She Was Sentenced to Life Imprisonment [Unlimited] - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: The Rose Manor (4)

What Are You Doing Here?

After closing the door, Jiang Nan leaned her back against it, a hint of confusion on her sullen face. She raised her hand to her chest, frowning at her violently pounding heart. The rose in her hand slipped and fell to the floor, instantly turning to ash.

Just a moment ago, in the dim light, she thought she saw that person’s face, or rather, through Luo Ning, she saw a shadow of that person.

This had happened many times. Even though Jiang Nan had been trying to avoid it, she had no choice but to re-examine the sudden appearance of Luo Ning.

After a long moment, she finally calmed down. Her face gradually returned to normal, and the drum-like beating in her chest was no longer audible.

Jiang Nan looked up and surveyed the room.

There was a bed, a table, and a chair, all decorated with rose patterns. Everything gave off a strong rose fragrance.

The comforter on the large bed had a strange bulge. Something inside seemed to be moving and struggling, occasionally letting out a muffled, eerie cry.

Hearing the noise, Jiang Nan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She took out her knife. The reflection on the blade was so sharp it was startling.

“Who’s there?”

She got no response. She walked over, her eyes alert, and poked the lump in the comforter a few times. The sharp blade pierced the comforter, revealing the cotton inside. Her actions made the thing underneath struggle even more violently.

She reached out and pulled the comforter away. The thing inside shrieked as it was freed and lunged at her.

Jiang Nan slightly turned to the side to dodge. She only saw the thing rush out the window, leaving a blur that allowed her to identify it as one of the red vultures from outside.

She frowned but had no intention of going out to catch the vulture.

Then, afraid that there might be other things in the room, Jiang Nan searched it from top to bottom. In the end, she only found some containers and equipment for making perfume.

One jar held some crushed rose petals that had dried into a brown color and gave off a foul, rotten odor.

Jiang Nan leaned in for a sniff, instantly frowned, and immediately put it back in its original place, covering her mouth and coughing.

A moment later, when she looked at the transparent container with the withered petals again, a subtle look flashed in the depths of her eyes.

She could be completely sure of the smell inside. It was bl00d.

The bl00d must have belonged to the last perfumer who lived here, but for some reason, the bl00d was mixed in with the petals.

A biting cold wind blew through, making Jiang Nan, who was deep in thought, shiver. For a moment, she had no time to deal with the thing in the container. She turned to close the open window.

The window was entwined with roses. Outside, the setting sun’s last red light was reflecting off the roses, making the entire field look bl00d-red.

Jiang Nan struggled to close the window, but the roses entwined around it seemed to be working against her, preventing her from closing it. The whistling cold wind made her face sting, and she immediately became displeased, her face hardening.

She looked down at the bright red roses in front of her. They seemed to be taunting her. The biting cold wind brought with it a chilling cold that made her feel a little irritated, even with the beautiful flowers outside.

Jiang Nan clicked her tongue, feeling more and more annoyed. Just as she was about to use her knife to deal with the flowers, she remembered the warning about not damaging the rose field. She then frowned and carefully observed the connecting stems of the roses here.

When she found they were completely disconnected from the ones in the main field, she mercilessly took out her knife and with a few clean slashes, the flowers fell to the floor, leaving only the stem.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Three knocks, “thump thump thump,” polite yet dull, and in the silent sunset, they suddenly made her feel a sense of dread.

Hearing the sound, Jiang Nan’s movements paused. She closed the window. The cold wind could only seep through the cracks, but it was no longer so bone-chilling.

Her gaze turned to the door. She said coldly.

“What do you want?”

As she spoke, the roses on the floor made her feel a little guilty. She kicked the scattered flowers, trying to gather them in one place to hide, but it only made the petals scatter even more, making the room look messier.

The roses twisted like a snake, trying to climb up her ankle, but they instinctively trembled as if they had sensed some terrifying power. Jiang Nan’s attention was on the person at the door, so she didn’t notice this.

A strange voice came from outside. It was respectful but trembled with fear, as if someone was threatening it.

“I’m a servant from the manor. The butler asked me to bring you dinner.”

