Chapter 172: (Extra 3)

After Countess Garcia’s ball, the Duke’s castle housed a blood donor.

“She’s just a c-level!” This sentence was said by different vampires with different tones, incredulous, suspicious, and sour.

Later, some speculated that this beautiful yet inferior blood donor would soon be drained of blood and become fertilizer under the roses. Some vampires initiated a vote, with the “fertilizer” option occupying 90% of the total votes—

The remaining 10% were from nobles who had seen the blood donor in person, and they viciously remarked in the “other” section: the blood donor was somewhat attractive, and might be made into a specimen.

Song Pianxian didn’t quite understand all of this, and even if she did, she didn’t care—she was about to start her honeymoon officially and had no time to deal with NPC jealousy.

On the night of the full moon, she was first bitten by the Duke, and unsurprisingly fainted on the spot under the endless pleasure.

When she woke up again, she was already in the master bedroom of the castle, the curtains blocking out the sunlight tightly, the Duke sitting in a high-backed chair, reading heavy Western books under a desk lamp.

Seeing Song Pianxian wake up, the Duke closed the book, raised her face wearing a monocle, delicate gold chains hanging from her face, elegant and noble, enchanting.

Goodwin walked to the bedside, leaning down to give her a good morning kiss.

“Good morning.”

Song Pianxian naturally responded, and as they separated, she asked in confusion, “Don’t you need to feed?”

Goodwin brushed aside her chestnut-colored long hair, caressing the side of her neck, where her fangs had pierced, now fully healed.

“You can’t endure it,” she reassured her blood donor.

Song Pianxian shrugged, not insisting.

The relationship between the two was like their conversation, transitioning seamlessly from strangers to familiarity without any need for transition. In the eyes of the servants and guests in the castle, it was almost indulgence on the Duke’s part towards the blood donor— they wouldn’t use the word “love,” how could the Duke fall in love with a blood donor.

Living together with humans and vampires had many differences, such as Song Pianxian needing three meals a day, while Goodwin would feed on her blood every other day, usually using blood bags provided by the chief guard.

When Song Pianxian inquired about the origin of the blood bags, the chief guard was also unaware, only knowing that a large number of blood bags were sealed in the ice room, and since Goodwin often slept for years, the food consumption was slow, and there were still plenty left.

For example, sunlight was the natural enemy of vampires, while humans inherently longed for it.

When Goodwin received guests in the study, Song Pianxian would accompany a steward who possessed both human and vampire bloodlines and was not afraid of sunlight for a walk in the garden.

Bathed in the soft sunlight, Song Pianxian walked along the edge of the castle, circling half, from the clusters of roses to the lilac woods. In the brilliant sunlight, the golden lilacs were beautiful beyond words.

She vaguely saw a delicate treehouse inside.

Before Song Pianxian entered the woods, the steward stopped her, “Please stop, Lord Goodwin never allows anyone else to enter this forest.”

The steward’s tone was tinged with disdain and impatience, using respectful language but without a hint of respect.

Vampires were proud creatures, even if only half-vampires, this steward seemed to look down on ordinary humans.

Song Pianxian glanced at him indifferently, turned around, and did not insist.

After all, the attitude of the steward’s service was one thing, but their admiration and loyalty to Goodwin were beyond doubt. Since he said so, it must be a restriction set by Goodwin.

As Song Pianxian returned to the castle, the Duke’s chief guard hurried out of the study and said to the steward in front of Song Pianxian:

“You are expelled, starting today you are not allowed to stay in the inner city.”

The steward’s face turned pale immediately.

Watching this scene unfold, Song Pianxian seemed pensive, it seemed that even when she was outside, Goodwin was always “watching” her.

The chief guard looked at the human standing quietly before him with awe. This human was weak and harmless, even gentle and polite to others, never getting angry—yes, she hadn’t done anything, but the Duke would clear all obstacles for her, and today’s expulsion of the steward was a clear statement.

From now on, no one would dare to offend her.

That night, after the Duke personally led Vanessa into the forbidden area of the castle, all the idle gossip about the blood donor within the castle disappeared.

“…The Lord has been too kind to her this past month, she eats and lives with the Lord, and even calls the Lord by name, truly disregarding the difference in status.”

