Chapter 45: A Brief Peace… Soon it’ll be back inside.

The next morning, Feng Ling was woken from a blurry, blood-colored dream by a sharp pinch… and it wasn’t even a gentle nudge.

A jade-white hand grabbed her left shoulder right where the wound had just healed, digging its nails into the flesh.

Hiss— “I’m awake, awake, awake! Stop pinching! It hurts when you dig into the same wound!”

“Then that’s good! It means the wound is still healing. Consider it a reminder: next time I bite you, don’t let my fangs cut into the same spot.”

Ling Yue let go, then gently rubbed the wound on Feng Ling’s shoulder.

“Like I can control where you bite,” Feng Ling muttered.

“Breakfast is on the table. Two bowls of blood steamed egg.”

Ling Yue stood up and headed for the door, then turned back with a smile.

“Eat mine too. I’m going out to take care of something today. You stay home and behave~”

“Going out? Go… where? How long will you be gone?”

Hearing this, Feng Ling’s voice shot up.

“Just buying some materials. As for when I’ll be back… not sure. What, you can’t bear to part with me?”

Ling Yue leaned against the doorframe, wearing a playful expression.

“Who can’t bear to part with you! Go already, so I can have some peace and quiet!”

Feng Ling quickly pulled the blanket up over her shoulders.

“Mm, wait for me, okay~”

Ling Yue’s footsteps faded down the corridor.

Then came the sounds of descending the stairs and the front door opening and closing, followed by the click of the lock turning…

The castle fell completely silent.

Seeing that Ling Yue had left, Feng Ling threw off the blanket, jumped out of bed, and turned to look at the small dining table in her room…

Two bowls of blood steamed egg sat there.

The surface of the pale red liquid was smooth as a mirror, with a ring of dark red spice powder scattered around the edges…

Actually, these weren’t eggs at all.

Ling Yue had used various methods to shape blood of different flavors into the form of steamed egg.

She pulled out a chair, sat down, scooped a spoonful, and brought it to her mouth.

Not only was the taste excellent, but the pleasure that came from drinking blood was still there.

Yet as she ate, she felt strangely uneasy.

Usually, Ling Yue was always beside her—cooking in the kitchen, reading in the living room, or staring at the back of her head from the darkness.

That gaze was ever-present, like a vast net covering her.

Today, the net was gone, but Feng Ling didn’t know which direction to fly.

After finishing the blood steamed egg Ling Yue had made, she carried the bowl into the living room, turned on the Switch, loaded her save file, stared blankly at the cliff where she’d fallen to her death last time for a few seconds… then exited the game and started a racing match.

But every ten or so seconds, she looked up toward the corridor.

After looking, she would continue driving… then look up again.

Once she was halfway through the third lap, she set down the controller, walked barefoot to the front door, and pressed her small hand against the door panel.

The metal runes grew slightly warm under her touch.

The door didn’t budge, but she wanted to touch it nonetheless, to confirm.

‘Has being alone for just one hour really turned me into this…’

She whispered, pressing her forehead against the door.

‘Where’s the Xu Feng who could stay holed up in his own room for an entire weekend?’

But no one could answer her, and of course, no one was there to follow up with a “Xiao Fengling is so cute” to respond to her muttering.

So she had no choice but to return to the sofa and pick up the cushion beside her.

It still smelled of Sister Ling Yue…

She buried her face in it again.

Almost the moment she caught the scent, that place began to tighten.

Blushing, she punched the cushion, then angrily cursed.

After cursing, she picked the cushion back up, curled her legs onto the sofa, and huddled into a ball.

‘This is bad… I’m even weirder when she’s not here.’

…

After who knew how long, Ling Yue returned.

At that moment, Feng Ling was lying on the sofa, pretending to be dead with the cushion covering her face.

“Xiao Fengling, I’m back,” Ling Yue said softly.

“How are you back so soon!”

Feng Ling quickly moved the cushion away from her face, eyes wide.

“Soon? I was out for four hours. What did you do at home?”

“Played games.”

Feng Ling lied without changing her expression.

In truth, she had played less than fifteen minutes of games today.

The rest of the time, she had been bouncing between the door, the sofa, and the cushion.

Ling Yue didn’t expose her.

