The Punishment of Bathing

After a few teasing remarks, Chen Miemie also sensed that something was off.

A high-ranking mystic, a witch, could never have fallen off a cliff on her own, yet after countless investigations, every lead came to the same conclusion.

"What was President Yu's reaction?"

"She doesn't believe it either. That's her daughter. She's been investigating even longer than I have, with more resources at her disposal, but the results are no different."

"I have a feeling a mother wouldn't just give up that easily."

"She hasn't. That Brother Jihe is still at her house, receiving her lifelong 'treatment.'"

"Xiao Mu, didn't you manage to get a drop of her blood to see her final moments?"

"I did check. But that trick of mine isn't foolproof—it doesn't work well on beings with greater [mystique] than mine.

Still, I did see a little. From what I could tell, Vice President Xiao Yu was standing at the cliff's edge, perfectly normal, when suddenly the ground beneath her gave way."

That statement put Chen Miemie on alert:

"'Gave way'—what do you mean? You're saying it gave way while she wasn't moving at all?"

Mu Ying thought for a moment: "Yes."

"Is it possible someone manipulated the stone cliff she was standing on, pulled that small section out from under her or something?"

"Impossible. I mentioned the conditions earlier. There was no trace of [mystique] or any mechanism at the scene. If there had been, all those rounds of multi-party inspections would have found evidence by now."

"Fine, then let me ask another question: a high-ranking mystic, even if she stepped into thin air, would surely have reacted in time. How could she just plummet to her death? Unless she was restrained at the time."

"Exactly. I've had that same doubt all along, but no one can answer it.

As for her being restrained—according to Brother Jihe's testimony, it all happened too fast. He didn't even react, let alone see clearly."

That was as far as the topic could go; pushing further would yield nothing.

Chen Miemie didn't actually need to figure out the cause of Vice President Xiao Yu's death. He only needed the outcome.

And the outcome was that the two factions, once brought close by the witch, had returned to their former state of estrangement.

And the [Butler] had a hand in this as well.

Leaving the [Devourer Hall], Chen Miemie sorted through many things in his mind.

He had always felt that the [Molting Clinic] had been a bit too friendly toward him.

Even for partners, they were overly protective at every turn.

Only after today's meal did he understand: to Mortar Granny, he wasn't just the prospective leader of an allied faction—he was also one of the witch's own people.

Of course, he also learned one piece of unpleasant news: the Stone Speaker didn't have a fixed residence.

He had a registered address, sure, but he never stayed there.

Like Dawn, he preferred to spend time outside the city. Dawn treated himself like a kite drifting in the sky; the Stone Speaker picked a hole and buried himself in the dirt.

"Forget it, I'll track him down when the time comes. No way he's lucky enough to avoid me every single time."

Chen Miemie had an appointment that afternoon too—Chenpi wanted to see him.

The fourth basement level of the city library.

Chen Miemie immediately went for a head-pat, a classic move.

Chenpi wasn't into that. He swatted Chen Miemie's hand away hard.

"Hey, it's been days. How's my commission coming along?"

"That." Chen Miemie said with total shamelessness. "No leads. Zero progress."

Chenpi puffed up in frustration: "You drained three big vials of blood from me, and you're just slacking off like this?"

"So what? You going to file a complaint against me?"

"You'd better believe I'll go tattle to Silence."

Chen Miemie was a little surprised. “What does our commission have to do with you going to [Silence]?”

[Chenpi] stepped onto the sofa, hands on hips, looking smug and cocky.

“She can’t do anything about the commission itself, but I can tell her you’re bullying me.”

“And what if I do bully you?” Chen Miemie reached out and pinched the little girl’s cheek, making the bullying official.

[Chenpi] shook her head hard, flailing her arms and legs, shaking off Chen Miemie’s wicked hand.

“According to witch-clan rules, if you bully a fellow clan member without cause, a direct-line elder is authorized to administer the ‘Bath’ punishment.”

Chen Miemie looked skeptical.

[Chenpi] was a first-generation witch, while he was a descendant of the Third Seat—barely counting as “fellow clan.” But what in the world was this “Bath” punishment supposed to be?

“Who are you trying to fool? I’ve never heard of any such punishment. Go on, explain—how does this ‘bath’ work?”

[Chenpi] wore an expression that screamed “you’re so clueless.”

“A bath means they put you in a cauldron, toss in all sorts of ingredients, light the fire, stir it up...”

“Wait—that’s just brewing a human into a potion, isn’t it?”

“Well, if you insist on calling it that, you can. But within the witch clan, it’s mainly for discipline. It’s just a ‘bath’—nobody actually gets dissolved.”

“So you’re saying that for outsiders, they just fully dissolve them and boil them into soup, huh.” Chen Miemie deadpanned.

“Haha, scared now, aren’t you? If you’re scared, hurry up and solve my commission.”

Chen Miemie tried to put up a last-ditch fight. “You said only a direct-line elder can punish me. I’m a descendant of the Third Seat. Chen Miaomiao isn’t here—who can touch me?”

[Chenpi] looked at him like he was an idiot. “If I go complain to [Silence], it’s because she can punish you. Why else would I go to her?”

“How am I supposed to know she’s my direct-line elder?”

Chen Miemie genuinely had no idea. He knew [Silence] held a high position among the witches, but she always called him “young master” and never seemed like the type to punish him.

“You dummy, Chen Miemie—[Silence] is your ‘sister.’ ”

Question marks practically floated over Chen Miemie’s head.

Seeing his blank stare, [Chenpi] realized he truly had no clue, so she spelled it out for him:

“Chen Miemie, you’re a descendant of the Third Seat, sure, but you’re not actually a witch. You can inherit everything from the Third Seat except the seat itself.

The Third Seat doesn’t bother with day-to-day affairs. She’s delegated all her authority to [Silence], who acts on her behalf. That means the one thing you can never inherit—the seat—will go to [Silence] instead.

Among witches, closeness isn’t defined by blood anyway. So tell me—you two, who are about to split the Third Seat’s legacy, what exactly is your relationship?”

Chen Miemie thought it over and tentatively said, “Brother and sister?”

[Chenpi] rolled her eyes so hard they nearly stuck. “She’s several hundred years older than you. How are you the older brother?”

Chen Miemie wasn’t having it. “Age doesn’t decide everything. You’re thousands of years older than her, and she still ended up being your guardian.”

[Chenpi] wasn’t buying it. “I’m only nine right now. If you don’t believe me, check my ID.”

Chen Miemie really didn’t believe her. “Let me see it.”

A citizen’s card similar to an ID was handed over.

Chen Miemie looked at it—code matched, photo matched, and it really said age nine.

[Chenpi]’s matter was settled, and now it was Chen Miemie’s turn to quiz her.

“The direct-line subordinates of [Cicada] sent someone to assassinate me. What’s the story there? What do you know?”

"What else could it be? That subordinate is definitely a deeply hidden pawn - lurking for years, and now used to stir up trouble." Chenpi said off the top of his head.

Chen Miemie frowned slightly. "Why are you so quick to trust Cicada, taking his side unconditionally?"

Chenpi's playful expression faded.

"I trust him the same way I trust you."