"Huh?" The Blood Clan shopkeeper stared, stunned, as Qingsheng Tangxue bit into the pastry, light as a bird pecking at dew.

He'd braced for her to spit it out like a burst fountain, face ready for the splash.

What he never expected was this little girl savoring it, slow as a cat licking cream.

Umm...

He sensed something off, then smoothed his expression like still water settling after wind.

"Little miss... actually, are you Blood Clan?"

"Nope." Tangxue blinked like a sparrow under spring rain. "Boss, your pastry’s just too good."

"Ha ha... sweet-tongued kid, but I know this. Anyone outside the Blood Clan can't stomach food mixed with blood, not even a trace, like iron filings in clear water." He laughed, bold as a bonfire.

"..."

Tangxue parted her lips, quiet as fresh snow on stone.

"Once, a famed gourmand from across the continent came to my restaurant..."

"Stop, stop, I get it. Please don’t." Sweat beaded on her brow like summer rain.

"To be honest, I’m mixed-blood." Tangxue touched her hair, deep-blue fading into silver-white like dusk melting into moonlight, voice soft as gauze.

Changing her hair color was easy for her—just tune her element affinity, like turning a dial of wind and light.

"Ah? Knew it!" The boss laughed, tension dropping like a loosened knot. "Ordinary folk can’t eat Blood Clan fare. The Blood Clan... were never a presence others accepted, a shadow at high noon."

"..."

A throb of dread rose like thunder behind clouds. Could it really be worse than the Merfolk and the innate gods? The former cast as enemies of the world, the latter blamed for the realm’s decline... Am I already the most damnable thing alive?

Tangxue felt her head swell like a storm cloud pressing low.

Still... she sensed the boss had warmed a few degrees once he decided she might be Blood Clan, like embers recognizing their kin.

"Boss, boss, is there anywhere here that goes straight to the Duskmoon Empire’s capital?"

"Little miss, you can’t go there now!" His face hardened like stone under frost. "There’s war over there, flames on the city walls. A kid like you would be in real danger. The Duskmoon Empire’s not peaceful at all. I suggest you take your family far away for a while. Don’t go to the capital!"

"Thank you for the concern, sir, but I have to go to the capital." Tangxue smiled and set ten gold coins on the counter, the metal glinting like sunflakes on a river.

"Because friends over there need my help." The resolve in her chest set like iron at dawn.

"Little lady, I’m not that kind of person..." He looked at the coins, sweat sliding like beads on bamboo.

Silently, Tangxue doubled the pile, stars spilling across dark velvet.

His eyes lit up like lanterns, and he lunged like a hawk to scoop them in.

Satisfied, he straightened and spoke gravely. "If you must go, I can show you a clear path. The routes to the capital are sealed because of the war, gates shut like iron. You’ll have to reach the closest city to the capital first, then walk the rest. And don’t fly! They’ve activated a no-fly spell. Nothing can lift off near the capital, sky netted like wire."

"...Thank you." Tangxue studied this strange boss, gaze calm as a pond reading clouds.

By rights, he should’ve been a famous pastry master. That little money shouldn’t sway him, like pebbles against a tide. And he spoke so detailed... this intel was worth far more than those coins!

Is he playing me? The thought slid in like a thin blade.

Still, his words rang true, clear as mountain spring. She could feel it.

"Then, sir, where do I go to reach the city closest to the capital?"

"There, to the east." He pointed toward distant mountains coiled like sleeping dragons. "There’s a station. You can check which cities are currently running together. Once you get there, ask others how to reach the capital."

"Okay, thank you, sir~"

With the intel she wanted in hand, Tangxue ignored his gaze and returned to her pastry, chewing like a small squirrel storing winter.

"Mmm, mmm~ I’m so full." (Yeah, right!)

She patted her little belly, fox-bright mischief in her eyes. "Uncle, if fate allows, we’ll meet again~ Thanks for the treat~"

"All right, all right! Come again next time!" The boss waved after Qingsheng Tangxue, joy drifting like a spring breeze.

When she was gone, a layered smile unfurled on his lips, slow as a lotus opening at dusk.

...

Anyway, I should sort my intel now, mind crisp as autumn air.

First, nothing on the Vampire Edgar. Since Qianya returned to the Duskmoon Empire, he vanished like mist at sunrise. A prince called Crimson Goose suddenly took his place...

Clearly, he’s cold ash now.

Tangxue felt taste fade, tea gone cool in a lonely cup.

Still...

"Prince Crimson Goose? She’s pure-blood Vampire... No, more like she inherited everything from that Vampire named Edgar." The mantle lay over her shoulders like a blood-red cloak.

"Didn’t expect someone in the Blood Clan could actually usurp and succeed." The throne in her mind was a bleeding altar.

Qianya must be overwhelmed now. Maybe I should help her, the thought warmed like spring rain. Dreamsound told me that when I lost my mind, Qianya helped me many times. I’ll use this chance to pay that debt.

"Ah, there~"

The mountains looked close as a painted screen, yet the road stretched for dozens of kilometers like silk pulled long. And here stood a huge transfer station, buzzing like a hive.

At the station, flying beasts crowded the yards, grounded like kites tied to posts. Qingsheng Tangxue couldn’t help a sigh. "Looks like I have to swap mounts again..."

This world has flying magitech you can ride, yet some places still prefer beasts. After all, flying on a living mount is a rare thrill, wind tasting like wine.

"Sure enough, same as other regions."

She stepped into the vast station and headed to buy a ticket, muscle memory steering her feet like swallows homing. She’d always loved to roam; buying tickets was second nature.

This time, head to the City of Woe... It’s where I first met a Vampire, and a rare Vampire King. If I’m right, that Vampire King is tied to Edgar by a rope of fate.

I should go desecrate his ancestor’s grave. Hmph!

"Miss attendant, I’d like a ticket to... the City of Woe!" Tangxue, barely one-fifty tall, shot her small hand up like a sprout reaching sun, calling hard to be heard.

"Ah? Little sister... You need an adult to buy a ticket." The Blood Clan clerk, long gray hair like morning fog, spoke with apologetic warmth.

"I’m an adult!" Qingsheng Tangxue thrust her chest in outrage, posture proud as a cat arching.

"..."

The clerk fell silent, staring at a chest nearly twice her own, like facing a small mountain.