Grinning Frog

It should've been a peaceful night, but Jing Yi had a restless sleep. She was tossing and turning all night, as if she was sleeping on top of a brazier and not on her bed.

"…"

She was speechless as she stared at her own reflection in the mirror the next morning. Her eyes were bloodshot with two darkened eye bags hanging underneath.

Remembered that she couldn't be late for this morning event, Jing Yi immediately got up from her chair to wash her face and change her clothes.

She choosed to wear a simple light pink children dress with floral patterns. As for her hair, she combed it neatly to the back and tied it up with a simple pink ribbon.

She stood in front of the mirror to check her appearance once again.

[Not bad...], she thought as she nodded in satisfaction.

The next moment she prepared to leave her room, one of the shadow guard jumped off from the roof and blocked her path.

"Miss, you shouldn't leave your room right now.", he said with a serious tone.

Alarmed, Jing Yi looked up at him, "What? But why?"

[Did something happened?]

The shadow guard glanced toward the gate before he replied, "Answering the young miss, first madam Jiang was killed last night. Currently the whole fu is in chaos. For your safety, it is better for you to stay in your room and wait until everything calm down."

That was a truly shocking news. Jing Yi felt that her face was distorted so much that it couldn't be recognized anymore.

Looking at her foolish expression the shadow guard didn't dare to lift his eyes and decided to withdraw that instant. Knowing how his master pampered this young miss in front of him, who knows how his fate would be if he dared to laugh at the little lass?

Jing Yi was rooted at her place, pondering in bewilderment. She was amazed by how fast the wheel of fate turning. Thinking about her daily life under the first madam's "care", it wouldn't be strange that she had made many enemies.

[Should I say thanks to the murderer?]

Jing Yi scratched her head. Even though she really wanted to watch the show, inside she understood that it wouldn't be save.

[Better to not involved in this matter.], she shrugged her shoulders as she turned around and closed the door behind her.

…

Sitting by the window, she looked up to the swarm of dark clouds above. Cold wind blew to the southern part of the city along with the drizzling rain.

Human life is short. She was brooding.

Jing Yi shifted her gaze to the white flags and lanterns hanged on the main gate. Today was still first madam Jiang's mourning day. Everyone in the fu gathered in the ancestral hall.

Except her, of course.

The incident happened two days ago was very terrible. Nobody had seen or heard anything suspicious. In fact, the situation in the courtyard was very quite. All the servants had returned to their rooms. The only one stayed for the night watch was Zhu mama.

Next morning, the one who found their corpses was a servant girl. She usually woke the madam up at the same hour everyday. Who would have thought that when she entered the first madam's bedroom, she would found two bloody and horrible corpses instead?

Jing Yi sighed inward. Actually, she didn't feel sad at all. Really, no feeling attached. However, there was an indescribable feeling slowly emerged in her heart right now.

Unconsciously, she touched her chest.

[Is this the feeling left behind by the previous body owner?], she pondered.

Feeling a sudden headache, she rubbed her temple. How long has it been? Ever since she had recovered, thanks to Pei Chu, she had never felt this pain anymore. Turned out, this incident had stressed her out quite a bit.

"Let's lie down and take a nap for a while…", she mumbled to herself.

She got up from her chair sluggishly and walked toward the bed. As the pain in her head intensified, she dropped her body heavily on top of the blanket and let herself drifting in a deep slumber.

…

She slowly opened her eyes and found that she was currently standing on the edge of a cliff. Mass of mist covered all of her surrounding, making it difficult to determine where she was right now.

[What is this place?], she was baffled. She moved her foot, looking that a pebble fell down into the endless abyss. She abruptly took three steps back.

"That was close…", she muttered with a tremble voice.

[How did I get into this place?] She was panicked.

[Did I have been kidnapped by someone?]

An image of a middle-aged man emerged from inside of her mind. His facial expression was so cold, as if he was himself sculpted by an ice block.

Jiang Chen Lu?

Jing Yi felt that her heart sank. She randomly darted her gaze to her surrounding once again, just to found out that she couldn't find any way out.

Both of her legs suddenly became weak and she slumped onto the ground. She realized that if Jiang Chen Lu really was the one who kidnapped and dumped her in this place, then it meant that she wouldn't be able to leave this place alive.

As she was engulfed by despair, her eyes suddenly caught a sight of a strange thing not too far from her. Its size was only as big as her palm and green in colour.

"That's… a frog?", she exclaimed. Couldn't believe of what was she had seen just now, Jing Yi rubbed her eyes many times, again and again, until they turned very red because of the friction.

At the time she opened her eyes again, she saw that the green thing was still at its original place. It didn't move or make a sound, but by the movement of its both rounded and protruding red eyes, she knew that it was really a living frog!

"How can a frog live in a place like this?", she mumbled in bewilderment. She immediately got back to her feet and slowly approached the little frog, being careful not to surprise it.

The frog still didn't make any movements, even until when she crouched down and took it into both of her palms.

[How strange…], she pondered as she scrutinizing the animal in curiosity.

Jing Yi remembered that she had read an encyclopedia about amphibians. It was written how to distinguish a female frog from a male frog. She observed the frog for quite a while and saw that it didn't croak.

[It is a female frog.], she nodded confidently.

She racked her brain again, trying to remember the other things written in the encyclopedia.

A frog's natural habitat should've a place with plenty fresh water and surrounded by dry land. [But this place is definitely not its original habitat. It looked like someone had brought and left this frog here…]

Looking at the frog in front of her, she still felt a little bit strange. She knitted her brows. The frog was very… docile. It didn't struggle or jump around.

"Strange frog, are you somebody's pet? Why didn't you leap when I caught you?", Jing Yi talked to the little frog gently. When she lifted her index finger to softly stroking its back, she was startled. She saw that the little animal moved its eyes and then looked straight onto her eyes. Its mouth suddenly parted into a wide grin. She reflexively threw the frog down onto the ground and then shrieked.

Did this frog can even understand human language?