CA – Chapter 138
Chapter 138
Life in the small town was leisurely and comfortable. The time Tang Qiu spent recuperating here could be considered the most pleasant days she had experienced since transmigrating.
Although the small wooden cabin was dilapidated, the bed inside was soft enough. If one had to find a flaw, it would be that the bed was a bit too small.
Two women lying on it had to press tightly against each other.
However, this was no trouble for Tang Qiu and Lucille. As a vampire, Lucille didn't need to sleep. Every night, she would simply lean against the headboard, serving as Tang Qiu's pillow, never feeling tired or bored.
On the contrary, she cherished these warm moments. Just quietly watching Tang Qiu fall asleep was enough for the coldness in Lucille's heart to slowly begin to melt.
Because of her vampire identity, Lucille had lost her deeply loving mother. Because she was a hybrid, she had to constantly hide her identity. She was not accepted by the vampires, nor could she become human. Lucille had thought she would resent her identity until the moment death arrived.
But now, she felt a little fortunate. It was because she was a vampire that she had crossed paths with Tang Qiu, and it was because she was a vampire that she had the ability to protect her.
This infatuation with Tang Qiu, which had seeped into her very bones, had unknowingly allowed Lucille to begin reconciling with herself.
For vampires like Evan, a hybrid represented the ability to break the rules, a breakthrough. Studying hybrids could reveal a way to elevate one's own power. This temptation would not fade with time.
And Evan was surely not the only vampire with such thoughts.
Hiding and waiting for death would ultimately mean placing her life in someone else's hands. Of course, Lucille would not do that.
What she needed was to fight back. When her strength was great enough, no one would be able to control her destiny.
Lucille did not want a repeat of Tang Qiu risking her life to save her.
One person's strength was still not enough. The Gangrel clan… Lucille lowered her eyes to look at her hand, lost in thought.
The wooden door creaked open a small crack. Silver hair peeked in before its owner. Kama clung to the doorframe, cautiously revealing her head. Her gaze swept around the room and then moved to the bed, but before she could see where Tang Qiu was sleeping, she was pushed out by an invisible force.
Kama took a few steps back and looked at the door that had closed in front of her. Her golden eyes blinked. She raised a hand and tried to push it, but to her frustration, the wooden door didn't budge.
Erin, sitting on a swing, had witnessed the entire process of Kama being ejected. She gave a dry cough, got off the swing, and walked over to Kama, speaking in a gentle tone, "...I'll take you to have some of Rona's mushroom soup, how about that?"
Ever since she learned about Tang Qiu and Lucille's relationship, Erin had consciously avoided disturbing them when they were alone.
But Kama was still young and liked to cling to Tang Qiu. Although she was ejected every morning, it was of no use. The next day, she would sneak over again, tirelessly enjoying the game.
After trying to push the door again, only to find it still unmoving, a pouting Kama dejectedly followed Erin away.
The morning sun was warm but not harsh. In the center of the town was a small square. Erin led Kama there, cheerfully greeting Senna and the others they passed.
Rona was sitting on a swing in the square, sunbathing. Beside her was an iron pot in which mushroom soup was bubbling away, its delicious aroma wafting through the square.
Erin lifted Kama onto the swing, then ladled a bowl of mushroom soup for her, saying patiently, "Be careful, it's hot."
Kama held the bowl with both hands, blowing on the hot soup inside.
Hearing the commotion, Rona removed the hat covering her face. She turned her head to look at Kama, her gaze lingering on the girl's golden eyes for a moment before asking Erin, "Where is this child from?"
Silver hair and golden eyes… it reminded her of certain people.
Erin sat beside Kama, watching her as she casually answered Rona's question, "Grace found her near the Mentos Desert."
The temple was also near the Mentos Desert, so Erin felt her answer was not wrong.
Rona nodded, staring at Kama for a few more moments before looking away.
Thor was nearby, trimming flower branches out of boredom. Hearing Erin and Rona's conversation, he interjected without looking up, "Children with golden eyes are special."
Erin paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, they are."
A descendant of the God Race who could also foresee the future was indeed special, Erin thought, patting Kama's head.
Kama held her bowl and happily drank her soup, completely uninterested in their conversation.
Thor picked up a rose, sniffed it, and said nonchalantly, "People with golden eyes usually come from the Holy See."
Erin looked at him in confusion, suspecting she had misheard. "...The Holy See?"
Rona frowned and spoke before Thor could. "The Holy See sounds very mysterious. Are the people who can enter it rather special, like this golden-eyed child?"
As she spoke, she shot Thor a warning glare. Thor shrugged and closed his mouth.
