Still alive.

That was Kiyoshi Kusaki's first thought upon waking up.

After the explosion, the ambush, and the relentless offensive, he was surprised to still have his life. Leniency? No, perhaps it was more worthwhile to frame him with the blame than to kill him outright...

In the cell-turned hospital room, amidst the monotonous mechanical heartbeat rhythm, Kusaki opened his eyes, seeing the cold incandescent light above.

"All your wounds have been bandaged. The lung and liver damage will need some time to heal, but it's not a big issue. Excessive bleeding is not that significant for Sublimators. You should just lie down and rest for a while."

A silhouette with an elderly presence sat quietly behind the blue curtain.

Disregarding the patient's condition, he was smoking a pipe without pause. The entire cage was filled with smoke, making Kusaki cough despite the rapidly spinning exhaust fan.

In silence, he glanced down at his body, nearly shattered and now pieced back together, finally noticing his right leg, equipped with a brace and plaster.

"What happened to my leg?" he asked.

Before losing consciousness, he didn't recall sustaining such an injury.

"I personally broke it," the elder outside the curtain said, "as a precaution."

"You've truly gone to great lengths, Inugami Officiate."

Kusaki smiled indifferently and closed his eyes.

The mocking tone did not anger Inugami. The elder casually tapped the pipe against the table, emptied the ash, then filled it with fresh tobacco, carefully pressed it down, and rekindled it.

"It's for your own good," he said.

Kusaki didn't respond.

"Don't worry about Zaotou Shi. That guy is much more cunning than you, he's already escaped," Inugami said. "Just didn't expect a blind man would use something like a Shock Bomb, truly surprised me."

Kusaki's fingers slightly contracted, without any response.

What else was there to say?

He had jumped into the trap.

From beginning to end, it had been an ambush aimed at him.

Outnumbered, captured, and falsely accused of being a Murderer, even in death he couldn't clear his name—it was like a joke.

"Since you've left, why come back again?"

Inugami murmured softly, "Heard you've been having a good life at the Ivory Tower, got a new job, a new life. You shouldn't have come back..."

"Shouldn't have shown up when you killed Li Jian Bu Jing, right?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Kusaki suddenly raised his eyes, the rugged, worn appearance suddenly bursting with a sharp, fierce aura, like a Samurai grasping the hilt of a sword, coldly questioning.

Inugami didn't speak, silently smoking the pipe.

He didn't deny it all.

It was him who personally killed Li Jian Bu Jing...

That night, it wasn't the Murderer who acted, but Inugami.

Kusaki, who had once learned swordsmanship under Inugami's guidance, clearly saw the scene when tracing back in that instant.

"All these years, Inugami Officiate, you haven't changed your habit during Blood Shake and the Dead Heart moments," Kusaki softly questioned. "Why? Or rather, were you... intentional?"

Why disguise yourself as the Murderer to kill him?

Inugami didn't speak.

But Kusaki pressed further, raising his voice: "Because Bu Jing knows who the real Murderer is, right?! If he were to speak out, utilized by those with intentions, the Li Jian family would be completely defeated... because the Murderer is hiding within the Li Jian family!"

"No, I am the Murderer. You've guessed wrong, Kusaki."

The elder behind the curtain tapped the pipe, knocked out the final ash, then slowly rose, bowing: "Framing you, my apologies."

"I fell into a corrupt path, indulging in the joy of killing. As one ages, feelings of declining strength arise; unwilling to grow old, I chose the Mystic Ritual of drinking blood to rejuvenate and maintain my vitality."

He said calmly: "Rest assured, once everything ends, I will surrender to Deer's Sing Hall, request Seppuku, and clear your grievances. Until then, please rest well, soon everything will be settled."

After stepping back a few steps, he turned to leave, without any hesitation.

"What a ridiculous excuse!"

But the man bound to the hospital bed did not feel joy at being able to clear his name. Instead, he was furious, roaring in rage: "Inugami! Inugami! What exactly are you doing!"

"Doing what's right."

Inugami replied without looking back, "Doing what a Samurai ought to do... and thus, the Li Jian family will be preserved."

"Is what remains truly the original Li Jian family!"

Kusaki struggled fiercely, disregarding the bursting wound, blood spreading: "You shameless old bastard, do you really know how to write the word shame! Are you worthy of the trust the leaders of the Satomi clan had in you over the generations!"

Inugami's footsteps paused for a moment, then indifferently: "You and I, both being Samurai, should understand the importance of grace and loyalty. Do not presumptively guess a Samurai's mind with the thoughts of a wild dog, Kiyoshi."

"Wild dogs also know right from wrong!"

Inugami was silent for a moment, then amused.

Indifferently shaking his head.

Realizing just how absurd this debate was.

"Right and wrong don't matter. As long as the Satomi clan can continue, as long as it can be maintained... even if it's just a shell, I can still face Lord Tadazou and receive punishment after death."