Chapter 40: On the Carriage

Compared to “time loop” or “a person turning into a sheep,” the scene before him was no less shocking—and it made Lu Mi feel his eyes, mind, and spirit had been severely polluted.

Had he known he would witness this, he would have absolutely abandoned the mission.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Louis Lund was clearly still a man!”

“Whose child is he carrying? The Administrator? Or Mrs. Pualis?”

“Is this the world of mysticism?”

“Aurora keeping me away was truly for my own good...”

For a moment, Lu Mi’s thoughts scattered, his spirit in chaos—he longed to gouge out his own eyes and forcibly forget what he had seen.

“Wah! Wah! Wah!”

The infant born to Louis Lund cried out, instantly infusing the filthy “delivery room” with a faint air of sanctity.

This was the beauty of new life arriving—Lu Mi, hidden outside the window, directly felt the primal joy stemming from humanity’s origin.

Of course, the sense of strangeness, absurdity, filth, and dissonance grew even more pronounced.

Lu Mi finally snapped back to his senses and instinctively glanced again into the room.

The infant had been placed by the woman in the gray-white long dress onto a white silk sheet beside Louis Lund—he was a boy, his skin covered more in blood than milky fat, yet otherwise unremarkable, like an ordinary newborn.

Lu Mi observed for two more seconds and noticed the boy’s fingers were curled, his nails long, like bird talons.

Just moments ago, those very hands had torn open Louis Lund’s abdomen!

Louis Lund lay there, half-comatose.

The gash on his belly remained unsewn; blood seeped steadily out, revealing Yinyue the intestines pressed aside and a strange, bird’s-nest-like object covered in a fleshy membrane.

After wrapping the infant in silk, the woman took the nest-like object, picked up a needle and catgut thread, and began treating Louis Lund’s wound.

Amid Louis Lund’s pained moans, she muttered as she stitched:

“This is still mild—I gave birth to quadruplets last time, now that was agony...”

Lu Mi’s facial muscles twitched slightly—he felt his ears had now been polluted, after his eyes, brain, heart, and spirit had already been tainted.

He withdrew his gaze and decided to leave immediately.

With a light leap, Lu Mi jumped back to the window he’d entered through and slipped into the room.

He closed the window, stepped out, and headed straight for the staircase.

Dodging a male servant coming up, Lu Mi slipped quietly and swiftly back into the hall.

“Where did you go?”

Suddenly, a soft, slightly resonant voice sounded beside his ear.

Even Lu Mi’s “Hunter” senses had failed to detect anyone standing beside the staircase entrance.

He spun around sharply and saw Mrs. Pualis, dressed in a blue corseted long dress, her hair half-up, half-down.

Her face bore no smile; her bright brown eyes clearly reflected Lu Mi’s image.

Lu Mi’s spirit instantly tensed—he prepared for combat, fear surging within him.

At that moment, Aurora stepped out from the side room and looked at him:

“Where did you go? The carriage is waiting at the door.”

In such situations, Lu Mi was experienced—he answered half-truthfully:

“Didn’t Mrs. Pualis just say Mr. Lund was ill?”

“I’ve had a few drinks with him—I wanted to check on him, but this castle is enormous, and I didn’t know where he lived. I searched for a long time and couldn’t find him.”

Aurora nodded and warned:

“You could have simply asked Mrs. Pualis directly—no need to hide it from us. It’s not a bad thing.”

“It’s my fault. I’m sorry,” Lu Mi said sincerely, looking at Mrs. Pualis.

After witnessing what happened upstairs, his fear of this lady outweighed his revulsion.

Mrs. Pualis finally smiled, her sternness easing:

“I thank you for your concern on Lund’s behalf, but his condition this time is poor—he refuses to appear before others in an undignified state.”

Indeed, undignified... Lu Mi silently agreed.

Aurora then turned to Mrs. Pualis:

“Shall we take our leave? Thank you so much.”

Lu Mi quietly watched Mrs. Pualis, fearing she might invent an excuse to make him and his sister stay longer.

That would mean she suspected something—she might need to confirm whether Louis Lund was still alright!

Though reunited with his sister, Lu Mi knew they weren’t powerless against Mrs. Pualis—but this was her castle, surrounded by her servants; for a “Hunter,” it was the worst possible hunting ground.

Mrs. Pualis gave a slight nod and smiled at Aurora:

“I look forward to the gifts you bring back from Trier—its trends always fascinate me.”

“I hope to surprise you,” Aurora replied, though she didn’t know if she’d ever return to Keldu Village, she still had to say the right thing.

