Into The Sea

She shouldn’t have entered this abandoned castle.

Ji Lingyue gripped the dagger in her hand tightly, held her breath, and listened intently, but the faint footsteps she’d just heard had vanished.

She tilted her head slightly, peering through the cobweb-covered, mottled window.

The last sliver of sunlight had already sunk below the distant horizon, its fiery glow replaced by the encroaching night. The undulating silhouette of the mountains was like a bold stroke of ink in the darkness, exuding an ominous, deathly stillness.

Leaving the castle and venturing into the monster-infested forest in search of another shelter would undoubtedly be an act of suicide. The person hiding in the shadows had deliberately concealed their presence, likely wanting to avoid an encounter as well.

In that case, perhaps they could coexist for the night and part ways in the morning.

Having made up her mind, Ji Lingyue went to the corner staircase and quickly ascended to the third floor. The narrow hallway was bathed in pale moonlight.

She pushed open the door at the far end, slipped inside, and immediately locked it behind her.

Still, there was no sound from outside.

Ji Lingyue stood still for a moment, allowing herself to relax slightly. Using the faint moonlight, she scanned the room behind her. It was small, dominated by a soft, red bed. Dust covered the dressing table beside it, and various jars and bottles lay scattered haphazardly. Ji Lingyue then checked the once more to confirm it was secure before carefully curling up with her backpack in the corner where the wall met the headboard.

With her eyes wide open, she stared unblinkingly at the only door that could be used to enter, like a wary cat. After a while, exhaustion began to overtake her. Her head drooped, and she slowly, reluctantly closed her eyes.

Crack…

The faint sound jolted Ji Lingyue awake. She instinctively reached for the dagger beside her and looked up, still disoriented. Before she could fully regain her senses, the small door across the room burst open, and a shadowy figure, moving faster than any human could, lunged toward her.

Taken by surprise, Ji Lingyue found herself cornered with no escape. Acting on impulse, she rolled aside, dodging under the bed just before the darkness pounced. She flipped over and scurried to the other side, but her ankle suddenly felt cold, as if touched by a block of ice, and she was yanked back with a whoosh.

She looked up in shock, catching a glimpse of blood-red eyes and a ghostly white face in the moonlight. The figure grinned, revealing sharp fangs that gleamed with a bloodthirsty light.

A vampire!

A cold gust of wind rushed toward her, aiming for her neck. Ji Lingyue clenched her teeth and kicked upward with all her strength.

To her surprise, the vampire let out a yelp and was knocked to the ground. Ji Lingyue scrambled to her feet, pinning the vampire down with her knee and grabbing her dagger. Without hesitation, she plunged it into the vampire’s chest.

With a thud, the blade sank into flesh, and the vampire cried out in pain. But before Ji Lingyue could react, an immense force threw her across the room. She slammed into the wall, the impact knocking the breath out of her.

When she finally managed to get up, she saw her only weapon lying beneath the vampire’s foot, its crimson eyes glaring at her with deadly intensity.

Ji Lingyue froze, her skin crawling as if she could already feel the touch of death.

“You…” The vampire’s voice was hoarse, but it was unmistakably the voice of a young girl. “How could you stab me?”

Ji Lingyue blinked, momentarily confused.

The vampire stood there, fists clenched, trembling for a moment before suddenly stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum. “I just wanted a little taste of your blood! I’m starving to death! Is it so wrong to want a meal? How could you kick me? No one has ever kicked me before! And you stabbed me! It hurts! I’ve been hungry for so long, what’s wrong with wanting a bite?”

Ji Lingyue was speechless.

She listened to the girl’s whining and sniffling, then furrowed her brow and tentatively called out, “Lan Wu?”

The girl’s sobs stopped abruptly. She looked up, a single tear still clinging to her pale cheek. “You know me?”

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face, Ji Lingyue’s long lashes fluttered, and she nodded softly. “I do.”

Before the disaster struck, vampires and humans, after centuries of conflict, had signed a peace treaty and entered a golden age of coexistence. The few remaining vampires, thanks to their unique abilities, had even risen to prominence in certain fields. Lan Wu, for instance, was a teenage idol renowned for her beauty and singing voice.

But then, an unknown virus swept across the globe overnight. Humans turned into the kind of zombies one only saw in movies, and within half a year, the world’s order had completely collapsed. The peace treaty between vampires and humans was long forgotten.

With that in mind, Ji Lingyue hesitated before adding, “I worked as a server at your seventeenth birthday party.”

Lan Wu’s eyes lit up. “Oh! So, are you a fan of mine?”

“No.”

She immediately deflated, tapping her fingers on her knees. “Then… can I have a little of your blood?” she asked cautiously.

Ji Lingyue replied coldly, “No.”

She picked up her backpack, intending to find another room to rest in. Seeing this, Lan Wu panicked and threw herself at Ji Lingyue’s legs, clinging to them desperately. “Please, just let me have a little! I’m really starving…”

Ji Lingyue: “There are so many zombies outside. Why don’t you feed on one of them?”

Lan Wu stared at her in disbelief. “Are you kidding? If I ate one of those, I’d get food poisoning!”

“Then go catch a rabbit or something…”

“Impossible! They’re too sneaky!”

Ji Lingyue looked down at the girl kneeling on the floor, her delicate face framed by blood-red eyes that lacked any hint of ferocity. Instead, they were clear and innocent, gazing up at her with a pitiful plea. There was no trace of the arrogance one might expect from a vampire.

Despite her immense strength, lightning-fast reflexes, and the powerful regenerative abilities of her kind, Lan Wu seemed utterly helpless in this apocalyptic world. She had clearly been spoiled by her family, useless at practical tasks, clueless about survival, and both pampered and cowardly. Here she was, begging a human for a sip of blood.

Ji Lingyue lowered her gaze, suddenly recalling the girl she had seen at that party.

Lan Wu had been dressed in gorgeous clothes, her makeup flawless, the girl had carried herself with an air of superiority, effortlessly basking in everyone’s admiration. But that same night, Ji Lingyue had received a call from the doctor outside the glittering hotel that her younger sister was beyond saving.

How unfair…

Now, the carefree little princess was kneeling at her feet, seemingly at her mercy. Ji Lingyue raised her eyes and looked at Lan Wu seriously. “If I let you drink my blood, what can you do for me?”

Lan Wu was taken aback, her eyes lighting up. “Anything,” she said eagerly, baring her sharp fangs in a grin that was both innocent and mischievous. “Whatever you want me to do, I promise.”