A carriage bearing the emblem of the Nomandale Town Hall sped through the forest.
It was a compact, two-seater carriage. Polished brass lamps hung from its four corners, their flickering flames illuminating a radius of only four or five meters.
Wang Yue sat upright inside. The solid rubber tires made for a jolting ride, causing her small body to sway incessantly with the carriage’s movements.
The interior was dim and cramped, smelling of old leather—hardly a pleasant scent. Outside the window lay a profound, absolute darkness. Ever since entering the Evernight Realm, she hadn’t seen a single sunrise.
Through the power of the Seed of the Inverse Link and a series of delicate surgical adjustments performed by the Church’s doctors, he had been completely transformed into a twelve-year-old girl.
Cardinal Elliot had even gone so far as to hire several royal tutors to provide her with two hundred hours of aristocratic etiquette lessons. Their feedback had been positive, claiming she was naturally elegant—a born lady.
Now, Wang Yue sat with her knees together, her calves, clad in white silk stockings, slanted parallel to one another. It was a meticulous “Duchess Slant.”
Turning her head slightly, she saw a young girl’s face reflected in the window.
She had a chin-length bob, cut into a sharp, precise Sassoon style. Her skin was ivory-white, contrasting sharply with her pitch-black hair and eyes. Her lips were thin and her nose straight, giving her a passing resemblance to a young Natalie Portman.
The Gaze Worm was restless, squirming against her brain. A slimy, cold sensation lingered inside her skull, refusing to dissipate.
As Wang Yue studied her reflection, the Gaze Worm slithered across her frontal lobe and squeezed into her eye socket. She felt a mass of slick soft tissue pushing her eyeball outward. It was nauseating.
When it was first implanted, the discomfort and revulsion had made her feel as though she were breaking. Now, however, she had not only adapted to its presence but could calmly analyze its movements.
In the glass’s reflection, countless tiny tentacles sprouted from the edges of her eyelids. They wriggled against the whites of her eyes—a sight more terrifying than any ghost.
A chill ran through her, but she didn’t dare let her thoughts wander too far. If the worm identified any hint of betrayal, it would rupture, its acidic fluids dissolving her brain instantly.
After a long silence, Wang Yue let out a soft sigh. Her once-proud, deep voice had been replaced by the sweet, melodic tone of a young girl.
Despite the drastic changes brought by her gender transition, her emotions didn’t flicker. Under the surveillance of the Gaze Worm, the “inner self” no longer existed. There was no privacy for her thoughts; every whim was laid bare to the Cardinal.
“I am devoid of emotion,” she whispered.
Outside the carriage, in the depths of the forest where Wang Yue could not see, a dark shadow glided silently.
The night was murky, and the moon remained hidden. The carriage galloped along the forest path as the coachman, draped in a black cloak, sat high on his perch, cracking his whip to urge the two horses forward.
The shadow trailed behind the carriage, impossible to shake. It was faster than the horses, yet it merely followed, its intentions unclear.
As the carriage rounded a bend, the shadow suddenly accelerated. Taking a shortcut through the brush, it lunged out from the side!
Bang!
Before the impact was even felt, the lead horse neighed in terror, rearing up and losing its speed.
The crossbar slammed into the horse’s hindquarters, and inside the cabin, Wang Yue’s head collided violently with the partition. This was the inevitable result of a sudden stop in a carriage without seatbelts.
Her head throbbed. Reaching up, she felt warm, viscous blood.
“Miss, are you alright?” the coachman’s voice called out from the rear. In this model of two-seater carriage, the driver sat behind the cabin rather than in front.
“What happened?” Wang Yue asked weakly.
“Miss, we hit someone. It looks like a young girl.”
“I’ll go look.”
Wang Yue pushed the door open and stepped out.
Her head was spinning from the impact, and she suspected a concussion. Fortunately, the Mystic Art “Puppet” allowed her to move without being hindered by the pain.
The surrounding world was a wall of oppressive black, but the carriage lamps provided a reassuring circle of light. Within that circle, she saw a figure lying on the ground.
It was a small girl with striking pink hair, wearing a hoodie and a short skirt. Her petite body was twisted awkwardly, twitching slightly.
Wang Yue walked over to her, thinking to herself: Poor thing. She’s taken quite a hit. I suppose I won’t be making it to Balor Academy today. I’ll have to take her back to Nomandale for treatment—or burial.
She performed a quick check. There were no obvious external wounds, suggesting internal injuries. She carefully rolled the girl over. While moving an accident victim could cause secondary trauma, she had to get her into the carriage to get help.
Suddenly, the pink-haired girl’s eyes fluttered open a crack. In her vision, a peer was looking down at her with concern.
The girl had black hair as straight and shiny as wire and flawless white skin. She was beautiful, except…
Countless eerie tentacles were wriggling from her eye sockets. Dark red blood flowed down her eyelids and nose, pooling at her chin into a heavy droplet. She looked like a demon.
“A ghost!” the girl screamed. Her voice was full of vigor, showing no sign of injury.
Startled, Wang Yue let go.
The girl scrambled to her feet to run, but her legs gave out. she plopped back onto the ground, using her hands and feet to scurry backward. Her face was contorted in terror, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Ghost Sister, please don’t kill me! Don’t suck out my brains, I beg you!”
“I’m very stupid! A dummy’s brains taste bitter, they’re no good!”
“I won’t try to scam people anymore! Please spare me, waaaaah!”
What is this? Wang Yue thought. Insurance scams even exist in another world? She decided this behavior shouldn’t be encouraged. She needed to teach her a lesson.
Wang Yue lunged forward, her fingers clawed like talons, and let out a low, dragging moan.
