Chapter 23: The Stitched Doll

Inside the Qionglan base, old butler Mochen sat before his desk, staring at the computer screen. Deep in his pupils churned a complex tide of emotion.

The files on the screen were encrypted. Access level S. Across all of Huanyue, fewer than ten people could open them.

He happened to be one of them.

He clicked open one of the attachments. Photographs jumped onto the screen.

The first captured a bathroom. Dark red splashes of blood spattered across white tiles. Along the bathtub’s rim ran scratches, some deep, some shallow, marks of a horrifying struggle.

The second showed the deceased. A young girl’s body curled at an unnatural angle. Her fingers bent into claws, nails broken, flesh mangled.

The third captured her face in close-up. Though dead, her face carried a strange smile of relief. Her eyes half open, pupils dilated, but the corners of her mouth lifted.

The fourth…

…

As these photographs entered his eyes, scenes of terror and wrongness flooded Mochen’s mind.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, trying to push those images away. If it weren’t for organizing a report for Bai Wushang, he truly had no wish to touch this material again.

“Lord Mochen…”

Just then, the maid standing nearby, Nolen, spoke up anxiously. Her voice was pressed low, as if afraid to rouse something.

“Is it true that, today… a new maid came… the one called Ningshuang…”

Mochen turned his head slightly and glanced at the servant with flaxen hair and plain features.

She looked ordinary, but she was an important assistant that Bai Wushang had deliberately arranged to help him deal with the Saint’s matters.

Of course, he meant matters of the kind better left unspoken.

Looking at Nolen, Mochen only gave a faint “Mm.”

Hearing that, Nolen bit her lip, fingers twisting the hem of her clothes. She was a smart woman, unwilling to pry too far into her master’s arrangements, but the remaining pity in her heart still pushed her to speak.

“Those before… the personal maids who attended the Saint… none of them ended well. You know that.”

“…”

Mochen narrowed his eyes slightly.

Of course he knew. Over these two years, there had been five personal maids in total.

Every one of them entered her post with hope and reverence in her eyes.

But afterward? Not a single one lasted more than three months. Each died in her own home. And before death, each wore that same eerie, relieved smile.

Bai Wushang had suppressed the news. Officially, they had “resigned.”

But Mochen, the one who handled the aftermath, knew the truth…

He stared at that smiling face on the screen for a long time.

“…She’s different.”

Nolen was taken aback. “Different?”

Nolen didn’t understand. In her eyes, Ningshuang was nothing but an ordinary, innocent girl who hadn’t even awakened the power of the Celestial Source.

But Mochen did not explain. He couldn’t very well say: that girl, Ningshuang, was most likely an “inhuman thing” just like the Saint herself.

Nolen’s psychological burden was already heavy enough. If it grew any greater… she might truly break down.

In any case, Mochen didn’t want to face all this alone either.

“Enough.”

The old butler raised a hand to rub his brow. His voice was tired.

“Some things are better left unknown.”

Nolen lowered her head with mixed feelings and dared not ask further.

For a moment, silence settled over the office…

****

Elsewhere, the Saint’s residence.

In the bathroom, steam filled the air. The lamplight, softened by the mist, was bathed in a warm golden glow.

Ningshuang knelt at the bath’s edge, her knees on a soft cushion, fingers clutching a towel. She didn’t know where to rest her gaze. On the ground? That seemed disrespectful. On Luoxue? She felt she could hardly bear it…

For now, every inch of Ningshuang radiated restraint and awkwardness.

In the pool, Luoxue leaned against the wall. The water rose just past her chest. Her white hair clung wet to her shoulders, while her flawless body hid beneath the surface.

Noticing Ningshuang’s unease, Luoxue tilted her head.

“Come closer.”

Luoxue’s voice drifted out, lazy and light.

Ningshuang shifted her knees, drawing a little nearer, but kept her head lowered.

“Lift your head.”

Luoxue spoke again. Her tone was gentle, yet carried a pressure that brooked no refusal.

Ningshuang took a deep breath and slowly raised her head.

Then her eyes contracted sharply. Because at that moment, Luoxue had climbed out of the pool, hands braced on the edge.

That figure, beautiful enough to steal breath and stir the blood, was laid bare before Ningshuang with nothing held back. And she was close, within arm’s reach.

Most important of all, Luoxue was “looking” at her.

Even through that white blindfold…

But soon, under Ningshuang’s nervous gaze, Luoxue raised a finger and hooked the edge of the blindfold.

“If you always keep your head down, how will you serve me?”

The words left her lips. The blindfold came off.

Gold and red wove together in her strange eyes, exposed to the mist. They were beautiful beyond anything real, yet they held no emotion and no warmth.