Mrs. Pualis, accompanied by her maid Cassie, escorted the siblings to the door and watched them step into the four-seater carriage with enclosed cabin.

The driver, a burly man with a dark brown beard, wore a deep red coat and yellow trousers, topped with a waxed hat—except for the lack of a tie, he looked identical to professional carriage drivers in the city.

This was a mandatory requirement by Administrator Beoest.

“Thank you for your trouble,” Aurora said politely before closing the carriage door.

The driver was Sevel, with the most common blue eyes in the Republic of Intis.

He was delighted by Aurora’s respectful tone and eager for the tip he’d surely receive after reaching Dariel—he replied warmly:

“Ladies and gentlemen, please sit comfortably.”

He cracked the whip, and the horses began moving from a slow walk to a steady trot.

As the carriage passed through Keldu Village, it suddenly stopped.

Though he knew their departure wouldn’t be smooth or easy, Lu Mi still felt a jolt.

“What’s wrong?” he called out through the carriage wall to the driver.

Sevel replied:

“The lady promised yesterday to take Naroca to Junak Village—I worried returning after reaching Dariel would be too late, so I thought I’d pick her up along the way. Don’t worry, it won’t delay you.”

Junak Village was closer to Dariel than Keldu Village—going there first wouldn’t significantly affect Aurora and Lu Mi’s arrival time.

Since it was someone else’s carriage and he had no authority to object, Aurora raised no protest.

Lu Mi, however, was more concerned about Naroca—during the last loop, Naroca had died suddenly, suspected murdered by her kin, and linked to the parish priest’s group.

Sevel got off the carriage, entered Naroca’s home, then led her out.

Naroca, unlike usual, wore a black long dress with intricate patterns, a dark soft hat favored by elderly women, and her thin, pale hair had clearly been carefully combed.

“Oh, my little cabbage, where are you off to?” Naroca boarded the carriage, saw Aurora, and beamed with delight.

Her face, marked by patches and wrinkles, radiated uncontainable joy; her previously dull eyes now gleamed with clarity.

“I’m going to Trier for a writer’s salon, and I’ll take Lu Mi to tour the university there,” Aurora said, speaking pure truth.

She turned and asked:

“Naroca, are you visiting someone?”

Though as a widow, Naroca wearing black was normal, this dress was one she only wore for festivals, banquets, or her husband’s death anniversary.

Naroca’s face lit up with anticipation:

“Yes, I’m going to meet some people.”

Lu Mi said nothing, quietly observing Naroca, searching for any clue.

The carriage resumed its journey, heading out of Keldu Village.

Aurora and Naroca chatted intermittently, their attention mostly fixed outside.

She still worried their hasty departure might arouse suspicion.

As the carriage rolled on, Lu Mi suddenly sensed a change in Naroca’s condition.

Compared to earlier, her complexion had turned pale and bluish, her gaze no longer lively—she fell completely silent, answering only briefly when Aurora asked.

This was exactly like the Naroca he’d seen in the middle of the night during the last loop!

Lu Mi quietly tugged Aurora’s hand.

Aurora instantly turned her head toward him, her eyes asking silently.

Lu Mi subtly pointed at Naroca, then drew a “cross” in her palm.

The “cross” was the symbol Aurora used when grading his papers—meaning “wrong”—and now Lu Mi used it to indicate Naroca’s condition was off.

Aurora froze for a second, then immediately understood Lu Mi’s meaning.

She refocused her attention on Naroca and clearly sensed something was wrong.

She raised her right hand and pressed her temples.

Her pale blue eyes instantly deepened, tinged with a faint darkness.

After one glance, her beautiful golden eyebrows furrowed; she leaned back slightly, as if struck by some force.

She closed her eyes, rubbed her temples with visible discomfort, as if exhausted.

When she reopened her eyes, Aurora turned to Lu Mi:

“Once we reach Dariel, you must stay close to me—under any circumstances, never let go of me.”

Her tone was grave.

Lu Mi understood immediately—she meant that if anything happened next, he must cling to her, and she would handle it.

He nodded solemnly, deciding he would confess to his sister that he had become an Exalted.

Aurora withdrew her gaze and looked at Luo Ka, deliberately asking:

“Luo Ka, are you really going to Zhu Nake Village, or somewhere else?”

She feared that if the carriage stopped on its own, the situation would become even harder to resolve; if so, better to provoke it early, fighting outside the opponent’s expected environment.

Luo Ka’s gaze was hollow, her voice low as she replied:

“No, I’m not going to Zhu Nake Village.

“I’m going to the Other Shore World.”

No sooner had she spoken than Lu Mi felt the carriage window outside grow unnaturally dark.

(End of Chapter)