She Was Sentenced to Life Imprisonment [Unlimited] - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: The Rose Manor (6)

What Are They Eating?

The night was enticing. A biting, cold wind came, and the rustling wind was eerily strange.

There were only a few stars in the dim night. Under the faint light, two women stood among the crimson roses. Their figures were thin and tall, and their clothes were elegant, making them look like noble ladies chatting idly.

“Should we keep digging?” Luo Ning tilted her head and asked Jiang Nan next to her. The dirt-covered shovel in her hand looked strange but did not detract from her elegance at all.

If they were to dig all the places marked in red on the map, they would have to dig more than thirty spots.

Jiang Nan’s gaze swept over the spots in the flower field that had been picked clean, leaving only empty pits. Her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. She then shook her head and said calmly, but did not answer Luo Ning’s question. Instead, she passed a judgment on these people.

“These people are all Henriette’s suitors.”

The system had introduced Henriette earlier, mentioning that her suitors had suddenly disappeared after the roses bloomed.

But she didn’t understand how the map’s owner knew where these people were buried.

The role of this Gabriel and whether he was still alive were now questions.

If they were to dig all the places on the map, there would only be one result: digging up more corpses for more vultures to devour. It wasn’t worth the effort to do all of this.

Yan Xin frowned as she looked at their close backs. She muttered something, looking very close to them. She was a little speechless and complained.

“What did they come out for? If they wanted to be all mushy with each other, they don’t have to come to a place like this.”

After she said that, she shivered from the wind. She was very scornful of the two people who only cared about their appearance.

She and Yang Yi had been squatting here for a long time, thinking these two were looking for clues. But they never expected that they were just digging things up with shovels, and after they were done, they just stood so close to each other.

“Let’s wait a little longer.” Yang Yi held her hand and tried to comfort her.

But just then, Luo Ning looked back, as if she knew where they were hiding. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her smile was cold as she spoke.

“Come out. Hiding is tiring too.”

Hearing that, the two people who thought they hadn’t been discovered were stunned for a moment. But then they realized that Luo Ning wasn’t looking in their direction. They thought Luo Ning had caught the wrong people and found it funny.

But before they could relax, Jiang Nan looked in their direction. Her light-colored eyes hid emotions that others couldn’t see in the darkness. She said coldly, as if she was already displeased.

“Come out.”

They were not looking in the same direction. In the corner where Luo Ning was looking, after a rustling sound, Chen Lei came out, forcing an awkward smile.

Helpless, knowing they had been exposed as well, they could only walk out openly.

Luo Ning and Jiang Nan didn’t seem to want to hide what they were doing. They all saw the pile of red vultures in front of the pit, like hungry wolves or beasts, greedily devouring something. They could occasionally hear the crunching of bones, which made their hair stand on end.

“What are they eating?” Yan Xin glanced into the pit, but she only saw the vultures vying to peck at something. She couldn’t make out what it was and asked out of curiosity.

Because Jiang Nan and Luo Ning had their backs to them, and the sky was dark, they couldn’t see what they had dug up no matter which angle they were at.

But after she asked, she suddenly realized something.

They were vultures. Vultures ate corpses and rotting meat.

So, what they were digging could only be corpses.

This also confirmed what Jiang Nan and Luo Ning had said about “feeding the birds” when they came out. It was obvious what they were feeding them.

A faint smile hung on Luo Ning’s lips. She held Jiang Nan’s long knife and moved the vultures aside to reveal a section of a white, bare bone. She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“A corpse.”

Perhaps sensing the terrifying aura of the knife, the red vultures flapped their wings in a panic and flew toward the castle. They stood on the open window, their eerie eyes staring at them, or rather, at one person, with hatred.

Fortunately, it was too dark to see clearly, so they didn’t pay any more attention to the vultures. Instead, they were captivated by Luo Ning’s next words.

“You want the map, right?”

Her statement was not a question. She looked at them with a smirk, as if she had already seen the answer from their varying expressions.

The few people were silent, not knowing what the person in front of them wanted to do.

Jiang Nan looked at their wary expressions. She glanced at Luo Ning and saw the teasing in her eyes. It seemed she knew what the other person was thinking. She didn’t expose her and just said with a cold voice.

