Both of them could see it: from the moment Weixi stepped through the door, Yaxiu had deliberately laid a trap to trick intelligence out of her, waiting until her confidence reached its zenith before sinking her completely.
Moreover, unlike a mere prank, Yaxiu harbored a fierce competitive urge toward Weixi, thoroughly enjoying the pathetic whimpers of the beaten dog she had become.
Such behavior would be entirely normal for Igola, but Yaxiu had never exhibited such proclivities in the past.
Still, none of them found it incomprehensible. After all, the reason they had ended up in this predicament could be traced back almost entirely to the trouble Weixi had caused them. On top of that, even after being reduced to a captive in recent days, Weixi had still exerted immense psychological pressure on them. Now that Yaxiu had a chance to reassert his authority as master, wanting to take the opportunity to discipline his maid was only natural.
It was just that...
"Could this be a conspiracy by the Spectre Prophet? Is she corrupting Yaxiu's mind?" Harvey asked. "Should we warn him?"
"Hmm..." The deceiver knitted his brows. "That's only the first layer. But could Weixi possibly be on the second layer? If Yaxiu suppresses his sadistic urges, might that become her key to breaching his defenses? Could unvented sadistic desires warp Yaxiu into a beast driven solely by lust?"
"You two can be a little louder, and maybe Rose upstairs will hear that I'm about to become a pervert just like you."
Yaxiu tilted his head back to look at them, thoroughly speechless. "Listening to your analysis, I feel like I'm only one step away from starting a harem.
"I was just annoyed that Weixi kicked the door open when she walked in. Once my anger fades tomorrow, I won't even bother arguing with her." Yaxiu glanced at Weixi, whose lips were pressed tight and whose eyes were red. "Still, what you said makes sense. Every thought I direct at her could become an opening for her to bring me down.
"Keep an eye on me in the future too. Don't let me accidentally fall into the abyss."
"No problem," Igola agreed readily. "Though by abyss, do you mean Weixi, or women? If it's the latter, we'll need to start by dealing with Annan—"
Yaxiu clapped his hands loudly, directly ignoring the deceiver's words, and said,
"Weixi, you saw it. I only gave them two feathers. And because I usually operate together with Feili, I don't have much need for the Seventh Imaginary Wing."
The maid let out a tearful hiccup, wiped her tears, and looked at him.
"There are still two feathers here. If we gain nothing more going forward, these two will be split evenly between Sword Princess and Witch—none for you." Yaxiu made no effort to conceal his favoritism toward his lovers. "However, if we obtain more feathers later on, and your future performance satisfies me..."
"You'll return all four knowledge feathers to me?" Weixi asked, full of anticipation.
Yaxiu raised his eyebrows and silently began stowing the golden scale away. Weixi hurriedly grabbed his hand. "Three! Two! Fine, one! Even giving back just one feather would do!"
"Even as a distant promise, I'm not particularly willing to agree," Yaxiu said. "I understand your danger all too well. Give you a ray of sunlight and you beam; give you a single opportunity and you'll turn heaven and earth upside down."
Weixi dropped her docile facade, lifting her head to look quietly at Yaxiu.
"Still, as I said before, I'm willing to take any risk to leave this place—including you," Yaxiu said. "For a demigod like you, the difference between going all out and doing merely what's required is practically worlds apart."
"Naturally." Weixi wiped her nose with the back of her hand and snarled viciously, "I could even execute your orders a hundred percent while completely ruining everything."
"Even if it only improves the odds of leaving by a fraction, I'm willing to loosen the chains on a demon like you," Yaxiu said. "Though there are no guarantees, as long as you assist me with everything you've got to leave the Country of All Stars, and as long as I have surplus knowledge feathers, I'll give you at least one as your reward.
"This deal," Yaxiu extended his hand, "what do you think, Spectre Prophet?"
Weixi stared at him for a long while before reaching out and taking his hand.
"Just call me your demon maid..." Her eyes reddened again as she spoke. She buried her face in Yaxiu's lap, weeping pitifully like pear blossoms in the rain, her delicate shoulders trembling. "...I'm no longer worthy of the title Spectre Prophet."