In Erin's mind, Rona and Thor had lived in this town for years and had only a superficial understanding of things like the Holy See, werewolves, and vampires. So she smiled at Rona's words and explained, "The Holy See isn't that exaggerated. As long as you are favored by the element of light, you can enter as a believer."
"Grace is from the Holy See." Her sleeve was tugged. Erin looked down to see Little Fur Ball, who had woken up at some point, crawling out.
She placed Little Fur Ball in her palm and took some leaves from her Space Gem to feed it.
She was so focused on feeding it that she didn't notice Rona and Thor had become distracted ever since Little Fur Ball appeared.
After Erin had been feeding it for a while, Lola suddenly appeared and called her away. She looked at Little Fur Ball, still eating the leaves intently, thought for a moment, and placed it on Rona's lap, saying, "You feed it for a bit." With that, she got up and followed Lola.
Little Fur Ball squatted on Rona's lap, its eyes vacant, focused only on eating the leaves under its feet.
Rona looked stunned. By the time she came to her senses, Erin was gone. Her body was as stiff as a stone. She carefully held her hands back, not daring to touch Little Fur Ball's body. She said to Thor in a strained voice, "...Help me."
Thor's expression was also a bit strange. He cleared his throat, picked up his shears, and turned to leave.
Rona: "..."
The leaves were quickly finished. Little Fur Ball raised its head slightly. Rona, who had been watching it closely, took out a pink leaf and placed it in front of the creature with an expression of unusual reverence.
Little Fur Ball stepped on the leaf and began to eat again. Judging by its speed, it clearly preferred this pink leaf.
When Lucille blocked Kama at the door, Tang Qiu was already awake. She got out of bed, washed up briefly, and opened the door.
Kama was no longer outside. The warm sunlight on her face made Tang Qiu's lips curve up slightly, her mood lifted by the gentle rays.
An arm wrapped around her waist. Lucille embraced Tang Qiu from behind, her free hand catching her wrist and lifting it to her lips.
Teeth pierced the soft skin. The sweet blood made Lucille's breath hitch. She sucked and swallowed greedily until the thirst in her throat subsided, then slowly stopped.
Blood trickled from her wrist to her elbow, which Lucille licked clean with meticulous care. Tang Qiu watched her with a gentle gaze. Seeing the lingering obsession still in her eyes, her red lips curved into a teasing smile. "Didn't I feed you enough yesterday?"
Lucille's negative side effects had not completely disappeared, and Tang Qiu had been indulging her feeding during this time.
Although her own injuries hadn't fully healed, she had healing magic, so Tang Qiu wasn't too worried that indulging Lucille's feeding would worsen her condition.
However, what surprised Tang Qiu was that after indulging Lucille, she didn't feel tired, even without using healing spells or drinking Holy Water of Light.
This was completely different from before.
After the seal in her body was broken, her stamina and spirit had become far superior to before. Moreover, she no longer forgot her memories from her werewolf state.
She could now control her transformation at will, just like a normal werewolf.
Lucille released Tang Qiu's wrist and buried her head in the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath.
A set of footsteps approached from a distance. Tang Qiu gently patted Lucille's arm, then looked up in the direction of the sound.
A man with curly silver hair and a rose in his breast pocket walked past Tang Qiu and Lucille's cabin. When he saw Tang Qiu, he nodded naturally, the shears in his hand twirling leisurely between his fingers.
Tang Qiu watched Thor's retreating back and said thoughtfully, "He looks familiar."
A person can change their appearance, but they cannot change their inherent aura.
Lucille had already let go of Tang Qiu when Thor approached. She leaned against the door, glancing at Thor's back, and said in a flat tone, "Do you remember that fourth-generation vampire who suddenly appeared when we went to the Shas Principality to save Erin?"
Tang Qiu lowered her gaze in thought for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "The one from Mark's Grocery Store?"
Lucille nodded and said in a low voice, "They seem similar."
"Oh?" Tang Qiu's eyes flickered. She touched her chin, pondered for a moment, and said with a smile, "Erin's 'family,' huh."
She still had a vivid memory of the mysterious and omnipotent Mark's Grocery Store. Their "preference" for Erin had once left her feeling perplexed.
If this small town was related to Mark's Grocery Store, then all her questions had found their answer.
The small square was adjacent to a garden, and a gentle breeze would always carry the fragrance of flowers. The mushroom soup in the iron pot was already boiling, but Rona had no mind to attend to it. She stared intently at Little Fur Ball on her lap, clutching a pink leaf, her breathing deliberately lightened.
Senna, having returned from chopping wood, stood beside her with an axe. His face was expressionless, but his arms were swinging back and forth uncontrollably.
"...Stay still." Rona's nerves were taut with tension, and Senna's fidgeting was getting on her nerves. She couldn't help but hiss at him in a low voice.
