The return to the Lin Manor was not like the journey away. There were no royal carriages, no golden banners, and no prying eyes. Lu Chen had carried Xiaowei through the mountain passes with a speed that blurred the stars, arriving at their gates just as the first light of dawn touched the bamboo forest.
For two days, Xiaowei slept, her body recovering from the Ghost-root poison. When she finally opened her eyes, she found herself in her own bed, the familiar scent of sandalwood and fresh mountain air filling the room.
"You are awake. Splendid."
Lu Chen was standing by the window, his back to her. He was staring out at the horizon, but he wasn't his usual, perfectly composed self. His jacket was off, hanging over a chair, and his white shirt sleeves were rolled up, revealing faint, dark scars on his forearms—marks left by the golden chains of the Monk and the claws of the wraith.
"How long was I out?" Xiaowei asked, her voice raspy.
"Long enough for the Emperor to regain his senses," Lu Chen replied, turning to face her. He held a bowl of medicinal soup that smelled surprisingly pleasant. "A royal messenger arrived an hour ago. It seems the Emperor Ming remembers the 'demon' that possessed him. He has sent his deepest apologies, a mountain of gold coins, and a decree declaring the Lin Manor a sovereign territory. No imperial soldier may step within three miles of these gates without your permission."
Xiaowei sat up, taking the bowl. "Then we are safe? No more Prince Zhao? No more specialists?"
Lu Chen didn't answer immediately. He walked to the bedside and knelt, his eyes searching hers. "From the Emperor, yes. You are now the most powerful woman in the province, Xiaowei. But the light of the Moon-Slayer has a long reach. It acts as a beacon."
"A beacon for what?"
"For those who remember me from before I was a butler," he said quietly.
Suddenly, the temperature in the room plummeted. The water in the basin by the bed turned to solid ice with a sharp crack. A heavy, oppressive silence fell over the manor, as if the very birds in the trees had stopped breathing.
A voice, cold and ancient, echoed through the walls. It didn't come from the door, but from the shadows themselves.
"Lu Wangji... I smelled your scent in the wind. I thought you had perished in the Great Fire of London. Or perhaps beneath the sands of the West."
Lu Chen stood up slowly. His face transformed. The polite, helpful butler vanished, replaced by the cold, terrifying Vampire King. His fangs slid down, gleaming white against his pale lips.
"Stay behind me, Xiaowei," he commanded. It wasn't a request; it was an order from a General to his soldier.
In the corner of the room, the shadows began to swirl and thicken, forming the shape of a woman. She was beautiful in a haunting, skeletal way, dressed in tattered black silk that looked like it was made of moth wings. Her eyes were not red like Lu Chen's, but a hollow, milky white.
"Lady Meiling," Lu Chen hissed. "You are far from your tomb in the Northern Wastes."
"I followed the light, old friend," Meiling said, her gaze sliding over to Xiaowei. "So... this is the new Warden. She is young. Fragile. Her blood must taste like the first spring rain."
"If you move one inch closer to her," Lu Chen whispered, his voice vibrating with a power that made the floorboards shake, "I will burn your soul until there is nothing left for the crows to eat."
Meiling laughed, a sound like dry leaves skittering on a grave. "You have grown soft, Wangji. Playing servant to a human girl. Have you forgotten our covenant? Have you forgotten the nights we spent turning cities into graveyards?"
Xiaowei felt a pang of fear, not for herself, but of the version of Lu Chen she didn't know. She looked at his broad back. Was this the man he used to be? A killer of cities?
"That man died a thousand years ago," Lu Chen said, his voice steady. "I am a butler now. And my schedule is quite full. I believe I have an opening at noon to dispose of your remains."
Meiling's smile vanished. "The others are coming, Wangji. The Council of the Night does not approve of a Warden being reborn. They will come for the girl. And when they do, I shall be there to catch the drops of her life as they fall."
With a final, chilling laugh, she dissolved into a cloud of black smoke that drifted out through the cracks in the window.
The room returned to normal, the ice in the basin melting instantly. Lu Chen stood still for a long time, his shoulders tense. When he finally turned back to Xiaowei, his eyes were full of shame.
"Mistress," he said, his voice cracking. "I have brought my past to your doorstep. It may be better if I... if I leave. To lead them away from you."
Xiaowei stood up from the bed, ignoring her weakness. She walked over and took his cold, scarred hand in hers.
"You told me the stars would fall before you left my side," she reminded him. She picked up the Moon-Slayer from the nightstand. "We are Wardens and Butlers, Lu Chen. We don't run. We clean."
A slow, genuine smile spread across Lu Chen's face—the first smile of a man who finally felt he belonged in the light.
"As you wish, Mistress. I shall go and sharpen the silver knives. It appears we are expecting more... guests."
