Liu Yu thought she wouldn't be able to sleep.
Unexpectedly, as soon as her body touched Beiliya's soft silk quilt, she fell into a deep slumber.
In the midst of her drowsiness, she began to dream.
This feeling was strange, as if her soul was being peeled away from her body, half floating in mid-air, half sinking into the ground, half awake, half dazed.
She dreamed of herself as that ten-year-old girl again.
She wore a faded school uniform, carried an old backpack, and wandered aimlessly through the long alley like a ghost. The sun had set, and the aroma of dinner mingled with the smoke from cooking fires, wafting into people's noses. Adults called out sharply, summoning their wild children home.
She also started to walk back, reaching the end of the alley where the big door was ajar, and she could see the grapevine trellis in the garden at a glance.
The gate at the end of the alley was open, and she could see the grape vines in the garden at a glance.
The grapes hung heavily on the vines, and she glanced at them before silently moving further inside.
Stepping over the high threshold, she began to nervously fiddle with the straps of her backpack.
Inside the backpack were two exam papers, one with a score of sixty and the other with sixty-five, scores she had calculated in advance.
From the central hall, the muffled sounds of an argument were carried out by the hot wind.
"…I don't care! You go return that child, we can't afford her."
"Can you be reasonable? She's just one more mouth to feed."
"How is she just one more mouth?! At such a young age, she's full of bad intentions. No wonder she came from an orphanage, always trying to get ahead! My daughter gets a sixty, and she gets a seventy; my daughter gets an eighty, and she gets a hundred. The other day, I asked her to watch over my daughter, and she fell off the stool. She wants the best food, the best clothes, and I just can't stand it anymore!"
"Lijun…"
Even though she was dreaming, Liu Yu could feel the cold breeze on her skin.
She shouted at the little girl:
"You idiot! Run away, what's so precious about this place?! Do you think calling them 'Mom and Dad' makes them your real parents?!"
The little girl didn't hear her.
She took out the exam papers from her backpack, smoothed them out, and held them in her hands, stammering:
"Dad, Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't do well this time, only sixty."
"Sixty? Listen to this, what's the point of bringing such a fool home?! Barely passing, not even half as good as my daughter!"
"Lijun, don't say these things in front of the child!"
The little girl stood bewildered in place, the woman's shrill voice echoed repeatedly in her ears:
"…always trying to get ahead! My daughter gets a sixty, and she gets a seventy; my daughter gets an eighty, and she gets a hundred…"
"…listen to this, what's the point of bringing such a fool home?! Barely passing, not even half as good as my daughter…"
Her small body seemed to be gripped by an immense, irresistible force of fate—
The pressure grew heavier and heavier, almost suffocating her…
Liu Yu struggled.
As she struggled, she woke up.
Upon waking, she immediately sensed something was wrong. Her entire body seemed to be sinking into a deep mire, her limbs and body bound by invisible ropes, unable to move—she exerted all her strength to kick and move her arms, only to hear the "crack-crack" sound of her bones being squeezed too hard.
She felt like a dead fish on a chopping board, the force suppressing her mysterious and powerful, completely untraceable and impossible to resist.
Liu Yu desperately turned her head and could only see a corner of black cloth by the bed.
"Who… who are you?"
She struggled to make a sound.
The shadow gradually moved closer, enveloping her entirely.
She could only see a vague silhouette covered by a hood, appearing to be a man.
"Beiliya."
"Cough, cough, cough… who are you?… let… let me go…"
Liu Yu's tears choked out.
The man's tiger mouth gripped her fragile neck, and she desperately clawed at his wrist, almost digging into his flesh—
But the touch was icy cold, the skin hard like stone freshly unearthed from the ground, impossible to move.
Liu Yu's nose caught a faint scent of blood.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the man's pale skin, devoid of any color, under the shadow of the hood—in the ghostly moonlight, it looked eerily beautiful and hollow.
…Dark Night Duke?
Why would he make a move now?
Her breath became increasingly scarce, her throat emitting "hiss-hiss-hiss" sounds, and Liu Yu felt as if she was sinking into a deep sea.
Endless darkness surged in, almost drowning her reason.
Her entire body began to tremble with fear.
No, no, there's still a chance.
Liu Yu desperately stirred the last bit of clarity in her, trying to recall the man's weaknesses: arrogance… blood…
"Please… please let me go."
She began to sob.
The girl's terrified plea and trembling body seemed to amuse him.
"Let you go?" A hoarse voice, like that of a devil from the night. "No."
He refused.