As the young steward helped lift the coffin lid and whispered complaints, he respectfully assisted the vampire in the coffin and suggested:

“Lord Walk, do you intend to speak to the Lord? The Lord will be pleased when you wake up, and maybe… “

The vampire who had just risen from the coffin stretched his stiff muscles and curiously asked:

“Why should I interfere when the Lord has finally found a new love? Besides, who am I to interfere?”

The young steward was choked and couldn’t catch his breath, looking at the steward, who was the Duke’s most trusted, with disbelief at his behavior. How could the Lord have such a style? But calling the new food ingredient a new love was a strange idiosyncrasy… The young steward’s mind was filled with doubts.

Blackthorne Walk looked at him, “Do you know why I’ve been by the Duke’s side for thousands of years and still alive?”

The young steward shook his head stiffly.

Walk grinned, “Because I mind my own business.”

After successfully scaring the young steward into silence, Walk felt refreshed and felt like he could immediately devour three servings of the special spicy hotpot from the inner city.

He woke up in the middle of the night and walked to the nearest window, sighing:

“The lilacs are still in full bloom.”

Unlike the other blood vampire stewards in the castle, Walk was the only one who had accompanied the Duke for thousands of years, and his reputation among the vampires was not inferior to that of the counts.

A human maid gestured to Song Pianxian: “…The steward, Walk, who recently woke up on duty, is said to know many past events. Once, when he was drunk, he said that all the lilacs should be cut down. After the Duke heard about it, he sealed him in a coffin for three hundred years to let him sober up.”

Song Pianxian glanced at the lilacs below. Lilacs belong to the butterfly family. The golden petals are symmetrical ovals, particularly pleasing. After staying in the castle for more than a month, Song Pianxian had become accustomed to the presence of the lilacs. She didn’t understand why Walk would say such things for no reason, and why Goodwin would be angry.

Song Pianxian wasn’t defending the lilacs, but rather, in this month, she and Qinglu had done everything they should and shouldn’t do. Their feelings and beauty continued to rise, and they got along well as food and guest.

The blood stewards in the castle were obedient, and the human servants secretly cheered for her every day, witnessing the “Vampire Duke’s infatuation with the little blood donor,” excited beyond belief.

The peaceful and comfortable daily life made Song Pianxian feel lazy, but the progress of the instance did not advance much, and the theme she set for the instance had not yet appeared.

Now that she had finally caught a special supporting role, Song Pianxian immediately decided to see Walk. She smiled slightly at the human maid and said, “I’d like to see him.”

After waking up, Blackthorne Walk went to see the Duke first.

When the Duke saw him, she took off her monocular and placed it on the table, pressing down the yellowed pages of the book.

“You woke up just in time,” Goodwin looked in a good mood, “You will handle the initiation ceremony.”

Walk didn’t expect a major event to happen as soon as he met. He was shocked and speculated, “For the blood donor… no, Lady Vanessa?”

This was the first time he had referred to the human Vanessa with a title of respect. It could only be said that Walk was truly the Duke’s right-hand man. The Duke seemed even more satisfied with him after this sentence, nodding, “Yes. You go prepare, I’ll talk to her.”

Sure enough, Walk licked his lips. He understood that in the Duke’s heart, humans were not a lowly race. Worldly hierarchical views could not constrain her soul and actions. Her behavior was bound to cause a stir among the vampires, but undoubtedly, no one could influence the Duke’s decisions.

However, no matter how much he tried to please the nobles or how promising the emerging blood vampires were, the Duke had never embraced anyone before. It was surprising that she made the decision to embrace a blood donor so quickly. Even though Walk knew that blood donors were highly favored, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

What kind of strong emotion could make the Duke, who had just enjoyed delicious food for a month, decide to turn the fragrant food into cold-blooded kin?

If it were him, he wouldn’t want to turn milk tea, fried chicken, hot pot, barbecue, and ice cream into kin. He wouldn’t be able to eat them, so what’s the point of extending their shelf life?

The only explanation was that the Duke had developed other emotional entanglements with humans. Before Walk could think deeply about it, the chief steward knocked on the door.

“Duke, Miss Vanessa’s servant seeks an audience.”

Goodwin grunted, and Walk noticed that the Duke’s usual cold expression softened slightly when the name “Vanessa” was mentioned.

