Stirred by the abrupt change in atmosphere, Xiao Hu's eyes opened. Blinding light greeted her, forcing the swordswoman to cover her face in a half-baked attempt to suppress the rays. Several figures surrounded her, all clad in loose black dresses and long veils that kept their faces covered. Eight in total, the women flanked Xiao Hu from left and right, each holding ethereal orbs that recorded all that her soul contained.
Rolling to the left-end side, Xiao Hu lowered her hand. The startling sight of this eight-woman-strong lineup blocked her path, barely giving her room to breathe.
"Who…where…how?" Surprise and incomprehension intertwined in Xiao Hu's gaze, but when she saw the images shifting in those orbs, the shock made way for fear, supplemented by an ounce of rage. Xiao Hu couldn't feel anything wrong with her head. Yet, each of these women had clearly mapped out everything that she ever came across of—barring the blanks that Xue Yuanshao and Tusha left behind.
Fiddling with soul memories was by no means an impressive feat, but to harvest it all without leaving the slightest trace or damage in Xiao Hu's psyche? Now that required transcendent expertise.
Xiao Hu's Spiritual Sense rolled out but confronted cultivation bases so high that she reeled back in shock. Sweat formed on her forehead, and she clenched the bed sheets. Misty energies rose up the sheets, cleansing Xiao Hu's stress while her cultivation increased from laying on the bed alone. The wealth of Qi in the atmosphere made a Nascent Soul expert's cultivation cave look like a beggar's last resort. Xiao Hu stared slack-jawed, not knowing what to say.
"Young lady, our humble selves greet you. We are the Lord-Regent's second-class maids, dispatched to gather your memories and take care of you. Said memories are of paramount importance to the Lord-Regent's ongoing investigation. Apologies for the offense." One of the maids said, further adding to Xiao Hu's confusion.
And while she used the term "humble self," as she looked at Xiao Hu, her tone carried no hint of respect—indifference at best.
"Lord-Regent? Of what? Of where? You…"
"I will take it from here." Xiao Hu's inquiries had barely started that one male voice cut in, snatching both Xiao Hu and the maids' attention.
In a corner of the room, a tall and slender man sat by an oval white jade table, holding a cup of warm tea. With perfectly carved features and divine light oozing from his pale skin, Xiao Hu had to admit that never in her life had she seen such a handsome man. The unnatural jet-black pupils only added to the mystic, convincing her that this man couldn't be from the mortal world.
"God-Child? Your servants greet you!" The maids, who clearly were not aware of Hengye Baxian's presence, dropped on their knees and kowtowed immediately. Unlike Yuemi and the rest, Baxian didn't attend Xinzi's return, but watched it all from afar. In any case, that wasn't the real ceremony, so he could still afford an absence note.
"But God-Child, this…is improper. Her Venerable Excellency specifically asked us to watch over the human girl. Letting you replace us would be a dereliction of duty." The most senior of the maids opened her mouth. All eight trembled, aware that before the most tyrannical immortal of the Eternal Night, the slightest mistake meant…
"Oh? I see. I won't make things difficult for you," Baxian said and waved his right hand. Formless forces rolled out, and the maids burst into blood and gore—then vanished from existence, not even leaving a tooth behind.
"Trivial Integration-level maids dare to question the will of My Venerable Self? For this sin alone, you don't deserve another life," Hengye Baxian said, lowered his teacup and stood up.
Instantly, fear and rage swelled in Xiao Hu's heart. Fear because with one casual wave of that man's hands, Integration-level experts, who in the Five Continents could dominate the strongest of provinces, were reduced to nothing. Rage, because if the maids refused to obey Baxian, they died. But if they agreed and followed his will, wouldn't they die all the same? How heartless and unreasonable could these entities be?!
"Wait, God-Child? God-Child…venerable…the Heavens be merciful, this is a divine palace!" The fog of ignorance dispersed, and as Baxian stepped forward, Xiao Hu realized what she was dealing with. Clad in black, eyes mirroring the Night, and referred to as God-Child. If not for the Eternal Night Dynasty's heir, who could he be?
"Not bad. Even in these circumstances, you can overcome the fear to make sense of the situation. As expected of a chosen of dear Lord Heaven. What a pity that your path intertwined with an anomaly such as 'him,'" Baxian said, and though Xiao Hu couldn't affirm that she knew who he referred to as "him," she guessed that it likely meant Xinzi. The thought emboldened her, and though her grip on the bed tightened, she faced Baxian with a defiant gaze.
"Careful, I have a tendency to abuse those that defy me. The more I like them, the longer the abuse goes on. And with those green hair and eyes, you're pretty much a walking punching ball." Xiao Hu hadn't noticed that, following the Tower's events, her hair and eyes had turned green. A sign that her cultivation method had crossed a critical threshold.
From now on, she could position herself as the ambassador of all cuckolds across the globe—a matter for another time.
"What do you want? Careful, I'm Xinzi's Sworn Sister!" Every instance of Xinzi using Evil Qi or Divine Powers had been erased by Tusha and Xue Yuanshao, but still, the previous suspicions lingered, enabling Xiao Hu to connect Xinzi to the night's high-level. Had to that Baxian's cryptic words and deeds, and Xiao Hu hoped that, at the very least, Xinzi ranked high enough in this palace that this God-Child wouldn't dare to abuse his relatives.
But little did she expect that, as soon as these words crossed her lips, Baxian blinked, then burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Sworn what? Sister? You? What a joke. I guess all the holes in your memory prevent you from realizing how terrifying the person you call Xinzi is. That's precisely why I'm here. As a benevolent Night Spirit, I do not want you to get mislead by the worthless past you share.
The Hengye clan's ancestral rules made three names taboo. Shen, Tian and Zhen. Shen is a title for the Gods of our clan. Tian is another name for the Divine Ancestor of our line. A name we use when we pray Yongye. As for Zhen…" Baxian dragged the words, and as Xiao Hu's apprehension rose, his smile broadened.
"That's the contemporary master of the Night Pantheon—among all the deities of the Night, the Greatest One." Baxian's words echoed like a Thunderclap, and though Xiao Hu could guess the clear conclusion, she still dared not pronounce the words.
"You mean that…"
"Xinzi's real name is…yes, you guessed it: Hengye Zhen. Under one and above all the rest, from birth destined to stand at the summit of all realms. You're not even qualified to clip the nails of his mortal shell, and you…call yourself what? His sworn sister? These words alone will get you torn into 10,000 pieces. Let no one else hear them."
Though some argued that ignorance was no sin, it had gotten more than one person killed. Xiao Hu couldn't die so soon, or so Baxian hoped at least.
"Do you want to see the real Xinzi? The Zhen of the Eternal Night? Come, I will show you—less you let the human facade lead you into the depths of Hell."