Chapter 7: Reward Yourself a Bit

Bai Tang closed the diary and let out a long breath.

It could be said that a large part of the reason she had survived until now came from the diary left behind by her predecessor.

It had helped her avoid countless deadly dangers.

Although Bai Tang did not even know that girl’s name.

But now everything was about to change.

The Eye of Breaking Delusions had finally given Bai Tang the capital to stand firm in this dark world.

“Senior, I will live on carrying your share of the weight as well!”

This debt of gratitude was hard to repay.

Bai Tang could only swear to herself in her heart: once she became strong enough in the future, no longer needing to live in constant fear every day, or even if she got the chance to return to Earth, she would do everything in her power to find her predecessor’s family and take good care of them.

The flame inside the lantern flickered gently.

The dim yellow light spread across the girl’s face, and her expression was full of determination.

In this moment, the weight of life felt especially heavy.

Even though she knew the road ahead would be full of deadly peril, Bai Tang would never let herself die easily!

She took off her old coat and changed into a loose white nightgown.

She blew out the lantern on the bedside table, plunging the room into complete darkness.

Bai Tang climbed into bed and buried her entire face into the pillow that had been washed until it felt a little stiff.

The room was so quiet that even her breathing sounded unusually clear.

Perhaps tonight’s experiences had been too dangerous, because Bai Tang, who should have fallen asleep by now, felt no drowsiness at all.

If this continued, it would be bad…

Some pressure was invisible.

As the one who came after, Bai Tang had clearly felt it while reading her predecessor’s diary: as time passed, her predecessor’s mental state had grown worse and worse.

Bai Tang had originally thought that with her own mental resilience she could avoid being affected as much as possible.

But when she climbed into bed at night and her body truly relaxed, she realized it only afterward.

Her arms were trembling slightly, beyond her conscious control…

This was bad.

To stay mentally sharp and clear-headed at all times, she needed a way to fall asleep quickly.

The girl suddenly sat up in bed and clenched her small fists to tap her own head.

“Bai Tang, oh Bai Tang, use that clever little brain of yours and think hard. What’s a way to make yourself feel tired fast and fall asleep quickly!”

Doing push-ups or squat jumps two hundred times would make too much noise and might disturb the Witch Teacher next door.

Plus, being covered in sticky sweat would feel awful.

Not suitable. Definitely not suitable.

Besides that, the only other quick way to fall asleep seemed to be that one method.

Thankfully the lantern had already been blown out and there was no mirror in the bedroom, or the girl would have been too embarrassed by how red her cheeks were turning, like ripe apples.

“Ahem, just think of it as keeping myself from going crazy. Trying it a few times occasionally won’t hurt!”

Bai Tang quickly convinced herself.

She was already an adult after all.

Occasionally rewarding herself and relaxing a little was perfectly normal for any girl!

Entertaining herself was much better than messing around outside.

As long as it was in moderation, she was still a good girl!

With that thought, Bai Tang stopped hesitating.

She hopped off the bed, moved quietly in the dark to the washroom, and washed her hands thoroughly.

When she returned, she carefully locked the bedroom door, then climbed back into bed.

“Mmm… I’ve been here so long, it’s about time I checked this body… hmph… to see if there are any hidden health issues.”

The Eye of Breaking Delusions in her right eye was not the original one.

Who knew if it was some powerful and bizarre organ? What if some rejection reaction was still lingering inside her body?

That would be fatal.

It was time to check seriously and carefully!

……

At the same time, in the next room.

The faint light from the kerosene lamp barely illuminated the parchment on the desk.

A pair of bright crimson eyes hid in the darkness like a predator.

A few strands of gray hair fell across the back of her hand.

Miss Witch’s face was cold and stern.

The girl had not gone to bed early as Bai Tang had assumed.

The quill in her hand kept scratching across the parchment, as if she were writing something.

[Subject: Bai Tang]

[Race: Human]

[Date: April 3]

[Summary: The ‘Eye of Breaking Delusions’ belongs to them. I tracked the clues to Undead Street, where a small accident occurred. The ‘Eye of Breaking Delusions’ has perfectly bonded with a human girl named ‘Bai Tang’—a situation that has never happened before.

After careful consideration, I spent seven days completely replacing that human girl’s teacher so I could observe her.

If the observed individual dies unnaturally during the observation period, I will immediately retrieve the ‘Eye of Breaking Delusions’.]

Claire set down the quill and murmured softly.

“Bai Tang… how interesting~”

Clearly as weak as an ant that could be crushed at any moment, yet she could still remain calm when facing creatures far stronger than herself.

She had even turned the tables, making beings several times more powerful than her feel fear.

Her individual will was strong enough to overpower racial instinct.

Claire had seen humans before, but never one like this.

For the first time, Claire felt genuine interest in a frail human and was curious how long Bai Tang could survive without any external help.

In a world full of spiritual pollution and evil curses, humans could go mad at any time.

Just as Claire stood up, ready to blow out the kerosene lamp and rest, her ears twitched.

She faintly heard a subtle sound coming from next door.

She paused, then frowned slightly.

She remembered that the room next door used to be a storage room and should now belong to her student Bai Tang.

Why wasn’t she sleeping so late?

As she moved closer, the faint sound grew clearer.

“Mmm… ha… ha…”

She was pressing her face hard into the pillow, her nasal breathing heavy.

This kind of noise… she couldn’t possibly be crazy enough to be doing anaerobic exercise in the middle of the night.

The corners of Claire’s mouth curved upward slightly.

A hard-to-describe delight surged in her heart.

She picked up the quill again and began writing in the parchment ledger.

“In a sustained high-pressure environment, do humans use certain methods to relax their minds and avoid falling into madness?”

“How interesting~”

She silently waited for Bai Tang to finish her match and start another solo queue.

Claire leaned against the wall, her crimson eyes holding neither disgust nor revulsion—only the pure thirst for knowledge that was unique to a Witch studying living beings.

When the sounds next door finally stopped and the girl’s even breathing of deep sleep could be heard, Claire recorded the length of each session, the intervals between them, and exactly how many solo queues Bai Tang had played that night.

New knowledge filled the parchment in neat, dense lines.