"Poor thing...She was beaten too severely." The old butler sighed at the battered sight of his Young Miss.
The blood from her cracked skull had trailed from her forehead, down her eyelids. Her entire face was covered with dark, purple bruises. Her left arm and right leg were bent in a weird shape.
"She suffered greatly before dying." One of the beaters gruffly spoke up. His voice was laced with tiredness from hitting the girl for so long, but his eyes were sharp and dark.
He didn't expect Viscount Bai to be so harsh on his own daughter. He thought he would only be cracking her skull with one hit. He never expected his Master to want the girl to die so painfully.
"Let's get her out of here before Master comes back." Another servant spoke up. His voice was shaky because it was his first night on the job. He didn't expect his first day of work would be killing a beautiful girl.
The butler watched the servants pick up the battered body of Xueyue and sighed. It was such a shame she had to die so young, but he knew it must be done.
If words get out that Viscount Bai had ordered the death of his daughter, people would criticize him. But the people will judge him more for not properly raising the child. To discover a young child committed murder right underneath his roof, would deal great damage to Viscount Bai's reputation.
In a stern and unremorseful voice, he told the servants, "Master Bai said to throw her deep into the forest where she'll be left to rot."
"Yes, sir." The men said in unison.
They carried Xueyue's body out of the Prayer Halls and walked into the forest. During the entire journey, they grumbled and complained underneath their breath. It was storming heavily outside, and they were forced to lug her deep into the forest.
"It's so much work bringing her all the way in there. Let's just leave her at the edge of the forest. I'm sure Viscount Bai wouldn't mind." One of the men finally spoke up.
The men exchanged thoughtful glances with each other. Almost everyone here shared the same idea as him. "Besides, it's raining too heavily tonight. If we take her all the way to the center of the forest, we might get lost. The rain has knocked down some trees. The paths are blocked and muddy, so it'll be hard to identify which is the right way back." Another man spoke up.
After a few thoughtful seconds, the men all nodded. "Okay, let's just drop her off at the edge of the forest. There will be animals roaming at night, so if nature doesn't take her, the beasts will."
And just like that, they all walked towards the edges of the forest. Climbing over an enormous tree that had fallen from the violent wind, they threw the Xueyue's body onto the muddy ground. Rain poured on her face, washing away the dried blood.
Even with the painful, purple marks on her face, Xueyue was still stunningly beautiful. Even though her skin was ghostly pale and her lips were blue, it wasn't enough to diminish her beauty.
"Hey, where are you going?!" One of the men shouted at the new worker who was walking back to Xueyue's body.
"It seems like I dropped something along the way. You guys head back first, I'll go look for it!" The new worker shouted back.
The men were all too drained and tired to care about the man. He was new to working here, so there wasn't any close bond formed between him and the other workers.
"Whatever, it's not my problem." The workers grumbled to themselves. They continued the long trudge back to the Manor.
Meanwhile, the new worker was quickly running in the direction of Xueyue's body. Once he got there, he glanced down at her battered face. "I don't know what you did wrong...but I truly feel bad for you." He whispered to her.
"I didn't think I'd be the one to place the finishing blow on you..." He said with a heavy heart. This was the first time he had ever killed someone...nevertheless, a child.
The young man raised his head and sheltered his eyes from the heavy rain. He walked a few feet into the forest and picked out enormous lotus leafs. After picking up the leafs, he walked towards Xueyue's unresponsive body.
Draping the leafs over her body, he sheltered her from the rain. Because the leaves were so big and thick, it was enough to form three protective layers over Xueyue's body.
In a silent voice, he said, "Though this isn't a proper burial, it's the least I could do for you."
After covering Xueyue's body from head-to-toe with lotus leafs, he walked away from her and began the journey back to the Bai Manor.
His mother always taught him to respect woman, and that no matter what a person has done, they always deserve a proper burial. He was always the obedient type, especially when it came to his mother's words. He was a very clingy son that dearly loved his mother, so he always listened to her advice.
The younger worker didn't realize by placing the lotus leafs onto Xueyue's body, he had unknowingly saved her from hypothermia.