"I will avenge you. Do not worry—there will be no more innocent girls harmed. I will protect them, for you."
Lowering her eyes, Mu Qingyun gently slid her hand down, closing the old man's lifeless eyes.
"This might be useful to you."
She pulled a book on formations and military tactics from the bookshelf and handed it to Su Qiluo.
"This?" Su Qiluo glanced at the title and immediately grasped the general content.
"Any nearby planet with military technology or ambitions is eyeing this place. Although the Zerg are currently intimidated, who knows when they'll return. They may try again." Mu Qingyun explained briefly, then scanned the room.
Wait—Da Fu!
She furrowed her brows and quickly stepped outside, scanning the courtyard before focusing on the room she had stayed in.
There was a faint scent of blood—barely noticeable unless one paid close attention.
She hurried inside.
There lay Da Fu's lifeless body. A distinct bite mark marred his neck—identical to the mark on the old man's.
Tufts of fur were scattered on the floor, and drag marks indicated that Da Fu had been pulled in from outside.
Su Qiluo followed her into the side room from the main hall.
Judging from the trail on the floor, the dog had likely tried to protect his master until his dying breath, dragging himself along while clutching the old man. But in the end, he had failed to save him.
Unbuttoning his collar, Su Qiluo pulled out a small camera hidden inside and recorded Da Fu's corpse.
These bite marks might help them identify the attacker—sooner or later, they would have their revenge.
Mu Qingyun noticed Su Qiluo's action, and though he made no effort to hide it, she nodded.
"Thank you."
"No need." Su Qiluo replied calmly, though his attention was caught by a crude sketch on the wall.
"Was the old man's name Gao Sheng?"
Gao Sheng?
Mu Qingyun fell into thought. The old man did mention he was a descendant of the Gao family and had told her many tales about their past glory.
"He had the surname Gao, but I never asked his full name."
She noticed Su Qiluo's surprised expression and raised her eyebrows.
"What is it?"
"The military academy received a distress signal from someone named Gao Sheng, reporting that vampires were harming innocent girls. That signal is what led the academy to send me here."
So that was it.
"Could you help me buy a simple tombstone?" she suddenly asked, looking down at Da Fu's body.
"Of course." Su Qiluo nodded and told her to wait. Then he walked away, following instructions from the book she had given him.
Once he left, she rummaged through some items until she found a curved piece of metal.
She carried Da Fu's body to where the old man lay and raised her right palm. Flames burst forth, instantly engulfing both bodies.
In the memories of this body's original owner, cremation was the norm in this era—so she would honor that and send them off as this time required.
Their bodies turned to ash, guided by the flames into the metal vessel.
It was scalding hot.
She touched her right hand where it had gotten too close to the fire—her skin was now red from the burn.
A short while later, Su Qiluo returned with a simple urn, a gravestone, and a bottle of Qingsu wine. He navigated through the maze and stopped in front of her.
He glanced at the ashes now resting in the iron container, a realization dawning in his mind.
Thinking back to the blaze in the banquet hall and how Brauer had been burned, it all made sense now—Mu Qingyun's ability was fire. Anxester had been making excuses on her behalf.
"Where do you want to place these?"
Mu Qingyun picked up the iron piece and carefully transferred the ashes into the urn.
"Right here. This place was his home and holds fond memories of him and his granddaughter."
She picked up a nearby shovel and dug a small pit, placed the urn inside, and set the tombstone above it.
After a moment's thought, she etched the words:
"Here Lies Gao Sheng, A Kind Soul."
Once done, she stood and bowed three times to the grave.
Su Qiluo watched in silence. Then he took out the wine and three cups he had specially ordered. He filled each one and placed them before the tombstone.
May the dead rest in peace, and the living find serenity.
It is said that before death, one sees their entire life flash before their eyes.
Perhaps now, he no longer needed to cling to those past memories. Good souls would surely be reborn.
Mu Qingyun set down the black umbrella and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying what Su Qiluo had just told her—
"The Qingsu is not ready yet. The doctor will finish it in three days. You must wait."
Three more days.
Three more days of being "monitored" by Yin.
Bang—
Just as she was lost in thought, the door suddenly burst open. She turned her head and locked eyes with Yin.
"Had fun today?" Yin asked, his voice calm, his eyes unreadable.
"You already know. Why bother asking?" Mu Qingyun gave him a cold smile, her eyes devoid of warmth.
"I ask because I want to." Yin slowly approached her. "Tell Su Qiluo to stop. If he insists on taking revenge, I will not cooperate with you anymore. He can get lost."
Hearing that, Mu Qingyun looked up at him.
"What? Was it you who killed the old man?"
"Whether it was or not does not matter. What matters is that I want you to forget about it. If you let go, we can continue to work together. If not, I will kill Su Qiluo." Yin's voice was icy and resolute.
It doesn't matter?
To her, it mattered more than anything.
"Kill Su Qiluo? You?" She let out a mocking laugh. "I may not be skilled enough yet to burn you, but his light-based ability is a hundred times stronger than mine."
"But he still thinks we're allies. Under that assumption, it would not be hard to take him down. Do you really think he would ignore your life or death?"
He wanted to use her to threaten Su Qiluo? How utterly foolish.
"You think he is like your idiotic vampire princes—rash, short-sighted, easily manipulated?"
Her expression was cold, her words sharper than a blade.
"You, who are cold-blooded and emotionless, claim you have someone to protect? What, are you afraid I'll discover the killer's identity and go after him?"
"It was me."
"What?" His confession stunned her. She frowned, confused.
"I said, I was the one who killed him."
Yin looked her in the eyes, speaking each word slowly and seriously.
"You want revenge? Then you must kill me."
"But if you do, your plan with Su Qiluo will fail. Your so-called peace between the two races will fall apart."
"Even if you wipe out the Dracula clan, the other vampire houses will rise to avenge us. Then the real cycle of endless bloodshed will begin."