Su Ling hurriedly finished her cup of cypress tea, turning it over in her hands as she stared at Tii with an unreadable expression.
“Tii, what are you saying?”
The girl’s pale eyes looked at Su Ling, moonlight shimmering faintly on her face, giving her a faint green hue, as elusive as a wild boar moving through the night.
Tii took a step closer; Su Ling instinctively took a step back, her back pressing against the wall. Outside, the old wooden door creaked faintly, the sound carrying a hint of menace. Her fingers clenched the wooden cup tightly.
The warm tea slipped past her lips, flowing smoothly like fine ripples, then slid down her slender white fingers before falling coldly onto the floor, the warmth vanishing in an instant.
“Ling Su, everything you’ve ever known, everything you’ve seen, is all lies,” Tii’s voice dropped to a whisper, yet carried an undeniable force.
“In this human world over the past several centuries, the Blood Clan has used deceit to blind countless people’s hearts, fabricating a history that never existed, and even created religions to control the human race.”
“They seem to have forgotten that humans were once neither slaves nor beasts, they were the true masters of this land.”
Su Ling felt little surprise at these words; it was all part of the original story’s established truth, something she had sensed long ago.
What truly caught her off guard was the red-haired girl in front of her, the seemingly gentle maid named Tii.
Su Ling’s mind involuntarily drifted to the past moments she spent with Boreas.
There was no doubt Boreas favored Tii, but when Tii was around her, she always maintained a subtle distance. To preserve her disguise, Tii constantly upheld her facade as a loyal servant of the Blood Clan, feigning smiles in front of Boreas.
The girl who once seemed “gently charming” to Su Ling now appeared unfathomably deep and inscrutable.
Tii continued, “For some unknown reason, your name seemed to cause a shadow of pain in me once again.”
“From my standpoint, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised by these words. But no matter what, I cannot bear to see you hurt… so please, listen to me.”
Her voice was soft and firm.
Thus, from Tii’s mouth, Su Ling heard a more complete account of this world’s past.
In ancient times, when the universe was newly formed, the Primordial God created three great races with supreme divine power: the Blood Clan, the Human Race, and the Beast People.
At first, the Blood Clan’s power was overwhelmingly strong, quickly gaining the upper hand over humans and beast people, breaking the balance between the races. The most vibrant life humans lived humbly, praying constantly to the gods.
To bring order to this chaotic world, the Primordial God cast a curse, imprisoning the evil and powerful souls of the Blood Clan beneath the Corrupted Land.
The only key to breaking the Blood Clan’s curse was entrusted to humanity.
From then on, the Blood Clan could barely survive, clinging to life in shadows; humans and beast people thrived, their world growing prosperous and orderly.
“Why! Why are only we treated this way?”
“O gods, why won’t you hear our sorrowful cries? Must we forever dwell in this shadow?”
“No! The Blood Clan are the true masters of this world, and one day they will reclaim their rightful place!”
So, the Blood Clan waited, waiting for the people on the surface to tire of peace, to grow dissatisfied with their current power and begin to fracture from within.
“Those who want more rights, who want to dominate others then awaken me!”
“If you help me return to the surface, I will loyally serve you and toil endlessly.”
They were like caged beasts, howling their calls to those filled with ambition.
The whispers grew louder, spreading from peasants’ mouths to the ears of nobles, eventually reaching the King’s heart.
Once the Blood Clan awakened, the world would surely descend into chaos. Yet knowing this, people still desperately sought to harness their power, listening to the voices hidden in the darkness, becoming mad and unyielding.
Priests began studying ancient rites to summon fate, and the King dared to delve into forbidden knowledge, making pacts with the underground Blood Clan.
Three centuries ago, the once flourishing human kingdom Boreakansel—fell into an unprecedented dark age due to its ruler’s debauchery and tyranny.
Despair, pain, and anger at the throne burned endlessly in people’s hearts. Rebellion forces attacked from all directions. The desperate King sought the help of the Grand Priest, begging him to unlock the sealed power of the Blood Clan.
Thus, the priests awakened the imprisoned Blood Clan, breaking the curse that had lasted a thousand years. The Blood Clan finally saw the light of day again.
In their jubilation, the awakened Blood Clan quickly betrayed the King, allying with the rebellious factions discontent with the throne, marching toward the capital.
The human kingdom collapsed. The Blood Clan seized the opportunity to establish their own kingdom, placing humans and beast people under their control.
“Hand over blood slaves to reduce taxes; offer blood as tribute to gain rewards; dying for the Blood Clan meant attaining eternal life like theirs… People naively believed this, stepping further down an irreversible path.”
“They were all deceived by the Blood Clan, and to this day remain unaware.”
In the kitchen, a faint trace of moonlight slipped through the half-drawn curtains, casting dappled patterns on the floor like silver silk spilled in the night—cold and lonely.
The dim light outlined the red-haired girl’s silhouette, adding a chill to her presence. After finishing, Tii looked solemnly at Su Ling, as if waiting for her reply.
“Tii.”
Su Ling was momentarily speechless, a heavy weight settling in her heart.
“Little Fenling, don’t you understand?” Tii’s voice grew anxious. “The Blood Clan is not a noble race at all. The so-called deep goddess is nothing but a lie. The affection she shows you is only because she wants to use you to satisfy her own desires!”
“No… it’s not like that,” Su Ling couldn’t help but rebut. “I have communicated well with Shirita. She is different from the other Blood Clan members.”
Tii’s pale green eyes glistened with tears, her voice thick with emotion as she stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around Su Ling.
“Do you really believe that?”
“Ah…” Su Ling let herself be held, softly responding. Tii’s embrace was warm, but the skin against her cheek felt strangely cold.
“Then, if everything you feel is just an illusion, what then?”
Tii hesitated, then asked again.
“An illusion?”
She repeated the word.
A faint evening breeze quietly closed the window, lightly rustling the curtains as it drifted into the room, filling the stillness with a soft murmur.
Unconsciously, a strand of Su Ling’s hair fell across her forehead.
“What if all the feelings you have right now are merely illusions implanted by the Blood Clan’s power? Even knowing this, would you still trust Sista?”
Her heart skipped a beat, her throat dry and unable to utter a sound. Su Ling lay motionless in Tii’s embrace, like a vulnerable child.
Some of the chill came not only from Tii, but from within herself.
Those words pierced her ears, making her feel cold all over.
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