Chapter 12: [World 1] Castle Stories 12 : Cage

Fu Ruxue stood in front of her, watching Cheng Li cautiously.

“There’s nothing.”

The man avoided her gaze.

He noticed that although Xunian’s clothes were faded, they were quite expensive—branded goods—and he took a longer look.

Today, Xunian was wearing her own clothes.

The day before, when she went out, she had folded her clothes neatly on the bed.

When she returned at night, she saw that the clothes had already been washed and hung out to dry.

It was probably done by the housekeeper.

There were marks on the floor from mopping; she could imagine the poor housekeeper dripping blood onto the floor, anxiously scrubbing to clean it up.

Touching the fabric, it was cool and dry.

Rarely in a good mood, Xunian put it on.

Cheng Li hesitated, glanced at Fu Ruxue standing between them, sighed deeply, and gave up on talking to Xunian.

“I’m going back too.”

He turned and walked away slowly, as if waiting for someone to stop him.

But no one did.

Fu Ruxue muttered behind them, “Pretending to be so brooding, Mr. Brooding.”

Cheng Li’s slender body stiffened, then he hurried out.

Xunian didn’t pay it any mind. She walked over to the sink, turned on the faucet, and the cold stream of water ran through her fingers, washing away the blood on her pale hands.

Her body, which had only been given a bit of protein, sent signals—her stomach growled with sharp hunger.

Fu Ruxue rubbed her empty stomach and poked Xunian’s shoulder.

“Xunian, do you think that moldy bread in the housekeeper’s box is edible?”

Xunian glanced at her. “If you want to eat it, go ahead. The housekeeper can’t eat it anyway.”

Because the housekeeper had no head, she naturally had no mouth to eat with.

“…You really are a devil.”

Fu Ruxue was defeated by her hellish joke, no longer feeling so hungry.

She forced herself to perk up and patted her face. “So, what do we do next?”

She seemed to have decided to stick to Xunian, clinging to her side without leaving.

“Don’t you have your own things to do?”

“I’m scared alone.”

Fu Ruxue looked up at Xunian with big, pleading eyes like a helpless stray dog.

More pretending.

“Then come with me.”

Xunian said indifferently, already drying her hands and picking up her book to continue searching through it.

Fu Ruxue suddenly felt a chill down her back. She touched her arm and looked around but saw nothing unusual.

She must be too nervous.

“Bang. Bang. Bang.”

Suddenly, several thudding sounds echoed—each strike seeming to hammer directly into their hearts.

What was that noise?

Fu Ruxue nervously grabbed Xunian’s sleeve. Xunian lifted her eyes from the book and looked toward the cabinet making the noise.

Her fingers unconsciously brushed the pages, her mind still lost in the book.

“Bang.”

The cabinet door trembled as if something inside was trying to break free. This bang was louder than the previous ones.

“Run!”

Xunian’s heart tightened. Without hesitation, she grabbed Fu Ruxue and dashed out.

“Bang!”

The cabinet door shattered, and countless black, sticky tentacles writhed out, dripping disgusting viscous liquid.

The ends suddenly tightened and lunged straight at the two running toward the kitchen exit.

“Ah!”

Fu Ruxue lagged slightly behind and was caught around the ankle by the black tentacle. Her body pitched forward with momentum.

The tentacle tightened suddenly, dragging her backward.

Xunian flicked her sleeve. A blade flew out and stabbed the tentacle wrapped around Fu Ruxue.

The tentacle was cut halfway but not completely severed; it remained tightly coiled around Fu Ruxue, refusing to let go and only tightening further.

Only with Xunian pulling her arm did she barely avoid being dragged away. Fu Ruxue fumbled at her waist and found a curved knife in her hand.

She hacked down hard, and the remaining half of the tentacle fell away.

Xunian dragged her out of the kitchen.

The tentacles recoiled as if triggered by some taboo upon touching the kitchen’s edge, retreating quickly back into the cabinet.

“Huff—huff—”

Surviving the ordeal, Fu Ruxue exhaled deeply, collapsing onto the ground while clutching Xunian’s clothes like a last lifeline.

“I’ve found a way.”

Xunian held a book in one arm and gently pried Fu Ruxue’s trembling hand from her sleeve with the other.

She was only willing to help Fu Ruxue a bit; whether the other was scared or not was not her concern.

Fu Ruxue’s hand was pulled free and dropped to her side. She gave a bitter smile as she looked at Xunian’s back.

Undeniably, Xunian was good to her.

But—

So cruel.

The black substance that had wrapped around Fu Ruxue’s foot fell off onto the floor, pooling into a viscous black puddle.

Fu Ruxue forced herself up, still trembling from fear, and hurried after the person who was already moving away.

Xunian approached Cheng Li’s room and was about to knock when she was stopped.

Fu Ruxue whispered in her ear, “What are you looking for him for?”

“Something.”

Xunian ended the conversation, knocking on the door.

