Chapter 266: Mrs. Leah’s True Identity

Chapter 266 The True Identity of Mrs. Leah

Miss Wu Yue took the lead in the male dance steps, whirling across the dance floor with Mrs. Leah in her arms. The close contact caused their mental pressure to spike rapidly.

Under the shifting light refracted by the enormous crystal chandelier overhead, Mrs. Leah's face flickered between illumination and darkness, continuously shifting.

At times, it was the original Mrs. Leah; at others, the malevolent black witch.

They both spoke to Wu Yue incessantly,

"Miss Wu Yue, dancing with you brings me such joy."

"Keep away from my prey!"

"Miss Wu Yue, could you stay by my side forever?"

"Take one more step, and I’ll kill you!"

At first, the two faces switched rapidly back and forth, but soon both souls appeared simultaneously on the same face, each occupying one side.

The left side held an adoring gaze with a gentle smile, while the right side glared with hatred, lips curled in fury.

Before her was a relentless psychological assault, while masked figures pressed in from all sides, accompanied by the increasingly discordant and chaotic symphony.

The vast dance floor crowded as the guests closed in, tightening around Wu Yue and Leah.

They murmured with soft laughter, murmuring incessantly:

"Mrs. Leah, your dancing is truly exquisite."

"Mrs. Leah, we haven’t seen you this happy in ages."

"Mrs. Leah..."

Mrs. Leah gazed at Wu Yue. "Yes, it's been ages since I've laughed so heartily. It's all thanks to you, Miss Wu Yue. I'm thrilled."

She watched Wu Yue, awaiting her response.

But Wu Yue's face hardened, her face icy with disappointment.

"I thought we had a pleasant conversation last night."

Mrs. Leah nodded fervently. "Yes, we had a great conversation."

Wu Yue curled her lips disdainfully. "Really? Yet I clearly taught you how to fight back, and you did nothing.

Someone so utterly inept isn’t worthy to dance with me."

With that, Wu Yue abruptly released Mrs. Leah and pulled away sharply.

Her tone was resolute. "You are not Mrs. Leah."

Mrs. Leah gaped at Wu Yue in shock, paralyzed with terror as the overwhelming dread of exposure consumed her.

The masked dancers surged past Wu Yue, encircling Mrs. Leah completely. The ballroom rang with their shouts:

"She’s not Mrs. Leah!"

"A fake!! She’s a fake!!"

"Then who is she?"

"The black witch!! That's her—the black witch!! She's the black witch from the darkest depths!!"

"Burn her!! Burn her!!"

The cries grew louder and louder. The once lively and bustling ballroom instantly darkened, thick with the grim air of judgment.

Mrs. Leah cowered in terror, clutching her head. "No! I'm not!! I'm not the black witch!! I am Mrs. Leah!! The black witch is trying to harm me!! The black witch is trying to replace me!!"

Mrs. Leah suddenly raised her head and saw Wu Yue standing behind the crowd. Wu Yue’s silhouette blurred into the black witch’s who had once stood outside the crowd—their grins mirrored each other perfectly.

The two figures intertwined until they merged into one.

Mrs. Leah lunged at Wu Yue, she accused furiously:

"Miss Wu Yue, I liked you so much!! Why would you do this to me?!"

"I'll kill you!! I'll kill you!!"

Mrs. Leah suddenly went mad, her eyes blazing crimson. She extended her sharp, long black nails, poised to pierce Wu Yue’s heart.

"You monster!! I'll devour your heart!!"

Wu Yue stood her ground as Mrs. Leah charged.

Just as the black nails were about to touch her, Wu Yue tilted her head with a smile, staring at Leah.

"Mrs. Leah, since when do noblewomen eat hearts?"

Leah went rigid.

Wu Yue stepped closer, walking straight into Leah's black nails. To her surprise, Leah instinctively tried to retreat.

Wu Yue suddenly reached out, seizing Leah’s ghostly wrist and yanking her forward.

"Would a gentle noblewoman have such long, sharp black nails?"

Leah recoiled, avoiding the black nails Wu Yue held up before her eyes.

As the music ended, the masked crowd melted away.

The clock struck the hour. Wu Yue dragged Leah to the glass of the grandfather clock, digging her fingers into Leah’s neck and forcing her to look into the mirror.

"Does this look like a noblewoman’s makeup to you, dressed in black witch's robes?"

Leah seemed to awaken from a dream, slowly gazing at her reflection.

Her once gentle features had been completely replaced by the sinister, gaunt face of the black witch. In the mirror, she wore raven-black robes, with blackened eye corners, sallow, sunken eyes.

Her crimson eyes resembled those of a vampire hiding from daylight.

She looked down in horror at her hands—her claws were beastly.

Every toll of the grandfather clock—"Dong—Dong—Dong—" hammered her guilt home.

Terrified, she covered her face, ashamed of her own monstrous reflection.

But she heard countless voices in her ears,

"Ugly black witch, crawl back to the deep swamp where you belong!!"

"Ill-omened black witch, stay away from the human world!!"

"Burn her!! Burn the heretic!!"

"It must have been so hard, living all alone like this."

Leah suddenly raised her head to look at Wu Yue, whose image kept blurring into someone else's.

Wu Yue, "Did he say that to you back then?

Come with me. You're different from any other girl—special.

I want to give you a home, to let you live a normal life."

Wu Yue stepped closer to Leah, "Will you tell me?

What else did he say to you? What else did he do?"

Leah slumped to the ground, her black nails receding, revealing her true form as the black witch.

Beneath the eerie makeup, she looked no different from an ordinary girl.

Leah, "From the moment I was born, I dwelled in the Dark Forest's swampy depths. The elder witches never ceased warning me.

In the eyes of humans, we are absolute heretics. Never interact with humans—they fear our powers yet covet them greedily.

I was gathering ingredients for my potions at the edge of the swamp when I saw Louis amidst the poison mushrooms. The most beautiful man my eyes had ever beheld.

Acting on instinct, I saved him. I tried to slip away before he came to, but he grabbed my hand.

He said, 'Thank you for saving me.'"

Leah's eyes met Wu Yue's, "Before that, no one had ever said 'thank you' to me."

As Leah spoke, the Mental Pollution index at the entire ballroom spiked dangerously, triggering an immediate shutdown of all broadcast feeds.

Jiang Qian and Jiang Mubai shared a look of dread.

The Mental Pollution level displayed on their detectors: S+ rank.

If the Mental Pollution index rose to SS-rank, everyone present—except for Shen Que and Jiang Huaizhi, who were SSS-level—would be utterly overwhelmed by Mental Pollution.