So-Called Karma 11

For the first time, Lu Mingqiu could read an expression on a sheep's face—the shock, the panic, the utter bewilderment flashing vividly across features that lacked the muscle for much expression at all.

It was hardly the right moment, but it was so funny.

"She's dead now, so by all rights, you should have changed back by now."

Lu Mingqiu stood up and reached out to stroke the animal's back. Fluffy, silky white fleece slipped through her palm, the texture almost impossibly pleasant.

This wasn't an illusion; this was really and truly a person turned into a sheep.

Yan Xianchuan nearly leapt off the ground. She stamped her hooves in place, staring at her fleece-covered legs and the two cloven, pale-brown hooves below, her brain on the verge of shutting down entirely.

But when Lu Mingqiu walked over, she made another "surprising" discovery—she was clearly looking down at the floor, so how could she see what was happening behind her back?

Yan Xianchuan shook her head, blinking in bewilderment several times, before it suddenly hit her: her field of vision had become incredibly wide. Apart from directly behind her, every other angle was vividly imprinted on her eyes.

It was like carrying a panoramic camera with her at all times.

Her years on this earth couldn't exactly be called long, but she'd seen more of the world than most people three times her age, yet this was still a first for her.

Yan Xianchuan bolted for the bathroom in disbelief, intending to look in the mirror, but she'd barely taken two steps when her four legs started tripping over each other. Her front legs tangled, sending her flying headfirst toward the floor, and her two short little horns punched straight through the door panel.

"Careful, careful." Lu Mingqiu, as if reading her mind, hurried around and caught her thrashing head. "I'll help you. You want to look in the mirror, right?"

She pulled Yan Xianchuan's head out of the door crack, then wrapped her arms around the entire body, one hand supporting the chest, the other supporting the plump, woolly rear, and lifted little sheep Yan Xianchuan up entirely.

The moment she was in Lu Mingqiu's arms, the little sheep instantly calmed down.

Lu Mingqiu kicked the door open with her foot, stepped into the bathroom, and flicked on the light switch with her elbow. A dim yellow glow spilled down from overhead, clearly revealing Yan Xianchuan's current form—a small goat with sleek white fur.

The whole animal was pristine and clean except for her head, where blood had soaked and stained the originally white wool. She also had two small horns, about the length of a pinky finger, quite straight, with the spiraling ridges also smeared in blood. Her brownish-yellow eyes held horizontally slit black pupils, and she was staring blankly at the mirror, her short little tail flicking back and forth.

Lu Mingqiu thought: adorable.

But she only said it in her head. "I'll set you down now. Don't rush, take a moment to get your bearings, and try not to fall again."

The white goat was carefully set on the floor. She let out a "baa," utterly dejected, ears drooping limply.

"I'll find a towel to wipe your face." Lu Mingqiu took the light beige towel from the hook, wet it under the tap, wrung it half dry, and crouched down in front of Yan Xianchuan, gently dabbing at the blood on her head.

"Don't worry, you'll definitely change back," she said as she wiped. "A person's awakened esper power is always tied to their own experiences; no power exists without some connection."

"Her power was strange too—not quite like a word-spirit type. Earlier in the corridor, she said she could see our heart-flames and figure out how many people were on this floor."

"You can't talk like this, so I'll try speaking to you through a mental link, see if that works." Lu Mingqiu cradled the goat's chin with one hand, and after wiping all the blood from her head, couldn't resist giving one of her ears a little squeeze.

"Ahem. Try saying something in your head."

Yan Xianchuan stared at her, blinking twice. Woman and sheep stared at each other for a long moment.

Lu Mingqiu: "I can't hear anything."

Yan Xianchuan stamped the floor twice and let out a grievance-laden "baa."

But no matter how she baaed, it was still a lamb's cry, and to human ears, it came out sweet.

Lu Mingqiu thought: genuinely a little adorable.

Suppressing her smile, she tried to sound serious. "Try walking."