“We can give you the map.”

“But you have to dig up all the places marked in red on the map.”

Luo Ning hid the playful smile in her eyes and pretended to be serious as she nodded, adding a condition.

“Tonight.”

Jiang Nan and Luo Ning knew what was buried here. They made this offer with a little bit of a catch. The two of them were so serious, as if it was really important for someone to do this and that there were significant clues hidden inside.

The conditions they proposed were a little tempting. But because they were worried about whether Henriette would knock on someone’s door at night, Yan Xin and Yang Yi didn’t rush to agree and were discussing in low voices.

But Chen Lei couldn’t sit still. The earlier incident with Jin Hao had made him useless, so he had to find another way. Furthermore, these two people had offered it themselves. Even if he was being tricked, he would at least get the map.

So he immediately picked up a shovel and said.

“I can dig. Give me the map.”

After he said that, Luo Ning glanced at him and directly threw the map over. Chen Lei quickly caught it and opened it. The sheer number of red marks made his forehead twitch.

“This…” He said hesitantly, a little unsure.

Yan Xin glanced at it and frowned. She then held back her urge to laugh and pretended to be encouraging. She nodded and said.

“There might be some important clues here.” Then she pretended to be weak again and said to Yang Yi.

“What should we do? We can’t dig all of these.”

Chen Lei seemed to be swayed by her words and didn’t see the playfulness in Luo Ning’s eyes.

He looked toward the castle, then seemed to have made up his mind. He took his shovel and went to the nearest red-marked spot.

Looking at the person digging away, the smile in Luo Ning’s eyes became even more pronounced. She then took Jiang Nan’s hand, and said softly, as if afraid of scaring the other person.

“Let’s go back.”

Jiang Nan felt the warmth on her hand. She knew she couldn’t break free, so she didn’t try to struggle in vain. She “obediently” let the other person lead her away. No one saw the way Jiang Nan was glaring at Luo Ning.

Yan Xin watched them walk back. She didn’t know what she was thinking until Yang Yi handed her a rose she had picked.

Yang Yi had carefully trimmed the thorns off the rose so Yan Xin wouldn’t be pricked when she held it.

“Let’s go back and make perfume.” Yang Yi looked at the night sky and knew it was getting late.

The only real mission the players knew about right now was making perfume. After all, no one could guarantee what Henriette would do the next day.

Yan Xin nodded and said thoughtfully.

“Do you feel like she’s too casual?”

So casual that it was impossible to see her true strength. It was as if the dungeon was just a playground for her. She couldn’t see what kind of obsession had brought her here, or how much sincerity was under her smile.

Luo Ning didn’t seem like a person, but like a puppet that could imitate a person. In comparison, even though Jiang Nan was cold, she seemed more human than Luo Ning.

Yang Yi flicked the other person’s forehead with her fingertip and smiled helplessly.

“Why do you care about them? It’s good enough that they’re not trying to trick you.”

Yan Xin touched the spot where she was flicked and glared at the other person. She said.

“Stop touching me. If others see it, they’ll know we’re a team.”

After she said that, she didn’t wait for the other person and walked back a little angrily.

Yang Yi looked at her back, the smile on her lips becoming even more helpless.

…

After Xu Hao went up to the second floor, he found that there were even more roses here than on the first floor. They densely covered the walls, windows, and doors, but they didn’t make him feel any romance. They only made him feel creeped out by their redness.

The lights on the ceiling cast a crimson glow. The rustling chewing sounds from the twisting roses around him made his hair stand on end.

Something suddenly crawled past his foot. In shock, he jumped to avoid it, and his hand accidentally reached for the wall.

In an instant, he felt something strange on the wall. The constantly squirming roses seemed to want to drag him in, making him immediately react and move away from the wall. But his hands were still pricked and covered in bl00d, which made him feel scared afterward.

Having smelled the bl00d, the roses became even more brazen and tried to climb onto him, wanting to wrap themselves around his body.

Just then, the sound of high heels came. The muffled sound seemed to be able to pierce hearts and echo down the hallway, making people’s hearts pound in fear.

