There’s No Way My Maid Is a Villain

Chaos

As the building collapsed, countless chunks of debris fell to the ground, stirring up clouds of dust. Taking advantage of the chaos, Aili stepped onto the stairs and made her way to Qiongmu's side, stabbing out with her dagger. Suddenly, a hand reached out from within the smoke, forcefully suppressing Aili's short blade and kicking it out of her grasp. The dagger flew and embedded itself in a nearby pillar. Weaponless, Aili had no choice but to retreat back down the steps.

"Xing Sha, well done!"

Lingxian exclaimed excitedly. Although she had anticipated Aili's move from the start, her own reaction hadn't been quick enough. Meanwhile, Xing Sha had arrived at Qiongmu's side the instant the dust was kicked up—her awareness was truly terrifying.

"Tsk."

With her assassination attempt having failed, Aili's expression naturally looked grim.

"Surrender now. I still have many questions for you,"

Shen Baixue said to Aili.

"I haven't even used my full strength yet,"

Aili started, preparing to draw her black spear.

"Don't move, or there might not even be a body left to bury,"

Shui Cangxuan appeared behind her.

Thin, invisible threads of water surrounded Aili. Originally designed for detection, paired with Shen Baixue's ice, they had become threads of ice, tougher than steel, that wrapped around Aili. The nearest thread was less than ten centimeters from her left hand. One wrong move, and her hand would be severed.

Aili's expression turned completely dark.

"Looks like you're out of tricks,"

Lingxian said.

"Be good and tell us your objective for coming here, and Yinhua's whereabouts."

Lingxian stepped toward Aili, but Shen Baixue stopped her with an outstretched arm.

"Don't be careless—she may have other tricks up her sleeve."

Lingxian took several steps back. "That was careless of me."

Aili carefully surveyed her surroundings. The ice threads filled every corner of the space. She couldn't escape, even with spatial movement. There was a barrier in the palace, and her teleportation scroll was useless. The situation was highly disadvantageous for her.

"In this situation, not even you could escape,"

Xing Sha said. "Your 'checkmate' has come."

"May I ask a question?"

Aili suddenly said.

"What?"

Xing Sha replied, tossing her dagger in her hand.

"All of your forces are here, right?"

"Yeah, that's right, so you're—"

A barely perceptible smile appeared on Aili's lips. Halfway through Xing Sha's sentence, she stopped abruptly. She knew Aili well—she recognized that smile as the one she wore when her plan succeeded.

"Yes, that's right. 'Checkmate' it is."

A strange voice came from behind, sending chills down the spines of everyone present. Xing Sha's dagger slipped from her hand and dropped to the floor with a crisp clang.

She couldn't make sense of it—according to her intelligence, Aili shouldn't have had any other allies. Even if she did, the area was sealed with a barrier of national defense level. No one could have broken through unless they'd been hiding inside the palace all along. But even that shouldn't have been possible—there were very few who could evade her notice, and the palace had just suffered a collapse. No one could hide through such destruction.

So—who was it?

Who else was behind us?

Could it be—

Xing Sha glanced at the spot where Zhixi had fallen. The corpse was long gone—maybe buried in the rubble, or maybe...

"You've got to be kidding..."

Mechanically, she turned her head and saw Zhixi's hand gripping the queen's neck. Jin Xue lay unconscious, her fate unclear. Xing Sha was suddenly struck by just how absurd the world could be.

She had calculated everything—but never that a corpse would get up from the ground.

Dressed in red, it was hard to tell if the stains on Zhixi were blood. Other than the stab wound through her heart, there were no other marks on her.

"No way,"

Lingxian's voice trembled.

This wasn't just incredible regenerative ability—this was true immortality.

"Let her go,"

Shen Baixue, though shocked, knew they had to save Qiongmu first.

"Fine—you release your hostage first,"

Zhixi replied.

Lingxian looked at Aili, who was still restrained.

"What now?"

Aili asked her with a smile.

That smile, almost mocking Lingxian's helplessness, made her clench her fists.

"Ah...ah..."

Zhixi's grip was strong—Qiongmu was already showing signs of asphyxiation.

"Hurry up and make a decision. As much as I don't want mutual destruction, it looks like she can't last much longer,"

Zhixi said. Despite her words, her grip didn't loosen in the slightest.

