Abnormal

Chen Miemie was rendered speechless by the green-haired little witch’s blunt retort.

“You... what you said is only one possibility. If it really was a warning, couldn’t you have found a chance to pass the message to me directly?”

“Chen Miemie, someone will ambush and kill you on a side road on your way home tonight.”

“Hm? Who’s trying to kill me? Which road?”

“I’m not entirely sure either.”

“Then how do you know someone’s going to ambush me?”

“Look, I can only—or perhaps I’m only able to—give you a vague message. Even though we know each other and I’m telling you face-to-face, do you believe me? You’ll only come up with more questions and demands for details.

“If a stranger gave you an unfamiliar warning, you’d trust it even less. It would seem suspicious, and might even distract you by sending you off to investigate.”

Chen Miemie was shocked. “You’re not [Chenpi], are you? How did you suddenly become so wise today?”

“Hmph. Go away. Don’t disturb me while I’m doing my experiment.”

Next, Chen Miemie went to find Rotten Wood.

His arrival made Rotten Wood stop her work. “Three and a half days apart, and it feels like half a week.”

Chen Miemie was in no mood for jokes today. “You should know why I’m here.”

Rotten Wood nodded. “You’re later than I expected. Actually, when you came to see me last time, I thought you would ask about it then. I just didn’t expect your attention to be completely focused on the anomaly, so you never asked.”

“It’s not too late today. I came specifically to have you clear up my doubts.” Chen Miemie smiled broadly.

“I know. You’re the ‘young master’ here. Ask away.”

“Was Vice President Xiao Yu of [Hamburger Workshop] killed by you?”

“No. I fought her a few times. We were evenly matched. I couldn’t possibly have killed her instantly, much less come out of the fight without leaving a trace.”

“Why did you fight her?”

“She had a filthy mouth. Ordinary people only dared to gossip about me behind my back, but she was arrogant and always humiliated me in public. Since I had the biggest conflict with her, that crazy woman surnamed Yu decided I had killed her when she couldn’t find the real culprit.”

“Did you want to kill her?”

“Not particularly. I wanted to beat her until she couldn’t take care of herself, but I didn’t especially want her dead.”

“You just used an interesting phrase: ‘the real culprit.’”

“Exactly. I don’t believe it was an accident either. Yu Ling—Vice President Xiao Yu, as you call her—was arrogant and vicious, but she wasn’t stupid or weak. I’d never believe she simply lost her footing and fell to her death.”

“Who do you think the real culprit is?”

“I don’t know. I’m a suspect myself. How could they let me investigate? Yu Ling offended so many people in her day that I have no idea who it could have been.”

“Fine. Let’s change the subject. Was Li Liang’s action something you instructed him to do?” Chen Miemie was going straight for the target today.

When dealing with these highly intelligent veterans, he had no intention of showing off with half-baked tricks or playing amateur psychological games.

“You mean the fact that he went to the underground world to post a contract for an assassination. Yes, that was me.”

“Wait... you’re admitting it? You’re saying you ordered him to do it?” Rotten Wood’s direct answer caught him off guard.

“Yes. Though ‘ordered’ isn’t quite accurate. I think ‘persuaded’ would be better.”

“What was your purpose?”

“I had no ulterior motive involving you. I didn’t even know you at the time.

“Li Liang was my former lover. Although we had broken up, we had once been very close, and he wasn’t very guarded around me.

“I knew there was someone behind him. I mean someone other than [Zhiliao]. He never told me exactly who it was.

“That day, I noticed from his microexpressions that he was extremely anxious, so I pressed him about it.

“I used a few methods, and eventually he told me he’d received an assignment: he was supposed to find a way to harm the descendant of the Third Seat—in other words, you.

“I exploded when I heard that. Wasn’t that basically sending him to his death?

“If he failed, he would die. If he succeeded, he would still die.

“He didn’t want to do it either. As a senior scholar who had already achieved success and fame, he wasn’t some expendable fanatic raised to die for someone else. Why would he seek death?

“Of course, just as he refused to tell me who was behind him, he also wouldn’t tell me why he hadn’t simply rejected such an absurd assignment. He stammered and evaded the question for a long time.

“In the end, we came up with a way to deal with it.

“And that’s how he ended up posting the contract. You know the rest.”

Chen Miemie listened quietly without interrupting. He waited until she had finished speaking.

“I have one question. Since you two had already broken up, why would he still discuss something so private with you?”

“Everyone thinks I broke up with him because the failed transformation into a witch changed my temperament. That isn’t true.

“He was the one who suggested breaking up. It seemed he was about to do something with serious consequences, so he began cutting ties with the people around him to prevent them from being implicated afterward.

“In truth, our relationship hadn’t deteriorated.”

“Then whatever he was planning must have been serious. He thought even a great scholar like you wouldn’t be able to shield him from the consequences.”

“Perhaps.”

“One last question. Because your transformation failed, do you hate witches and humans?”

“I’m under the witches’ protection now. How could I hate them? As for humans... I still consider myself human.”

The conversation had gone smoothly. Chen Miemie had obtained the information he wanted and left the city library.

“Pure Water, what do you think? Did you sense anything unusual among the people I spoke with just now?”

“Their ranks and strength are too high. I couldn’t sense anything.

“[Chenpi] should be fine.

“As for Rotten Wood... her blood had been fluctuating slightly earlier, but by the end it had become especially calm.

“I don’t possess any genuine ability to detect lies. All I can say is that she deliberately suppressed her state at the end. That was somewhat abnormal.”

On the library’s fourth basement level.

After Chen Miemie left, Rotten Wood remained alone in the laboratory, sitting with her head lowered and her face expressionless.

“I won’t hate witches and humans because my transformation failed. But I do hate Li Liang.

“Chen Miemie, with your title as the descendant of the Third Seat, aren’t you just like me—an outcast among both humans and witches? You’ve never truly understood witches.

“Li Liang wasn’t merely silenced by someone. He was killed by a witch.

“[Silence] released him after questioning him, but she knew perfectly well that once someone had attempted to assassinate the descendant of the Third Seat, all she had to do was leave him alone. Someone else would naturally make a move.

“[Silence] wanted Li Liang dead. She no longer cared why he had done it.”

Suddenly, the laboratory door was pushed open.

Rotten Wood knew who it was.

The green-haired juvenile witch walked in.

At that moment, [Chenpi] had completely changed.

Her features were the same, but her expression, presence, and eyes were entirely different.

“Rotten Wood, do you harbor hatred?”

Rotten Wood met [Chenpi]’s unfathomably deep gaze. It was like standing in the depths of winter; her entire body turned cold and rigid.

It wasn’t only her. Even the anomalies behind the glass window seemed to tremble faintly.

“I do.” Rotten Wood clenched her teeth and forced out the answer. She knew there was no way to hide it.

The air seemed to freeze.

Ten seconds. Thirty seconds. One minute.

Time stretched unbearably long.

Cold sweat slowly soaked through Rotten Wood’s clothes.

Finally—

“Good. Daring to love and daring to hate—that is the nature of a witch.”

[Chenpi] turned and left the laboratory.

Just as Rotten Wood began to relax slightly...

The rest of [Chenpi]’s sentence came from outside the door:

“But remember this: don’t mistake the target of your hatred. A witch’s hatred cannot be used by others.”