“You call that a stray cat?”

“Eh, what’s the difference? They’re both little things nobody wants anyway.”

“You call that little?”

“Yeah. Compared to you long-lived types who-knows-how-many-years, she counts as a little thing, right?”

“...”

“Wait, why are you holding a collar, Li— Master, I’m sorry, okay? I was wrong. I shouldn’t have mocked you for being one of the long-lived races. You’re already hundreds, thousands of years old. You’re an old wom—”

The lazy, languid female voice that had been drifting in from somewhere suddenly cut off, like a duck with its throat seized.

An Ning frowned slightly on instinct.

In her haze, it felt like she had woken up.

But not fully.

Her body was exhausted and weak, heavy as if filled with mercury. Even opening her eyes was difficult. She could only lie there, fish on the chopping block, waiting to be carved up.

Yet no one seemed interested in her.

From what she heard, the owners of that lazy voice and that cool, indifferent voice had both taken her for a stray cat picked up from outside. But even a stray cat was something people pitied. Someone would want to give it cat food and clean water, maybe take it to a pet hospital for a checkup.

But no one paid An Ning any mind.

The only things willing to stay close to her were endless silence and darkness... until she vaguely heard footsteps by her side, strangely familiar.

“You awake?”

Someone asked softly, her voice gentle.

An Ning wanted to answer, but she couldn’t move. In the end, she could only struggle to part her lips slightly, showing that she was awake.

The person noticed, then said helplessly,

“Alright, I know. You’re badly hurt, so don’t move around if you can help it. Just wait and recover slowly... Here, I’ll give you some water.”

She sat down by the bed, bringing with her a faint lavender scent. Gently, she helped An Ning up and let her lean against the headboard, then fed her water.

The breath of life slowly began to flow through her body again, pouring into her heart and spreading through every limb and bone.

An Ning licked her lips, now moist again, and barely managed to open her eyes.

What entered her sight was warm orange lamplight, and a maid smiling with the light at her back.

Black hair, black eyes, and a tiny beauty mark beneath her left eye. Mysterious and alluring.

It was the very maid she had seen before losing consciousness, the one who had walked past her carrying two huge bags of snacks.

But now, for some reason, there was a leather collar around her neck. It even had a metal ring on it. There was no leash attached, but it was still enough to make one’s thoughts run wild. Who had put it on her, and why? What was their relationship? Was it a mark of possession, or a punishment?

No matter what, the collared maid in front of her gave off an inexplicably intimate, seductive air.

It made people want to bully her a little.

Though An Ning had no such thought.

She only blinked, using that restrained little motion to express her gratitude.

But the maid seemed not to understand. She only smiled again, set down the cup, and said softly,

“Just lie down for now. I’ve already bandaged all your wounds. I’m not exactly professional... but it should do for now. They’re all blade wounds anyway. If we went to a hospital, there’s a good chance you’d attract attention. That’d be troublesome. You understand, right?”

Of course An Ning understood.

The doctors in a hospital’s surgery department had sharp eyes. They’d easily tell that the wounds on her body weren’t from any accident, but from a group fight with weapons. Though even they probably wouldn’t be able to tell that the wound on her chest had been self-inflicted.

After all, who stabbed themselves for no reason?

A family tradition of stabbing probably wouldn’t count as hereditary medical history... and besides, An Ning’s family didn’t have any weird traditions like that.

She blinked to show she understood.

The maid’s smile grew even kinder.

“Good. Smart people are easy to talk to. I won’t ask where all these wounds came from. You can rest here for now, and leave whenever you want... You must be hungry, right? I’ll go make you something to eat.”

As she spoke, she stood up. Then, as if remembering something, she blinked at An Ning and added,

“Oh, right. I put your short sword on your right side. You should be able to reach it if you stretch out your hand.”

“...”

An Ning lowered her eyes.

Under the blanket, the hand gripping the sword hilt slowly loosened.

“Mhm.”

She gave a blurry nasal sound as her reply.

But the maid seemed to notice nothing. She only nodded.

“Alright then. I’m going to the kitchen to make you some noodles. Wait just a little, okay?”

She turned and left.

The room was once again left with only An Ning.

She looked at the pale ceiling overhead, slowly closed her eyes, and with difficulty dragged over the short sword named Script, then held it in her arms.

The joy of being alive filled her chest, but was quickly pressed down by confusion and worry.

She recalled the maid’s gentle smile, warm as a married woman’s, and the hand gripping the hilt slowly tightened again. Her knuckles turned pale, veins stood out on the back of her hand, and even her breathing grew much quicker.

Then it seemed she figured something out, and slowly let out a breath.

Drowsiness surged up, making her body feel even heavier.

An Ning struggled to lie back down and slipped once more into a shallow sleep.

...

In the kitchen, Miss Jiang Jiu was humming while making noodles.

They were shredded pork noodles. Easy to make, and not time-consuming.

Slice the pork into strips, coat it, stir-fry it till smooth, then add water and bring it to a boil. Add salt, pepper, oyster sauce, and chicken bouillon. Put in the noodles, then a handful of washed baby greens. By the time the noodles were almost done, the greens would be cooked too. Then all that was left was to serve it and sprinkle on some chopped scallions.