Senna paused for a moment and arranged some small sticks on the ground to form a line of words.
Rona spared a glance and said impatiently, "Then why don't you take... it away."
Senna took two steps back, used his fingers to pull up the corners of his mouth, and made a gloating expression.
Rona rolled her eyes. "If you have nothing better to do, go pick some E Leaves. Don't be an eyesore here."
Just as she finished speaking, she caught a glimpse of a figure approaching. The impatience on Rona's face vanished. She turned her head slightly and reminded Senna, "Get rid of the sticks."
Senna turned to look at the newcomer and kicked the line of words on the ground into a mess.
From a distance, Tang Qiu saw Rona and Senna talking in the square. She glanced at the messy pile of sticks at Senna's feet, gave them a slight nod, and her clear voice, as lovely as a nightingale's song, said, "I came for some soup."
She walked to the iron pot next to Rona and ladled a bowl of mushroom soup with a clean wooden bowl.
Kama had left with Erin. Tang Qiu sat on the swing she had just occupied, holding the wooden bowl. Her long golden hair fell smoothly in front of her, and the gentle sunlight seemed to cast a halo around her.
Some people are as beautiful as a painting just by sitting quietly, but a painting needs an admirer, and Rona and Senna were not qualified ones.
Senna left, swinging his axe, after Tang Qiu arrived. He was tall and strong, and his usually expressionless face made him seem very steady, but that steadiness was discounted the moment he started walking.
Senna's gait was very strange. He liked to swing his arms and legs, and although he was constantly trying to restrain himself, his body still swayed in small movements.
After Lucille's reminder, seeing Senna's swaying walk, Tang Qiu suddenly remembered someone—the skeleton who had appeared with the silver-haired fourth-generation vampire.
The mushroom soup was delicious, its aroma alone incredibly enticing. Tang Qiu withdrew her gaze from Senna and quietly drank her soup.
Rona glanced at Tang Qiu several times out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that the mushroom soup in her bowl was nearly finished, she cleared her throat and said to Tang Qiu, "Are you looking for Erin? She was called away by your friend."
Tang Qiu shook her head slightly, her tone relaxed. "I'm not looking for her. I came for soup."
As she spoke, she turned to Rona with a smile, her gaze subtly falling on Little Fur Ball on her lap. Although Rona was trying her best to maintain a relaxed posture, her cautious movements betrayed her inner tension.
Rona noticed Tang Qiu looking at Little Fur Ball and said tentatively, "Can you... take her away? I should be going back."
Tang Qiu blinked and pointed to the ground. "You can just put it on the ground."
Rona gave a dry cough and lowered her head to continue feeding it leaves.
Tang Qiu observed them for a moment, then suddenly reached out, grabbed Little Fur Ball by the scruff of its neck, and lifted it up. Rona froze for a second, then averted her gaze, pretending not to see Little Fur Ball's pitiful expression as it dangled in the air. She put away the leaves in her hand and said quickly, "I'm leaving now." Without waiting for a response, she got up and left.
Deprived of food, Little Fur Ball kicked its legs in the air. Tang Qiu placed it on her lap and watched it curl into a ball and fall asleep, shaking her head slightly.
The last time Little Fur Ball transformed in the temple, it had been majestic and imposing. But as soon as it changed back, it returned to this seemingly mindless state.
There were leaves on the ground that Little Fur Ball hadn't finished eating. Tang Qiu looked down and noticed they were different from the leaves Erin usually fed it. She frowned, held Little Fur Ball with one hand, and bent down to pick up the remnants.
The leaves were pink, with a somewhat cloying, sweet scent. When crushed between her fingers, no pink juice stained her hand.
As Tang Qiu was examining it with her head down, she suddenly heard Erin's voice. "What are you looking at?"
She leaned over curiously to take a look, let out a small "huh," her expression one of surprise.
Tang Qiu asked calmly, "What's wrong?"
"Is this... an E Leaf?" Erin took the remnants from Tang Qiu's hand and, after careful inspection, asked in confusion, "Where did this come from?"
Because it was only a tiny fragment of a leaf, Erin wasn't entirely certain, but after observing it, she still felt it looked similar.
Tang Qiu thought for a moment and ratted out Rona. "Rona was just feeding it to Little Fur Ball."
Erin looked surprised. She patted Little Fur Ball's head and mused, "Maybe Rona found it somewhere."
"What is it?"
"E Leaf." Erin put Little Fur Ball back in her sleeve. "It can be ground into a powder using a special method. It explodes when it comes into contact with an open flame."
"It's the same stuff we encountered at Glanna's manor."