What it felt like to be a sheep, Yan Xianchuan couldn't quite articulate. It wasn't like being human—not the sensation of scrambling around on hands and knees. It was more that she had an extra organ, especially the tail, which seemed to have a mind of its own. It either wagged or stopped completely, entirely beyond her control.

She could actually walk a couple of steps, but she got clumsy whenever she hurried.

Yan Xianchuan calmed herself, flicked her ears, and started slowly: left front leg, right front leg, left hind leg, right hind leg... step by step, she gradually worked out the rhythm and grew accustomed to her new perspective.

She even found it rather novel.

Throughout it all, Lu Mingqiu watched her with an overwhelmingly tender gaze as she hopped around the bathroom. Lu suddenly understood why so many people loved having pets, and why they couldn't stop themselves from nibbling their cat's head. It turned out that when you're hit with an attack of cuteness, it genuinely stirs a deep urge to destroy—right now she desperately wanted to hug this lively little goat tight and sink her teeth into its ear.

Yan Xianchuan raised her head: "Baa."

Then she took the lead out of the bathroom, trotted over to Meni's corpse, and unceremoniously stepped right on the woman's hand with her hoof.

Lu Mingqiu followed behind, leaving the living room light off. Using the glow of the floating screen to see, she crouched down and began searching through the dead woman's clothing.

The bathroom light didn't shine through the curtains when on, but if she turned on the living room light, it would draw far too much attention.

Yan Xianchuan, lacking hands, could only watch from the side.

Lu Mingqiu felt around for a moment before pulling a plastic card from the inner shirt pocket—purple with gold patterns, reading "Senior Witch Certificate."

It looked like a child's toy at first glance, but thinking back on Meni's abilities—she could throw small fireballs, cast incantations, and perform mental seduction—calling her a witch seemed rather fitting.

So her power was turning herself into a witch?

Lu Mingqiu had long since stopped being surprised by the strangeness of esper powers. There was someone within the organization with a similar ability, who could summon a unicorn.

It had luminous white fur, a rainbow horn, and wings. Only women could approach it; any man who got close would be met with a merciless iron hoof.

It could even talk.

"She didn't just suddenly develop an interest in witch culture out of nowhere," Lu Mingqiu said, reaching out to ruffle the little sheep's head. "We can go to her home for a look, find some clues, and maybe figure out why you haven't turned back."

She couldn't help herself. But Yan Xianchuan, far from dodging, seemed to enjoy it, closing her eyes contentedly. Seeing this, Lu Mingqiu couldn't help scratching under her chin either.

How could this feel so good!

Yan Xianchuan was utterly astounded, even as she tilted her head up, stepped forward two paces, and pressed her forehead against the other woman's chest.

The fur was so smooth and soft that Lu Mingqiu simply couldn't stop. After a while, she finally forced herself to let go through sheer willpower.

It wasn't that the sheep wasn't nice to pet, but this sheep was still a person underneath!

"Let's go." Lu Mingqiu tried to sound nonchalant.

Yan Xianchuan, naturally, had no idea what embarrassment meant. On the contrary, she was rather pleased. Turning into a sheep seemed to have its upsides—she couldn't talk, but she got plenty of close contact out of it.

She hopped twice in delight, driven purely by the instincts of this new body.

When Lu Mingqiu pulled the door open, she trotted happily in front, bouncing down the stairs.

For all the racket they'd made, the other resident on the second floor hadn't once poked their head out to check, as if they didn't exist.

The ground-floor door stood wide open. The moment Yan Xianchuan stepped out, she saw a small mountain of rat corpses piled by the roadside.

Her current state was strange in another way—even as a sheep, her physical abilities hadn't changed at all. Goats were nearly blind at night, yet she could still see perfectly clearly. And judging by how easily she'd smashed through the door panel, her strength was still there too.

Esper powers were truly unfathomable things.

Yan Xianchuan had barely taken two steps forward when she stopped, looking toward the right side of the street. A person stood there, likewise halting in their tracks.

