Xingyuan looked at Yuan Wen Yue turning and leaving cleanly, her expression blank, and finally realized something was wrong. Just as she was about to chase after her, to coax and beg her to stay, she received a warning look from Yuan Wen Yue.
She could only stand obediently in place, watching her sister board the carriage and head towards the empire.
"Yun, go follow my sister, protect her! Don't let her find out." Xingyuan hesitated for a moment, not chasing after her, but instead calling her trained vampire to follow and protect her.
Xingyuan turned and entered the secret room she had specially prepared. Although she hadn't intentionally made her sister unhappy, it was good that her sister had left. Ever since the ancestral sacrifice, she had been unable to control her body. She was really worried that at some point she would be unable to resist biting her sister's throat. It was better to use these days when her sister was angry to recuperate properly!
Yuan Wen Yue, sitting in the carriage, couldn't help but look back. She had expected to see that familiar figure, but found nothing.
Did she scare Yuan Yuan by being too harsh just now, making her afraid to chase after her? Forget it, she should go to the empire to see her father first! He hadn't been well the last time she visited.
Upon arriving at the empire, Yuan Wen Yue skillfully entered through the back door of the Duke's mansion. Yuan Shilin, now with white hair, lay on the lounge chair directly opposite the door. Seeing his daughter's figure, Yuan Shilin stood up with a tremor.
"A Yue, you're here!" Yuan Shilin looked at Yuan Wen Yue, his eyes full of tenderness. "A Yuan isn't with you? Did you two quarrel?"
Yuan Shilin was surprised not to see Xingyuan. Apart from the ancestral rites every ten years, he hadn't seen the two of them apart. Now that the rites had just passed not long ago, and Yuan Wen Yue had returned alone, it could only be a quarrel.
Yuan Wen Yue's expression was also a little uncomfortable. She stepped forward two steps, pretending to complain as she helped Yuan Shilin up, saying, "It's all A Yuan's fault. She's been clinging to me every day recently! I found her too clingy, so I came to your place to escape for a while!"
Yuan Shilin, with a look of seeing through everything, sat down on the chair with Yuan Wen Yue's support. His tone was unconsciously stern, and he sighed, "A Yue, you're not telling the truth."
Yuan Wen Yue's face showed some struggle. Yuan Shilin didn't rush, just watched her quietly.
"Actually..." Yuan Wen Yue finally confessed. "I don't think I want to be with A Yuan anymore."
"Father, you should know that vampires live much longer than us. And..."
"And Xingyuan, because she was embraced before she was an adult, she will always look like a child."
"But I'm different. I will grow old like you, Father. When we went out together before, people said we looked like sisters. Later, they said we looked like mother and daughter. What about later? We'll look like grandmother and granddaughter, and even until the day I die, she will still look like this." Yuan Wen Yue's eyes were filled with sadness.
"Is it that you don't want to, or that you're afraid?" Yuan Shilin looked at his daughter, who had always been his pride, and sighed.
"I..." Yuan Wen Yue became flustered, as if her innermost thoughts had been exposed.
Yes! It wasn't that she didn't want to be with the little girl whose eyes were always full of purity, but that she was afraid! Afraid that if she left one day, A Yuan would also have no one to care for her. Especially with Xingyuan's current dependence on her, she might even accompany her. But she didn't want that. People always talked about the afterlife, but even though vampires lived several times longer than humans, once they died, they would turn into wind and clouds and disappear.
She dared not gamble. In front of her father, Yuan Wen Yue cried like a child.
Yuan Shilin gently comforted her. He had a premonition that his end was near, and before that, he hoped his daughter could be happy and joyful forever.
"Have you asked A Yuan? Even if this is your worry, you should tell her honestly. You've lived together for so many years, you must understand each other better than I do."
"I know what you want to do, but as a father, I don't want you to have regrets later. Moreover, you know A Yuan. Even if you really did that, would A Yuan really do as you wish?"