The servant came in and bowed, saying, “My Lord, Miss Vanessa wishes to see Steward Walk.”

Walk raised an eyebrow.

Goodwin glanced at Walk and pondered, “If she wants to see you, then go. I’ll personally talk to her about the initiation.”

Walk understood and said, “Yes, my Lord.”

Song Pianxian received Blackthorne Walk in the reception room.

Vampires were immortal, and even though Walk, who held a high position among the stewards, appeared to be in his prime, his body was straight. However, at the moment he finished his bow and looked up to meet Song Pianxian’s gaze, his eyes were filled with astonishment.

This was triggering the plot. Song Pianxian remained calm and asked, after dismissing the others:

“Why are you looking at me like that, Steward? I don’t understand. Are you questioning my blood level?”

Walk opened his mouth, then suddenly lowered his head again. “I didn’t mean to offend, Lady Vanessa.”

The NPC deliberately avoided, but Song Pianxian wouldn’t let it go. She pressed on: “Why is that?”

Walk licked his dry lips, avoiding her gaze. “It’s just that Madam’s face is extremely similar to a human girl I’ve seen before.”

“You’ve seen her before? In what capacity did she appear before you?” Song Pianxian hit the heart of the matter with her direct question.

Walker dared not to not answer the questions of this highly favored human:

“She… She was the Duke’s previous blood food, and she was the only human the Duke had fed on before you. After her, the Duke only used your blood.”

Walk knelt down. “Madam, please don’t ask anymore. I am the loyal servant of the Duke and cannot reveal certain things without her permission.”

Song Pianxian paused and leaned back in the chair.

The only human the vampire had ever fed on, and with an extremely similar appearance to her own. It felt like déjà vu of White Moonlight and the substitute. Perhaps this was the “plot branch point” written in the script, where players could achieve different endings through different responses.

Players whose consciousness was shielded would choose how to respond in this situation, depending entirely on their character and their fondness for vampires. Since Song Pianxian hadn’t lost her consciousness, she could rely on reason—

She didn’t intend to follow the cliché plot of the substitute White Moonlight; she could already imagine that it was likely to end up being a tragic romance of being trapped in a dark room and forced to feed on blood, only to resolve the misunderstanding in the end. Since it was a honeymoon, she naturally wanted to follow the sweet route.

Song Pianxian went straight to the point and continued questioning NPC Walker, choosing her words carefully. “If the steward can’t reveal it directly, where else should I look for answers?” Since Walk couldn’t say directly, he should at least give her a clear direction.

Walker gritted his teeth, stood up, and looked towards the window.

Song Pianxian followed his gaze.

“Have you been to that treehouse?”

The treehouse.

After dining with Goodwin, Song Pianxian took a candlestick and went alone to the elderberry forest. She walked on creaking wooden stairs and arrived at the door of the treehouse, opening the sturdy wooden door briskly.

Walk’s words echoed in her mind: “There is an elderberry cluster in the treehouse. You should go see it.”

Moonlight seeped through the cracks in the wood and illuminated the room, casting a golden glow on the elderberry leaves that slipped in. This place had been neglected for a long time, with decaying wood and pervasive dust, like stardust rising after a cosmic explosion.

Inside, there were only simple wooden furnishings. Song Pianxian effortlessly found the elderberry as mentioned by Walk on the wooden table.

It was contained in a long-necked glass bottle tinted with a blue hue. Time had turned it into a yellowish dried flower, losing its color but gaining immortality.

Song Pianxian reached out, her fingertips touching this quest item—

In the moment of contact, the dried flower shattered into brownish wisps before her eyes, dissipating into the light.

A faint click sounded, as if rusty gears were turning again, and Song Pianxian’s consciousness twisted along with it—

Hidden behind the story, the intelligent system controlling the entire plot implanted new data chapters in her mind. Thus, Song Pianxian understood that she had traveled back a thousand years, opening another timeline.

A thousand years ago, the vast human empire had not yet fallen. The empire was known as the Empire of Light. A large number of vampire hunters expelled vampires from human cities, and ten years later, due to the greed for resources in the deep forest and the breeding of arrogant attitudes, the peace agreement was unilaterally torn apart. Vampire hunters were dispatched again to form an army to hunt down vampires.

