Chapter Twenty-Four: The Amethyst Bell

As dusk settled, the sky was flushed with the colors of evening, clouds like burning embers surging up in clusters. The maid slowly opened her eyes to see Xie Yingying sipping tea. She was about to cry out, only to realize her mouth was tightly gagged, several layers of cloth binding her lips. Xie Yingying walked over with a smile, about to speak, but the maid’s face was already stricken with terror, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Inwardly, Xie Yingying was delighted—this reaction suited her plans perfectly. “Am I really so frightening?” she asked with feigned exasperation, patting the maid’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t harm you. But you mustn’t tell anyone I knocked you out today, understand?”

The maid nodded desperately, too scared even to contemplate refusal. She had long heard tales of Xie Yingying’s fearsome reputation. Now, finding herself at the girl’s mercy, she believed her life hung by a thread, and dread overwhelmed her.

Seeing her agreement, Xie Yingying loosened her bonds. The maid, seizing the moment, tried to scream, but Xie Yingying, anticipating this, clamped a hand over her mouth. In the struggle, a round object was pushed into the maid’s mouth, and with a startled slap from Xie Yingying, it was forced down her throat.

The maid shook her head frantically, while her “tormentor” only scowled and menaced her with a gesture. “If you dare utter a word about today, I’ll make sure the poison in your belly takes effect. Your whole abdomen will rot, your intestines will spill out.”

Eyes wide, the maid nodded with all her might, her muffled pleas for mercy barely discernible.

“As long as you keep silent, nothing will happen,” Xie Yingying added with a light, almost playful laugh.

That did it—the maid’s tears spilled over and she began to sob uncontrollably, even producing a large bubble of snot. Xie Yingying was left speechless. Was she really that terrifying?

Left with no choice, Xie Yingying untied her, repeatedly warning her to keep the matter secret, and finally removed the cloth from her mouth.

The maid, obedient at last, whimpered in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s, “Please… let me go. I swear I won’t tell a soul!” She raised a trembling, alabaster hand in oath. “I swear to the heavens—if I ever tell a third person, may divine punishment strike me down!”

Satisfied, Xie Yingying nodded gently.

To facilitate the maid’s escape, Xie Yingying jumped out the window, scaled the high wall herself, and personally distracted the guards.

The maid seized the chance to flee, running all the way to the bathhouse. The two even agreed on their story in advance. After all this commotion, Xie Yingying was caught by the guards and twisted her ankle jumping from the wall, but at least the maid made it safely back to her quarters. Had anyone found her missing in Xie Yingying’s room for a whole day, it would have surely aroused suspicion.

After escorting Xie Yingying back to her room, the guards left. She collapsed onto the bed, exhaustion washing over her and pulling her swiftly into sleep.

Half-conscious, she seemed to hear slow footsteps outside the screen—leisurely, unhurried, making no attempt at stealth, the tread of someone utterly at ease.

At first, Xie Yingying thought she was dreaming. As a sliver of wakefulness returned, sleep claimed her once more.

“Xie Yingying.” Someone called her name.

She opened her eyes for a moment, then drifted back under.

“Tch…” Standing at the bedside, Bai Shengyun looked at her with undisguised contempt. “She sleeps like a pig.”

A maid accompanying him asked in a soft, admiring voice, “Shall I wake her, sir?”

Annoyed, Bai Shengyun snapped, “Yes, wake her at once.”

The maid glided forward, her bearing as graceful as a moon goddess descended to earth, yet Bai Shengyun didn’t spare her a glance. He merely flicked open his folding fan, his gaze fixed on Xie Yingying. Though his face was all disdain, the maid’s disappointment was clear.

She leaned close to Xie Yingying’s ear and, with a touch of spiritual force, murmured, “Miss, it’s time to wake up.”

Xie Yingying bolted upright, clutching her ears, her head spinning violently.

The maid withdrew, covering her mouth as she giggled behind Bai Shengyun. He noticed but couldn’t be bothered to look at her. His disdain for Xie Yingying only deepened as he shook his head. “Tch, you sleep without the slightest propriety.”

Hearing this, Xie Yingying rolled her eyes inwardly a thousand times, though outwardly she only lowered her head in annoyance, lips pursed as she muttered silent curses at Bai Shengyun: Try having your eardrums assaulted like that! That sound drilled right into my skull—I’m still dizzy!

After a moment, as her dizziness subsided, anxiety surged within her. Was Bai Shengyun here because he’d discovered her attempt to escape the garden that day? Would he kill her ahead of schedule?

Suppressing her rising panic, she managed to ask, “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

Was it her imagination, or did Bai Shengyun’s expression soften ever so slightly?

He turned and dismissed the others with a wave.

Once they were alone, Bai Shengyun produced a string of bells, their surface a rich violet-gold, laced with silver filigree in the shape of dragons and serpents, inscribed with ancient runes that seemed to shimmer with power. To look too long was to feel one’s spirit tremble.

Xie Yingying rubbed her eyes, heart pounding as she wondered if Bai Shengyun meant to punish her. When her vision cleared, she braced herself in guarded silence.

He saw her wary reaction and smirked. The bells chimed crisply in his hand as he spoke, “These are called the Amethyst Thunder Bells.”

He flicked his robe with a flourish and sat elegantly by the table, raising a jade cup to taste his tea. Glancing back, he saw Xie Yingying’s eyes wide with suspicion and panic—a sight that amused him. He shook the bells again, their clear notes ringing through the air.

“I won these as a prize at the Grand Ritual. Do you know what they do?” His voice was light and teasing, full of sly pride.

Xie Yingying’s nerves screamed with warning, but she played along. “What are they for?”

Bai Shengyun didn’t answer at once; he simply kept ringing the bells. After a while, he stood, removed a hairpin from Xie Yingying’s hair, and forced the bells onto it, turning them into an ornamental hairpiece before placing it back in her hair.

“This talisman is yours now. Wear it as a hairpin—each step will set the bells ringing, each chime calling down thunder.” At the end, his voice was cold, yet laced with a cruel amusement.

Xie Yingying’s unease only deepened. She moved to remove the bells, but Bai Shengyun stopped her.

His intervention made her even more anxious. With trembling lashes and barely concealed worry, she asked, “What exactly do these bells do?”

A faint, mocking smile curled Bai Shengyun’s lips as he leaned in to answer.

Xie Yingying’s hand flew to her mouth in disbelief.