Chapter -25.Judgmental horses.

BAM!

A loud crash rang out.

Her body stiffened.

Slowly, she turned her head—and her stomach plummeted.

Two figures in dark robes walked past the house, their eerie presence sucking the warmth from the air.

Ghost cultivators.

Her mouth fell open.

She turned her gaze to the sky, blinking in disbelief.

"God… do you really have to listen to me at this exact moment?"

But the universe wasn't done tormenting her yet.

BAM!

The already broken portion of the stable roof gave way.

Her reflexes saved her. Just barely.

She twisted to the side in time to dodge as a massive chunk of wood came crashing down—landing exactly where she had been sitting just seconds ago.

Two centimeters.

That's all that stood between her and a brand-new head injury.

She stared at the debris.

Then at the pink robe still clutched in her hands.

Then back up at the sky, her eye twitching so violently she could feel it.

"Alright. I get it." Her voice was flat. Emotionless. Dead inside.

She inhaled deeply.

And then—

"YOU COULD'VE JUST SENT A POSTCARD, YOU KNOW!!!"

She hurriedly looked around, her eyes darting for anything that could help cleanse her poor, unfortunate self of this situation.

Then—there it was.

A water-filled bucket.

Oh, thank the heavens!

Sure, it looked slightly dirty. Okay, very dirty. And judging by the fact that it was sitting right next to a stable, she had a strong suspicion that it had been left there to—gulp—feed the horses.

But you know what?

"I've never heard anyone say beggars can be choosers," she muttered under her breath, mentally hyping herself up. "So let's just go with it."

With the determination of a woman desperate to rid herself of any lingering bad luck, she scooped up the water with both hands and—

SPLASH!

Cold, slightly questionable liquid drenched her face, sending a shiver down her spine.

Whew! At least it was refreshing.

She exhaled in relief—until a smell hit her nose.

A smell that was definitely not the crisp, fresh scent of clean water.

She froze.

Her brain did a quick calculation.

Stable. Bucket. Horses.

Her eyes widened in horror.

Slowly, very slowly, she looked down at the bucket again.

And for the first time—actually—examined it.

Her soul left her body.

This…

This wasn't just water.

This was—

Horse-drinking water.

Her body stiffened. Her brain refused to process it.

A deep, unsettling silence filled the stable.

Then, in one swift, panicked motion, she grabbed the nearest piece of cloth (probably some old sack, who even cared at this point?) and furiously wiped her face as if she could erase the last few seconds from existence.

"I take it back. I take it ALL BACK!" she whisper-screamed, her sanity hanging by a thread.

And as if the universe was determined to humiliate her further—

A horse in the stable casually turned its head and stared at her.

With the most judgmental expression she had ever seen.

Like it knew.

Like it was silently laughing at her.

Divya clenched her fists.

"I swear, if you dare to ne—"

NEIGHHHH!

The horse let out a loud, taunting neigh.

Divya closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and whispered to herself:

"I am in hell."

After an entire battle that felt harder than any life-or-death struggle she had ever faced, she finally finished wiping her face.

She had no mirror to check her appearance—not that she wanted to see the horrors she had just endured. And trying to look at her reflection in a bucket of questionable water in the middle of the night? Yeah, no thanks.

Forget it.

From how much she had wiped her face, she figured it was either clean by now or had turned so red that she looked like a ripe tomato. Either way, she was done.

With a huff, she turned around, walking toward the corner of the stable to finally change into her new robes.

But just as she reached for the ties of her old, dusty robes—

She froze.

Something felt… off.

A prickling sensation crawled up her spine.

Slowly, cautiously, she turned her head.

And there, standing a few feet away, were the two horses.

Staring.

Directly.

At.

Her.

With wide, curious eyes.

Divya narrowed her gaze, her lips twitching in irritation.

Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

A few seconds of heavy, tension-filled silence passed.

Then, in one slow, deliberate motion—

She raised her hand.

Lifted her middle and fourth fingers.

And turned them toward her own eyes.

Then back at them.

Then back at her eyes again.

"Look one more time," she said in a low, threatening voice, "and I swear I'll turn you into horse meat soup."

The horses blinked.

One of them snorted.

The other?

Looked completely unbothered.

Like it doubted her ability to pull that off.

Divya clenched her jaw.

"You think I won't do it?!"

The horse blinked again.

And then—

NEIGHHHH!

It laughed.

She swore it laughed.

Divya inhaled sharply, exhaled even sharper, and turned back around, violently yanking off her old robe.

"I hate this world. I hate this stable. And I definitely hate these horses."

For two long, agonizing minutes, the intense stare battle continued.

Divya didn't blink.

Neither did the horses.

It was a mental war, a clash of wills, a showdown that would go down in history—if only someone were there to witness it.

Her eyes narrowed. The horses' eyes remained wide and mockingly innocent.

She clenched her fists. The horses casually flicked their tails.

The tension? Unbearable.

The air? Electric.

The sheer stubbornness radiating from both sides? Unmatched.

Then, at long last—

The horses snorted.

Snorted.

Like they had just humored her.

Like they were saying, "Alright, human, you win—this time."

And then—slowly, mockingly—they turned their heads to the other side, as if she wasn't even worth their attention anymore.

Divya exhaled sharply, victorious but deeply offended.

"Damn horses," she muttered under her breath.

Still, she hurried to change, throwing wary glances over her shoulder.

Because even though they had turned away…

She knew.

Somehow, someway, those judgmental creatures were still watching.