As night descended, snow began to fall anew.
Amidst the swirling flurries, on the back mountain behind the Acacia Plaza, a figure appeared.
From the winding mountain path, a silhouette cloaked in crimson slowly emerged through the blizzard. With each step, the accumulated snow beneath its feet melted away.
Perched calmly on the cliff’s edge, Ling Qinghe sat, her form graceful in a plain white gown.
Though the wind tousled her hair, it did nothing to detract from her inherent elegance.
Sensing the surge of blood aura, she turned her head, a perfectly poised smile gracing her lips.
“Miss Lina, good evening~”
Her voice, though soft, carried distinctly through the howling wind.
Yet, her greeting was met with an abrupt escalation of oppressive blood energy.
With every step Lina took, the crimson mist swirling around her grew denser.
The scorching blood mist clashed with the icy snowflakes, creating plumes of white vapor and suffusing the air with the metallic tang of rust.
Ling Qinghe maintained her composure, yet a flicker of surprise stirred within her as she gauged Lina’s state. ‘Was it a facade of strength? No, that wasn’t quite right…’
Though the blood mist appeared ethereal and shifting, it pulsed with a chillingly potent blood force.
‘This is astonishing,’ Ling Qinghe mused, a shiver running down her spine.
‘I truly wonder where Zhennu Yibai managed to ‘procure’ this bloodkin from,’ she thought.
She recalled her initial distant encounter with Lina, when she had dismissed the seemingly delicate bloodkin maiden as someone who would never amount to anything significant.
Now, with Lina standing so close, the disparity was stark. The girl’s presence exerted a palpable pressure, confirming that the bloodkin truly possessed a strength far surpassing that of humans.
Moreover, for a transcendent race like the bloodkin, merely consuming blood would, sooner or later, restore their full power.
****
Lina finally halted at the cliff’s edge, her scarlet eyes narrowing subtly as she inhaled the scent of blood emanating from Ling Qinghe.
A flicker of disappointment crossed her gaze.
While Ling Qinghe’s blood bore the fragrance of magic, it paled significantly in comparison to the pure, tantalizing sweetness found in Silvia’s blood when he was in his female form.
Observing her reaction, Ling Qinghe swept her hand, and ten crystalline blood vials materialized, suspended in the air.
They pulsed with an eerie crimson luminescence, with three of the vials exhibiting a particularly distinct, ghostly shimmer.
“These are offered as a token of my sincerity; several of them, I might add, were personally provided by me~ What do you say? Shall we discuss a collaboration?”
Lina’s gaze remained fixed on the vials, before she offered a subtle nod.
She was, in truth, desperate for fresh blood to regain her strength. Her eyes roamed over Ling Qinghe, calculating the feasibility of capturing her to serve as a long-term blood source.
Yet, that thought was quickly dismissed.
The dark violet magical aura that shimmered around Ling Qinghe, though seemingly gentle, was undeniably profound and unfathomable.
Should it come to a direct confrontation, Lina knew she lacked absolute certainty of victory.
Ultimately, she gave a soft nod, tacitly agreeing to the proposed transaction.
Upon seeing this, Ling Qinghe began to meticulously unveil the hidden intricacies of the Witch’s Coven—
She informed Lina that as a nominal witch, the information accessible to her was presently quite restricted.
As her introducer, Ling Qinghe would serve as Lina’s ‘special superior’ within the hierarchical structure of the Witch’s Coven.
With that, she produced a dark, circular ring, intricately carved with runes. It was, however, noticeably less potent than the one possessed by the Lesser Witch.
“This is a Dark Ring, an entry-level artifact. It can gather resentment and also summon several fifty-meter-class mimic behemoths.”
“According to regulations, a nominal witch must complete this collection at least once a week. As for the remuneration…”
She paused deliberately, a sly gleam dancing in her eyes.
“Originally, it was twenty vials, but I’ll increase that to… twenty-five vials.”
Indeed, Ling Qinghe had ‘negotiated up’ her own offer, intending to provide Lina with greater benefits.
Following this, Ling Qinghe briefed Lina on various pertinent details and assigned her a mission.
In two days, Ling Qinghe would need to take Lina to the southern border of the Iris Feather Kingdom, where they were tasked with ‘inciting unrest’.
“These past few days, the Iris Feather Kingdom has been plunged into turmoil due to the incident involving Zhennu Yibai, causing a weakening of its southern defenses. We must seize this opportunity to sow chaos and facilitate the infiltration of more witches.”
Lina raised an eyebrow, and after a brief moment of contemplation, consented.
“Mm.”