Lu Chen's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around hers. For a moment, the distance between servant and mistress vanished, replaced by the ancient bond of two souls standing against the dark.
"I shall hold you to that, Little Rose," he whispered. "But the Council of the Night is not like the Prince or the possessed Emperor. They are the architects of the shadows. They do not fight for gold or land. They fight for the silence of the grave."
He stepped away, regained his composure, and plucked his black jacket from the chair. He donned it with a sharp flick, smoothing the lapels until not a single wrinkle remained. The "Butler" was back, but his eyes remained a deep, smoldering violet.
"First," Lu Chen said, his tone shifting back to his crisp, Queen's English, "we must reinforce the perimeter. The Lady Meiling was merely a scout. She will return with the 'Harvesters'—beasts that have forgotten they were ever human."
He walked to the cedar chest Xiaowei had opened in the attic. He reached into a hidden compartment at the very bottom and pulled out a heavy jar filled with a shimmering, silver powder.
"Mistress, I require a small favor," he said, handing her the jar. "I cannot cross the threshold of the gates while holding this. It is crushed star-iron, blessed by the monks of the Silk Road. I need you to walk the circle of the manor and sprinkle this on the earth. It will create a barrier that no shadow-wraith can penetrate."
Xiaowei took the jar. "And what will you be doing?"
Lu Chen looked at the Moon-Slayer in her hand. "I shall be preparing the 'hospitality.' If they wish to enter this house, they must first pass through the kitchen. And I have never liked uninvited guests in my kitchen."
As Xiaowei stepped outside, the air felt thick, as if the forest itself was holding its breath. She began to walk the boundary of the estate, shaking the silver powder onto the grass. Wherever it touched the ground, a faint white spark erupted, sinking into the soil like a seed of light.
From the trees, she felt eyes watching her. Cold, hungry eyes. But as the silver circle closed, a low, pained hiss echoed from the darkness. The barrier was working.
When she returned to the house, she found Lu Chen in the main hall. He had moved the heavy furniture to the walls, creating a wide, open space. He was currently polishing a set of long, silver meat skewers—only they didn't look like kitchen tools anymore. They looked like throwing daggers.
"The circle is complete," Xiaowei said, her breath coming in short gasps.
"Excellent," Lu Chen replied. He looked at the heavy oak doors. "They are here."
A sudden, violent blow struck the front door. The wood groaned, but the silver reinforcement held. Then came another strike, and another. It wasn't the sound of fists, but of heavy, wet claws.
"Mistress," Lu Chen said, stepping to the center of the room. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fresh pair of white gloves. "Stay behind the hearth. Use the Moon-Slayer only if they break the inner circle. Until then..."
He snapped the gloves onto his hands with a sound like a gunshot.
"...allow your butler to handle the chores."
The windows shattered simultaneously. Four hulking figures, draped in tattered rags with skin the color of wet ash, burst into the room. They were the Harvesters—vampires who had lost their minds to the hunger, their jaws distended and filled with rows of needle-like teeth.
Lu Chen didn't wait. He moved like a blur of ink against paper.
He slid beneath the first beast's strike, his silver skewer flashing. With a precise, surgical strike, he pierced the creature's heart. It didn't bleed; it dissolved into gray mist instantly. Before the second one could scream, Lu Chen was already behind it, his hand snapping its neck with a sickening crunch.
"Mind the rug!" Lu Chen called out to the remaining two, his voice calm even as he spun through the air. "I only just finished vacuuming it!"
He caught a third beast by its throat mid-leap, slamming it into the stone floor with enough force to crack the tiles. But the fourth Harvester was smarter. It ignored Lu Chen and lunged straight for Xiaowei.
"Xiaowei!" Lu Chen roared.
She didn't freeze. As the monster leaped, its claws inches from her face, she drew the Moon-Slayer. The blade roared with white light, sensing the filth of the creature. She didn't even have to swing; the beast hit the light of the blade and vanished into a cloud of sparks before it could even touch her.
Lu Chen appeared at her side in an instant, his breathing barely elevated. He looked at the spot where the monster had been, then at her.
"I see my training is no longer required," he said, a hint of pride in his voice.
But then, the front door didn't just rattle. It exploded inward.
Standing in the ruins of the doorway was not a beast, but a man in a red velvet suit, holding a black cane tipped with a skull. He looked like an aristocrat from a nightmare.
"Wangji," the man said, sniffing the air. "You always did have a taste for the finer things. But this girl... she is a Warden. You know the law. A vampire who serves a Warden is a traitor to the Blood."
Lu Chen stood tall, shielding Xiaowei with his body. "I do not serve a Warden, Count Valerius. I serve the woman who owns my heart. And in this house, the only law is hers."
The Count smiled, revealing fangs that were tipped with gold. "Then I suppose I shall have to kill you both. It's a shame. You were always my favorite student."