Chapter 715: The Chess Player (3k)
Su Jiu and two others were in the private room, along with E Huo, who was eating snacks and watching anime. The rest of the people had gone outside to keep watch and investigate.
“Isn’t it good?”
Seeing Su Jiu’s delayed response, the Mayor’s Daughter tilted her head and looked at him expectantly, then shook his shoulder.
As she shook him, glittering points of light were reflected in her coffee-colored eyes, as if emitting starlight. Her curly hair was tied with a bow, giving her a unique sense of purity.
“This…”
It’s really strange, why is this old hag acting cute with me now.
Looking at her behavior, Su Jiu kept complaining in his heart, not knowing how to refuse. He could only remain in place and reply with an awkward smile:
“Miss Liu, those people just attacked you. Your Beast Pet wasn’t taken. Why don’t you just guard your Beast Pet and not do anything else?”
Although she was indeed beautiful, and occasionally emitted a faint cold fragrance, he disliked being with her a million times over.
After being rejected, the Mayor’s Daughter didn’t seem to mind. She just smiled, slowly leaned forward, and whispered in Su Jiu’s ear, moving her hand towards her chest, exhaling softly, and said with a smile:
“Isn’t it possible?”
“Miss Liu, I’m a bit sleepy now. I just had an encounter with poachers, so I really should rest for a while.”
He hastily pulled his hand away from hers and moved back a couple of steps. Feeling the softness on his arm, the chilling feeling in his heart intensified.
This is going too far, won’t this crazy woman see my somewhat pointed ears…
Does she want to process me as an [Angel Potion]?
“Heh, if Miss Su Jiu wants to rest, then after you heal that girl, you can go to the hotel by yourself.”
Sensing this rather intense resistance, Liu Qian was stunned, then narrowed her eyes, and continued to show a smile with a hint of innocence, seemingly not afraid of Su Jiu knowing anything.
“Alright.”
Su Jiu naturally knew who the girl she was talking about was. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes. He turned to look, wanting to understand something from her eyes, but met her smiling face.
The latter blinked, gently touched the tip of Su Jiu’s ear, then put her hands behind her back, tilted her head, and asked: “What’s wrong?”
As her wavy hair fell, the bow fluttered, making her look like a little angel who had fallen to the mortal world.
Looking at her demeanor, Su Jiu felt that the strange feeling deepened. If he hadn’t discovered this spoiled young lady, perhaps they would have become friends?
But there are no “ifs.” He would not think that such a crazy person could be reasoned with.
“I want to know…”
After a moment of silence, Su Jiu thought that with his domestic identity, there was no need to fear her. He paused slightly, then continued: “Miss Liu, why do you keep…”
Given her age of only thirty or forty, there was no need for her to do such a thing. With her strength, the passage of a little time would only make her appearance slightly more mature, not age her.
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Liu Qian in front of him suddenly raise a finger and shake her head slightly, chuckling softly:
“If you want to know anything, after you heal that girl, go to the [Dreamland] in the city center. Look at the tallest building, I’ll be waiting for you there.”
After saying that, without giving Su Jiu any time to think, she smiled and turned to leave. Her curly hair brushed Su Jiu’s face, carrying a faint cold fragrance, a very special turquoise scent.
“I remember the perfume she was wearing earlier was a very cloying rose scent… Never mind, I’ll go see how that elf is first.”
His gaze fell on her retreating figure. Su Jiu watched quietly until she completely disappeared before coming back to his senses. He waved to the two of them, E Huo, and headed towards the previous private room…
He explained to Wang Qiubai, who was guarding the door, and identified himself. Then he let E Huo wait outside, changed into a white coat, and walked in with Zi Yi.
The door to the private room was opened with a “click.” The two found the silver-haired girl sitting quietly on the sofa, her eyes devoid of color.
If not for her steady breathing, she would have given the impression of a puppet.
“It’s not him, why are you here again?”
As if sensing the arrival of Su Jiu and the other two, she raised her eyes, a glint flashing in them, but it quickly dimmed. She looked like a falling withered leaf, lifeless.
“Miss Liu asked us to come and heal you. She isn’t blaming you.”
Su Jiu smiled and raised his hand, activating the Spring Bloom Technique. As golden-red light flickered, unique falling leaves began to drift in the room, and life force surged towards the silver-haired girl.
Warmth flowed through the room like a gentle stream, giving the impression of warmth even in the chilly spring.
Zi Yi watched this scene silently, not only sensing with her memory but also taking out a small notebook to record it.
