[Vol. 1] Chapter 32 - A Pet's Wager
In places unseen, the moment the stalactite struck Xiaolan and dark qi dissipated, Feng Yue was already notified.
The shrine sat at the edge of a cliff, forgotten by time and man alike. Weathered stone steps led to a cracked torii gate, its vermillion paint long faded to gray.
Inside, the main hall had collapsed centuries ago, leaving only a skeletal frame of rotting wood and broken statues.
Feng Yue knelt in the center, her white hair pooling around her like spilled moonlight. Her robes were the color of ink, stark against the pale stone beneath her.
A small, octagonal mirror hovered before her, its surface rippling with images only she could see.
Her eyes, the color of cold jade, narrowed. Her lips curved.
The dark qi she had planted in Xiaolan's dantian finally stirred. Five days it had lain dormant, a gift left behind while Xiaolan slept.
She rose, her movements unhurried. The mirror folded into itself, vanishing.
"A visit, then." Her voice was soft, almost thoughtful. "It seems my little pawn has failed."
***
In the western courtyard, a maidservant with a thin, wiry figure entered Xiashi's room. Her eyes were narrow slits, ringed with dark circles. Her sharp, sunken cheekbones hinted at a body worn thin by sleepless nights.
This was the same old woman who had presented Xiashi with the ferocious "gift" from Xiaolan during their first meeting. Lijuan.
She slipped through the door like a shadow, her hands clasped tight, her fingers worrying at each other.
"Miss Xiashi." Her voice was a dry rasp, cracked at the edges. "I only wished to say... none of it is right."
She hovered near the door, not daring to come closer. Her eyes darted to the walls, the ceiling, the window, as if something might be listening.
"That courtyard you were given. It's not fitting, not for someone of your blood." Her voice pitched higher, faster. "You're his niece, his true relative. And she sits in the heir's quarters like she belongs there, like she has any right to..."
She caught herself. Swallowed. Her hands twisted together.
"I only mean... it's not fair. What happened to you, what she did. The dog..." Her breath hitched. "She planned it... Before you even arrived, she had it waiting."
She was shaking now. Her eyes were wet.
"And he, Elder Guang, he still calls her daughter. He still gives her everything. While you..." She gestured vaguely, helplessly, at the bare walls. "Here. In this place. Like you're nothing."
She crept closer, her voice dropping to a trembling whisper.
"You're kind. Everyone says so. Gentle. Not like her. Not grasping and hungry and..." She stopped. Swallowed again. "You deserve more. That's all. I only wanted you to know."
Her eyes gleamed with desperation. Fear. The need to be needed.
"I could tell you things. About her. About what she's done. What she's planning." She leaned in, her breath sour. "I only need someone to believe me.."
Infront of her, Xiashi sat quietly in the room, her back facing the conniving maidservant, listening to every word.
"And who, precisely, told you that?" Xiashi's voice was deceptively soft and serene. She turned her head, her long, lustrous black hair shifting over her shoulder.
Lijuan blinked."No one, Miss. I am merely..."
"Concerned." Xiashi's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Of course."
In a flash, the serene atmosphere shattered. Xiashi stood, her palm slamming down on the table with a sharp crack.
"Guards."
The door flew open instantly. Two guards stood at attention, bowing respectfully. "Yes, Miss Xiashi?"
"This woman has forgotten her place," Xiashi declared, her voice now as cold as polished steel. She turned fully, her gaze transforming from dewy innocence to something sly and merciless.
Crossing one leg over the other, she rested her cheek on her hand, a dark and utterly bored expression settling on her features.
"Beat her," she commanded, the words dropping like stones. "And when you are done, cast her out."
The old woman's face crumpled. "Miss, have mercy—"
The guards caught her arms. Dragged her back. Her screams faded down the corridor, swallowed by the mountain wind.
As silence returned, a palpable darkness gathered around Xiashi, coalescing into a single, floating black flame.
When it spoke, its voice was low and resonant, carrying no particular emotion. It simply stated facts.
"An unsubtle performance. You already know who sent her. Otherwise..."
"Who else could it be?" Xiashi replied, her smirk not quite reaching her deep blue eyes, which seemed to absorb the dim light of the room. "It's those Lin clan elders. They take me for a fool."
