"On a rainy day like this, you've actually got the mood to go out drinking by yourself, miss?"

"Ah, no, actually... I didn't come out to drink."

"Oh?"

"I had an appointment with a therapist. When I got off the subway, I realized the rain had gotten this heavy, so I wanted to find somewhere to wait it out..."

"I see."

The maid chatted with Jiang Xiaobai in a casual, on-and-off way while mixing the drink.

Jiang Xiaobai felt a little awkward.

Maybe it was because every movement, every posture, even every expression of the maid carried a quiet elegance. As another girl, Jiang Xiaobai couldn't help feeling overshadowed in front of her, so she grew stiff and reserved.

She had a bad habit. When she got nervous, she especially liked to eat something to distract herself. But there was nothing to eat in front of her now, only a glass of water, so she instinctively wanted to take a sip.

But before she could reach for the cup, the maid moved first. She extended a hand and rested two long, pale fingers on the rim.

Eh?

Jiang Xiaobai froze for a moment, confused, then looked up at the maid.

The maid blinked at her.

"If you've been caught in the rain, it's easy to catch a chill, so cold water isn't a good idea. Let me pour you a warm glass instead."

Then, as if she had thought of something else, she pressed her lips together in a smile and added,

"Warm water does help a little with sobering up. Witch's Night isn't that strong, but for girls who can't hold their liquor well, it can still be troublesome... I wonder how your alcohol tolerance is, miss?"

"Ah, ah?"

Jiang Xiaobai's face reddened a little. She lowered her head without thinking and answered in a soft, sweet voice,

"I-I'm... okay, I guess."

She thought the maid really was gentle.

Sure, there was some suspicion that this was polished customer service, but whether it was what she said or what she did, everything gave off that spring-breeze feeling. Thoughtful down to the smallest detail.

Of course, the most important thing was that the maid was genuinely beautiful.

Her long hair fell to her waist. Her brows and eyes were gentle and serene. Her dark black eyes always seemed to hold a smile... Jiang Xiaobai also noticed a tear mole beneath her left eye, like a tiny blue-black flower in bloom, alluring and bewitching.

Jiang Xiaobai stared blankly at that tear mole for a while. Then she suddenly realized the bar had gone frighteningly quiet, so she looked up—

And found that at some point, the maid had already been smiling at her.

"!"

The girl's face turned red, the flush spreading from her earlobes all the way down her neck.

S-so embarrassing.

She thought that, her heart pounding.

Seeing her like this, the maid tactfully looked away. She took the glass of cold water below the counter and tapped the side lightly with her fingertip.

Ting—

A nearly inaudible hum sounded. A cold light bloomed in the water, expanded, then contracted, like an invisible hand tightly seizing the filthy thing hidden inside the cup.

It was a rat.

A pitch-black rat was being crushed into a twisted shape. It struggled madly, even lowering its head to bite at the invisible hand.

"Squeak, squeak!"

It let out sharp, piercing cries.

But no matter how it struggled, it couldn't regain its freedom. Even its cries were sealed inside the glass by some strange power.

"Don't ruin the guest's good mood, okay? Be a little more gentlemanly."

Jiang Jiu smiled and silently admonished it.

But how could a rat understand human speech? It kept struggling wildly, wailing.

It looked beyond saving.

The maid sighed helplessly and tapped the glass again with her fingertip.

The invisible hand slowly tightened, and the rat turned into a flattened slice of rat.

After a while, the invisible hand loosened. In its palm, only a slowly dispersing clump of liquid remained—like old blood, black mixed with murky red.

So this was the true form of the rat in the wall?

Jiang Jiu narrowed her eyes, pushed the glass farther into the bar, then turned and took out another cup. She poured warm water and handed it to the girl.

"Your warm water, miss. Your drink will be ready soon too, so please wait just a moment."

"I-it's fine," the girl answered with a stammer. "I can wait. Anyway... anyway, it's still raining really hard outside."

"Alright."

Jiang Jiu nodded. Her expression turned serious for once, and then she reached for the shaker.

She did know how to mix drinks.

Lilith had always loved alcohol, especially cocktails. Because of her, Jiang Jiu had gone out of her way to learn bartending a long time ago. Of course, no matter what, a crash course graduate couldn't really be called professional.

Still, it was more than enough now to bluff an inexperienced little girl.

Unfortunately, the bar counter wasn't that spacious, so she couldn't really spread out. That meant there was no room for flair bartending tricks.

Jiang Jiu carefully finished mixing that glass of Witch's Night. She first took out a coaster from under the counter, then set the glass on top of it and gently pushed both toward Jiang Xiaobai.

But then she suddenly realized Jiang Xiaobai's attention wasn't on the drink at all. Instead, she had been propping up her cheek and staring at her in a daze the whole time.

She hadn't even had a drink yet, but she already looked half drunk.

What a sin.

Jiang Jiu sighed inwardly, kept up that elegant posture, and softly reminded her,

"Miss, your Witch's Night."

"Ah!"

Jiang Xiaobai jolted like she had just woken from a dream. She guiltily pulled back her gaze. To cover her embarrassment, she simply reached out, picked up the Witch's Night, and took a light sip.