“Such strong vitality…”
As the life force poured in, the wounds on the silver-haired girl’s body were constantly being healed, and the bloodstains slowly scabbed over. She looked at Su Jiu with some surprise, “You know who my Master is?”
“Yes, and I have a rough idea of the relationship between you and that Mayor’s Daughter. And you don’t need to worry about that young lady harming me.”
Su Jiu replied, without stopping his movements.
“Call me Francka.”
After receiving Su Jiu’s reply, the silver-haired girl Francka lowered her eyes, like a lonely patient in desperate need of someone to talk to, and mocked herself in a low voice.
“She just doesn’t want me to die. As her second Beast Pet, when I was fourteen, there was a coup in the [Forest of Sighs], and I wandered the streets of human cities. I was abducted by human traffickers and after several twists and turns, I was bought by a wealthy merchant from Dragon Country and finally given as a gift to that woman…”
Closing her eyes, she felt a tickling sensation on her neck. She felt an inexplicable sourness in her nose, and her fingers gripped the hospital gown on her lap a little tighter.
“I thought I would meet a good Master and live an ordinary life, but this was just the beginning of a nightmare. Afterwards, I had to drink all sorts of potions every day, and I was not allowed to have any contact with the outside world. Every three days, a large amount of my blood would be collected, and I would be tormented if she was unhappy…”
As she spoke, Francka pulled up her arm and thigh under the hospital gown. Patches of old brown scars and needle marks were shocking to behold. Her voice deepened, and her eyes held a sense of obsession and hatred.
“In front of her, I was like livestock, without any dignity. Every time I wanted to commit suicide, she would sense it and lock me in the Spiritual Space. For a month, two months, in that dark space, my only pastime was self-harming like a madman…”
Having said all this in one breath, Francka raised her hand and wiped her eyes fiercely, then looked up at the silent Su Jiu. A hint of mockery flickered in her watery eyes, and her voice trembled:
“Your ears are pointed, you’re probably not human either. Her new Beast Pet is lost, be careful you don’t end up like me. After the treatment, get as far away as you can…”
“I won’t—have you ever thought about breaking the contract?”
Su Jiu shook his head, reached out and grabbed her cold hand, feeling her trembling body, his heart filled with a touch of pity. As a modern person.
She couldn’t stand seeing someone live such a miserable life.
“Breaking… the contract?”
Upon hearing these four words, Francka’s heart skipped a beat, as if something had gripped it. She suddenly recalled that a few nights ago, the Mayor’s Daughter’s white-haired butler – Nors – had found her…
His handsome face wore a gentle smile. He handed her a knife and asked softly, “Do you want freedom?”
“Do you think it’s possible?”
The silver-haired girl didn’t take him seriously and looked at him with a cold smile.
The butler chuckled and placed the knife on the table: “If you want freedom, self-harm. You must be seriously injured so that she has to keep you with her at all times.”
The silver-haired girl frowned: “What do you mean?”
Snapping his fingers, a chess piece – a King – appeared in the butler’s palm. He toyed with the piece, his smile casual:
“Only when you, the King, join the board can the entire game proceed. If the King gives up on himself, this losing game can never be won.”
Seeing the butler’s serious expression, her gaze fell on the knife, a hint of madness and longing surging in her eyes. She stepped forward, grabbed the butler’s collar, smelled the cold, nasal scent, frowned, and said in a deep voice:
“If you lie to me, I will kill you with all my might.”
“Heh, remember not to mention me to anyone, little angel.”
The butler chuckled, approached the silver-haired girl, gently touched her pointed ear, and then respectfully retreated as if he had never been there.
“Will a board with only a King win?”
The silver-haired girl’s gaze fell on the knife…
…
“I can ask someone to intercede for you and the Mayor’s Daughter, and I can also pay some price for you, but you’ll have to repay me later.”
Seeing Francka stunned, Su Jiu thought she found it too expensive and offered some options, although he thought it was unlikely to succeed.
“I don’t want to implicate you. Consider what I just said as me venting. Hurry up and go.”
Hearing this, Francka shook her head. She turned on the TV and watched the advertisements, curling up like a caterpillar on the sofa in the train’s private room.
It seemed that having TV to watch was already a great source of happiness for her.
“As you wish.”
Seeing her completely uncooperative attitude, Su Jiu had nothing more to say, only thinking that when he met the Mayor’s Daughter that evening, he would discuss this matter with her.
After the train finally stopped, the three of them got off. They informed the investigation team and then made their own arrangements.
Su Jiu glanced at the strange streetlights swaying by the roadside. First, he put E Huo into the Spiritual Space, then asked Zi Yi to book a hotel, and he himself headed towards the [Dreamland] marked on the map.