The corner of Yaxiu's mouth twitched. "Our negotiations are over, so why are you still faking your tears? You don't actually think I'm stupid enough to believe a demigod sorcerer who has lived for at least a thousand years can't control her own emotions, do you?"
From the very beginning, Yaxiu had never bought Weixi's tears. Even without Igola and Harvey's warnings, he remained completely levelheaded. To his mind, Weixi's emotional breakdown was merely playing along with his retaliatory face-slapping script, giving him a more satisfying gameplay experience.
Yet Weixi showed no signs of stopping. On the contrary, she wept louder and louder, until Yaxiu's thigh was completely soaked through.
Only when she was gasping for breath did she stammer out between sobs, "Do you think I want this? I can't control it! All I have is the Knowing and Guarding Fire sorcery spirit! My body can't be modified here, and this body is only around twenty years old—the hormones it's secreting keep messing with my brain!
"In my past life, my race was an Everdusk elf! I could regulate my own hormones at age three! Even when I seized souls and switched bodies later on, the vessels were at least Sanctuary sorcerers, and I could easily control my body using soul miracles!
"Yet this body is just an ordinary mortal female! What am I supposed to do? I can't control hormone secretion! I know I ought to negotiate with you calmly, but I'm so furious I can't even think straight!
"And this body is currently on its period! My lower abdomen has been cramping constantly..." As she spoke, Weixi's tears started flowing anew, and she whimpered, "I'm not afraid of pain, but being bullied by a jerk like you while I'm hurting... for some reason, I just... I just..."
Yaxiu, Igola, and Harvey exchanged glances. Their immediate thought was: could Weixi be deceiving them?
If they truly believed Weixi had a weakness, would they fall right into her scheme?
Dealing with the Spectre Prophet was troublesome in precisely this way: even if she was forbidden from lying, the truths she spoke could hardly be trusted.
However, the problem Weixi described was very real. In fact, Yaxiu and the others suffered from similar grievances.
Yaxiu's body had been strengthened in the Divine Fire Trial, but that hadn't carried over to the Country of All Stars; Harvey had reinforced his bones through necromantic rituals, which hadn't carried over either; Igola originally possessed half-Veela heritage, but in the Country of All Stars he was pure human, and nobody even offered to pay for his drinks when he went to a bar.
For an elf demigod like Weixi to be downgraded into a mortal woman, her current situation was akin to an adult crammed into an infant's body. Many things were simply beyond her control—such as her menstrual cycle.
Yaxiu's eyes asked: *What now?*
Harvey walked straight into the basement, answering Yaxiu with his backside: *What does that have to do with me?*
Igola hesitated a moment, then stepped over and said, "Lady Weixi, if you're unwell, shall I take you to see Miss Rose?"
The deceiver tugged at the maid, but she didn't budge.
Looking down at Weixi, who clung stubbornly to his thigh, Yaxiu had no choice but to reach out and stroke her back, the radiance of "Joy Sword" glimmering in his palm. Though he didn't know whether it would work, it was the only healing miracle he had.
"Feeling any better?"
Weixi's trembling shoulders gradually steadied. She wiped her tears and snot vigorously on Yaxiu's pants, her face looking like a little calico cat's. "What a bizarre body. Compared to the easing cramps, just hearing you speak a little gentler seemed to clear out the stifling resentment trapped in my chest.
"I've finally calmed down." She let out a long breath and sat on the adjacent sofa. "Earlier, it felt like I was possessed by a demon, completely unable to control my emotions. Thanks, Master."
"While women are indeed affected by hormones during their menstrual cycle, they usually aren't this out of control. It feels like you have depressive tendencies," Igola analyzed. "Incompatibility between body and soul, combined with repeated blows to your career and life—depression is only natural."
Yaxiu glanced at Igola, who shook his head. "Whatever I know, she knows too. She'd be better off giving herself counseling. Besides, this stems from her circumstances. As long as you strip away her Seventh Imaginary Wing, she's bound to harbor this resentment until she accepts her fate."
Yaxiu turned to Weixi and said, "I have faith that you'll accept reality!"
Weixi took a deep breath, but couldn't help gnashing her teeth. "I will never disappoint your trust, Master!"