Then her face lit up with delight.

"It's delicious!"

She boldly took a big gulp, then narrowed her eyes and showed a lazy expression like a satisfied cat.

Jiang Jiu smiled and thanked her.

"Thank you for the compliment. For a bartender, 'delicious' is already the highest level of praise... It's my honor that you like my work."

Then she seemed to remember something and added,

"Witch's Night is our bar's signature special. You could say it's one of my best creations. The base spirits are tequila and orange liqueur, plus a little sweet dream, a little fantasy, and a potion brewed by The Witch—spider venom sacs, moth scale powder, and bat wings."

Jiang Xiaobai was almost startled by that, but she quickly caught on and nodded with a straight face.

"I see. So on the surface this place looks like a bar, but secretly it's a witches' hideout, and that's why the drinks have potion ingredients in them, right?"

She couldn't even finish before she broke into happy laughter.

Jiang Jiu laughed along with her and admitted between laughs,

"That's right. I didn't expect you to be so smart, miss, seeing through our bar's secret at a glance. That's right, our bar is actually the hideout of an Archwitch, and I'm just the unlucky one she captured to work here as a server."

"I knew it!" Jiang Xiaobai put on an enlightened expression. "Then your boss... no, that Archwitch—she must be pretty heartless, right? To exploit such a pretty maid like you, big sis?"

To be fair, that was true, Jiang Jiu thought.

Heartless? More like utterly devoid of conscience.

Though she didn't think Lilith would also gamble away a fortune and run off with some mistress.

Come to think of it, she probably didn't even have any so-called mistress. If she ever ran, the only person she'd likely take with her would be Jiang Jiu. After all, she was practically becoming Lady Witch's personal maid by now.

The maid let her thoughts drift, then smiled again, taking it as a response to the girl's compliment about her looks.

Speaking of which, did witches have something like intuition? Could Lilith, far away at the Witches' Tea Assembly, sense that someone was talking behind her back?

If she could, that would be interesting.

She glanced at Jiang Xiaobai again.

Honest people really weren't appreciated these days. She had already been telling the truth, yet this little girl still thought she was joking. Who knew when she'd finally realize it.

At that thought, Jiang Jiu simply poured herself a drink too.

She had always had a good tolerance for alcohol, and she couldn't be bothered to mix anything for herself, so she just poured a little whiskey.

She raised her glass in invitation.

"Want to drink together?"

she asked Jiang Xiaobai.

The girl froze for a second. Her gaze paused briefly on Jiang Jiu's slightly pale lips, then she raised her own glass too.

"Okay."

The glasses clinked together with a light chime.

Jiang Jiu tilted her head back and finished the drink in one go. She licked her lips, then picked up the bottle and poured herself a little more.

Jiang Xiaobai watched her down it, then hesitated as she looked at the cocktail in her own hand, still more than half full. She briefly questioned her life choices, then decisively set it back down.

At that moment, the maid spoke lazily.

"Miss... hmm, calling you 'miss' all the time feels kind of strange. What should I call you?"

"Ah?" The girl blinked, then quickly answered, "My name is Jiang Xiaobai. Big sis, you can just call me Xiaobai."

"Jiang Xiaobai?" The maid curled her lips into a smile. "What a cute name. Then I'll call you Xiaobai, just like you said."

"Okay."

"Then in exchange, I should tell you my name too. I'm Jiang Jiu. You can call me whatever you like."

"Jiu..." Jiang Xiaobai hesitated, then asked tentatively, "Then can I call you Sister Jiu?"

"Of course you can."

Being called "sister" by someone else still felt a little strange, but Jiang Jiu didn't really mind.

She was already here. The girl's still young. Life's hard for everyone.

If you've already fallen, then you might as well lie where you fell. Since she'd become Lady Witch's maid, she had to learn to adapt.

Jiang Jiu felt it wasn't a big problem.

She briefly recalled the conversation she'd had with Jiang Xiaobai when the girl first sat down at the counter, then took the lead in bringing up a new topic.

"With rain this heavy, Xiaobai, you still came out to see a therapist. What's wrong? Have you been feeling down lately?"

After saying it, she seemed to feel the question was a little inappropriate, so she pressed her lips together with slight apology and said,

"If it's inconvenient to talk about, then forget it. I was just a little curious."

Jiang Xiaobai instinctively glanced at Jiang Jiu, who had leaned slightly toward her and lowered her head.

Maybe it was because of the strong liquor. Her cheeks, once overly pale from poor health, had taken on a peach-blossom flush. It was like ice beginning to thaw, like barren branches suddenly blooming. The maid, who had originally seemed cool and distant, now looked especially beautiful and tempting.

The girl swallowed and hurriedly waved her hands.

"No, no, it's nothing like that. It's not something I can't say... It's just that I've run into some strange things lately, so my nerves have been kind of worn down. I wanted to ask a therapist what might be going on."

"I see... what kind of things?"

the maid asked curiously.

Like a fish that had taken the bait...

Or a hook disguised as a fish.

[To be continued]