Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Lin Yi said no more and turned to walk towards the creaking wooden door.

Outside the door, Ruth Jack stood with her back to the stone house, surveying the desolate surroundings.

Upon seeing Lin Yi emerge, he immediately stepped forward, scanning Lin Yi's face to confirm that he was unharmed.

"grown ups?"

"Let's go back to the fort." Lin Yi mounted his horse with clean and swift movements.

Without asking any further questions, Jack gave an order, and the twenty elite guards who had been scattered around the perimeter moved into formation instantly.

The sound of hooves shattered the deathly silence of the Exile once more. The procession, like a black arrow, sped toward Bloodclaw Keep, leaving the lonely stone house and the obese figure inside, consumed by the curse, far behind.

As the last wisp of dust kicked up by a horse's hoof disappeared into the howling wind of the Stone Forest, the stone house fell into a deathly silence.

The flames in the fireplace flickered silently, casting shifting light and shadow on Margarita's bloated and distorted face.

She remained slumped in the specially made wooden chair, her cloudy eyes fixed on the wooden stool where Lin Yi had just sat, her gaze empty, as if she had exhausted all her strength and emotions.

"He's gone, taking your 'beacon' with him. Are you satisfied?" A lifeless voice suddenly rang out from the corner of the stone house.

Margarita's massive body trembled violently, as if struck by an invisible whip.

She struggled to turn her neck and look in the direction from which the sound came.

The empty shadow rippled like water, and a figure silently emerged—the woman Margarita had seen before.

She was still wearing a gorgeous, bright red court dress that seemed completely out of place in this desolate stone house; the skirt was intricately layered, like congealed blood.

Her long, silvery-white hair, like flowing liquid moonlight, reached her waist, shimmering with an almost eerie, unreal quality even in such a dim environment.

Her face was flawless, without a single blemish. A half-smile played at the corners of her lips, but her eyes were as empty as two cold obsidian stones, devoid of any human emotion, only displaying a condescending scrutiny.

Margarita's breathing stopped abruptly for a moment, a tremendous fear gripping her instantly, her fat cheek muscles twitching uncontrollably.

But unexpectedly, there wasn't much surprise in her cloudy eyes; instead, there was an almost numb sense of resignation—"It's finally here."

“You did come. He is Edwin’s grandson. He took the hair, and he will come looking for you.”

The woman in red walked lightly, as if strolling at a court ball, her gorgeous long dress remaining untouched by a speck of dust.

She walked up to Margarita, stopped, tilted her head slightly, and examined Margarita's body, which had been completely destroyed by the curse, with the same look she would give a toy.

“I know. You did a good job, Margarita. Although it was many years late, you finally got the things into someone else’s hands. Although, it was out of your pathetic, twisted desire for revenge.”

"You...you knew all along? You knew I was hiding it?" Margarita's eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Of course.” The woman in red chuckled. “Your clumsy shielding techniques are like a child’s scribbles in my eyes. I’ll keep them, and I’ll keep you. Sometimes, it’s more interesting to let the prey bring the bait to the hunter.”

Her gaze swept over Margarita's bloated, deformed body, as if she were looking at a pile of useless garbage: "Look at you, Margarita. You were once a rather talented witch, but the curse has corrupted you into this disgusting pile of rotten flesh. Edwin's arrogance ruined him, and you... your stupidity and cowardice disqualify you from even becoming a sacrifice. You are only fit to rot and stink in this forgotten corner of the wilderness, like the lowest maggot, until you turn to dust."

The deep humiliation and despair of the woman in red completely shattered Margarita's last shred of spirit. Her lips trembled, but she could not utter a sound; only tears streamed down her deeply lined cheeks.

The smile on the woman in red's face vanished; she seemed to have lost interest in continuing her conversation with Margarita.

"Your mission is complete," she declared calmly.

The moment the words left her lips, the woman in red's right arm, hanging by her side, began to twitch violently from the elbow, her skin and muscles writhing as if alive, instantly tearing the ornate red silk sleeve.

What was exposed was no longer a human arm.

It was a scythe-shaped limb covered with a black carapace, with an extremely sharp blade and a curved arc that exuded perfect killing aesthetics. At the joints, dark red tendon tissue, like hydraulic rods, was connected.

Without the slightest hesitation, the inhuman mantis-like sickle arm slashed down from mid-air with lightning speed.

The air was torn apart, emitting a piercing scream!
Margarita had no time to react; the last thing she saw was the black glint of a blade that filled her entire field of vision.

Pfft——!
A dull, chilling cutting sound rang out.

The sickle sliced ​​vertically through the center of Margarita's bulky body without any hindrance, from the top of her head all the way down to the seat of the wooden chair!

Time froze for a moment.

Margarita's obese body slowly slid apart along the straight incision.

Her internal organs, bones, and fat were clearly visible at the incision site, but not much blood spurted out; her blood had long since become viscous due to the long curse.

Her face was frozen in a complex expression that mixed fear, despair, and a hint of relief.

