Apart from their brief exchange when boarding the train, an awkward silence settled between them. It held until midway through the journey—Nan Mengling suddenly glanced around with a troubled look, then stood and began pacing restlessly.

“Looking for the restroom?” Zhou Jiuyu rolled slightly toward her and guessed.

Nan Mengling pressed her lips together, flustered. Blushing faintly, she gave a small nod.

Zhou Jiuyu found it oddly endearing but pointed anyway. “Nothing to be shy about. Even celestial maidens need the loo… Walk back, open the left door—that’s it.”

Her fair cheeks flushed deeper crimson. Clutching her White Moon Longsword, she dashed inside.

Zhou Jiuyu frowned. This girl, though naive, always carried an aloof chill—her tears cold, her smiles cold, even her panic icy. When had she ever shown such shame?

“Wait… taking her sword to the restroom? Doesn’t trust me?” A flicker of doubt crossed his mind. *Like a country girl in the big city*, he shrugged it off.

But when ten minutes passed with no sign of her… he couldn’t ignore it.

“Constipated? No wonder she blushed…” he muttered. *Fits her ditzy vibe.*

Twenty more minutes ticked by.

Nan Mengling finally emerged, expression restored to cool detachment. Yet as she passed Zhou Jiuyu to sit, she dipped her head slightly—avoiding his gaze with a trace of guilt.

“If you’d waited any longer, we’d have reached the station,” Zhou Jiuyu quipped. His glance slid from her… and locked onto the sword hilt. Sunlight glinted off fresh water droplets clinging there.

“You washed your sword?” he asked.

No reply. She lowered her head further, turning her face away.

A knowing smirk tugged Zhou Jiuyu’s lips. “Oh~ So it wasn’t washing… you went to *sharpen* it, huh?”

“What does that mean?” Nan Mengling tilted her head back, bewildered.

“Nothing much. Just… stop drinking your master’s ‘calming tea.’ It’s not calming. It’s a slow-acting aphrodisiac—triggers frequent, unpredictable arousal. Makes you… *pliant*.” Zhou Jiuyu recalled a detail from *The Fallen Immortal Maiden*: the Sword God served her tea weekly. The novel never explained why. Now he knew. That “calming tea” was meant to ease her fall into darkness—to feed the Sword God’s cuckold fetish. A perverted brew.

Nan Mengling froze. Lips parting slightly, her expression crumpled into quiet anguish. She’d followed Zhou Jiuyu after begging her master “Why?” again and again—met only with silence. Her heart had sunk. Now… this tea… No wonder. No wonder…

Wait.

He knew about her… condition.

Only then did she grasp his double meaning. But shame drowned beneath sorrow. She looked up, voice trembling: “Why would my master… save me, then hurt me?”

Zhou Jiuyu turned to the window, feigning indifference. “I know why. But why should I tell you?”

“I… want to know. Please.”

“Beg me?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Please… I’m begging you.”

“Begging won’t work.” He shrugged.

Her eyes widened. *How shameless!* Her mom’s “next time” candy promise hadn’t lied this much!

Wary now, she glanced outside. The train slowed—arriving. A distant memory sparked. Her eyes lit up. *She got it.*

Clutching her White Moon Longsword, she glared at him. “That promise—to uncover my parents’ deaths… was it a lie too? You’re selling me! I told you—I’m not stupid! I’m smart!”

Zhou Jiuyu’s jaw dropped. Speechless. *Either silent… or dropping a bombshell.*

“Even dumber,” he muttered, shaking his head. He tossed the blanket aside as the station announcement chimed, stood, and strode off.

Alone, Nan Mengling hugged her sword. She peeked at the bustling crowd beyond the window, the alien world… then at Zhou Jiuyu’s retreating back. Biting her lip, she followed—clutching her longsword, trailing close.

Passersby glanced. To them, she seemed a lovestruck fangirl. But no—they saw an ethereal maiden straight from ink painting: ancient robes, breathtaking beauty, that untouchable coolness feeding every fantasy of a celestial being.

Just before exiting the station, the icy sword maiden quickened her steps. Fingers timidly caught the hem of his sleeve.

“Could you… please not sell me?”

All eyes snapped to Zhou Jiuyu. Even in a dream, the stares made his eyelid twitch. He whispered low: “Joking. Trafficking’s illegal. I’m an upstanding guy.”

“Good. Then I won’t have to kill you.” She visibly relaxed. *He saved me once… I don’t want to cross swords with him.*

Zhou Jiuyu: “???”

“Will you… help me?” she asked softly.

Silence stretched. Seeing no reply, she slowly released his sleeve, head bowed. *No one left. Parents gone. Master betrayed me. Even this slightly kind bad person… won’t stay.* Could she really go on alone?

“What can you do?” Zhou Jiuyu suddenly asked.

“Use a sword.”

“Else?”

“Cook… Master said my food’s good.”

“Anything else?”

“Clean my room… counts?”

“Meh. Good enough. I need a maid to serve tea and run errands. Pay? I’ll help you uncover everything. Deal?” He smirked.

Nan Mengling bit her plump lip—about to nod. *He’s all I have…* Then hesitated. “You won’t trick me?”

“Please. Tricking fools’s illegal. I’m a model citizen. Trust me.”

“I trust you. I’ll be your maid. But you *must* help me.” Her gaze held earnest resolve.

“Then let’s go.”

She blinked.

“You want truth? I’ll take you to dig—*hard*.”

Still dazed, she followed him out. Dusk painted the city in fiery clouds—familiar yet strange. Clutching his sleeve, she trailed behind, face cool and distant. Onlookers inside stared, hearts aching. *Did the painting’s goddess just… run off with him?* That tender glance she gave him… envy rippled through the crowd.

What they didn’t know: her gaze wasn’t tender. She’d just remembered. Head snapping up, cheeks puffed in protest, she glared at his back:

“I’m *not* stupid!”