Yun Zhe hesitated for a moment, then sat down. He wasn't necessarily trying to persuade the girl to live, but he felt he should repay her life-saving debt in some way. If accompanying her on her final journey was a way of repaying her, then there was no reason to refuse. Moreover, Yun Zhe was filled with curiosity about the girl who had just used the Mad King's Sword. However, judging from her expression, she seemed unwilling to discuss her experience using that sword.

"Where do you live?" After a moment of silence, Yun Zhe broke the silence first.

"In Saransk in the northeast, at the easternmost edge of the St. Petersburg Federation, the winters are exceptionally long, and the land only reveals its true colors for a few months each year. Deep blue waves ceaselessly pound the rocks on the shore. Ancient trees can stand for thousands of years."

Yun Zhe pondered. The name Saransk sounded familiar; he seemed to have seen it in a book before, but couldn't quite place it. "Aren't you planning to go back and take a look?" Yun Zhe asked again.

Akdina shook her head, but a ripple still appeared on her frozen face, and her eyes brightened a little.

"If possible, I still hope I can go back. When I left, there was a war in my hometown. I hope the war will be over when I return," Yun Zhe said honestly, leaning his head against the tree.

Akdina gave her a questioning look, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "How old are you?"

“Not that big,” Yun Zhe said, then suddenly came to his senses, “more than five hundred years old, but… that’s probably impossible.”

"I heard that the Aruru people have established a country. Aren't you going there? Or do you want to go back to... the past?" Akdina couldn't help but feel curious, a strange feeling that she herself was unaware of.

Yun Zhe shook his head. He had never been optimistic about the country's future. It had a small population and a small land area. If there was any basis for its existence, it was probably that the country was located in a place that was too insignificant and the resources there were too scarce. It was indeed not worth the trouble of the surrounding areas.

"Ellie, is she your wife?" Akdina changed the subject, striking straight to the heart of Yun Zhe.

"Ah, I think so, but I don't know what Ellie thinks. By the way, do you think vampires can have children?"

Akdina paused for a moment, then her face flushed instantly, and she turned her head away without saying another word.

Yun Zhe felt embarrassed and scolded himself for relaxing and forgetting that he was a vampire over 500 years old, while the other person was probably not even ten years old.

The atmosphere became awkward. Yun Zhe coughed lightly, "Today, I want to thank you. Thank you for saving my life."

"Um"

"I think if you have any unfulfilled wishes, I can help you fulfill them..."

"Um"

"For example, killing Hamelin or something, or..."

Yun Zhe was at a loss for words. At this moment, Akdina turned to look at Yun Zhe and asked, "Are you not going to that country because of Ellie?"

In Yun Zhe's mind, that country was completely pointless to visit, but explaining it was far too complicated. So he nodded.

Akdina smiled softly after hearing this, her expression a mix of relief and sadness.

Another long silence followed.

Yun Zhe suddenly regretted staying.

The sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn. Although the sun hadn't risen yet, Yun Zhe knew that time was running out for Akdina.

Akdina tidied her hair, and her voice returned to its initial coldness as she said, "You can go now."

Yun Zhe stood up awkwardly, unsure whether he should really leave.

Akdina ignored Yun Zhe. She closed her eyes, and images of the deep fear she felt when she gripped the sword hilt, the unforgettable pain like being scorched by the sun, the snow, waves, and trees of her hometown, and the faces of her loved ones flashed through her mind. Then she heard Yun Zhe say that he had killed Hamelin for her.

Finally, there's that saying: "It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death."

Yun Zhe felt that persuading the elf to continue at this moment might not be the right thing to do, or rather, it might not be respectful of the elf's actions, but he still couldn't help but mutter, "Every elf has their own situation, and no one says that elves who become vampires must die..."

Akdina turned her head slightly, then nodded and looked at Yun Zhe, "Why haven't you left yet?"

Yun Zhe gave an awkward laugh and jumped down from the tree in a few leaps. Looking back, Akdina was still quietly sitting in the tree, and he couldn't help but admire the elven girl; she certainly had some backbone.

However, what Yun Zhe didn't know was that after he left, Akdina jumped down from the tree and frantically searched among the trees for the ring she had thrown away earlier.

Yun Zhe returned to the site of last night's battle with some trepidation. He had been away for quite some time, and if he ran into Ellie and the others now, it would be difficult to come up with a reasonable excuse.

However, he saw a distraught Ellie, her body stained with blood.

Ellie?!

Yun Zhe suddenly hugged Ellie tightly, checking her injuries. Ellie wasn't hurt, and the blood on her body smelled human.

Ellie stared blankly at Yun Zhe, then burst into tears. Yun Zhe's heart tightened. Could it be that Hamelin had gone to the stables to kill people in order to get revenge on him?

“Jerok…” Hearing Ellie’s words, Yun Zhe’s breath hitched again. “What happened to Jerek?!”

Ellie looked at Yun Zhe with some confusion, "I...I turned him into a vampire."

Yun Zhe was taken aback. "Take me to see him, quick!"

On the way, Yunzhe learned that Hamelin had indeed gone to the stables in a ruthless manner. However, upon seeing Ellie, she wisely withdrew. Ellie, worried, followed, and happened to witness Hamelin torturing Jelock in the woods. Jelock's limbs had all been broken by Hamelin, leaving him barely alive. Then, to save him…

Yun Zhe felt a pang of regret. He should have anticipated Hamelin's furious revenge; he had been careless this time.

Beneath a broken tree lay Jerok, bound tightly. He was still in the dormant phase of his transformation from human to vampire.

His limbs were simply immobilized, and dried blood was everywhere on his clothes.

Yun Zhe reassured Ellie, "You did the right thing. If he thinks you did the wrong thing, I'll teach him a lesson and let him know how hard it is to be a mother!"

Ellie wasn't amused by Yun Zhe's joke; instead, she gripped his hand even tighter, "I...I'm scared...I'm scared that my first time might actually kill him..."

Yun Zhe was speechless for a moment. He found it difficult to comfort this person, feeling that no matter what he said, it would be a trap.

"Cough cough cough..." A cough came from the tree. Jerok, bound by thorny vines, opened his eyes, looking around blankly before his gaze settled on the man and woman in front of him. Then, looking at the thorny vines binding him, he asked in confusion:

"Yun Zhe? Ellie? What happened to me?"