She Was Sentenced to Life Imprisonment [Unlimited] - Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Rose Manor (Part 12)

◎ Don’t Open the Door for Strangers ◎

Lin Jia’s gaze was fixed on the room where Jiang Nan and Luo Ning were, as if she were lost in thought.

Luo Ning fully opened the door, a smile on her lips that seemed friendly but held no warmth. She spoke to her. “You look curious. Do you want to come in and take a look?”

Jiang Nan watched Luo Ning’s actions and also noticed Lin Jia’s strange behavior. Her eyes held a chilling coldness as she looked at Lin Jia.

Hearing Luo Ning’s words, Lin Jia immediately shook her head, her smile still shy. “No thanks. It’s a bit unsafe at night.”

Jiang Nan nodded, then said flatly, “Helianna probably won’t be coming down tonight. You should get some rest.”

Lin Jia smiled sweetly, looking completely harmless. “Okay, thank you.”

A few minutes after she closed the door, a bl00d-curdling shriek came from inside the room. It didn’t sound like a human voice, but like the sharp cry of a bird.

Salty, foul-smelling bl00d splattered across her face, making her sweet features look somewhat terrifying. Her shyness around others was replaced by a cold indifference, as if the true nature of a demon wearing an angel’s skin was finally revealed.

Every downward stroke of the knife was fatal. In the depths of her black pupils, the reflection of the man-bodied, bird-beaked monster was distorted. Red feathers scattered throughout the room, creating an eerie and terrifying scene.

“Why did you choose me? Because I look so innocent?”

Her foot was on the monster’s body, and she looked down on it contemptuously as it gasped for its last breath.

Before Coralie had gone downstairs to take Hu Tian away, “Zhao Ping” had knocked on her door. After she let him in, she immediately took out something she had prepared for a long time and used it on the fish she had finally lured in.

Just then, her door was knocked on for a second time. It was Luo Ning’s voice, carrying a hint of good intention.

Luo Ning, having knocked on the door, listened to the sounds inside and spoke. “Are you alright? We heard some noises and wanted to ask if you needed help?”

Jiang Nan silently stared at the closed door, then tugged on Luo Ning’s sleeve. They both took a step back, their eyes simultaneously alert.

“Something died.”

She didn’t say a person died, but “something,” showing she knew what had gone inside.

The bl00d-red roses twined around the door seemed to have caught the scent of bl00d, and they began to stir, their tendrils writhing and climbing.

Hearing the commotion outside, Lin Jia’s somber expression was instantly replaced by a sweet, harmless smile. But the fresh bloodstains on her face made her look like a human-skinned ghoul. She opened her mouth, her voice still just as clear. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a little bird accidentally flew in. I just took care of it.”

The foul, bloody smell permeated the air, making the roses outside even more restless.

Lin Jia’s words made the two women outside exchange a glance. Hearing the sounds from inside, they could roughly guess that a bird had indeed entered. And this bird was likely the one that had possessed “Zhao Ping.”

It seemed “Zhao Ping,” despite being mindless, still knew to seek out a soft target. It was a shame for him that he was killed by the “soft target” he had found.

Jiang Nan cut down a few of the flowers that were trying to get close to them. She looked at the writhing things on the ground and said coolly, “Be careful. Don’t open the door for strangers.”

Hearing this, the person inside was stunned. The hand holding the knife involuntarily trembled, almost losing its grip. Her face suddenly turned pale, as if she had recalled something terrifying.

When she received no response, Jiang Nan assumed the person inside had taken her words to heart. She was about to pull a yawning Luo Ning back to their room when the door next to them opened with a creak.

The distant and cold Su Yue stood in the doorway. She glanced at Lin Jia’s room, then saw Jiang Nan and Luo Ning, who were about to leave. Thinking they had come to help Lin Jia, she hesitated for a moment, then kindly warned them.

“She’s not as innocent as she pretends to be. Instead of worrying about others, you should worry about yourselves.”

Her voice was cold, as if it was none of her business, yet she still took the time to warn them.

But then, Lin Jia’s voice came from next door, sweetly giggling, but with a hint of menace. “Sister Su, I heard you talking bad about me.”

Su Yue fell silent on the topic of Lin Jia. Her gaze shifted to the staircase leading to the second floor. The jewels embedded in the railing glittered with a strange light under the illumination of the lamps.

“I went up to look in the daytime. A lot of the rooms are sealed. Only one room can be opened. Inside, there’s a wall that sounds hollow. I knocked on it, and it sounded like something was inside.”

Jiang Nan was a little surprised by Su Yue’s initiative to share this information. She frowned and said, “Why are you telling us this? You can go in yourself.”

Since she had already gone up and entered the room, Su Yue could have explored it on her own. By giving them the information, she was undoubtedly trying to get them to go on an adventure for her.

“I tried. After I knocked on the wall, it was instantly covered with roses. I can’t push it open by myself.”

The roses here were bloodthirsty and could tear a person to shreds, drinking their bl00d dry.

Hearing this, Jiang Nan looked at her thoughtfully. Her deep eyes seemed to be able to see through her lies. “You don’t want to kill us and get through the dungeon yourself?”

Since the system had specially given them the right to kill each other, it was to encourage the scattered players to start killing each other on a large scale.

Su Yue pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, looking shrewd and experienced. She understood Jiang Nan’s doubt and calmly said, “If you can clear the dungeon, we can get out too. For the sake of profit, killing isn’t the first option.”

Before the two of them could fully recover from her words, she spoke again. “I’ve been observing you. You’ve been deliberately acting distant, which is likely a trauma response. But everything you’ve done makes me sure you’re not the high-tier player they think you are. The person beside you is probably the real deal.”

