Pillar of Yita

The attic was cramped, with slanted walls and dim lighting. Old furniture lay silently in the darkness, watching the floating dust. It wasn’t until Fang Hong saw what the maid was looking for that he understood why Feyos needed his help; it was a huge trunk placed in the farthest corner of the attic.

Feyos looked at the trunk, turned around, and said to Fang Hong, ”The thing is under the trunk, I’m counting on you, Mr. Ade.”

The trunk was half as tall as him and about a meter wide. Fang Hong tried pulling it with his hand but it didn’t budge. He raised his hand, summoned the Stalker, then activated Anti-Gravity and pulled hard, moving the trunk floating half an inch off the floor, and it fell heavily with a muffled thud.

After the trunk was moved, Fang Hong saw that beneath it was a hidden door.

This was truly unexpected because most people would think that under the attic floor would be the ceiling of the next level, a thin layer, how could it hide anything? Perhaps because of this, the designer of the secret door chose to invert the logic, making it appear here more deceptively.

Feyos was the first to walk to the secret door, squatted down and lifted the wooden panel, revealing a hidden compartment below with a few thin books inside. She took out the books, checked them one by one, then closed them up one by one.

Fang Hong intentionally kept his distance from her, slightly moving his fingers — in the darkness, a Clockwork Fairy hovered in the corner of the ceiling, silently switching lenses, making barely audible noises, recording the scene.

He adjusted the lens of his wind goggles, seeing some strange symbols on the pages of the book, perhaps shorthand, or a kind of code, making him perplexed. He noted a part of it down, then saw Miss Maid straighten up.

Fang Hong quickly took off the wind goggles, pretending he’d been waiting for a while, only asking, ”All done?”

Feyos nodded, softly asking, ”Mr. Ade, do you have any matches?”

Fang Hong took a box of matches from his pocket and handed them over.

Miss Maid received the matches, thought for a moment, then took out a black velvet box from under the books and asked, ”Could you hold this for me, Mr. Ade?”

Fang Hong nodded, taking the box. But Feyos looked at him and said, ”Put it in your pocket.”

Fang Hong was momentarily stunned.

Feyos softly explained, ”It’s safer this way.”

Fang Hong looked at the box in his hand, thought for a moment, then complied.

Seeing him store the box, Feyos finally felt at ease. She then struck a match on the pillar, igniting it. The sudden flame in the darkness illuminated the girl’s eyes. Feyos remained expressionless, her demeanor carrying a kind of devotion.

Fang Hong was quietly amazed as he watched from the side; in just a few days, Miss Maid seemed like a different person. He vaguely guessed it might have something to do with the people who kidnapped her, or perhaps with her unseen master.

Feyos held up the book, using the match to ignite it, turning it into a blaze of fire. The firelight illuminated their faces; Miss Maid never mentioned what the books were, and Fang Hong did not ask.

The flame curled the pages bit by bit, and it took a while for the book to be completely burned to ashes.

Fang Hong quietly watched the books turn to ashes, piece by piece falling, the embers vanishing into tiny light spots, until only a single light source remained in the darkness — an oriel window. The winter sunlight was pale, slanting through the dusty glass, projecting the lattice shadows onto the wooden floor.

Miss Maid finally clapped her hands clean and stood up, saying to him, ”Thank you, Mr. Ade, if it weren’t for you this time, I really wouldn’t know what to do.”

”It was nothing at all. Anyone else would have done the same to stop those wrongdoers,” Fang Hong replied.

Feyos shook her head.

Fang Hong felt from her expression that perhaps finding that book was more important to Miss Maid than the first issue. He couldn’t help but grow more curious about what that book was, but alas, the other party was destined not to tell him.

At this moment, a shadow passed outside the window, accompanied by a whooshing sound. Feyos paused, glanced outside, and her gaze returned to Fang Hong: ”Someone is here outside, it’s a Pterosaur Knight from the City Defense Force.”

She said, ”I’ll handle them first. Mr. Ade, stay here and keep quiet. After we leave, you can leave this place alone.”

The girl’s tone was calm, as if orderly arranging matters.

With that, she bowed and turned to walk down from the attic.

Fang Hong was momentarily stunned and couldn’t help but call after her, ”Miss Feyos.”

Feyos turned back, looking at him and shook her head: ”Don’t ask, Mr. Ade, this has nothing to do with you. Thank you, but please leave this place, and forget about today’s incident. It’s not a good thing.”

Fang Hong watched as the girl left.

He didn’t immediately decide whether to follow her, feeling that the matter was only half done. But in the small, quiet attic, the dark environment calmed him down bit by bit. It wasn’t about doing less to avoid more trouble, but rather learning to restrain his impulses.

He sighed, finally choosing to respect her wishes.

The air still lingered with a burnt scent.

Fang Hong looked around; below the window was a desk with some small items on it, possibly personal belongings of the previous owner, a few books, an ink bottle, a quill, and a photo frame on it.