"Shui Cangxuan, let her go,"

Lingxian ordered.

"But..."

Shui Cangxuan still hesitated.

"I said release her!"

Even in the emotionally indifferent palace, the person before her was still her own mother.

No matter the resentment—now was the time to let it go.

"Damn it."

Shui Cangxuan reluctantly withdrew the ice threads, releasing Aili from their constraints.

In an instant, Aili appeared at Zhixi's side.

"You really are a filial child—you raised such a good daughter,"

Zhixi sneered as she casually tossed Qiongmu aside. Shen Baixue rushed to catch her and carefully laid her down.

"Well, then, let's move to the second deal,"

Zhixi said.

"What?" someone asked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention—the uncle over there is also within my reach,"

Zhixi gestured at Wanhua Zhankong, who was immobilized by her shadow.

"Damn it,"

Wanhua Zhankong had been struggling against the shadows, but to no avail.

"What do you want?"

Lingxian's tone had lost its former strength, replaced by exhaustion.

A net meant to trap their enemies had now ensnared themselves.

"Well, let's see... Ah, I'll trouble you to dissolve your Spirit Pact with the Spirit Companion lady,"

Zhixi said.

"You—this is outrageous!"

Lingxian roared.

"I seem to recall who was in charge at the beginning. Maybe you should assess your current situation."

Shadows at Wanhua Zhankong's feet sharpened into spikes, threatening to impale him.

"And you, elf assassin—don't even think about making a move. Remember, I'm rather difficult to kill,"

Zhixi mocked the watching Xing Sha lurking in the shadows.

Lingxian looked at Wanhua Zhankong, then at Shen Baixue—and finally sighed.

"Sorry, Baixue."

Lingxian extended her right hand. A magic array appeared before her, its inscriptions the sign of her pact with Shen Baixue.

Once the pact was dissolved, shen Baixue would soon fade away.

"Don't feel guilty. You've done nothing wrong,"

Shen Baixue remained composed, her voice devoid of emotion.

"I'm just too powerless."

"Goodbye."

Lingxian stretched out her hand, ready to wipe away the inscriptions.

"What a sad ending,"

Zhixi remarked.

"Isn't this all your doing?"

Aili said.

"If it were you, wouldn't you have gone even further?"

Zhixi retorted.

"Hmph."

Aili didn't respond, tacitly agreeing with Zhixi.

"Heavenly Blade Fusion!"

"Bang!"

A sound came from outside—the barrier had shattered.

A figure dropped down, attacking Aili and Zhixi directly.

Lingxian stopped her actions at the sight.

Caught off guard, Aili quickly retreated.

Zhixi was also forced to release her control over Wanhua Zhankong.

"Someone's causing trouble even now?"

Zhixi wondered.

"I told you—you're too reckless. Smashing through a barrier head-on—what if it backfired?" someone chided. Read full story at novel~fire~net

"But everything's fine, isn't it?" another replied.

"What if it hadn't been?"

"But it's already a success, so there's no 'what if'."

"You—really..."

This voice—Shen Baixue knew it all too well.

As the smoke cleared, the newcomers stepped into view: it was Demonblade Ren and Yuexing Beichen.

"What a surprise,"

Zhixi, though unfamiliar with the pair, was no fool—she knew better than to mistake them for allies.

"What now, strategist?"

Zhixi grinned.

"The barrier's broken—we should retreat while we can. In a situation like this, getting out alive is good enough,"

Aili responded seriously, ignoring Zhixi's banter.

"Sure, sure."

The two crushed their teleportation scrolls and vanished from the scene.

"Not going to chase them?"

Yuexing Beichen asked.

"We can't catch up,"

Demonblade Ren replied.

"Why not?"

"We've got two wounded here—Her Highness the Princess can't just run after them with us. If we chase alone, it's reckless, and I still haven't figured out that girl's immortality,"

Demonblade Ren turned to look at Shen Baixue, who met his gaze in silence.

There was little else said between them.

"Well, enemy's fled—it's time for us to go."

"But..."

Beichen hesitated.

"It's time to go."

Demonblade Ren pulled Yuexing Beichen away.

Why he had intervened was anyone's guess.

A blade drawn, frost strikes down; it cannot escape the mortal world of a past life.

PS: Extra chapter as a reward for this work's first monthly ticket...