"You're too easily provoked. Meaningless rambling, and still it made your act slip. They will notice if you're not careful."
"It doesn't matter," Xiashi said, her serene smile a stark contrast to her words. "It's not as though anyone has ever cared to find out who I truly am."
The flame pulsed once, a slow, steady beat.
"Don't get too attached to anyone. Remember your mission. Everything is just an act."
"Really?" Xiashi refuted, her tone stubborn. "I don't believe you."
"You cling to the first hand that reaches out to you." The flame's voice was flat. Unjudging. "The poor girl whose family was wiped out, betrayed time and again, is now choosing to trust so easily. A predictable choice. Often fatal."
"Shut up."
In a flash of raw anger, Xiashi snatched the black flame from the air, ignoring its stinging heat.
She squeezed it in her fist until it erupted with a concussive bang, snuffing it out. Her hand remained clenched, trembling slightly from the force and the burn.
A viscous black liquid seeped from between her fingers, and from the dripping shadows, the flame rekindled itself, hovering before her. Unchanged. It had always been there. It would always be there.
"A wager, then." When the flame spoke again, its voice was the same as before. Calm. Level. "A simple wager. To see if they will truly help you when you need it most."
It swirled closer, its light casting strange shadows across the walls.
"I'll agree," Xiashi said, her voice low as she stared at the hovering flame. "But on one condition. Answer me honestly."
Her eyes narrowed. "You were the one who made the bandits attack us, weren't you?"
The flame grew still. Not menacingly still. Just... still. "I don't recall having to tell you everything."
"Then listen well." Xiashi's sneer was sharp. "Do not ever interfere again. I know what I'm doing. I know exactly what I am capable of. Or have you forgotten that you are bound to me?"
"You are alive because I allow it." The flame's voice did not rise. It did not need to. "Do not mistake my patience for weakness, Xiashi. I have limits. You are testing them."
"I could say the same to you." Xiashi's voice was cold, but beneath it was something else. Fear, perhaps. Or exhaustion. "You acted without my knowledge. That violates our oath."
She leaned forward, her expression shifting from anger to cold, calculating reason. "Besides, what you did was unnecessary. The opportunity is presenting itself. Lin Xiaolan will hand me the jade tome willingly."
The flame hummed softly. Not approval. Not amusement. Just acknowledgment.
"You went to the tree. Even after I forbade it." The flame's voice was matter-of-fact. "You criticize me for influencing the bandits. Yet you did the same to yourself."
Xiashi's fist clenched. "Your scheming led to this."
"And I would not need to scheme," the flame countered, "if my pet were not so determined to seek solace in dead things."
"That solace is my birthright." Xiashi's voice trembled with fury and grief. "It is the only piece of my family I have left."
"A sentiment." The flame pulsed once. Neither warm nor cold. "Did it save you? From the Lin family's contempt? From living like a street urchin?"
Xiashi's clenched fist slowly uncurled. In truth, she couldn't tell whether what she was doing was her own will or the flame's.
"Then we play your wager," she whispered, her voice hollow.
Three heartbeats passed once that eerie, viscous aura dissipated. Xiashi coughed heavily and pressed a handkerchief over her nose.
This western courtyard, though now unused, was impeccably maintained, a testament to the Lin clan's philosophy that a pristine environment fostered a strong body and mind.
Clearly, this western courtyard was once owned by some Alpha heir. There was a lingering, faint smell of those Alpha pheromones.
***
Xiaolan gazed out the back window onto the mountain, its orange and golden glow shimmering through the leaves as she contemplated her next move.
"Three days. I only have three days left for that damned competition," she groaned.
Her mind then circled back to her original problem: how to pay A-Ling.
Her loot was still out there, and her servant's silence was the fragile thread holding her last shred of security together.
That maid A-Ling was just a common girl, right? She'd appreciate anything I give her... But the memory of her own grandiose promise echoed mockingly in her head. I did promise her a big reward.
Unfavored and penniless. Nothing to give to A-Ling.
Xiashi, who had just arrived, was in a more desperate situation than she was, living in an unused guest room.
The only thing she could possibly offer was information, and what use was ancient knowledge to a maid who probably just wanted a new hairpin or a few extra spirit stones?