Yun Zhe settled Akdina under a tree and pondered whether he should go find Jelock.
The surrounding area had been cleaned up, and even the few silver coins that Daniel had on him had been taken.
Yun Zhe stared at the old man, whose body was half dead, and thought of Hamelin, whose back bore marks that resembled those of a sword. Suddenly, he felt as if he had stumbled upon a colossal conspiracy.
"Is all of this aimed at me? Why would this team of harbingers of death target me? Was my encounter with Hamelin a coincidence or a deliberate scheme?"
“No, there must be something I’ve overlooked. That old man said Hamelin was their most honored guest. A guest, the Golden Eagle Dynasty’s sword and the brand on her back, and Hamelin’s obsession with that sword… could it be…”
Yun Zhe pieced together a possibility: this Hamelin might be a remnant of the Golden Eagle Dynasty.
"Is this a vampire plotting to restore his kingdom?" Yun Zhe was startled by his own guess. What was this messenger of death all about? Did organizations that help people restore their kingdoms really exist? Then why was he making things difficult for me at every turn?
Yun Zhe shook his head, then saw Jerok staggering back.
"It's nothing, it's nothing, I just tripped and fell. This place is really strange, it feels like it's completely dead."
Seeing that Jelock was unharmed, Yun Zhe breathed a sigh of relief, then threw Daniel's head over, and after thinking for a moment, threw two rings over as well.
“These are Debenny and Daniel’s rings; I suppose that should be considered an explanation.” Yun Zhe said, glancing at Akdina lying to the side, his face showing difficulty.
Jerok was unaware that Akdina had saved Yun Zhe. He assumed that Yun Zhe had spared her to save her for Ellie or himself, so that they could take revenge.
"She saved my life," Yun Zhe said quickly, realizing that Jerok had murderous intent.
Jerok was stunned. The murderer who killed his companion was right beside him, unconscious, and he couldn't take revenge. Yun Zhe had already stepped in front of him, still looking at him with a troubled expression.
“I…” Jerok wanted to say something harsh, but he didn’t say it.
He never believed there were good vampires, and even when Rivia confessed that Ellie was a vampire, he suspected that Ellie had cast some kind of illusion on Rivia. But his interactions with her over this period of time showed him a very different kind of vampire. Yun Zhe always put the protection of the lives and interests of the soldiers and villagers first, and Ellie, in addition to taking care of the little girl, also shouldered a heavy responsibility of protection.
He had always thought that even if vampires treated humans well, it was just a facade, a way of keeping humans as livestock. But this feeling didn't come from Yun Zhe and Ellie. They seemed to want to integrate into human life, rather than enslave it.
But the vampire killer who murdered Rivia was right in front of him.
“Ellie won’t let her get away with this,” Jerok swallowed hard and said.
Yun Zhe squatted on the ground with a worried look on his face, and said with a helpless bitter smile, "It's as if you'll let her go."
For some reason, Jerok's mood suddenly improved a lot. He looked at Yun Zhe, who had a gloomy face, and suddenly felt a sense of amusement.
“Should I call Ellie over?” Jerok said as he walked toward the stables. “I think it’s really important for her to know about this.”
Seeing Jelock's gloating expression, Yun Zhe clenched his fist, then waved his hand helplessly, "Fine, go ahead. If the girl is still asleep when you come back, you two can handle her."
Jerok paused again, then looked at Yun Zhe and noticed that Yun Zhe's expression was unusually serious, as if he wasn't joking. Jerok nodded, then quickly ran towards the stables.
Seeing that Jerok had gone far away, Yun Zhe looked around, picked up Akdina, and ran in the opposite direction. Yun Zhe wasn't familiar with this forest, but there were many huge trees, large enough to support Akdina's body on their branches. Yun Zhe didn't intend to let fate decide the life of his savior, at least not this time.
He quickly found a huge tree that satisfied him. A thick branch pointed diagonally at the moon. With a few leaps, Yun Zhe placed Akdina on the tree. To prevent Akdina from falling, Yun Zhe even found a vine and tied Akdina securely.
After finishing all that, Yun Zhe looked up at Akdina and suddenly realized that Akdina was staring straight at him with her eyes open.
Yun Zhe was so shocked that he almost fell off the tree.
"You're awake?" Yun Zhe stared at Akdina. Her eyes were no longer red, but a deeper blue than Ellie's. Her face was perfectly shaped, and her white hair reached her waist. Among elves, she must be extremely beautiful.
Akdina was completely devoid of her previous ferocity and madness; she exuded a cold yet serene aura. She nodded and then asked, "Am I still a vampire?"
Yun Zhe paused for a moment, then nodded.
Akdina's eyes dimmed, then she took off the ring from her hand and threw it away. "That's fine. Please tie it tight, thank you."
"Are you going to commit suicide?"
“I am deeply sinful,” Akdina said, a tear rolling down her cheek.
Yun Zhe sighed as he thought of the legends about elf vampires. "But it's not your fault that you became a vampire. Haven't you ever thought about living a good life?" Yun Zhe sat next to Akdina, looking at her perfect profile, and said with a hint of regret.
“As a vampire, I’ve lived far too long.” Akdina paused, “I…”
"What?" Yun Zhe tilted his head, trying to avoid looking into Akdina's eyes. "What do you want to say?"
“I… never mind,” Akdina said, scrutinizing Yun Zhe. “Being an Aluru vampire must be very difficult.”
Something deep within Yun Zhe's heart seemed to be touched. He paused for a moment and used a philosophical saying from his hometown before he transmigrated: "It's better to live a wretched life than to die a good death."
Akdina chuckled softly, gazing at the moon that was nearing the treetops. "Don't try to persuade me. You've influenced me. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have committed so many sins." Akdina looked at Yun Zhe's face, full of questions. "I'm not blaming you, it's just that now it seems my existence only brings disaster, pain, and...death to everyone—humans, elves, and animals alike." Akdina gave a bitter smile. "You see, this is the problem that comes with a vampire's survival."
"Ellie and I are vegetarians," Yun Zhe said somewhat guiltily, as he had only just started being a vegetarian.
“Animals are friends of elves,” Akdina said, looking at the moon above the treetops with a melancholy air.
"You don't want revenge anymore?"
"I still really want to kill Hamelin, but since I've already killed Debenny, it's not a complete failure."
Yun Zhe followed Akdina's gaze and was momentarily speechless. Yun Zhe stood up, but Akdina grabbed his hand.
Yun Zhe looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Stay with me," Akdina whispered, looking down.
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