Song Pianxian’s identity was the illegitimate daughter of a duke and a prostitute. She was abandoned to be raised by an old servant in the forest, and after the servant’s death, no one remembered her. She lived alone in a wooden house in the forest.

When Song Pianxian arrived, there were reports from the front lines. The third squad of vampire hunters successfully killed the aristocratic vampires of the Goodwin Family, impaling over fifty vampires on silver crosses. Unfortunately, the only ancient vampire fled with severe injuries under the protection of her kin.

The escape direction of the ancient vampire was within the Empire of Light, and this news spread throughout the empire along with a bounty.

Song Pianxian noticed that her current identity was called Selena, Selena Jones.

This data chapter was extremely generous, almost presenting the entire story in front of Song Pianxian like a complete narrative novel. Song Pianxian read it carefully, word by word.

The system inquired, “You can choose to return to the main storyline now or experience the side storyline quickly. Special note: While you experience the side storyline, the main storyline time flow will pause.”

Song Pianxian asked, “How long is the side storyline?”

“The side storyline is presented in important node fragments, expected to take about half an hour.”

Understanding that it’s the length of a short film, Song Pianxian made her choice: “Experience the side storyline.”

Song Pianxian held some interest in this fabricated past based on the theme. Having already finished the text version, since it wouldn’t take much time, she wanted to see the visual presentation—

The girl Selena and the ancient vampire Goodwin.

“Preparing to start the storyline experience.”

• Act One –

A wild boar rushed into the forest, and the chestnut-haired girl Selena fled in panic. Blocked by a stream, she found a vampire standing beside it.

Silver crosses and silver-plated arrows were deeply embedded in the vampire’s back, with the sunlight burning holes of various sizes in her body, making her look like overcooked meat, seemingly completely dead.

The sight of the terrifying vampire frightened the girl, who screamed, attracting the wild boar while also waking up the vampire, who was barely alive and unconscious.

Perhaps it was a random act before the vampire’s death, or perhaps it was the rare expression of reluctance and pity in the human girl’s eyes, the vampire slowly pulled out the silver arrow from her back, disregarding the bloody wound, and threw the arrow with her last strength.

The wild boar fell under the vampire’s attack, and the vampire, looking at the dumbfounded human girl, fell unconscious again, her condition unknown.

The girl looked at the vampire’s hand corroded by the silver arrow, pursed her lips, took off her cloak, and covered the vampire’s body with it, struggling to carry her back to her tree house.

• Act Two –

The girl carefully covered the tree house roof with thatch and old blankets, making sure no light could enter and hurt the vampire inside.

She dared not seek a doctor, but fortunately, the vampire had fallen into a healing sleep. The wounds on her body began to shrink, and new flesh grew out, much to Selena’s relief.

She quietly cleaned the filth off the vampire’s body and, seeing that they appeared to be of similar age, Selena found a set of newly made clothes and replaced her severely damaged attire—

On the gown’s shoulder, she saw the emblem of the thorny rose. Selena was startled; it seemed she had saved a noble vampire.

• Act Three –

Selena exchanged some milk from the ranch. After half a month, the vampire’s wounds had almost healed. She guessed that the vampire might wake up soon. Milk was nutritious, although it was difficult to preserve. Selena thought as she opened the door to the wooden house—

She was swept into the embrace of the vampire, who buried her head in her neck and fiercely sank her sharp fangs in.

After repairing her body, the vampire craved blood intensely. She had never been willing to use human blood before, always finding it repulsive, but the blood of the girl before her was incredibly sweet, reminiscent of the rich yet unattainable light, the first ray of sunlight in the treetops.

The warm blood flowed slowly down the vampire’s throat, into her limbs and body. The vampire’s frenzy for blood was soothed, and rationality returned. The first thing she did was pull her teeth out of the girl’s flesh.

Selena fell ill; humans who had too much blood sucked by vampires at once would feel weak, lethargic, and need some time to recover.

The vampire, still a girl, stood awkwardly in the treehouse, looking at Selena’s pale face on the bed. If she could bear sunlight, she might have left the treehouse out of shame.

It was Selena who comforted her instead: “It’s not your fault; it’s your instinct. And I’m fine. This is just a minor illness; I’ll recover soon.”

