Chapter 352: Night Raid (Part 2)
Chapter 352: Night Raid (Part 2)
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
A blood-curdling scream accompanied Leonard's sudden awakening from his slumped position on the desk. His face was deathly pale, covered in large beads of sweat, and his luxurious silk undershirt clung tightly to his back, as if he had just been pulled from the water.
It was just a dream...
After struggling free from the nightmare, Leonard gazed out the window at the bright morning light, his heart still racing from the shock. He slumped back into the leather chair, panting heavily like someone who had just narrowly escaped drowning.
He must have been exhausted lately, overworked, and the mention of that woman had stirred up his fears. That's why he had such a dream.
And the Purifier from the Purification Bureau had said that both he and that woman had Spirit Art, so she couldn't get too close to him, and she couldn't use her strange abilities on him either, so there was no need to worry about her seeking revenge...
Yes, that's right!
After reassuring himself, Leonard turned around, his voice weak, and called out:
"Mark..."
"Mark... Where are you?"
"I'm here! I'm right here!"
At his call, the secretary outside the door entered, holding a towel and wearing an ingratiating expression.
"Director Leonard, after completing the tasks you assigned at the estate, I found you resting, so I didn't dare disturb you. Here, I had the maid prepare a hot towel for you to wipe your face."
"Hmm... Thank you for your thoughtfulness."
Seeing the secretary's normal demeanor, Leonard's last shred of doubt vanished. He lifted his trembling hand and took the warm towel, wiping the sweat from his face.
Seeing Leonard's pale face, Secretary Mark couldn't help but ask:
"Director Leonard, did you have a nightmare?"
"Yes..."
Leonard weakly acknowledged, then recalled the vivid nightmare. His soul shaken, he needed someone to help dispel his fears. He couldn't help but reveal his anxiety:
"I dreamed... that we were walking on the colonnade after finishing our work. We chatted for a bit, and then you suddenly transformed into that monster child from the Fleur family. She asked me where her body was thrown... and then..."
"And then what happened?"
And then I wet myself... but how could I possibly say that?
"Then I started running, and the monster child chased after me. The colonnade outside our door seemed endless, and her footsteps grew closer with each step. I nearly ran myself to death before barely managing to escape through another door.
But when I left the colonnade and tumbled down the stairs, the scene outside was not our estate, but... it was their estate! And after the monster chased me out, there was an execution taking place under the big redwood tree outside!"
"An execution?!"
Intrigued by Leonard's bizarre dream, Secretary Mark's eyes flickered with surprise, his face expressionless, but his voice betrayed his astonishment.
"Could it be... the execution of the Fleur family?"
"Yes, that one... but something felt off..."
Leonard hesitated, then said:
"The location was the same, but... the person being executed was..."
"Who was it?"
"It was..."
Recalling the terrifying scene, Leonard's lips trembled as he spoke:
"Nine hundred versions of me, blindfolded and restrained... and one by one... one by one..."
"And at the very beginning, I was just watching from the sidelines, but then... I was pushed down, and one by one... no, I was executed one after another... Ahh! One after another!"
"Calm down, Director Leonard! Don't panic!"
Seeing Leonard's involuntary scream, the secretary quickly handed him another towel and comforted him:
"It was just a dream, don't worry about it... What happened next?"
"Later..."
Leonard, still shaken, took the new towel and vigorously wiped his face, which had started to sweat again. Perhaps due to the long wait, the new towel was not only lukewarm but also slightly damp and cold.
But at that moment, tormented by nightmares and with his hands and feet turning icy cold, he didn't care whether the towel was cold or hot. Under the magical-sounding voice of the Secretary, he recounted his terrifying experience:
"Later, after the execution, the monster child appeared on the street and started laughing at me. I... I ran back."
"And then, instead of the Treasure Flower Estate, it was our own Emerald Feather Estate. That monster child chased me slowly, telling me that if I jumped down and retrieved her body, she would let me go..."
"Did you jump?"
"I... I jumped..."
Recalling the chillingly cold lake water, Leonard shivered in his chair, trembling as he spoke:
"I remember the location clearly. As soon as I jumped in, I found her... and then, when I tried to come up, the lake's water plants suddenly entangled me.
Those cold, wet plants seemed alive, wrapping around my ankles, my hands, and my neck. They rubbed against my face, cold and wet... I..."
"You didn't come up, and you drowned in the lake like that child, didn't you?"
"Yes..."
"I see..."
Secretary Mark paused for a moment, then tentatively asked:
"Do you think you're having these dreams because the Golden Jay Clan treated you well, and you feel guilty about what happened back then? Is that why...?"
Do I feel guilty?
Upon hearing this, Leonard froze for a moment, then shook his head vigorously.
"No! No! I did nothing wrong!
It was just a marriage of convenience for the support of the Golden Jay Clan. I barely saw that'see them more than a few times! And that child wasn't... damn it, what are you talking about?"
"I'm sorry, I was just trying to help analyze why you're having these dreams. After all, you were genuinely terrified."
After apologizing politely, Secretary Mark spoke softly:
"You're sweating profusely. Why don't you wipe your sweat again?"
"Hmm..."
Hearing Mark's reminder, Leonard wiped his sweat with the towel, but for some reason, the more he wiped, the more sweat appeared on his face. The once lukewarm towel gradually became cold, damp, and sticky, as if...
...it had just strangled his limbs and choked him to death in the lake!
"Sorry, I was a bit rushed earlier, and we ran out of hot towels. I hope you don't mind."
After apologizing to Leonard, whose face had turned deathly pale and whose lips trembled again, Secretary Mark stood up and stepped aside, allowing access to the strollway. He then pointed at the little girl standing behind Leonard and smiled.
"Make do with this for now because... you need to start running again."
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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