"I… I am willing to give you everything, as long as… as long as you let me go."
"Oh? Everything? Including offering yourself to the darkness and the devil?"
"Devil?" The girl widened her eyes, the azure irises reflecting a dark shadow, "You… you are… controlled by the Dark Force…"
She was too terrified, her chattering teeth accidentally bit into her soft lips, and blood seeped out. Yet she seemed unaware of the pain, still grinding her teeth frantically, and blood dripped down.
Louis shook his head.
But he couldn't dispel the scent so close to him. The smell was too intense, not like Natasi's clean scent, but more like a rose blooming in the dark night, mixed with desire, fear, and pleading.
This excited him.
Liu Yu could clearly feel the grip around her neck loosening, and the invisible ropes binding her limbs also began to loosen—
She bit deeply into her lip with her teeth, and blood dripped down drop by drop.
Louis couldn't control himself and leaned down.
His warm breath sprayed onto Liu Yu's neck as he hovered near her, as if choosing where to strike.
Liu Yu reached under the pillow:
Got it.
Taking advantage of the man's momentary distraction, Liu Yu quickly grabbed the glass bead and slapped it onto his chest—
Louis froze.
A burnt smell filled the air, and his body suddenly recoiled as if enduring tremendous pain, reaching out to grab Liu Yu, but she retreated instead, continuing to press the glass bead forward, "Sss—"
Smoke rose where the man's chest touched the glass bead, and the woman's nails dug into his flesh.
The hood of the cloak fell off during the struggle.
The man's pitch-black hair and eyes were revealed, along with his pale face, sharp teeth, and strikingly handsome features.
"Beiliya, how dare you…"
Louis's long sigh spread out.
Liu Yu felt uneasy and instinctively withdrew her hand: She didn't want to die with him.
Louis spread his cloak and floated into the air. He coldly looked down at her, his chest burned with a black hole:
"No one who offends the great Louis X can live to tell the tale."
After saying that, he disappeared like mist.
Liu Yu took a deep breath.
Only then did she feel the fear.
Death had never been so close to her before, and the surreal power of the Dark Night Duke filled her with dread—Liu Yu looked at the glass bead in her right hand and suddenly laughed.
It was this thing that had, with just a light touch, driven back the seemingly invincible Dark Night Duke.
He seemed to have suffered significant injuries, enough that he didn't punish her.
This was the power of the gods.
Even a memory bead without divine power could have such strength.
If… she could also possess divine power?
Liu Yu clenched the glass bead, and her heart began to beat rapidly again.
Her heart rate increased as she asked herself:
Do you still only want that sixty?
After witnessing the wonders of supernatural power, are you still willing to be ordinary?
"Chirp! Chirp chirp!"
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
"Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!"
The birdcage emitted a frantic chirping.
Liu Yu then remembered the gray-spotted sparrow that had been pretending to be dead by his side all along.
This bird had clearly known the Dark Night Duke had sneaked in but still chose to turn a blind eye, even when she was in danger, it didn't think of using its divine power to help her; it truly betrayed the Light Camp.
But thinking about it, this bird had abandoned Natasi, who saved and raised it, just for a glass bead, coming to eat the corn in her hand—it wasn't a good creature either.
The slight grievance that had just risen immediately disappeared.
Liu Yu slowly got out of bed, shuffling her slippers to light the lamp.
When the wall lamp illuminated the entire room, she bent down and poked the bird's head in the cage:
"You're called Jiujiu?"
Grey-spotted sparrow: "Chirp chirp."
"I don't like my bird having a name given by someone else..." Liu Yu muttered to herself, "From now on, you'll be called Banban."
Bird: "Chirp chirp."
Liu Yu: "Banban."
Bird: "Chirp chirp."
Liu Yu: "Banban."
Bird: "Banban."
Liu Yu: ...
Indeed, it's spineless.
Banban flapped its wings and gave her a fierce expression.
Liu Yu ignored it and walked past, opening the door and going out. The bathroom was right next to the staircase. She had been so tense earlier that now she felt sticky all over. She decided to wash her face and freshen up.
Inside the bathroom, the gilded faucet gushed out water. Liu Yu lifted her head and saw, in the mirror, the red marks on the woman's neck and her overly bright eyes—
In those eyes, the flames leaping were almost burning her.
Liu Yu touched those azure blue eyes:
"I want a perfect score."
She must become a Divine Guardian.
She would learn Divine Arts, she would achieve immortality—
She never wanted to hold a test paper again, staying in place, waiting for others to make choices.
Nickname:
