The next night, An Ning went out again.

But tonight was different from last time. When she went out before, the weather had been awful. Dark clouds churned overhead, fierce winds swept through the streets, and it looked like rain could fall at any moment. But tonight, the sky was clear. The moonlight was pure and bright with just a glance upward.

Lilith had told Jiang Jiu that most aberrant beings actually had nothing to do with the phases of the moon. As for the night of the full moon—Witch's Night—its very purpose was to control them.

Humans were the masters of the world now. Compared to that, the aberrant beings that had once ruled the planet were more like tenants these days, living under someone else's roof and barely surviving on human mercy.

The light of science had driven off the shadows of the unknown. Monsters and demons had been swept clean away. The Silent Bureau had become the Sword of Damocles hanging over every aberrant being's head, and every petty schemer who tried to restore their former glory had been cut down.

The single-digit high-risk Contained Artifact, [Witch's Night], had become their cage... though of course, in the spirit of humanitarianism, the organization had conducted research and unanimously passed the Aberrant Management Regulations.

According to those regulations, aberrant beings were entitled to one night of freedom every month. On that night, they could do whatever they wanted—anything at all. But no matter what they did, all traces of it would be erased after dawn.

“On the first night, the Silent Witch hums a quiet song, bidding thee into dreams.”

Every full moon night, the Silent Witch of the Silent Bureau would dream. Her dream would seep into reality and freeze the world as it was before she fell asleep. After that, no matter how much destruction the aberrant beings caused, once she woke, everything would reset to how it had originally been.

That was the truth behind Witch's Night.

And the last Witch's Night had only passed two or three days ago. The aberrant beings had probably already put away their claws and fangs, returned to looking harmless, and slipped back into hiding among ordinary humans.

An Ning's goal was to find them, track them down, and use them to investigate the truth behind her father's death.

It was obviously a daunting task. Even if she wasn't an ordinary human, she could still lose her life with ease.

But Jiang Jiu had no standing to tell her to give up, and no intention of doing so.

She simply saw An Ning off the same way she had last time. She wished her victory in battle, told her she'd wait for her to come back so they could drink together, then stood quietly in front of the bar and watched the girl leave with a grave expression.

It was like a husband going off to war. As his wife, she'd naturally rise early, dress herself carefully, put on her prettiest clothes, handle the housework as usual, and finally stand by the roadside to wave him off. No crying, no sobbing—so he could leave without worry.

Though Jiang Jiu had never thought of herself as An Ning's wife, and didn't think An Ning was fit to be her husband either.

But none of that mattered.

Miss Maid stood at the door until An Ning's figure vanished at the end of the street. Only then did she finally turn to head back inside. But right then, she suddenly heard light footsteps.

Tap, tap.

A girl in a black dress and cloak slowly walked out of the bar. Her face was expressionless, her gaze cool and distant.

She stopped in front of Miss Maid. After a brief silence, she asked,

“Haven't you always hated trouble?”

“Yep.” Miss Maid nodded cheerfully. “I've always hated trouble—especially clingy women.”

“...”

Lilith could only fall silent again.

What was she even supposed to say at a time like this?

It felt like anything she said would be wrong, because wasn't Miss Maid obviously taking a shot at her? She hadn't said it outright, sure, but not saying it outright was what made it so insidious.

She might as well have just read out her ID number and named her directly, just to avoid misunderstandings... though more likely, Miss Maid wanted Lilith to misunderstand on purpose. That way, if Lilith demanded to know whether she was mocking her, Miss Maid could put on an innocent face and say, When did I say who I meant? Why are you assigning it to yourself? Oh? You mad? Are you mad?

Lilith didn't know whether she was mad or not, but her blood pressure had definitely gone up.

As the saying went, wisdom came from suffering. She got shut down by Miss Maid every day, so by now she had plenty of experience. After a slight hesitation, she ignored the trap and asked instead,

“So in your eyes, An Ning isn't trouble?”

Miss Maid didn't answer.

Compared to words, she seemed to trust actions more. So Lilith could only watch as she stepped closer, looked her over from left to right like she'd discovered some rare species, and then sighed in admiration.

“When we were dating, how did I never realize you were such a jealous type?”

“I'm not jealous.”

“Sure, sure, you're not jealous.” Jiang Jiu smiled and spread her hands. “Then let's say I'm the jealous one, okay?”

“I'm really not jealous.”

Lady Witch looked at Jiang Jiu and repeated herself in a calm tone.

Then, before Jiang Jiu could start steering the conversation again, she asked first,

“You clearly don't like An Ning, so why make her think you do?”

“Because I like her.”

“You don't like her.”

“If I don't like her, then why am I treating her so differently?”

“Because you don't want her to die.”

Lady Witch suddenly remembered how miserable An Ning had looked when Jiang Jiu brought her back to the bar.