In her estimation, this was merely a transaction for fresh blood; she had no intention of serving Ling Qinghe for an extended period.
Once she had consumed fifty or so vials of blood and regained a significant portion of her strength, she would depart the Iris Feather Kingdom to seek out her fiancée.
With the transaction agreed upon, Ling Qinghe gestured towards the brightly lit Acacia Plaza below, where a bustling crowd thronged.
“Would you not care to try summoning a mimic beast first? It would be an excellent opportunity to hone your skills.”
Hearing this, Lina idly twirled the Dark Ring, a flicker of disdain crossing her eyes.
“No interest. I much prefer to tear out my prey’s throat with my own hands…”
Having spoken, Lina vanished without a trace the very next second, leaving behind only the desolate cliffside and a faint, lingering scent of blood.
Only then did the tension in Ling Qinghe’s shoulders finally ease.
She understood that this bloodkin maiden, while temporarily serving her purpose, was nonetheless a double-edged sword.
Within every word she uttered, a subtle current of defiance lingered.
‘A verbal agreement is, after all, far too unreliable,’ she mused.
Ling Qinghe murmured softly. How she yearned to seize some leverage over Lina, to bind this ‘blood beast’ to her will.
Yet, it was an impractical notion; she neither possessed the means nor the courage to attempt it.
She knew Lina’s temperament: provoke her, and the bloodkin would be entirely capable of unleashing a bloody massacre.
In such an event, the Iris Feather Kingdom would not only be plunged into chaos, but Lina might also embark on a widespread killing spree.
Consequently, the primary source of resentment, so crucial to the Witch’s Coven, would drastically diminish.
After all, the Witch’s Coven had no desire to witness widespread fatalities among the women of the Iris Feather Kingdom.
Only living individuals could harbor profound resentment, allowing for continuous ‘exploitation’.
Beneath the moonlight, her thoughts drifted, unbidden, to… Qiye.
The magical girl known as the Crimson Star, who always wore a radiant smile, was currently drowning her sorrows in alcohol back at her apartment.
Ling Qinghe recalled the leverage she held over Qiye, the secrets that allowed her to effortlessly manipulate the girl’s emotions and actions, to do with her as she pleased.
She could make Qiye ‘absolutely obedient,’ even to the point of enduring humiliation when her sister ‘forced herself’ upon her—truly a delightful girl.
At this thought.
Ling Qinghe couldn’t help but let out a soft, amused laugh.
Ultimately, it was Qiye’s inherent kindness and her excessive concern for others’ opinions that kept her so tightly bound by the shadows of her past.
Lina, however, was different. The innate arrogance and bloodlust of the bloodkin ensured she would not be easily swayed by threats.
Yet, if this formidable power could be harnessed to achieve Ling Qinghe’s objectives, then every risk would be worthwhile.
The wind and snow persisted as she sat quietly by the cliff, awaiting the impending ‘storm’ that was set to break in just two days.
****
Deep in the night, three hundred meters beneath Tanhua City, lay its prison.
Through the reinforced glass, Warden Hera observed the specialized cell, submerged in elemental insulating fluid. Her fingertips unconsciously traced the cool casing of her communicator.
This was far more extensive than merely filling a magic-suppressing chamber; a full, generous amount had been deployed.
Ever since the blood-robed maiden’s failed attempt at a prison break, this beyond-special-grade cell had become Silvia’s personal cage.
Equipped with 360-degree surveillance cameras, golden-stone chains suspended within the liquid, and golden-stone ash powder saturating his prison attire, every conceivable avenue of escape had been utterly obliterated.
This time, Silvia was not confined within a standard magic-suppressing chamber.
Nevertheless, as a precautionary measure, a layer of golden-stone ash, designed to obstruct magical flow, thoroughly coated his prison uniform.
At present, Silvia lay on a water-filled medical bed, an IV tube snaking down his collarbone, delivering a nutrient solution.
His current mental state was deeply unsettling.
He had ceased eating and drinking, his eyes vacant, as though… his very will to live was fading.
His silver hair floated listlessly in the insulating fluid, resembling a lifeless tangle of spider silk, while his hollow violet eyes mirrored the scarlet indicator lights of the surveillance cameras.
He appeared as a specimen preserved in formaldehyde.
The heart rate monitor emitted a rhythmic yet faint ‘tick-tock,’ a sound that grated harshly in the profound silence of the cell.
“Reporting, Warden Hera, the psychologist’s seventeenth session has concluded.”
The assistant’s voice, tinged with unconcealed anxiety, emanated from the communicator.
