Miss Nightingale

"Mr. Easton."

The nightingale's tail feathers swayed gently in the night breeze. When it spoke, its voice was that of a clear, young girl.

"Please forgive Julie for her earlier disrespectful behavior." Its fluffy head dipped gracefully, and its wings spread across its chest like the skirt of a noblewoman as it performed a humanlike curtsy.

Ye Yan was highly wary of the sudden appearance of the nightingale.

Daphne, whose mind was linked with his, instantly transformed into a moonshadow and vanished into the silver glow, ready to launch a lethal attack on the strange creature at any moment.

The nightingale remained perfectly still, making no sudden movements, seemingly trying to show Ye Yan its sincerity.

"Who are you?" Ye Yan asked.

"I'm May, a Nature Witch from Witch Lane."

At the nightingale's answer, Ye Yan immediately understood.

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

Nature Witches were skilled at controlling living creatures, Shadow Witches excelled at illusions and hypnosis, while Contract Witches...

Winter Code was silence and endings. It represented things that had not entirely passed away and encompassed disappearance, remembrance, stillness, decay, snow, the end, and closure.

The power wielded by Contract Witches was precisely this power over stillness, remembrance, and endings.

They used it as the basis for communing with the dead.

The nightingale before him had clearly been tamed by the witch who called herself "May," and she had attached her spirit to it.

This was a method commonly used by Nature Witches.

May's arrival allowed Julie to straighten her back again.

She didn't think she had done anything wrong. She had failed only because she'd been too impatient and chosen the wrong moment to strike.

In any case, she had that esteemed person backing her. As that person's most prized apprentice, she firmly believed that even May wouldn't stand by and do nothing.

At the thought, Julie deliberately curled her red lips into a rueful smile. "May is right, Mr. Easton. This is all a misunderstanding. I only wanted to meet you in a special way, so you'd remember me."

Her voice was light and breezy, as though the life-or-death confrontation moments ago had never happened.

Ye Yan's gun remained perfectly steady.

He wouldn't believe Julie's excuses.

If she'd truly wanted to meet him, why hadn't she come to his door openly? Why use illusions to deceive him in a forest in the middle of the night?

A sharp chop struck the back of Julie's neck without warning.

Her body immediately went limp. Ye Yan caught her at the waist with the butt of his gun and gently laid her on the ground, which was covered in dead leaves.

"Chirp—!" May flapped her wings and landed on a branch. "What are you...?"

"Now that someone who can communicate has appeared, Miss Julie can rest for a while." Ye Yan spoke unhurriedly. "We can have a proper talk now. How does Witch Lane intend to explain this attack on me?"

May was silent for a moment, then quietly explained, "You may not know this, but Witch Lane has many factions.

"After learning that you summoned a complete spirit, we've been eager to contact you and obtain the summoning ritual from you. But we've never been able to agree on a suitable approach."

If they hadn't sensed that the Witch's Bell had been used without permission, they never would have imagined that someone would violate the Witch Code by ringing it at a time other than midnight.

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

Miss Nightingale's wings folded slightly, as if she were weighing her words. After a brief pause, she continued, "Some of the more radical Contract Witches proposed tricking you into giving us the summoning ritual, but we Nature Witches thought such tactics were too despicable.

"Besides, making an enemy of someone with an affinity for the supernatural for no reason isn't a wise choice."

May's voice held 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 you and the others from Witch Lane be more honest? Surely your Nature Witch faction tacitly approved of this, too?"

As he spoke, he stepped forward, raising the revolver in his hand slightly and pointing it straight at the branch where the nightingale perched.

"Let me guess. You were hiding nearby just now, watching Julie make her move. If she'd succeeded, your Nature Witches would have benefited, too. Isn't that right?"

Miss Nightingale fell silent.

Only after a long while did May slowly speak. "You're very clever, but that's not what happened."

The nightingale's beak opened and closed gently, its words carrying a hint of irritation. "By the time I reached this oak grove, Julie's illusion had already been cast. That's why I chose to remain silent when you subdued her. This willful apprentice really does need to learn a lesson."

Ye Yan stared at the nightingale, still wary. "The lesson may be for her, but Miss Julie is from Witch Lane. So how do you intend to make up for the unpleasantness between us?"

He pointed at Julie on the ground.

"I could hand her over to the Supernatural Administration Bureau as an attacker. Then you'd have to pay quite a price to get her out."

A long silence fell between them.

Even the sound of wind rustling the leaves vanished, as if the entire forest were holding its breath.

The nightingale stood quietly on the branch, its gray-brown feathers nearly blending into the dusk. Only its black-bead eyes shifted now and then, revealing that it was thinking.

"Sir, should I catch that nightingale?"

Daphne's voice rang in Ye Yan's mind, filled with a predator's excitement. He could feel the moonshadow flowing discreetly beneath the trees, like a beast poised to pounce.

No need.

Ye Yan replied inwardly, his gaze fixed on the gray-brown nightingale perched on the branch.

It's only an empty shell. Catching it won't help. Keep watch around us, and alert me immediately if anything moves.

Just as he finished communicating with Daphne, Miss Nightingale spoke again. Her voice was lower than before, with a note of concession. "Mr. Easton, we're willing to offer reasonable compensation for this..."

"What compensation?" Ye Yan asked bluntly.

"Please give us three days. Julie can stay here as a guarantee for now. I promise you that Witch Lane will give you a satisfactory answer."

Ye Yan suspected she was making promises she had no intention of keeping.

But since he had a hostage, they probably wouldn't break their word.

"Fine. Three days."

Ye Yan narrowed his eyes and lowered his gun.

"If you haven't given me an answer within three days, you can look for Miss Julie in the Administration's jail."

The nightingale nodded. "Understood."

"Oh, one more thing," Ye Yan added. "Next time you come, send a calling card and pay me a formal visit."

Who knew whether these unconventional witches might suddenly show up in the middle of the night?

Thinking of how he'd been jolted awake by urgent knocking, Ye Yan felt he needed to make the point explicitly.

Miss Nightingale could hear the distaste in his words.

The feathers on its throat suddenly puffed up, then settled, as if it had swallowed a protest that had nearly escaped its beak.

In the end, it merely dipped its head slightly.

She ought to explain that certain witches' reckless behavior had unfairly tarnished their reputation, but under the circumstances, making a point of explaining would only make it seem like she had something to hide.

"Rest assured. We won't be so discourteous next time."

With that, the nightingale on the treetop took flight.

Its gray-brown shape darted across the sky and disappeared into the deepening darkness.