Chapter 28: Crisis
Adele soaked in the bathtub, her chaotic thoughts still unable to break free from the nightmare.
As an observer, she had witnessed a sacrifice firsthand.
And the appearance of the madwoman made her feel that this was not just a simple dream.
Could it be… that she had been reborn?
Adele quickly dismissed this idea.
There were no gaps in her memories from before she transmigrated. In her original world, she was an equestrian coach. She remembered the trajectory of her life from childhood to adulthood with perfect clarity. How could she have been reborn?
And what did the madwoman’s “go find it” mean? What on earth was she supposed to find?
Adele couldn’t make heads or tails of it. She agitatedly stirred the water’s surface.
Hot water splashed onto the glass, wiping away the fog.
Adele turned her face and saw the skin that Lina had caressed.
She touched it, and the person in the mirror suddenly turned into Lina.
It was that more mature face again.
The face she found a little hard to resist.
“Reminiscing about me?”
Adele immediately shrank into the water, her ears bright red. “Who are you?”
“Who am I?” She let out two light laughs, her voice filled with a frivolous, wicked intent. “You hold me every night. You should know very well.”
“Are you really Lina?”
“I am the her of the future, and also the person in this world who understands you the most. Every single point, I know it all clearly…”
Adele trembled all over, her breathing quickening from the teasing.
It was as if some memory was being rapidly awakened. Her body “recognized its master” before her mind did.
The trembling came out of nowhere. When she spoke, she found that her voice had changed pitch.
“This… this is too absurd…”
The clear water couldn’t block the burgeoning desire. The person in the mirror enjoyed her reaction. “Teacher, if I did many excessive things to you, would you forgive me?”
“What things?” Adele hugged herself. This was actually a futile attempt to cover up. Her entire being was already cooked through.
“Forget it. As long as you don’t leave me, it won’t hurt.”
Hurt?
Many fragments of memory suddenly flashed through Adele’s mind.
Boiling breaths intertwined, a chaotic, reckless collision, two people streaming with tears…
She tilted her neck back, as if returning to that memory. A ripple suddenly appeared on the water’s surface, like a long, gentle caress.
“I’m sorry, Teacher.”
At the same time, on the other side of the door, Lina suddenly caught sight of a shadow on the floor.
Someone was behind her!
She spun around and saw that the imposter she had stabbed to death had appeared in the room again.
Her appearance and stature were still exactly the same as Adele’s.
“We meet again.”
Lina was in disbelief. She still remembered the taste of blood, the scalding, sticky sensation.
“Weren’t you killed by me?”
“I told you, I can’t die.” The imposter approached, step by step. “If you don’t believe me, you can try again.”
Lina retreated to the window and drew her sword again. “Don’t think I don’t dare.”
The imposter gave a cold smile and walked right onto the longsword.
Lina’s breath hitched. “You…”
“Does your teacher know that you have a blood debt on your hands? Does she know that you’re a bad rabbit who kills without batting an eye? Tell me, if she saw your true colors, would she still love you?”
Lina glanced frantically at the bathroom, then abruptly pulled the sword out and whispered, “Shut up!”
The imposter clutched her wound, her features twisting in a smile. “Forgot to tell you, I have a symbiotic relationship with your teacher. If I’m injured, she’ll be injured too. If you want to kill me, you’ll have to kill her! Hahaha—”
“It hurts…”
Adele was pulled from her memory. The pain of being repeatedly taken by Lina had turned into the pain of being cut open.
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. “It hurts so much…”
The person in the mirror cried out—
“Blood!”
Adele lowered her gaze and only then discovered that her stomach was cut open.
Blood was gushing out.
What’s going on?
She clutched her lower abdomen.
The last time, the wound that had appeared out of nowhere had healed instantly. This time, why was it starting to bleed?
It hurt so much.
She couldn’t sit up from the pain. Her entire body slid into the bathtub, her head submerged in the bloody water.
I can’t breathe.
So dizzy.
So dizzy…
“Who are you! What’s your purpose!” Lina gritted her teeth.
“I won’t tell you. I’ll mess up your lives! No one will have it easy! I…”
Before the imposter could finish, she once again disappeared for no reason.
At the same time, Adele abruptly lifted her head from the water.
With a “splash,” water flew everywhere.
She gasped for air. Before she could even wipe the water from her face, she checked the wound on her body.
But her lower abdomen was as smooth as before. There was no wound at all.
The water in the bathtub was also clean, with no blood.
Adele touched the glass again. The person in the mirror had already vanished.
Haunted again?