“The patient remains unresponsive. The electroencephalogram indicates… a near-vegetative state.”
Upon hearing this, Hera’s brow furrowed deeply as she stared at the flat waveforms displayed on the screen.
A wave of urgency washed over her. This simply wouldn’t do; he couldn’t be allowed to lose his will to live.
For the surveillance here was linked directly to the association headquarters in Plum Blossom City, and directives from above were issued intermittently—
Such as, “While maintaining strict vigilance, ensure he is treated with utmost care. Look at how low his heart rate has become!”
And, “Dispatch more psychologists…”
Yet, despite Warden Hera having summoned the city’s foremost psychologists, Silvia remained utterly unresponsive.
He neither spoke nor moved, blinking only after long, drawn-out intervals.
Consequently, a new, critical directive was issued from above:
[Zhennu Yibai’s vital signs continue to deteriorate, and psychological intervention remains ineffective. Dispatch personnel to offer themselves!]
Silvia was now a man.
And if he was a man, he would possess desires. All that was needed was to use those desires to rekindle his will to live.
In the perception of the Iris Feather Kingdom’s populace, men were synonymous with impulse and desire.
Even though Silvia had safeguarded Tanhua City for years under the guise of ‘Zhennu Yibai,’ he could not escape being branded with the label ‘male = vessel of desire.’
A short while later, several beautiful female prison guards, willing to dedicate themselves to their work, entered one after another.
Each possessed striking looks, yet their eyes betrayed an undeniable nervousness and apprehension.
At this moment.
Warden Hera clenched her fist, watching the female guards enter the cell on the screen. A surge of indignation welled within her. ‘Why should a man get such privileges?’
But there was no recourse; the orders from above had to be obeyed.
Simultaneously, the central control screen on the ceiling accessed live streams from popular adult websites and channels on the external network.
The suggestive sounds, the swaying cameras, the intimate pleasure shared between men and women, were projected onto the screen via holographic display.
“Reporting, Warden Hera, uh… the visuals have been synchronized.”
The technician’s voice quivered with embarrassment.
On the screen, a man and woman writhed and entwined in an embrace, their movements full of innuendo, accompanied by decadent sounds.
Yet, Silvia maintained his hollow gaze, the IV tube subtly rising and falling with his breath, completely oblivious to the scene before him.
After a while.
The first female guard cautiously approached the bed, whispering soft, tender words, her fingertips lightly tracing Silvia’s arm.
At her touch, Silvia jolted as if electrocuted, turning his head sharply to retch violently, a sickly flush spreading across his pale face.
Successively, the second and third female guards took their turns, either shedding their uniforms to tempt him or attempting to provoke him with extreme tenderness.
But all they received in return was even colder disregard and visceral rejection.
Small ripples spread through the insulating fluid, caused by Silvia’s muscles, taut with resistance, struggling unconsciously.
****
“It’s not that he has no desires; he has completely lost the will to live.”
The personnel in Plum Blossom City detected the anomaly. Seeing that seduction was ineffective, they had no choice but to seek an alternative approach.
Soon, a new idea emerged: Zhennu Yibai had a very close relationship with the Three Primary Colors Squad, a senior-junior dynamic. What if…
****
“Alas, this can’t continue…”
Hera leaned against the control panel, causing the surveillance screen to tremble slightly.
Just then, the latest directive from the association headquarters arrived, accompanied by a holographic map.
On it, the location of the Three Primary Colors Squad was circled in a red glow.
“Immediately dispatch the Three Primary Colors Squad to the prison for emotional appeasement… Ten senior magical girls have been augmented to take over patrol duties in Tanhua City…”
Hera’s heart was a maelstrom of emotions as she gazed at the directive.
She remembered Silvia’s appearance when he first entered prison; in such a short time, he had been worn down to this state.
However.
Warden Hera was well aware of the ‘riddled’ relationship between Silvia and the Three Primary Colors Squad.
Yet, the orders from above were absolute, allowing her no room for hesitation.
Her hand, gripping the communicator, trembled slightly. Finally, she switched to an encrypted channel and pressed the call button.
She prepared to connect with the Tanhua City branch to relay the message to the Three Primary Colors Squad as an intermediary.
The call connected.
The hydraulic hiss of the blast door opening echoed in the corridor, and Hera took a deep breath.
She knew that when the Three Primary Colors Squad once again stepped into that cell, the deliberately avoided and buried entanglements of love and hate would finally confront each other.
And this rescue operation, using emotion as ‘bait,’ would it prove to be a healing remedy or a fatal poison? No one could tell.