Chapter 4: Escape?

Three crescent moons aligned in a straight line, like a mysterious overture under the night sky.

In the domain of the blood clan, this signified the arrival of night.

Though the ancient and powerful blood clan did not require sleep to replenish their energy, most still kept the habit.

To them, sleep was nothing more than a way to pass the long, endless time,one of many amusements, albeit one with no real necessity.

And tonight was the night Bai planned to escape.

The dim room was silent, with only the faint chirping of insects coming from outside the window.

Bai lay on the bed, moonlight pouring through the glass and onto her face.

The soft glow only made the girl appear even more pale and fragile.

When the old clock on the wall pointed to “III”, Bai’s eyes suddenly opened, her gray pupils reflecting the moonlight.

“Bai must leave,” she whispered.

At this moment, Yalbera was still asleep,but Aiersha would not be.

The vampire maid was on duty around the clock.

Her role was to guard the castle and repel any intrusions.

“As long as Bai can get past Lady Aiersha, Bai can leave here… go home… find Bai’s sister.” Bai clenched her thin fists, her resolve hardening.

The blood clan’s territory was not a place ordinary humans could enter or exit at will.

This was a domain completely cut off from the outside world.

Any normal human who wandered in would become hopelessly lost, never finding their way out. But Bai had lived here for five years.

She wasn’t one of the blood clan,she needed to eat regular food.

So once every six months, Yalbera would allow her one day to go out and purchase supplies.

Because of that, Bai knew where the exit of this realm was.

What she didn’t know was whether the outer gate could be passed through without Yalbera’s permission.

But at this point, she no longer cared.

She didn’t want to be a blood slave anymore.

Bai carefully opened the door.

The hallway was dead silent.

The entire castle was so quiet it was unnerving,not a single sound could be heard.

She swallowed, barefoot, and crept along the wall.

When she reached the edge of the spiral red-carpeted staircase, she peeked her head down to look.

“Mm… safe!” she whispered.

From the top floor of the castle to the main hall below, Bai moved with the lightest steps, cautiously navigating her way.

Unexpectedly, even as she reached the grand castle doors, she had not seen any sign of Aiersha,hadn’t even heard a sound.

Everything was going too smoothly.

Bai couldn’t help but feel a surge of hope,once she stepped out of the castle, freedom would be right in front of her!

She gently opened the massive door, just wide enough for her body to slip through, and squeezed out.

Outside was a sea of flowers,the courtyard, blooming with dazzling white Twilight Roses, looked as if shattered moons had fallen from the sky.

Under the silver glow of the moonlight, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Bai stepped into the flower field and found herself dazed.

She absentmindedly reached out to touch the dreamlike petals, her mind drifting into old memories.

***

“What are you looking at, Master?” In the study, Yalbera stared quietly out the window at the desolate courtyard, her crimson pupils as still as a pool of blood.

“Bai, doesn’t our courtyard look a little barren?” she asked, turning her head.

“Umm…”

Bai looked out the window too, pretending to think.

“It kind of does. Feels… empty. Like Xiao Hei’s bald head.”

“Pfft,” Yalbera burst into laughter at Bai’s joke, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

“How about planting some flowers? Bai read in a book that courtyards with flowers are very beautiful. But… um, what kind of flowers would look nice? Does Master have any favorite flowers?”

Yalbera shifted her gaze to Bai. In the hazy moonlight, Bai stood quietly, tilting her head to look at her.

Her gray hair was fine and silky, shimmering with a faint silver glow, as if it were part of the moonlight itself.

The night wind from outside the window gently stirred her hair, causing it to flutter like drifting mist in the night sky,or like a silver blossom.

“How about… Twilight Roses?” Yalbera said softly.

***

Snapping back to reality, Bai realized her face was already streaked with tears.

She wiped her face haphazardly and muttered to herself with bitter irony, “What are you thinking about? The time you longed for is already gone. Bai, you have to go.”

Steeling herself once again, she turned and walked toward the depths of the forest, no longer confused or hesitant.

But she didn’t notice the figure watching her silently from the tower of the castle behind her,those crimson eyes gleaming under the moonlight, bright as blood.

Bai was running wildly through the forest, and before she knew it, about half an hour had passed.

Up ahead was a transparent barrier.

Beyond it was the exit.

Bai’s steps quickened,freedom was just within reach, its light dazzling.

Everything seemed to fall into place,until,

Boom!

A graceful figure dropped from the sky, kicking up a cloud of dust as she landed squarely in front of the exit, shielding the only way out behind her.

It was Aiersha.

She looked at Bai, the same light, gentle smile on her face.

“Xiao Bai, come home now if you’ve had enough fun. It’s already late. If you don’t rest, you won’t grow tall,” she said with a soft smile, as though coaxing a stubborn child.

Bai’s pupils trembled.