Jiang Nan heard the strangeness in its voice and was confused. She quickly walked over and pulled the door open.

But she was met with a familiar smiling face. It was Luo Ning.

Luo Ning’s hand was holding the so-called dinner, and behind her was the trembling servant.

“Little Jiang Nan, can I come in?”

Luo Ning smiled as she asked her, as if she was just giving her a surprise.

Seeing her, Jiang Nan’s face immediately fell. She hid the strange emotions in her heart, but as if by a force of nature, she pulled Luo Ning inside.

By the time the servant reacted, the door was slammed shut with a “bang” again, leaving the servant outside looking lost.

“What are you doing here?”

After pulling her in, Jiang Nan immediately let go and stood far away from her. But she had forgotten about her reddish, teary eyes from coughing, which made her look painfully fragile.

Luo Ning looked at her and thought for a moment. She then placed the troublesome dinner on the table. She then looked around the room as if she were the owner, her gaze falling on the roses that Jiang Nan had cut on the floor. Her expression didn’t change, and her smile remained.

“You guys seem to call this ‘crashing.’ But when I came, I happened to see that your dinner was being delivered, so I volunteered to have it bring the dinner to you for you.”

Jiang Nan: …

Hearing that, Jiang Nan frowned, but for some reason, she didn’t refute Luo Ning’s words or kick her out. It was as if she only felt at ease when the other person was by her side.

Jiang Nan’s feet were stepping on the roses. For some reason, the roses seemed to be alive, twisting like snakes, but under Jiang Nan’s feet, they could only twist their stems.

She glanced at the food Luo Ning had placed on the table. Although she had no intention of kicking her out, she still said calmly.

“You clearly stole it.” Her voice had a hint of a smile she didn’t even realize, and a sense of ease that came from lowering her guard.

The servant was so scared. Who knows what Luo Ning had threatened it with?

Luo Ning didn’t care about Jiang Nan’s words. She just smiled and took out another item and placed it on the table. It was the map from Coralee.

Jiang Nan’s feet were grinding the petals, and a thick bl00d oozed out, accompanied by an eerie floral scent, which was especially intoxicating.

She lowered her eyes and looked at the viscous liquid under her feet. She seemed a little disgusted. Now she knew where the bl00d in the jar came from.

Something flashed in her eyes. From her peripheral vision, she saw Luo Ning sitting leisurely on her bed. The other person’s casualness annoyed her a little. She said.

“Luo Ning, are you bored?”

Luo Ning reached out and picked up the vulture’s feather that had been left on the bed. She looked at it for a while. When she heard Jiang Nan’s words, she looked up and smiled at her, completely unbothered by the sarcasm in her words.

“If that’s what you think, then I can be bored.”

Jiang Nan heard her words and felt that something wasn’t right. But when she met Luo Ning’s smiling eyes, her breath hitched. To cover up her feelings, she spoke to the other person without mercy.

“Since you’re bored, and you’re in my room, then you should listen to me.”

“Okay.” Luo Ning agreed without hesitation.

“You chop these up.”

After Jiang Nan said that, she kicked the roses on the floor and threw her knife to Luo Ning.

She herself walked to the table. She reached past the dinner and directly picked up the parchment-like thing Luo Ning had placed on it to examine it.

The parchment was a little worn, but she could still make out that it was a map of the entire manor. Someone had marked a few spots with a red ‘X’, all of which were in the rose field.

Jiang Nan’s hand touched a few raised spots. She was confused and turned the knife over. In the bottom left corner, she saw the name “Gabriel.”

Gabriel? Who was that?

Luo Ning had already finished dealing with the flowers on the floor. The sharp blade in her hand had drunk the bl00d and was now clean. It broke free from Luo Ning’s hand and flew back to Jiang Nan’s side, whining for her attention.

But Luo Ning walked behind Jiang Nan and threw the knife onto the bed. She glanced at it and then let out a cold snort. The knife could only lie there dejectedly, waiting for Jiang Nan to notice it.