They were beautiful, but they made the soul tremble.

The instant she met those eyes, Ningshuang’s breath caught in her throat.

Her whole spirit seemed on the verge of being devoured by that gaze. From the depths of her heart surged an indescribable urge.

A thirst to push this girl down, to do whatever she pleased with her.

To bite her neck…

Watching Ningshuang’s expression gradually go vacant, Luoxue narrowed her eyes.

But Ningshuang’s daze lasted barely an instant. Then her whole body shuddered.

After that, Ningshuang swallowed. Though her cheeks still flared red, her eyes were no longer unfocused.

Her reason had not been swallowed by Luoxue’s pupils.

“Understood.”

Ningshuang nodded obediently.

“What do you think of my body?”

Luoxue asked flatly. She stood fully naked before Ningshuang, but not a trace of shyness showed in her eyes.

“Very…”

Ningshuang pressed her lips together, face red, and answered in a small voice.

“Very beautiful.”

“…”

Luoxue watched her for several seconds. Within those strange eyes, a faint, barely perceptible glimmer seemed to flash.

“Is that so.”

She answered lightly, put the blindfold back on, and leaned against the pool wall. The water rippled gently, then closed over without a sound.

“Your will… is stronger than I imagined.”

“Good.”

?!!!

Hearing this, Ningshuang lowered her head, and the corners of her mouth lifted on their own. In her eyes surfaced a thick joy and excitement.

The Saint praised me~

Praised me~

Praised me!

She rolled those words around in her heart like a candy she couldn’t bear to swallow.

Her whole body swaying with delight, she even forgot to keep attending the Saint.

Until Luoxue had to remind her, a hint of helplessness in her voice.

“Please don’t space out.”

“Ah?!”

Ningshuang jolted.

“Sorry, sorry! I’m so sorry, Sacred Maiden!”

After a few flustered shakes of her head, Ningshuang composed herself and hurriedly used the towel to wipe Luoxue’s shoulder again.

The atmosphere in the bathroom returned to normal…

****

At the same time, just outside the bathroom door.

Teresa pressed herself against the door, ear close to the panel, constantly sensing the undulations of Celestial Source power within.

She shouldn’t have come.

But after what had happened during the day, Teresa couldn’t set her mind at ease. On the one hand, she feared Ningshuang would do something improper in close contact with Luoxue, like the previous maids. On the other, she feared Ningshuang might threaten the Saint’s safety.

What if this new maid really was connected to that witch?

Of course, Teresa also knew she was overthinking.

But she just couldn’t feel assured.

…

After observing for a while and confirming everything inside seemed normal, Teresa let out a faint breath.

Maybe she had really been overthinking. With so many vexing matters lately, her nerves had grown too sensitive.

Teresa shook her head, ready to leave.

But at that moment, a chill ran down the head maid’s spine.

She felt a gaze upon her.

A cold, sticky gaze, carrying an indescribable malice.

Like a needle stabbing into the back of her neck. It froze her in place, and her breath stopped for an instant.

?!?!

Wh-what is that?

Teresa swallowed, then slowly turned her head.

Her gaze crossed the room and landed on the desk.

It landed on that tattered little bear doll.

There it lay quietly on the table, its button eyes happening to face Teresa squarely.

The moment she saw it, Teresa’s pupils contracted sharply.

“No… that’s not right…”

She remembered clearly. When she had entered, the doll’s head had been turned to the side, facing the window.

Now its gaze was fixed on her.

When had it turned?

Cold sweat ran down Teresa’s forehead.

She wanted to look away, but her gaze felt nailed in place, unable to move even an inch.

After a few seconds, or maybe a long time… Teresa took a deep breath and stepped slowly toward the desk.

The sound of her footsteps was starkly clear in the silent room.

She stopped at the desk and looked down at the little bear.

It had been sewn up.

The stitches were fine and neat, yet the thread wasn’t ordinary white. It was pale gold. At the seams, bits of stuffing poked out from the gaps.

Teresa frowned.

What was poking out… wasn’t cotton?

It wasn’t any sort of filling she had ever seen.

It was dark red, like dried clumps of blood, pressed together in wads. Utterly bizarre.

Remembering how Lei Ze had reacted to the little bear during the day, Teresa’s expression grew heavier and heavier.

In the end, she nervously swallowed, then slowly raised her hand.

Her fingers hung suspended in the air, stopping for several seconds.

But in the end, they still reached, toward the little bear doll.

Stretching out…

📚 Also on NHV Novels

I’m Your Star

Beautiful SemeLow Self-Esteem UkeModern Setting

Read Now →
Not interested