She walked over directly, scooped Feng Ling up from the sofa, leaned down, and rubbed her nose against Feng Ling’s hair.

After rubbing her hair, she moved down behind her ear, stopped there to take a breath, and said, “Xiao Fengling smells a bit better today than this morning… Did you eat the blood steamed egg I made?”

“Yep, both bowls.”

“Mm.”

Ling Yue kissed her forehead, then headed toward the kitchen.

“Bought new ingredients. Tonight, I’ll make you blood moon hotpot… Ah, this is an original recipe of mine~ Please look forward to it!”

“Doesn’t hotpot taste better with a lot of people? Besides, do we blood-kin really need to cook our blood?”

Feng Ling stared at Ling Yue’s back.

“Two people can enjoy it too. Besides, hotpot is very ceremonial. It symbolizes many, many things!”

“Then what are we dipping in?”

Feng Ling asked again.

Hearing this, Ling Yue took a small porcelain jar out of her bag, opened the lid, and let Feng Ling sniff it.

“Secret sauce. Recipe is classified~”

Just that one whiff of the aroma made Feng Ling’s pupils widen slightly.

She didn’t know what it was, but she knew it smelled incredibly fragrant.

“Sister Ling Yue, did you go out for four hours just to buy these?”

“Not only that. I also got something else… but you can see that after dinner.”

Ling Yue said with a smile.

“What’s so mysterious?”

“A gift for a good girl.”

…

When the hotpot was placed on the table and the blood broth was boiling, Feng Ling rested her cheeks in both hands and waited quietly by the table for Sister Ling Yue’s delicious creation.

The red steam rising from the pot carried a peculiar fragrance.

It was a bit like the spicy and numbing flavor of human hotpot, but deeper and more complex.

“Want some tender pieces?”

Ling Yue scooped up a chunk of blood tofu with the ladle.

“Mm-hm!”

Ling Yue then placed the blood tofu into the dish in front of her.

Feng Ling shoved the whole piece into her mouth.

The rich, distinctive flavor of blood was amplified by the spices, and she could even taste beef—real boiled beef flavor!

She must have used magic!

Sister Ling Yue used magic!

Definitely!

“Delicious, delicious, delicious! Sister Ling Yue, you could seriously open a shop with this skill! If blood-kin had a gourmet contest, you’d definitely be the champion!”

“Forget opening a shop. Sister only cooks for Xiao Fengling.”

Ling Yue scooped up another piece and placed it in her dish.

“Eat up. Tonight’s going to be very tiring~”

“…What does that mean?”

Feng Ling still had half a piece of blood tofu in her mouth, but her chewing stopped abruptly at those words.

“It means after the hotpot, Sister is going to take you to the wedding chamber to play the second level. Last time, you managed to endure it, right? That means the first level is no problem for you. So tonight, we’re increasing the difficulty.”

Ling Yue took a sip of blood, and her crimson eyes glowed red.

Suddenly, the blood tofu in Feng Ling’s mouth lost its flavor.

“That ‘something else’ you bought… it’s not for the second level, is it?”

“Smart.”

“Is it too late for me to run now?”

“You can run, but do you think you can get anywhere?”

Ling Yue set down her glass and elegantly wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

Feng Ling looked at the tightly shut door, then at the smiling Ling Yue.

And then, silently, she shoved the second piece of blood tofu into her mouth.

Since she couldn’t escape… she might as well eat her fill first.

After finishing the hotpot, Ling Yue cleared the dishes into the kitchen, while Feng Ling sat on the sofa pretending to play games… but in reality, her character had been standing in the same spot for several minutes, staring into space.

“Hey, Xiao Fengling, are you ready?”

Soon, Ling Yue emerged from the kitchen.

“…Can I say I’m not ready?”

“You can. But saying it won’t change anything.”

Ling Yue lifted her horizontally off the sofa.

Another princess carry—one hand supporting her back, the other hooking under her knees…

As if moving a fragile, obedient piece of luggage.

“Sister Ling Yue, you always make such a ceremony out of entering the toy room. It’s like you’re going to open a new raid in some big game…”

“It is a raid~ Last week was the first level… And today, we challenge the second level. Difficulty increases, but of course, the rewards are better too.”

“What’s the reward?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”