Chapter 8: The Enchanting Night Bloom

  The tip of her nose was the sweet, alluring scent emitted by the scattered grass, Charlotte's pale face flushed with a reddish-orange hue, as if she had gotten drunk. Walking on the narrow path lit up by the fireflies, it was like walking into a sea of flames, looking forward there was an endless fiery ocean, turning back everything was blurry and nothing could be seen. Charlotte felt that the plants along the roadside were getting brighter and brighter, as if they were about to catch fire, but outside the narrow path, there was no change, still dark and unclear.

  My head is spinning, why is it so hot? Charlotte almost thought she had really entered a sea of fire. Her limbs were numb under the paralyzing effect of the night-blooming flower powder, and she couldn't move at all until she fell to the ground with a thud. There's something wrong with this road! Charlotte was on the verge of tears, shaking her head hard, trying to stay awake, forcing herself not to close her eyes. This was a desolate wilderness, with so many eerie plants growing everywhere. If she lost consciousness, she might never wake up again. Her vision became increasingly blurred until everything went black. Charlotte closed her eyes in despair, but before she could even fully shut them, a rustling sound came from behind her. The noise sounded like something huge was approaching. Startled, Charlotte's mind cleared a bit, and she turned to see what it was. But when she looked, Charlotte became even more desperate - she still couldn't see anything! Had she gone blind? Charlotte didn't have time to grieve; if the approaching creature was a carnivore, she would be dead soon anyway.

  Charlotte should be grateful she can't see, for if she could, the monster mere inches from her would surely give her a heart attack. She strained every fiber of her being on her ears, tensely listening to its movements, and again the sound of scuttling, scratching flesh echoed through the air, growing louder with each passing moment - it was coming closer! Does it see me? The conclusion sent Charlotte's mind reeling in terror, yet still it moved towards her, its body weak as if all the bones had been sucked out, Charlotte yearned to flee but her heart was willing while her flesh was weak.

  A warm, damp breath wafted across her face, sending shivers down her spine. The slimy, muscular coils wrapped tightly around Charlotte, holding her in a vice-like grip. A sticky liquid oozed from somewhere and trickled down Charlotte's neck to her lower abdomen, soaking through her shirt. The clammy sensation combined with the numbness of her limbs made Charlotte feel like she was being slowly tortured, but she didn't dare move, fearing that the creature would bite her if she did.

  On this side, Windsor shouted and searched all the way, but couldn't find any clues. As night deepened, Windsor walked closer to the center of the dense forest. The masked man initially tried his best to search for Charlotte, but later fell silent, only closely following behind Windsor without leaving a step. Just as the torch was about to go out, Windsor wanted to search deeper, and the masked man reached out to grab Windsor's reins, leaving Windsor puzzled and confused.

  "How can you not know how dangerous it is here?"

  Windsor understood, he didn't want to get himself into trouble. Windsor patted the masked man's hand and sneered,

  "I'm the forest, I know it better than anyone else, so no one can kill me here!"

  Sen's hand stiffened for a moment, slowly releasing Winsa's reins, Winsa drove the horse to continue moving forward, and after walking a few steps, she heard a faint sentence behind her, so light that he thought it was an illusion, heavy enough to disrupt his breathing.

  "Even if you know the person who is going to be killed is you, would you still go?"

  Seeing Windsor's back, Sen froze for a moment, let out an imperceptible sigh, and drove the horse to follow Windsor.

  "Aren't you leaving yet? If you're late again, the beauty will only be a pile of bones."

  At dawn, the beautiful red clouds were layered and stacked at the edge of the sky. Lucas searched back and forth in the woods for three or four times, and when he returned to the Golden Manor, he learned that the other two teams had not found Charlotte either. Mr. Lucas pinned all his hopes on the Duke of Windsor.

  In the hall, Lydia was pacing back and forth, her ears perked up to catch any sound from outside. Katie had long since fallen asleep, while Cinderella was still desperately trying to keep her eyes open. The servants inside and outside the hall were all holding their breath, not daring to make a peep. Lydia's high heels clicked against the floorboards, when suddenly a burst of footsteps broke the stifling silence in the hall. Lydia rushed out quickly, grabbing onto the approaching servant.

  "Are Mr. and Miss back?"

  He finished speaking and looked at his servant with eager eyes.

  "The teacher is back,"

  The servant came running hastily, and before he had time to get his breath, was dismissed by Lydia.

