She Was Sentenced to Life Imprisonment [Unlimited] - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Rose Manor [18]

◎It’s All Fake◎

After Helianna asked that question, everyone’s gaze fell on her, the outsider. Their blank, empty eyes reflected her figure, like an endless black hole, the powerful pull of which seemed to drag her into the abyss.

A sudden sense of suffocation sent a jolt through Jiang Nan’s heart. The sharp pain in her chest caused her eyes to fill with agony. Through the layers of people, she met Helianna’s gaze, the despair in which seemed to transfer to her, leaving her breathless.

Grief, anger, and pain wrenched her heart, and the whispers she had heard came back to her ears.

“To die like that, what a waste of her face. If she had lived, she might have become the Duchess. What glory and honor that would be.”

“What are you thinking? She was a woman possessed by a demon, she had gone mad. How could such a great family accept a madwoman?!”

“She only has herself to blame. Of all people to fall for, she chose that kind of man… tsk tsk.”

Amidst the sounds of regret and clicking tongues, there was sorrow for the beautiful woman’s passing, a pity for her unyielding stubbornness.

Because of her difference, they believed she was wrong.

A sudden answer to Helianna’s question welled up in Jiang Nan’s heart.

At that moment, everything around her began to twist and shatter before her eyes. Gentle whispers echoed in her ears, ethereal and distant.

“Jiang Nan, this is all fake.”

The familiar voice lacked its usual laughter, replaced by an endless calm, tinged with a hint of panic that she was too bewildered to notice.

As soon as the words were spoken, Jiang Nan’s eyes cleared. The scene fell apart, and the blinding light forced her to squint.

When the blurred images coalesced into a face that was familiar and comforting, the sharp pain in her heart instantly transformed into an unknown throbbing, a feeling so fleeting she couldn’t even react to it.

Helianna’s plight still lingered in her mind, leaving her heart heavy with sadness.

“Luo Ning.”

She called out to the other person, her voice trembling. For some reason, the moment she looked up, she felt as if Luo Ning was a thousand miles away.

She saw a Luo Ning who was still smiling at her, yet was utterly cold.

Luo Ning responded. The smiling face gradually became clearer, as if everything just now was a phantom of her own fear.

Jiang Nan was still trying to figure out why she had seen that scene when Gabriel’s displeased voice interrupted them.

“You two, go see what they’re doing.”

Gabriel’s harsh, unpleasant voice snapped Jiang Nan back to reality. Her peripheral vision caught Hu Tian and Xu Hao approaching them with a cautious limp. The statue behind her was inexplicably trembling.

As she lowered her eyes in thought, a pair of long, graceful hands reached out in front of her. The moment she took hold of the slightly cool hand, a ruthless kick sent the statue toppling backward. It crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces and kicking up years of dust.

The sudden, loud noise startled the two men walking toward them. They stopped in their tracks, their bodies shivering involuntarily. Suspiciously, they looked at the person Luo Ning was half-helping down.

Hu Tian and Xu Hao didn’t notice anything unusual about the two women, but because of their injuries, they were still wary of them and didn’t dare defy Gabriel’s command. They just took a quick glance.

They didn’t dare go closer or look carefully. They simply assumed Jiang Nan and Luo Ning had been assimilated, then returned to the birdcage where Gabriel was held, their heads bowed, as humble as if awaiting their master’s command.

Satisfied with the answer he received, Gabriel looked at Jiang Nan and Luo Ning again, beckoning to them as if summoning his servants.

“You two, come here.”

After coming down, Jiang Nan was embraced by Luo Ning, who spoke to her.

“What did you see just now? You looked terrified.”

“Didn’t you see it?” Jiang Nan asked, confused.

“No, I didn’t,” Luo Ning said frankly.

Luo Ning’s response confused Jiang Nan even more. This was supposed to be a flashback illusion that players would enter when they got close to the statue, but Luo Ning said she couldn’t see it.

Perhaps seeing her confusion, Luo Ning considered for a moment and said, “Actually, I’ve never seen these things before.”

