Into The Sea

As dusk settled, two figures crouched on a small dirt slope on the outskirts of the town.

Lan Wu held an umbrella, peeking out cautiously. “Do you see anything?”

Ji Lingyue, holding a pair of binoculars, scanned the area below with a serious expression, “No.”

“Maybe she’s locked inside the house?”

“I can’t see inside the house.”

It was a typical self-built home common in rural areas: sturdy, imposing, and surrounded by a three-meter-high gray-white wall embedded with sharp glass shards. Inside stood a three-story European-style home, with the only entrance being a stainless steel gate to the south.

With just the two of them, breaking into such a place was impossible.

Ji Lingyue observed for a while longer, noting two off-road vehicles parked in the yard and a steaming pot set up in the corner. A girl in a white T-shirt was washing rice and vegetables by the faucet, apparently preparing dinner.

She mused, “Even if each car carries two, there are at least four of them. Do you have a way to get inside without causing an alarm?”

Lan Wu thought for a moment, then shook her head honestly. “No.”

Ji Lingyue glanced at her. “Then we’ll have to use the dumb method.”

“What dumb method?”

“I’ll sneak in and put something in their food.”

Lan Wu was silent for a moment. “You’re not planning to run away, are you?”

“…” Ji Lingyue put down the binoculars and looked at her expressionlessly. “If I wanted to run, I would’ve done it last night. Why would I wait until now?”

Realizing her mistake, Lan Wu quickly shut her mouth. After a moment, she cautiously poked Ji Lingyue with a finger.

Ji Lingyue snapped, “What?”

“How are you going to sneak in? They saw you with me last night, didn’t they?”

“Yes, so you’ll need to help me put on a show. But…” She frowned, hesitating. “It might be a bit dangerous.”

***

As the sun set, the sky was painted with fiery red clouds, while faint stars began to twinkle on the other side. The deep blue night slowly spread across the horizon, and a cool breeze replaced the day’s heat. Yu Shanye scooped a spoonful of porridge and tasted it, calling out in satisfaction, “Danbai…”

“Coming!” a girl’s voice replied from inside the house. “What is it?”

“Bring out the bowls.”

“Okay.”

Soon, Danbai emerged from the house with clean bowls and chopsticks. Yu Shanye reached out to take them, saying proudly, “I’m not exaggerating, this time the congee is absolutely perfect…”

Before she could finish, a terrified scream echoed from outside the gate. Yu Shanye jumped, exchanging a glance with Danbai before shouting, “Danqing, what’s going on?”

A clear voice came from the third-floor window. “Let me see… Oh! Someone’s running toward us!”

“Someone?”

“Yeah,” the girl replied, peering through binoculars. Her expression changed. “Wait, someone’s chasing her. Ah… no, not a person. Red eyes. It’s a vampire! A vampire’s chasing her!”

As the words left her mouth, a tall woman strode out of the house, loading silver bullets into a gun. “Danbai, get back inside,” she commanded.

Yu Shanye also put down the ladle and picked up a bow nearby. “Teacher and the others aren’t back yet. Should we open the gate?”

“Of course,” Meng Changge said, frowning and aiming her gun at the gate. “Are we just going to stand by and watch someone die? Open the gate.”

Yu Shanye took a deep breath, readied herself, and flung the gate open.

A staggering, emaciated figure appeared. It was a young girl, covered in blood. Behind her, a disheveled vampire was closing in with inhuman speed.

Bang!

A bullet grazed the vampire’s shoulder, and the girl stumbled, falling to the ground. Before she could feel the pain, the vampire pounced, biting her neck.

“Ugh!”

Ji Lingyue struggled weakly. She heard hurried footsteps approaching, followed by more gunshots. Lan Wu deftly dodged the bullets, trying to drag her away. But then, a hand tightly gripped her wrist. Ji Lingyue gasped and looked up, seeing a girl about her age trying to pull her away from Lan Wu.

Bang!

This time, the gunshot was almost right next to her ear, followed by a pained cry from Lan Wu. Ji Lingyue’s heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively turned to look, only to see Lan Wu fleeing in panic.

