Chapter 124: Personnel Arrangement

Inside the bathroom, only the sound of running water, suppressed sobs, and the noise of scrubbing bodies remained.

Amid the rising steam, grime faded bit by bit, revealing their pale, exhausted true faces, but their tense nerves seemed to relax slightly in this warm washing.

Li Feifei went through each of them, gently untangling their knotted hair, her movements as delicate as touching fragile porcelain.

She hummed a tuneless folk song in a low voice; the melody echoed in the bathroom, and though it wasn't a proper tune, it acted like an invisible barrier, temporarily blocking out the bad memories.

When the last person had washed her face and lifted her wet eyelashes, Li Feifei gently took her cold hand: "All right, it's over now."

That woman stared blankly at her blurry reflection in the mirror, looking at the bathroom before her; in a daze, it seemed as if she had returned to her own apartment, and her previous ordeal was merely a dream.

After bathing, drying off, and putting on fresh clothes, Li Feifei led them to the bedroom; ahead appeared a staircase leading upward, with light shining down from above.

Li Feifei stepped onto the stairs first, then turned back and whispered a reminder: "Watch your step."

The stairs spiraled upward, leading to a wide corridor on the second level of the fortress.

Li Feifei stopped before a heavy wooden door.

She gently pushed the door open, and a warmth mixed with the scent of wood washed over her.

This was a spacious bedroom, with several plain tapestries hanging on the walls.

In the bedroom stood three small beds, each covered with thick blankets and simple mattresses.

"Go in and rest now," Li Feifei said, stepping aside to fully reveal the room's layout; her voice remained soft yet clear enough for everyone to hear, "Sleep well and forget everything that happened before."

The three small beds in the bedroom were all neatly made; the covers were plain coarse cloth, but the edges had been reinforced with fine stitching, revealing a silent care.

Warm yellow light streamed down from the ceiling, casting a soft glow on the wooden floor, temporarily dispelling those cold memories.

The three women approached, their fingertips hesitantly touching the softness of the blankets, as if probing some fragile dream.

One of them sat down gently; the mattress emitted a faint creak, yet it allowed her tense shoulders to relax slightly, her vacant gaze fixed on the pattern of the tapestry on the wall, as if seeking a long-lost sense of safety.

Li Feifei stood by the door, her voice lowered to a whisper: "Lie down in peace; there will be no more wind and snow here."

She watched them curl into the blankets, their thin bodies gradually unfolding within the thick fabric, then quietly closed the door, leaving only the room's silence and warm light.

The heavy door blocked outside sounds, but could not shut out the blood-red and icy turmoil churning in their minds.

On the three beds, the figures lay still like withered leaves, only the occasional faint tremor of the blanket corners betraying the inner storm that had not yet subsided.

The youngest woman in the corner suddenly shuddered, her fingers gripping the rough blanket tightly, her knuckles turning pale.

The air was filled with the scent of soap and clean linen, warm and dry; this should have been a soothing lullaby for sleep, yet it made them feel waves of unfamiliar suffocation—having grown accustomed to filth and despair, pure tranquility had become an unbearable luxury.

They stared with hollow eyes, listening to their heartbeats drum like in the silence; each throb tugged at unhealed wounds, each breath heavily dragged the weight of an unspeakable past.

Outside the door, Li Feifei did not leave immediately; her back pressed against the cold door panel, she lifted her head and drew a deep breath, and in the depths of her habitually gentle eyes now surged an ineffable sorrow and grief.

She heard the heartbreaking, barely audible sobs from within the door, then slowly slid to sit on the floor, arms wrapped around her knees, curling herself into a small, silent silhouette, guarding this door that separated hell from the human world, as if protecting three faint sparks that might go out at any moment.

Li Qingxuan went upstairs, saw Li Feifei sitting on the ground, walked over, pulled her up, gently patted her back, and brought her into the study.

The study's door closed softly behind them, shutting out the faint firelight from the corridor, leaving only a deep, tranquil darkness inside.

Li Qingxuan walked to the desk, his fingertips brushing the rough wood grain.

Li Feifei leaned against the cold bookshelf, her back still tense, as if she could still feel through the door the five frightened hearts pounding.

She raised her hand, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the rough fabric of her sleeve, a lump of unshed sourness stuck in her throat, her unfocused gaze falling on the swaying wick; the firelight flickered in her eyes but could not illuminate the boundless sorrow within.

Li Qingxuan took a cup from nearby, poured clean water into it, producing a clear, tinkling sound.

He handed the cup over with a steady motion: "Take a sip of water, calm down."

Li Feifei took it mechanically; the icy ceramic touched her trembling palm, a few drops splashed out, spreading dark stains across the tabletop.

She took a sip; the water slid over her dry throat, bringing a brief moment of clarity, yet it could not dispel the sorrow surging in her chest.

In Li Qingxuan's deep black pupils lay a stillness as dark as night.

He pulled over a wooden chair, gesturing for her to sit: "Fear needs time to scab over. Time is the best medicine." His tone was low and firm, as if stating an indisputable truth.

"Now let's first talk about how to arrange them," Li Qingxuan interrupted Li Feifei, who was lost in thought, and said softly.

"What do you have in mind?" Li Feifei replied, having composed herself, solemnly.

"Well, why not have them follow you, doing odd jobs around the fortress, helping out?" Li Qingxuan sighed, pondered a moment, then said.

"That's really all we can do; I wouldn't feel safe putting them in someone else's camp." Li Feifei glanced at the door.

The two gradually fell silent, quietly drinking the water in their cups.

Ling'er knocked twice on the door, pushed it open and entered, with Huang Rong and Shuang'er following closely behind.

They held a tray bearing two bowls of steaming rice porridge and several plates of pickled vegetables; the plain aroma of the food spread a faint warmth through the study, heavy with emotion.

"Sister Feifei, Brother Qingxuan," Ling'er's voice was clear but kept low, carrying a hint of cautious probing, "Seeing you've been in the study for a while, we… we made some porridge."

She gently set the tray on an empty corner of the desk; the bowl bottoms tapped the tabletop, making a slight sound.

Huang Rong sat down, while Shuang'er stood silently behind her sister, her large eyes full of worry; her gaze lingered briefly on Li Feifei's slightly pale face and Li Qingxuan's furrowed brows, then quickly dropped, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

Li Feifei took a deep breath, suppressed the tightness in her chest, and managed to pull a gentle curve onto her face, nodding at the two sisters: "Thank you for your trouble, Ling'er, Shuang'er."

Li Qingxuan's gaze also withdrew from his deep thoughts, falling on the steaming bowl of porridge before him.

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