(Manami POV)

As expected, Delta had won the competition with ease.

??

Hearing those two idiots of the Xi Family complain so incessantly was rather annoying though.

But since Master had been occupied with brushing my tails, it made the whole thing bearable at least.

They had watched on in envy when the Phoenix Ember petal was passed to Delta, the elf waving towards our direction with a beaming smile.

"Interesting girl, friend of any of yours?" Master asked while braiding Cai Hong's hair, the loli dragon seated comfortably on his lap.

"We met her back at Jin city," Lian Li explained. "Manai was quite sympathetic to her situation and we made friends with her."

Master smiled at me, "I see. I take that as the reason why she got almost all my questions right?"

I bowed my head low, "I apologise Master, should we not have tutored her?"

Master waved his hand quickly, "Oh no, that's not what I meant. I'm proud that you girls had already spread your knowledge to others, it is not good to hoard knowledge after all. As long as you trust who you're teaching, I am fine with that."

Master… Your benevolence is truly boundless…

Any other Practitioner, any other Master will want to keep their own secrets to themselves. Yet Master is spreading his knowledge around freely without asking for any payment.

"So… A blind elf hmm?" Master wondered aloud.

"She's not actually blind though," Eris commented. "Her eyes were cursed."

Master raised an eyebrow, "Cursed? By chance, is she the one with the cursed eyes that you girls had asked me about curing?"

We all nodded meekly.

"I see…" Master nodded, patting each of our heads in turn.

Ufufufu~~ Master even gave the back of my ears a scratch~~

"Well, I would like to listen to her story, but that will have to be for later. I need to go and prepare for the start of the fireworks."

"Cai Hong go?" Cai Hong asked, reaching out her hands to Master.

Master patted her head, "Mmm… You girls can just stay here and watch. It's the best spot to watch the fireworks. I'll be back once it's over."

"Okies~~"

We watched Master wave his hand in the air before disappearing from his spot,? teleporting away in a flash of light.

I looked back towards the stage, finding Delta being led away by one of our staff members.

Ah, I remember Lian Li had prepared Delta a place to rest during the Festival, she must be going there I presumed.

*

(Delta POV)

"Cardinal Delta…" A voice whispered near me. I tilted my head slightly to indicate the person to continue. "They have delayed the start of the fireworks."

I pursed my lips, "Why? Won't this disrupt the schedule Master set out for them?"

"Ah, no. They delayed it because Master is going to be in charge of the fireworks and he insists that the first one to be lit exactly at midnight."

Ah, then their actions made sense.

"I see. Indeed, everything else is inconsequential as long as Master is there. Thank you for telling me."

"Also… High Priestess Lian Li told me to inform you that we vacated this small room with a view of the sky for you. You can remove the blindfold whenever you want. We will return after the fireworks are over."

I trembled upon hearing those words.

"To have the High Priestess think so far for me… I am truly honoured. Please offer my sincerest gratitude to them."

"It will be done."

I clasped my hands together, "All for Master."

"All for Master."

I heard the footsteps recede from the room, a soft click indicating a door being closed on my far right.

Right now, I was seated in a small unused building in a deserted corner of the Sect. The High Priestesses had secured this building for my use alone, the honor of such an action was not lost on me.

My hand reached to my right, fumbling around until I felt the familiar feeling of my cane in? my grasp.

I made my way towards where I remembered the window to be, my cane making tapping sounds as I maneuvered around the furniture.

I felt something solid at the end of the stick, confirming that it was a wall by dragging it along its length.

Placing my free hand on the wall, I began feeling for the opening that would signify the window's position while moving towards the right.

My fingers traced along the wall's smooth surface, the smoothness ending on a rough surface abruptly after a few seconds which I identified as wood.

With one hand on what I assumed to be the window frame, I slowly guided myself towards the opening.

The breeze of fresh air confirmed my assumption of my location.

Leaning my cane on the window frame, I slowly undid the bindings on my blindfold, unwrapping it layer by layer.

As the last of the cloth fell from my face, my cursed eyes were revealed to the world once more.

I blinked my eyes quickly, adapting my eyes to the light that it was denied from for so long.

Just as I managed to look outside the window without hurting my eyes, a loud whistling sound echoed from the distance.

I shifted my eyes towards the sound just in time to catch sight of a small trail of red light streaking up into the sky.

I watched in fascination as the light exploded into a giant red flower, filling up the sky with a reddish hue.

Before the light faded away, three green coloured streaks joined it in the sky, exploding in a shower of sparks to form the stalk of the flower and a single leaf sticking out from the side.

Five white coloured balls of light crawled upwards when the flower faded into darkness.

The balls exploded in a brilliance of white, prompting another five orange streaks to join them in the sky.

There was a secondary explosion from the white ones, each one forming a flower petal that surrounded the orange streak to create an image of a lily flower.

The orange lights then exploded, each of them highlighting the brilliance of the lily flower flawlessly.

The display was simply gorgeous beyond description.

I was enthralled by the fireworks,? the knowledge that Master was the one who was behind this beautiful art piece made me was especially humbling.

Just then, a cool breeze blew through the window, snatching the cloth away from my hand and sending it back into the room.

I grabbed at the air, trying to catch the end of the cloth before it flew too far away. It proved to be a fruitless effort with my eyes partially blinded by the bright fireworks, ending up with nothing in my hands.

Sighing, crouched down low on the floor, closing my eyes to readjust to the darkness of the room.

Even after a few seconds had passed, everything still seemed so bright in the near-darkness of the room to me.

Grimacing at these accursed pair of eyes while I used a hand to cover over my eyes and shield myself from the light.

While my other senses were tuned to the maximum, I heard a soft creak coming from deep within the room.

I immediately forced my eyes open behind my hand, ignoring the pain that came with it, "Who's there?!"

Silence.

"I know you are there! Who are you?!"

"Tsk… To think a blind little elf like you actually caught me…" A voice whispered in front of me.

This voice… That Taoyan fellow huh.

I kept a hand over my eyes while the other hand gripped my cane tightly, "What do you want?"

"Don't worry about it little elf thing, just know that you have something we want."

I stood up to my full height, "I take it you are an enemy."

He scoffed, "The eyes hurt don't they? There's always that burning sensation at the back of your eyes, isn't there?"

"How did you… I see,? you're part of that Dark Sect…"

"That obvious huh? Not that I really care anyway since you won't be able to do much in a few moments. Anyway, long story short, we need those eyes of yours and I think I've monologued enough plot away at this time so I'll have to take you now."

I released my hold over my eyes, scanning the room for my assailant.

But just as my eyes regained their sight, a black stip of cloth was wrapped around them from behind.

"You didn't think we were not aware of your eyes' powers did you?" Another voice said from behind me.

"Tie it tight, Leizhui, wouldn't want her slipping out of it easily," Taoyan commented, stepping closer to me.

I struggled in their grip, but I was no match against two Master level Practitioners.

A cloth was placed over my mouth to prevent my shout of alarm, which also resulted in me inadvertently inhaling the sleeping gas that had been soaked into the cloth.

I fought to try and stay awake, but it was a hopeless cause as I felt myself slowly growing weaker and weaker, my limbs starting to feel like lead.

"Now come on, get that Phoenix Ember off of her as well. We'll have to do this alone since every other team got stopped by those damn meddlesome church of theirs," Taoyan ordered.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this done and over with."

My legs gave way as I collapsed onto the floor, unable to muster any more strength to stay awake.

Master… I seek your light again… I pray so…