Hearing her words, Jiang Nan instantly recalled Luo Ning’s repeated claims that she wasn’t human. If she wasn’t human, she wasn’t a player, either.

Luo Ning was a more unique existence than Jiang Nan. Unlike others, she was not recognized by the instance and could not see key things. The reason she could move freely through the levels of the Heaven-Ascending Ladder was her own powerful strength, almost like a killing machine arranged by the system.

But Jiang Nan remembered that in the remote village wedding instance, Luo Ning had clearly been able to fall into the bridesmaid’s illusion with her.

For a moment, Jiang Nan couldn’t find the answer and could only address Luo Ning’s first question.

“I saw the truth about Helianna’s suicide.”

In fact, it was just as Coralie had told them: Gabriel had forced her to her death as part of a scheme, and Jiang Nan now knew what the “madness” people talked about was.

Jiang Nan was silent for a moment, then spoke again with a hint of disgust for Gabriel.

“Helianna wasn’t sick. But he is a despicable and shameless scoundrel.”

Luo Ning smiled at her and said softly, with infinite doting, “So, what does little Jiang Nan plan to do with the scoundrel?”

“Kill him.”

“Tear him to pieces, huh? I like that.”

Seeing that they weren’t moving, Gabriel’s patience wore thin, and he urged them again.

“Are you deaf?”

Hearing that nasty voice, they had no choice but to separate. Jiang Nan walked over first, not hearing Luo Ning’s subsequent murmur, which seemed to answer Jiang Nan’s earlier question.

“Because my emotions are on you…”

Without emotions, she couldn’t empathize and therefore couldn’t enter.

The complex emotions in Luo Ning’s eyes disappeared in an instant, replaced by her usual habitual smile.

Gabriel looked at them and felt that something was wrong with the ritual, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was off about Jiang Nan and Luo Ning.

To him, only those who truly resembled people possessed by demons would make the ritual a success.

Finally, Gabriel’s gaze fell on the knife in Jiang Nan’s hand. Remembering its power, a look of greed flashed in his eyes, and he hastily spoke.

“Give me that.”

The commanding tone made Jiang Nan frown slightly, but in the next moment, she handed over the long knife.

She was as obedient as a servant, which completely eliminated Gabriel’s suspicion. Looking at the cold light reflected on the blade, his greed grew, and he reached out to take it.

But the moment his hand touched the hilt, a strong scent of burnt charcoal emanated from his palm, followed by Gabriel’s piercing scream that echoed through the cell. His gentlemanly and elegant facade completely crumbled. His distorted face turned horrifying, and he shrieked, “What on earth is this thing!”

He flung the long knife to the ground, but the burn marks on his hand did not disappear. Instead, they worsened, as if being continuously corroded.

A flash of red light from a crack in the dark red hilt of the knife was so quick it seemed like an optical illusion. Then the blade trembled slightly, as if displeased.

Gabriel, who was terrified of it, naturally didn’t dare to touch it again. He watched as Jiang Nan picked it up from the ground. The humming knife seemed to be soothed, becoming quiet, and the terrifying pressure it emitted vanished. Everyone felt a heavy weight lift from their shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Nan gently tapped the hilt to comfort it. Gabriel saw her actions and asked, “What happened to it just now?”

Gabriel pointed at the knife in Jiang Nan’s hand. His own hand was pitch black and carbonized, and the smell of burning permeated the already foul-smelling space, making it even more acrid.

Jiang Nan glanced at the “proud” knife and said calmly, “It has found its master.”

Upon hearing this, Gabriel’s eyes flickered. In the faint green light, one could see his cunning and deviousness.

“Then you use it. Try to chop open my cage.”

Jiang Nan hadn’t looked closely before, but now, through the light, she could see Gabriel’s current appearance clearly.

His already unattractive face was now covered in small, dense bumps. Where his hair met his temples, fine feathers had sprouted for some unknown reason, making his whole face look horrifying.

