rhys's voice echoed in the empty stone corridor, filled with undisguised excitement: "He looked so pitiful just now, I almost believed it myself! Look at Xiao Ce, tsk tsk, he was heartbroken, like a tiger whose teeth have been pulled, only able to lie there obediently! Hahaha! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
"That damned Xiao Shen... this man hailed as a god is nothing special..."
Eva listened to Rhys's words with a complicated expression.
She bit her lower lip tightly and tasted a faint metallic taste of blood.
That was a wound she had bitten during a previous performance, but now it had become a real source of pain.
She did not answer Reese.
His gaze was blank as he stared at the cold cracks in the stone slabs beneath his feet, as if his soul had been ripped away.
"Let's go!"
With a wave of his hand, Rhys exclaimed triumphantly, "Go and report to Father! Tell him that we have this big fish firmly in our grasp, and it's completely chained! We're just waiting for that distinguished guest to come and collect the goods!"
He emphasized the words "distinguished guest," a hint of barely perceptible apprehension flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by greater excitement.
He couldn't wait to see his father's approval when he heard Xiao Ce's perfect reaction.
The group returned along the deep, cold palace path...
Eva walked with heavy steps, each step feeling like she was stepping on burning coals.
Rhys's laughter and the echo of the guards' iron boots hitting the ground felt like blunt instruments striking her taut nerves.
Xiao Ce's pained yet resolute gaze, the way he shielded her behind him, and that cold vow!
"Make all those who hurt you pay the price... a hundredfold, a thousandfold..."
Like a curse, it echoed repeatedly in her mind, each repetition bringing a deeper chill and a stronger sense of guilt.
Did he really believe it?
Beneath his unfathomable calm, has he already seen through everything?
That hug… that heartache… was it acting, or…?
Eva dared not think any further, feeling as if her limbs and bones were immersed in ice water, and her heart was about to stop beating.