Inside an abandoned house lurked around thirty bulky figures clad in rough bandit garb: dark hemp tunics layered beneath sleeveless leather vests, loose trousers bound at the calves, and worn cloth wrappings around their arms and heads. Some bore crooked blades at their waists, while others carried cudgels resting against the walls.

Several sat around a table gambling with dice, laughing and cursing whenever fortune favored or betrayed them. Bottles of wine and cold dishes littered the table to fill their stomachs. Others merely stood about in scattered groups, speaking in hushed and timid conversations as only a few oil lamps illuminated the dark and dusty room.

In one corner, a young nobleman and a ragged child sat tied together, cloth gags tightly fastened across their mouths, while a lone guard sat nearby on a chair watching over them.

The young nobleman kept groaning through the cloth, twisting his shoulders as though attempting to loosen the ropes binding him, while the ragged child remained unusually quiet behind him, his eyes nearly drooping shut as though on the verge of sleep.

“Hmp! Hmp!”

He continued struggling despite how utterly hopeless it was with the gag secured tightly over his mouth.

The guard scratched inside his ear with a finger before flicking it away. “What do you want now, you spoiled noble brat?” he asked gruffly, visibly irritated by the hostage’s constant squirming.

The young nobleman tilted his head toward the cloth tied around his mouth as though demanding it be removed.

“Hmp! Hmp!”

The guard scoffed. “Keep dreaming.”

“Hmp! Hmp! Hmp!”

The guard's expression twitched with annoyance. “All right, all right,” he muttered in defeat, clearly unwilling to continue enduring the noise. “You whine like a girl, don't you think? Noblemen truly are troublesome.”

Dragging his chair closer, he untied the cloth from the nobleman's mouth.

The moment he could speak again, the nobleman pointed toward the ragged child. “You should remove his as well.”

The guard sighed heavily before walking over to untie the child's gag too. Returning afterward to his chair, he sat backward against it with both arms resting atop the backrest.

“Happy now?”

The young nobleman observed the scar stretching over the guard’s left eye. “Where did you get that scar?”

“Aren't we not close enough for you to ask that?” the guard replied dryly.

“I'm simply bored, so humor me a little,” the nobleman said with surprising sternness.

“Humor you?” The guard gave him a smug look. “You know what truly humors me? Seeing you rush in trying to save that child like some righteous hero, only to cower before the punch even landed! Such a cowardly noble!”

Then he burst into laughter.

“Shut up!”

“Oh, you shut up!” The guard laughed even harder.

“It’s not as though you've anything worth treasuring enough for women to line up after you!” the nobleman scoffed before proudly lifting his chin. “My face and body are temples that I cherish. Naturally I'd dodge a blow if it meant sparing the ladies despair at seeing bruises on me!”

“At this point, you sound like a lady yourself!”

The young nobleman widened his eyes in disbelief. “You! Watch your mouth!”

The guard hissed back. “Then so should you!”

Once their bickering finally settled and the guard returned to his original post, the young nobleman gradually calmed himself. Only then did he notice how quiet the ragged child had remained the entire time.

“Dear child, are you frightened?” he finally asked.

The child shook his head.

Though the nobleman couldn't fully see him from where they sat tied together, the gesture alone was enough.

“Such a brave young man you are.” He smiled faintly and glanced over his shoulder. “What’s your name?”

The child remained silent.

“You don't have a tongue?” he asked plainly, though there was a teasing dryness beneath his tone. “You know, speaking a little might help ease the fear in a situation like this.”

Thinking about it now, he couldn't quite bring himself to regret trying to save the child. True, it had resulted in him becoming a hostage, losing all his silver, and getting captured without even landing a proper fight back, yet the absurdity of it almost made him laugh aloud.

Still, if he had ended up bruised and his attendants discovered it later... now that would've been a true disaster.

“You may call me Xianquan.” He smiled proudly. “Xian meaning virtuous, and quan meaning spring. Together, virtuous spring.” His voice softened proudly. “A lovely name bestowed by the most honorable and down-to-earth...”

The last word became barely a whisper.

“...consort.”

Yet the ragged child still seemed to hear it, because his body suddenly flinched in realization.

Xianquan immediately leaned closer.

“Keep that a secret between us, understand?”

The child nodded quickly, as though fearing he might not survive another day if he refused.

The moon, glaring down as though even the vilest corners of the earth could not escape its notice, cast its pale light upon a lurking silhouette in the dark. Black garments melded with the shadows themselves, as though night had accepted them as its own. Beneath the dim glow, a pair of button-like eyes faintly reflected the moonlight while watching the two guards stationed between the doors of the abandoned house, both standing with crossed arms.

One of them yawned. “What did the boss say about the child? Are they really going to kill him?”

The other toyed with the cudgel resting on his shoulder before replying, “The boss said they won’t spare the brat since he’s nothing more than loose ends, but they’ll keep the pampered young noble alive and squeeze silver out of his family.”

“So we’re lying low for the night?”

“I guess so.”

The first thug scratched his crotch and spread his legs with another yawn. “Nature’s calling. I’m going to piss.”

“Suit yourself.”

The thug wandered toward the side yard and relieved himself in a corner, whistling some vulgar tune while the filthy sound echoed faintly through the night. Eyes half-closed in relief, he began fixing his trousers.

A mistake he never realized he was making.

SNAP!

The edge of a hand struck the back of his neck, and his body collapsed before he could even cry out. Behind him stood the same slender figure, braid tied tightly and hanging over her left shoulder all the way down to her waist.

Zhi Shengsi grabbed the thug by the leg and dragged him into a darker corner.

Hopefully, his dreams would at least keep him alive through the night.

The remaining guard at the entrance gradually grew irritated when the other still hadn’t returned.

“Where the hell did that bastard go?” He sneezed and looked toward the side yard. “Don’t tell me he slipped off somewhere. That idiot.” He clicked his tongue and stomped toward the ground in annoyance.

When he reached the yard, nobody was there.

“So I was right?!” he muttered in disbelief before turning around with a grumble. “Just wait until I—”

RUSTLE.

The sound alone made him halt.

“Who’s there?” he demanded while slowly approaching the dark corner. “Show yourself.”

His grip tightened around the cudgel as he prepared himself.

Then someone tapped his shoulder from behind.

The moment he turned around, darkness swallowed him whole.