A warmth came from behind her. A hand was placed on her wrist. A fresh jasmine scent came to her. The familiar feeling made her heart pound even more. She felt a craving for the other person that came from the depths of her soul.

Jiang Nan’s thoughts were interrupted by the other person’s closeness. But then, as if she remembered something, she asked.

“Was there anything in your room?”

Luo Ning thought about it seriously, but her hand was still gently on the back of the other person’s hand. She then spoke.

“I checked it all. It was just an ordinary room that had been dusty for a long time but was a little more luxurious than a normal home. There was nothing strange.”

Hearing her long description, Jiang Nan’s eyebrows raised slightly, but she also caught the answer to her question in her words.

Luo Ning had no reason to lie to her. If she said there was nothing, then there was nothing.

Jiang Nan slightly tilted her head to look at the bed that she had made a mess of. The remaining feather on it made her certain that something had been hiding underneath.

Henriette had given her a rose and said she would come looking for her, and a vulture had appeared in her room. Were all of these things targeting her?

Before Jiang Nan could figure it out, Luo Ning’s long, beautiful finger pointed to a place that wasn’t marked with a red X. She spoke, her voice lazy and full of a smile.

“Little Jiang Nan, will you come feed the birds with me?”

Meanwhile, on the door at the end of the hallway, the key was left in the lock, as if it had been deliberately placed there. The two people standing in front of the door looked at each other.

“Young Master Jin, are we still going in? This really looks like a trap.” The ordinary-looking man turned to ask the person next to him.

Jin Hao kicked the door. A sharp pain shot through his foot, making him grimace. He immediately said impatiently.

“The manor map is in her hand. Even if it’s not revenge on her, someone else will try to kill her.”

It was true. In this dungeon with an open kill right, having a map was like holding a ticking time bomb.

Chen Lei pretended to think for a moment. He saw how simple-minded the man was and felt a sense of mockery in his heart. But on the surface, he still looked like a good guy.

“Let’s be clear first. You’re the one who wants to kill her. The map belongs to me.”

He wanted to clear his name. Jin Hao waved his hand irritably, grinding his teeth.

“I know! That woman is so arrogant! If I don’t kill her, I’ll take her last name!”

After saying that, he glanced at Chen Lei next to him, a hint of malice flashing in his eyes.

He would team up with him to kill the person inside who didn’t know her place. He would naturally get the map as well.

In such an unknown dungeon, even people’s hearts were unknown.

They were making so much noise outside, but there wasn’t a sound from inside. They thought Luo Ning was scared, but when they pried the door open and went in, they found it empty.

Luo Ning’s room was also closed. On the floor were the twisting and crawling roses, looking extremely eerie.

Jin Hao looked at the things on the floor. He saw the broken ends and knew they had been cut. He frowned and said.

“What are these things?”

Since they hadn’t gone to their own rooms, they weren’t aware that these things would appear in the rooms.

Seeing the twisting and squirming roses about to crawl to his feet, Jin Hao felt a chill. He immediately raised his foot and stomped on them.

Suddenly, a sharp shriek filled the entire room. Bl00d splattered everywhere.

The other twisting flowers immediately climbed up his calf. Jin Hao was covered in bl00d. He smelled the bl00d and wanted to shake the things off his leg in disgust. When he found that he couldn’t, he immediately said furiously to Chen Lei.

“What are you standing there for? Get over here and help!”

The roses’ thorns slowly dug into his flesh. The stinging pain spread throughout his body, making Jin Hao scream miserably. He wildly shook his leg, but he couldn’t get the things off his foot. Instead, he could clearly feel the loss of bl00d, which made him panic.

Chen Lei came to his senses from Jin Hao’s shouting, but he only glanced at the things on his feet and started searching the room for the map.

Jin Hao saw that he had no intention of saving him. His face turned red with anger. But he could only scream in pain and curse him again and again.

When Luo Ning took Jiang Nan to prove she wasn’t lying, they stood in front of the door and heard the screams coming from inside.

A smile was on her lips. Her enchanting purple pupils were stained with red from the setting sun through the window, making her look like a devil crawling out of hell. Her lips parted, and she said with a hint of playfulness.

