As the saying goes, spring rain is as precious as oil. Autumn rain, by comparison, feels cheap. Rare things are valued, after all. And with every autumn rain comes another bite of cold. After a few showers, winter might already be around the corner.

So of course, autumn rain isn't exactly welcome.

What's more, An Ning had always hated rainy days.

When she was little, she hated rain because it meant she couldn't go out and play. Kids are simple like that. They don't think too much. Most days, all they care about is good food and fun.

Later, when she got a little older, she still hated rain. Rainy days felt gloomy and suffocating to her. Sunny days were so much better. She could wear a pretty dress and go shopping with her best friends.

But now, walking through the street in the rain, she found that rainy days weren't so bad after all.

Splash.

The rain seemed to be getting heavier.

Drip. Drip.

A rainy night, with a blade but no umbrella.

Threadlike strands of rain fell onto An Ning's shoulder, ran down her arm, and slid onto the short sword in her hand. They washed over the blood on the blade, then fell to the ground and merged into the water flowing by the roadside.

There wasn't much blood on the sword. By all rights, it should've been washed clean quickly. And yet a thin, threadlike streak of red kept dripping from the tip, never stopping.

The blood wasn't from the sword.

It was from the wound on An Ning's shoulder.

It was savage, raw with torn flesh, as if some beast had bitten into her or ripped her open with claws. It was healing slowly, but it still brought her pain so intense she could barely suppress it. The peeled-back flesh had been washed by the rain until it was almost pale white, yet it was still bleeding.

And she had at least three more wounds just as bad.

Once, she had been a little princess, the beloved eldest daughter of the An Group, pampered beyond measure and raised in luxury... Back then, her father had adored her. He'd treasured her like something too fragile to hold. But in some matters, he had also been very strict.

On the surface, the An Group was a pharmaceutical company. In secret, it was an authoritative institution that worked with government agencies to research supernatural powers. Because of that, An Ning had no choice but to obey her father and undergo a certain amount of military training and physical enhancement, just in case she was ever kidnapped.

Back then, An Ning had thought it was all pointless. She had bodyguards around her twenty-four hours a day. If even those professional teams couldn't protect her, then there probably wasn't much point in her struggling anyway.

And now, she was more grateful than ever for her father's warnings and lessons.

Hating the rain, then calmly accepting it. Not understanding her father, then finally being able to understand him.

Maybe that was what growing up meant.

After watching her father die horribly right in front of her, An Ning had spent a single night growing up. From then on, she put away her smile, became quiet and withdrawn, and got used to letting actions speak in place of words.

Now, An Ning had no one she could rely on.

The only things she could rely on were herself, and the sword in her hand.

No... perhaps there was one more.

Memories rose quietly. Candlelight flickered in the dim room. The scent of wine mixed with lavender. There was the texture of silk, and the sound of glasses clinking together.

An Ning suddenly thought of the maid who had drunk with her. Her eyelashes. Her long hair. The black umbrella she had given her to block the rain. The slight curve of her lips when she raised her glass, and the gentle smile in her eyes.

Adding flowers to brocade is lovely, sure. But what people never forget is the coal given in the middle of snow.

Before meeting the maid, An Ning had already prepared herself to die. Her life had already been destroyed. Other than revenge, there was no reason left to keep living. She might as well just give up, make one final struggle, and die after that.

But the maid had told her to come back so they could drink together.

She had taken care of her, bandaged her wounds, given her an umbrella, and even made her a bowl of hot noodle soup. An Ning felt that it was the best noodle soup she had ever eaten in her life.

She had once heard a story. It said that when the founding emperor of Ming was young, he had survived by begging. One time, he went three days without getting any food and fainted from hunger. A kind old woman took her last piece of tofu, a small pinch of spinach, and a bowl of leftover rice, then made him a rough stew.

At the time, he thought it was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten. So he asked the old woman what the dish was called. The old woman smiled and made up a name on the spot. She called it Jade, Pearl, and White Jade Soup.

Later, after the Ming founder became emperor, he could never forget the taste of that soup. He even ordered the imperial chefs to recreate it. But no matter what they did, they could never bring back the feeling it had in his memory.

When you're hungry, everything tastes good. And when you're starving to death, even plain rice probably feels like the greatest delicacy in the world.

Times change. People change.

An Ning wasn't the founding emperor of Ming, but now... she understood that feeling a little.

Shivering, she slid the short sword back into its sheath. Then she gritted her teeth and forced herself forward, enduring the stabbing pain from the wounds all over her body, along with the weakness and dizziness from blood loss, as she made her difficult way toward the bar.

There was still an appointment waiting for her there.

...

The sky grew darker. The rain grew heavier.

An Ning moved along beneath the eaves of the shops lining the street. Sometimes she stayed dry. Sometimes she got soaked. But more often than not, she got rained on anyway. Her clothes were completely drenched, heavy with water and dripping steadily.

It was already very late. The shops along the street had probably assumed no one would come out to buy anything on a rainy night this late, so they had all closed. The broad commercial street felt empty and hollow. There was nothing but the sound of wind and rain.

