Chapter 176: Transformation

Ye Lan raised her brows slightly, her slender, fair fingertips gently sliding through Mu Xi’s sweat-dampened silver hair.

“That’s certainly an unexpected request.” She looked at the girl in her arms, a half-smile playing on her lips, “I can do it, but…”

“But what?” Mu Xi lifted her head, those clear, wide eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Ye Lan’s lips curled in a mysterious smile, “But you need to do something for me.”

“What is it?” Mu Xi instinctively tightened her arms around Ye Lan, a sense of foreboding already brewing in her heart.

Ye Lan merely pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, her phoenix eyes harboring unfathomable depths, “I won’t tell you yet. Let’s get dressed first—you’ll know soon enough.”

She rose gracefully from the bed, her bare back traced in perfect curves by the morning light.

Looking back at the still-dazed Mu Xi, her lips tugged in a meaningful smile.

“Get up, little lazy cat,” her voice glided through the air like velvet, “We’ll be heading over soon.”

Mu Xi rubbed her eyes, slowly sitting up, her long silver hair cascading like a waterfall over her shoulders.

When her feet touched the cold floor, she couldn’t help but shiver; the marks of last night’s passion still lingered on her skin.

Ye Lan walked to the wardrobe and elegantly pulled open its gilded wooden door.

Inside hung all manner of clothes—from extravagant gowns to simple loungewear—everything one could want.

Lately, Ye Lan had stayed over almost every night, and the wardrobe had gradually filled with many of her clothes.

“These days, I’ve moved quite a few outfits here,” Ye Lan chuckled softly as she picked out a dark red velvet suit, the fabric shimmering luxuriously in the light, “so I don’t have to run back to my room to change every time.”

Standing in front of the wardrobe, Mu Xi hesitated, her gaze drifting over each piece of clothing.

At last, her hand paused on a blue-and-white puffed dress, its hem adorned with delicate bows and lace, both innocent and playful in appearance.

“Master,” Mu Xi asked softly, her voice tinged with uncertainty, “What… what color panties do you think I should wear?”

She bowed her head, long lashes casting tiny shadows on her cheeks, and her fair skin flushed pink with embarrassment at the question.

Ye Lan turned around, a glimmer of satisfaction in her phoenix eyes.

She walked over unhurriedly and gently lifted Mu Xi’s chin with her fingertips, forcing those clear eyes to meet her own.

“White,” Ye Lan’s voice was low and seductive, “Pure white, just like your hair.”

Mu Xi nodded obediently and took out a pair of white lace panties from the drawer.

Once both were dressed, Ye Lan took Mu Xi’s hand and left the seventh-floor room.

The elevator slowly descended, passing through the Manor’s main structure, finally stopping at the secret entrance hidden at the base of an ancient tree.

Mu Xi’s heart began to race uncontrollably.

After passing several security doors, they arrived at an area marked “Observation Room.”

Through the one-way glass, Mu Xi saw the woman who had once tried to help her escape.

‘Li Xin.’

Mu Xi couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath.

Li Xin’s legs had recovered somewhat from that brutal ordeal—they were no longer the bloody mess Mu Xi remembered.

But the wounds were still shocking: one leg bore the through-and-through injury left by a crossbow bolt, and the other was scarred from a bullet wound.

Yet what shocked Mu Xi more was not Li Xin’s injuries, but her current behavior.

In the center of the room, a huge high-definition monitor was playing something.

When Mu Xi focused on it, her face flushed burning hot.

It was footage of her and Ye Lan’s private moments—the details of their lovemaking over the past half-month, every moment recorded with suffocating clarity.

She saw herself beneath Ye Lan, accepting her embrace, heard her own shameful moans—none of it left out, all captured in vivid reality.

But most shocking of all was Li Xin’s reaction.

The woman who had once been calm and capable, who had even betrayed Ye Lan for her sake, now stared at the screen, eyes filled with obsession.

Her right hand had already slid down her thigh, moving brazenly, lips parted, murmuring over and over, “Mu Xi… Mu Xi…”

Even more frightening, there was no pain or jealousy on Li Xin’s face—only a twisted kind of pleasure.

Her lips curled as if what she was watching wasn’t her beloved with another, but a sight that brought her to the heights of ecstasy.

Mu Xi unconsciously leaned closer to the glass, pressing both hands against the icy surface, utterly stunned.

She couldn’t understand—how could Li Xin, who once risked her life for her, become like this?

“What’s wrong?” Ye Lan’s silent figure appeared behind her, warm breath brushing against her earlobe, “Surprised?”

Mu Xi couldn’t answer; her eyes remained fixed on that fallen figure.

Li Xin’s breathing grew faster, her movements more intense. 

Her eyes never left the entwined bodies on the screen, as if that scene was her entire world.

“This is what I wanted you to see today,” Ye Lan’s voice sounded beside Mu Xi’s ear, tinged with malicious satisfaction, “Look at your ‘savior’—see what she’s become.”

Mu Xi felt the world spin; she couldn’t accept what she saw.

Li Xin—the one who had once given her a sliver of hope—was now deriving pleasure, even delight, from Mu Xi’s humiliation.

Ye Lan tapped lightly on the glass, and Mu Xi shuddered, finally snapping out of her shock.

“So? Do you want to go in and talk to her?” Ye Lan’s low voice teased by her ear, “She seems to miss you so much. Maybe seeing you in person will make her even more excited.”

Mu Xi bit her lip, still unable to tear her gaze away from the scene on the other side of the glass.

Li Xin’s once-composed face was now flushed red, her dazed eyes fixed on the entwined figures on the screen, the sounds of her murmurs echoing clearly through the surveillance speakers.

It was a voice Mu Xi had never imagined hearing from Li Xin—full of desire and obsession.

Mu Xi’s chest felt tight, a surge of complex, tangled emotions roiling inside her.

She did want to go in, to ask Li Xin why she had changed, to know if the woman willing to die for her still existed.

But the person now lost in twisted pleasure was no longer the Li Xin she remembered.

“No… no,” Mu Xi finally whispered, her voice trembling, “She’s like this now… I… I want to wait until she calms down before I talk to her.”

Ye Lan’s lips curved in satisfaction, her slender fingers gently caressing Mu Xi’s soft silver hair.

“That’s fine,” she murmured, “You really are even kinder than I imagined. Even to a traitor, you still feel pity.”

She took Mu Xi’s cool hand, the warmth of her palm giving Mu Xi a strange sense of comfort, which only confused and shamed her more.

“Come on, I still have someone else to take you to meet.”

Mu Xi nodded numbly, letting Ye Lan lead her out of the Observation Room.