"Young miss, I am back!"
Nanny Ma cheerfully announced as she entered the room, holding a tray laden with a hearty meal.
Shen Xi, now revitalized and hungry, eagerly shifted to sit in front of the dishes. The array included a bowl of steaming rice, a couple of side dishes, and eggs. The aroma was enticing, and she began devouring her meal with the enthusiasm of a famished wolf.
"Slow down, young miss," Nanny Ma advised with a hint of concern, observing Shen Xi's ravenous appetite.
The recent recovery had taken a toll on her body, and she needed to replenish her energy. Shen Xi heeded her nanny's advice, adjusting her eating pace.
Once the meal concluded, Nanny Ma cleared the table and went out leaving Shen Xi to her thoughts. She contemplated her recent recovery of soul and memories, piecing together the implications.
With her energy renewed, Shen Xi chose to conduct a thorough self-examination of her body. During this process, she detected a mild poisoning in her system. The poison seemed more akin to a drug designed to induce cognitive impairment rather than a lethal toxin. This revelation pointed to the possibility that her mental dullness in this body was not solely due to her incomplete soul. Someone had intentionally poisoned her to exacerbate her cognitive decline. 'Who could be behind this?' she wondered.
Based on her body's condition, she inferred that this poisoning had been ongoing for approximately six months. A careful analysis of her situation indicated frequent ingestion of the poison during this period.
Intrigued by this discovery, she began to scrutinize recent events and circumstances. Initially, she suspected her nanny, but she quickly dismissed this notion.
Nanny Ma assumed the role of caretaker when Shen Xi was merely two years old, following her mother's tragic demise. Having served as one of her mother's maids, Nanny Ma had made a heartfelt promise to her mistress—ensuring the welfare and care of Shen Xi after her passing. This vow played a pivotal role in mitigating the mistreatment Shen Xi faced within the household. While her meals and attire weren't as lavish as those of her affluent family members, Nanny Ma ensured she had enough to eat and provided new clothes during the New Year Festival, imparting a semblance of a nurturing childhood. Thus, Shen Xi cherished Nanny Ma as a motherly figure.
However, in a recollection from roughly six months ago, Nanny Ma began gifting Shen Xi high-quality snacks every month. The peculiarity lay in the fact that her stepmother would never approve of such treats.
Every new year, Shen Xi's mother's younger sister would graciously send a delightful assortment of high-quality pastries. However, each time these delectable treats arrived, her stepmother would swiftly intervene, employing the excuse that excessive sugar consumption was detrimental to Shen Xi's mental faculties. Under this pretext, she would withhold most of the pastries, permitting Shen Xi a mere one or two pieces to avoid suspicion, and readily distributing the remainder amongst her own children.
Hence, those snacks she received every month were very suspicious.
'I have to check those snacks.' Shen Xi thought.
Recalling that the old her had kept some of the snacks she received this month under her pillow to eat later, she went to retrieve them. She found them wrapped in an oily paper that she unfolded with caution. As she contemplated how to test them for poison, a screen popped up on top of the snacks.
[Ding! Detected that these snacks contain a poison called "Low-grade Clouded Clarity Pill".]
Initially puzzled, she conducted a few more trials and concluded that her third mysterious ability had awakened.
Testing it on various items in her room such as the table and her mirror, she grasped the basics of her new ability.
[Ding! Ordinary table made of the wood of Ordinary Bamboo tree.]
She realized that to summon the screen, all she had to do was think about obtaining information and to dismiss it, she merely needed to concentrate on its vanishing. She decided to use the code "Reveal" to get the screen and decided to name her new ability "Vision".
Her initial suspicion was confirmed—the snacks indeed contained poison.
"Reveal! "
The message popped up once more.
[Ding! Detected that these snacks contain a poison called "Low-grade Clouded Clarity Pill"]
The name of the poison was in bold. She thought a little and uttered again "Reveal" again.
[Clouded Clarity Pill is a drug that confuses the mind. The lower-grade Clouded Clarity Pill can make people without abilities stupid. The ingredients used to make this pill are: Yellow moonflower and Mina herb.]
Shen Xi was astonished by this new knowledge. She was already stupid, and they were attempting to make her even more stupid. But why? Was it her stepmother or someone else in the family? What would this person gain from doing such a thing?
As she contemplated this, a memory flashed back. Last year, the six-year-old Shen Xi's mental issues showed some signs of improvement. She could greet her nanny and attempt to speak, albeit not very coherently. However, after starting to eat these poisonous snacks, she regressed back to her previous state of dullness.
While contemplating this, hunger pangs struck again. Lunchtime was approaching. She decided to head to the dining room in the main courtyard, expecting the food there to be more abundant and of higher quality. Just then, her nanny returned, so she asked for assistance in preparing for a bath.
Shen Xi tested her Vision ability on her nanny while she was taking her bath.
[Name: Nanny Ma
Description: Host's nanny. She views the host as the most important person in her life. She is an ability user. ]
This reassured Shen Xi that her nanny was not involved in the poisoning.
She was surprised by the fact that her nanny was an ability user and wanted to know more about her nanny's ability and class.
However...
[Ding! Host's level is insufficient to gather more details about people's abilities.]
Shen Xi could only give up. She really needed to level up quickly.
Shen Xi opted for a light-colored blue dress, a gift from her nanny during the New Year. With her nanny's help, she adorned the dress and styled her hair into two cute buns. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, with her black hair and eyes like ink, and her beautiful fair skin, she noticed that this body had a lot of resemblance with her original body. A hint of baby fat on her cheeks added to her overall cuteness.
Accompanied by her nanny, Shen Xi stepped out of the room. She made her way towards the main courtyard of the second house, where her father, stepmother, and siblings resided.