Jiang Nan did not refuse Gabriel’s request. She took the knife and swung at the cage, but with no effort or intention. All that was heard was a ‘clang,’ and when they looked again, the cage was completely unharmed.

Jiang Nan’s demeanor was inherently weak, so Gabriel didn’t suspect she was faking it. He just assumed that although the knife had accepted Jiang Nan’s body, it hadn’t recognized her soul. He frowned and said, “Useless! Let her try!”

Gabriel pointed at Luo Ning, gesturing for Jiang Nan to hand the knife to her. The pain in his hand made him never want to touch the knife again.

Luo Ning smiled and walked over to Jiang Nan, speaking to her.

“Give it to me.”

Jiang Nan glanced at her and then handed the knife over.

Unlike before, the moment Luo Ning took it, her hand was scorched black just like Gabriel’s. She then feigned fear and threw it away.

The lonely knife landed on the ground with a ‘clank.’

Seeing that even Luo Ning had been injured, Gabriel’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. Ignoring the corrosive pain in his hand, he paced back and forth, muttering to himself, “What’s going on? Do I have to gather thirteen people to get out this time too…”

Hearing him, Jiang Nan’s eyes narrowed slightly, lost in thought.

Her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Luo Ning’s hand, which was now pitch black and stood in stark contrast to her fair wrist.

Instinctively, Jiang Nan frowned, her heart feeling uncomfortable, though she couldn’t pinpoint the feeling.

“Are you okay?” Jiang Nan asked her in a low voice.

Luo Ning looked down at her hand. Aside from the feigned pain just now, her face was once again smiling, as if the injury wasn’t on her own hand.

Hearing Jiang Nan’s words, Luo Ning looked up at her slightly, and as if she saw the worry in her eyes, she chuckled and said in a voice only Jiang Nan could hear, “It’s an act.” The nonchalant two words were spoken with a strange kind of frankness.

Just as Jiang Nan was confused, she saw Luo Ning lightly rub her fingers, proving that the burnt marks were fake. They wiped away to reveal her original fair skin underneath.

Jiang Nan let out a sigh of relief. On the other side, Gabriel had stopped muttering. His gaze swept over the remaining eight statues, his eyes flashing with malevolence.

“How many people are left outside?”

“Six,” Jiang Nan said calmly, including Helianna and Coralie.

“What?!”

Hearing this, Gabriel screamed, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“Six.” As if afraid he hadn’t heard clearly, Luo Ning kindly repeated Jiang Nan’s words.

“Impossible!” Gabriel’s expression turned terrifying, and he shrieked in denial, then began muttering to himself again.

“Every time before there were always more, never less. Why is it different this time? Now I can’t even get thirteen people! What’s wrong with it?! No, no, my god, I didn’t mean any offense!”

He realized he was questioning his god and immediately apologized humbly.

But even with his apology, no one answered his question, and his so-called god did not appear.

The vultures, who knew that Jiang Nan and Luo Ning had deliberately given the wrong number, started chattering, only to be thrown aside by Gabriel, who found them annoying.

Hearing the word “it” from Gabriel’s mouth, Jiang Nan’s expression changed.

Finally, Gabriel seemed to remember something. The gloom on his face dissipated, and he said, “It’s fine. It’s the same to just grab people from the outside. The effect will just be a little weaker.”

“You…”

Gabriel was about to give them a command, but at that moment, the remaining eight statues collapsed with a loud crash, and their debris scattered at their feet.

The eight ghostly green fires instantly went out, leaving only a pitch-black void.

After the sudden loss of sight, Jiang Nan felt her waist being wrapped in an arm. She heard Luo Ning’s voice.

“Don’t move. Just watch.”

Jiang Nan listened to her and didn’t try to pull away, allowing the other to hold her.

There seemed to be something strange in the air, a subtle fluctuation that was almost imperceptible. Even Jiang Nan thought it was her imagination.

The vultures’ screeches paused for a few seconds, then the surroundings became noisy again, but this time, the sounds were all human voices.