“A few mice have come. It looks like little Jiang Nan will have to let me stay with her tonight.”

Jiang Nan: …

She silently looked at Luo Ning open the door. Through the slightly ajar door, she saw the messy room. The words she wanted to say to refuse her reached her lips but didn’t come out. She had tacitly agreed to Luo Ning’s words.

“You sleep on the bed,” Jiang Nan said with a cold face.

She didn’t know if that bed was clean, but since the vulture had been there, she would not sleep on it no matter what.

Luo Ning didn’t know about this, but she guessed a little from Jiang Nan’s expression. She smiled, then pretended to be surprised.

“Is little Jiang Nan so worried about me? We can sleep together.”

Jiang Nan didn’t reply to Luo Ning. She looked inside for a moment. She knew the two people wanted to find the map on Luo Ning, but they hadn’t expected Luo Ning to be in her room, and the map was now in her hand.

The two people inside then noticed that there were two people standing at the door. They met Jiang Nan’s indifferent face and Luo Ning’s amused expression. Only Chen Lei was a little embarrassed. Jin Hao was still screaming in pain as the roses clung to his leg.

“Do you like this room? I can tell the butler to give it to you.”

Luo Ning said with a smile, as if the messy room wasn’t hers.

The two didn’t answer. Chen Lei’s gaze fell on the rolled-up parchment in Jiang Nan’s hand. A malicious look flashed in the depths of his eyes. But the two people just standing there gave them a great deal of pressure. He could only force a smile and make an excuse for why they were there.

“We wanted to come and cooperate with you.”

Jiang Nan looked at the two of them from head to toe. Her gaze lingered on Jin Hao’s leg for a moment.

The roses on it were wrapping tighter and tighter, almost severing his leg. It also made Jin Hao’s face turn pale from the pain.

There was no sign of anger in Luo Ning’s eyes. Although she had a smile on her face, it had no warmth.

“I don’t think I need to cooperate with trash.”

Luo Ning’s blunt refusal made the malice in Chen Lei’s eyes grow even more. He almost couldn’t maintain his composure.

Although Jin Hao’s leg was still in pain, he cared about his pride the most. He immediately pointed at the two people at the door and started cursing.

“You damn b1tch! Do you know who you’re calling trash?! I’ll make sure you lose everything!”

Jiang Nan, who was inexplicably dragged into this, looked at him coldly. Her calm eyes were chilling as she said emotionlessly.

“She doesn’t like trash.”

Jiang Nan’s calm repetition was even more humiliating, especially for the two arrogant men.

Jin Hao was so angry his chest kept rising and falling. He was panting heavily, and the veins on his face bulged. But after being glanced at by Luo Ning, the pain in his foot intensified, and his whole body began to tremble.

But they didn’t have time to continue cursing. Jiang Nan and Luo Ning had already left.

On the first floor, there were other people wandering around, hoping to find some clues.

Xu Hao, with his gentle appearance, had fooled quite a few people. He wasn’t in a hurry to go outside to pick roses. Instead, he was looking for the butler in the rose-covered castle, believing that his deceptive appearance could help him get other clues.

But when he reached a corner, he heard some voices in the distance. It sounded like they were arguing. He listened carefully and quickly confirmed that it was the willful girl from earlier and the girl with the high ponytail.

“I don’t believe it. We don’t have a map, but we can’t get out? Yang Yi, why have you become so timid?” Yan Xin looked at the person in front of her, her eyes full of displeasure.

She had said she wanted to go to the second floor, and Yang Yi had stopped her because of the danger. Now she wanted to go outside, and she was stopping her for the same reason.

Yang Yi saw her expression and knew that the other person was contemptuous of the dungeon. But now that the system had suddenly changed the rules, she had to be very careful. She could only try to placate Yan Xin’s willfulness.

“I’m just trying to be careful, just in case.”

Yan Xin knew that the other person was doing it for her own good, but she didn’t want to sit and wait for death.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard, and they immediately became alert.

“We’ve been found.”

Yang Yi’s body blocked Yan Xin. A fierce look flashed in both of their eyes.