The Zhou family's beds were exquisite alcove beds made of fine rosewood, with three layers of curtains hanging outside to shield against the glare of lamps and keep out insects.
Only now, all of it had turned into something that would crumble into ash at a single touch.
The alcove bed was large enough for four adults to sleep side-by-side.
Zhu Xi Ning lay down at the edge of the bed, staring at the pitch-black curtains while the scent of decaying dust filled her nose.
She put on the Ant God mask, and the itchy, crawling sensation in her palm made her feel a bit more at ease.
Zhu Xi Ning closed her eyes.
"Lady."
"Lady."
Zhu Xi Ning didn't know how much time had passed, only that someone was suddenly speaking. She turned her head and realized her surroundings had changed without her noticing.
Gauze curtains hung down layer by layer, and through them, she could see a maid standing outside with her hair styled in twin buns.
The maid held a bowl and called out to Zhu Xi Ning.
"Lady, it is time for your medicine."
Zhu Xi Ning's heart skipped a beat. She could sense the aura of death and danger coming from the maid. This place and this girl were extremely dangerous.
"Just... leave it there. I will drink it in a moment."
Zhu Xi Ning spoke after a moment of silence, and the maid outside bowed slightly.
"Yes."
The maid placed the medicine bowl on a small side table, and Zhu Xi Ning's heart tightened slightly.
"You may leave now."
Unexpectedly, the maid was very easy to talk to and retreated.
"Yes. Please call for me if you need anything, Lady."
Zhu Xi Ning only breathed a sigh of relief after the maid had left, as the girl had given her a very dangerous feeling.
Now that the person was gone, the candlelight from outside brightened the interior of the curtains enough to see without being blinding.
Zhu Xi Ning sat up and surveyed the alcove bed, which was completely different from the one she had just lain down on.
Thick layers of soft silk were spread out, and her skin could not feel the cold hardness of the wood at all. Everything she touched was silky and soft.
There was another pillow beside hers, with a silk nightgown laid upon it. Looking at the style, it was a man's garment.
Whose illusion was this?
Zhu Xi Ning leaned toward thinking it was Old Master Zhou, since Young Master Zhou had died on his wedding day.
As Zhu Xi Ning was thinking, a strong sense of crisis suddenly enveloped her. She turned her head sharply and was horrified to discover a person crawling on the ground not far away through the curtains.
From the figure, it was the maid from before, but she was now on all fours. Her head was tilted so far that it was almost level with the ground, and she stayed there quietly like a strange insect.
Cold sweat broke out on Zhu Xi Ning instantly because the moment she turned her head and discovered the maid's movements, the creature on all fours suddenly pounced forward like a giant bug.
Zhu Xi Ning scrambled backward, and in that split second, the maid had already pounced in front of her, occupying the spot where she had originally been.
The curtains wrapped around the creature, and her face looked distorted behind the stretched gauze.
"Lady, what are you afraid of?"
Because she was wrapped in the gauze, the maid's voice sounded squeezed, with each word popping out slowly.
Zhu Xi Ning had a terrifying suspicion that this was not a human, but something hidden inside human skin, mimicking human speech.
"Lady."
The thing's face was hidden behind the gauze, its head and hands struggling slowly like some clumsy shadow puppet play, but Zhu Xi Ning could not bring herself to laugh.
"Hey! Hey! Number Two, are you there? Why don't you come out? I can't handle this scene!"
Zhu Xi Ning was covered in cold sweat. Although the situation wasn't so urgent that her head was about to fall off, it felt extremely eerie.
This thing had clearly moved very fast just now, yet currently, it was blocked by a layer of non-aggressive gauze. Its waving arms appeared as multiples under the candlelight, looking strange and slow.
It was impossible to tell if it would suddenly rush over.
Every second of suspense felt like an eternity.
However, Zhu Xi Ning called out for a long time without losing consciousness. She miserably realized that Number Two had judged this situation to be entirely within her control and not a threat to her life.
After a brief moment of panic, Zhu Xi Ning quickly calmed down. What was the way to break this?
There was nothing around to attack with, so why had she entered this illusion?
Because she had lain on this bed.
But now she was up and had not left the illusion, which meant that wasn't it.
Her gaze moved to the candlelight outside.
What was the difference between now and before?
The candles!
Should she take a gamble?
But to extinguish the candles, Zhu Xi Ning had to go around the maid. Even if she used the ants, they wouldn't crawl there fast enough, and she was worried the maid would attack the moment she went for the candles.
But if she got off the bed and bypassed the maid, she could have the ant swarm extinguish the candles outside in a single second.
Bypass this maid?
Zhu Xi Ning only hesitated for a second before making her decision.
She didn't make any large movements, pretending to be afraid as she slowly moved toward the empty space on the other side.
The maid was like an insect trapped in a spiderweb. Her head and body did not move, but her eyeballs turned to follow Zhu Xi Ning's movements.
Zhu Xi Ning held her breath as she moved past the maid. At this point, only the whites of the maid's eyes were visible.
Her pupils had turned to the extreme, disappearing completely into her sockets.
The twitching whites of the eyes and the wide, grinning face made Zhu Xi Ning feel like she was going to have nightmares.
When she reached the edge of the bed, Zhu Xi Ning suddenly bolted and ran out.
The ant swarm, like black water, instantly lunged at the candles under her command.
A second before the candlelight went out, Zhu Xi Ning looked back at the maid.
Because the creature had already turned its eyeballs to the extreme, Zhu Xi Ning heard a crack, and she saw the maid's head flip completely upside down.
Her head wobbled and hung behind her back, and the inverted facial features were even more bizarre.
"Lady... what are you afraid of?"
Darkness fell, and Zhu Xi Ning heard Nan Yue's voice.
"Xi Ning! Xi Ning!"
She woke up with a start and found herself still lying safely on the alcove bed. Nan Yue and the others were gathered around her, looking relieved to see her wake up.
"I'm fine."
Zhu Xi Ning wiped her sweat and let out a long breath. "That was so damn terrifying!"
Nan Yue frowned. "I saw it. It was all broadcast on the stream."
It was because they had seen it that they woke her up after it ended.
"You did very well."
Nan Yue praised her sincerely. Zhu Xi Ning's growth was obvious to everyone. Today, she had discovered that besides her foresight ability growing rapidly, she was also maturing in how she handled killing intent and rule traps.
Although her first reaction was to call for her second personality, when she realized she could only rely on herself, she still found the way out in a very short time.
Zhu Xi Ning smiled and wagged her non-existent tail. "How many tips did I get?"
She looked down and saw that her tips had reached 3500. She flashed a smile. "A-Nan, I've surpassed you!"
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