The Fallen's Guide - chapter 18

The fingers hanging at her side, guarding the cloak in her arms, trembled ever so slightly.

Leaves rustled, an ominous aura permeated the narrow alley, as if something was about to break through from the darkness.

The servant driving the horse had waited a long time, watching the faintly whitening skyline with a look of unease. He cautiously tried to gauge the thoughts of the young lady inside the carriage and asked, “Madam, should we save him?”

Even such a small voice managed to reach the alley, making the boy with dim eyes pause, his gaze once again becoming clear and innocent.

He looked precisely toward the carriage, saw Tang Nian behind the curtain, and pure joy surged in his eyes.

Clearly, not long ago, she had abandoned him, and the words she spoke when sending him away could be called humiliating.

Yet the boy remained so simple and pure, looking at her with hope.

Tang Nian thought helplessly that she seemed to have gotten herself into a little trouble.

She usually followed a principle in games: if she saw an injured character or animal, she would help if she could.

Because these seemingly useless NPCs might help her at some later Mission node; being kind to others was always better than making enemies everywhere.

Now that the boy had seen her, she certainly couldn’t just leave him behind indifferently.

The next second, the massive carriage crashed sideways, knocking away the person closest to the boy. The nearly bursting blood vessels at his temple calmed down, brushing past death, and he fainted.

The other men, seeing the Earl’s Mansion crest, knew they were not to be trifled with, and fled in panic, quickly disappearing into the alley.

In the boy’s cat-like, beautifully shaped eyes, a dark glimmer appeared and vanished.

He stared at the tall, luxurious carriage before him, his sculpted, attractive Adam’s apple moving slightly.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a slender hand reached out from inside.

“Can you stand up?”

The boy was stunned, his eyes widening slightly.

The person inside said, “Get in.”

Before he could react, his body seemed to move on its own.

His hand, against instinct, landed in the warm palm of the woman, and suddenly he felt inferior. His hand was too dirty, covered in mud, while the hand reaching out to him was so clean.

He would soil it.

His fingers shrank back, and the boy tried to pull away, but those slender fingers closed at the same time, holding him firmly.

The warm, soft touch struck straight to his blood, like a boundless cage, making his breath catch, as if she were holding his heart.

With a gentle tug, he was pulled into the carriage.

Dawn was the coldest time of day, yet inside the carriage it was warm and fragrant.

He crashed into a pocket of warmth, his limbs stiff, as if they didn’t belong to him.

The curtain fell, the light dimmed, and in the cramped, enclosed space, only the two of them remained. He could even hear her breathing.

“I’m very tired, so don’t move yet.”

The familiar voice, not long ago, had told him “leave here” in the same flat tone.

Accompanying those words “I’m very tired” was the warm body that collapsed onto his shoulder.

Her eyes closed, her expression indifferent, as if she were not the one who had reached out to save him. The boy was so nervous his limbs were stiff, knowing that the hand holding his had already saved him twice in a short time.

The carriage jolted, Tang Nian slid downward in exhaustion, and the boy instinctively reached out to hold her. The young woman’s head rested against his neck, her soft cheek pressed to his collarbone.
Warm breath sprayed across his skin, bringing a strange sensation.

Recalling his own disgrace in the Fountain pool, remembering her indifferent gaze, he began to tremble.

So, did she regret it?

Did she, like those people, develop filthy desires toward him?

Before he could figure it out, he noticed the steady breathing beside his ear. Lowering his head to look, his excellent night vision allowed him to easily discern that the young, weary woman had fallen asleep.

So… she was just asleep.

……

Tang Nian didn’t know how long she had slept. She woke up groggy, gazing at the luxurious, spacious room before her, and fell into deep thought.

She hadn’t exited the game.

This time, the Mission for the tຊ game hadn’t been issued yet. Every time she entered a new map, the first three days were for exploring the new map. She had forgotten the experience of the last game, only vaguely remembering that last time she was in a fixed Temple, without such exploration time.

As for what Mission she had completed, she couldn’t recall.

Heavy curtains blocked out all light. Barefoot, she stepped onto the soft carpet and lifted a corner of the curtain. The extravagant and vast view of the Manor Villa unfolded before her eyes.

Just a glimpse of it was enough to shock her with the wealth of the Earl’s Mansion.

It was still daytime outside the window. The exquisite garden Fountain leapt high, tracing a graceful arc in the air, and as it fell, it faintly refracted a rainbow-like sheen.

The entire garden was silent, not a single person in sight. Tang Nian guessed that perhaps last night’s banquet had delayed everyone’s sleep. But even after leaving her room and wandering through the classical architecture, unable to find a single servant, Tang Nian felt something was off.

This strangeness peaked when night fell.

The people who had vanished during the day all appeared at night: Maids in dresses, Male Attendants in black servant uniforms, and gardeners tending the flowerbeds.

The daily routine in the game seemed to be reversed from the real world, Tang Nian mused.

She tried several times, but still couldn’t exit the game, deducing that she probably needed to trigger a Mission to leave. A servant pushed a dining cart into her room, lifted the lid, and on the large round plate was only a piece of dark red mousse and a glass of red wine.

Tang Nian asked uncertainly, “Is this my… dinner?”

“Yes, Lady Kali.”

The servant didn’t seem to find anything amiss, placing the meager meal on the table by the bed. “Please enjoy.”

Tang Nian dug out a bit of mousse with her fork and brought it close to sniff.

A metallic scent.

She picked up the wine glass and took a small sip.

As expected, it still carried a strange metallic taste.

Unable to overcome the odd feeling inside, she didn’t touch the delicate food on the plate in the end. The metallic taste, whether mixed with metal or blood, was enough to make Tang Nian feel nauseous.

She wandered the empty floor for a long time, passing through corridors lined with murals, stopping at the end of a dark hallway, then returning to her bedroom.

The Old Earl, plagued by illness and unconsciousness, had been placed in another room and was not living with her. The hunger felt too real, so Tang Nian decided to find some food for herself.

She followed the winding, ancient spiral staircase downward, passing many oddly shaped Sculptures, searching for the kitchen, but was stopped by someone when she reached the second floor.

“Madam.”

Tang Nian turned around and saw a person with white curly hair, dressed in a black gentleman’s tailcoat.

“Where are you going?”