Chapter 155

"Honestly, who knows what on earth Lin Cenbao is up to now?" Lin Jiajia muttered to herself as she cradled the little rabbit Fubao had given her, absentmindedly petting it.

At that moment, the black wooden figurine resting on the dressing box opened its eyes, its red pupils rolling around.

"Eh? What's wrong with the bunny?" Lin Jiajia lowered her gaze just in time to see the rabbit in her arms suddenly perk up its ears, its eyes locked firmly on the vanity.

"What is it, little rabbit? Are you hungry?" Lin Jiajia retrieved a carrot she had prepared beforehand and stuffed it toward the rabbit.

"So sleepy, time for bed, time for bed." Lin Jiajia let out a massive yawn, wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, and bundled the rabbit—carrot and all—right into the bed with her.

The rabbit, still with a carrot clamped in its mouth: "..."

...

At midnight, the black wooden figurine opened its eyes and rolled its pupils. The wooden figure shook violently as a wisp of black mist drifted out from within, floating toward Lin Jiajia's bed.

"Srust, srust, srust, srust," a terrifying chuckle echoed as the black mist arrived inside the bed curtains, preparing to feed on Lin Jiajia's aura.

*Crunch.* A crisp chewing sound rang out.

The black mist???

Another *crunch*. The black mist thought: *Wait, that sound sounds like...*

It whipped its head around abruptly to see a fat rabbit wide open-mouthed, baring its standard four large front teeth, taking a huge bite right out of the black wooden figurine. Within moments, the forehead of the black mist's vessel—the wooden figurine—had been chewed completely away.

The black mist "..."

The rabbit: *That's a bit stuck in my teeth. Time to dig it out.*

And so, the black mist watched as the rabbit, still complaining that its vessel was getting stuck in its teeth, extended a hind paw and began picking its teeth.

The black mist grew furious. *Damn it, is this rabbit provoking me?*

An eerie gust of wind blew as the black mist lunged to attack the rabbit. Suddenly, a strange, sweet scent wafted over. The rabbit, which had still been picking its teeth, rolled its eyes back and dropped with a *thud* straight off the dressing table, landing flat on its back in a sprawling, splay-legged shape.

The black mist???

Hearing a series of loud, rumbling snores, Lin Jiajia was fast asleep. As for the rabbit, it was unclear whether it had been knocked out cold or knocked dead from the fall.

Footsteps echoed outside the window. The black mist quickly darted back into the wooden figurine with the missing half-head.

Moments later, the room's window was pushed open, and a smelly foot poked in.

"This is definitely the place. That chubby chick said there were treasures in here," whispered the masked man who climbed in first, turning to speak to the person outside the window.

"Then what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and search!" The smaller figure outside the window waited for the first man to enter before sticking a large foot inside and dragging himself through.

"What the hell is this thing? You scared the daylights out of me!" The smaller man in black shrieked after stepping on something soft and squishy.

"Keep your voice down, damn it! Do you want to attract more people?" The taller man clapped a hand over the smaller one's mouth.

Taking a quick look down, he saw a fat rabbit lying on its back like a corpse, its belly rising and falling, suggesting it was probably still alive.

With a swift toss, the rabbit was hurled out the window while still fast asleep. The smaller man finally felt his nerves settle.

"Big bro, look, this room is full of weird junk." After searching for ages without finding a damn thing, the two brothers finally spotted the black wooden figurine standing on the dressing table.

"What on earth is this? Why is half its head missing?" the taller man muttered.

"Oh, whatever, forget it. This dump has nothing, so we might as well take this ugly thing."

"Geez, is this really a young lady's room? There isn't even a single pearl hairpin."

"Let's go, let's go. What terrible luck."

The two men in black sneaked back out the way they came. Before leaving, the taller one casually stepped on the playing-dead little rabbit twice.

The men in black "..." *Is this rabbit still here?*

The rabbit, foaming at the mouth "..." *Save me.*

The next morning, when Lin Jiajia pulled back her blanket and discovered her little rabbit was missing, she wondered if... it had been squashed flat. She felt all over her back for ages, but it wasn't there.

After searching everywhere, she finally found the chubby rabbit sleeping soundly and smacking its lips right outside the window—though she couldn't figure out why there were muddy footprints stamped across its belly.

After comforting the little rabbit, Lin Jiajia discovered that her beloved black wooden figurine was also missing, leaving behind only a slip of paper on her dressing box.

