Back inside the cave that was no longer dilapidated after Xiao Bao’s renovation, Baihe plopped down onto the bed with her arms and legs spread apart without an ounce of lady-like decorum. Her maid was currently curled up asleep on the chair with her head locked in an uncomfortable position on top of the round table while waiting for her Miss to return all night.

If she were to witness Baihe’s current posture, Xiao Bao would probably have a mini heart attack and remind Baihe of the etiquette and manners ingrained in every noble lady; not that Baihe would heed those words as her mind was still reminiscing over the strange encounter.

She tried to erase the mysterious man out of her memory, but he kept coming back like some sort of virus in her brain, distracting her to the point she didn’t even notice that Qian had been trying to get her attention since she fled from the rooftop.

With a shaky and unsettled voice that she herself couldn’t even recognize, Baihe asked: “What were you saying again?”

Feigning anger, he lightly harrumphed before chiding, “What? You finally pulled your horny monkey ass out from the heating phase? That was too embarrassing, okay! The woman this grandpa is stuck in a contract with nearly forgot what her own surname and name was or even if her father was a male or a female after seeing a pretty boy!”

His words were cutting and hard to swallow. Too engrossed with excitement over the scripture she procured, he continued without taking a breath. “Luckily, the man was an angel to leave us with a parting gift. Quickly, open the scripture and read it!”

Baihe felt the veins in her temples bulged. A monkey? Which part of her looked like a monkey? Horny ass? Clearly that Dick, Tom, or Harry also got a boner too okay! What angel? If that man were an angel, then there are no more devils in this world! She promptly concluded that the phoenix bird needed glasses for his bad eyesight.

“Stop thinking useless shit and start reading the scripture!” Qian scolded.

Her face turned dark and black lines appeared on her forehead. This bird is getting more and more bold! “What’s the rush? My eyes are too tired to read, so I’ll go take a nap instead. Good night,” she taunted in a cold voice.

Right after those words were spoken, Baihe heard a bang coming from the nearby table. Most likely the sound of someone accidentally knocking into the hard, round table with expected bruises to come. She groaned inwardly as she already knew who it was.

Springing up from the bed while her battered body protested from her action, she witnessed the shock expression on Xiao Bao’s drowsy face. “Miss, who were you talking to before?”

Her Miss couldn’t have been possessed right? Is that how she came back from the dead?

Baihe cursed in her heart as she lamented over her lapse of judgment. She forgot to transmit her communication with Qian telepathically and her luck was so good lately that she was even caught by her maid talking to herself. Should she be glad that there were no mental institutions available in this world? Well…at least not yet.

Loud boisterous laughter echoed inside her mind, mocking over her misfortune. Of course the stupid bird wouldn’t miss the chance to enjoy a good show! She glimpsed at the scripture and a brilliant smile burst from her face, scaring Xiao Bao to the point of fainting. “Nothing, I was convincing myself not to read so late at night and get some rest instead. Actually, it’s a little chilly. Perhaps we should start a fire and use this scripture to feed the flames?”

At once, the unruly laughter bombarding her mind ceased, granting her a rare moment of peace. Without delay, she quickly laid back down to recover her worn out body, leaving behind the stupefied Xiao Bao who didn’t know how to make heads or tails from her Miss’ odd behaviors.

With a heavy heart, Xiao Bao decided to cover Baihe with a thin quilt and secretly prayed that her Eldest Miss wasn’t actually possessed by an evil spirit.

As the first ray of sunlight filtered through the opening of the cave, Baihe fought against the desire to procrastinate in bed. Honestly, she really missed her soft, fluffy bed from her old world because this bed was rock solid.

Giving up the idea of procrastination, she glanced curiously at the mysterious scripture. Qian had been awfully silent since she made the threat last night. She wasn’t ready to pry open the chatter-box yet just in case he was actually still asleep. Slowly and quietly, she unraveled the scripture scroll and it was…blank!

Completely — utterly — fucking blank!

“Stupid bird! Did you really almost got me killed for a counterfeit good? This scripture is fucking blank!” she hissed as she barked at the phoenix.

Baihe waited a few seconds, but there was no reply from the other side. Just as she was about to explode, he finally answered in a sweet, fawning tone that made all the goosebumps on her skin broke out.

“Lady Baihe, you are the deadliest assassin known to mankind. I would have to eat a bear’s heart and a leopard’s courage before I dare play any games with you, especially since you currently hold my fate in your hands. Just pour your spiritual energy into the scripture.”

Perhaps it was because his tone was too polite and out of the norms that made her instantly wary. “What will happen once I pour energy into the scripture?” she asked suspiciously.

In that same respectful tone, he replied: “It will activate the scripture if you are the chosen one and you ARE the chosen one because in all these years, you were the only one capable of establishing a contract with me.”

His words were good and pleasant to hear, but something was amiss. Baihe stared at the empty, blank scripture; inspecting it from every corner as she flipped it front and back; touching the parchment for any hidden mechanical surprise, but nothing happened as if it was nothing more than an ordinary scripture.

Cautiously, with her hand over the scripture, she inserted a small portion of spiritual energy into it. Suddenly, a bright golden light shone from the scripture, illuminating the cave. There was a magnetic suction preventing Baihe from removing her hand or stopping the flow of spiritual energy.

Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead. Her back was also drenched in perspiration, soaking her robe as large amount of spiritual energy were sucked away from her body, feeding the greedy scripture. She tried to struggle but to no avail. It was like her hand was no longer her own. She could neither remove it from the scripture nor control the spiritual essence within her.

It was as if she were dumped on a never-ending roller coaster ride, spinning and twisting until she had a strong urge to vomit. She never had motion sickness before, but now she’d experienced it for the first time. She — a woman who thrived on the edge of danger and thrills — was now tasting the bitter medicine of motion sickness.