After the two vanished, a few furtive figures seeped out of the shadows like rats peeling off damp stone.

The one in front was the very man Tangxue had saved with Qianyue earlier, a rescued stray now leading wolves.

Among the thugs, a long‑haired blond man of the Blood Clan stepped forward, face overcast like a stormed moon. “They disappeared right here?”

“Yes. I saw it, clear as frost—right here… they just blinked out!”

“To space‑shift like that, you need at least a Tier Four mage. And those two looked no older than fourteen.” The blond Blood Clan man gave Bai Er a laden glance, like a knife wrapped in silk. “Bai Er, you really brought me a big surprise.”

“Boss, listen to you.” Bai Er grinned like an oily lantern. “I found the good stuff and told you first thing. I swear, this shipment’s premium! Those two little beauties are the finest Bai Er’s ever seen!”

“Hmph. I’ve got no taste for little girls who barely grew their baby fangs.” Blondy sneered, eyes cold as a winter creek. “But… if those brats carry secret treasures, that could be fun.”

“Boss is right, boss is right!” Bai Er trailed him, tail‑wagging in human skin.

“Bai Er, you’re useless at everything except flattery,” the blond snapped, voice cracking like dry bamboo. “Quit yapping and go round up the brothers!”

He kicked Bai Er aside like an empty bucket.

“Even a big shot like me, near Tier Seven, can’t be sure to pin down two space mages at once,” he barked, voice a whip in the alley. “Don’t bunch up here. Go get people! I want every brother assembled before night’s end, hear me?!”

“Yes, sir!”

The other thugs scattered like startled crows, the street swallowing their footsteps.

When they were gone, the blond leader stared at the sigil carved in the dirt, his breathing rough, like bellows feeding a forge.

“Sss…”

He glanced around, shadows thick as wet felt. Seeing no one, he dropped prone and lapped at the carving, tongue frantic, like an addict tasting ash that turned to honey.

“Ha… haha… this taste, this taste!” He shuddered, eyes burning like coals. “My mana’s flaring like a lit fuse! The strength I iced over is thawing, growing! Ha… hahaha!”

The sigil Qingsheng Tangxue left on the ground was etched with her own blood; to a Vampire, that mana‑rich blood was a lethal drug, sweet as sin and sharp as knives.

…

Inside the Ruyue Inn.

“Whew… finally back. I’m so sleepy,” Tangxue sighed, voice soft as falling snow.

“Is Elder Sister going to sleep?” Qianyue’s eyes shone like dew. “Then let me warm the bed for you!”

“No need!” Tangxue grabbed her sleeve, urgency first, hand gentle after, like wind catching a lantern. “Qianyue, sleep well tonight. I’ve got things to do, won’t sleep soon. And… I don’t like too many people in my bed, okay?”

“Elder Sister…” Qianyue’s head dipped, mood clouding like a pond in rain. She thought it was because Elder Sister didn’t trust her yet.

“Is Qianyue dirty…?”

“Nonsense. You’re quite clean,” Tangxue said, smile a touch stiff, like a ribbon pulled too tight. “But you should probably take a bath first.”

“…” The words struck like a hammer on porcelain. Qianyue froze up, statue‑still.

When she finally rallied and moved toward the bath, Tangxue suddenly remembered something. “Wait. I’ll wash first!”

“…”

She had climbed a table today and even broke it; her body must’ve picked up weird smells, like smoke clinging to silk.

Tangxue ignored the girl’s look and slipped into the bathroom first.

Thirty minutes later, she drifted out with steam trailing her like gauze, a small, satisfied smile on her lips. The chill in her body eased, a faint warmth blooming like dawn under frost.

Qianyue stared at Tangxue in her pajamas, eyes dazed as if watching moonlight cross water.

It was only the second time she’d seen Elder Sister dressed for sleep.

“Qianyue, go bathe. The hot water’s running low,” Tangxue said, voice light as tea.

“Mm…” Qianyue nodded slowly, then took the clothes Elder Sister gave her and stepped into the coveted bath.

When the door shut, Tangxue let out a breath, tension unspooling like thread.

Looks like she didn’t notice I’m not wearing…

Kids don’t notice these things, right?

I’ll just order Qianyue something tasty tonight. I can’t stomach Blood Clan food anyway…

She picked up the room’s comm crystal and asked for dinner, telling them to deduct it from her prepaid fee.

Then she went back to the half‑finished toy from noon, hands busy, mind buzzing like a hive.

“Use water affinity to etch a self‑refilling circuit on the cup’s surface, and then… tea leaves? Milk? Sugar? Meow, meow, meow…”

“This stuff is beyond me!” Tangxue scrubbed her scalp like a cat in a squall and yanked out a tuft of silver hair.

“…”

“Or… write to Dreamsound? Yes! Let’s do that!”

With the path chosen, she wrote at a sprint, words flowing like ink down a slope. She packed the letter using Dreamsound’s method, set it outside the window, and planted a little white flag beside it like a signal in snow.

“Mm… that should do. Dreamsound’s pet will come fetch it on its own.” She leaned on the sill, hope flickering like a candle. “Who knows when she’ll read it. She won’t reply anyway…”

“Forget it… I’ve got other things tonight.” Her voice cooled, resolve firming like ice. “Tomorrow’s the City of Woe’s rare daybreak. I need to prep tonight.”

Tangxue slipped out of her pajamas and into street clothes, movements neat as folding paper.

At the door, she paused, thought for a beat, then knocked on the bathroom. “Qianyue—sleep by yourself later, okay? I ordered your dinner. I’ve got to head out. Don’t leave the room. I’ll be back before morning.”

“…Elder Sister?” Water whispered behind the door; Qianyue’s tone fluttered like a startled sparrow.

“Wash well, alright?” Tangxue’s voice turned playful and sharp, like a fan hiding a blade. “You know I don’t like dirty kids. If you come out halfway… I’ll be mad.”

Qianyue hesitated, hand on the latch, heart tight as a knotted ribbon.

Even with a door between them, she could feel Elder Sister’s eyes narrowing like crescents.

If she stepped out halfway, Elder Sister would dislike her, wouldn’t she?

No…

She didn’t want Elder Sister to dislike her.

“Qianyue is a good child,” Tangxue murmured, relief loosening her shoulders like rain loosening dust.

“But remember to sleep early and get up early, okay? I’ll check when I’m back. If you don’t eat and sleep like a good girl, hmph hmph…”

From the bath, Qianyue’s voice came thin through the steam. “Qianyue understands…”

“Good.”

Smiling, Tangxue shook her head and headed downstairs, steps light and quick as a fox.

She’d had enough—this starving road, this city of knives and empty plates.

She swore, like a vow carved on bone, never to return to the City of Woe.

So tonight, she’d take a shortcut.

“I remember a great river in the City of Woe,” she whispered, eyes bright as stars under a hood. “It’s the Duskmoon Empire’s mother river, a silver spine cutting the city. If I turn back into a mermaid, even against the current, an entire night should be enough to reach the destination.”

For a mermaid, swimming beats walking, even flying; water is home, wind in the blood.

With a spatial mark set, she could grab Qianyue later and blink to the far bank, skip the Dark Abyss Zone, and get home early.

Mhm‑hm‑hm~