"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 weird angles.
"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 Sheng 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 desire a painful death.
"Let's get her out of here before the 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. He sighed again. It was such a shame she had to die so young, but he knew it must be done.
If word gets out that Viscount Bai had ordered the death of his daughter, people would criticize him. But people will judge him more for not properly raising the child.
To discover that a young girl had committed murder right underneath his roof would deal great damage to Viscount Bai's reputation. And if the public discovered how she was conceived...
The old butler shook his head at the horrible thought. In a stern and unremorseful voice, he commanded, "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 under their breath.
It was storming heavily outside, and they were forced to carry her deep into the forest. Sweat broke out on their backs from the humid air, but they continued on.
"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 servants exchanged thoughtful glances with each other. Almost everyone here shared the same idea as him.
Another man spoke up, "Perhaps you're right. It's raining too heavily tonight. If we take her all the way to the center of the forest, we'll get lost. The paths are blocked and muddy, so it'll be hard to identify which is the right way back."
In a few seconds, they came to a decision. "We'll 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." 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 Xueyue's body onto the muddy ground. Rain poured on her face, washing away the dried blood. With purple marks on her pale skin, she was a horrid sight to behold.
Suddenly, a man looked around at his surroundings before wandering back to Xueyue's body.
Someone spoke up, "Hey, where are you going?!" He could tell the man was one of the new workers of the estate, but he didn't look like an ordinary man...
"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 before walking deeper into the forest.
The men were all too drained and tired to care about the other worker. Because he was new, there wasn't any special friendship between him and the other workers.
"Whatever, it's not my problem," someone grumbled. Everyone continued the long and tiring trek back to the Bai 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... and it was a woman.
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 leaves. After picking up the leaves, he walked towards Xueyue's unresponsive body.
Draping the lotus leaves over her body, he sheltered her from the rain. He walked back and forth from the pond for a while until he had covered Xueyue's limp body with at least three protective layers.
In a silent voice, he said, "Though this isn't a proper burial, it's the least I could do for you." With that said, he began the slippery and dangerous journey back to the Bai Manor.
His mother always taught him to respect women, 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 who dearly loved his mother, so he always listened to her advice.
The younger worker didn't realize by placing the lotus leaves onto Xueyue's body, he had unknowingly saved her from hypothermia, which saved her life.