Miss Nightingale

"Mr. Easton."

The Nightingale's tail feathers swayed gently with the night breeze. It spoke in a human tongue, revealing the clear, melodic voice of a young girl.

"Please forgive Julie for her previous insolence." The fluffy head bowed elegantly, and its wings spread out to its chest like the skirt of a noblewoman, performing an anthropomorphic curtsy.

Ye Yan was highly vigilant toward the suddenly appearing Nightingale.

Daphne, who shared a mental connection with him, instantly transformed into moonlight and vanished into the silver glow, ready to launch a lethal strike against this strange creature at any moment.

The Nightingale remained still, showing no signs of movement, as if to demonstrate its sincerity to Ye Yan.

"Who are you?" Ye Yan asked.

"I am May, a Nature Witch from Witch Lane."

Upon hearing the Nightingale's reply, Ye Yan understood immediately.

He had previously learned from Holmes that the witches of Witch Lane were primarily divided into three factions.

Nature Witches were adept at commanding living creatures, Shadow Witches were skilled in illusions and hypnosis, and Contract Witches...

The Winter Code was one of silence and finality, representing things that did not fully pass away; it encompassed fading, remembrance, deathly stillness, decay, snow, end-times, and conclusions.

The power wielded by the Contract Witches was precisely this force of deathly stillness, remembrance, and finality.

They used this as a foundation to commune with the dead.

The Nightingale before him had clearly been tamed by the witch calling herself "May," who was able to project her spirit onto it.

This was a common method used by Nature Witches.

May's appearance caused Julie to straighten her back once more.

She did not believe her actions were wrong; the failure was merely due to being too impatient, which led to poor timing.

Regardless, she had that person backing her; as that person's most prized apprentice, she was certain that even May would not dare to ignore her.

Thinking of this, Julie's red lips deliberately curled into a helpless arc: "May is right, Mr. Easton, this is all a misunderstanding. I just wanted to get to know you in a special way to leave a deep impression."

Her voice was light and airy, as if the life-and-death confrontation from moments ago had never existed.

Ye Yan's gun barrel remained rock steady.

He would not believe Julie's excuses.

If she truly wanted to get to know him, why not visit openly instead of using illusions to bewilder him in a dense forest at midnight?

A sharp hand strike suddenly landed on the back of Julie's neck.

Her body went limp immediately, and Ye Yan caught her waist firmly with the butt of his gun, laying her gently onto the leaf-strewn ground.

"Chirp--!" May flapped her wings and flew up, landing on a tree branch: "What are you...?"

"Since someone capable of communication has appeared, Miss Julie can take a short rest." Ye Yan said unhurriedly: "Now we can have a proper talk. How does your Witch Lane intend to explain this attack on me?"

May was silent for a moment, then explained softly: "You may not be aware, but our Witch Lane has many factions."

"Because we learned of your feat in summoning a complete spirit, we have been wanting to contact you to obtain the summoning ritual for this spirit from you, but we have never been able to discuss a suitable plan."

If they hadn't sensed the Witch's Bell being used without authorization, they would never have imagined that someone would violate the Witch Code and cause the Witch's Bell to toll outside of midnight.

Following the traces of the Witch's Bell, she had found her way here, but the situation had already spiraled out of control.

The Nightingale folded its wings slightly, as if weighing its words, and continued after a pause: "Some radical Contract Witches proposed tricking the summoning ritual out of you, but we Nature Witches felt such methods were too despicable."

"Moreover, offending someone with an affinity for the mysterious for no reason is not a good thing."

At this point, May's voice carried a hint of helplessness.

"We argued endlessly over this, but we never expected them to secretly send Julie to deal with you."

Ye Yan shook his head, his finger still resting on the trigger.

"Miss May, can't your Witch Lane be a bit more honest? Your Nature Witch faction must have tacitly allowed this behavior, right?"

As he spoke, he stepped forward, the revolver in his hand lifting slightly to aim directly at the branch where the Nightingale perched.

"Let me guess, you must have been hiding in the shadows just now, watching Julie make her move. If she had succeeded, you Nature Witches would have been able to reap the rewards, wouldn't you?"

The Nightingale fell silent.

After a long while, May finally spoke slowly: "You are very clever, but that is not the case."

The Nightingale's beak opened and closed, its words tinged with a hint of annoyance: "When I arrived at this oak forest, Julie's illusion was already in effect. It was precisely because of this that I chose to remain silent when she was subdued by you; this willful apprentice truly needs to be taught a lesson."

Ye Yan stared at the Nightingale, his gaze still filled with vigilance: "The lesson is for her personally, but this Miss Julie hails from your Witch Lane. So, how do you intend to make up for the unpleasantness between us?"

He gestured toward Julie at his feet.

"I could easily hand her over to the Supernatural Administration Bureau as an assailant, and you would likely have to pay a heavy price to get her out."

A long silence fell between them.

The sound of the wind brushing through the leaves vanished, as if the entire forest were holding its breath in anticipation.

The Nightingale stood quietly on the branch, its grayish-brown feathers nearly blending into the twilight, save for those black, bean-like eyes that turned occasionally, revealing that it was deep in thought.

"Sir, do you need me to catch that Nightingale?"

Daphne's voice resonated within Ye Yan's mind, carrying the excitement of a predator. He could feel her shadow flowing obscurely beneath the trees, like a beast coiled and ready to strike.

"No need."

Ye Yan responded in his heart, his gaze remaining locked on the grayish-brown Nightingale perched on the branch.

"It is merely an empty shell; catching it would be useless. Help me keep watch on the surroundings and alert me immediately if there is any unusual movement."

No sooner had he finished communicating with Daphne than the voice of Miss Nightingale sounded once more, though the tone was a few degrees lower than before, carrying a hint of weakness: "Mr. Easton, we are willing to provide reasonable compensation for this..."

"What kind of compensation?" Ye Yan asked directly.

"Please give us three days. Julie can stay with you temporarily as a guarantee. I promise you that we in Witch Lane will certainly give you a satisfactory answer."

Ye Yan was somewhat skeptical that the other party was merely feeding him empty promises.

However, since he had a hostage in hand, they likely wouldn't dare to act in bad faith.

"Fine, three days."

Ye Yan narrowed his eyes and lowered the gun in his hand.

"If you do not have an answer within three days, you can find Miss Julie in the Administration's prison cells."

The Nightingale nodded: "We understand."

"Right." Ye Yan added: "Next time you come, please present a formal invitation and visit properly."

Who knew if these unconventional witches might suddenly pay a visit in the middle of the night?

Thinking of the scene where he was jolted awake by urgent knocking, Ye Yan felt it necessary to give a specific reminder.

Miss Nightingale caught the disdain in his words.

The feathers on its throat puffed up and then flattened, as if it had swallowed a justification that was on the verge of spilling out.

In the end, it merely lowered its head slightly.

It should have explained the reputation of witches ruined by certain reckless individuals, but in the current situation, a deliberate explanation would only seem like trying to cover up the truth.

"Rest assured, we will certainly not be impolite next time."

With that, the Nightingale on the treetop flapped its wings and took flight.

The grayish-brown figure streaked across the air and vanished into the deepening night.