Wei Jiu

The girl’s skin looked exceptionally supple under the moonlight. She finally finished rubbing her eyes and fixed her gaze on Xu Feng; her mouth hung slightly open, and her eyes crinkled as she broke into a joyful, tearful smile.

“Mother! Weijiu missed you so much!”

“Weijiu?”

Before Xu Feng could even wrap her head around the girl’s name, the girl bolted upright on the bed. Taking a giant leap, completely heedless of the danger, she lunged toward Xu Feng in a flying hug.

Are you actually trying to kill yourself?!

To prevent her from slamming into the floor, Xu Feng had no choice but to catch her with her own body. The girl clung tightly to Xu Feng, incessantly nuzzling Xu Feng’s face with her silver-haired head.

“Stop moving! I’m going to fall!”

Unable to withstand the tossing and turning, Xu Feng simply rolled over and fell backward onto the bed. The girl, however, was like a piece of sticky candy—clinging to Xu Feng for dear life, refusing to let go.

“Mother! Weijiu was so scared… they burned me with fire, they beat me, and I didn’t know what to do…”

Weijiu sobbed out her grievances, pouring out her heart to Xu Feng. Xu Feng decided to just stop moving altogether; she would wait for the girl to let go before taking further action.

However, Xu Feng felt half her face grow wet with the girl’s tears, yet the crying showed no signs of stopping.

Good grief, you’re a professional crybaby. I was done after a few sobs, but you’re planning to cry a river and flood the city!

Xu Feng couldn’t take it anymore. She reached out, gripped the girl’s shoulders, and gently lifted her a short distance away.

The bright moonlight passed between them, and Weijiu’s silver hair fell like a curtain.

“Mother?” Weijiu’s eyes brimmed with moisture; a single teardrop fell, landing on Xu Feng’s face.

“Stop crying first. Sit up and put some clothes on.” Xu Feng averted her gaze, her face flushing slightly.

“Okay, Mother.” Weijiu finally sat up, but she looked around the room and couldn’t find any clothes; everything felt utterly foreign to her.

“Sit and wait for me. I’ll get you something to wear.” Xu Feng got up to head toward the balcony, but Weijiu reached out longingly and grabbed Xu Feng’s hand.

“Mother… please don’t throw me away again. Weijiu will be very good and obedient…” The look in Weijiu’s eyes was one of pure desperation, as if she had suffered some immense trauma and refused to let go of even a sliver of hope.

Xu Feng turned back helplessly and raised her other hand. Weijiu immediately squeezed her eyes shut in fear.

So you’re actually afraid I’ll hit you, despite hugging me so affectionately just now.

Xu Feng didn’t have any ulterior motives; she simply patted the girl’s head and said softly, “Wait for me.”

Weijiu opened her eyes in surprise, finally letting go of Xu Feng’s hand.

Xu Feng fetched some dry clothes from the balcony. Once Weijiu was dressed, Xu Feng took two blood bags from the fridge and handed her one.

“Hungry?”

“Mm-hmm. But Mother, you usually say this is…” Weijiu’s eyes lit up at the sight of the blood bag, but she quickly became timid again.

“Leaving everything else aside, I’m just asking if you can eat this…” Xu Feng pinched the blood bag in Weijiu’s hand and gave it a shake. Weijiu’s eyes followed its movement perfectly.

Gurgle~

The sound came from Weijiu’s stomach.

“I can, Mother.”

“Then eat. Just be careful not to get any on the bed.”

“Thank you, Mother!”

Xu Feng watched Weijiu sip from the blood bag. She started with a tentative little sip, but once she tasted the wonderful flavor of the blood, she quickly began to gulp it down until the bag went limp.

“Finished?” Xu Feng asked, resting her chin on her hand.

“Yes, it was delicious.” Weijiu nodded.

“Then let’s get down to business. First of all, please correct how you address me. I am not your Mother—I am Xu Feng!”

“Eh!” Weijiu’s eyes widened as if she found this impossible to believe.

“Secondly, how did you get into my house?! And why did you bite me that day?! You made me turn into this!” Xu Feng finally recognized the girl—she was the one she had saved!

“Eh? Weijiu doesn’t understand… Mother, what’s wrong? Why are you angry?” Weijiu only knew that Xu Feng was upset, but she couldn’t fathom the reason.

“Ah, I’m so frustrated I’m actually laughing.” Xu Feng rubbed her forehead; it seemed she would have to sort this out with her bit by bit.

After a great deal of explaining, Xu Feng finally finished recounting the sequence of events to Weijiu.

Weijiu sat there in a daze, staring blankly at the moon outside, finding it difficult to accept for a moment. Xu Feng simply sipped her own blood bag to replenish her energy, waiting for a response.

After a long silence, Weijiu finally spoke.

“I seem to have… forgotten some things.” As she spoke, her eyes were filled with loneliness.

“Forgotten? But you said you were burned by fire. Do you remember a boy saving you from the sacrificial altar?” Xu Feng frowned, taking a sharp pull from her blood bag.

“My memory is very blurry. Many of the things you said are… fragmented.” Weijiu tapped her head; she really didn’t seem to recall many details.

“But I remember you biting my neck. Then I passed out and woke up like this.” Xu Feng touched her neck; the phantom sensation of that piercing bite seemed to return.

“If that’s true… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. But you would have died,” Weijiu added.

“Yeah, true. But you haven’t answered the second question: how did you get here?”

“I… should have come from your forehead.” Weijiu turned her body and pointed at Xu Feng’s brow.

“Do you mean this mark?” Xu Feng lifted her hair and pointed to it.

“Yes. This is the mark of our Kindred. It can temporarily host the existence of another.” Weijiu looked at Xu Feng, finally realizing that this person really wasn’t her mother—just someone who looked like her.

“I see. Then, do you have a way to change me back?” This was Xu Feng’s primary concern.

“I can’t… it’s irreversible.” Weijiu shook her head guiltily.

Irreversible.

Hearing this, Xu Feng felt as if she had been struck by a heavy blow. Everything she once was seemed to have vanished into the night wind, never to return.

“My life…” Xu Feng lowered her head, sinking into self-pity.

“Uh, but Big Brother, I know a little bit of appearance-altering magic. I should be able to make you look… mostly like you did before.” Weijiu said, tapping her fingers together.

“And the essence?” Xu Feng looked up and pressed.

“No change. Female. And as for a boy’s… down there… I can’t imagine it,” Weijiu whispered.

“Then it’s still useless!” Xu Feng clutched her head, unable to accept the cruel reality.

She thought she had found a turning point and a glimmer of hope, but it turned out to be a total transformation!