Chapter 19: Escape

“Hm? Go ahead.”

“I… I’ve been thinking a lot… I think I was wrong last time. I shouldn’t have touched the key, or thought about running away… You were right. Outside isn’t safe at all. Only Sister Lingyue can protect me.”

Lingyue blinked.

Her expression remained unchanged.

“So?”

“So…”

Feng Ling looked down at her fingers, “I want to prove to you that I won’t run anymore. I want… I want Sister Lingyue to trust me. Completely!”

Lingyue was silent for a few seconds.

“And how do you plan to prove that?”

Feng Ling lifted her head, took a deep breath, and said, “Sister Lingyue, can you seal my powers? Make me really weak, then let me walk to the front door, touch it, and come back? That way I’ll prove I won’t run!”

Her heart pounded like a drum after she finished speaking.

This was a plan she’d thought about for days.

She asked Sister Lingyue for a “chance to prove herself,” and even volunteered to have Lingyue seal her abilities.

That made it sound more like a genuine surrender than an escape attempt.

Plus, she’d secretly learned a purification spell from a magic book in the study earlier.

Once activated, it could remove all buffs on her—including any seal Lingyue placed.

Most importantly, Sister Lingyue loved these “tests.”

As expected, Lingyue raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Little Feng Ling wants to play a trust game?”

“Mm… you could say that. I just want Sister Lingyue to know I really don’t want to run now. But if you won’t let me try, that knot in my heart will always be there… it’ll always feel like you don’t trust me.”

Feng Ling carefully watched Lingyue’s expression after finishing.

Lingyue picked up her cup, took a sip of blood, and said nothing.

Feng Ling’s breath nearly stopped waiting.

After what felt like an eternity, Lingyue spoke.

“Okay.”

Feng Ling almost jumped three feet in the air.

“But before we start, I need to confirm one thing.”

“What?”

“Little Feng Ling, have you really thought this through? If you change your mind when you’re at the door… you know the consequences, right?”

“I—I know! I won’t run! I really just want to prove it to you!”

“Good.”

Lingyue reached out and pressed her palm against Feng Ling’s forehead.

A chill seeped from the forehead into Feng Ling’s body.

She looked down at her hands and noticed the faint red gloss on her nails had vanished.

They looked like a normal little girl’s nails now.

‘Perfect! I bet right!’

Feng Ling’s own magic was still there—she just didn’t have the vampire’s powerful constitution anymore.

But that was enough!

“Alright, you’re about as strong as an ordinary human now… but don’t worry, it’ll wear off in a few hours,” Lingyue said.

Feng Ling clenched her fist.

She really couldn’t feel that power anymore.

“Then… should I go now?”

“Go ahead. I’ll watch you from here.”

Lingyue sat back down in her chair, crossed her legs, and watched her with a smile.

Feng Ling slid off the chair, took a deep breath, and left.

Her steps were steady, but her heart was racing.

Through the corridor, past the living room, past the huge oil painting, past the staircase… every step had been rehearsed countless times in her mind.

Lingyue followed a few steps behind.

Finally, the castle’s main door was right in front of her.

Feng Ling stopped, looked back, and saw Sister Lingyue standing a few steps away.

Lingyue said, “Good, just touch it and come back.”

Feng Ling nodded, turned around, and extended her trembling right hand.

She placed it on the door handle.

A cold touch spread from her palm.

The door wasn’t locked.

One turn and she could welcome freedom…

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind at that moment.

‘Touch it and go back… and then what? Stay locked up here like a golden canary? Wait for Sister Lingyue to give me treats when she’s in a good mood, or choke me when she’s not?’

She didn’t want that!

She really didn’t!

She wanted to stand equal with Sister Lingyue!

Not be treated like a pet, a toy, a possession…

So she had to escape.

Not because she hated Sister Lingyue… quite the opposite.

She loved Sister Lingyue so much that she couldn’t stand this twisted relationship anymore.

She would escape, then find a way to make Sister Lingyue understand that love wasn’t imprisonment, or harm, or turning someone into your property.

That was the best ending she could imagine… but first, she had to leave.

Feng Ling took another deep breath and turned the handle firmly.

With a click, the door swung open.

Without hesitation, she yanked it wide and rushed out.

“Little Feng Ling?”

Came Lingyue’s slightly surprised voice from behind.

But Feng Ling didn’t look back.

She first cast a purification spell on herself, then ran across the bridge… across the moat… past the Roman columns… into the mountain cavern’s tunnel.

She sprinted at full speed.

Finally, she saw the cave’s exit… and the long-missed sunlight!

Feng Ling burst out of the cave.

The blinding sunlight enveloped her instantly.

“So bright…”

She instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes, and tears immediately streamed down.

She hadn’t seen the sun in over three months.

Warm light fell on her… just as she remembered.

Feng Ling lowered her hand and looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, the green mountains and trees in the distance, and the dirt road leading downhill.

Freedom…

She took a deep breath.

The air smelled of grass and earth, with a hint of floral fragrance… It was wonderful.

“Hey, little Feng Ling.”

Suddenly, the voice came from behind.

Feng Ling’s whole body stiffened.

She turned slowly to see Ye Lingyue smiling at her.

“Did you come here to see the sun? Have you seen enough? If so, let’s go back.”

Feng Ling’s legs were trembling.

“Sister Lingyue… I—I’m not going back.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I’m not going back.”

Feng Ling mustered all her courage.

“Sister Lingyue, I don’t want to be locked in that castle anymore. I want… I want to be your normal lover, not your pet!”

“Normal lover?”

Lingyue repeated the words.

“Yes! A normal lover! We can go out together, go shopping together, watch the sun together… not stay forever in that windowless castle.”

Tears fell as she spoke.

“I love Sister Lingyue. I really do. But… but I don’t want to be choked, or drained until I pass out, or spend every day terrified of doing something wrong… I want to be with you as equals…”

But she couldn’t continue.

Because Lingyue’s smile turned chilling.

“Little Feng Ling, little Feng Ling, you know what? When you say these things, you’re really adorable.”

Lingyue stepped toward her, one step at a time.

Instinctively, Feng Ling stepped back.

“But you forgot one thing.”

Lingyue gently wiped the tears off her face.

“You’re mine. From the day you became a vampire, you became my belonging. Belongings don’t need ‘equality.’ They just need to obediently stay by their master’s side.”

“No! I’m a person! A living person!”

“You’re my belonging.”

“I’m not!”

“You are.”

Lingyue’s voice was still gentle, but her red eyes held no warmth.

Seeing this, Feng Ling turned and bolted at her fastest speed.

That speed even surpassed seventy percent of vampires.