The two heavy halves of the body crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

The pale blue flame in the fireplace flickered for a moment before going out completely, leaving only cold ashes and darkness.

The magical power that had expanded the space inside the stone house dissipated, and the space quickly collapsed back to its original dilapidated and cramped state. The faint light of the desolate twilight outside shone through the hole in the roof, illuminating the bloody and chaotic scene inside.

The woman in red didn't even glance at the body parts on the ground. With a series of wriggling and contracting sounds, her arm quickly transformed back into a fair and slender human arm, and the tattered red sleeves were restored as if time had reversed, covering it again, as if the horrific scene had never happened.

She raised her newly healed hand, her fingertips brushing against the cold air in front of her.

Those empty black eyes seemed to pierce through the walls of the stone house, across the distance of the wilderness, and were firmly locked on the figure riding a black horse.

"The seed has been sown, the blood of Edwin... Let me see what kind of flower you can bloom in the soil of despair?" The whispers faded into the blood-soaked air.

The journey back to Bloodclaw Fortress was unexpectedly smooth.

There were no wandering monsters, no ignorant wilderness bandits blocking the way, and even the lowly demons attracted by the scent of creatures had disappeared. The only sounds on the wasteland were the monotonous wind and the dull thud of horses' hooves.

A chilling feeling, like thorns pricking his back, lingered in Lin Yi's heart.

Ever since leaving the Howling Stone Forest, he had clearly felt a faint gaze clinging to him like a persistent, lingering wound.

This gaze does not come from a physical direction, but is more like a sensory lock that acts directly on the mental level, cold and viscous, carrying an inhuman indifference and scrutiny.

It's that woman.

Margarita's warning flashed through Lin Yi's mind. That strand of hair was like a precise coordinate beacon. The other party not only sensed the movement of the beacon, but may even have directly locked onto the holder.

Ruth Jack rode close behind Lin Yi, half a step to his side. This battle-hardened veteran could not perceive the inhuman gaze as clearly as Lin Yi, but his beast-like intuition and sense of danger sounded the highest alarm.

The veins on the back of his hand, which was gripping the reins, bulged slightly, and his grip on the warhammer tightened even more.

His eyes scanned every suspicious corner around the group. The wind of the wilderness blew by, carrying the scent of dust and withered grass, but Jack always felt that there was a very faint sense of danger mixed in with the wind.

This sense of crisis made the hairs on his body stand on end. A huge sense of crisis, stemming from his life instinct, made him feel as if he were facing a formidable enemy. His muscles were constantly tense, ready to unleash a fatal blow at any moment.

The atmosphere in the ranks grew unusually heavy in the silence. Even the ordinary guards could feel the vigilance emanating from the two adults. They instinctively gripped their weapons, tightened their ranks, and rode forward in silence, with only the sound of hooves echoing across the empty wilderness.

As the outline of Bloodclaw Keep appeared on the horizon, everyone in the group secretly breathed a sigh of relief, including Jack.

The ever-present sense of being watched seemed to be weakened by some invisible force as one approached the castle to a certain distance, becoming extremely blurry, as if viewed through a thick layer of frosted glass.

The suspension bridge was lowered, and the iron gate was raised.

The horses' hooves clattered crisply on the familiar stone pavement.

"My lord, you're back." The old steward had been waiting in the courtyard. Seeing Lin Yi unharmed, a hint of relief flashed in his eyes, quickly replaced by worry. "Hmm." Lin Yi dismounted, handed the reins to the groom who came to greet him, and briefly instructed Barton, "Prepare hot water; I want to take a bath. Also, have the kitchen prepare some simple food and send it to the study."

“Yes, sir,” Barton replied with a bow.

Lin Yi didn't stop and walked straight towards the main castle.

Ruth Jack followed him like a loyal shadow, never leaving his side.

Lin Yi did not go directly back to his master bedroom, but went to the study first.

After entering the study, he closed the door behind him, cutting off any outside view.

Lin Yi walked behind the desk, but instead of sitting down, he stood with his back to the door, his gaze falling on an old oil painting on the wall depicting the residents of this place establishing their foundations in the wasteland. However, his mind was clearly not on the painting.

After a moment, Lin Yi raised his head and looked at Jack: "Did you feel it?"

Jack nodded heavily: "Sir, it's very cold and eerie. It weakened a lot as we got closer to the castle, but that guy is still here."

“It’s not an object, it’s the woman Margarita was talking about. She locked onto me through something on me. And she probably already knows we’re back.”

"Sir, do you mean...she might...?"

“She will definitely come, and her target is me. Margarita may already be dead; she was the one who eliminated useless pieces and sent a warning to us.”

"Is Leonard in the castle now?"

"Yes, sir. Captain Leonard is on patrol of the inner fort today and should be in the guard room."

"Leave the study immediately and act as if everything is normal. Tell Barton that I am a little tired and need to rest alone for a while. Dinner will be delivered to my bedroom door. No one is to disturb me without my order. Then, leave the main castle through the front door, go around the perimeter, and enter my bedroom through the 'underground passage' as well, hiding in the hidden compartment behind the wardrobe."

