Chapter 12: The Mysterious Man

After Ai Lie went out from Xin Suan's room, she walk straight to the corridor that connects to the Yin Pavilion.

"Qing Qing! Ming Ming!", She tried to call them in a low voice.

"How is it, Jie Jie?", suddenly they appeared behind her back.

"Wah!", She is a bit jolted, "...Well, I've got his permission!"

"Yeayy!!", Ming Ming seems to be full of excitement, she claps both of her hands a few times.

"Good job, Jie Jie!!", Qing Qing gives her a thumbs up.

"Um... Thanks?", Ai Lie feels awkward. It's not something special but the twins acted like Ai Lie had accomplished a feat.

"Xiao Mei, Your Majesty said that you want to help us. Is that true?", It's Jiu Lan voice coming beside her.

"Oh, Jie Jie! Well, I'm not really bad at cleaning, so I can help you a bit. Beside, I'm very bored. Haha...", She chuckled awkwardly, "When can I start my job?"

"Today will do. It's still afternoon, the sun still shines bright. You can help us with sweeping the floor. You are in charge in the Lotus Pavilion."

"Okay!", She enthusiastic answered.

"I will guide you, come, Xiao Mei.", Jiu Lan bows to Ai Lie.

"Fighting, Jie Jie!", The twins cheering her up.

Lotus Pavilion is the largest building among the three. It has so many rooms, about ten or maybe more in each wings. Ai Lie has no idea what are those rooms used for, but she knows that there will be two rooms that stores some dangerous objects. She can't wait to see those objects. Her curiosity has made her feel more excited instead of scared.

"Here, take this.", Jiu Lan hands over an old worn broom stick.

"Thank you.", Ai Lie feels that the broom is heavier than what she had in her old house.

"Xiao Mei, I will tell you which part you have to broom. There are some rooms that I don't recommend you to enter, so leave them be. Let us the maids clean them."

Those rooms that Jiu Lan doesn't recommend to enter are, of course, those that contains the dangerous weapons. Ai Lie feels a little disappointed, but it's also for her own safety. After some long explanations, Ai Lie started her first day of job. She voluntary became a maid without anyone's force. She began to sweep the floor, from room to room, wing to wing. She felt a bit exhausted, but she used to do this everyday. Without her, her old house will fall into disaster.

Her mother didn't like to contact directly with dust and dirt, so her mother rarely broom or mop the floor. Her brother too, is a lazybone , he will never throw his trashes to the trash can, or even to wash his own dishes and clothes. No matter how many times Ai Lie reminded them to keep the house clean, they would ignore it, even try to opposed her. Sometimes, when the floor is still wet, they are intentionally walking around, so their dirty footsteps will be everywhere. She had to mop it once more. She was treated like Cinderella, but the different is the one who bullied her is her own biological family.

But that doesn't bother her anymore. She has a new home, a new master, and new friends. Her master has paid her more, even too much. She isn't doing this for free, just like in her past. Her friends too, eventhough they are ghosts, they are treating her better than the humans do. She feels comfortable living in this new life. She doesn't have to think about her family loan anymore, but only hers. Nothing is weighing her heart.

"Phew! I'm done!", She wiped her sweat on her forehead, "Whoa I didn't know that most of those rooms are actually bedrooms. Even the ghosts need to sleep too, huh?"

"Oh God! I'm sweating like a pig! I have to clean myself up after this, the smell is so gross!", She sniffed her shirts in the neck part.

"Xiao Mei, have you finished your work?", Jiu Lan appeared beside her.

"I have. Is there anything more I can help?", She hands over the broom to Jiu Lan.

"No, that's enough for now. Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Mei. You may rest.", Jiu Lan gives her a soft smile that exposed below her half mask.

"A-ah, thank you too, Jie Jie, for letting me help you a little.", She bows to her politely.

"How do you feel? Do you think you can do this everyday?"

"Of course! It's a piece of cake, don't worry about me.", She gives her a thumbs up.

"...Very well, may we meet again tomorrow.", Jiu Lan vanished from her view.

"Hmm... I wonder, there was plenty of ghosts when I came here, but until now I've met only few of them. Where are the rest?", She is talking to herself.

