They ran up the stairs to the top, which was quite a feat, as the building was one of the taller ones. Fortunately, both May and Peng were at a stage of cultivation where such a situation would not exhaust them.

  “We skipped a few floors,” May noticed. “How can you be sure she's not there?”

  “There's no certainty, but if she's hiding somewhere, it's probably here,” he said.

  They were on the top floor. Peng Chen looked into the vase and pulled out a key. He unlocked the door with it.

  “Entry for residents only... But hardly anyone comes here. When we were little, we always played here, away from the rest of the world and its problems.”

  May nodded. She herself suffered from a lack of privacy in this world. In her home in Pualin Town, she didn't have her own room. So she often spent time outdoors, wanting to be alone for a while.

  Although they were probably rich enough to have their own rooms here, May had no doubt that they didn't have a shred of privacy.

  They went inside. May immediately noticed a strange smell. It was similar to the smell you might find at a flea market or antique shop. It wasn't unpleasant, but she wouldn't call it particularly enjoyable either.

  “What kind of place is this?” She asked, looking around. It resembled a kind of living room combined with a small art gallery.

  "In the old days, it was an artistic workshop. I don't know if you know, but in the beginning, our family made its name through its creative efforts. But that's ancient history. Nowadays, the love of art in all its forms has died out in our family. To paraphrase the head of the family, my father, anything other than cultivation is a waste of time,“ he said, looking at one of the paintings depicting a wooden ship at sea. ”Well, in that respect, Zu is the black sheep of the family. That's probably why she loves this place so much."

  “So she has the soul of an artist...”

  “Yes. And as artists tend to do, she suffers.”

  “Suffers? Suffers from what?”

  “Reality is not enough to satisfy her. She always wants more.”

  “[Weltschmerz]...” she said, remembering her old school days.

  “Hmm? What was that?”

  “Oh, sorry. I meant something like ‘world-pain’.”

  “...Yeah, something like that. But never mind. Go to the left. I'll hang out there,” he said, pointing to one of the doors.

  They split up. May began wandering from room to room, but she couldn't help stopping to admire the paintings and sculptures. They were of various styles, but each had its own unique character. In her previous life, she hadn't been a great art lover, but she was able to appreciate craftsmanship.

  Most of the paintings depicted figures, clan progenitors, heads of families, but also family portraits. Nature and landscape paintings were also widely favored. Some were entirely in shades of gray, while others were bursting with color.

  It took many more minutes, but finally she arrived at the final room, where there were no more doors. In the very center of the chamber stood a sculpture of a woman. It was unlike anything else. Extremely unlike.

  Nudity was considered vulgar. However, the sculpture in the middle depicted a woman in all her grace. In a hyper-realistic way. She wouldn't consider it strange, but there was something strange about the sculpture itself.

  The female statue was alone in a large, empty room. And the position was... Atrocious. It depicted a woman, completely nude, with an expression of immense pain that seemed unsettling to her.

  Her arms seemed to be crushed, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't a sculpture, but a genuine, starved and desecrated woman who was experiencing unspeakable agony.

  She couldn't shake the thought: Who created this sculpture and why? Who did it represent? It was too realistic. Every muscle, every joint, and even the barely visible wrinkles made May feel nauseous.

  “What is this...” she whispered to herself.

  She approached the figure. She nervously swallowed and crouched down to get a better look. The technique was perfect. She could even see tears flowing from her eyes, and her teeth looked like the real thing. She doubted that there was a more realistic sculpture even on Earth.

  The sculpture was made of something like marble, but even despite its whiteness, she could see traces of bruises, blood, and some other things she didn't even want to contemplate.

  May brought her hand closer.

  She was about to touch the sculpture...

  But suddenly she heard a scream in the distance. She immediately stood up and looked around. She recognized the scream; it was Peng. Forgetting about the disturbing sculpture, she ran ahead to see what had happened.

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  May ran through the rooms without looking back.

  Finally, she reached the very first room they had come from. She looked at the door Peng had gone through before they split up. She hesitated for a moment, but then clenched her fist and ran forward.

  This was no time for doubts. She had high expectations of herself.

  She ran past more rooms. This time, however, she did not admire the new works of art. The corridors on this part seemed longer to her. She did not know if this was actually the case or if it was due to the circumstances.

  Finally, she got closer to the source of the sound. She could hear crying. She knew she was close. Her heart was beating faster. But she was ready for anything.

  She entered the room. It was identical to the last room on the other side. However, there were no strange sculptures here. It was merely unoccupied except for some seating and a few paintings.

  Here, however, she spotted the twins. Peng's sister was being held tightly by the hand by a man. She was squirming in pain since he was obviously clutching her wrist too forcefully.

  “Stop it, Father, that's really enough!” Peng shouted in despair. “Zu already understood!”

  The man growled and threw the girl aside. She hit the wall hard and let out a muffled scream. She was trembling violently. May didn't know if it was out of pain or fear. Most likely both.

  Nevertheless, the man was somehow not satisfied with just throwing Zu Chen against the wall, and he approached her again. May was frozen.

  This time, however, Peng responded. He ran up and tried to protect his sister with his body. His father turned red when he saw this.

  “Father!”

  But his father was deaf to his words. He slapped him in the face with his hand, so hard that the boy lost his balance. The boy fell, but quickly got up. He had the imprint of his father's hand on his face.

