The next day, early morning.

Qizhou arrived at Jing Gu and her daughter's residence and knocked on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

At that moment, Jinghe, carrying a bulging bag, walked over, with Jing Gu following behind her.

"Qizhou, when are we leaving?" Jinghe looked up at Qizhou and asked.

"No rush." Qizhou shook his head.

He looked at Jing Gu and said, "I will take care of Jinghe, don't worry."

Jing Gu nodded in response. As a mother, she didn't want Jinghe to witness the cruelty of the battlefield, especially since the Sun-Moon Empire was about to go to war with the Crimson Empire.

Both Jing Gu and Jinghe owed their lives to Huangming. If Huangming hadn't helped them when they couldn't afford the protection fee, they might have been beaten to death.

Jinghe had also inherited Huangming's power, so it was only right for her to fulfill Huangming's mission.

The conversation among the three woke Ria up from her sleep. She got out of bed, walked outside, and stood at the door, looking at Jing Gu and Qizhou. She asked, "Where are you going?"

"The Crimson Empire," Qizhou replied.

"I want to go too!" Ria said without hesitation.

"Suit yourself," Qizhou shrugged and left with Jinghe. Ria belonged to the Emperor and only he had the authority to control her.

Ria followed behind Qizhou.

Jing Gu watched the three of them leave, her face filled with worry.

...

Shizhi and Beezelbub were waiting at the city gate for Qizhou's arrival, while Modi stayed behind to guard against the Ruined Land barbarians. (Rank 10 Demon Hunter Shizhi, Rank 8 False Demon Beezelbub, Rank 7 Death Demon Qizhou, Rank 12 Puppet Demon Modi)

After a while, Qizhou arrived at the city gate with Jinghe, and Ria followed closely behind him.

Seeing Ria by his side, Shizhi frowned and asked, "Why did you bring a foolish elf, Qizhou? And who is this human girl?"

"Didn't Beezelbub tell you?" Qizhou asked in return.

"Um..." Beezelbub looked embarrassed and said, "Didn't you tell Shizhi, Qizhou?"

Qizhou: "..."

"This little girl is Jinghe, the successor of the Flame Demon. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the new Flame Demon. The main purpose of bringing her to the Crimson Empire this time is for her to gain experience and increase her understanding of war," Qizhou explained.

"What about the foolish elf?" Shizhi asked again.

"She belongs to the Emperor, we don't need to worry about her. As long as she still carries the Emperor's aura, it means the Emperor is still alive."

"Hey, hey, hey, what do you mean 'belongs to'? What do you mean 'foolish elf'? I have a name," Ria protested.

The others ignored Ria's protest and simply disregarded her existence.

Then, the demons spread their wings and flew towards the Crimson Empire, with Qizhou holding onto Jinghe's back and legs, flying with her.

"Wait for me!" Ria opened her fairy wings and chased after them.

...

At the same time, Iris arrived at a quaint and elegant house. Two demon guards stood guard beside the house. No unauthorized personnel were allowed to enter, and anyone who violated the rules would be expelled or even killed.

This house was where Lilia was being held, or more accurately, being treated.

"Your Majesty." The two guards immediately saluted when they saw Iris, their tone respectful.

Iris nodded slightly and then said, "You have worked hard."

"Not at all, serving Your Majesty is our honor," the two guards replied.

"You may step back for now," Iris said.

"Yes." The two guards bowed and left.

After entering the room, Iris saw Lilia holding a doll like a child, wanting Alya to tell her a story.

Lilia looked at Alya with her beautiful blue eyes, her mouth slightly raised, and a cute smile on her face. She looked extremely adorable.

At this moment, Iris walked slowly to Lilia, with her hands behind her back, squatting down and using her right index finger to lift Lilia's chin.

"Is your name Lilia?" Iris asked tentatively.

Lilia blinked her big eyes, shook her head, and then nodded.

"I... I don't know... Iri likes... what to call me... anything is fine..." Lilia said with her head tilted, still looking innocent.

Her voice sounded like a baby just learning to speak, with a slight stutter. Overall, Iris could still understand her clearly.

"Alya, how is Lilia's recovery going?" Iris asked Alya again.

"Your Majesty, Lilia is now able to express what she wants to say, but some of her sentences are still a bit fragmented. Her memory is like a blank slate and needs your true presence to slowly recover." Alya respectfully replied.

