35 One Step In

"Hongyue, are you alright?" The general asked, his voice filled with concern.

Hongyue peered up at him through her lashes, her lips quivering.

"F-fourth Madam.." She stuttered, her voice shaking.

"...is dead. That woman deserved death." He finished her thoughts. The general stared at Hongyue carefully.

"Are you crying for her?" He questioned, slowly.

But how could Hongyue say yes, he was at the peak of his paranoia. She wouldn't doubt it if he killed her if he heard an answer he didn't like.

"No, I'm crying for you. Who can father rely on now?"

Hearing her answer, he was pleased; the general fell right into her trap, "Silly girl, of course, you."

"Really?" Hongyue pressed on, uncertainly.

"Yes."

The general glanced at her still bleeding wound before he yelled at the servants.

"Do you lot not see Eldest Miss bleeding? Is this how you treat a daughter of mine?"

The servants immediately ran forward to serve Hongyue. While their hearts were reluctant due to the quick development in treatment and favor, they still needed to keep their head. One of the male servants unintentionally touched his hand too harshly on her injury, and Hongyue cried out in pain. Hongyue twisted herself out of their tending hands and ran to the general.

"Father! He hurt me. It's painful! Kill him!" She pleaded.

Everyone stopped in place.

Everything that transpired was already so unexpected; it was like an illusion.

The fourth madam died within an hour. The general personally killed her himself. Now Hongyue suddenly gained the favor of the general by saving him twice, she asked for the death of a servant. Would the general favor her to that extent?

To be so arrogant in such a small amount of time was fitting for trash like her. All the servant shook in silent laughter waiting for the general's reaction.

The general was startled himself. He hadn't considered Hongyue wouldn't take human lives seriously. While he trusted her, he wouldn't indulge in her to that extent.

Seeing the general not making a move, Hongyue started to cry.

"Father, why are you not protecting me?! He hurt me. Why did he hurt me? Did I do something wrong?" She cried bitterly.

Her question seemed to awaken his fear.

Yes, what wrong did she do to get hurt by a mere servant? Is it because she saved him? Or because she protected him and ruined the fourth madam's plan and they want to target her now?

General Wei's eye gleamed. How bold! How dare they!

He lunged for his sword and swiftly drove it into the chest of the servant who Hongyue claimed to hurt her. The servant's body fell back with a loud thump, and his death stated the amount of favor the general had towards Hongyue. Every servant present tried to hold back their horror.

Everyone there was mostly servants that overlooked Hongyue's courtyard.

It was because the general didn't care about the eldest miss; they dared to bully her behind his back. They had deemed the treatment wouldn't change that much, but the freshly mangled body on the ground reminded them of reality. The great general was willing to kill a mere servant just because the young miss said so without question.

This eldest miss must be not provoked at all times.

Meanwhile, unknown to the servants, the general's mind was crumbling apart from another reason.

How many more were like the fourth madam? How many were more out there to kill him? He needed to kill them all!

The hand gripping the weapon wavered, slowly filling with dark energy.

Seeing this, Hongyue glowed happily. Just as she thought, the more insecure a person, the more they could be controlled. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the dead servant. It's not enough. She vowed to take vengeance on them all. How could a single death satisfy her? She wanted all those tormented the previous soul dead.

"Father," Hongyue clung on to his sleeves, "I'm still scared."

She leaned over to whisper into his ears.

"What if there's more?"

Like a trigger, her words set him off.

Right.

What if there was more?

His killers could be lurking in his estate pretending to be servants.

He flung his sword forward and struck another servant across the neck. Their head had flown off and spun across the yard, staining a whole streak of red. Seeing this, the group of servants lost their composure. They took off screeching for help and attempted to escape.

What they didn't know was that running away made them all the more suspects in the general's mind. The more they screamed, the more the general would kill. Observing this chaos, Hongyue struggled hard to maintain her scared expression; her face hurt not to laugh.

At last, only a few attendants remained.

Their mind concentrated on one thought.

As long as the general were alive, they would die, so the only way out of this was to kill the general.

Having this thought in mind, the remaining servants revealed their killing intents and aimed for the general together, seeing them retaliating triggered General Wei even more. He slashed ferociously right to left not allowing any of the servants go. Bodies one by one fell as the blade fell upon them. His mind was set on killing.

When the last body fell, the general sighed in contentment. His tired body staggered back; his mental state was highly strained.

Hongyue couldn't hide her smile anymore. As she thought, this was much more fun.

"Father...we're safe now, right?" She asked doubtfully.

The general looked back at her, dazed in his thoughts.

"Yes, we're safe." He assured.

Hongyue's lips curled up in an arc.

"Then, that's good."

However, others at the commotion were more than freaked out. There was still the doctor, his guards, and his servants. They had seen Hongyue had only said a few sentences, but with those few lines of words, the general went crazy and killed all the lower servants at the scene. They didn't understand what transpired, but this Hongyue was dangerous.

They stood frozen praying she would no longer speak. However, their wishes were not heard.

"Father."

Hongyue looked at the rest of the audience staring at her with startled eyes.

"What about them?" She pointed, innocently.