Fengxi was alone in the room.

She paced about the room, thinking about what she should do next. Tong Yue had locked the door, leaving her no way to escape from the room.

An idea came to her. If she was reborn, could she still use the powers she had as a fox? If she could transform herself, she could make her way out..

After all, she had done the same when she was a fox, sneaking in and out of the celestial gates and into the Great Immortal’s heavenly halls to sneak a peek at him! She grinned as she thought of how he sat majestically on his throne-like high chair, while she slipped past the crowds in her fox form, hiding under his chair and watching him till she fell asleep.

His preaches turned out to be so boring that they had made her sleepy! But no matter how much effort she had put into hiding in the shadows, she never made it past his keen eyes. He had always pretended to have not noticed her, but after his audience had left, he called her out and told her to leave!

Fengxi didn’t give up and hid in the flower garden instead. She got her chance when he was taking a nap in his study, and she climbed up onto his lap instead.

His lap was warm and cosy.

Fengxi spent a hundred years in that way, but dark evil threatened the immortal one day. Without thinking, she had taken a blow for him. She lost a hundred years of cultivation this way and it deteriorated her health. Because of that, her debilitation reduced her to a small fox cub, deactivating her powers for some time. He nursed her back to health and had Yan Xing extract a few elixirs for her to restore her vitality, but he never told her about his feelings.

His icy words just stabbed her over and over like a frozen knife.

She closed her eyes and emptied her mind, aiming to reach a state of tranquillity. Concentrating on a mental image she created of a peaceful stream, she sat cross-legged and placed her hands to rest in her lap, calling forth her magical energies.

She focused on her fox form, emphasising every detail of the fox’s appearance to make her transformation. She created a sandy brown fox tail, then continued on the intricate details of its other features. Once the entire image was clear in her mind, she shouted, “Transform!”

She shouted again and again. But nothing came forth from the spell, which eventually fizzled away. She was exhausted, leaning back against the stiff back of the chair.

Could it be because she had taken on a mortal body, and hence her powers wouldn’t manifest?

Or was there something else she had missed out on that she had lost her powers?

Maybe it wasn’t the right time yet. That meant the only option was for her to escape on her own.

She stared towards the glass window, biting on her lip nervously. She was afraid of heights, and if she was Fang Xia now, she was not confident in Fang Xia’s athletic skills. Searching Fang Xia’s memories quickly, she saw an image where Fang Xia had avoided having a sports lesson on the alibi that it was her time of the month.

Apparently, Fang Xia did not enjoy sports, and neither did she possess any calibre in it. But what options did she have other than signing the contract? While she enjoyed the chance of becoming connected to Tong Yue and taunting him in order to get close to him, she didn’t want to give in that easily. Let her be a challenge for Tong Yue to get!

She eyed the ceiling carefully, to check for any surveillance cameras hidden, then approached the window.

Whether her plan would work, she had to give it a go. Then she promptly unhooked the lock on the window and slid it open. In no time, she was peering down ten storeys high from the apartment.

Amazing! Her fear of heights didn’t strike at all!

Immediately, she seized a folded cloth blanket from the couch, which she realised was what the object was called, and made a few knots in it. She roped one end to the balcony upstairs, then climbed downwards to the unit below.

………………..

The unit was empty, so she made her way to the next unit to find a change of clothes. There was only a bathrobe in the wardrobe in both rooms, and Feng Xia’s common sense told her it wasn’t a good idea. She searched about the floor until she found an unguarded room.

It was a small room that looked like a large closet used for storage. There, she found a few clothes hanging around in the room and some cleaning tools. Fang Xia’s instincts told Fengxi it was a cleaner’s room, and disguising herself in their uniforms would give her a greater chance of escape.

Without contemplating further, she made up her decision and stripped off her clothes, putting on the uniform. Then she carefully disposed of her old clothes in a large dustbin nearby.

The moment she stepped outside, she spotted a vast number of uniformed men in black ties parading about the place, seeming to look for someone.

“She can’t be far if she just escaped. Search the place thoroughly! Or Young Master Yue will take his anger out on us!” a man in a dark black suit, probably the leader of the uniformed men, ordered in a grave voice. With a moustache and beard, he couldn’t look any less serious.

She retreated into the cleaner’s room and hid for a few moments longer until she was sure that the men had left.

When she came out of the room, she bumped into a man passing by. She heaved a sigh of relief and apologised, but the man glared at her sternly.

“What are you still doing here, on an idle break? Go on to the fourteenth floor, a guest just left and the room needs cleaning!”

A closer look yielded the fact they dressed similarly to him to her, but his uniform was a little special. It possessed a slightly unique design. Unlike her name tag that stated the name ‘Amberlia’, his tag merely said ‘Manager’ with no need for a name.

So, he was purportedly the manager of the cleaners. Her manager.

With a sharp nose and a pointed chin, she could tell this man was on the crafty side. Just her luck!

She smiled, knowing it was her way out.

“I’ll head there immediately.” She opened the door and grabbed a set of the tools. Feng Xia’s body was still weak after her soul entered her body, but she put on an act.

“You look pale. Have you eaten rice at all?” He grounded her solemnly.

“Yes, I have, sir.” She courteously indulged him, heading towards the elevator. She planned to head to the fourteenth floor in pretence and then flee the hotel. But when he cut in front of her, she halted in a panic.

“I’m also going there. Why don’t we take the lift together?”

She trembled. Did it mean she was going to be a cleaner for the rest of the day?

“Any problems, Miss Amberlia?”

“No, not at all.” She hit the button outside the elevator and counted her lucky stars. Perhaps this was all for the best. So that she could escape Tong Yue and find her way out, discover Feng Xia’s identity, until she was ready to go back and sign that contract…

But why did the manager give her an uneasy feeling about everything?