Cheng Li looked surprised to see Xunian but maintained his cold demeanor, speaking in a low voice, “You? What is it?”

“Remember that phrase?”

“What?”

“The line on the diary page: ‘The Place Where Eternal Despair’s Yearning is Buried conceals sin.’”

Cheng Li’s face changed. Frowning, he asked, “Did you find something?”

“The Manjusaka symbolizes eternity, desperate love, and also yearning. It buries sin, meaning something representing the Duke’s sins is buried there.”

“What do you mean?”

“There might be treasure stolen by the Duke buried in the red Flower Sea outside.”

Cheng Li’s eyes flickered with eagerness. “You mean…”

“To dig it up. We’re waiting for good news from you.”

Cheng Li asked suspiciously, “Why don’t you come along?”

“We can’t move it. What else?”

Fu Ruxue scoffed and cut in.

Cheng Li was determined, storming off with the digging tool.

“Is there really treasure stolen by the Duke buried there?” Fu Ruxue asked doubtfully.

“I don’t know.”

So she was making it all up…

Xunian blinked. From Fu Ruxue’s innocent eyes, she seemed to be hiding deep scheming.

In his excitement, Cheng Li even forgot to close the door properly, just pushing it gently.

Previously, only Cheng Li had not revealed anything about his room, which already felt suspicious. Now, seeing inside, it was no surprise.

The room was filled with shelves holding countless bottles of chemical reagents, all neatly organized—typical of the Duke’s style.

If Fu Ruxue had picked such a room, she wouldn’t have easily told others.

With this collection of chemical reagents, poisoning others would be effortless.

“Find the Ruminol Reagent.”

“Okay.”

Fu Ruxue didn’t know what Ruminol Reagent was, but she trusted Xunian’s judgment.

While Cheng Li went to the garden to dig for treasure, the two searched for reagents from opposite sides of the room.

Xunian’s eyes brightened when she spotted a bottle.

She picked it up and shook it gently; the liquid swirled slowly inside.

The bottle contained exactly the same reagent as the one found in the Duchess’s Room.

She looked at the label and read aloud, “Bismolo Reagent?”

An unfamiliar name.

She put the reagent back and kept searching for what she wanted.

Time ticked by. There were so many bottles in the room they lost count, staring at them making one feel dizzy.

The room was deathly silent as both searched quietly.

“Found it!”

Fu Ruxue carefully held the bottle, pale yellow liquid gently swirling inside.

Xunian looked over and measured, “This is enough.”

……

Night fell.

The door was left slightly ajar as two figures silently left the room and headed to the housekeeper’s room.

Fu Ruxue stood in front, taking deep breaths but never summoning the courage to open the door.

“Open it,” Xunian urged.

Fear glistened in Fu Ruxue’s eyes. “What if the corpse inside has already rotted…”

Xunian, unable to wait, stepped past her and opened the door.

Fu Ruxue’s imagination still churned with images of maggot-infested rotting flesh, but she was stunned to see the room clean.

The housekeeper’s room was eerily spotless; the floor was polished so brightly it reflected light.

The body was gone from the bed, the head missing from under the bed—nothing left.

The entire room was filled with a strange, chilling gloom.

Even this relatively “normal” room was unsettling, as all other furnishings had changed except for the head and body of the timid girl.

Xunian picked up a red-mouthed, white-bodied spray bottle, poured in the Ruminol Reagent, and sprayed it on the floor to test.

The room was dark; the Ruminol gave off a faint blue glow.

Where sprayed, faint blue light dotted the floor like a starry sky, casting an eye-catching pale blue halo under the dim light.

A large bloodstain appeared, along with a smaller one. The large one was clearly from the housekeeper’s severed neck; the other trail was obvious.

Following the glowing drops of blood, Xunian and Fu Ruxue lowered their heads and traced the marks, gradually moving out the door.

The path was smooth, leading around to a corner where a large jar sat.

“Move it.”

After some effort, the two shifted the jar aside.

Xunian’s heart pounded wildly. The closer they got to the truth, the more her body trembled, her eyes sparkling with a joyous eagerness.

She hoped the “key” was right there.

Her desire to go home reached its peak, fueled by the growing awareness that she might finally be close to the “key.”

A flash of images crossed her mind—the three of them walking away, getting farther and farther, until disappearing from sight, while she could only watch from a distance…

A blonde woman watched them from the shadows, a smile curling her lips.

Her beautiful eyes brimmed with terrifying possessiveness, scanning oblivious Xunian inch by inch, her smile chilling.

Finally, they reached the basement.

She eagerly anticipated Xunian’s reaction when she saw the cage she had meticulously prepared.

How she wanted to keep her trapped there forever, locked away where no one could see, enveloping her with her own aura, infecting her with her scent.

【Ruminol Reagent: A reagent used to detect trace bloodstains, requiring operation in dark or low-light environments. It reacts with oxidizers to emit a faint blue-green fluorescence.】