Every Lifetime I Fall {COMPLETED but undergoing revisions}

Chapter 64: Fourth Life - The Lowest Level

We traveled northeast passed the Yellow River and Yeguang city into the lower forest of MeiYi Mountain. Bleak Night Sect sat at the middle terrain of the mountain with an amazingly extravagant architecture. Not at all what I was expecting Master to like. I would have thought he'd prefer simple and smooth walls as opposed to rocky monuments and dark hues painted on all the buildings.

Is this what demons like?

Although Bleak Night was a demon sect, all of the followers were humans using demonic powers. This didn't mean they were necessarily bad, but that they used dark energies to fight and protect, which could turn off their humanity over time. Some could even turn into demons.

I wonder how Master became a demon. Was he born from a demon or ascended from a mortal status?

Up set of stone stairs, we were fenced in by the earthy rock materials of the mountain. Following behind Master, I saw the Bleak Night Sect guards dressed in a dark leather armor bowed with cupped fists as we walked by.

Reaching a large opening before the main hall, a young man greeted Master, "Sect Leader Yang, you're back."

"Anything to report?" Master asked.

"Nothing is amiss, Sect Leader. As you've ordered, Lord Wu is scouting the missing men in the west marches but hasn't returned."

"Tell him to report to me as soon as he is back."

"Yes, Sect Leader. And this Young Miss is?"

Glancing at me, Master said, "My new maid. Set her up in the room at Heihu."

"Uh, yes, Sect Leader."

As Master was about to walk away, the young man called for him, "Also Sect Leader, Miss Ming Yan... she--"

Over his shoulders, Master said, "No need to tell me."

I was about to follow Master, but the young man blocked me with his hands.

"Young Miss, please follow me this way to Heihu."

"All right." While turning in the opposite direction, I kept my gaze on Master who disappeared into the large hall.

"I'm called Gu Yi." The young man introduced himself as we entered a small courtyard with pebbles on the ground.

"Greetings, I'm Li Rong Xin."

"Good to meet you, Rong Xin."

I nodded, although my mind was still wondering about Master. He seemed like a cold ruler the way he spoke to Gu Yi and ignored the others. The only time I saw a glimpse of warmth from Master was when he decided to take me in. In my mind, one moment of warmth from Master was worth enduring his indifferent character. 

Opening the doors, Gu Yi turned to me and said, "Since you're to be Sect Leader Yang's new maid, you have to learn quickly about Bleak Night Sect. We're an unorthodox group with many followers. There are different sections of the sect. You are in the lowest level along with the servants. The next section are the guards and then warriors of the sect. Then there's Sect Leader's specially elite group, the Night Ravens. Each section has a section leader."

"Are there many servants in the sect? It's such a huge place to keep clean all the time."  I thought it was a bit unfair that servants were to clean up after everyone in the sect.

"Not too many servants. Everyone here does their own share of cleaning, cooking, and other jobs." 

"I see."

The room I was assigned to wasn't grand but much better than the shared room I had back home. The bed set to the right side of the room with a transparent golden curtain hanging from the ceiling. The entrance room had a small wooden table and two small chairs to match. The brown dressers were modest but etched with beautiful carvings. 

I pulled my lips thin with a sullen look. "So what do I do now, Gu Yi? Do I go back to Master?"

"It's best not to bother Sect Leader when not summoned. I will teach you how to best serve Sect Leader as his maid."

"Does he have other maids serve him?" I sat down in one of the chairs while Gu Yi stood.

"Not at the moment. Servants take care of cleaning his chambers and study as well as wash his clothes, but he doesn't have one personally attending him."

Placing my chin in my palm, I asked, "Then what do you do?"

"Well, I'm Sect Leader's most trusted follower. Technically, I'm his secretary and bodyguard, although he doesn't need me much for guarding. I run various errands for Sect Leader."

"Who is this Miss Ming Yan you were talking about earlier? Master seemed a little upset when you mentioned her."

He sighed, "I don't think that is something for you to know. Focus your energy on learning about the ways of Bleak Night Sect as it's not an easy place to become accustomed to."