Zerra froze, her heart pounding in her chest like a drum. When she looked up, she met Grandma's scrutinizing eyes. Then, the corner of Grandma's lips curled up slightly.
The feeling was so indescribable… for hundreds if not thousands of reincarnations, Grandma never acted like this, even when she acted out of chZeecter. She thought that everything would be the same this time around.
So, why?
Soon, Zerra recovered herself. She snorted. "Well, you found out about it."
Grandma looked a bit taken aback. It was clear that she was merely testing her. However, her surprise faded the moment she heard Zerra's next words. The doubt slightly disappeared from her face.
"It was Mom. She promised to give me the latest model of a diamond necklace if I can please you." She shrugged, her arms crossed above her chest. "Don't I deserve some rewards for helping you, too? Tell Mom that I have been good so I can get the necklace."
Grandma looked at her through narrowed eyes with a thin smile. "A necklace is enough to make you jump into danger just to save old bones like me? That's still so unlike you."
Well, just like ginger, the older the spicier. Zerra cursed in her heart, finding this old woman hard to deal with. That was right, the spoiled Zerra wouldn't do that.
Her spoiled personality made her quite selfish, as though the world centered around her. However, now she wasn't that Zerra anymore. If she hadn't woken up, she might have continued to act spoiled like that, but for a fox spirit who had lived for thousands of years like her, it would have been embarrassing.
"Grandma, why should I explain that to you about that? If you feel grateful to me, just tell Mom what I have done." Zerra tilted her head.
Grandma didn't speak, and the atmosphere became quite tense.
Even so, Zerra also wouldn't back tone, staring at Grandma with raised eyebrows. She was acting quite audacious.
"Well, alright. I will tell her once the signal is back." Grandma snorted and stood up, bringing the dirty dishes to the kitchen.
Zerra watched as Grandma walked to the kitchen with a thoughtful gaze. Until now, she hadn't recovered from the shock. She was used to some tweak in the plot, but this time, wasn't it too big?
Her gaze was involuntarily fixated on Grandma's figure again. Her pupils dilated, and she blinked. In a split second, Grandma was gone, disappeared into the kitchen and her back blocked by a wall.
What was that? Had she seen it wrong because she was too anxious?
When Grandma was back, she passed by her and went to Nyra's room. She didn't forget to order her. "Bring me a glass of water."
This time, in order not to arouse Grandma's suspicion again, she did it begrudgingly, nearly splashing some of the water in the glass to Nyra's chest. However, Grandma acted quickly, making the water splash her hand.
She rubbed her hand on her clothes and sent Zerra a disapproving look.
"Watch me. This is how you take care of your sick sister." Grandma was just about to pull Nyra's body slightly, but they suddenly heard a groan.
Nyra opened her eyes slightly, and then she let out a gasp.
"Ira!" Grandma shouted excitedly. "Have you woken up?"
"Hurry and drink this water." Grandma pulled tried to help Nyra up to a sitting position. Zerra subconsciously helped, using both her hands to pull Nyra's shoulders.
She froze slightly when she realized what she was doing, but when she saw that Grandma's attention was entirely focused on Nyra, she was relieved. Grandma directed the glass of water to Nyra's lips, allowing her to drink.
"Grandma…" Nyra muttered slightly. "Stay safe."
Grandma's hand trembled slightly, and her eyes flashed with emotions. After a while, there was no more movement from Nyra and her body went limp. She was unconscious again.
"That's how you take care of each other." Grandma sighed in lamentation. "You two are sisters. Why are the two of you so different?"
For the next few hours, she could feel that Grandma was somehow avoiding her. She didn't seem to want to be in the same room as her. Once Zerra sat beside her, she stood up, heading toward another room.
Another time, she blatantly ordered her to stay in her own room.
It made Zerra's heart feel blocked, slightly indignant, but also baffled. Grandma's weird behavior made her overthink. The way Grandma walked when she was walking toward the kitchen earlier… she was dragging her foot.
Which meant that she hadn't fully recovered from the centipede venom at all. Other than that, the look in her eyes made her extremely worried. They were becoming empty, almost soulless.
Like a zombie.
When Zerra remembered Grandma's ending in each reincarnation, she suddenly had trouble breathing. In a sense, Grandma was also a cannon fodder like her.
"Zerra."
Grandma suddenly called her.
With some trepidation, got off her bed and peeked out, wondering why she was calling her right now. Grandma was wearing a thick jacket, wrapping it tight like she was feeling extremely cold. She also wrapped her head so that only her eyes could be seen.
"You go to your sister's room right now," Grandma demanded.
Zerra looked at Grandma and took a deep breath. "Why?"
"Just go!" Grandma barked, suddenly turning impatient.
She had no choice but to do as she was told. Grandma was following her from behind as she headed toward Nyra's room. The way she walked… it made a weird sound, like she was dragging her feet instead of walking normally.
The atmosphere became eerie all of a sudden.
"Go inside. Remember to take care of each other, you two," Grandma exhorted her, and closed the door, making Zerra feel utterly bewildered and sorrowful.
However, she already had an inkling to what was currently happening.
Grandma realized it herself that she was slowly turning into a zombie. Or at least, she was very self-conscious that there was something wrong with her. That centipede venom had the effect of turning people into zombie and–
Her thoughts stopped when the door abruptly stopped. She held her breath when she saw Grandma standing at the door threshold.
The pair of empty eyes, rotting skin, and weird way of walking… this was no longer the grandma she knew.
She lunged toward her.