The woman who had been shooting chased after her, while the girl holding Ji Lingyue shouted, “Sister Shanye!” before half-dragging, half-carrying Ji Lingyue back into the yard.

“Sister Shanye!”

Ji Lingyue looked up and saw two younger girls running out of the house. The one called Shanye handed her over to them before hurrying off with her weapon.

The area around the house felt much emptier. The two girls clustered around her, chattering excitedly. “Wow, look at her neck! So many bite marks! It’s still bleeding.”

“I can see that. You stay here and watch her. I’ll go get the first-aid kit.”

The taller of the two girls hurried away, leaving Ji Lingyue alone with the younger child. Ji Lingyue coughed a few times, her voice hoarse. “My… my…”

The girl supported her. “Take your time, don’t rush.”

“My bag… I dropped it outside. Can you get it for me? There’s medicine inside.”

“Okay, wait here, I’ll be right back.”

As expected, the girl ran off without suspicion. With no one around, Ji Lingyue quickly pulled out a vial from her pocket and poured the contents into the still-steaming pot. After finishing, she tossed the empty vial over the wall and feebly sat back down.

Now, all she had to do was wait for them to return empty-handed, drink the congee, and fall into a deep sleep.

Soon, the girl who had gone to fetch the first-aid kit returned and paused. “Where’s Danqing?”

Ji Lingyue guessed the gullible girl was Danqing and was about to answer when hurried footsteps approached from outside. The tall woman walked in, dragging a rope behind her.

Scrape…

Something heavy was being pulled along.

Ji Lingyue froze, following the rope with her eyes. Lan Wu lay on the ground, tied up like a dumpling, a silver arrow embedded in her shoulder.

…

Seeing Lan Wu in such a sorry state, she suddenly felt like laughing.

Ah, the glamorous superstar, now looking like she rolled through a mud pit.

Lan Wu’s eyes were red, perhaps from crying after being beaten up. When she saw Ji Lingyue, she tilted her head and bared her teeth in a mock-snarl.

Ji Lingyue frowned, tilting her head as she studied her.

This version of Lan Wu was much more tolerable than usual.

Wait, this might actually be a good opportunity…

She narrowed her eyes, her gaze shifting as a plan formed in her mind. Just then, a breathless voice called out from the gate, “Sorry, I looked everywhere but couldn’t find your bag.”

Ji Lingyue snapped out of her thoughts, looking at the girl at the gate. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” she said, slowly standing up with the help of the wall. “Thank you for saving me. I thought I was going to die.”

“It’s nothing.” The tall woman replied, handing the rope to Yu Shanye and walking over. “I’m Meng Changge. And you are?”

“Ji Lingyue.”

“Ji Lingyue,” Meng Changge nodded, scrutinizing her. “So, you’re human. I remember when we shot at this vampire last night, you were right beside her. You even helped her escape.”

Ji Lingyue forced a smile. “We used to be good friends. She wasn’t like this before. I didn’t expect her to suddenly change after being injured last night… she tried to bite me to death…”

“Oh?” Meng Changge nodded, her expression relaxing slightly. “Wouldn’t surprise me. Vampires are extremely cunning creatures. They’re good at pretending to be nice. It’s a good thing you finally saw her for what she is.”

As she spoke, Yu Shanye suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Hey… why does this vampire look exactly like the one we caught before?”

Meng Changge paused and turned to take a closer look. Finally, she recognized the familiar features beneath the dirt on Lan Wu’s face. “What’s your name?”

Lan Wu thrashed on the ground, averting her gaze.

“Oh no way… Is that Lan Wu?”

Danqing blurted out in surprise. Everyone turned to look at her. The little girl froze, bit her lip, and said sheepishly, “I… I used to watch her on TV in the mountains. She’s… she’s a big celebrity. I even voted for her once.”

“Both their surnames are Lan,” Meng Changge frowned. “Don’t tell me… your sister is Lan Yuan?”

Lan Wu blinked and finally looked at her. “Have you seen my sister?”

Meng Changge chuckled. “Seen her? More than that.”

She pulled down her collar, revealing a fresh bite mark on her neck. “She was much more ferocious than you.”