Tower. First Floor.

  When Bubai came down the stairs, Xiao Hong was already waiting in the corridor, impatiently tapping her foot with a hand on her hip.

  Upon spotting him, she sneered with undisguised disdain, "What took you so long? I almost thought you were dead. Tsk. I don’t have all day to waste here, you know."

  Bubai shot her a sharp look to shut her up before shifting his focus to the twin meekly standing behind Xiao Hong.

  Upon seeing his eyes on her, she panicked and hastily bowed her head, her body quivering like a leaf in the wind.

  No doubt. Wei Er.

  Bubai ignored her, his eyes tracking the unseen bond and falling upon her twin sister lying limply on the side like a broken doll.

  The faint rise and fall of her chest signified she was alive, but her mutited form marred with bloody scars… This was enough reason to send his scale tipping in the hawk’s favor.

  The sharp eyes of the hawk snapped back onto his prey. “You better have a good expnation.”

  Bearing the brunt of the winter’s chill, Xiao Hong instinctively recoiled, bumping into the other twin standing behind her and knocking her over.

  “Ow…” The suppressed peep of pain from the fallen twin fished Xiao Hong out from the icy bath.

  Quickly regaining some sembnce of confidence, Xiao Hong defensively held her chest full of secrets and hurriedly retorted, "Don’t give me that look. This happened before our little discussion."

  Their deal was in pce, and the past can’t be held accountable, but Bubai still icily demanded, “Expin.”

  Though Xiao Hong was a bit annoyed, for the sake of cooperation, she gathered herself and complied.

  “Their recent reports were rather ckluster and perfunctory. Like I told you before, that… guy’s master tasked me to look into it when I came to collect the monthly rent this time. As servants of the same faction, I wouldn’t mistreat them if they cooperated. But…”

  Xiao Hong condescendingly jerked her head toward the battered twin on the ground.

  "Who knew what medicine you fed this one to make her so stubborn. She refused to make a single peep. You have to understand, I am obligated to answer to that one from the Mo Cn. This punishment is already considered light for betraying her master— Oh..."

  Xiao Hong trailed off. She gave him a funny look, drawling in a yin and yang tone, “You could say she didn’t betray her master. But I can’t say the same about the other…”

  Xiao Hong shot a look at the other unscathed twin listening in to their conversation with a stunned face.

  That single gnce seemed to wake up the dumbfounded Wei Er, and she finally realized something was wrong!

  All colored drained from her face, and she denied, "No! No! She's lying!"

  On her knees, she desperately scrambled over to the cold-faced Bubai, hugging his leg and pleading, "Master, Wei Er has never betrayed you! Wei Er has always been loyal to Master, and never told anyone anything—"

  Puff! A crimson flower morbidly bloomed on the white walls.

  Staring up at the bloody dagger in her master’s hand with eyes wide in disbelief, the spy’s hands clinging to the legs reached for her own throat.

  Choking for air, she toppled over, still staring upwards unwillingly as blood dyed the ground...

  Sensing the light fade from her eyes, Xiao Hong couldn’t help but click her tongue, “Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Really ruthless.”

  Bubai didn’t answer. He simply stepped over the spreading pool of blood and trudged up the corridor.

  Seeing the grim reaper coming, Xiao Hong stepped aside to let him pass while her wary eyes never left the bloody dagger in his hand.

  Coming to a stop beside the battered Wei Yi lying on the ground, Bubai looked down and met her dull eyes hidden behind her now shaggy, blood-stained bob hair.

  As if recognizing him, her dull eyes regained a glimmer of zeal, but upon noticing the dagger dripping with fresh blood, her parched lips bent into a wry smile and she closed her eyes.

  A heavy silence followed… but soon, Bubai squatted down.

  Xiao Hong, who was watching the show, had her smirk sharply twisted into a frown when she saw him lift the battered maid as if she were a fragile princess.

  Cck. She took a step forward to block his path, her voice rising in a shrill protest, "What? Are you going to spare her?!"

  Bubai coldly cut through her objections, “How I deal with my people is my own matter. I don’t need you to teach me how to do things.”

  “You!” Itching her teeth, Xiao Hong hissed a warning, "Don’t sacrifice the big for the small, or you'll regret this!"

  Bubai’s chillingly calm eyes looked at her. "Don't worry. I won’t let anything go wrong with our deal. Now, out."

  Gring at him, Xiao Hong huffed with indignation, but in the end, she stepped aside begrudgingly and stormed past him toward the exit.

  Jamming her jade slip into the key slot, she turned back to see Bubai already climbing the stairs, and she shrieked out a reminder.

  “Don’t forget our agreement! When the master emerges from seclusion, I’ll request an audience for you. Whatever you got up your sleeve, it better be convincing enough to win him over like you cim! Or else!”

  With that, Xiao Hong tossed the key to the ground and she was gone with the wind.

  By the time the entrance rumbled shut, Bubai was already shoving open the door to the cultivation chamber, where Xiao Lan had been sitting and waiting.

  Seeing him come inside, Xiao Lan’s cold eyes breezed over the battered body of her student and nded on Bubai’s dark face. “I’ll prepare some water.”

  She breezed past him, leaving the bed open to welcome its new occupant.

  Gently ying her on the bed, Bubai watched her fragile body weakly flinch before her eyes cracked open.

  Seeing him again, tears slowly welled up in her eyes, and she tried to speak, but only hoarse, unintelligible croaks came out.

  Bubai hurriedly soothed her, dotingly petting her head. "Good girl, don’t talk. There’s no need. You’re home now, everything will be alright. Rest now… You’ll be fine when you wake up again."

  It was… a white lie, but the silly maid still believed him, closing her eyes and surrendering to his tender petting.

  Petting and petting…

  "Need help?”

  Bubai’s petting finally paused. Looking to his side, he found a basin of clean water.

  Bowing his head, he grabbed a rag. “I’ll do it myself.”

  Xiao Lan pursed her purplish lips. She took a jade tower key out from her sleeves, setting it down alongside the basin. “Call if you need me.”

  With that, she quietly departed, leaving the master and maid duo alone.

  Wringing out a rag from the basin of water, Bubai turned to look at the bloody mess and froze... not knowing where to start.

  After hesitating a bit, he gently started wiping from her toes, methodically moving up to her unnaturally twisted, broken legs… then to her fingers with torn nails… to the scars marring her fragile body, her fyed back… to the hair glued by blood, and finally down to her bruised face…

  Setting aside the rag, Bubai bnkly stared down at the petite maid…

  The dried blood was gone, but the bruises were like a persistent death knell to his heart.

  Loyalty always came at a cost, and once the toll is paid, it’ll leave indelible marks on all those involved.

  As… loyalty was always ever so cruel when put to the test of survival.

  A trembling hand reached out to pet her head… petting and petting… the hand slowly moved down to caress her serene face, then lowering still…

  When his hand was in pce... her eyes cracked opened, as if understanding what was to come.

  Those eyes… they looked up at him, holding no bme… and she did her best to put on her best smile.

  He cracked a smile himself, and he lowered himself... pnting a final kiss on her forehead...

  The little maid, Wei Yi, was and always will be, a part of his history.