“Woohoo~! We made it! (*≧▽≦)”

Joy surged like a breaking wave. Tangxue shot up from the seafloor the moment land came into view.

A pained howl rose from the shadow beneath her. “Little ancestor, easy! Pull like that and it hurts!” It was the King of the Deepsea Maelstrom.

“Ahaha… sorry, Uncle Octopus. I forgot I still had your tentacle tied.”

“Sigh… if you’re happy, little ancestor, that’s enough.”

“Then bye-bye, Uncle Octopus. Please… please tell Dreamsound I’m safe.” Tangxue stroked the tentacle coiled on her and spoke softly.

He chuckled, benevolent as a dusk tide. A tentacle brushed her hair like a feather. Then he drew his limbs back and sank into the deep.

…

“Mhm~”

Tangxue stretched, like a cat warming in shore-sun.

“Now then, time to start clearing the names in my little notebook… First up, that annoying Vampire.”

“They had so much fun mocking me… picking on me ’cause I had no weapon. Heh.”

Resolve tightened like a drawn bow. Tenfold payback this time, Tangxue vowed inwardly.

But…

“Uncle Octopus only said this was the closest beach to the Duskmoon Empire. But… how far is it from here, really???”

She looked over an endless pale strand. Qingsheng Tangxue drifted into thought, like fog rolling in.

In these recent months, the Duskmoon Empire has been upended, like an overturned board of stones.

The original Queen of the Blood, Vinoena Qianya, returned. Yet another voice rose within the empire.

Long the Empire’s Sword, Vinoena, Prince Crimson Goose, betrayed her queen. On the very day of return, she led her supporters to encircle the Queen.

If it were only that, war wouldn’t have sparked. Qianya is the Queen of the Blood—within Duskmoon, she’s absolute.

In Duskmoon, rank rules like iron chains; the low don’t defy the high. Yet on Prince Crimson Goose, a forbidden power surfaced—pureblood Vampire lineage.

Not perfectly pure, but even so, it pressed on Qianya like a storm front.

Without loyal hands in the empire, Qianya might’ve fallen right into Crimson Goose’s grasp.

With a mole’s help, she slipped the noose. She rallied her own loyal strength and waged a death fight against the rebel Prince.

By Qianya’s stand and her followers’ last-ditch fury, an easy purge twisted into war.

From the imperial capital outward, two tides formed—one for the returning Queen, one for Prince Crimson Goose. They clashed, and Duskmoon slid into war long unseen.

Before this, Duskmoon had held peace for over two millennia, calm as a sealed lake.

“Sigh. Kid, coming to Duskmoon now is a death wish.” In a quiet, empty teahouse near the beach, a plain-looking Blood Clan owner watched the girl savor her tea.

“Thanks for the warning, boss~.” Qingsheng Tangxue smiled like a breeze. She set a gold coin on the table. “But I’m hungry. Tea alone doesn’t fill you. Could I get a pastry?”

“…Little miss, I only serve Blood Clan fare. No regular pastries.” The owner sighed. “At most, red tea and a mild blood cake.”

A blood cake is a normal pastry laced with a little blood. It reins in the Blood Clan’s thirst and eases hunger—but the taste’s nowhere near pure blood.

“It’s fine… blood cake it is. I’m starving.”

He studied Qingsheng Tangxue and spoke, firm. “I’ve seen your kind. Blood Clan pastries have blood in them. Other races can’t stomach it—smell alone can make you gag. Ordering food that doesn’t suit your palate, just to ‘try other cultures,’ isn’t wise. So I don’t recommend the blood cake.”

“…Is it not enough money?” Tangxue asked, puzzled, and set another coin down.

“…That’s not what I meant…”

Three gold coins.

…

Five.

“Little sister, why put yourself through this…” The owner gave a wry smile, swept up the coins, and headed into the back.

“Please wait. A delicious Blood Clan pastry will be right out.”

She’d really overpaid.

…

Qingsheng Tangxue shot him a look, then lifted her cup and savored a sip of red tea, slow as rain.

The owner wasn’t wrong. For non–Blood Clan folks, even a trace of blood in food turns the stomach. That iron-rust taste doesn’t dilute; it blooms, awful. The first time she tried Blood Clan cuisine, she’d thrown up right in someone’s restaurant…

“As expected, other red teas don’t carry that drowsy heaviness…”

Before long, a refined pastry—one that had no right to exist in a place this remote—was set before her.

White and pale pink layered the pastry. Honey glossed the middle. It looked small, yet three thick tiers made it hefty.

“Whew… looks like the old blade’s still sharp.” The owner eyed his work, a touch of pride warming him.

“Seems you’re a man with stories, boss…” Qingsheng Tangxue gave him a knowing smile.

To craft something so exquisite, he had to be a pastry maestro, hands like silk.

A chef who could make a name even in the capital, running a teahouse on Duskmoon’s bleak western fringe…

“Oh, hardly. I’m just a poor drifter,” he sighed. “Back in the day…”

Tangxue let his tale trail off. She raised her jade-like slender fingers and popped the blood cake into her mouth.

Mm… texture like cloud, flavors braided to the edge of perfect—he’d pushed it to the limit.

To finish something this fine, this fast—she hadn’t seen its like even in the Radiant Empire’s palace.

Honey, fengling, apple, citrus… and a whisper of blood.

“Not bad. A bit sweet. Tastes good~”