Scaling the Tower with Ease

Outside the banquet hall, after disposing of the refuse, the servants sat down nearby one after another to rest. Yaxiu and the others exchanged glances and tried moving their limbs, realizing that the shackles of their assigned duties were truly gone. The plan had been simplicity itself, if crude: since they were bound to their posts, wouldn't getting rid of the posts free them from work? After all, if you ran the company into bankruptcy, how could you still be expected to show up for your shift? And so Evalin and Nona had staged a spectacular brawl, turning the banquet hall directly into a crime scene. There was no real risk for them either; aside from a minor hit to their reputations, at worst they would just pay for the damages. Berdette and Sennheiser lacked many things, but money was certainly not one of them. Events had unfolded just as smoothly as planned: the Empress opted to cancel the banquet outright, and with that, the servants assigned specifically to the banquet were naturally shifted from "on duty" to "on standby," briefly winning the freedom to slack off. Free of job constraints and already inside the imperial palace, they could finally head to the high tower to abduct the princess— "Convenient timing. You lot, come with me." A distorted, raspy voice came from behind. Startled, Yaxiu and the others turned around to see a black-armored Secret Guard standing on the stone-paved path behind them. Apparently on his way to do some chore, he had spotted a bunch of idle workers by the wayside and promptly roped them into his work detail. Seeing this slapdash plan stumble its way to the brink of success only to run into this baffling hitch at the eleventh hour, Banjie cast aside caution about exposure and suppressed his agitation as best he could, asking, "What needs doing? Do you really need so many of us?" "Hmm?" The Secret Guard cast an odd glance at the blue-haired servant, sending a jolt through the Funeral members' hearts. Yet the Secret Guard didn't seem suspicious of why an obedient servant would question an order. Instead, he took the initiative to explain, "Of course we need this many. We're going to clean the new sovereign's chambers, after all. Let's move." The new sovereign?! Annan and the others looked at each other—was the Secret Guard leading them straight to the princess? Yet according to the palace map, the direction the Secret Guard was heading didn't lead toward the high tower at all. Had the Isu royal family suddenly moved the princess? Or did the princess need to dress and prepare in a new room before the official coronation, waiting to appear at the banquet once the Gospel Board was revealed? In a flash, Annan weighed numerous possibilities, but their bodies were already standing up in obedience to the Secret Guard's command. Just then, Annan and the others' eyes widened, expressions of pleasant surprise washing over their faces as they looked at Yaxiu, who remained seated in his chair. *Stick to the original plan.* Signaling him with her eyes, Annan followed the Secret Guard away alongside the others. Yaxiu dared not make a single move, waiting until their figures had completely vanished around the corner before standing up. He had no idea why he hadn't been swept into the Secret Guard's detail. Was it the effect of his Silver Blessing, "Observer's Countenance," causing the Secret Guard's cursory glance to pass right over him? Or was it the power of his Golden Blessing, "Listener's Sorrow," treating the Secret Guard's attempt to interrupt his slacking off as "malicious overtime" and extinguishing the thought? Or had "Secret-Keeping Authority" worked its magic once more, and because Yaxiu was sitting rather close to the trash can, covered in grease and cake, the Secret Guard had simply mistaken him for garbage? Regardless of how, Yaxiu was free now. He had only taken two steps when he spotted Lisi peeking around the wall corner, and the "father" and daughter successfully linked up. Compared to Yaxiu and his companions, Lisi's infiltration had been infuriatingly effortless—court banquets routinely hired young children to liven up the atmosphere, leaving them to eat, drink, and add cheerful laughter to the party. And because that hardly counted as real work (it would be absurd for Gospel to micromanage eating, drinking, and playing), Lisi had never fallen into the "Gospel employee" state. When the banquet ended prematurely, the other children were sent back early. Lisi had seized the opening to slip away and find Yaxiu. Speaking of which, when Yaxiu had first proposed including Lisi in the operation, Banjie and Igola had objected without hesitation. Harvey had abstained, while Annan remained noncommittal, opting instead to speak with Yaxiu in private. At the time, Yaxiu had even braced himself to offer his charms to bribe his boss, but Annan had merely asked him in all seriousness if he had thought it through. Once Yaxiu gave an affirmative answer, Annan instructed him to order Lisi not to leak secrets or blow their cover, and permitted her to join. Only in hindsight did Yaxiu realize that he had expected Annan to object because he assumed she cared about Lisi's safety the way he did. In truth, so long as Lisi didn't derail the plan, Annan didn't mind having her along for Funeral's final adventure—though naturally, Annan had taken Yaxiu's feelings into account as well. By contrast, when Harvey shamelessly asked if Alice could also moonlight as a servant to remain on call beside him, Annan had vetoed it on the spot. Holding Lisi's hand, Yaxiu slunk along the secluded paths between the palace buildings. Briefly filling her in on what had just transpired, he ventured a guess, "Could your sister Nina no longer be in the high tower?" Lisi hesitated, checked her hand mirror, and