Selena always seemed perpetually positive, warm, and optimistic.

The noble vampire standing by the bed had a delicate face and noble demeanor. Her emerald-like eyes blinked as she muttered gloomily, “You’re sick. What can I do to make you better?”

Selena thought for a moment: “Pour me a glass of milk.”

Selena smiled as she leaned against the bed and watched the noble vampire girl awkwardly pick up the porcelain jar and pour the milky liquid into the bowl.

In the end, Selena drank all the milk she had prepared for the patient herself.

• Act Four –

Even after Selena recovered, she continued to feed the vampire with her own blood.

During ordinary times, no one would come to this remote and abandoned forest. The vampire hadn’t fully recovered its strength yet, and during the time spent in the forest, the two lived very comfortably. The only thing that could constrain the vampire was sunlight.

Selena and the vampire chatted about everything under the sun. The vampire enjoyed hearing the human girl talk about things she had never heard of before, especially about daylight. So the girl talked about how comfortable it was to lie on a tree and bask in the sun during winter, making one feel lazy all over. She talked about how abundant the abelia blossomed in spring, sometimes shedding all its green leaves, leaving only brilliant golden flower strings, painting the sky a golden hue.

That night, candles were lit in the tree house. The vampire looked at human books while the girl slipped out and brought back a bunch of abelia, glowing like golden sunshine, for the sun-yearning vampire.

The candlelight flickered, and the abelia shone with gold.

The human girl and the vampire girl exchanged a timid kiss.

• Act Five –

The vampire hunters arrived.

Goodwin’s first-generation vampire had already caused quite a stir among the vampire hunters before maturing. If she were to mature, the consequences would be unimaginable. The imperial knights, along with the hunters, swept across the entire empire, leaving no stone unturned, and finally found the scent of the vampire near the remote forest.

The owner of the forest, Duke Jones, was also a commanding general. He was furious to learn that the vile vampires dared to touch his territory and saw it as a provocation. He personally led the vampire hunters to hunt down the vampires.

But the vampire’s growth rate far exceeded their imagination. Due to the Duke’s arrogance and underestimation, the hunters and guards around him fell one by one, leaving only him and the chief guard.

He trembled inwardly, pretending to negotiate to deceive the powerful and cold vampire. He signaled the chief guard hiding in the distance to ambush. The chief guard pulled the bowstring taut and released it suddenly, sending a silver arrow whistling toward the vampire’s heart—

A petite figure rushed out and took the fatal silver arrow meant for the vampire.

• Act Six –

After executing Duke Jones, who had shouted, “This little beast should have been strangled at birth,” the vampire took the girl back into the deep forest.

She gathered a group of hiding vampires and came to the castle hidden in the jungle where Goodwin was. It was for recuperation, gathering manpower, and preparing for the upcoming war.

Selena was the only human in the castle. Many vampires were itching to do something, but soon no one dared to have any ideas—Selena Goodwin, the only survivor of the Goodwin Family, who inherited the title of Duchess, was officially renamed Selena Goodwin.

“You have given me two lives.” Goodwin knelt on one knee in front of the human, kissing the back of her left hand. “The surname Goodwin and your name are my eternal faith.”

The petite girl leaned against the head of the bed, smiling at the vampire.

Goodwin, still a girl, asked her, “Do you hate me?”

“Why should I hate you?” Selena was puzzled.

Goodwin lowered her gaze. “I killed your father, Duke Jones.”

“That was the first time I saw him too.” Selena’s tone was casual.

The two fell silent for a while.

“I brought you to the castle. There are no others of your kind here. You will be lonely, and your wanted posters cover the city. You cannot go back.”

Selena stuck out her tongue. “Humans… I sheltered a vampire. My kind must hate me.”

Goodwin fell silent again. She looked quite dejected, even guilty.

Selena leaned forward, cradling the vampire’s head in her arms, and sighed softly.

“Well, to be honest, I want to be with you.”

“Goodwin, I have always been superfluous, inconspicuous, and ignored. I am like the forest, an abandoned existence. Without any accidents, I would have grown old with the forest, decayed together. But you appeared—only you need me.”

Selena gently pulled open her collar, revealing her milky-white neck, looking at the vampire, and chuckled.

“My body is already healed. Are you hungry?”