But the restless trembling within her body was still there. Lina’s defiance…
Just thinking about it made Adele’s lower back go numb.
She didn’t want to soak in the water anymore. It was already wet enough.
Adele took a towel to dry her body. The towel, pressed against her skin, unexpectedly amplified the lingering afterglow. “Mmph—”
Her waist went completely soft.
Adele looked at herself in the mirror. There wasn’t a trace of the snow-domain overlord left.
She felt more like a rabbit.
If the person in the mirror was telling the truth, then the lop-eared rabbit of the future would be far too difficult to handle.
…
Lina woke up abruptly. There was no one in the room at all. The longsword was also resting steadily on the windowsill.
What’s going on?
Was it a dream?
She climbed out of the quilt. Just as she was about to check the time, Adele came out of the bathroom.
Lina’s lips twitched. She immediately squeezed out a calm and composed expression.
She had killed someone. Teacher must never know about this!
Both of them were immersed in the recent unexpected events. Only after truly feeling each other’s presence did they recover.
Lina knelt obediently on the bed, her two hands clasped together, just as when they had first met. It was very cute, completely different from the wicked woman in the mirror.
Adele looked at her and suddenly had a wicked thought. “Still not asleep?”
She pretended to have forgotten about the kiss.
Lina’s expression froze. She suspected she had misheard.
Aren’t we going to kiss?
What does this mean?
She knelt up straight and moved closer. “I…”
She was too embarrassed to speak. Her expression was a mix of unease and grievance, but there was no blame.
Adele almost couldn’t bring herself to bully her, but she still resisted the temptation and slipped directly into the quilt.
“Sleep.”
Lina was so anxious her eyes turned red.
She had tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice! Now the only lecherous fiend was her!
If only she had kissed her just now!
No!
“Mmph…” Lina also slipped in. She hugged Adele from behind and muttered in a small voice, “Alright, Teacher can do whatever you want to me. Even if I’m very uncomfortable, I’ll endure it obediently. As long as Teacher is happy. I won’t cry out loud. I’ll just hide under the bed by myself to wipe my tears. It’s okay, I won’t be greedy. I’m a good rabbit…”
After a full two seconds of silence, Adele turned around.
She knew very well that Lina was saying this on purpose, but her heart instantly softened.
“You really want to?”
Lina nodded.
Adele asked again, “Want what?”
The naive rabbit couldn’t handle it at all. “I…”
Adele cupped her face. “Tell me, what do you want?”
“Can we kiss?”
After saying this, Lina was so ashamed her toes curled up. If Adele hadn’t been holding her face, she would have drilled into the bedframe.
“We can.”
Adele thought she was so cute. A fluffy little thing that made one’s heart soften, made one want to indulge her.
What’s wrong with a kiss?
Even if she got completely worked up, it was still fine.
Lina was overwhelmed by the favor. She shrank her neck. The quilt was warm and toasty. The scent on Adele made her a little dizzy. “I…”
She was just about to ask how she should start.
Adele had already moved closer.
“Have you thought it through?”
A gentle whisper, a patient question.
Lina gave a “Mhm,” her eyelashes trembling nonstop, looking like she was ready to be plucked.
Adele was completely captivated by her cuteness. Her voice was slightly hoarse. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
Lina began to tremble slightly and took the initiative to wrap her arms around Adele’s neck.
Suddenly!
A rapid knocking sounded on the door. The two people, who were just a millimeter away from touching, were both startled.
Adele: !
Lina: !
The knocking was loud and insistent. Adele patted Lina’s head and said helplessly, “It might be something urgent. I’ll go take a look first.”
The little rabbit, who had just been so fragrant and soft, her face darkened the moment Adele left.
What the hell!
Lina was so angry she wanted to punch the bed.
Ah!
The wolf that was right at her lips had flown away again!
Adele pulled open the door and found it was Aomo.
“It’s so late, I’m really sorry to disturb you. It was inconvenient to talk during the day with so many people around. I have to tell you now.”
Aomo got straight to the point.
Adele also remembered the wolf ears in the crystal ball. She thought for a moment, then nodded. “Just a moment. I’ll be right out.”
Aomo took two steps back on her own initiative, indicating that she could take her time.
Adele closed the door and slipped back into the bed curtains. “You go to sleep first. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Lina suddenly grabbed her arm. “You don’t want to kiss me at all, do you?”
Her tone was sharp.
But Adele only saw the tears flickering in her eyes. “I do.”
A flustered little rabbit was not being unreasonable; she was just insecure.
Adele understood it all.