murmured nervously, "Before Sister Nina moved into the tower, she lived in a basement all along. Maybe Auntie Annan and the others are going to clean the basement right now. That counts as Sister Nina's room too." A basement? Was the Isu royal family's parenting strategy to raise their kids in hardship...? Still, a girl trapped in a basement—why did that premise sound oddly familiar? Treading through the shadows, the two were lucky enough not to encounter a single servant or guard along the way. A few minutes later, their target, the high tower, came into view. Right then, Lisi let out a soft gasp. "There are guards stationed at the base of the White Tower!" "I'll handle it," Yaxiu said confidently. "I can deal with a few ordinary guards, unless—" "What if it's a Sanctuary?" Lisi clutched Yaxiu's hem tightly. "The guard captain is a Sanctuary Sorcerer. Tonight is so important; it's not impossible that the captain is guarding it personally." A Sanctuary... Yaxiu's lips twitched. Although he could be considered half a Sanctuary Sorcerer, he knew full well the gulf between himself and a genuine one. Never mind defeating one; if he ran into a Sanctuary who specialized in the spatial school, he could easily be killed in an instant. Many sorcery schools underwent qualitative transformations when combined with the spatial school, resulting in far more devious and unpredictable combat styles. For instance, the Sword Princess had once mentioned an example: an unarmed Sanctuary possessed a miracle capable of plucking out someone's heart from a distance. Only by deploying a Sanctuary could one defend against such insidious spatial miracles. For a Sanctuary Sorcerer, cutting down anyone below Sanctuary was child's play. "I'll find a way to lure the guards away. When that happens, you find a way to climb up and bring your sister out." "Dad, can you beat a Sanctuary?" "Not a chance in hell." "Then what will you do?" Yaxiu patted Lisi's head. "If I needed certainty before doing anything in life, I'd still be rotting in prison debating with Igola over the best way to cook a Lalafell. Don't worry, I'm not an idiot; I'm not going to take them head-on. Once I lure them away, I'll run." "Really?" Lisi looked at him mournfully. "Are you really not an idiot?" "...I'll remember that. I'm telling Annan to spank you later." "But if you aren't an idiot, why are you so good to me?" The closer they got to their destination, the heavier Lisi's heart grew. "Risking your life for my sister, striving for my wish..." "Leaving aside that this was all Annan's mission to begin with," Yaxiu crouched down and gave the melancholy white-haired girl a gentle hug, "I treat you well because you're worth it." "Am I really that good? Am I the best little girl?" "To be honest, Leya on the rankings is still a little better than you." Lisi reached out, pinched and pulled at Yaxiu's cheek, and huffed, "You're not allowed to like other little girls!" "Don't make it sound like I'm committing a crime," Yaxiu said between laughter and tears. "I just think of you as family, that's all. Come on, we don't have much time. Don't keep your sister waiting." Strangely enough, despite only exchanging frivolous banter, the gloom in Lisi's heart cleared away, giving rise to a glimmer of hope. Perhaps back when Lisi picked Yaxiu out at first glance in the Four Pillar Cult hall, it had been precisely because of this inexplicable sense of security he gave off. When they approached Lake Yalan, however, they discovered that their earlier discussion had been a complete waste of breath—there were no guards at the base of the tower. There were no boats on the lake, but Yaxiu possessed the swordplay mobility miracle "Rushing Toward," so he held Lisi in his arms and teleported straight across. The white doves around the island in the lake peered curiously at these uninvited guests. Yaxiu and Lisi cautiously made their way to the high tower's entrance. Even if there were no guards outside, there had to be some inside—it was impossible that no one was guarding the princess. Yet when Yaxiu shoved the heavy doors open, fully prepared for a bloodbath, he found the interior of the tower deserted as well. The everburning lamps were bright and the floor was spotless, yet there was no sign of human habitation. Could the guards be lurking in the passageway? Yaxiu looked at the passage spiraling upward along the tower wall, searching for signs of enemies. Noticing Lisi staring at a passage leading downward, he asked, "What is it?" "Nothing." Lisi glanced at her hand mirror and said, "I just never knew the tower had a basement before..." "Basements are normal if you want to maximize floor area ratio," Yaxiu reminded her. "Keep your distance from me. A fight could break out in the passageway at any second." Lisi nodded, and the two cautiously climbed the tower. A minute later, Yaxiu and Lisi stood outside the door of the topmost chamber, exchanging bewildered looks. *This smoothly?* No guards, no alarms, no obstructions—they had reached the destination without breaking a sweat. "Could Sister Nina really not be in the tower?" Lisi murmured. This completely defenseless state could only mean there was nobody inside the tower worth protecting. "If she really is on the other side, Annan and the rest will find a way to get me there. After all, I'm essential for invalidating the ranking," Yaxiu consoled her. "We still have a chance." Lisi nodded and turned her gaze toward the door. Though it was her first time here, her other sisters had been locked away in this place for years, stirring an unfamiliar yet intimate sense of recognition in her body. While they could be almost certain no one was inside, coming all this way without checking would be downright foolish. And so, Yaxiu turned the door handle and pushed his way in.