Hearing the servants report that her daughter's room had been burglarized, the Young Madam Lin hurried over in a rush. After reading the contents of the note, she was left momentarily speechless.

"Mother," Lin Jiajia whimpered, looking utterly terrified.

"Jiajia, it's fine," Young Madam Lin said, pulling her daughter into an embrace to soothe her.

"What did the young miss lose?"

"Replying to the Madam, only a wooden carving is missing," a maid stepped forward to report.

"Thank goodness it's only a wooden carving," Young Madam Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mother, my wooden carving! Father gave me that," Lin Jiajia wept softly.

"A wooden carving can be replaced. Once your father's health improves, he'll carve another one for you," Young Madam Lin said gently, taking out a handkerchief to wipe her daughter's face.

"Mm," Lin Jiajia pouted. Father was still lying in bed playing dead, after all.

After tidying the room and soothing Lin Jiajia for a while, Young Madam Lin returned to her own quarters.

"Madam, should we send people out to capture this thief? To dare steal right here inside the Minister's Estate!" The older nanny looked furious.

"There's no need. It was only a wooden carving lost; it's better not to make a big fuss," Young Madam Lin said, waving her hand dismissively.

"But the young miss suffered a grievance—"

"Jiajia didn't suffer any grievance at all. In fact, this thief did us a massive favor," Young Madam Lin said quietly. That thing had been so unbearably eerie that having it stolen was the best possible outcome. That old crone hadn't allowed anyone to throw it away before, but now that it had mysteriously vanished, let's see who she could blame.

"Madam..." the nanny looked bewildered.

"Alright, arrange a few more maids for the young miss. Once being targeted by a thief is quite enough."

"Yes."

"Oh, and by the way, arrange for some pretty new jewelry for the young miss. It's about time a young girl like her started dressing up properly," Young Madam Lin said, suddenly recalling the words written on the note and feeling a flicker of shame.

*Was that mocking our Lin Estate for being poor?*

...

"Master, the item has been retrieved." A figure in black emerged from the shadows, handing the wooden carving to a maid standing nearby.

This was the very same black wooden figurine the person in black had recovered from the two thieves.

"This is the thing that supposedly absorbs human aura? Its head isn't even complete," the young woman said, taking the wooden carving from the maid and laughing derisively.

"Is everything prepared?"

"Everything is ready," the maid replied, lowering her head.

"What do you people think you're doing?" The wooden figurine suddenly spoke.

"Some Eastern trinket dares run amok on my turf? Time to send you on your final journey," the woman said with macabre amusement, pinching the damaged head of the wooden carving.

"Let go of this deity!" The wooden figurine shook violently under some unseen spell, and a plume of black smoke drifted out from within, coalescing into a ghastly phantom.

"This deity? You?" The woman's lips parted into a mocking smile.

"Hmph, scared now? Let me tell you, you've caught my eye. From now on, you are my vessel—hand over your aura!" The black mist sounded utterly arrogant.

"Oh, and what if I refuse?" the woman asked lazily, resting her chin in her hand.

"Then I will kill you."

"Oh, is that so?"

"You want to die?"

"Do I?"

"If you don't, then why are you running your mouth?"

The woman simply kept resting her chin in her hand, curling her lip.

"I advise you to behave and obey honestly," the black mist gloated triumphantly. *Turns out this one's just a coward. No need to worry now.*

"You know, the things you just said sound just like that group..."

"Making my teeth itch with hatred." The moment those words left her lips, the black mist saw a massive fist materialize right before its eyes, slamming heavily into its face.

With a *thud*, it was sent flying, plastered hard against the wall.

The black mist "..." *This defies all logic! Don't I lack a physical body?!*

"So infuriating. It's been ages since I heard anyone talk to me like that," the woman said, stretching her wrists.

"You, you, you..." The black mist hugged its face, shrinking into a corner.

"Hmph. I originally planned to just teach you a lesson, but now I've decided: not only will I thrash you, but I'm officially appointing you as my punching bag," the woman said, arching an eyebrow as she continued to loosen up her joints.

The black mist???

*Wait, what on earth is a punching bag?*

Very soon, the black mist found out precisely what a punching bag was—it was simply a sandbag meant to take a beating.

Wrapped up tight like a punching bag, the black mist decided that life was far too "wonderful"—so wonderful, in fact, that it wished it could just drop dead.