"Yes, sir!" Jack acknowledged the order, turned around, opened the study door, his face instantly regaining its usual calm expression. He strode out and closed the door behind him.

Time ticked by silently under heavy guard. The sky outside the castle had completely darkened, and the servants lit the wall lamps in the corridor. A sliver of dim light seeped through the crack in the study door.

Barton personally delivered a simple dinner to Lin Yi's master bedroom door, gently placed it down, and respectfully withdrew without knocking or disturbing him.

The entire main castle fell into a deliberately created silence.

Around midnight, the castle was completely swallowed up by the deep, inky night.

In the long corridor on the top floor of the main castle, only a few oil lamps in the niches emitted a dim, flickering light, casting shadowy images of the ancient, mottled murals on the walls.

The corridor was deserted, so silent that you could hear the faint crackling of a burning candle wick.

Everything seemed so peaceful.

Click.

A sound like the spring inside the door lock loosening came from the door to Lin Yi's master bedroom.

The sound was so faint as to be almost negligible, yet it was exceptionally clear in the quiet corridor.

A figure entered the room silently.

She was still wearing that dazzlingly gorgeous bright red court dress, and her long silver hair shimmered like moonlight in the dim light.

That perfect face was expressionless, only those empty black eyes were fixed on Lin Yi's back as he stood by the window gazing at the night sky.

In the shadows behind the door, a young maid who should have been standing there was now slumped on the thick carpet, her eyes wide open, her pupils dilated to their limit by extreme fear, her face frozen on the horrific scene she had seen in her last moments before death.

There was only a very thin line of blood on her neck, and the bright red blood was silently soaking her plain linen clothes and the dark carpet beneath her, indicating that she had been dead for a long time.

call--!
An indescribable mental pollution erupted from the woman in red, instantly engulfing the entire room!

[Mental resistance assessment in progress...]

[Contractor's abnormal status resistance (passive) is in effect!]

[Verification granted! You have successfully been exempted from the mental intimidation and fear effects of the "Corrupting Aura"!]

[Note: This odor has a persistent corrosive effect.]

A cold notification sound rang in Lin Yi's ears.

However, the other two people in the room were not so lucky!

"Ugh—!"

A sound filled with extreme fear came from the direction of the huge wardrobe near the door behind Lin Yi.

Jack, a battle-hardened veteran, felt as if he were witnessing the most terrifying nightmare of his life the moment he came into contact with the corrupting aura.

His body trembled violently, his face was ashen, and large beads of cold sweat instantly soaked through his inner lining.

He clenched his teeth, trying to resist the fear that came from the depths of his soul, but his body was as if bound by invisible shackles, so stiff that he could barely move and could only barely keep from falling by relying on the wardrobe's panels.

At almost the same time, a very well-hidden secret door in the wall connecting the master bedroom to the adjacent abandoned storage room was kicked open.

"Ho-!"

With a painful roar like that of a wounded beast, a burly figure rushed out; it was none other than Leonard, fully armed.

Before he could even raise his knight's longsword to point at his target, he was struck by the terrifying corrupting aura and fell to his knees.

He used his sword to prop himself up from the ground, preventing himself from collapsing completely, but his arms were trembling violently, his teeth were grinding, and he was making unconscious hoarse noises in his throat, clearly falling into a deeper state of confusion.

The woman in red seemed completely unsurprised by Jack and Leonard's arrival, not even sparing them a glance.

Her empty black eyes remained fixed on Lin Yi's back, as if he were her only prey.

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

The terrifying tearing sound, which sent chills down your spine, rang out again, even more intensely than in Margarita's stone house.

The woman in red's magnificent red court dress burst open from the waist down, countless sturdy fragments of the garment exploding under the force of internal expansion, instantly transforming into a flurry of red butterflies.

Instead, there were several enormous insect arthropods covered with black carapaces, incredibly thick, covered with menacing barbs and dark red tendon tissue.

Like the hind legs of a locust magnified dozens of times, it was full of explosive power and instantly burst through the floor.

Even more terrifying was her head, a head that resembled a work of art, along with her pale neck below, which stretched upwards as if inflated.

The skin was stretched to the point of being almost transparent, revealing the inhuman skeletal structure and writhing muscle tissue beneath, eventually taking the shape of a bizarre combination of a mantis's head and an extremely long neck.

The once empty black eyes became enormous, occupying most of the front of the head, and the mouth part split open, revealing fine, sharp teeth like files.

In the blink of an eye, an elegant and perfect court lady transformed into a monstrous creature over three meters tall, with the lower body of a giant insect with arthropods and the upper body of a humanoid torso connected to a terrifying long neck and head.

Thick black mist emanated from it, filling the entire room.

Its compound eyes locked onto Lin Yi from above, its long neck and head lowered slightly, and a high-frequency hissing sound came from its split mouth, as if announcing the end of the hunt.

The scythe-like arms, covered in black armor, whistled through the air like two bolts of black lightning from hell, slashing down from the left and right towards Lin Yi's seemingly unguarded back and head. (End of Chapter)