  Cinderella hastily followed Lydia to the outside, seeing Lydia stop, Cinderella dodged behind a bush.

  Lucas had just entered the gate when he ran into Lydia, who was hurrying over. Lydia looked around in the crowd, didn't see Charlotte, and looked at Lucas with a puzzled expression. Lucas received Lydia's inquiring gaze, his heart bitter, and opened his mouth hoarsely.

  "We've looked all night and can't find it, now we just hope the Duke of Windsor has some good news."

  Lydia's eyes widened in surprise, she covered her mouth and trembled as she said.

  "What did you say? Who can't find it? What's going on?! Speak clearly!"

  A crystal tear slid down from Mr. Lucas's eye corner, falling onto the ground and blooming into a flower.

  "Charlotte is Charlotte, wu wu,"

  Mr. Lucas was already crying uncontrollably, and the servants beside him were also in tears, sobbing quietly. Cinderella felt relieved to see that her father was okay, but then she heard the news about Charlotte's disappearance, and for some reason, she felt a thrill of excitement in her heart. Cinderella quickly suppressed this emotion, not caring that she had been eavesdropping, and stood up from behind the bushes, running a few steps to Mr. Lucas' side and softly comforting him.

  "Why don't you go look for her, maybe Charlotte is waiting in some corner for you to rescue her. Go quickly, please find her!"

  Lydia cried out and pushed Lucas away, her emotions out of control, her beautiful face twisted in pain. Before long, she lost strength and knelt down on Lucas' body. Lucas had no choice but to pat Lydia unconscious and ordered someone to help her down to rest.

  Cinderella was triumphant at this time, able to see that the woman had such a miserable side, Charlotte's affairs were really big!

  The forest was getting darker and darker, to the point where it was impossible to take a step without torches. The Duke of Windsor ordered the soldiers to share one torch between two people in order to conserve them. Sensing the duke's determination to find Miss Charlotte, the soldiers searched diligently, hoping to find her soon so they could go back to sleep.

  Unfortunately, the soldiers' wishes were not realized, and they did not find Charlotte until dawn. Windsor repeatedly advised Windsor to end this futile search, go down the mountain with Lucas, and discuss whether there were any valuable clues. Windsor didn't listen, stubbornly leading the soldiers to continue, and finally they came to the fork in the road where Charlotte encountered danger last night. The two roads on both sides were not much different. Windsor led a team, Sen led a team, and continued to search separately.

  Sen walked on the road Charlotte had chosen, and he always felt that something was off around him, as if it was too quiet. Although ferocious beasts lurked in the depths of the dense forest, there wasn't a place as quiet as this road without even a breeze blowing through the grass. He sniffed his nose, and the smell in the air seemed to be there but not quite. He sniffed again, and the smell seemed to have faded a bit more. Sen jumped off his horse and followed the direction of the stronger scent, stopping in front of a withered plant that had fallen to the ground. Sen picked up a yellowed leaf and looked at it, his eyes flashing with suspicion. He clenched the leaf tightly and turned around, sprinting down the road. The road was easy to navigate during the day, and Sen only took one minute to run to where Charlotte had been attacked by the monster. The messy scene on the ground and the traces of animals crawling out from the roadside all confirmed his terrifying guess.

  Windsor was holding a whip and fiercely lashing a small soldier, her face unable to conceal her anger. The soldier was beaten until he was covered in blood and lay motionless on the ground. Sen ran over on horseback to stop Windsor.

  "Let's talk about it when we get back, look at this."

  As she spoke, she handed Windsor a leaf, Windsor glanced at the ordinary-looking leaf.

  "What's so special about it? It's everywhere."

  "Take a closer look!"

  Windsor took over the leaf and examined it carefully.

  "Take another sniff."

  Windsor attached the leaves to the tip of her nose, took a deep breath, and a sweet fragrance filled her nostrils, making her dizzy. Windsor's face immediately turned iron-green.

  "Is this a glow mushroom?! Where did you find it? Take me there quickly and let's take a look."

  "I've already seen it, no mistake, what you're holding in your hand is indeed a Nightbloom."

  The Duke of Windsor closed his eyes in pain after the words, his long and slender hands grasped the reins tightly, and the blue veins on his handsome neck jumped up and down. Sen fell silent at the right time.

  When he opened his eyes again, Sen seemed to see a murderous intention in Windsor's eyes, but it was too fast, and when he blinked, he could only see calmness, as if nothing had happened. Only the red eyes could prove the man's pain.