She shook her head hard and shouted, “No! Bai wants to leave! Lady Aiersha, please step aside!”

“Master will be angry, you know. Come back with your big sister now, and I’ll keep tonight’s little mischief a secret,” Aiersha replied gently, her tone unchanged.

“Bai refuses! Bai doesn’t want to be a blood slave anymore. Bai misses home! Bai wants to go back,to where Bai belongs, to her family!”

Bai’s voice trembled.

She drew the golden-patterned dagger from her waist, gripping it with shaking hands and pointing it at Aiersha.

“Lady Aiersha… please let me go!”

The smile on Aiersha’s face gradually faded, replaced by sternness and warning.

Her voice turned colder.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

Bai shook her head.

“Bai just wants freedom… Bai doesn’t want to hurt Lady Aiersha.”

“Enough… Xiao Bai, stop this. Come home with your big sister, alright?”

“The outside world isn’t as nice as you think. Human society is full of sin and greed. Here,though it may not have what you want,big sister can guarantee it’s safer than out there. Bai, don’t forget why you came here in the first place,” Aiersha said.

“This is Bai’s choice… So, please, Lady Aiersha, let Bai go. Bai doesn’t want to be a blood slave anymore,” Bai pleaded through sobs.

Five years,she had repaid the debt of her rescue with her blood.

Now she just wanted her freedom, to return to her hometown and find her one and only sister.

Aiersha’s eyes flickered slightly.

She hadn’t followed Bai from the beginning,she had tracked her by the trail of blood on the ground.

Bai had run all the way barefoot from the castle, and the sharp stones and branches had already torn into her tender feet.

Her blood had dripped a path deep into the forest.

But after that fleeting moment of emotion, Aiersha returned to her cold, resolute gaze.

She couldn’t allow Bai to return,not because of Yalbera’s orders, but because she didn’t want Bai to be tainted by the human world.

“I can’t agree. Keeping you here isn’t just for Lady Yalbera,it’s to protect you. I’m sorry,” Aiersha said, a trace of pain flickering in her eyes.

In the next moment, she raised her hand to the sky and softly chanted.

“Forgive me, Bai… ‘Moon Cage’!”

A silver, square-shaped barrier descended from above, instantly trapping Bai inside.

She pounded on the barrier with all her might, her hoarse voice screaming in despair, “Let Bai out! Lady Aiersha! Just this once, please! Bai doesn’t want to be a blood slave anymore!”

Aiersha turned her head away, unable to bear the sight of Bai’s desperate and pained expression.

Bai’s fists were smashed into bloody pulp, yet the milky-white barrier, now smeared with her blood, didn’t budge at all.

Her cries gradually faded.

Already weak, the run had exhausted every ounce of her strength.

Her frail body slid down the barrier.

She curled up, hugging herself tightly, overwhelmed by despair and helplessness.

“…Master’s like this. Lady Aiersha is like this too. Why… why are you all treating Bai this way? What did Bai do wrong? Bai only wanted… only wanted someone to care… only wanted freedom… why…”

Bai’s voice of despair reached Aiersha’s ears.

Her fists clenched so hard they bled.

Several times, she wanted to reach out and pull Bai into her arms,but she held herself back.

After a long moment, she finally forced out a single word.

“…Sorry…”

Just as Aiersha was about to take Bai back, a dazzling, blood-red petal gently floated down and landed softly on the barrier.

Crack!

Fractures spread across the surface like a spiderweb.

Then, with a piercing explosion, the transparent barrier shattered completely into dust.

“As a noble, don’t you think it’s a bit much to bully a child like this?”

A teasing yet alluring voice echoed from above.

Aiersha’s pupils constricted.

She looked up and saw an elegant figure standing calmly in midair, watching them silently.

She wore a black Lolita dress, its layered skirt fluttering like petals in the night. In her hand was a black parasol.

Her long silver hair blended with the moonlight, making her appear both enchanting and dangerous.

Her figure slowly descended, light as a feather.

When her toes touched the ground, not a speck of dust stirred.

Every movement was graceful and unhurried.

Bai stared blankly as the barrier crumbled before her.

The falling white fragments framed the girl before her, making her seem even more noble and beautiful.

“Lady Yare… this is our master’s business. Please don’t interfere,” Aiersha said stiffly.

Yare ignored Aiersha completely.

Holding her parasol, she walked past her as if no one else were there and came to stand before Bai, who lay collapsed on the ground.

She reached out a slender, pale finger and gently lifted Bai’s chin, gazing into her dazed gray eyes,eyes as beautiful as gemstones.

Then, with that same finger, she wiped away the blood seeping from Bai’s wounded cheek and brought it to her mouth.

She smiled,a smile as bewitching and deadly as a red spider lily.

Her voice was laced with a strange, chilling gentleness.

“Do you want freedom, little one?”