She stamped a hoof, cracking the concrete ground beneath her, and kicked a loose piece of gravel. A second kick sent the stone flying.

A sharp whistling cut through the air.

The pebble streaked past the person's hand and slammed straight into the hood of a long-neglected car on the roadside, punching a hole clean through the metal.

It was a blatant warning.

The other party, wisely, backed away from them and retreated. Anyone who'd survived this long wasn't a fool—they wouldn't think an ordinary live sheep was simply out for a stroll and try to snatch it for a meal.

Only once the figure had turned the corner did Yan Xianchuan finally look away.

Or rather, she couldn't exactly call it looking away, since even without turning her head she could still see them. The head-turn was for the other person's benefit, a way of signaling—I've noticed you.

This near-360-degree field of vision was incredibly convenient after a while, far better than a human's 180 degrees.

She bit the hem of Lu Mingqiu's clothes and tugged her along.

Meni had come out of the building directly across the street, its ground-floor entryway also wide open. That floor had three apartments, and one of the doors was ajar.

Yan Xianchuan went inside for a look—a mummified corpse lay sprawled in the living room.

She stepped back out and headed up to the second floor, where a body was sprawled at the top of the stairs. It was equally desiccated, skin wrinkled and clinging to the bones, mouth gaping wide as if every drop of moisture had been drained away.

No one lived on the second floor.

On the third floor, two apartment doors stood open, their occupants meeting the same end.

One more dead on the fourth.

Finally, the two of them reached the fifth floor. Two doors were open—one apartment didn't hold a dried-out corpse but a body shattered into hundreds of pieces, the entire living room carpeted with gore, the stench thicker than any seafood market.

Yan Xianchuan walked into the other room. No corpse here. The layout was much the same as the room they'd been in, and a giant poster of a black cat hung dead center in the living room—this was most likely Meni's home.

On the coffee table sat a book with a black cover stamped with a golden magic circle, the title reading in bold letters: "The Witch's Codex."

Lu Mingqiu picked it up and gently flipped it open, reading softly, "This book is specifically meant to teach a witch the social rules and basic knowledge she must follow. By Mary Jorgel."

"She's an author," she said. "I've read her novels before—just one, a fantasy."

She turned another page. "This is probably a novel too."

But not a third-person narrative with a beginning and end. It was more like an instruction manual, written entirely in second person, explaining the various aspects of modern society to a witch.

For example: "The things flying in the sky are airships, not dragons or winged horses. Do not be alarmed."

"Using memory-erasure spells on humans is forbidden, unless you can guarantee no one will find out."

"Never, ever use the cauldron meant for brewing potions to cook."

Lu Mingqiu flipped through several pages, then returned to the front to check the table of contents until she found one entry: Notes on Forbidden Curses — page 153.

The forbidden spells listed in the book were varied and strange—Darkness Descends, Demon Summoning, Soul Drain...

Soul Drain allowed the caster to devour another's soul, extending their own lifespan and strengthening their own soul. The stronger the witch's soul, the more powerful her magic, and the victims whose souls were consumed turned into dried husks. Although souls were delicious, one must note: eat one soul and fully digest it before eating a second, for an excess of souls would rob a witch of her wise mind.

Meni had eaten everyone in this building, and only then had she swaggered over, intending to devour them as well.

Lu Mingqiu continued reading. Butterfly Parasitism, Mosquito Swarm Curse... Sheep Transformation Curse!

She read intently: "The Sheep Transformation Curse is a witch's favorite spell. It turns a person into a bleating goat, and eating its flesh will restore a witch's radiance. However, it must be noted that the Sheep Transformation Curse has a side effect—it is temporary. If within twelve hours the witch has not disposed of the goat, it will revert to human form. Therefore, witches must remember: eat it fresh."

"Twelve hours." The corner of her mouth curled up. "You'll turn back by then."

The little sheep by her leg let out two "baas," none of which she could understand.