An Ning was almost at the bar.

Her mind was still fairly clear... though even if it hadn't been, after getting drenched for this long, she probably would've sobered up by force.

Thanks to the military training and physical enhancement she had gone through before, she still had quite a bit of stamina left. The fighting tonight hadn't been as brutal as it was on Witch's Night, after all. With the Silent Bureau watching, those inhuman things didn't dare go too far.

And An Ning seemed to be gradually adapting to high-intensity combat. Even when she got hurt, she healed quickly. Her stamina was recovering faster and faster too. After walking only a modest distance, she was already feeling spirited again.

And then, she saw the maid.

That black-and-white figure stood prettily in the rain, holding a black umbrella. She bloomed there like a black lotus touched with dew, and like the lilac girl stepping out of a rainy alley in a poem.

Perhaps she had spotted her from afar. The girl, who had been focused on waiting, suddenly turned toward An Ning. Then she smiled faintly and walked toward her through the puddles.

"You're here?"

An Ning heard the maid say.

She fell silent for a moment. Then, seeing the girl's pale face, she couldn't help asking,

"How long have you been waiting for me?"

"Not long." The maid smiled. "Just a little while."

"Really?"

"Really. There's detection magic near the bar. I only came out to wait after I knew you were almost here."

"Then your complexion..."

"My health has always been like this. I'm a bit weak and sickly. It's fine. Don't worry."

The maid answered every one of An Ning's questions without leaving a single gap. Then she carefully raised the umbrella higher and drew An Ning beneath it.

The umbrella was a little small. Even with both of them being slender girls, it still felt cramped underneath. Left with no choice, An Ning shifted slightly to the side. Her clothes were already soaked through anyway, so there wasn't much point fussing over it now.

But before she could move all the way over, the maid reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. Her touch was gentle, but left no room for argument.

"You don't need to make space for me. If we squeeze in a little, it's enough."

An Ning went quiet for a moment at that. In the end, she had no choice but to press shoulder to shoulder with the maid.

They were far too close.

She could smell the lavender scent coming from the maid. At the point where their shoulders touched, she could even feel the girl's body heat. It was like a little sun rising in the rainy night, giving off light and warmth.

An Ning greedily enjoyed that warmth, yet for some reason, she also grew awkward. Step by step, she followed the maid forward in tiny little strides, until at last they reached the bar.

The maid put away the umbrella, casually released a bit of magic to evaporate the rainwater from its surface, and stored it. Then, as an afterthought, she dried An Ning's soaked clothes too.

Only then did she finally notice the wounds on An Ning's body, and her brows drew together.

"So many injuries again. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

If this had been the An Ning from before she met the maid, she might really have answered, To be fair, yeah. But now, she only lowered her head like a child being scolded by a parent and clumsily admitted fault.

"...I'll be more careful next time."

"..."

The maid didn't keep pressing the issue. She only let out a soft sigh, led her into the bar, and discussed it with her.

"Your wounds all look like they're almost healed, so I probably don't need to worry too much. But you got caught in the rain. What if you catch a chill? I'll make you some ginger soup. You go take a hot bath and change into clean clothes first, okay?"

An Ning only nodded blankly.

So the maid went to make ginger soup, and An Ning obediently went to bathe and change into the clean clothes the maid had prepared for her.

It was just that their underwear sizes were different in the end, so she couldn't wear those and had to go without. She simply pulled on a sweatshirt, dried her hair, and returned to the bar.

By then, the maid had already finished the ginger soup and was waiting for her at the counter.

The ginger soup was warm and spicy. After just two sips, An Ning felt warmth spread through her whole body. Her wounds still hurt, but it no longer mattered much.

Her exhaustion was swept away in an instant.

All that remained was happiness and contentment.

This is nice, she thought.

At that moment, the maid standing behind the bar poured herself a glass of whiskey, then tilted her head and asked,

"Want a drink too?"

Holding the bowl in both hands, An Ning nodded.

"Mm."

So they started drinking... just like they had before she left last time.

Only this time, An Ning was more relaxed. She opened up. She even started telling the maid her story, about the An Group, about how terrified she had been when those inhuman things broke into her home on Witch's Night.

But all of that was in the past now.

People had to keep moving forward.

So An Ning softly told her about what she had gained these past few days, about how she seemed to have figured out who the killer was, and who the enemy behind that killer really was.

In the end, she seemed a little drunk. Dizzily, she started making promises to the maid. She said she would definitely repay her someday. She said that after she got her revenge, she would drink with her every day.

Then, in her haze, An Ning suddenly felt the maid lightly press a fingertip to her lips.

Instinctively, she looked up and met her eyes.

She saw the maid's serious expression, and heard the faintly reproachful note in her voice.

"Don't say things like that. It's bad luck. It's like saying, 'Once this battle's over, I'll go back home and get married.'"

But after saying that, the maid seemed to think of something else, so she added,

"But... if drinking with me is a goal worth fighting for to you, then please live well."

"I'll wait for you to succeed, survive, and come find me for a drink, okay?"

Smiling, she pinched An Ning's cheek.