No, even if she could be truly heartless, with A Yuan's personality, she would only follow her secretly, not letting her find out. The power gap between them was too great, and the final outcome would probably be no different from now.
Yuan Wen Yue followed her father's words and thought about it, reaching this conclusion. She calmed down, wiped the tears from her face, and looked at her father seriously, "Then what should I do?"
"You can tell A Yuan directly. Even if she's unwilling, A Yuan has never refused your requests." Yuan Shilin sighed, indeed, love makes people blind.
A glimmer of surprise flashed in Yuan Wen Yue's eyes. She hugged her father, "Thank you!" Then, she couldn't wait to run back to the ancient castle.
Xingyuan was worried that her sister would be uncomfortable seeing a vampire. There were few servants in the ancient castle. At this time, Xingyuan entered the secret room, and the entire ancient castle appeared empty and lifeless.
Yuan Wen Yue searched the ancient castle but found no one. Thinking that Xingyuan was either looking for her in the empire or had something to deal with, she returned to her room and fell asleep while waiting.
When she woke up again, Xingyuan had already appeared before her. Xingyuan looked at her sister opening her eyes and said gently, "Sister isn't angry anymore?"
"You still know I'm angry?" Yuan Wen Yue's voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction. "If you promise me one thing, I'll forgive you!"
"Okay! I promise you!" Xingyuan agreed readily without even asking.
"I haven't even said what it is yet!"
"Because no matter what it is, Xingyuan will agree to Sister!" Xingyuan smiled, her eyes filled with tenderness.
Yuan Wen Yue felt a moment of guilt, then said in a joking tone, "Then, you have to promise me that you will never seek death, no matter what, and live well."
The smile on Xingyuan's lips stiffened. This might be a bit difficult! But she quickly twisted the meaning and said, "Okay, A Yuan promises not to seek death!" She wasn't actively seeking death! This was passive.
Yuan Wen Yue was satisfied. She stretched out her arm and said, "Carry me to bed! I'm too lazy to move."
Although Xingyuan's body was small, her strength was not. She easily carried Yuan Wen Yue to the bed and found a comfortable position to lean against.
In the days that followed, their daily lives passed without much incident. After Yuan Shilin and Wei Mu passed away one after another, Yuan Wen Yue never returned to the empire and lived peacefully in the ancient castle as the little wife of the Vampire King.
Xingyuan also concealed it very well, and Yuan Wen Yue never discovered the abnormality in her body. Although Yuan Wen Yue's body was healthy, it was aging. The three elders saw this and considered letting Yuan Wen Yue accept the embrace and become a vampire completely. But neither of them was willing.
Xingyuan knew clearly that her current body wouldn't last long and she didn't dare to let her sister see it. Yuan Wen Yue was purely unwilling.
That day finally came. It was as if a very cold snow had fallen. Yuan Wen Yue, with her last strength, looked at Xingyuan, her eyes as gentle as when they first met. She looked at Xingyuan, who was still a young girl sitting by the bedside, and said, "A Yuan, you promised me! Live well, I don't want you to accompany me."
Xingyuan gently rested her head under Yuan Wen Yue's hand, just like back then, as if making a silent promise.
Looking at her sister on the bed who had lost her breath, Xingyuan sat in silence for a long time. Finally, she went out and said to the anxious elders who were waiting, "Bring those children here!"
Years ago, Xingyuan had already instructed people to look for successors. Finally, Xingyuan chose a child among several children who bore some resemblance to Vanjo Mag, and after bestowing her abilities upon him, she went directly to the ancestral tomb, which was also her tomb.
The final ancestral rite should have been performed years ago, but she was greedy for her sister's tenderness and did not want to leave. Now that her sister had left, she should also go to find her sister's next life.
As the tomb door closed with a bang, the entire vampire world began to rain colorful drops. After the raindrops touched the vampires, they all changed. Their appearance became more human-like, and their fangs disappeared. The only thing that remained was the wings behind them. From then on, vampires officially became a brand new race – the Feathered Race.