After Erin's reminder, Tang Qiu remembered. She stared at the E Leaf in Erin's hand for a moment, an idea sparked in her mind, and she asked, "...Do you have any E Leaf powder on you?"
Erin was taken aback. She checked her Space Gem and said somewhat awkwardly, "A little bit."
E Leaf powder was an extremely precious and rare material for witchcraft.
"Do you need it?" Erin took out the powder for Tang Qiu to see, her expression serious. "I can help you collect some more." Of course, the quantity wouldn't be much, considering she couldn't even return to Witch City now.
Tang Qiu gestured for Erin to put the powder away first. She toyed with the swing's rope and said with a light laugh, "No need to collect it. We can buy some."
"Buy it?"
She had never heard of such a thing being sold anywhere, and even if it were, it would be through barter among black witches.
Tang Qiu didn't explain much, simply saying nonchalantly, "Yes, buy it."
Since they could afford to feed it to Little Fur Ball, this leaf must be relatively common at the grocery store.
Night fell. Lucille, who had gone out with Lola to hunt and scout the terrain, returned to the small town. The cabin was dark. She pushed open the door and immediately saw Tang Qiu standing by the window, staring outside in a daze.
The familiar presence brought Tang Qiu back to her senses. She turned her head and tossed the box she had been toying with in her hand to Lucille.
Lucille caught it and glanced down, realizing it was the empty box they had taken from the temple. She walked to Tang Qiu's side, shook the box, and asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong with this box?"
After leaving the temple, they had studied the box for a while, but apart from the lingering aura of a Godhead, there was nothing else unusual about it.
In short, it was a useless box.
"I want to use it as bait." A night breeze blew in through the window, messing up Tang Qiu's golden hair. She reached out and closed the half-open window, her features exuding a faint gentleness in the dim light.
"Bait?" Lucille thought for a moment and guessed Tang Qiu's plan. She frowned and said in a deep voice, "Evan might not take the bait."
Almost everyone who had been in the temple knew that the Godhead had fallen into the hands of the black witches. Evan certainly knew as well. An empty box might not be enough to fool him.
The best bait to lure Evan would be her and Lola.
However, Lucille had barely formed this thought before Tang Qiu sensed it. Faced with Tang Qiu's half-smiling gaze, Lucille dismissed the idea.
She reached out, pulled Tang Qiu into a half-embrace, her palm sliding down her back. Her voice was cool as she said, "A third-generation vampire's healing ability is extraordinary. If we can't kill him in one blow, we'll be the ones in danger."
Although she also wanted to kill Evan, reason told her how difficult it would be.
"I can't rest easy until he's dead." Tang Qiu leaned against Lucille. Lucille's hand slipped under her clothes to rest on her waist. The coldness of her palm made her frown for a second before she relaxed again.
"Whether the bait works depends on who delivers it." Tang Qiu chuckled, her tone slightly cool. "As for Evan, someone wants him dead more than we do."
"Are you talking about Dini?" A flash of coldness crossed Lucille's eyes when she mentioned Delia.
A faint smile hung on Tang Qiu's lips as she said calmly, "She wants me to use her. How could I be so rude as to let her hopes be dashed?"
Delia still had some use. As for whether she would live after her wish was fulfilled, that would depend on her luck—or rather, whether she had any other use that could save her life.
Otherwise, Tang Qiu wouldn't mind getting rid of another annoying person along the way.
She hated being manipulated.
Lucille held Tang Qiu for a while. Once her palm was warmed by her body heat, it began to travel up her waist. She lowered her head to kiss Tang Qiu's neck and whispered, "I found out we're very close to Edry. Should we leave?"
The town's location was both remote and hidden. It had taken Lucille and Lola a long time to find a city and get a general sense of their whereabouts.
Tang Qiu raised a hand to press Lucille's wrist, turned her head to kiss her forehead, and said with some surprise, "You're saying this is next to Edry?"
Lucille hummed in affirmation. The town was very close to Edry; she had just gone back for a visit.
Tang Qiu lowered her gaze and pondered for a moment, then nodded slowly. "It is indeed time to leave."
This town was truly too hidden. While safe, information did not travel well. Both her and Lucille's injuries were mostly healed, so there was no point in staying any longer.
"Let's leave tomorrow."
They still had many things to deal with. Although Tang Qiu couldn't return to the Holy See for the time being, she still needed to keep a close watch on news concerning it.
Lucille had no objection to Tang Qiu's proposal. Her lips traveled from Tang Qiu's neck to the corner of her mouth. A smile flashed in Tang Qiu's eyes as she parted her lips in response. Feeling her response, Lucille turned and pressed her against the wall, hooking her chin with a finger and kissing her lips.
The night was still long.
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