The overly firm tone slightly soothed Lina’s heart. She didn’t dare to ask for a reason anymore. She convinced herself to be sensible, not to be clingy.
But Adele seemed to have the ability to read minds. She saw through her pretense and whispered gently in her ear, “You are very precious to me. I don’t want to treat you in a frivolous way, and I don’t want to casually have a relationship with you. I want you to feel comfortable.”
Lina was stunned.
“I want to kiss you. I’ve always wanted to. But I want to give you a good experience even more, and not just to satisfy my own selfish desires. So, next time, okay?”
Lina finally smiled from the bottom of her heart.
“Okay.”
“Don’t stay up late.” Adele tucked her in. “Be good and sleep.”
“Mhm.” Lina was so coaxed that not a single hair was out of place. Her sparkling eyes were filled with a pure smile.
*
The corridor was quiet at night.
Adele followed Aomo back to her room. Before they got close, they heard “ow ow” sounds.
“What’s…”
What’s that noise? A pig being slaughtered?
Adele felt it was impolite to ask and stopped herself.
“Bad child.” Aomo said as she pushed open the door, “Don’t mind her. She’ll quiet down on her own.”
Herlkin, seeing Aomo’s face, was about to continue wailing, but then she caught sight of Adele. She instantly shut up and shrank into the quilt.
Aomo patted the lump in the quilt. Herlkin trembled all over.
She had just been dealt with. It was impossible for it not to hurt. But she was a proud red fox, the ruler of the docks. She had her pride.
With Adele here, she wouldn’t make a sound even if it killed her!
“It’s like this. When I was in the mountains, I calculated that a wolf in the south was in danger. Today, when I got close to you, the crystal ball reacted.” Aomo paused. “You’re not a pure-blood human, are you.”
Adele glanced at the person hidden in the quilt. Aomo, realizing her concern, said, “Xiao Jin, you are not to tell a fourth person about today’s conversation.”
“I know.” Herlkin’s voice was muffled and a little hoarse, clearly having just cried. “Not only will I not tell, but I will also cover my ears and absolutely not eavesdrop. I will be a good child and never make you angry again. My bottom has really suffered because of me…”
She spoke like a machine gun, rattling off a long string of words. Only after she finished did she realize Adele was still there and immediately fell silent.
Aomo’s eyes were doting. After a moment, she turned to Adele and said, “She’s very obedient to me. You don’t have to worry.”
“Can I know what danger you’re talking about?” Adele answered a question with a question.
Aomo placed her hand on the crystal ball and slowly closed her eyes.
After a moment, she said, “You will be burned to death.”
Burned to death!?
Adele’s eyes widened in an instant.
The raging fire from her nightmare was still fresh in her mind.
In the dream, the woman who looked exactly like her had rushed into the sea of fire!
“When will I be burned to death?” Adele’s throat was tight, her entire face pale.
Aomo said, “In about a week.”
Adele felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar.
About a week, that was right around the time of the Monastery Open Day. And in her dream, the place where Lina had met with misfortune was precisely the monastery!
Could it be…
The dream was a preview of reality!?
“Who wants to kill me?” Adele asked again.
Aomo opened her eyes. “Sorry, that’s beyond my abilities.”
Adele’s heart sank.
“Then is there any way to resolve the crisis?”
“Don’t go to the monastery.” Aomo said bluntly, “You and the one in your room, neither of you can go.”
This was like a bolt from the blue for Adele.
How could they not go?
If they didn’t go to the monastery, how would Lina have a chance to win Huaguang’s favor?
Herte was about to come back. Should she run away with Lina?
Then wouldn’t all their efforts for so long be in vain! What’s more, where could they run to? Live in the shadows for the rest of their lives?
“No!” Adele said urgently, “Is there no other way?”
Aomo stared at her. “Do you dare to gamble with your life?”
Adele hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded solemnly. She absolutely could not let the nightmare repeat itself. Even if she had to bet her life, she could not let Lina be burned alive.
“I’ve calculated it over and over again several times. Each time, a force has broken in and interfered with me, trying to change your dangerous situation. I’ve never encountered this before. If you dare to gamble, perhaps in the unseen, someone will help you.”
“I must get Lina out of all this, let her stand in the sun with dignity.” Adele clenched her fists.
“I’ll bet!”
*
The labor bureau usually kept troublemaking servants in solitary confinement.
The room was dimly lit. Only a small, palm-sized window let in a shaft of gray light.
“I was framed. I didn’t want to run away. It was all Lina’s fault… I want to sue her!”
