Nana, you don't want... do you?

Xiao Hongchen watched the team being led away, then looked at the back of Jing Hongchen as he descended from the high platform. He turned his head to Meng Hongchen and Ye Guyi and said, "You two go back first."

Meng Hongchen blinked. "What about you, brother?"

"I have some business. I'll be back later."

"Oh?"

Meng Hongchen looked at Xiao Hongchen suspiciously and nudged Ye Guyi beside her with her elbow.

Xiao Hongchen offered no further explanation, turned around, and walked in the direction Jing Hongchen had left.

Ye Guyi turned her head, glanced at Xiao Hongchen's retreating back, and said nothing.

Meng Hongchen stood on her tiptoes, peered in that direction, and leaned in, lowering her voice: "Guyi, what do you think he's going to do?"

Ye Guyi withdrew her gaze and said indifferently, "I don't know."

"Do you even have a heart?"

"Let's go."

Meng Hongchen pouted and followed her reluctantly, though she couldn't help but look back after taking a few steps.

Jing Hongchen was in his office at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.

When Xiao Hongchen pushed the door open and entered, Jing Hongchen was sitting behind his desk, holding a cup of tea with his expression as composed as ever.

Xiao Hongchen sat down in a chair and didn't beat around the bush: "Nana. Give her to me."

Jing Hongchen took a sip of tea, set the cup down, and spoke in a steady voice: "Reason."

"She's different," Xiao Hongchen said. "Her mother was manipulated by an Evil Soul Master into killing her father before taking her own life. Both of her parents' souls are enslaved by the Holy Spirit Cult. She was forced into this with her weaknesses held against her; she isn't here of her own volition."

He paused.

"It doesn't make sense to lump her in with those other Evil Soul Masters."

Jing Hongchen was silent for a moment.

"You've looked into her background very thoroughly."

"I only came to you after I had looked into it."

Xiao Hongchen's expression remained unchanged.

"I can let you keep her."

"But from now on, you will personally oversee all of her actions," Jing Hongchen said, his voice calm but firm.

"No problem."

If anything, it was exactly what he wanted.

Xiao Hongchen stood up, turned around, and left without hesitation.

He suddenly thought of something and turned back: "What about the Evil Soul Masters in Mingde Hall?"

"I had them all arrested during your first phase of examinations. Why else do you think I waited until the combat assessment to arrive?"

Xiao Hongchen curled his lip. You really are a master of time management.

He left the office, not looking back this time.

Detention room.

Nana sat on a chair in the center of the room, her back straight as a board. Her hands were cuffed and resting on her knees, her deep blue eyes fixed intently on the door.

The door opened.

It was Xiao Hongchen who walked in. His expression was relaxed, his hands tucked into his sleeves. He sat down across from her as casually as if he were just dropping by for a visit.

Nana looked at him with guarded eyes. She knew who Xiao Hongchen was—the fifth-year chief and the Dean's grandson—so she regarded him as a villain as well.

"Relax," Xiao Hongchen began, his tone light. "I'm not here to interrogate you."

"Then what are you here for?"

Xiao Hongchen didn't rush to answer. He simply looked at her and said, "Guess why you were arrested. If you guess right, there's a reward."

Nana stared at him without speaking, her mind racing through the possibilities.

She hadn't harmed anyone, hadn't gathered intelligence, and hadn't taken a single task assigned by the Holy Spirit Cult seriously; there was almost nothing one could find fault with.

She was even more law-abiding than the average student; the term "model student" described her perfectly.

Then, only one answer remained.

Her identity.

But.

She didn't understand.

She had clearly seen it with her own eyes.

An elder of a branch hall had once walked into Mingde Hall in the dead of night—didn't that prove that Mingde Hall and the Holy Spirit Cult had been in bed with each other for a long time?

Since they were birds of a feather, why would the Dean capture her, a lowly servant who didn't even qualify as a scrap of peripheral personnel?

It didn't make sense.

Nana fell into silence, confusion and wariness intertwined in her deep blue pupils.

"Could it be about the Holy Spirit Cult?"

Nana finally said slowly.

"Correct, correct."

Xiao Hongchen clapped his hands with a grin, as if he were genuinely praising a student who had answered a question correctly.

Nana watched his expression, her brows furrowing slightly as she continued:

"But aren't you in cooperation with the Holy Spirit Cult? Why..."

"The past is the past, and the present is the present."

Xiao Hongchen cut her off.

"Now, under the wise leadership of the Young Master of Mingde Hall, we at Mingde Hall have already made a holy severance from the Holy Spirit Cult."

