Genshin Impact: My roommate and I became funny Hilichurls

Page 75

She tried to list the villagers' "goodwill" in an attempt to persuade Xiaobai, but it was more like she was trying to persuade herself.

"Absolutely true!"

Xiaobai's tone was resolute. She opened her palm, and a small cluster of flames danced and leaped at her fingertips as if it were alive, reflecting on her serious face.

“I heard Linda’s conversation with my own ears… They need a ‘perfect’ sacrifice to please the so-called ‘King Faron’ in exchange for His favor, and you are the most ‘perfect’ one they have chosen.”

"But tomorrow I will become the truly perfect lady and make a wish to King Fallon. This will be an incredibly glorious and honorable moment!"

Miss Perfection tried to grasp at the last straw, even forcing a smile to dispel the unsettling topic. She turned to Little White, her eyes filled with pure expectation: "Little White, guess what my wish is?"

"Become a fool."

Xiao Bai blurted it out almost without thinking, his tone filled with a frustrated disappointment and an undisguised heartache.

"How can it be!"

Miss Perfect puffed out her cheeks in a huff, clearly very dissatisfied with the answer.

"My wish is..."

You've been used!

Xiao Bai interrupted her, her voice suppressed yet sharp.

"You will get nothing but death!"

Her gaze sharpened as she looked into Miss Perfect's clear and bright red eyes, which were bright even in the dark.

"Your red eyes, like my cursed witchhood, are seen in this ignorant village as an eternal curse upon the living! They are an ominous sign! They fear us, yet they want to exploit us!"

Xiaobai's voice lowered, carrying a hint of weariness and vicissitude that belied her age: "Can death relieve suffering? I don't know... It's precisely because I don't know that I've been like a rat in a sewer, barely clinging to life until now..."

She looked at Miss Perfect with an almost pleading gaze.

"Wake up! You'll only become the paving stone for their prayers for divine power. Don't have any naive ideas."

"Xiaobai, you're too pessimistic! There must be some misunderstanding!"

Miss Perfection stubbornly shook her head, refusing to accept this cruel truth.

"The people of this village took me in when I was homeless and gave me a place to stay. Once I become Miss Perfect, I will definitely convince everyone to accept you! We can live together here!"

Looking at the pure trust and kindness in her eyes, Xiaobai felt a surge of powerlessness.

She paused for a moment before slowly saying, "As long as this curse exists, as long as ignorance and fear remain, there is no place for me in this world."

"I'll find it for you! Trust me!"

Miss Perfect grasped Little White's hand, her tone unwavering. Her red eyes shone with a sincere light under the moonlight, as if they could dispel all darkness.

noob:"……"

Faced with this heavy burden of trust and naivety, Xiaobai fell silent.

She gave Miss Perfect a deep look, as if trying to etch her image into her heart.

Then, as if she had made up her mind, she carefully took out an old-fashioned but very clean silver key from her inner pocket and shoved it into Miss Perfect's hand.

The key's icy temperature made Miss Perfect shiver slightly.

"This silver key is for you; take it as a talisman."

Xiao Bai's voice was a little hoarse.

"I hope it... can protect you."

She knew it might be useless, but it was the only item she could give that contained power and blessing.

"Isn't this the only thing your mother left you? It's too precious! I can't accept it!"

Miss Perfect reacted as if she'd been burned, trying to push him away.

"Then we'll wait until you finally find a place that belongs to both of us."

Xiao Bai pressed her hand down, forcing her to grip the key tightly, his eyes burning with intensity.

"Give it back to me yourself."

Seeing Xiaobai's determined gaze, Miss Perfect finally stopped refusing. She gripped the key, which still held Xiaobai's warmth, and nodded vigorously: "Alright! It's a deal!"

With a promise to her friend in her heart and a jumble of thoughts, Miss Perfect carefully climbed back to her room on the second floor using a rope.

Her heart was still racing, and her mind was a jumble of conflicting emotions: the fear brought on by Little White's warning, the anticipation of tomorrow's ceremony, and the faint hope brought on by the promise of "finding a place to belong."

"They shouldn't have been discovered... But... is everything Xiaobai said... true?"

She muttered to herself as she frantically tried to hide the rope.

However, just as she regained her footing, before she could even catch her breath—

"Squeak-"

The door to the room was suddenly pushed open from the outside!

The candlelight instantly dispelled the darkness in the room and illuminated Linda's face, twisted with anger, at the doorway!

Several villagers with gloomy faces followed behind her.

"How dare you run away without telling us!"

Linda's scream shattered the silence of the night. She rushed forward and slapped Miss Perfect hard across the face!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed in the room.

Miss Perfect was knocked back several steps, and a clear red mark of five fingers instantly appeared on her fair cheek.

