Feng Ling’s body reacted before her brain could.
Her feet automatically retreated, her back pressed against the wall, and her heart rate hit that critical point in that instant.
With every step closer the footsteps came, she pressed herself tighter against the wall.
‘Relax… relax…’
She pinched her thigh hard again, using the pain to forcefully drag her attention away from the fear.
‘Take a deep breath… then just act however I need to… no need to overact, just like before… don’t let Sister Ling Yue notice any flaws… talk less, react slower…’
At that moment, the door opened.
“Good morning, Xiao Fengling…”
Ling Yue’s voice paused for a second after taking in the state of the room.
Her gaze landed on the four fresh claw marks on the door, then shifted to Feng Ling standing in the corner.
“You’re awake? Why are you up so early today?”
She tilted her head and asked.
“I… had a nightmare.”
Feng Ling’s voice was a bit hoarse, which just happened to explain the redness in her eyes.
But she didn’t dare say too much, afraid that the tremor in her voice would reveal more.
“Nightmare? What nightmare?”
Ling Yue entered the room carrying a tray with a glass of blood and a small plate of blood-based pastries.
Feng Ling stared intently at the glass of blood…
This wasn’t ordinary blood…
More complex than that, with an indescribable floral scent and a familiar aura.
‘Is it Ling Yue’s blood?’
“Forgot… I remembered it when I just woke up, but now it’s all gone.”
Feng Ling tried to keep her voice steady, and also made an effort to lower her pitch.
Ling Yue placed the tray on the bedside table, then walked over to her, bent down, and gently wiped the tear stains from her eye with her thumb.
“Crying? Why are you crying?”
“The nightmare was too scary… you know, the kind that you still remember after waking up, and feels so real…”
Ling Yue stared into her eyes for a few seconds.
Those black pupils behind the contact lenses seemed to be searching for something.
Feng Ling forced herself not to look away first, as that would make the other person suspicious.
“Xiao Fengling’s scent today… is a bit different.”
When Ling Yue withdrew her hand, her fingertips paused on her cheek.
“It seems to have become stronger.”
“Really? Maybe… maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep well.”
“Hmm… is that so?”
Fortunately, Ling Yue didn’t press further.
She just smiled lightly and sat back down on the chair by the bed.
Then she picked up the glass of blood and handed it to Feng Ling.
“Come, enjoy your breakfast first. I guarantee today’s blood is delicious~”
However, Feng Ling’s hand trembled slightly the moment it touched the glass.
But she quickly used both hands to hold the bottom of the glass, pretending she had done that because it was hot… even though her movement was very small.
The surface of the blood in the glass rippled slightly.
The sweet aroma mixed with Ling Yue’s scent rushed straight to her nose, causing her throat to tighten abruptly.
‘Thirsty… so thirsty…’
Every drop of blood in her body screamed for this crimson liquid.
At the same time, her fangs began to extend uncontrollably, her gums itched slightly, and her saliva production doubled instantly.
‘No… can’t rush… absolutely cannot rush…’
She brought the glass to her lips and took slow, small sips.
The moment the blood touched her tongue, a wave of pleasure exploded from her taste buds like an electric current, shooting down her nervous system toward her jaw.
At the same time, something deep in her consciousness wriggled…
It reminded her that this was nowhere near enough, that she needed to draw it directly from a living creature!
Then her eyes flickered toward Ling Yue’s neck for a split second before forcibly looking away.
Though the glance was brief, she knew Ling Yue must have noticed, because the latter’s lips curled slightly when she looked away.
“Xiao Fengling is thirstier than usual today, isn’t she?”
Ling Yue asked with a smile.
“It’s okay.”
Feng Ling placed the empty glass back on the tray, then forcibly swallowed the intense urge surging in her mouth with saliva.
“You’re obviously thirsty, why didn’t you say so?”
Ling Yue tilted her head and looked at her, tapping the side of her own neck lightly with her fingers.
At that moment, two options popped up simultaneously in Feng Ling’s mind.
Option A was to say ‘I want your blood’…
That meant she would be inviting Ling Yue near her neck, and it could very well replay a scene she didn’t want to relive.
Option B was to say ‘I’m not thirsty,’ lying to Ling Yue, but lying was easily seen through, and being caught would give the other party more reason to come over on her own.
So in the end, she chose C.
“Today… I am a bit thirsty. Wait a moment, I’ll go get the spare cup from the fridge myself, so I won’t trouble Sister Ling Yue.”
After saying that, Feng Ling quickly stood up and took a step toward the door.
But before she could even touch the door, a hand wrapped around her waist, lifted her into the air, and gently placed her back on the bed.
The moment her back touched the sheets, Ling Yue had already straddled her, pressing down on her, hands planted on the sheets beside her ears.
“Alright, before that, come and satisfy me first…”
Ling Yue said as she leaned down, her long hair falling to envelop both their faces in the same shadowed space.
‘Heh… as expected, Sister Ling Yue being so agreeable comes with a price…’
‘Then all I need to do now is endure and not have too strong a physical reaction while she sucks my blood.’
The next second, she quickly grabbed Ling Yue’s shoulders and voluntarily tilted her throat back, exposing the line of her carotid artery to her.
Then Ling Yue lowered her head and sank her fangs into the side of her neck.
The moment the blood was drawn, what flooded her mind wasn’t just dizziness, but also that damnable sense of satisfaction.
It flowed directly from the neck into the chest… from the chest down to the tailbone…
At the same time, she wanted to clamp her legs together, but she held back, only tightening her grip a bit more, even though it caused her nails to uncontrollably dig into Ling Yue’s shoulder.
Ling Yue sucked for a while before raising her head and licking the bloodstain from the corner of her mouth.
“Xiao Fengling’s blood really is thicker today… Mm… the power mixed in it is nearly double what it was yesterday~”
Feng Ling lay there panting, staring at the ceiling chandelier, waiting for the reaction in her body to subside on its own.
Hearing Ling Yue’s words, she asked softly, “Really? Does that mean I’ve gotten stronger again?”
“Mm, you’ve gotten a lot stronger. But…”
Ling Yue tapped her nose with her index finger, “Compared to me, there’s still a gap of several hundred years~”
“I know… I never thought of fighting you…”
‘That’s the truth.’
She really couldn’t beat Ling Yue now, and might never be able to in this lifetime.
And winning against Ling Yue had never been her goal.
Her goal was to leave this castle.
In the last reincarnation, she mistakenly thought that as long as she was completely obedient, she could survive, but ended up dying even more horribly than the time before…
This time, she wouldn’t make the same mistake.
She would neither run away nor submit.
In other words… she needed to find a third path.
“By the way, Xiao Fengling, is there anything special you want to do today?”
Ling Yue sat on the edge of the bed watching her straighten her clothes and asked softly.
“I want to practice my speed.”
Feng Ling blurted out.
But she regretted it immediately after saying it.
‘She shouldn’t reveal any progress in her abilities in front of Ling Yue… because that’s basically voluntarily handing over her potential bargaining chips.’
“Speed?”
Ling Yue tilted her head and looked at her.
“It’s just that after waking up just now, I felt my body was especially light, so I tried it and found I could fly a long distance in one go. But I don’t have good control yet; I even bumped into the wall over there.”
Feng Ling pointed at the small dent on the wall at the other end of the room, adding in as flat a tone as possible.
“So you want to practice control?”
“What else? If I accidentally knock over something valuable while walking in the castle one day, I can’t afford to pay for it.”
Feng Ling deliberately made her tone sound casual and indifferent.
Ling Yue stared at her for a moment, then stood up with a smile and said, “Then after breakfast, I’ll accompany you to the training ground to practice.”