Ning Rongrong's Frightened Heart

Seeing Ning Rongrong's proud yet humiliated expression, Lin Mian somehow found it a little amusing.

This girl probably never could have imagined that she would end up like this one day.

To tame someone born noble and arrogant, one had to thoroughly crush them into the dust.

"All right, the water's gone cold. Take the foot-washing water out and pour it away. Today's punishment ends here. We'll see how you behave tomorrow."

Holding the basin of clear water, Ning Rongrong had the urge to dump it directly over Lin Mian's head.

In the end, she restrained herself with immense willpower.

She had only taken one step with the basin when her body abruptly stiffened. That voice had called out to her again.

"Wait. Turn around."

Looking at him, Ning Rongrong saw nothing but a demon.

"W-what is it?"

"Open your mouth. I have something good for you to eat."

Ning Rongrong froze where she stood. Thinking of all the terrible things the maids had described, she did not dare open her mouth for a long time.

"Did you hear me?" Lin Mian sounded somewhat impatient.

A tear slipped from the corner of Ning Rongrong's eye. Resigned to her fate, she opened her mouth. Suddenly, she felt something being stuffed into it, and then she swallowed it.

She hurriedly covered her mouth, her bright eyes misted over with tears.

"What did you make me eat?"

"Poison. After taking it, you'll die whenever I want you to die. Go back now, and you'll probably die soon enough."

"Now, you may leave."

Seeing her look utterly despairing, Lin Mian almost could not stop himself from laughing.

What poison was it? It was clearly a Body Tempering Pill. He had only said that to scare her.

Ning Rongrong could no longer endure it. She fiercely flung the basin of foot-washing water at Lin Mian's head.

She was going to die anyway, so she might as well make him suffer too!

The imagined sight of Lin Mian being drenched from head to toe did not happen. Instead, the basin of foot-washing water landed precisely on her own head, soaking her to the bone.

"Be more careful next time. Don't act rashly again. It would be bad if you poured it on yourself once more."

Lin Mian's tone remained as frivolous as ever.

Wearing a drenched dress, Ning Rongrong did not even know when she had returned to her room.

She only felt terribly hungry, soaked all over, with her limbs starting to swell and ache.

Seeing the bowl of food on the table, she knew Xiao Xi had made it again. This time, she did not hesitate and began wolfing it down.

Even if she died, she did not want to die as a starving ghost!

Looking like this, no one would likely recognize her as the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Early the next morning, Ning Rongrong groggily opened her eyes. Seeing sunlight streaming in through the window, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

"So this is hell? Hell has sunlight too?"

"If hell is like this, it doesn't seem so bad. At least I don't have to see that person."

"But I miss Father and the two Grandpas so much. If I die like this, will they be sad?"

"They probably will. They'll avenge me."

As she spoke, tears began flowing again.

"So people can still cry after they die."

The door opened, followed by a childish, crisp voice.

"Big Sister, time to get up. Big Brother sent me and another pretty big sister to wake you."

Ning Rongrong looked toward the door. Two figures, one older and one younger, stood there. They were Xiao Xi and Zhu Zhuqing.

"Y-you two are here too? Did you die as well?"

Ning Rongrong felt as though her brain was about to burn out.

"Big Sister, do you have a fever? Or did you have a nightmare? We're alive and well." Xiao Xi felt that this big sister was a little slow-witted.

Ning Rongrong abruptly sat upright in bed and examined her surroundings.

Only then did she realize that this was not hell at all. She was clearly still in that room.

Then she understood. That person had deceived her; he had not planned to let her die just yet.

That was right. Ning Rongrong did not doubt whether the poison was real, because she remembered him saying that she would die whenever he wanted her to.

With a heart full of despair, Ning Rongrong got out of bed and began accepting her torment.

As she worked, she thought that she might as well have died last night. Then she would not have to live in constant fear, nor would she have to do these lowly tasks.

Today, she was far more practiced than yesterday.

She also discovered that her strength seemed to have improved considerably. Her body, which had been sore and aching the night before, had completely recovered today.

She did not know that all of this was because of the poison in her eyes.

Seeing how she was today, Lin Mian nodded with some satisfaction.

It seemed the pill had not been wasted. At the very least, she was much more efficient at farm work now.

Today, Ning Rongrong unusually did not mock Xiao Xi and the others. Perhaps because she believed she did not have much time left, she was no longer as aggressive as before.

After finishing meditation with the Visualization Diagram, Zhu Zhuqing felt her spiritual power growing incredibly quickly.

Then she ran over to observe Ning Rongrong's condition. Seeing her like this, she was somewhat surprised.

How had this junior sister seemingly improved so much after just one day?

Although her expression was unpleasant, her tone and movements had become properly restrained.

Could it be that Master had said something to her while she washed his feet last night?

Should she use foot-washing as an excuse today to listen in on what they said?

Lin Mian did not observe from the shadows. Instead, he walked to the side of the patch of wasteland Ning Rongrong was clearing.

"Not bad. It seems you rested well last night. In that case, run another twenty li this afternoon. If you can't finish within six hours, come wash my feet."

After what happened last night, Lin Mian felt that having a beautiful girl wash his feet was simply delightful.

Besides, he was not taking advantage of her for free. He gave her pills.

Hearing that voice, Ning Rongrong's body trembled reflexively. She did not even dare look at Lin Mian again.

She could only lower her head and say softly in a tiny, tearful voice:

"I... I understand."

She had thought it through. She did not want to die yet.

That person should have the antidote. As long as she behaved well, he would probably let her go... right?

Or perhaps the two Grandpas would come and trade his life for the antidote. But the prerequisite for all of that was that she had to stay alive.

After deciding to behave properly, Ning Rongrong improved quickly.

Not only did she stop slacking off at work, but she became extremely gentle in speech as well. At breakfast that morning, she even knew to help serve food.

Everyone looked at her in surprise, clearly astonished at how quickly she had changed.

What Lin Mian did not know was that Ning Rongrong was thinking that once she tricked him into handing over the antidote, she would make him pay.

What Lin Mian did not know was that outside Shrek Academy, two stunning figures had arrived shortly before and after him yesterday.

Those two figures were naturally the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress.

The two had concealed themselves extremely well, and each held an immortal herb to hide her aura.

At this moment, however, both of them looked somewhat angry. The source of that anger was naturally their Hall Master.

"Xue'er, this man is really not honest. He actually accepted female disciples and even made them wash his feet."