  “I also have a word with you. There are already gossip about you... Your sister is one thing, but you...? Apparently, you laughed at the guests' kids and refused to talk to them! How dare you!”

  Suddenly, however, the man noticed May's presence. She felt a shiver run down her spine.

  “What are you doing here? No guests allowed!” he hissed, clearly agitated.

  “I...”

  “Get out!” he shouted.

  May swallowed hard. Could she have left it alone? Probably. But...

  “It's not right, I think...”

  “You think?! Who asked you to THINK?! A country bumpkin from Outer Court has some talent and already THINKS she has the right to lecture others? Mind your own business!” He said to her, approaching her. He wanted to intimidate her.

  May wasn't sure what he was capable of. She didn't know him very well. She remembered Shui Gai's teachings about the more prominent cultivators.

  This did not reflect reality in any way. Shui's teachings were a considerable understatement! However, May did not want to be intimidated and wanted to be true to her values.

  “This is my business, Senior. As cultivators, we stand on the path of righteousness! I cannot stand idly by while others experience misery!” she said confidently.

  It was naive and childish, but she had no better idea. Although these were the true values of the sect, in reality they were mere pipe dreams. However, she had no other ground to stand on.

  “Ha! Don't make me laugh! I have the right to tenderize my children however I want! And it's none of your business.” He said, suddenly approaching her so closely that he was standing only two feet away from her. “Do you have anything else smart to say?”

  May cursed under her breath. However, she understood something. There was no point in arguing with him. Nothing she could say would get through to him. So she just shook her head.

  “I thought so,” he said, walking past her and bumping her shoulder. May squealed slightly in pain.

  May's body was stronger than the average adult, but the collision still caused her great pain. He was like steel.

  “Bandage her up and get back to the meeting room as soon as possible. The guests are waiting,” he said, then disappeared behind the door.

  Only now did May breathe a sigh of relief.

  As soon as he disappeared, the boy rushed over to his sister as quickly as he could. May also came closer, wanting to see how she was doing.

  “Zu... Zu! How are you feeling?”

  The girl was breathing heavily. She looked pitifully weak, especially considering her thin-to-skeletal figure. She spoke in a trembling voice: “I'm fine...”

  She tried to get up, but could barely stand. After a moment, she fell, but Peng caught her. “Stop! Don't move! May! Help me!”

  May immediately took the girl by the arm, and the boy took the other.

  “We have to go to the central room... There are medications there...” They walked in silence, aiding Zu Chen along the way.

  By the time they arrived, the girl had calmed down a little. Fortunately (or unfortunately), most of her injuries seemed to be psychological rather than physical.

  The boy began to treat her wounds. He applied various herbs, but he also began to use certain cultivation techniques. At that age, no one learned cultivation for medical treatments. May had a sneaking suspicion as to why he was so knowledgeable about medicine.

  “What happened?” May asked uncertainly, not sure if it was the right moment.

  “You have seen it. Nothing more can be said here,” Zu said wearily, panting heavily while Peng treated her with his full attention.

  “Yes, but... He must have had some reason... Right...?” May asked, already regretting slightly that she had started this conversation at all.

  “Reason…” she said quietly to herself. “There’s always a reason. This time, I fled the room, sat by myself, and spoke to no one. Instead of making connections, what did I do? Absolutely nothing. I need to get my shit together.”

  “But...”

  “There are no buts.”

  May felt miserable about it. She could see the helplessness in her eyes. She had never witnessed domestic violence before. She didn't know what to do.

  However... I can't just leave it like this. La Xia... No, that's not enough. But Ze Yun, on the other hand... I haven't seen him in a long time, but if...

  “I don't know what you're thinking, but stop it.” The boy, who was still busy treating her, suddenly spoke up.

  “I want to help somehow...”

  “You can't,” said the girl powerlessly. “He's our father.”

  “So what? Does that give him the right to be violent?”

  “To nurture us. It's not violence, it's nurturing.”

  May couldn't believe what she was hearing. “You're not on his side, are you? Why are you defending him?”

  “We're not defending him,” replied the girl, still with her empty gaze. “But as my brother said, everyone treats it as parenting. We have no right to oppose him. It would be a real crime, unlike what he does to us.”

  May still didn't give up. Were they so horrified that they thought they had to endure this suffering? They didn't know any other world, so they thought there was no other way? May couldn't believe such a negative attitude, she couldn't accept it, even though she subconsciously sensed the truth.

  “But if others found out about it...” she began.

  “Nothing would change,” the girl replied, not letting her finish. “And do you know why? Because everyone already knows. And. No. One. Does. Anything.”

  May fell silent. Neither of the twins said anything either. The boy finally finished his treatment.

  The girl stood up. “Let's go.”

  “Wait, you could barely stand a moment ago, maybe you should rest a little longer?” May began, slightly concerned about her condition.

  “No. It took too long anyway. If we don't entertain our guests right away, I'll end up even worse soon.” She said, walking ahead.

  The boy approached her and patted her on the back regretfully.

  “I'm sorry, May. I didn't intend for you to witness any of this... But I wasn't expecting it on a big day like this... I'm sorry. I have to go now. You can stay here as long as you want.” He said, leaving her alone in the room.