This feeling… truly isn’t bad.
She even picked up a plump purple berry from the low table and put it into her mouth.
The sweet juice burst across her tongue, forming a strange and intense contrast with the scent of blood rising from below.
“Young Lady Xi…” the older servant looked at Mu Xi’s calm, almost indifferent profile, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor. “Would you… like to go back inside for a while?”
The commotion outside is too frightening, and the smell of blood seems to drift up with the wind.
How could this delicate Young Lady Xi bear to look at such filthy things?
Mu Xi didn’t turn around, only said faintly: “No need.”
She watched for a while longer, until the battle below gradually drew to a close. Ye Lan’s escort team gained control of the situation with overwhelming superiority and began clearing the battlefield. Only then did she retract her gaze.
“The view from here is truly excellent.” She said softly, as if talking to herself, or perhaps to the servants behind her.
The two servants exchanged glances, completely baffled by the meaning of the young lady’s words.
A good view?
Does she mean being able to clearly see the killing below?
They only felt their hearts pounding with fear.
Mu Xi didn’t explain further. She turned and walked back toward the hot spring pool.
The water was still and waveless.
“The water’s a bit cold. Heat it up a little.” She instructed, her tone calm.
“Yes, yes! Young Lady Xi!” The two servants felt as if they’d been granted a reprieve. They quickly responded and busied themselves adjusting the water temperature.
Mu Xi slipped back into the warm water, closed her eyes, as if the bloody scene she had just witnessed was nothing more than a trivial interlude.
Her fingertips tapped lightly and rhythmically against the smooth edge of the pool.
Ye Lan’s operation was going smoothly, which meant she was one step closer to taking control of Stone City.
And that meant she was one step closer to using Stone City’s power to retake Wu City.
As for those corpses lying in the streets… they were merely an insignificant price within the plan.
She needed to get used to all of this.
Even, to enjoy all of this.
Because this was the inevitable scenery along the road to power.
After soaking for a while and feeling her body warm up again, Mu Xi finally rose.
This time, she didn’t refuse the towel the servant offered. She let them carefully dry her body and change her into clean, comfortable clothes.
She didn’t return to the bedroom, but instead walked to the seating area on the other side of the terrace.
Several comfortable lounge chairs and a small round table were arranged there.
“Bring the pastries and juice over here.” Mu Xi sat down on a lounge chair and instructed.
“Yes, Young Lady Xi.” The servant immediately complied.
Mu Xi leaned back on the lounge chair, picked up an old book that had apparently been placed there at some point, and idly flipped through it.
Sunlight filtered through the thin clouds and fell on the pages, somewhat dazzling.
The street below seemed to have returned to calm, with only the faint lingering scent of blood remaining in the air.
She turned a few pages, but her mind was elsewhere.
In her thoughts, she couldn’t help but replay the images she had just witnessed.
Her fingertip traced the last line of text on the page, and Mu Xi casually closed the yellowed old book and set it on the small round table beside her.
The story in the book had long since blurred in her mind; she hadn’t truly read much of it at all.
The sunlight was just right, warmly spreading over her body, dispelling the last trace of chill brought by the scent of blood.
She tilted her head slightly, looking at the two servants standing not far away.
They still maintained their respectful postures, but their gazes kept drifting toward the edge of the terrace, clearly still shaken by the commotion below.
“Come here.” Mu Xi’s voice was light, yet carried an unquestionable authority.
The two servants immediately snapped back to attention and quickly walked to the side of the lounge chair. “Young Lady Xi, what are your orders?”
Mu Xi lazily adjusted her position, making herself more comfortable.
“One massages my shoulders, one pats my legs.” She closed her eyes, her long lashes casting faint shadows on her fair skin.
“Yes, Young Lady Xi!” The two servants quickly responded and began serving her with gentle movements.
The older servant moved behind her, pressing her small shoulders and neck with just the right amount of force through the thin fabric of her clothes.
The younger servant crouched down and carefully patted her slender calves.
The warm sunlight, the comfortable massage, and the cold, sweet juice at hand… Mu Xi picked up the cup and brought it to her lips for a small sip.
All this enjoyment was built upon the slaughter that had just ended downstairs.
That thought flashed through her mind, but it didn’t stir much of a ripple.
Enjoying this hard-won tranquility, enjoying this comfort bought at the cost of others’ lives.
She could feel the slight tremor in the servant’s fingers behind her, and could feel the servant patting her legs occasionally pause when a sudden strange noise came from below.
An abrupt gunshot pierced the afternoon stillness. Though quite distant, it was still clearly audible on this relatively quiet terrace.
The servant massaging her shoulders flinched, her force momentarily losing its rhythm. The crouching servant was so startled she shrank her neck, her face turning pale.
Mu Xi merely furrowed her brow in a barely noticeable frown, then relaxed it again.
She didn’t even open her eyes, only steadily took another sip from the juice cup in her hand.
“Continue.” She uttered two flat words.
The two servants quickly pulled themselves together, forcing themselves to ignore the commotion below and focus on their work.
Only, their movements were noticeably more stiff and flustered than before.
They simply couldn’t understand how this Young Lady Xi’s heart could be harder than the steel of Stone City itself.
Downstairs was real fighting with real blades and guns, people dying!
The smell of blood still hadn’t dispersed!
How could she… how could she so calmly enjoy a sunbath and massage here?
Mu Xi could sense their awe and confusion, but she didn’t care.
She only needed their obedience.
After a while, another brief clash seemed to erupt below, accompanied by a few muffled explosions and faint screams.
This time the sounds were louder than before, as if happening nearby.
Both servants’ bodies tensed up, even holding their breath.
They looked at Mu Xi, only to see her still with her eyes closed, as if immersed in her own world, deaf to the chaos outside.
Only the hand resting on the armrest of the lounge chair, the one not holding the cup, had its fingertips unconsciously curl inward.
But soon, those curled fingertips relaxed again, resuming their languid posture.
Bloodshed and slaughter were becoming the background noise of her life.
Like the sound of wind and rain outside the window, once you get used to it, you no longer startle at it.
Ye Lan wanted her to adapt, so she adapted.
Ye Lan wanted her to accept, so she accepted.
Ye Lan wanted her… to fall in love with her.
At that thought, Mu Xi’s breathing faltered for a moment.
That seemed harder than getting used to bloodshed.
But Ye Lan said she would definitely fall in love with her.
That arrogant, confident tone, as if everything was within her grasp.
Mu Xi had to admit that Ye Lan did possess a kind of fatal allure.
That domineering control over everything, that arrogant disdain for the world, and those deep eyes filled with an unguarded, almost devouring, mad love.
Now, perhaps she truly no longer hated her.
Trying, to respond to that heavy and burning feeling.
Trying, to let Ye Lan pursue her, to see how far she would go.
The sunlight grew warmer, and the comfort of the massage gradually dispelled those tangled thoughts.
A wave of drowsiness washed over Mu Xi, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
The sounds from below seemed to gradually die down, leaving only sporadic, vague noises, like the finishing touches of cleaning up the battlefield.
The servants’ movements grew even gentler, afraid of disturbing her.
Mu Xi’s breathing became even and prolonged. She tilted her head slightly, her cheek pressing against the cool lounge chair cushion, and fell completely into slumber.