Her clothes had been torn to shreds. Her whole body had been covered in blood. Even her face, the most precious thing for a girl, had borne several savage wounds. As for the rest of her body, there had been too many injuries to count. The most dangerous one was the piercing wound in her chest, one that had nearly gone through her heart.

She had been on the verge of death, barely hanging on by a thread.

At the time, Jiang Jiu still didn't know healing magic. She could only keep casting purification spells with difficulty to stabilize An Ning's condition.

Later, Lilith couldn't help stepping in. Only then did An Ning's injuries finally heal at speed... but even magic could only treat physical wounds. It could do nothing for the wounds in the heart.

She had seen An Ning's expression and eyes after she woke up. She was clearly still alive, yet she looked almost no different from someone already dead. Sickly, lifeless, devoid of vitality—and yet Lilith could also sense a force inside her that was on the verge of erupting.

Like fireworks.

The most beautiful moment in a firework's life was the instant it exploded. After that, all that awaited it was a dim and silent end.

She could tell An Ning had a death wish. Once her injuries had mostly healed, she would probably leave without a word, go alone to her final banquet, and die in silence.

But Jiang Jiu had changed that fixed fate.

“You talked with her before she left. You told her you'd wait for her to come back and drink with you. It was like tying a string back onto a kite that had snapped loose. She had a goal in life again, a reason to keep living. That's why she dragged that battered body back here.”

Lady Witch spoke softly.

“Other than not wanting her to die, I can't think of any other reason, Jiang Jiu. Don't tell me you really like her?”

“But how could that be? You've dated so many times before. You've met so many girls. Who have you ever truly liked?”

Jiang Jiu didn't dodge the question at all. She nodded without hesitation.

“You.”

“...”

Lady Witch said nothing.

She stared at Jiang Jiu for a while, then slowly shook her head, just a little.

“Do you think I'd believe that, Jiang Jiu? Stop joking with me.”

“I'm not joking.” Jiang Jiu smiled. “I really did like you. That's not something shameful. There's nothing I can't say about it.”

“I liked my first love. I liked a junior, liked a senior. I liked that cute girl who always wore a JK uniform. And of course I liked you too, Lady Witch. But sadly, I'm the type who always chases the new and gets tired of the old. My passion only lasts three minutes. I can like someone, and then one day just not anymore.”

“So that's why you kept breaking up with so many girls?”

“Of course.”

“...Scumbag.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“...”

Lady Witch wasn't like Jiang Jiu. She was usually quiet and reserved. She didn't like cursing people, and she didn't like making snide remarks either. Now that Jiang Jiu had actually gotten under her skin, she wanted to curse her out, but for a moment she couldn't even think of what to say.

Still, she remembered what she had meant to ask in the first place.

“So then, why did you save An Ning?”

“Simple. Because I didn't want to watch her die in front of me.”

“Just that?”

“Isn't that enough?”

As Jiang Jiu spoke, she couldn't help laughing softly.

“I'm not some morality peddler, and I'm not some saint who grieves for the world. I've never thought about contributing anything to it. To put it simply, I'm a scumbag who only plans to live for herself. And if An Ning died in front of me and I did nothing, I'd feel awful... my conscience wouldn't let me rest.”

“So you actually have a conscience?”

“Of course I do. It's huge, too. Didn't you put it in me yourself, Lilith? What, has it been so long since you've seen it that you're feeling nostalgic? Want to touch it and see for yourself?”

Jiang Jiu had barely stayed serious for a moment before she was back to talking nonsense with a straight face.

Lady Witch sighed helplessly.

“You not liking her may be true, but she likes you... no, that's not quite right. I can't call it love. But right now, coming back to drink with you is probably the only goal she has left...”

“Feelings change and grow. A goal becomes dependence. Dependence becomes trust. And in the end, all kinds of emotions mix together and turn into something new. Jiang Jiu, are you really not afraid she'll fall in love with you?”

“Like you did?”

Jiang Jiu tilted her head as she asked, then suddenly leaned in close.

Their eyes met. Someone's breathing grew just a little quicker, almost impossible to notice.

But neither of them was human.

So Jiang Jiu curled her lips into a smile, raised a hand, and gently fastened Lady Witch's cloak clasp. Then she smoothed back the few strands of hair that had come loose.

After doing all that, she lowered her eyes and said casually,

“Someone's flustered. But I won't say who.”

Then, with an indulgent look, she bent a finger and lightly tapped Lady Witch on the tip of her nose.

“So why would I be afraid, Lilith? I'm a scumbag... well, now I guess I should call myself a scumbag girl. But that's not important. What's important is, why do you think a scumbag girl like me would take responsibility for her?”

“I saved her and gave her a reason to keep living. That's enough. Whether she falls in love with me because of that—what does that have to do with me?”

“Kill only, no burial.”

“Dummy. That's just how scumbag girls are.”