Xiao Hongchen said this with a straight face, without a hint of a blush or a racing heart.

Nana didn't dwell on that, watching him quietly as she waited for what would follow.

Xiao Hongchen also put away his playful demeanor, leaned back against the chair, and looked at her, his tone turning calm:

"Do you know the fate that awaits people like you?"

Nana didn't speak.

"The academy will hand you over to the Imperial Family."

"And the Imperial Family has a decent relationship with the Holy Spirit Cult, which you are likely aware of. However, under pressure from public opinion, they will still execute a portion of you. As for the lucky ones who remain, they will likely be sent back to the Holy Spirit Cult."

He paused, his gaze landing on Nana's face, neither heavy nor light:

"Which group do you wish to be in?"

The room fell silent.

Nana sat in the chair, motionless, something churning slowly within her deep blue pupils.

But her hands tightened quietly.

"I have no choice," she finally said, her voice very calm, as if she had already thought it through. "Whether I am executed or sent back, there is no difference to me."

When she said this, there was no fear in her expression, only a faint, weary look of someone who had seen through everything.

A child of this age should not have such a gaze.

Xiao Hongchen was silent for a moment, then said:

"I mentioned two outcomes," he began, his tone steady, "but I didn't say those were your only two paths."

Nana raised her eyes.

"Miss Nana, you wouldn't want your parents' souls to remain shackled by the Holy Spirit Cult forever, would you?"

Xiao Hongchen finally said what he had wanted to say all along.

Even if it was a bit ill-timed.

The room fell into a long silence.

Nana lowered her head. Xiao Hongchen couldn't see her eyes, only that head of pale pink hair and the hands resting on her knees, which slowly tightened and then slowly relaxed, like some kind of silent struggle.

"You know about this." Her voice was very soft, so soft that it was almost impossible to detect any emotion. "So you are using this to..."

"Stop, stop, stop."

Xiao Hongchen interrupted the aggressive words Nana was about to say; he just wanted to experience the feeling, not actually play for real.

But Nana said it anyway.

"I hate the Holy Spirit Cult. Xiao Hongchen, I have no precious items to use as bargaining chips, but as long as you can help me release my parents' souls, I am willing to be your slave or servant for the rest of my life."

Xiao Hongchen sat opposite her, rubbing his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

"Miss Nana, how old are you this year?"

Nana was stunned: "Thirteen."

"Thirteen years old," he repeated, his tone flat, "telling me you'd be a slave or a servant."

He raised his eyes to look at her:

"Do you think I look like that kind of person?"

"Very much so." Nana did not hesitate in the slightest.

Xiao Hongchen's mouth twitched.

Not to mention, he actually did want an eye-catching maid by his side to handle various affairs and call him "Master"—he couldn't possibly help her for nothing, could he?

Sigh, that shut-in mindset is no good.

Xiao Hongchen gave a dry cough, sat up straight again, and restored his composure:

"A misunderstanding. I am not that kind of person."

Nana continued to look at him with the same expression, noncommittal.

Xiao Hongchen wasn't sure if she believed him or not, but at least she didn't continue to harp on the topic.

"In any case, we'll bring this up another time."

He cleared his throat, his tone suddenly turning serious.

"Miss Nana, under the keen observation of the Young Master of Mingde Hall, it has been discovered that you are merely an ordinary person persecuted by the Holy Spirit Cult. You are free now. On behalf of the Hall Master, I apologize for your previous imprisonment."

As he spoke, Xiao Hongchen bowed to Nana at a forty-five-degree angle.

Standard, earnest, and not at all like his usual style.

Nana was stunned.

She truly had not expected Xiao Hongchen to actually bend over and apologize to her.

She sat in the chair, momentarily at a loss for what to do, simply staring blankly at the boy bowing before her.

Xiao Hongchen straightened up, his expression returning to normal.

Nana opened her mouth, but in the end, only managed to say:

"...You didn't have to do that."

"I did," Xiao Hongchen waved his hand, his tone airy. "Locked someone up for so long without a proper apology—that wouldn't be right."

Nana was silent for a moment, then lowered her head, her voice so soft it was as if she were afraid of being heard:

"No one... has ever bowed to me."

Nana's voice was so soft it was as if she were afraid of being heard; with her head down, her expression was hidden.

Xiao Hongchen was silent for a second.

Then he raised his hand and patted her head.

Nana wasn't much shorter than him, so it was just right; he didn't have to reach.

"Huh?"

