Chapter 20: Lingyue’s Changes

Feng Ling ran at her top speed, her high heels digging unevenly into the dirt path.

She nearly twisted her ankle several times, but she didn’t dare stop.

She had to run… run as far away as possible… to a place where Sister Ling Yue couldn’t find her, then find a way to grow stronger and come back.

Come back and turn her relationship with Sister Ling Yue back into normal lovers.

Feng Ling ran down a slope, and a branch snagged her skirt, tearing a hole in it.

She only glanced down once before continuing to run.

The next second, she saw a mass of blood mist.

That blood mist moved at an absurd speed.

In the blink of an eye, it grew from a tiny speck into a vast, sky-covering expanse.

Feng Ling’s steps suddenly stopped.

She froze in place.

Then Ling Yue stepped out of the blood mist, looked down at Feng Ling, tilted her head, and gave a gentle smile.

“Little Feng Ling runs so fast. I almost couldn’t catch up.”

Feng Ling’s legs were trembling.

She opened her mouth to say something, but her throat felt blocked, and she couldn’t get a single word out.

Ling Yue walked toward her step by step.

Each step was slow, but each one landed right on Feng Ling’s heartbeat.

“You know,” Ling Yue said, stopping in front of her and tidying her windblown hair, “I was just thinking, would little Feng Ling actually manage to get away? And I gave you so many chances… Every time you said you wouldn’t run, every time you wanted me to believe you, and I always tried to believe you.”

She gently rubbed Feng Ling’s soft cheek.

“And what happened?”

“Sister Ling Yue… I… I…”

“Shh.”

Ling Yue pressed her index finger against Feng Ling’s lips.

“Let me finish.”

She withdrew her hand, took a step back, and looked Feng Ling up and down.

Her gaze was like that of someone examining a soiled collectible.

“I left the key on the coffee table to see if you’d take it… and you did. I changed the lock to see if you’d give up… but you didn’t. I sealed your abilities to see if you’d just walk to the door, touch it, and come back—did you think I didn’t know you secretly learned Purification Magic? And you actually purified yourself and ran away.”

“Little Feng Ling, you really… really disappointed me…”

Feng Ling’s whole body was shaking, but she still gritted her teeth and forced the words out.

“Sister Ling Yue… I don’t want to go back.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I won’t go back! I don’t want to be locked up in that castle anymore! I don’t want you grabbing my neck every day, or drinking my blood until I pass out, or being kept like a golden canary in a cage! I like you, I really do, but… but I don’t want to be your thing! I’m a living person! Don’t you understand?”

Feng Ling finally shouted.

Ling Yue listened quietly to the whole speech.

Then she smiled.

“Little Feng Ling, are you done?”

“I-I’m done…”

“Then it’s my turn.”

Ling Yue reached out and grabbed Feng Ling’s neck.

This time, Feng Ling felt her windpipe, esophagus, and blood vessels all being crushed and flattened by that immense force.

At the same time, her cervical vertebrae let out a creaking sound, as if they might snap at any moment.

She instinctively grabbed Ling Yue’s wrist.

But Ling Yue slightly tightened her fingers.

Then tightened them a little more.

Feng Ling’s feet left the ground.

She could only kick uselessly in the air.

Her vision started to go dark, and her ears rang.

“I gave you many chances and forgave you many times.”

But Feng Ling could barely hear the words anymore.

Ling Yue tightened her fingers just a little more.

“But you disappointed me every time.”

By now, Feng Ling’s vision had gone completely black.

She couldn’t see or hear anything.

All that remained was the ever-increasing pressure on her neck and the sensation of her consciousness slipping away like sand.

Then the pressure suddenly vanished.

Feng Ling hit the ground, gasping for air.

Ling Yue crouched down and wiped her tears with her thumb.

“It’s not over yet,” she said with a smile.

Then Ling Yue grabbed Feng Ling by the hair, lifted her off the ground, and started dragging her back.

“S-Sister Ling Yue… it hurts… it hurts…”

Feng Ling was dragged across soil and grass, pulled into the mountain cavern.

Her scalp screamed in pain, and the stones on the ground scraped her back until it was covered in wounds.

Once back inside the cavern, the light dimmed again.

Ling Yue finally let go of her hair, hoisted her over her shoulder, and strode toward the castle.

Feng Ling, draped over Ling Yue’s shoulder, watched the cavern ceiling recede one spot at a time.

Big tears fell silently.

Ling Yue carried her to her bedroom door, kicked it open, and tossed her onto the bed.

“From today on, you are not allowed to leave this room.”

Feng Ling curled up on the bed, trembling, too afraid to speak.

“I’ll bring you food and change your clothes. But if you dare step one foot out of this room…”

She bent down and tapped Feng Ling’s nose with her finger.

“I’ll break your legs. Understood?”

Feng Ling nodded desperately.

Then Ling Yue turned and walked out of the room.

The door closed, followed by the sound of the lock turning.

“Wah… wah wah… wah wah wah…”

Feng Ling curled into a ball and cried.

She had been wrong.

Wrong from the very start.

She thought she could escape—that she could slip through Sister Ling Yue’s fingers.

That she could grow stronger and come back to change her.

But she forgot that Sister Ling Yue was a Progenitor, a vampire who had lived for thousands of years, while she was just a young vampire girl who had been transformed a few months ago.

What made her think she could run from Sister Ling Yue?

Eventually, Feng Ling fell asleep curled up on the bed.

…

Some time later, Ling Yue entered carrying a tray.

On it were a bowl of hot soup, a few slices of bread… and a glass of blood.

She set the tray on the nightstand and reached out to touch Feng Ling’s forehead.

“The fever’s gone. Good.”

Feng Ling flinched slightly but didn’t dare pull away.

Ling Yue’s hand paused on her forehead for two seconds, then she withdrew and turned to leave.

The door was locked again.

Feng Ling hesitated for a moment, looking at the food, then picked it up and ate.

‘Sigh… The food tastes as good as before, but there’s so much less warmth from her than before… It’s my fault for completely disappointing Sister Ling Yue.’

As she ate, the tears started falling again.

…

The following days, Feng Ling remained confined to her room.

Ling Yue brought meals three times a day, but she no longer smiled at her.

That gentle smile from before was gone.

She also stopped saying things like “Little Feng Ling is so cute.”

She would just leave after setting down the food, not saying a single extra word.

At first, Feng Ling tried to talk to her…

“Sister Ling Yue, today’s soup is really delicious!”

But Ling Yue ignored her.

“Sister Ling Yue, I had a dream last night. We were shopping together!”

Still, Ling Yue ignored her.

“Sister Ling Yue… I’m sorry… I really know I was wrong…”

At that, Ling Yue paused.

Feng Ling’s heart raced.

She thought Ling Yue was finally going to respond, to say something—even just a “shut up” would have been fine.

But Ling Yue only paused for two seconds before walking away.