Having wiped her face clean, Weixi asked casually, "Where's Feili? Why isn't she here?"
"Why do you care about her?" Yaxiu countered.
*I only asked a normal question -> Yaxiu is extremely wary of my interest in Feili -> Yaxiu thinks I covet Feili -> Right now, there is only one thing I covet.*
In a flash, the maid deduced the truth: "Feili took a sip from the silver holy chalice before I did!"
Igola's face registered astonishment, and the corner of Yaxiu's mouth twitched.
He didn't even need to ask; his own attitude had given it away.
"Don't even think about it. She isn't a sorcerer; taking a sip wouldn't grant her a Seventh Imaginary Wing," Yaxiu said. "The silver holy chalice obtained by other demons would probably be taken back and presented to the Divine Lord, but Feili is an unowned demon, so it should eventually return to the Void Realm."
"Yet it could also be transferred to her true body!" Weixi chewed on her finger, speaking with excitement. "Once we return to reality, we'll hunt down her true body!"
"If we make it back to reality, do you think I'd allow you to commit crimes?" Yaxiu sneered. "If you even dare step on the grass, consider it my loss."
Weixi stared straight at Yaxiu, biting her lower lip, her eyes reddening once more. "I never said I was going to kidnap her... If her true body is only a one-wing sorcerer, can't we pay a price to buy it out?! I'm a demigod, and my attitude is already this accommodating—do you have to shoot me down so harshly? It's really hard for me to control my emotions, and I can't even pretend I don't care! Could you change the subject quickly, I think I'm about to cry again!"
Yaxiu: "Feili went on a date."
Weixi instantly clamped down on her tear ducts, asking in surprise, "Ah, she hasn't canceled that date yet?"
"Why would she cancel?" Yaxiu blinked. "Isn't going on a date with someone you like a delightful thing?"
"Indeed," Weixi rubbed her eyes and smirked. "That's exactly why she should cancel it."
***
"Miss Feili, was I impolite in some way? You've seemed unhappy the entire time."
Inside the dessert shop, Feili snapped out of her daze upon hearing Dimi'er's question. She hastily shook her head. "No, it's not you. It's just..."
She thought about it and decided to tell the truth. "A friend of mine was injured yesterday, and I'm worried about him."
Dimi'er was startled, then quickly said, "I'm sorry. I've inconvenienced you. Let me escort you over right now."
"No need." The blonde girl shook her head, nudging the ice cream with her spoon. "I don't really have a reason to visit... After all, we're just ordinary friends."
Dimi'er said, "Yet you're not content with being just ordinary friends?"
Feili fell silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up, bowing in apology. "I'm sorry. The reason Yaxiu helped me ask you out was because he thought I liked you... Well, it wasn't just a thought—I really did admire you in the past, Senior Dimi'er."
"I'm sorry to have disappointed you," Dimi'er gave a wry smile.
"No, not at all! Senior Dimi'er is still the perfect senior in my heart," Feili waved her hands hurriedly. "It's just... it's just..."
"Why don't you sit down first," Dimi'er said helplessly. "Everyone is watching."
Only then did Feili notice she was attracting stares from the surrounding patrons. Blushing furiously, she sat back down, but as soon as she picked up her teacup, Dimi'er's next words startled her so much that tea spilled out: "Since you like Mr. Heath, why don't you stay by his side to take care of him and confess how you feel?"
"Senior, how did you know?!"
Looking at the shocked Feili, Dimi'er thought that Leah was right: this underclassman had no idea how adorable she was. Strange as it was, he had assumed he would feel disappointed over losing an admirer, but after meeting Feili, he found himself genuinely wishing her love story well—and even worrying for her, like seeing a family member about to jump into a fiery pit.
"Are you afraid Mr. Heath is merely playing with you, and that's why you don't dare confess?" Dimi'er asked seriously. "After all, a successful man like him..."
"He wouldn't. Yaxiu wouldn't toy with me," Feili said softly, looking down at the button on her chest. "Because he's mentioned more than once that he already has people he loves."
She took a deep breath, feeling inexplicably wronged:
"And two of them, no less!"
Chapter 849