She covered her face, curled up against the wall in terror, her large red eyes instantly filled with tears, like a frightened fawn, cautiously and helplessly looking at the "Aunt Linda" who had suddenly become completely unfamiliar to her.

Linda's chest heaved violently, and the candlelight cast dancing shadows on her face, making her look particularly ferocious.

She pointed at Miss Perfect, her voice trembling with extreme anger: "Do you know how worried everyone was when they found you were missing?! You ungrateful child!"

She took a step closer, her voice suddenly rising, filled with accusation and reproach: "Do you know how heartbroken everyone would be if something happened to you?! You almost ruined everything! You destroyed everyone's hope!"

Miss Perfect was stunned by this sudden, furious outburst. Tears streamed down her face like broken beads. She cowered, her voice barely audible, filled with fear and grievance: "I'm sorry... Aunt Linda... I... I'll never do it again..."

However, in her tightly clenched hand, the cold silver key seemed to be the only fulcrum in the darkness.

Xiaobai's warning and Linda's ferocious face collided violently and painfully in her innocent mind for the first time.

The seeds of doubt have already been sown.

The rough footsteps of Linda and the others gradually faded into the distance, and the heavy lock on the door clicked down again, like the final nail being struck in a coffin.

Miss Perfect covered her burning, stinging cheek and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.

However, what chilled her to the bone even more than the pain on her face was Linda's clearly audible, though hushed, words to the guard outside the door before she left: "Keep a close eye on her... If all else fails, to prevent her from escaping again... break her legs if you must, as long as she doesn't die, the ritual can still proceed..."

These words, like the most vicious icicle, instantly pierced through Miss Perfect's last shred of hope and warmth.

She curled up, hugging herself tightly, trembling uncontrollably.

So... what Xiaobai said was true... they really would... A huge wave of fear and despair overwhelmed her.

I don't know how long I sat there on the cold floor; my tears had long since dried up.

Outside the window, the originally deep night seemed to be gradually dyed and illuminated by an unusual orange-red light.

Miss Perfection stared blankly at the ever-brightening halo in her unfocused eyes.

"Is...the sun...finally about to rise?"

She murmured to herself, as if searching for the last glimmer of hope.

Just then! Without warning, a small cluster of warm and flickering candlelight suddenly burst forth from her palm with a "poof" sound! The flame was not scorching, but rather carried a strange sense of comfort.

Miss Perfect was startled, then snapped back to reality. "This is... Xiaobai's ability?"

She abruptly turned her head to look out the window—it wasn't the light of dawn at all!

Those were towering flames!

The entire village seemed to be ablaze! The blazing flames dyed the night sky an ominous blood red!

The window was smashed open from the outside!

Amidst the flying splinters of shattered wood, a figure draped in a black cloak with scorched edges stood on the windowsill, like a savior angel or a vengeful demon!

It's Xiaobai! Her white ponytail danced wildly in the hot wind, her face was covered in soot, and her purple eyes burned with a resolute flame!

She reached out her hand to Miss Perfection, her voice hoarse from inhaling smoke, yet carrying an undeniable strength: "Go! I've done everything I can to help you! Even if—the whole village is engulfed in flames..."

Miss Perfection looked out the window at the hellish scene and shook her head in horror: "Thank you, Little White... But the others... they are innocent!"

"No one is innocent!"

Xiao Bai's tone was resolute, filled with icy hatred.

"Silence is tantamount to condoning, and enjoying it is tantamount to complicity! This village is rotten to the core!"

Without another word, she grabbed Miss Perfect's cold wrist and leaped off the windowsill!

After landing, Xiaobai quickly draped a thick cloak over Miss Perfect, wrapping her up tightly, and grabbed her hand, trying to take advantage of the chaos to rush out of the sea of ​​fire.

However, just as they rounded a burning corner of a house, they heard Linda's familiar and shrill roar from ahead!

The two immediately slipped behind a pile of clutter.

"If the offerings are lost, the heads of your entire family will appear at the city gate tomorrow morning!"

Linda was yelling at several panicked guards, her face contorted like a demon in the firelight.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Linda! I've been very careful, but... but that witch set our barn on fire!"

A guard trembled as he tried to explain.

"Find them at all costs! And execute the witch!"

Linda's scream was almost shattered.

Just then, a piercing scream came from the alley next door: "Help! Someone's on fire! Someone come quick, help put out the fire!"

Linda ignored her, even letting out a cruel sneer: "This is a witch's trick! She's trying to distract us! They must be nearby! Don't be fooled! Prioritize the search!"

Little White, hiding in the shadows, had a face so gloomy it could drip water.

This woman's ruthlessness and viciousness once again exceeded her imagination.