"Come on, Evelina. Breathe for me." Jin Liwei embraced his wife more tightly but still made sure to treat her with gentleness.
"I hated what I did inside," Iris said in a shaky voice.
Seeing her like this distressed him. He kissed her forehead and continued soothing her.
Lu Zihao came out of the holding cell and saw them. His expression changed upon seeing his sister's state. He was about to approach when Jin Liwei sent him a meaningful look. In the end, he only nodded and left the two alone without saying anything.
"Don't beat yourself up over what happened to Jenny Tseng," Jin Liwei told his wife. "She is not innocent to Rose Young's actions."
"I know but…."
"Evelina." He lifted her chin and forced her to look at him. "You might think of me as heartless but I think everyone involved in trying to harm you, me or anyone from our family deserve punishment. They are the ones who started it. We are only retaliating."
She clung to him and continued looking at him, focusing on his resolute eyes, and trying to absorb strength from him.
He gently rubbed her chin with his thumb. "For me, it doesn't matter how small Jenny Tseng or other people's role in trying to harm us. Big or small, for me, it's all the same. Especially when it comes to you. I'll punish anyone who dares to hurt you even if it's myself."
She turned her head to kiss his hand holding her chin. He responded by leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together.
"Whatever guilt you're feeling, throw it at me. I'll gladly carry the guilt for you. As long as you maintain your inner peace and happiness, I'll bear any sin in the world."
Her eyes watered but she didn't allow herself to cry. She gave him a shaky smile and pecked his mouth.
"What are you saying, Mr. Jin? As your wife, I vowed during our marriage to share whatever burdens life throws us together with you."
His lips curved up. "En."
They kissed each other for a while. It was soft, gentle and comforting.
"Feel better now?" he asked.
She nodded. "Thanks, darling."
"Anytime, my love."
The husband and wife didn't stay at Shadow Winds headquarters for too long. Iris already accomplished what she wanted to do. Jenny Tseng was successfully converted to their side. As for the others, Lu Zihao would deal with them and arrange the next steps.
Iris and Jin Liwei had already left when the teenage-looking man finally released Jenny Tseng, Luke and the other guy. All of them feared the teenage-looking man who tormented them day and night with his endless physical and mental tortures. They had already been broken a long time ago.
Now, however, there were hopeful glints in their eyes. They had just received a new lease in life. Of course, they had to pay a price for it.
The teenage-looking man pushed the trio before his boss. Jenny Tseng, Luke and the other guy rarely saw Lu Zihao but they feared him the most among the people in this hellish place. To them, he was the king of the devils.
Right now, all they could do was to tremble in front of him while doing their best to avoid his frightening gaze.
After what felt like forever, the devil king finally broke the torturous silence and spoke.
"I am releasing you thanks to Iris Long. Remember that."
Jenny Tseng and company nodded their heads.
"Now get out of my sight."
They didn't need any additional words before scrambling away from him as if their butts were on fire. Other subordinates took them to another part of the headquarters, thankfully not holding cells anymore.
The teenage-looking man remained.
"Keep an eye on Jenny Tseng," Lu Zihao instructed. "Women can be difficult to predict. They change their minds all the time. She might change sides again."
"Understood, Boss Hao."
"As for the two men, they'll be easier to control as they're young. Especially now that they completely hate Rose Young after learning that their other friends have been murdered by the group that rescued her."
The teenage-looking man agreed. "Actually, the one called Luke has some potential."
"Oh?" Lu Zihao raised an eyebrow.
"He was such a weak chicken at the beginning but his ability to cope with hardship is rather commendable. I had to increase the level of my torture on him several times because of his coping skills. He broke down just like the others but he didn't completely collapse."
"Hm." Lu Zihao tapped a finger on the arm of his chair. "Fine. Groom him if you want. But make sure that he doesn't bite you in the ass later."
The teenage-looking man revealed a terrifying smile.
Well, terrifying for normal people.
Lu Zihao was unaffected. In fact, he thought that his subordinate's smile was too wide and gummy. In short, ugly.
But he kept his opinion to himself, deeming it as something unnecessary to share.
He quickly focused on his next task. He turned to the surveillance monitors and watched the emaciated Jin Chenggong who now looked several years older than his actual age.
Lu Zihao glanced at the teenage-looking man and saw from the sadistic glint in his subordinate's eyes that Jin Chenggong received the "best treatment" among the prisoners.
"Kid."
The black cat shown on the monitor swished his tail. "Please call me by my glorious name Bacon, Uncle Zihao. Calling Bacon 'kid' in our workplace is very unprofessional. It's not classy."
Lu Zihao ignored the little smartass' quip. "Show me your findings about the group who rescued Rose Young. It's time to give them a little present."
"Bacon understands."
Only one screen was needed to show all the information they managed to dig so far. It wasn't much but for their next task, it was enough.
"Now go get the old bastard and wrap him up real nice," Lu Zihao instructed the teenage-looking man. "I'm sure those motherfuckers will be thrilled to receive a surprise."
While the Jin Chenggong was being dealt with according to their original plan, Lu Zihao fished out the Smoking Devil from his pocket and began rubbing it.