A woman was curled up in a corner. She was emaciated, her hair greasy. But from her smooth calves and the top of her feet, one could glimpse her former comfortable life.
Unlike the numbness of the others, her eyes were filled with hatred.
To fall from a glamorous head maid to a black-laborer in the labor bureau overnight—no one would be willing.
The heavy iron door was pulled open with a “clang.”
The woman abruptly raised her head. The hope in her eyes instantly turned to anger. She gritted her teeth. “Why is it you?”
“Oh! My goodness! How did you become like this?” Dilys stood at the door and mocked, “I still prefer the way you were before, all high and mighty, not putting anyone in your eyes.”
“You colluded with Lina to frame me! You won’t be proud for long!” The woman glared at her, her eyes venomous. “The master will come and save me!”
A cold laugh came from behind Dilys, the end of it light and thin, making one’s hair stand on end.
Lina walked out of the shadows and stood in the cold white light. Having shed her timidity, her beauty was even more flamboyant. It was a face whose very outline was breathtaking. But this beauty was wrapped in a gloom that came from her bones.
She was like a rose with every thorn coated in snake venom. Her sharp edge made people not dare to trifle with her. Even a simple admiration had to be done with caution.
“Not enough to eat, not enough to wear, not enough sleep, and having to be beaten every day—is that a good life?” There was no sympathy in Lina’s sapphire-like eyes, only a cold assessment.
It’s not a good life.
She herself knew this feeling all too well.
Prune juice and cherry tomatoes were not filling at all. On the days she couldn’t eat her fill, she was tormented by stomach pain every day;
The robes of the Sacred Cult had no fleece lining. The coarse fabric was not warm. Every moment in the snowy winter days was an unbearable torment;
A sacrificial offering could only sleep four or five hours a day. When she was sleepy, she could only bite the back of her hand to stay awake. When even sleep became a luxury, she knew what it meant for the seconds to feel like years;
The days of always being bullied had lasted for too long, so long that she had gotten used to the pain, and could even find a sense of security in the extreme pain.
It’s not a good life.
Hearing this, a hint of guilt finally flashed in the woman’s cloudy eyes. She had watched Lina grow up. In her memory, Lina had always been a little rabbit:
A little rabbit who would only secretly hide under the bed to wipe her tears, who didn’t even dare to make a sound when she cried;
A little rabbit who would still force a smile and kneel to please after being bullied;
A little rabbit with no aggression, at the mercy of others.
The sudden retaliation had caught her off guard.
But she also knew very well that if Herte was the main culprit, she was the number one accomplice.
What had she done?
Skimped on the already pitifully small meals, deliberately changed Lina’s undergarments to worse materials, encouraged other maids to ignore her…
Too many things.
The woman didn’t dare to answer easily for a moment.
Lina walked into the room. A pair of expensive leather boots crushed the gravel on the floor. The long trousers, tailored from imported fine cotton and silk, still had a pearl-like luster in the dim light. Further up was a purely handmade floral vest. The embroidery on the stand-up collar shirt had been stitched, thread by thread, by three master craftsmen for half a month.
Her outfit was made of expensive materials, better than what most nobles wore.
Dress to impress. That’s how the world works. The more respectably Lina dressed, the more it would make those with ill intentions feel a sense of dread. Before they could act frivolously, they would think—
Lina is dressed so well. Could she be from a noble family?
Could Lina have a wealthy or noble person backing her?
If I mess with Lina, will I face a retaliation I can’t bear?
With these concerns, most people would dismiss those wicked thoughts.
These were all Adele’s little schemes. Of course, setting aside worldly factors, she also enjoyed dressing Lina up. Seeing the little rabbit eat well and dress well, she felt at ease.
Lina had also completed her metamorphosis. She was no longer the lop-eared rabbit who was trampled on at will.
From the inside out, she was not.
Lina squatted down and said, “You want to see Herte, don’t you?”
“No!” After a moment of silence, the woman suddenly changed her attitude and begged, “I know I was wrong! I was blind before. The young miss is the master of the manor! I won’t sue you anymore! Please let me go. From now on, I will only listen to you!”
“I gave you a chance. Actually, if you hadn’t gone out to report that night…” Lina suddenly stopped.
The woman’s eyes were filled with hope. She felt she still had a chance.
“Hahaha…” Lina looked at her changing expression and laughed with delight.
The woman also laughed along, trying to please the young miss she had once looked down on the most.
Lina’s laughter came to an abrupt end, her face suddenly cold.
“I wouldn’t have let you go either.”
