Vulkara stared at the cup of tea in front of her for a long time before finally letting out a tired sigh and slowly speaking. "There’s not much to say. I was an orphan."

Violetta quietly listened without interrupting.

Vulkara’s fingers tightened around the cup. "I grew up doing anything I could just to survive. Begging, stealing, fighting other street kids for scraps... anything."

She laughed bitterly. "Later, when I got older, I realized one thing. I didn’t have anything except my body and a face that was apparently quite beautiful, so I used them."

Violetta’s eyes softened slightly.

Vulkara clicked her tongue, as if she hated even saying it out loud. "That’s how I entered the Great Flame Sect. Not through talent, but because an elder liked my looks."

She looked away. "After that, everyone hated me, especially the women, because they were jealous of my beauty. And since I had no background, they bullied me."

Her red eyes slowly darkened. "So I fought back by doing a lot of bad things to them, but still, in the end, it didn’t matter."

She clenched her teeth. "They had backgrounds, and I didn’t, so whenever something happened, it was always my fault."

A bitter smile appeared on her face. "And now, this is what happened. I became the evil woman everyone wanted dead, and that’s why I ended up in the Black Mist Forest."

For a moment, the garden became quiet.

Then Violetta slowly poured more tea into Vulkara’s cup. "I understand."

Vulkara looked at her.

Violetta smiled faintly, but there was sadness in her eyes as she began to speak.

"I was once a famous courtesan. Many people praised me, wanted me, and smiled at me, but in the end, most of them only saw my beauty."

Vulkara’s expression changed slightly.

Violetta continued softly, "I also lost everything. My family died. The man I once trusted abandoned me, blamed me, crippled my spiritual root, and broke my leg."

Vulkara froze.

Violetta looked at her calmly. "So I understand what it feels like when the world decides your worth based only on your beauty, your weakness, and your lack of protection."

Vulkara lowered her gaze.

Violetta smiled gently. "But Master saved me, and now he saved you too."

Vulkara clicked her tongue, but her voice became softer. "That annoying bastard..."

Violetta chuckled lightly. "Yes. He is very annoying."

Then her smile softened a little as she looked at the tea in her hand. "But even if he is annoying to you, he is still kind."

Vulkara frowned slightly. "Kind? That guy?"

Violetta nodded. "Yes. He saved you, didn’t he?"

Vulkara became silent.

Violetta continued calmly, "He brought you here even though he didn’t need to. He gave you precious pills even though you were a stranger. And now, he has given you a place to stay."

Vulkara clicked her tongue again. "Maybe he just wants something from me."

Violetta nodded, not refuting her. "Maybe."

Vulkara looked at her, slightly surprised.

Violetta only smiled. "Master is not perfect. He is not some pure saint who does good things without wanting anything. He can be shameless, strange, and sometimes really hard to understand."

Vulkara snorted. "At least you know."

Violetta only chuckled, then became serious. "Yeah, but he is different. When he saved me, I was the same as you, but worse, with a broken body and nowhere to go."

Her voice became quieter. "At that time, most people would have only looked at me with pity or disgust."

Vulkara slowly lowered her gaze.

Violetta raised her head and smiled again. "But Master didn’t throw me away. He healed my body and taught me top-rank martial arts that usually even sect inner disciples couldn’t get."

Vulkara frowned. "He really did all that?"

Violetta nodded. "Yes. And let me tell you something even stranger."

Vulkara looked at her again.

Violetta smiled faintly. "He even knelt before me once."

Vulkara’s eyes widened instantly. "What?"

Violetta nodded calmly. "Yes. It happened."

Vulkara stared at her as if she had heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. "That shameless bastard? Kneeling?"

Violetta nodded. "Yes. He said he wanted to shed his past life as a pervert and start over. He apologized for how he had looked at me before."

Vulkara was completely stunned. For a moment, she couldn’t even speak.

Then she finally muttered, "That sounds fake as hell."

Violetta chuckled softly. "Perhaps because in the end, he returned to being somewhat perverted, annoying, and shameless, but I don’t care, because he has never treated me badly since then."

Her gaze became gentle. "He regards me as his treasure."

Vulkara’s expression became strange. "Treasure?"

Violetta nodded. "Yes. And from what I saw today, it seems he also regards you as a treasure."

Vulkara immediately frowned. "I don’t believe that."

Violetta smiled. "You don’t need to believe it now."

She slowly stood up and looked at Vulkara’s messy hair, torn clothes, and bloodstained body. "Just see for yourself later."

Vulkara opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Violetta spoke again. "For now, let’s take a bath."

Vulkara froze. "What?"

Violetta smiled gently. "You’re quite smelly."

Vulkara’s face instantly darkened. "You!"

Violetta only turned around gracefully. "Come, Junior Sister. I will prepare clean clothes for you."

Vulkara gritted her teeth, but in the end, she still stood up and followed her. "Tch... both Master and Senior Sister are annoying."

---

Inside his room, Damian finally sat down and began checking the storage rings he had taken from the four corpses.

At first, he was still somewhat excited, but the more he checked, the deeper his frown became.

"What the hell are these? Why are all these pills, weapons, and resources only Mortal Grade? Damn, these guys were too poor. How the hell were they Foundation Establishment cultivators?"

Everything inside was only high-rank Mortal Grade or below, and for Damian, who already had Noble Grade items, these things were not useful at all.

He could only shrug helplessly, but then suddenly, his eyes stopped on a small red token hidden beneath a pile of martial arts books.

He picked it up and narrowed his eyes.

The token was cold to the touch, with a strange flame symbol carved into its surface. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

He tilted his head slightly. "The hell is this?"