That simple.

The only issue was that while she cooked, Lady Witch had been standing beside her the whole time, supervising. She said nothing, just stared at her in silence.

Once the noodles were in the pot, there wasn’t much to worry about. She only needed to stir them now and then, so Jiang Jiu finally had the spare attention to deal with her.

“Something wrong?”

she asked, puzzled.

“...”

Lady Witch said nothing. She stared at her a while longer before slowly asking,

“Do you know who that stray cat you brought home really is?”

The words stray cat were stressed heavily. The meaning was obvious.

Lady Witch seemed very dissatisfied.

Jiang Jiu only kept her head down, stirring the noodles in the pot, completely unconcerned.

“Nope.”

“You brought her back without knowing?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because she’s dangerous.”

“She’s dangerous? More dangerous than an Archwitch like you, who turns her ex-boyfriend into her personal maid whenever she feels like it?”

“...”

Lady Witch fell silent.

She took out her Enchanted Wand.

Jiang Jiu casually turned her head and glanced at the wand in her hand.

“Getting worked up again?”

Before Lady Witch could answer, she continued,

“Last time it was a thigh ring. Before that, it was a collar. What is it this time? Don’t tell me it’s a leash? Lilith, are you trying to tie me up and turn me into a pet that belongs only to you?”

As she said that, she couldn’t even help laughing.

“So... I really want to be Lady Witch’s dog.”

By now, Lady Witch was trembling with rage.

“Jiang Jiu,” she said, calling her by name for once, “even if you hate me, you don’t have to use something like this to get back at me.”

Jiang Jiu froze for a moment, then shook her head.

“I hate you? Why would I hate you? I was the one who acted like a scumbag first. You getting back at me is perfectly reasonable. One good turn deserves another. I’ve got no reason to retaliate.”

“Then you...”

“I tease you because it’s fun. I brought that stray cat home because I didn’t want to just watch her die outside.”

Jiang Jiu spoke carelessly as she conjured her own Enchanted Wand and turned off the magical stove. A bowl nearby wobbled through the air and floated into her hand.

“Do you remember why we met in the first place, Lilith?”

she asked softly.

Lady Witch froze.

Memories surged up, then settled, sketching the blurry outline of the day they first met.

Last summer, she had gone out shopping on a whim and saw an old woman in ragged clothes begging on the ground by the entrance to a plaza.

Times had changed. In theory, even beggars should’ve kept up with the times. Who still carried loose cash around these days?

The convenience of mobile payment hadn’t just made pickpockets nearly disappear. It had also all but cut off the livelihood of homeless beggars. If they didn’t put out a payment QR code, no one could give them money. But if they did, people would think it looked fake. If you had Alipay and WeChat, then you definitely had a smartphone. And if that was the case, how could you claim you’d fallen so low you were begging on the street?

Still, the old woman begging at the plaza entrance hadn’t put out any payment code. She only had a shoebox, with a few lonely banknotes and a dozen or so coins inside. That was all.

Lady Witch habitually carried cash on her, but she hesitated, wondering whether she should give the old woman anything.

Fake beggars were everywhere these days, after all. There might even be an organized group behind it.

Unfortunately, her specialty was summoning and transfiguration. She knew nothing of Revelation School magic. Otherwise, she could’ve tried reading minds and maybe figured out whether it was real or fake.

Other people nearby were watching too, whispering among themselves. One middle-aged woman with a louder voice was saying there were too many fake beggars these days, so everyone should be careful, or they’d end up throwing meat buns to a dog.

Her voice was too harsh. The old woman kneeling on the cold floor wore a face full of helpless sorrow and lowered her head even more humbly.

Lady Witch felt even more torn inside—until suddenly, a young man stepped out from the crowd.

He came up to her and politely asked if she had any cash on her. After getting a yes, he transferred money to her digitally, exchanged it for cash, then turned and, without the slightest hesitation, bent down and placed the money into the shoebox in front of the old woman.

She had watched the whole thing, so she couldn’t help asking him why.

He said it was nothing. Mm. Just for peace of mind.

And it was that one line, just for peace of mind, that tied the two of them together in an inescapable ill-fated bond from then on.

The memory abruptly ended. The figure of Jiang Jiu from that day overlapped with the maid before her, until there was no difference at all.

Lady Witch stared at her blankly.

Jiang Jiu turned around too, looked her over for a moment, then asked with a wicked little smile she couldn’t suppress,

“No way... Lilith, are you jealous of the stray cat?”

“...”

Every good impression she had just rebuilt suddenly vanished into smoke.

Lady Witch raised her Enchanted Wand with a dark expression, ready to do exactly what Jiang Jiu had said and leash her up like a pet dog.

But Jiang Jiu suddenly handed her a bowl of noodles.

Steam rose from it, fragrant and hot.

“Here, your share,” she said casually. “I made three bowls.”

“...”

Lady Witch silently put away her Enchanted Wand.

Next time. Next time, she’d definitely keep her tied up in the bar forever.

Thinking that, she accepted the bowl of shredded pork noodles.

[To be continued]