Chapter 120
**Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Radiant Will of the "Bishop"**
“Splash—”
The sound of water echoed in the room as the girl rose.
A blood-soaked red-haired girl stood up from a barrel filled to the brim with fresh blood.
She picked up a clean towel from the edge of the barrel and meticulously wiped the blood from her body, until the once pristine white towel was stained a deep crimson.
The girl swayed slightly, her back resting against the edge of the wooden barrel as she lifted her right leg to continue wiping.
Once her right leg was clean, she extended it out of the barrel, placing her foot on the wooden floor, and proceeded to wipe her left leg, ensuring not a single drop of blood was wasted.
Finally, she took the towel and wrung it out forcefully over the barrel, until no more blood dripped from it, then hung the dark red towel on the edge of the barrel.
At this point, the barrel was nearly half full of deep, dark blood.
“Haah…”
Xia Er exhaled slowly, swaying as she made her way toward the washroom.
The cold water washed away the blood from her body and the ends of her hair. No matter how hard she scrubbed, a strong scent of iron and blood lingered.
After cleaning herself, Xia Er dried off, put on her simple light yellow blouse and deep brown skirt, and changed into white ankle socks and the academy's standard leather boots before returning to her room.
She barely managed to sit on the wooden stool at her desk, leaning against it to quell the intense dizziness that flooded her mind.
After a while, Xia Er slowly opened her eyes and looked toward the window.
The curtains were drawn tightly, but a faint glimmer of light still seeped through the edges, reflecting softly off the fabric.
Morning had arrived.
Xia Er had grown somewhat numb from the bloodletting she had performed on herself.
It felt as if she had died countless times within a mere five or six hours.
However, this intense self-harm had allowed Xia Er to glean some knowledge, though she wasn’t sure if it was useful or not.
First was the negative effect of **Shijian Wengran** (时间紊乱, "Time Disturbance"). Each instance of **Shijian Wengran** simulated an independent save.
In essence, if during **Shijian Wengran**, excessive bloodletting caused a save, such as the "Instigator," to go into shock or die, Xia Er would truly fall into a state of apparent death until time was disturbed again and she switched to another save.
Moreover, during **Shijian Wengran**, she could not use **Shizhi Huixiang** (时之回响, "Echo of Time") again.
Once the hour of **Shijian Wengran** ended, using **Shizhi Huixiang** would refresh the state of all saves.
Aside from the somewhat excessive frequency of switching every 3-5 minutes, the negative impact of **Shijian Wengran** on Xia Er was even less than its positive effects.
After all, the ordinary Xia Er in reality was stronger in any save than her powerless self in reality.
Additionally, organs cut during **Shijian Wengran** would not be retained; they would vanish along with the disturbance, leaving no trace, not even skin flakes or hair strands—only blood seemed to remain.
Most importantly, her main body was not considered a save. Once **Shijian Wengran** switched back to her main body, Xia Er had to stop the bloodletting and rest—luckily, she was cautious enough to first make a small cut on her wrist to test it.
This detail was something the simulated "Instigator" Xia Er had not shared with herself, whether out of forgetfulness or intent.
Aside from gaining a deeper understanding of the pocket watch's abilities, Xia Er had acquired some…
Could it be called medical knowledge? Or perhaps knowledge of killing?
Initially, when she began bloodletting, Xia Er had directly severed her carotid artery, which quickly sent her transformed self as the "Instigator" into shock until the time limit expired and the transformation effect faded.
However, through subsequent uses of the stopwatch to continuously bleed, Xia Er mastered some techniques for bloodletting.
After experimenting with most of the arterial blood vessels in her body, she discovered the most stable method for bloodletting.
First, she would use **Shizhi Huixiang**, and when the countdown reached the last four or five seconds, she would cut the abdominal aorta. The closer to the heart, the faster the blood pumped, and she wouldn’t die before **Shizhi Huixiang** ended, avoiding the passive trigger of **Sihun Fanhuan** (死亡逆转, "Death Reversal") that would drain her mental energy.
In subsequent instances of **Shijian Wengran**, each save could begin with cutting her wrists to bleed slowly. When she felt the blood from her wrists stop flowing, or experienced intense dizziness, or the second disturbance occurred to that save, she would then cut her abdominal aorta to release the final wave of blood and enter shock.
This formulaic method was what Xia Er had tested to maximize blood loss within a limited time. Yet even so, after nearly six hours of effort, she had only bled out half a barrel of blood.
She felt that this method could at least drain more than half of her blood, but given her small stature and build, her total blood volume was likely only around 3,100 milliliters. Even with multiple saves combined, she barely managed to fill half a barrel.
Aside from the pain of each cut piercing her skin or entering her body, the hardest part was facing the suffocating fear of death and shock.
This fear was unavoidable each time, and with every subsequent attempt, Xia Er found herself more terrified of that cold, deathly sensation.
It was a primal fear of death that Xia Er had yet to overcome, not even numbness could shield her from it.
The continuous confrontation with death had drained Xia Er of a significant amount of energy. Though she had only awakened six hours ago, she was already feeling dizzy and disoriented.
However, the plan was not over; Xia Er still had tasks to complete, and she couldn’t afford to fall asleep now.
She turned away from her blood and picked up a pen, tearing a page from her notebook to begin writing and drawing.
The blood formations she had used seemed etched in her mind, allowing her to easily sketch their reduced forms.
Yet she deliberately blurred certain areas, creating significant gaps in the spiritual summoning blood formation.
This was to prevent others from mastering this complex blood formation to summon spiritual beings.
After all, she only needed the blood to remain in the right place; when she arrived to use the blood formation, it would naturally take shape. According to the notes from the "Instigator" Xia Er, this blood formation would form much faster.
This was the difference between a prepared battle and an ambush.
With enough preparation, even an ordinary person could kill a low-tier extraordinary being.
Soon, Xia Er filled a sheet of paper with writing in Ansu language using her left hand. Though it was crooked, the meaning was clear.
This paper was meant for George Ni, detailing tasks she needed to arrange for her, along with some precautions.
Once George Ni completed everything, Xia Er would instruct her to burn the paper and scatter the ashes into the canal, completely erasing any trace.
Even if someone could trace what George Ni had burned, it would be impossible to find the original document.
After finishing the letter, she poured the still-liquid blood plasma into a thermos, and by the time she completed everything, dawn was breaking… glancing at the system time, it was already seven in the morning.
It was about time…
Xia Er opened the simulation interface, instinctively wanting to use a simulation to see how effective her actions would be.
Though previous simulations had assured her that no accidents would occur, she still felt a twinge of unease.
Now her mental energy was sufficient for one more simulation… as long as she could die quickly.
The simulation interface appeared before Xia Er, and upon seeing the random times displayed, she nodded to herself.
**[Future: 100 Days (Saint Year 741, September 29, 7:00) (Cost: 100 Fate Points)]**
**[Past: 5 Days (Saint Year 741, June 16, 7:00) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)]**
**[Old Days: ***, *** Days (???) (Cost: 10,000 Fate Points)]**
**[Number of Dice: 1]**
A hundred days later?
Five days ago?
Neither of these periods was worth Xia Er's time or energy to waste on simulations.
Yet, instead of feeling discouraged, Xia Er felt a sense of relief.
Simulating the future could not predict the days following her destined death.
If she completed everything and then died, the system's simulation could not allow her to simulate a hundred days later.
Could she still live for at least a hundred days?
Then regardless of whether this matter was perfect or not, she would definitely resolve it.
With a casual flick, she closed the interface. After pondering for a moment, she raised her right hand.
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