Chapter 949 - 459: When the Tuberose Blooms, All Is Said and Done (Second Update)

Chapter 949: Chapter 459: When the Tuberose Blooms, All Is Said and Done (Second Update)

Lawrence Winters found it even funnier. "Tearose is tearose, Other Shore Flower is Other Shore Flower, don’t mix them up."

She pointed out the window and went on, "Later research shows that the Other Shore Flower is actually Lycoris radiata, commonly called Red Spider Lily, a species in the amaryllis family. Don’t think that just because it’s got some lofty name like ’Other Shore Flower,’ it’s actually from the other shore. Go check what lycoris flowers are like—they bloom in dark, shadowy places, have no scent, and their bulbs are poisonous. They’re a completely different thing from the beautiful tearoses we have here!"

Mr. Zhuge chuckled and said mildly, "...We’re talking about flower names in metaphysics here. Daoist Lawrence, you’re so good at doing academic work—how come you ended up cultivating the Dao?"

"I look up a flower name and that already counts as doing academic work? Mr. Zhuge, don’t insult people who actually do real research, okay?" Lawrence pivoted the topic, neatly redirecting everyone’s attention.

"Real researchers are supposed to make bold hypotheses and then verify them carefully, and they also have to be able to falsify results, with repeated tests again and again. Can we do that? All we’ve got is subjective conviction!"

As soon as Lawrence said this, even the five scientist judges sitting in the Stetford Family’s big screening hall all laughed.

"This Heavenly Master Lawrence is pretty interesting."

"I think she’s really smart. It’s kind of a waste for her to be a Daoist..."

"I think so too. I read the resumes of these eight contestants—her education is the only decent one. With grades that good, why didn’t she go into the sciences?"

Evan Stetford smiled faintly.

He wouldn’t help Lawrence Winters by any improper means, but when it came to proper means, those were still fair game.

For example, printing out the contestants’ educational histories and handing them to each of the judges...

Among the other seven contestants, only Mr. Zhuge had the highest level of education: high school graduate.

Lawrence Winters’s formal degree from B University stood out among them like a crane in a flock of chickens, and she instantly won the favor of the five scientist judges.

At that moment, in the video playing before everyone, the lights in the bedroom had already been turned on.

The window was closed, shutting that whole tearose tree outside.

The host said, "Alright, everyone head out first and discuss what to do next. Please be aware that our time is limited; we can’t just keep wasting it here."

Everyone stood up one after another and walked out of Alice Blythe’s bedroom.

Lawrence Winters was the last to leave.

As she walked out, she turned back to glance at Alice Blythe.

For some reason, she suddenly felt a flicker of disorientation, as if she saw the bed suddenly empty, tidied up neat and clean, with no one lying on it.

But she blinked, and when she looked carefully again, Alice Blythe was lying quietly on the bed once more—clearly that previous scene had just been her eyes playing tricks on her.

Lawrence couldn’t help frowning. She thought for a moment, then quickly stepped back into the room to carefully examine Alice Blythe’s face.

According to what Mr. and Mrs. Blythe had said, Alice wasn’t yet eighteen. From the shape of her face, she should have had an oval, goose-egg face, but because of her prolonged coma she’d gotten thinner, and it had turned into a pointed melon-seed face.

Her eyes were closed, but her eyelashes were very dark and long, the tip of her nose slightly straight and upturned, the corners of her lips faintly lifted, as if she were caught in a sweet dream she was unwilling to wake from.

A sweet dream?

Isn’t it supposed to be a nightmare?

Lawrence felt that something was off.

"...Daoist Lawrence, did you find something? Why haven’t you come out yet?" The host was calling to her from the doorway.

Lawrence snapped out of it and said with a smile, "I just wanted to take another look at Miss Blythe. Everyone else already saw her, I’m the only one who didn’t."

When she first came in, she’d been jostled over toward the window by some of the others.

The people crowding around Alice Blythe’s bed were the four members of the peony group.

Since they were the ones doing the exorcism, no one thought anything of it; they all assumed it was only natural.

Now she finally had a chance to properly look at Alice Blythe.

...

Following the host as they left Alice Blythe’s room, on their way downstairs they ran into Mr. and Mrs. Blythe again.

Taking advantage of the moment while the host was speaking with the Blythes, Lawrence quickly gave them a swift glance.

Huh?

Both of them had broken lines in their philtrums.

A broken line in the philtrum means no sons and no grandsons.

That implies... the bloodline is going to end...

Could it be that Alice Blythe really isn’t going to live long?

Lawrence’s heart tightened. She hurried down the stairs, found a bathroom, slipped inside and shut the door. Leaning against the back of it, she unfolded the crumpled paper in her hand.

The paper ball had almost been soaked with the sweat of her grip.

On it was a single line of writing: "Those who do many unjust deeds will bring about their own demise."

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This is the second update.

Good night, everyone.

Group kisses!