"Alright, I understand. You can leave now, Lilia will stay here." Iris waved her hand, indicating for Alya to leave first.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Alya obeyed the order, exited the room, and closed the door behind her.

In an instant, Iris remembered the scene where Lilia cut off her own arm, and a surge of anger rose in her heart, purely fueled by her hatred for Lilia.

She would never forget what Lilia had done to her. Lilia not only cut off her arm, but also shattered her ribs and soaked her entire body in saltwater, causing excruciating pain.

That piercing pain was an indelible memory for her entire life.

Iris silently looked at Lilia, her eyes flickering with a cold killing intent.

A pale blue long sword appeared in her hand, its sharp edge emitting a chilling aura. Lilia, like an ignorant child, didn't notice at all that Iris had become filled with murderous intent. She tugged at Iris's clothes and murmured, "Iri... tell a story... I want to hear a story..."

Iris gripped the long sword, her eyes gleaming with cold light.

In the next moment, she swung the sword fiercely, slashing towards Lilia at lightning speed.

"Splurt!"

As the sword fell, blood splattered, and an arm detached from Lilia's body, falling to the ground. Lilia's body slumped down, blood gushing out.

Lilia's face was extremely pale, but her gaze towards Iris remained gentle and clear, without a trace of resentment for having her arm cut off. She stretched out her other hand and muttered, "If... Iri... wants... you can take it... as long as... Iri... is happy..."

Iris heard Lilia's difficult speech and saw her trembling body.

Seeing this scene, Iris didn't feel any pleasure from revenge, as if she had randomly cut off the arm of a child for no reason.

This revenge was meaningless because Lilia didn't even know that she had hurt Iris, and she didn't even know who she was.

"After revenge, shouldn't there be happiness? Shouldn't there be excitement? Shouldn't there be a sense of satisfaction after revenge? Why is there none?" Iris began to question herself, her heart filled with contradictions, conflicts, and anger.

However, Iris did not lose control because of her inner resentment. She took a deep breath and suppressed her violent emotions.

"Iri... Iri... I want to hear a story..." Lilia's voice weakly sounded, as she tightly held onto Iris's clothes, tears streaming down her face, dripping onto the ground, perhaps because of the pain from her severed arm.

Iris slapped away Lilia's hand and coldly said, "Our grievances are settled, and we have no further connection in the future! Alya will help you with your hand."

After saying this, Iris turned and walked outside without looking back, without any hesitation.

Lilia stared blankly at Iris's retreating figure, crying with a face full of grievances.

She wanted to call out to Iris, but her throat felt like it was blocked by something, and she couldn't utter a word.

She just felt a heavy sensation in her chest, very uncomfortable.

After Iris left, Lilia sat on the ground and started crying.

"Wuwuwu..." She cried sorrowfully, like a helpless child.

After Iris left, Aria walked in and saw blood everywhere on the floor. Lilia was sitting on the ground, crying, with blood continuously flowing from her right arm.

Aria immediately ran over, helped Lilia up, and then treated her pain and stopped the bleeding.

"White-haired Iri... doesn't want me anymore..." Lilia sobbed, her voice choked, tears streaming down her face like a child who had been wronged.

"It's okay, Black-haired Iri is here, Black-haired Iri won't abandon Lilia," Aria comforted softly.

"But... wuwuwu... White-haired Iri doesn't want Lilia anymore..." Lilia cried even harder, her face turning red from crying.

"How could that be? Black-haired Iri will take you to see White-haired Iri in a while, okay?" Aria reassured.

Upon hearing this, Lilia looked up at Aria, tears in her eyes, and asked, "Really?"

Aria nodded vigorously and said, "Take this pill, sleep for a while, and your hand will grow back. Then we'll go find White-haired Iri."

After saying that, Aria took out a white pill, put it into Lilia's mouth, and covered her with a blanket.

After taking the pill, Lilia quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Aria picked up the severed limb from the pool of blood and started reattaching Lilia's arm.

After a while, Lilia's arm was reattached, and as she was from the royal bloodline of the vampire clan, her recovery speed was very fast. In just a few minutes, her arm had healed completely, with no trace of any abnormality.

"Ah!" Aria sighed, her eyes filled with pity, and then she began to clean up the bloodstains and tidy up the room.