Nana recoiled as if electrocuted, taking a sharp step back. Her deep blue pupils widened instantly, and she felt as if her hair were standing on end.

She hadn't said that to elicit sympathy.

Absolutely not.

The two of them froze for a moment.

Xiao Hongchen was the first to cough twice, retracting his hand and calmly shifting his gaze, as if that action hadn't been performed by him at all:

"Ahem... you may go."

Nana: "..."

"Right," he continued, his tone becoming nonchalant again, as if he had regained his footing. "I will accompany you when you go to the Holy Spirit Branch Hall. After all, in their eyes, you were captured; it's too dangerous for you to investigate alone. When the defenses are lax one day, I'll bring my companions to help you rescue your parents' souls."

As he spoke, he tossed a slip of paper with his contact number to Nana.

Nana was taken aback.

She hadn't expected Xiao Hongchen to speak so lightly and yet so decisively, as if promising to handle a trivial matter.

She pursed her lips and lowered her head.

"Thank you."

The two words were spoken very softly, but they were sincere.

She turned and walked toward the door.

When she reached the doorway, her footsteps paused. She didn't look back, just stood there, her voice a degree lower than before, as if she had summoned all her courage to speak:

"You are a good person."

With that, she pushed the door open and walked out.

The sound of the door closing was very soft.

Xiao Hongchen stood where he was, staring at the door in silence for two seconds.

Then, he lowered his head, let out a soft chuckle, and shook his head.

I've been friend-zoned.

Hongchen Mansion.

Meng Hongchen and Ye Guyi were sitting in the living room, chatting about something.

Having likely guessed that he had gone to handle some business, neither of them had left yet.

Xiao Hongchen sat down opposite them and got straight to the point:

"Among the people taken away today, there was a girl with pale pink hair named Nana. Meng, do you know her?"

Meng Hongchen blinked. "I've seen her. She's a fourth-year, right? I heard she studies very hard. Why, what about her?"

Xiao Hongchen explained Nana's background to the two of them.

Ye Guyi didn't speak.

But Xiao Hongchen noticed her hands, resting on her knees, tighten slightly.

He didn't call her out and continued:

"Her parents' souls are still being held by the Holy Spirit Cult. I promised her I would find a suitable opportunity to help her rescue them."

He paused and looked at the two of them:

"I'll need both of you when the time comes."

Meng Hongchen set aside her usual playful demeanor and said seriously, "When?"

"Wait for notice. I'll give you an answer within ten working days."

Xiao Hongchen made up a number; he had no idea when the Holy Spirit Cult's branch would be at its weakest.

Meng Hongchen stared at him for two seconds.

"Ten working days." She repeated, her tone subtle. "Brother, can you speak normally?"

"This is normal."

"How is this normal?"

"It means in the near future," Xiao Hongchen interrupted her. "Don't you understand?"

Meng Hongchen: "...I understand."

She pursed her lips, stopped dwelling on his phrasing, and asked with a grin:

"So, where is Nana now?"

Xiao Hongchen tapped her on the head:

"She's exactly where she was before. Even if it's the holidays, she can still stay in the dorms!"

The next evening, Xiao Hongchen emerged from Mingde Hall and leaned against the academy's main gate, waiting for Nana, whom he had contacted beforehand.

Nana soon appeared in his line of sight.

The two walked out of the academy side by side, heading toward their destination.

Xiao Hongchen didn't take his Soul Tool Motorcycle, mainly because it wasn't completely dark yet, but walking slowly wouldn't be a problem.

They walked in silence for over an hour.

"It's that courtyard with the black main building."

Nana pointed ahead.

"Let's go."

His calm voice put Nana at ease.

"Follow me, we're going to hop the wall."

"Is that okay? Won't we be discovered?"

"Don't worry about it."

Xiao Hongchen reached the perimeter wall and leaped, landing easily atop the five-meter-high barrier. The Three-Legged Golden Toad was, after all, a toad-type beast, and the bonus it provided to his jumping ability was naturally quite good.

Nana followed suit, nimbly vaulting up the high wall several times without making a sound.

The courtyard was a world of its own; high trellises were covered in various plants, blocking Xiao Hongchen's view.

The black building inside faintly exuded a dangerous aura.

Xiao Hongchen had always trusted his intuition, so he immediately decided to investigate alone. Although Nana's martial soul had decent stealth capabilities, she was only a Soul Elder; bringing a burden would only hinder him.

"I'm going into the courtyard to investigate. You stay here and don't move. If there's a commotion inside, don't engage—just leave immediately. Do you understand?"

Nana nodded; she knew her own limits.