Her gaze shifted from Jiang Nan to Luo Ning. Every word of her analysis made Jiang Nan frown. She wanted to ask if Su Yue was afraid they’d kill her to silence her, but she decided against it. Instead, she said with a nonchalant expression, “You’re right. In that case, you should also know that I won’t trust your words so easily.”

She would naturally go to the second floor, but she would never be used in someone else’s scheme.

Luo Ning raised an eyebrow at her, her eyes holding a cold smile. “If you can make it out, Floors 7 or 8 will be a piece of cake for you.”

But why was such a sharp person afraid of Lin Jia? Since Su Yue wouldn’t say, they couldn’t know.

Su Yue nodded, her expression unchanged. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Back in the room, just before she closed the door, Jiang Nan looked at the second floor one last time.

The flowers climbing the walls made rustling sounds in the quiet of the night, adding to the eerie and terrifying atmosphere. The newly boarded-up windows were once again being hit by birds outside, making loud thumping noises.

In the midst of this racket, she thought about Su Yue’s words. Just then, Luo Ning, who was behind her, spoke, her voice laced with an unclear emotion. “Little Jiang Nan, do you know? This place wasn’t originally all evil.”

Jiang Nan looked at her, unable to answer. After all she had been through, her suspicion was deep-seated. Only with Luo Ning’s appearance, and the trust that came from the depths of her soul, had she finally let down her guard.

…

Up on the second floor, Hu Tian was unceremoniously thrown into a room by the sturdy servants.

A sweet fragrance filled the air. Just one sniff was enough to make a person feel enchanted and intoxicated, as if they were drowning in wine and losing consciousness.

A woman in a magnificent gown, with ruby-red lips curved into a smile, spoke. Every word was like a spell, making one focus only on her lips as they moved. “My dear Perfumer, would you be willing to provide nourishment for my roses?”

Hu Tian had been about to get up aggressively from the floor, but as soon as he met Helianna’s stunning face, he froze. He didn’t clearly hear what she said, but he nodded dumbly in agreement. “I’m willing.”

The smile on Helianna’s face grew more satisfied. “My roses will thank you for your generosity.”

The roses on the wall climbed down and wrapped around the man’s ankles. The sharp thorns pierced his flesh, and the pain instantly brought him back to his senses. He then realized that the beautiful woman in front of him was as pale as a corpse.

“No, I’m not willing!” Hu Tian roared.

He viciously threw the jade Buddha he was holding in his hand. His bloodshot eyes glared at her as he said menacingly, “Die!”

Hu Tian had spent a fortune to buy this jade Buddha. After he bought it, his points were only enough to get him into the second-tier dungeon.

The aura of evil made the jade Buddha glow with a powerful light, which made Helianna’s face look even more pale, not like a living person at all. Her crimson lips looked as if they had just drunk bl00d.

Helianna slightly narrowed her eyes at the sudden appearance of the object. The bright light was scorching, making her skin ache.

A shadow fell over her. Someone had stepped in front of her. “Helianna, are you alright?”

The jade Buddha was in Coralie’s hand. She glanced at the man on the floor, who was being held down by the servants and gnashing his teeth. In front of him, she smashed the worthless stone that had hurt Helianna to pieces.

Helianna touched the skin that had just been hurting and shook her head. She then looked down at Hu Tian and said softly, “You’re not being very obedient. I’m not happy.”

[You have angered Helianna. We wish you good luck.]

The system’s cold notification rang in Hu Tian’s mind. He suddenly looked up and saw Helianna’s sinister, smiling face. He had never experienced such a disparity before and began to struggle desperately, cursing nonstop.

Helianna’s elegant brows furrowed slightly at the noise. Displeasure and impatience slowly surfaced in her eyes. She raised a hand gracefully to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, then turned to Coralie and asked, “Will such dirty flower fertilizer be too much for my roses?”

Coralie pulled her into her arms. “If you’re not satisfied, you can have him locked up with the other dirty people.”

The two of them discussed his future fate without a hint of hesitation.

“Where are you taking me?!” Hu Tian’s bloodshot eyes were crimson, making him look like a caged beast, ready to burst out of its confinement at any moment.

But no one answered him. The only reply was the sound of the door closing.

At that moment, he didn’t know where he got the strength, but he managed to break free from the servants’ grip. He ran to the door, pounding on it and shouting. His shouts echoed in the room, but no one answered.

After everything that had happened, Hu Tian was already exhausted. But when he tried to look for clues in the room, he saw that the two burly servants had turned into two humanoid piles of roses, writhing on the ground and crawling toward him.

The piercing pain in his foot made him quickly look for a place to hide. He continued to curse, but it didn’t scare them away. The room was empty, with only a shelf holding empty perfume bottles and some neatly arranged books for leisure reading.

Perhaps it was the urgency of the crisis, but his reason was swept away by anger. The thought that these were Helianna’s perfumes made him furious, and he angrily walked over and pushed the entire shelf over. The perfume bottles, all made of crystal, shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor.

But it was then that Hu Tian heard a faint “thump-thump” coming from the wall. After a slight mechanical turning sound, a dark, upward-sloping passage appeared behind the shelf.

Footsteps echoed from within, and in Hu Tian’s wary gaze, a man walked out. It was Xu Hao, the one who had gone missing earlier.

Hu Tian frowned hard and said cautiously, “How are you here?”

Xu Hao glanced at the roses behind him. He sneered, not answering the question. “Follow me if you don’t want to die.”

With that, without waiting for Hu Tian’s reaction, he entered the dark passage again.

Facing the dangerous roses behind him, Hu Tian had no choice but to follow him, half in doubt and half in belief. The wall behind him was sealed once more. It was too late to turn back, and he had no choice but to push on.