Chapter 29: The Enhanced Birdcage

Of course, all of this was just the surface.

Beneath the mask of “good little baby Xu Fengling,” the real her had always been quietly searching for an opportunity to escape…

She occasionally observed the castle’s structure when Ling Yue went up to the third floor.

Which windows were sealed shut, which ones had a view of the outside, which corridors led where, what kind of lock the main door had, and whether there was a spare key.

She also secretly tested Ling Yue’s perception range during game breaks.

For example, while Ling Yue was in the kitchen, she would sneak a few steps toward the main door, just to see if Ling Yue would react.

And the result was that she did.

Every time Feng Ling got within a certain distance of the main door, Ling Yue would poke her head out of the kitchen and ask with a smile, “Little Feng Ling, where are you going?”

Though the tone was gentle, Feng Ling could hear the warning in it, so she immediately caved: “N-no! I was just getting up to stretch. My back hurts from playing games too long!”

“Oh, then go back and sit down once you’re done stretching.”

“Okay!”

Then Feng Ling obediently returned to the sofa.

Afterward, she made a mental note.

Ling Yue’s perception range covered roughly the entire first floor… As long as she came within 3 meters of the main door, Ling Yue would notice right away.

She also secretly observed Ling Yue’s expression when Ling Yue combed her hair.

Ling Yue was always focused when combing, her movements gentle.

Feng Ling could feel the comb sliding across her scalp and the temperature of Ling Yue’s fingers passing through her hair…

Fingers…

Those fingers…

They were pretty cold, but for some reason, they didn’t disgust her as much.

Then she suddenly realized something…

She had just thought that Ling Yue’s fingers weren’t disgusting!

What the hell was that?

Ling Yue had used those fingers—the ones Feng Ling didn’t find disgusting—to kill Feng Ling!

How could she still think those fingers weren’t disgusting?

Feng Ling scolded herself severely in her mind.

But that feeling was absolutely real…

She couldn’t control it.

Just like she couldn’t control her heart racing when Ling Yue got close…

And that racing wasn’t just fear; it was a little—or a lot—of something else.

But she didn’t dare to dig deeper into what that something was, because she knew that once she acknowledged that feeling, she would be truly doomed.

…

That afternoon, Ling Yue approached Feng Ling and said, “I need to take care of some things on the third floor. It’ll take about half an hour. Little Feng Ling needs to be good, okay~?”

“Okay, okay! Go ahead, Sister Ling Yue!”

Feng Ling watched Ling Yue’s figure disappear up the stairs, then pricked up her ears and listened to her footsteps growing fainter until she couldn’t hear them anymore.

Then she jumped off the sofa.

A golden opportunity!

She walked quickly to the door and examined it carefully.

The lock had been changed—completely different from what she remembered.

In the last cycle, she could still open it with a key, but this time even the keyhole shape had changed… And fine runes were carved into the door handle.

Feng Ling crouched down to look.

Those were Blood Clan script; she could only recognize a few of them… Probably meaning “seal” and “forbidden” or something like that.

In other words, this door wasn’t just physically locked—it was magically reinforced as well.

So she reached out and carefully touched the door handle.

The moment her fingertip touched the metal, a sharp pain shot through her.

“Hiss—”

She quickly pulled her hand back and saw a burn mark on her finger…

It was healing at a visible rate.

Well, physical plus magical double lockdown.

How nice.

Sister Ling Yue was really afraid she’d run away.

Next, Feng Ling went to check the windows.

Mhm…

The big window in the living room was completely sealed shut.

Same for the study window and the small window at the end of the hallway…

She even snuck into the guest room, which she had never entered before, and that window was sealed too.

Every single window was tightly sealed, and behind the glass, iron bars engraved with magical runes had been installed at some point.

As for the only exit—the main door—only Ling Yue could open it.

What to do?

She couldn’t use teleportation magic, and Sister Ling Yue wouldn’t let her learn it.

What about smashing through a wall?

No, that would bring Ling Yue running.