As the sound got closer and closer, a woman’s figure gradually appeared at the end of the hallway under the dim light. The twisting flowers gradually stopped and became as quiet as if they had never moved.

Xu Hao saw the butler following the woman. More than fear, he felt an excitement to win.

Coralee respectfully opened a door. After the woman walked in, she quickly followed.

“There’s a little mouse.” Coralee’s eyes were on her. She said with a faint smile.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Henriette’s dark eyes were tinged with crimson. She gently took the other person’s hand with her gloved hand. The curve of her red lips made her look especially happy. She said indifferently.

A faint pounding sound came from behind a cabinet filled with perfume bottles. It was irregular, as if someone was frantically banging on the cabinet. But the sound that came out was very faint. If you listened closely, you could hear cursing inside.

“It’s not listening again.”

Henriette turned her head and glanced at the cabinet. Her eyes were cold. After she said that, the roses from the surroundings climbed onto the cabinet until there wasn’t a single gap. The pounding sound gradually grew weaker.

After there was no more sound, she looked back at the hand she was holding. The thorns of the rose in her hand had pricked the other person’s wrist. Bl00d gushed out and was then absorbed by the rose.

This pain was already commonplace for Coralee. She didn’t even frown. She just looked at the person in front of her with a gentle gaze.

After the bl00d was mostly absorbed, the rose was taken away and thrown into a transparent container. The fire that instantly ignited was accompanied by the smell of bl00d and a captivating, unknown fragrance.

There was a hint of obsession in Henriette’s eyes. She watched the flames gradually die out, and finally melt into a crimson liquid. She said.

“They will never know that only one kind of perfume can satisfy me. They can only become nourishment for my flower field.”

The announcement she made every year was just to find suitable nourishment.

“I love you very much, Coralee.”

There was deep affection in her eyes. Every word made it impossible to doubt.

“I know, Henriette.”

Coralee looked at the person in front of her. The smile on her lips was gentle, but a hint of an unreadable emotion was in her eyes, like a hint of sadness in her love.

Henriette used an expensive silk scarf to personally bandage the wound for the other person. She then picked up the container on the table and poured the liquid inside into a transparent, exquisite bottle.

The spray of mist surrounded her. The scent of bl00d was accompanied by roses. The strange smell was becoming more and more captivating. At this moment, her pale skin also took on a hint of redness, making her look much more normal.

“Why can’t I leave you anymore?” Henriette’s eyes slightly narrowed. The smile in her eyes made people’s hearts tremble.

Coralee seemed used to it. She answered the same answer that would satisfy the other person.

“Because I love you.”

Henriette looked at her with satisfaction. She took the perfume and walked out the door. Coralee followed close behind.

The eerie aura made the roses not dare to act up. The two of them walked down the stairs. The hidden Xu Hao immediately snuck into that room.

The strong scent couldn’t dissipate. Even he, who didn’t like perfume, couldn’t help but feel a hint of obsession with the scent in the air.

“Thump thump,” the sound of knocking brought his thoughts back. He looked at the cabinet full of perfumes.

Every perfume bottle on display was exquisite and expensive, but they were all empty, without a single drop of liquid.

This strange scene made Xu Hao suspicious. With how much Henriette liked perfume, it was impossible for her to have a cabinet full of empty bottles.

He was attracted by the knocking sound from the cabinet. He leaned against the cabinet where the sound was coming from and confirmed that the sound was coming from inside.

“Is there someone inside?” he asked in confusion.

While he was deep in thought, he touched something. The sound of a mechanism working came. A moment later, a pitch-black passage appeared in the wall behind the cabinet.

Without the cover, the “thump thump” sound became more urgent.

Xu Hao, thinking he had found Henriette’s secret, was excited. Without any light, he went in alone and started walking up.

His footsteps echoed in the secret passage. The passage, which hadn’t been opened in a long time, gave off a foul odor that made it hard to breathe.

“What’s that smell? Did someone die? Why does it stink so much?!”

As he spoke, he suddenly realized something. Facing the darkness that had no end, his fear suddenly rose.

Behind him, the entrance was covered by the cabinet once again. No matter how he banged, it wouldn’t open again.