Only you made me realize my irreplaceable value.

There was anticipation in Selena’s eyes.

Goodwin pressed against her vein, obediently accepting her feeding.

• Act Seven –

With the efforts of the empire’s nobles and the assistance of the vampires, the Bright Empire collapsed from within. From prosperity to decay took only ten years, but for the long-lived vampires, it was just a brief period of sleep.

The first-generation vampire, Duke Goodwin, matured completely within ten years. She single-handedly caused the collapse of the crumbling empire. The king knelt at her feet, offering all his wealth in exchange for eternal life. The duke beheaded him with a single stroke—

Goodwin never forgot that it was this emperor who signed Selena’s wanted poster.

Empire’s wanted posters were irrelevant to vampires, but to human compatriots, they were proof of expulsion and hatred by the group.

She knew Selena was upset about this matter.

Humans and vampires rarely reached a peaceful coexistence, and this time was no exception. Vampires drove humans into the vampire district, where thorn roses spread across the fertile central and southern regions, while white roses bloomed everywhere.

Blackus Walk, the steward of the vampires, sighed as he plucked a rose, “The duke never hated humans—if humans hadn’t abandoned Selena, perhaps under the rule of Duke Goodwin, vampires would have ushered in an era of equality with humans.”

• Act Eight –

The back garden of the castle was filled with abelias dug up from the abandoned forest.

In front of Selena’s terrace, white roses always bloomed in anger.

When Goodwin went out to battle, the white roses guarded her humans. All vampires knew that the room with the terrace full of white roses was inviolable, representing the duke’s dignity. Those who touched it died.

But Selena still fell ill. The pure silver arrow from the silver crossbow she took for the vampires left hidden wounds on her body. Being frequently fed upon by vampires also harmed humans. Doctors were powerless.

After learning this, Goodwin refused to feed on Selena’s blood again but couldn’t bear other human blood, so she replaced it with animal blood.

Goodwin proposed to sire Selena, but Selena refused.

While seemingly compliant to Goodwin, Selena secretly approached Blackus Walk, the loyal steward, and every three days took a bag of blood, storing it in the castle’s ice chamber using vampire secret techniques.

When Goodwin finally discovered it, the ice chamber was filled with blood left by Selena for her.

The duke was furious at her intimate lover’s behavior. Selena’s face was pale, her lips barely tinged with blood. She gently said, “I won’t become a vampire, Goodwin. That would mean losing my own meaning.”

“I won’t die with this blood either. They are only valuable if left to you.”

Her eyes looked deeply at Goodwin, with pity and reluctance, as if Goodwin were still the scarred vampire they had first met.

As her life came to an end, the light in her eyes was particularly bright:

“If you can accept them, I will be happy.”

• Act Nine –

In the end, Selena passed away in the vampire castle, and Goodwin fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, she completely forgot about it, and no one dared to mention that human in front of her.

The story of Selena and Goodwin, along with the abelias, fell together, withering and decaying in the sunlight and darkness, merging with the earth.

She forgot about Selena, forgot where her name came from, forgot who provided the food in the ice chamber, but remained attached to the abelias and white roses.

In the embrace of the abelias and white roses, the owner of the castle slept deeply with advancing age, her long slumber being another form of death.

Vampires neither age nor die, and the traces left by Selena on Goodwin are as long as the lives of vampires.

Until the Duke placed the white roses by Vanessa’s pillow, until Vanessa entered the castle with the Duke.

-end-

Song Pianxian’s experience beyond the plot.

She stood in the treehouse, facing an empty glass bottle, the treehouse silent.

Outside came the faint sound of leaves being crushed, then the door behind Song Pianxian opened, and Goodwin’s magnificent face appeared in front of Song Pianxian:

“You’re here. I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

Song Pianxian turned around, and Goodwin found her lover again.

She smiled and walked over to give Goodwin a hug.

As Song Pianxian walked out of the treehouse with Goodwin, an important NPC, Blackus Walk, stood under the abelia tree. He looked nervously at Song Pianxian.

The captain asked Goodwin to go to the study to meet the guest. After Goodwin left, Walk quietly asked Song Pianxian, “Have you already…?”

Song Pianxian picked up a piece of abelia petal and nodded, “I have seen many things.”

