Chloe immediately awoke from her nightmare.
She was drenched in sweat, gasping for air, and clutching her chest.
Chloe's commotion successfully caught Xavier's attention.
He spared a glance in her direction, and upon seeing Chloe's state, his brows furrowed.
After a moment's hesitation, Xavier finally set aside the scripture he was halfway through reading, pulled Chloe into his arms, and felt her forehead:
"Do you have a fever?"
Chloe pursed her lips and said hoarsely, "...Snake."
"What snake?" Xavier asked.
Chloe raised her moist eyes and looked earnestly at Xavier: "There's a snake in my heart, a venomous snake."
Hearing this, Xavier's brow furrowed even deeper: "What do you mean?"
As he spoke, he extended his senses into Chloe's body, searching for any abnormalities.
Chloe wriggled out of Xavier's embrace: "I had a dream."
She lifted her head, looking at the deity's statue enshrined high on the altar:
"It pulled a snake out of my heart."
Triangular head, sharp fangs, vibrant patterns—undoubtedly a highly venomous snake.
The heart-wrenching feeling at that moment was unforgettable for Chloe.
It was too real, as if the deity had actually carved a hole in her chest.
This was truly...
"A dream?" Xavier asked, puzzled. "Why would you have such a dream?"
Chloe shook her head: "I don't know."
Her face pale, she stood up from the prayer mat and stared directly at the deity's statue before her.
After a long while, she said softly, "I'm going back now. I'm not feeling well."
Clearly, in Xavier's mind, his daughter's health was more important than worshipping the deity.
He nodded slightly: "Alright, have the mayor take you to his house to rest."
Xavier added, "Ask Anderson to make you a cup of..."
Halfway through his sentence, he realized Anderson wasn't here and said with slight irritation:
"Have the mayor do it for you."
Chloe nodded and turned to leave.
Just as she was about to exit the temple completely, Chloe paused, looking back one last time.
The massive statue of the deity stood on the altar, its expression neither joyful nor sorrowful.
...Could this be a divine revelation?
Venomous snake—Chloe couldn't help but think of the snake emblem worn by that group when she first arrived in this world.
Could it be related to them?
Chloe didn't know.
Before she could ponder further, Chloe felt a dull ache beginning in her head.
She quickly dispersed the complicated thoughts in her mind and hurried out of the temple.
Outside the temple, Daniel and Qin Huaibei were crouched on the ground, digging in the dirt, their dignified image completely forgotten.
Katherine stood far away from them, clearly not wanting anyone to think she was friends with these two conspicuous individuals.
As a result, she was the first to see Chloe come out.
She was somewhat surprised: "Why are you out so soon? Is vampire worship this quick?"
For their elven race, just paying respects to the Tree of Life took several hours, sometimes an entire afternoon would pass just like that.
Chloe slowly shook her head.
Katherine quickly noticed something was off about her complexion and immediately walked over: "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
As soon as these words fell, Daniel, who had been digging up an ant nest, immediately stood up:
"What? Hurt?!"
He tossed aside the wooden stick in his hand and rushed over, his eyes fixed intently on Chloe:
"How did you end up in such a state just from worshipping?"
He was about to reach out to feel Chloe's forehead.
Chloe took a step back, saying with disgust:
"Don't touch me with your hands that were just poking an ant nest."
Daniel immediately withdrew his hand sheepishly, then said with little conviction:
"Who-who was poking an ant nest? I wouldn't engage in such childish activities..."
"Hey! Daniel! All the ants are coming out!"
Daniel: "..."
He glanced at Chloe, then at Qin Huaibei, and finally shouted loudly:
"Who wants to poke ant nests with you! That's childish!"
Over there, Qin Huaibei knew without a doubt that this guy was just spouting nonsense because he'd lost face, and didn't want to pay him any attention.
With no response from that direction, Daniel yelled again:
"Are you still playing? Chloe said she's not feeling well!"
Qin Huaibei looked up in surprise, dropping the wooden stick and running over.
Upon seeing Chloe, his handsome and refined face was filled with concern:
"Did you have to kneel so hard during worship? Your entire forehead is red."
Chloe: "..."
She didn't have the heart to say it was from Xavier pressing her down to kowtow, so she changed the subject, stammering:
"Well, it's like this... Never mind that. My head feels dizzy, I want to go back and rest. Have you seen the mayor?"
Katherine looked around: "He was here just now... There he is!"
She called out to the mayor, and after a brief exchange, the mayor led them to his home.
...
The mayor's house was considered luxurious and high-end even in all of Puze County. It was a small duplex villa, brightly colored and beautiful.
There weren't many servants inside; reportedly, it was mainly maintained by the mayor's wife and son.
The mayor led Chloe to a guest room upstairs, opened the door, and said:
"This is the room where His Majesty used to stay frequently. Since we weren't informed in advance about Young Miss's visit, the other rooms haven't been prepared yet. I hope you don't mind resting here for now."
Chloe glanced at the simple yet elegant decorations inside, nodded, walked in, and flopped onto the bed.
Her head feeling heavy and dizzy, Chloe fell into a deep sleep within minutes.
Qin Huaibei had just brought up some fresh milk, only to be told that Chloe was already asleep.
"So quickly?" Qin Huaibei placed the hot milk on the table and asked, puzzled, "What happened to her in the temple? Why does she look so exhausted as soon as she came out?"
"No idea," said Daniel. "Should we wake her up to drink the milk and take some calming medicine?"
Katherine stopped him: "Let it be. She's already asleep. If we wake her now, she might have trouble falling asleep again."
"I'll reheat the milk when she wakes up. I'll stay here and watch over her. You guys can go for now."
Qin Huaibei and Daniel exchanged a glance, agreed it made sense, and left the room.
Chloe slept deeply this time, without any strange dreams. By the time she woke up, night had already fallen.
She propped herself up on the bed and stood, realizing her clothes had been changed. Katherine had pulled up a small stool next to the bed and fallen asleep with her head resting on her arms.
Katherine must have helped change her clothes, Chloe thought.
Chloe smiled, found a thin blanket, and draped it over Katherine.
As soon as the blanket touched Katherine's back, she woke up.
Seeing Chloe awake, she yawned and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go heat up some milk for you."
Before Chloe could respond, Katherine had already grabbed the cup from the bedside table and left the room.
Chloe watched her retreating figure, blinking twice.
She got out of bed and walked to the desk, taking out paper and pen to start drawing.
When Katherine, Qin Huaibei, and Daniel came up, they saw the fierce poisonous snake Chloe was sketching.
Daniel glanced at it and said, "What's this about? It's the middle of the night. We don't have the energy to go catch a snake and knock out its fangs for you."
Chloe: "..."
