Huaisang clutches tight to his fan, brow furrowed with misery. This has all gone so poorly, and the balance between pacifying and honesty isn't working out for him. He keeps his mouth shut as he listens, throat bobbing and lips quivering with the threat of impending tears. "Wei-xiong," he says, weakly. He swallows heavily, licks his lips, tries again. "Wei-xiong, I'm trying to tell you how I feel. I don't want to debate with you. I know I'll lose. Please don't... please don't debate my feelings."

Sniffling once, Huaisang takes a shaky breath, trying valiantly to hold back tears. "This isn't about the reasons. I'm in no place to offer judgement or forgiveness for either of you. Being able to torture someone to death for whatever reason, however valid, is terrifying. If I..." He swallows again. Shaking badly, he just goes ahead and drops to his knees where he's standing, because he feels like he's going to collapse. He still will not meet his friend's eyes. "If I..." He knows he can't say this without revealing at least some of his hand. Wuxian comes from earlier. He's only just begun solving the puzzle. Huaisang would prefer to let him solve it himself, sot hat Huaisang can stay hidden in the shadows, but this place has already forced Huaisang into greater boldness. He's not going to put great effort into protecting the very secrets he wants Wuxian to discover. "If I had my brother's murderer in a cell of the Nie dungeons... yes. I think I would torture him to death. Perhaps over the course of years. That terrifies me, too. To know myself capable of such a thing."