“I’m back… huh? Aunt Eina’s here too?”

Eina turned, her gaze a ripple across still water; the kid’s shock flashed like a startled sparrow. This place had a moonlit veil for a barrier—one even she needed the Old Ancestor’s leave to cross—yet this little one slipped through like mist.

“Little Tangxue, perfect timing. Tell Aunt how you caught those bad guys.”

Guilt pricked first, then Tangxue’s smile floated up like a paper lantern. She hunted for a way to steer the topic aside; that old fossil hadn’t let her sneak out to eat at all…

“I know you ran off to snack again. Don’t squirm. Business first. Did you feel anything else off at the scene?” Huaruo Qingqing’s look was a winter branch—clean, impatient.

Tangxue scratched her head, confusion rustling like grass. “Kinda? When I ran into those two, every cell in me pushed back. So the moment they came in, my eyes stuck to them.”

“Is that so…”

Huaruo Qingqing said to Eina, steady as a mountain shadow, “Little Eina, take this little rascal to the prison. See if she can feel it off the culprits. If yes, we screen the whole city. Better to cut trouble at the root.”

“Understood, Old Ancestor.” Flora Eina dipped her head, then smiled at the small figure beside her. “Let’s go, little Tangxue.”

As the Old Ancestor’s back turned, Eina shot a quick wink, a firefly in the dark: Hurry and get Old Ancestor away; Aunt will make you extra treats later. Tangxue blinked, then flashed an answering spark.

“…”

They think I can’t see? Huaruo Qingqing’s thoughts cooled like dew on steel.

When they left, Huaruo fixed on the Sky Eye again. She’d watched that little imp too long before and left a gap for wolves; she wouldn’t let her guard sag twice.

The Elf Clan built their prisons high over wasted land, nests strung by living branches. Marching prisoners up and down was a thorny climb—for ordinary elves.

Eina and her kind flew; for them, the sky was a path smoother than stone.

At the deepest cell of the sky prison, Flora Eina unlaced three layers of wards—like peeling frost off glass—then stopped at the door. The convict inside wore unwillingness like a mask carved in iron. Eina’s eyes stayed cold, and she yielded the narrow hallway to Tangxue.

“Little Tangxue, give it a try.”

“No need, Aunt Eina… even from here, I can smell that nasty stink.” Disgust rose first, then Tangxue clamped a hand over her mouth and nose. She wouldn’t go a step closer.

“It reeks like a corpse rotting—skin to marrow—foul to the bone.”

“Because they’ve long since offered their souls to Death,” Flora Eina murmured, voice like wind through pine.

“Come on, little Tangxue. We’ve got bad guys to catch.”

“Mm? Oh—oh!” Relief leapt up; Tangxue scampered after Eina. In that sealed, rotting air, even one more heartbeat felt too long.

By afternoon, Flora Eina led a carpet search, a net spread tight as rain. With Tangxue’s help, they hauled in dozens of cultists. When the net closed, terror burst in their eyes like startled fish; none had imagined being found.

It smelled wrong. The cultist Tangxue had first flagged had clearly blown their cover. No way the higher-ups knew nothing.

So they’d thrown these pieces away on purpose… Then the important ones had burrowed deep, like eels in mud.

Flora Eina sighed; after a whole night of questioning, not one key thread. These cultists were living corpses drenched in drugs; miss a dose, and their flesh sloughed off, death creeping like mold. Even if they wanted to keep them alive, they couldn’t.

Days passed. In the city’s breath, Tangxue couldn’t catch that smell anymore. Either the cult pulled out, or they learned to drown their scent.

Because of it, Flora Eina hadn’t slept for days; her eyes were lamps burning low.

Huaruo Qingqing kept the Sky Eye on the city’s every twitch. These bastards had stolen her time with the child; and yet, after so many days, nothing unusual. That emptiness itself was the loudest alarm. Unease lodged in her chest like a thorn and wore her down.

“O… Old Ancestor, I’m going out to play…” Tangxue stood at the gate and glanced back.

“Mm. Don’t wander.” Huaruo Qingqing only nodded, gaze never leaving the sky-bright screen.

Disappointment pooled first; head down, Tangxue slipped out like a small cloud.

Everyone’s been so tense these days; no one talks to me… Is it because I caused that mess?

Fine… I’ll listen to the Old Ancestor and stop sneaking into alleys to eat…

As she rounded a corner, a figure sprang from the shadow like a cat and clapped a hand over her mouth, dragging her in.

“Mmph! Pfft—who are you? Why kidnap me? Are you a bad guy?!” Tangxue twisted free—he smelled kinda nice—then hopped aside, wary eyes on the white-haired shorty.

The shorty had blood-red pupils, eyes stormy with mixed tides when they met hers.

“Elder Sister, those damned elves turned you into this… Still cute, eh-heh—but we gotta go! Before they notice, we slip out through my tunnel!”

“Who are you?” Tangxue stared level, question marks fluttering like moths.

“Elder Sister! It’s me! I’m Qianyue!!” Her voice broke; tears trembled like glass. “You made me say it again…”

“Qianyue… never heard of you.” Pain pricked first; Tangxue pressed a hand to her head, eyes narrowing at Qianyue.

“Again…” Qianyue’s face crumpled, helpless as rain.

“Elder Sister, I’m your little sister, Qianyue! I’m a Vampire. You’ve got my bite on your back shoulder! If we were just strangers, you wouldn’t let me bite you, right?!”

“And you’re not an elf at all! You’re a mermaid! You came to the Elven Dominion to find something to raise your mental power, and those shameless elves tricked you into this!”

Surprise flickered, then Tangxue took out a small mirror like a moon shard and checked. Her face went calm, eyes half-lidded, and she looked at Qianyue, speechless as a stone.

“No, Elder Sister! You’re really not an elf!” Qianyue pleaded, but the present form sat there like a fact carved in wood. Tangxue did waver at “mermaid,” yet the mirror’s cold truth smoothed it away.

“I still think you’re suspicious. You’re coming with me.” Tangxue vanished like a blink, then reappeared, arms around Qianyue’s belly, hoisting her over one shoulder.

“Eh!? Where are you taking me?”

“Prison.”

“No no no! Elder Sister, wake up! You’re really not an elf!”

Qianyue thrashed on her shoulder, legs kicking like drumsticks. No matter how she struggled, Tangxue didn’t budge. Annoyance pricked; Tangxue pinned the flailing legs and kept walking, steady as a mule.

Good chance!

Hope flared in Qianyue’s eyes like a struck spark. She twisted hard, found a seam, and sank her fangs into Tangxue’s waist.