Feng Ling leaned against the hallway wall, stared up at the ceiling, and let out a dry laugh: “Ha… haha… I’m screwed…”

Completely screwed.

The castle’s defenses were even tighter than in the last cycle, not leaving her even a single chance.

“Really… too professional… Sister Ling Yue…”

In the end, Feng Ling shook her head with a bitter smile.

Just then, she heard footsteps coming from the stairs.

She immediately dashed back to the living room, sat down on the sofa, and grabbed the Switch beside her, pretending to be absorbed in a game.

“Little Feng Ling, big sister is back~!”

By the time Ling Yue walked into the living room, Feng Ling happened to have “just” beaten a boss and was cheering.

“Yay! Finally cleared it! Woo-hoo! Hahaha!”

“What game is that?”

Ling Yue asked curiously.

“The one from last time! There was a boss I’d been stuck on for days, and I finally beat it today!”

Feng Ling held up the screen to show her.

Though she had no idea what she had just been playing…

She hadn’t even pressed the buttons much.

“Impressive.”

Ling Yue smiled and tousled her hair.

Feng Ling let her do it obediently, a cheerful smile on her face.

“By the way, Sister Ling Yue, what did you do on the third floor today?”

She asked casually.

“Nothing much, just organizing some old stuff.”

Ling Yue answered lightly.

“Oh… What kind of old stuff?”

“Is Little Feng Ling curious?”

“A… a little…”

Ling Yue tilted her head, and the corner of her mouth slowly curved up.

“Secret.”

“…Fine.”

Feng Ling didn’t press further.

But she made a mental note of this.

Old stuff on the third floor…

There must be something important in that “private area”…

One day, she would go up to the third floor and take a look.

But not now.

She was still too weak, and Ling Yue was watching too closely…

So she needed to wait for a perfect opportunity.

Until then, Feng Ling would continue being Sister Ling Yue’s good little baby.

…

That night, after Ling Yue finished combing her hair as usual, instead of letting her go to sleep, she gently traced Feng Ling’s neck with her fingers and asked softly, “Hey, Little Feng Ling, did you secretly go to the main door today?”

Those words made Feng Ling’s heart pound.

She forced herself to calm down and replied, “N-no, I didn’t…”

“Really?”

“Really…”

“Little Feng Ling, I’ve told you many times—I don’t like it when people lie to me.”

Then Ling Yue pressed her fingertips slightly…

She wasn’t squeezing, just pressing, but Feng Ling could still feel the sting of nails against her skin.

“I… I was just curious about what the door looked like…”

“Curious?”

“Mm… I’d never really looked at it closely… I just wanted to see… It’s so boring in here…”

Ling Yue was silent for a few seconds, then laughed and said, “So that’s how it is. Little Feng Ling just wanted to look at the door, not try to run away, right?”

“Right, right, right! Definitely not trying to run!”

“Good then…”

Ling Yue let go and continued, “Little Feng Ling, remember this… This castle is your home, and I am your family. Nothing out there belongs to you. You just need to stay by my side. That’s enough.”

Then she leaned down and kissed Feng Ling on the forehead.

“Mm? Understand?”

“Yes… I understand, Sister Ling Yue…”

“Be good~”

Ling Yue laid her down on the bed and tucked her in.

“But next time you want to ‘look at the door,’ you can ask me to come with you. Don’t go sneaking off alone—I’ll worry.”

Her smile in the darkness was especially gentle and warm.

“After all, it’s so dangerous out there… right?”

As she spoke, Ling Yue closed the door to Feng Ling’s room.

Feng Ling lay in bed, staring intently at the ceiling.

Of course she knew what Sister Ling Yue’s words meant… Every gentle sentence hid a knife underneath.

So this was Ye Lingyue… This was her Sister Ling Yue.

Feng Ling turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

Mm…

The pillow smelled of Ling Yue.

And then, for reasons she couldn’t explain, she took a deep breath.

‘Am I sick?’

She muttered to herself in the dark.