She went into her room, and immediately took a bath. It's still afternoon, the sun is still shining. She had nothing to do, so she took a quick nap. When she sleeps, she has an unsual dream. She wakes up in a river of clouds, and the sky is somehow strange, it has golden color. The scenery is beautiful, but no one's there except her. She is floating, and she stands on one of the fluffy cloud.

"Where am I?", She scans her surrounding.

"...!", A loud voice echoing through the sky.

"What!?", She can't a word.

"...!", That voice keeps trying to speak to her, but the words still unclear.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you!!", She shouts to the sky.

"KYAAAA!!", Suddenly she falls down from the sky. The fluffy cloud that she stood on has been vanished.

"WAH!", She wakes up from her dream.

"W-what was that!? A bad dream?", Her heart is still pounding.

"...But the place was beautiful. No... I guess it wasn't.", She tried to calm down.

The sun has been set down. It's time for her to have her dinner. She doesn't ask for anyone's companion, not even to be delivered by Hei She. She is eating all alone in the dining room, the meal has been prepared only for her. After she clean the table, she goes back to her room.

Everyday after that day, she always clean the whole manor, not only the Lotus Pavilion. No one forces her to do that, it's her own will. But the other maids help her too, so she isn't doing that alone. It became a daily activity for her to wake up earlier and start to work after breakfast. From sweeping, mopping, even cleaning the ceilings. She is tired, but she is happy anyway.

It's been two weeks since she became a maid, and in those days, she had never seen Xin Suan at once. She had no idea where he is. Sometimes she thought about him, especially when she saw his robe in her wardrobe. Well, he is the king after all, he must be busier than she thought. Until one night, someone came into her room.

'knock knock!', Someone's knocking her door.

"Who is that?", Ai Lie was preparing to sleep, she almost change her usual outfit to her old worn pajamas.

"Your Majesty waiting for your presence, human.", It's a man voice. The voice is unfamiliar, a bit hoarse but not like Mr. Han's. She had no idea who that is.

"Coming!", She immediately opens the door. It was a man in an old shabby robe. He wears a demon-like mask. His hair is being tied up, but it's a bit messy. He has a frightening aura.

"W-w-who are you, sir?", Ai Lie is scared by his look.

"Who I am is unimportant. Come, His Majesty is waiting for you.", He shows her the way.

Because it's already late in the night, maybe about 10 pm, the darkness is already covering the whole manor. It's darker than usual, even darker than the first day she came to this manor, and the red lanterns doesn't shine too bright. The whole manor is already quiet, it seems those ghosts have already taken some rests. It's too quiet, and it gives her a chill.

'Where does this man will lead me to? And why would His Majesty call me in the middle of the night?', She is following that mysterious man's lead. The two entered a passage that she never saw before, near her room. He is holding a white candle, but that candle is useless, the fire is too small to be used for lighting the way.

After walking for a while, Ai Lie realized that the mysterious man has lead her to an unknown place behind the Lotus Pavilion. She didn't know that in the left wing there will be a secret passage that leads to the outside of the pavilion that she has never seen before. It's more like a backyard.

She can see the night scenery outside that manor, where the full moon is in the top of the sky, shining brightly, and the moon has a crimson color, similar to Xin Suan's eyes, especially when they are glowing. The sky is dark and cloudy. There are some tall pine trees, behind the high black brick walls. It seems this manor is in the middle of wood. When she turned her head to the right, she can see the backside of the Lotus Pavilion. There are 4 rooms, but those rooms appear to be larger than those inside the manor. Maybe they are used for warehouses.

"Where... are we?", She is confused and terrified at the same time.

"It's the other side of the Lotus Pavilion. Follow me.", That man keeps walking through the corridor without a pause. Ai Lie is actually doesn't want to follow him anymore, but she awares that Xin Suan's the one who gave him the order to pick her up.

'Well, he said I may not wandering around in this manor except there's someone who accompany me, right? I hope Xin Suan's really waiting for me inside one of these rooms...', She is actually unsure for continuing to follow this man, but there's no turning back.

'KRIEK', He opens one of the door, "Please.", He raised his hand to the direction inside that room, asking her to come in.