“How do you feel about it?” Walk asked dryly.

Song Pianxian squinted her eyes, recalling the whole story. She detached herself from the entire instance and her “role-playing” with Qing Lu, simply commenting on the story:

“I think Selena is too stubborn. If she was willing to undergo the Turning, they could have lived happily together. Bringing happiness to a lover is also valuable.” Yet she insists on becoming food.

But looking at it from another perspective, according to the concept frequently mentioned by Xuzhao Jiutian, “If you love her, you should treat her to hot pot, bubble tea, and hotpot,” Selena’s approach isn’t wrong. She just wants her lover to have something good to eat. Not only is there nothing wrong with that, it’s even quite selfless. Song Pianxian can only say, this is a wonderful script.

Walker’s spirit lifted. His eyes brightened. “So, you think the Turning is feasible?”

Song Pianxian nodded, indeed, it is feasible.

“Then would you accept…” Walk stopped abruptly, recalling the Duke’s instructions. The Duke wanted to personally discuss this matter with Lady Vanessa. But now, it seemed that Lady Vanessa clearly leaned towards the Turning. Perhaps the Duke’s desire this time could be smoothly implemented—

“No, I won’t.”

“What?”

Song Pianxian turned around, her skirt swaying gracefully. Holding the picked sprig of elderflowers, she walked proudly towards the castle, saying:

“I won’t accept the Turning.”

Vanessa returned, but she would eventually die again.

This was the theme set by Song Pianxian for this journey.

Song Pianxian did not tell Qinglu about this subplot story, triggering it herself—through Walk. Qinglu should also have her own nodes, and Song Pianxian vaguely guessed about this.

As Song Pianxian told Walker, when Goodwin proposed the Turning, Song Pianxian chose to refuse. Goodwin didn’t force her, and she respected Vanessa’s choice, just as she respected Selena’s choice back then.

After thinking about it, it seemed that the system had made some minor adjustments to Qinglu’s nature consciousness in order to continue the theme of the story. According to Qinglu’s character, how could she obediently accept the loss of her lover in the near future, even with the help of the system?

Even with the system’s help, Qinglu had made many efforts for the Turning, including but not limited to pinning her lover on the bed, sucking blood while having fun, pretending to be pitiful, refusing to feed, and persuading the libertine Count to become a life mentor, bringing back a few of her sisters (except Lydia and Melanie, she even managed to bring back Lilian) to persuade Song Pianxian.

Song Pianxian remained indifferent, sticking to her original intention, and even left her sisters behind as companions.

Until one day, the Duke abandoned all indirect approaches and asked straightforwardly why. Before Song Pianxian could say something like “If I become a vampire, what will you eat,” he submitted a research report on “Creating Synthetic Blood Similar to Lady Vanessa’s.”

Song Pianxian couldn’t help but sigh at how technology changes lives.

She also adopted a serious attitude. In fact, to tell Qing Lu what came after those words was a challenge even for the usually adept communicator Song Pianxian, so she resorted to the instance.

Perhaps in the illusory world of the instance, some words could be easily spoken.

But as Song Pianxian looked into the emerald eyes of Goodwin, her words were still somewhat dry. She closed her eyes, took a sip of tea, and then spoke.

Her beloved was a human, elegant and beautiful, forever gentle and warm. She was the sweetest white rose, the most tender abelia.

In the tranquil afternoon, before the window, the vampire and the human gazed at each other, seeing only each other in their eyes.

Song Pianxian said, “As you remain young and beautiful, wrinkles will climb onto my face.”

She held Qing Lu’s hand and touched her own cheek.

“My skin will sag, my eyes will lose their youthful radiance, and my hair will turn white.”

She traced that hand to the corner of her eye, then down to her dark temple.

“My back will bend, my spirit will weaken — perhaps I’ll even gain weight. I’ll become solemn and numb, full of gloom, until wrinkles cover the face in front of you, by then…” Will you still love me?

“I will still love you.”

Qing Lu repeated firmly, “I will still love you as before.”

I will still love you as before.

Song Pianxian smiled like a blooming white rose, with a faint dew on her cheeks.

Ten years passed in a flash, and Lady Vanessa had been feeding Lord Duke with blood all along.

Fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes, adding a touch of elegance brought by years to her. The constant loss of blood gave her skin an unhealthy porcelain whiteness. Wrapped in exquisite clothes, she resembled a noblewoman nurtured in the castle —

Indeed, this was the case. Now, the vampires all respectfully addressed her as Lady Vanessa.

Human bodies inevitably decay. Even if she hadn’t been injured, it seemed she couldn’t escape the curse of ten years.

Before the human fell into eternal slumber, the vampires stayed by her bedside, never leaving an inch.

On this sunny day, the vampire suddenly remembered her past life. Since waking up from her afternoon nap, she had been kissing Song Pianxian with profound sorrow.

Song Pianxian didn’t need to ask to guess what had happened. She crossed over the vampire and looked out at the tall abelia outside the window, asking:

“Do you know another name for abelia?”

Goodwin’s voice was hoarse: “What is it?”

Song Pianxian reached out to stroke her face and smiled:

“Jinji Yu.”

Belonging to the vampires of the deep night, a kiss fell like a downpour, scorching and bright.

It was the most beautiful brilliance of golden sun ever seen by humans.

“Why?”

Goodwin asked abruptly, but Song Pianxian understood that she was repeating the question from years ago — why she stubbornly refused the embrace.

“People and vampires both crave immortality, but immortality only has meaning when it is accompanied by death.”

Song Pianxian blinked, “My departure is beautiful too, isn’t it?”

Goodwin remained silent for a while before asking:

“What am I to you?”

You are Qing Lu, my beloved, Song Pianxian answered softly in her heart.

As for Lady Vanessa and Goodwin in the instance world…

Song Pianxian gently kissed her and said:

“For me, you are the never-fading rose.”

“As the fixed instance ends, thank you for your experience, have a pleasant journey.”

Song Pianxian and Qing Lu returned to the real world.

The first thing Qing Lu did after regaining consciousness was to rush out of the cabin to find Song Pianxian, but she was quickly restrained by a mechanical arm.

Fortunately, the two of them were in cabins close to each other and were opened simultaneously. Qing Lu turned his head and could see Song Pianxian. She said softly:

“Where’s our honeymoon, hmm?”

Song Pianxian coughed lightly.

Xu Zhaojiu, who was outputting commemorative videos nearby and had watched the entire process, came over while munching on melon seeds:

“I never expected this instance trip, which is so suitable for GHS, to also elevate the theme with Big Sis’s touch. Marvelous— Hey, Qing Lu, why are your eyes red? You look like you’ve been bullied. Don’t cry, don’t cry, reality isn’t that bad.”

Qing Lu couldn’t stand hearing the word “reality” now and scolded Xu Zhaojiu, “Shut up, mind your own business, who are you to call me that?”

“Sob sob sob, Big Sis, your sister-in-law is bullying me, don’t you care?”

“…” Daring not to interfere, just dared not. Song, who had just slipped some private goods into their honeymoon, felt a bit guilty and pretended as if nothing had happened.

Taking the commemorative video, the two drove back. Qing Lu was obviously not in high spirits, feeling listless, and kept staring at Song Pianxian.

Song Pianxian knew that because of the theme she had set, her wife’s stubbornness and uneasiness had been aroused quite a bit, and she still couldn’t completely break away from the instance. She felt a little guilty and bit her lip, driving with some distraction.

“Stop.” Qing Lu suddenly said.

Song Pianxian stopped the car in front of a large mall and watched Qing Lu get out of the car —

Three minutes later, Qing Lu returned with a bouquet of blooming white roses, pulling open the driver’s seat door.

With her strong hands, Qing Lu took Song Pianxian’s hand and led her out of the driver’s seat.

The white roses were handed to Song Pianxian’s arms, and Qing Lu kissed her temple.

Her fingers then gently stroked Song Pianxian’s cheeks, the corners of her eyes, and her long hair.

“Big Sister, to me, you also never wither.”

Song Pianxian’s breath caught.

Qing Lu stuffed the bouquet of white roses into the passenger seat, took the wheel herself, and said earnestly:

“When you’re not feeling well, remember to call me. After all, I’m not just younger and stronger than Big Sister in bed.”

“…”

Song Pianxian focused on the flowers, ignoring her.

The orange dusk was gentle as the car carried the two back home.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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