Ren hurried back towards the entrance of the dungeon, thinking up an act as fast as his mind would allow.

"Ren? Are you in there?" En's voice echoed through the musty room.

"Y-Yes, Father. I'm right here." He swallowed hard, turning to his father, who entered, followed by Zan Ching and Jun. "F-Father," he stammered. "He...He's gone. I just...I just walked in here, and he was nowhere to be seen..."

En furrowed his brow. "That's odd...the kyonshii guards around here are worthless."

"I don't think that's the case, sir." Zan Ching smiled at Ren, who clenched his fists tightly. "Shut up, old man," he hissed.

Zan Ching scowled. "That's no way to talk to your husband. And it's not good to lie to your parents, either, huh? Now tell us where the blue-hedgehog-hair kid ran off to. And don't you try making up any stories."

Please, please, please...Please don't let them find Horohoro...Ren prayed silently. He opened his mouth to speak again. "It's true...I...I don't know where he is, I think he probably escaped days ago...I swear, honestly, I-"

"How dare you lie to your husband, you flithy little whore?" Zan Ching hissed. He swiftly gave Ren a hard backhand slap. Ren yelped in pain, and he toppled over and fell to the floor, skidding across the cold stone.

"How many times, my dear?" His large, fat hand reached down and grasped Ren by the hair, jerking him to his feet. The boy cried out in pain as he was thrown back to the floor. "How many times must I beat some obedience into you for it to get through your thick skull?"

He grabbed Ren's wrists, lifting him up and slamming him against the bloodstained walls, pinning and trapping him there. "Tell me the truth, my lovely little Ren, and I'll forgive you. Maybe we can even...skip the usual night treatment?"

Ren flinched, but refused to utter another word. Instead, as a response, he spat in Zan Ching's face.

"Why, you-!?" the man roared in outrage. He was about to swipe at Ren again, but Jun quickly placed a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. "Forget it, sir," she implored. "It's obvious he doesn't know." She knew, deep in her heart, that it must have really been Ren who had set Horohoro free, but she didn't want him to get in trouble for it.

"Fine," Zan Ching snapped. "Be grateful to your sister, kid. But it doesn't matter whether or not you're telling the truth. I swear I'll hunt down that good-for-nothing brat, and I'll wring his neck right in front of those pretty eyes of yours. We can't have him coming back and negatively influencing you against us all, can we?"

"That's enough," En snapped. "We'll settle this upstairs. Come, Zan Ching." The two men left the dungeons, walking upstairs to duscuss the matter and leaving Jun alone with Ren, who was huddled in a small ball on the floor.

"Are you alright, Ren?" she asked, kneeling down next to her younger brother when she was sure their father and Zan Ching were out of earshot. "Did he hurt you too badly?"

"I'm fine."

Jun put her arms around Ren, wiping the silent tears from his face with the back of her hand. "It was you wasn't it, Ren? You did help him escape, didn't you?"

Ren didn't reply.

"It's alright. I swear I won't tell anyone."

Reluctantly, he nodded his head, signifying that her assumption was correct.

"And I have another thing to ask you," Jun continued, her voice becoming more concerned and serious. "I'm worried about you, Lian." Ren could tell she really was worried because she used his Chinese name to address him.

"What does that man do to you every day? I'm not stupid. Those bruises and cuts stick out like an elephant in the ocean."

Ren looked away. "Jun...I...I don't want to talk about it."

"Please, Lian. I won't be able to help you if you don't tell me."

Ren sighed and bowed his head in shame. "Every day, Jun...I work for him, I clean for him, I cook for him. And he goes out every night and comes back drunk...then he'll hit me. He hits me so hard, Jun...it hurts so bad...but that's nothing compared to what else he does at night."

"Go on. Tell me all about it."

"Every night," he continued quietly. "He rapes me every night, Jun. He's started calling it the 'night treatment,' and it's probably what sucks most about living with him."

"Oh, my god...Lian...I...I'm so sorry."