Warm steam rose in swirling eddies, wrapping Mu Xi’s petite figure in the open-air hot spring at the top of Silent Language Building.
Crimson petals drifted across the surface, releasing a faint, delicate fragrance. The pool walls were built from smooth, warm-colored jade, and a few petals floated on the water. Compared to the overall hard, cold style of Stone City, this place was like a dream bubble that didn’t belong.
Two servants attended to her carefully.
The older one was gently massaging Mu Xi’s shoulders, applying just the right amount of pressure, trying to ease any trace of fatigue she might be carrying.
The other knelt by the pool’s edge, where a low table held exquisite pastries and freshly squeezed juice. The selection was small, but every item was clearly chosen with care—a true luxury in this resource-scarce Stone City.
Their movements were so gentle they were nearly silent, and their eyes held barely concealed reverence and a hint of curiosity.
This Miss Xi, she seemed so fragile, like she might break at the slightest touch, and yet she was the one who could make the decisive and ruthless Sovereign helpless.
That contrast sent a tremor deep into the souls of those who were accustomed to Ye Lan’s iron-fisted methods.
Mu Xi kept her eyes closed, enjoying the perfectly paced massage.
The warm water wrapped around her skin, dissolving the tension that had built up over the past few days.
With Ye Lan gone, the very air felt a bit fresher.
Although she had decided to try accepting Ye Lan, and even using Ye Lan, that didn’t mean she liked being watched every second by those possessive eyes.
She needed space, needed time to process the surging emotions and plan her own future.
Her fingertips absently picked up a drifting petal, its deep red making her fingers look even more pale and jade-like. She brought it to her nose, the floral scent light with a hint of sweetness.
Just then, a sharp, piercing explosion tore through the afternoon calm without warning!
Following it came even denser gunfire, along with muffled shouts and screams, as if erupting just nearby!
The two servants flinched, their faces instantly turning pale.
The older one’s hand slipped, nearly pressing too hard. She quickly withdrew in panic, her voice trembling: “Mi-Miss Xi…”
The younger servant shrank back, staring in terror toward the direction of the sounds, her body shaking uncontrollably.
Stone City was a fortress with tight security, but this intense exchange of gunfire was still a heart-stopping horror for ordinary servants like them.
Every gunshot could mean a life lost.
Mu Xi merely opened her eyes slowly. A few tiny water droplets clung to her long lashes, trembling slightly like butterfly wings.
There was no panic on her face. Instead, a trace of faint curiosity flickered in her clear eyes.
She tilted her head, listening for a moment. The sounds seemed to come from a street not far below the side of Silent Language Building.
“What’s going on?” she asked softly, her voice still gentle and melodic, betraying no particular emotion.
The older servant forced herself to stay calm, but her voice remained unsteady: “I-It’s, Miss Xi… it should… be… some conflict in the city… the Sovereign… the Sovereign is handling some matters…”
She didn’t dare say it outright, but the meaning was clear.
That gunfire almost certainly had something to do with Ye Lan’s ongoing power grab.
Mu Xi let out a soft “mm” and didn’t press further.
She slowly stood up from the warm water.
Droplets rolled down her pale, smooth skin, traced across her delicate collarbones, and fell back into the pool, sending out tiny ripples.
Her shapely figure was half-hidden in the steam. It should have been a seductive image, but her cold, aloof aura made it impossible for anyone to dare have improper thoughts.
The younger servant quickly grabbed a soft towel that had been prepared nearby and moved to wrap it around her.
Mu Xi just waved her hand, indicating it wasn’t needed.
She stepped barefoot across the slightly cool jade floor, water droplets dripping from her ankles and being absorbed by the stone.
She walked slowly to the edge of the terrace, gripped the cool metal railing, and looked down.
Silent Language Building stood high, offering a view over several streets below.
And at this moment, on the main road within her sight, an extremely brutal battle was unfolding!
Dozens of people in different outfits were locked in a chaotic melee.
One side was clearly Ye Lan’s escort team—well-equipped, disciplined, wearing uniform purple combat gear.
The other side was messier, wearing a mix of clothes and wielding all kinds of weapons—old rifles, machetes, even steel pipes. They looked like one of Nan Qiao’s factions, or perhaps opposition forces that had been stirred up.
Gunfire, explosions, the clash of metal, roars, death cries… all mixed together.
Bullets screamed through the air, occasionally kicking up blinding sparks against the hard walls and ground.
Blast waves from explosions sent dust and rubble flying, hurling people who couldn’t dodge in time straight off their feet.
Blood stained what had once been a fairly clean street.
A man shot in the chest struggled to crawl forward a few paces before collapsing lifelessly into the blood pool, his eyes wide open, all light gone from them.
Nearby, two people wrestled on the ground. One of them drove a dagger deep into the other’s abdomen, hot blood spraying out and splattering across his face.
He wiped the gore from his face, his eyes as fierce as a starving wolf, and immediately lunged at the next enemy.
Severed limbs and remains littered the ground, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder and the nauseating stench of blood.
Life here seemed so fragile, so cheap—worth less than the weeds by the roadside.
Death was the only melody playing on the streets at this moment.
And not far from this hellscape, atop the high Silent Language Building, Mu Xi stood quietly.
Warm sunlight fell upon her, painting her in a soft golden glow.
The breeze stirred her half-dry silver hair, the strands drifting gently.
Behind her, the hot spring steamed lazily, and the low table still held delicate pastries and sweet-scented juice.
She was barefoot, wearing only a loosely wrapped towel, her skin so pale in the sunlight it seemed almost translucent.
She squinted slightly, watching the bloody, brutal scene below, her expression still that same light, unreadable look.
As if she wasn’t watching a real, ongoing massacre, but enjoying a play that had nothing to do with her.
On one side, a hell woven from blood and fire—struggle, death, filth, chaos.
On the other, a warm, comfortable paradise—sunshine, hot springs, fine food, peace.
The distance between them was so short, yet so vast.
As if an invisible barrier had completely sealed off these two worlds.
Mu Xi’s gaze swept over the bodies lying on the ground, growing cold, over the vicious, twisted faces of those locked in desperate combat, and finally landed on those efficient, ruthless figures in purple—Ye Lan’s escort team.
This was Ye Lan’s power.
Cold, overwhelming, undeniable.
And it was exactly the power she needed right now.
She watched as people kept falling on the streets below, watched the blood stain the ground ever deeper, and felt no real disturbance in her heart.
In the apocalypse, scenes like this weren’t uncommon.
But right now, overlooking it all from above, the thought of controlling everything grew clearer and stronger within her.
Ye Lan was clearing obstacles for her, paving the road to power with blood and lives.
And all she had to do was stay here, safe and comfortable, and enjoy the fruits of it all.
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