Chapter 51
Song Ling waited in the living room for Li Xinjun, but after a long while, Li Xinjun still hadn’t emerged. Unable to bear the suspense any longer, she decided to check on her in the ice cellar. However, as she reached the kitchen, her heart sank. The back door was wide open. A sense of dread washed over her. She ran to the ice cellar, and as she feared, it was empty.
She gasped, her heart pounding with anxiety. Her intuition told her that Li Xinjun had left and wouldn’t be coming back. She rushed out the back door, her bare feet pounding on the cobblestone path, her eyes scanning the surroundings, desperate to find any sign of Li Xinjun. She reached the castle’s main gate and was shocked to find it open as well. Ignoring her bare feet, she ran out of the castle grounds.
“Jun’er! Jun’er!” she called out, her voice echoing through the night, but there was no response. Mark, having sensed her distress, caught up to her, his speed inhuman.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Jun’er’s gone!”
“Gone? How can she be gone?”
“I waited for her in the living room, like you said, to give her time to calm down. But she didn’t come out. I went to check on her and found the ice cellar empty. The back door and the main gate were both open. I think she left. I chased after her, but I couldn’t find her. Please help me find her!”
“Calm down. Let me track her scent.”
Mark closed his eyes, using his heightened senses as a jiangshi to search for Li Xinjun’s scent. However, he couldn’t detect her within a radius of several miles. She must have left a while ago.
He sighed and shook his head, looking at Song Ling. Song Ling, seeing his reaction, panicked, tears blurring her vision. Mark patted her shoulder gently.
“She’s been gone for a while. Even I might not be able to catch up to her, especially since I don’t know which direction she went. Why don’t you think about where she might have gone? Knowing her, where would she go in this situation? That way, we can narrow down our search and follow her trail.”
Song Ling, realizing he was right, forced herself to calm down and think. They were in Britain, a foreign land. They hadn’t been here long, and the only places Li Xinjun was familiar with were General Henry’s castle and their small cottage in the countryside.
“That’s it! She might have gone back to our cottage! We only know you and General Henry here. She wouldn’t go to General Henry now, so the most likely place she would go is home.”
“Alright, let’s go to your cottage immediately.”
Mark took Song Ling back to the castle so she could wash up and change. They then prepared the carriage and set off. Mark, knowing Song Ling’s urgency, drove the carriage at breakneck speed. For a human, driving through the night on those dark country roads would be suicidal, but for a jiangshi, the darkness was no obstacle. His vision was as clear as day.
Meanwhile, Li Xinjun, fueled by her newfound strength as a jiangshi, was like a cheetah hunting in the night, moving swiftly through the forest. Her speed was astonishing. She was a blur, a gust of wind, her passage barely noticeable.
She covered the two-day journey by carriage in just three hours. Seeing their small cottage in the distance, her heart ached with longing. This was where their life together had begun, a life built on a promise of love and protection. They had dreamed of spending their days in this humble abode, but fate had intervened, separating them, turning one into a monster.
She slowed down, her footsteps heavy, and wandered through their neglected field. She crouched down and picked up a handful of dry soil. It wasn’t long ago that they had worked this land together, their days simple but fulfilling.
She would work the fields while Song Ling prepared breakfast. Song Ling would then bring the food out to the wooden table they had built together and call out her name. Li Xinjun would stop working and join her for breakfast.
Sometimes, Song Ling would gently wipe the dirt from Li Xinjun’s face with a handkerchief, teasing her about being a messy kitten. Li Xinjun, remembering those happy moments, closed her eyes, savoring the memories. She then stood up and entered the cottage.
The house was dusty and neglected. She looked at the familiar furniture and every corner, each brick and tile holding memories of their time together.
She instinctively lit the oil lamp, illuminating the room. Although she could now see clearly in the dark, the light from the lamp brought her comfort, a reminder of her humanity.
As she was reminiscing, she noticed an envelope on the floor near the door. Someone must have delivered it while they were gone, slipping it through the door when they found no one home.
She picked up the envelope and turned it over, surprised to see her name written in Chinese. They were in Britain. No one here knew her Chinese name. This letter must be from the Qing Dynasty.
It was the first letter they had received since arriving in Britain. They had sent letters back, but due to the distance, it took months for them to reach their destination.
She eagerly opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. As she read, her brow furrowed. The letter was from Brother Wu. It stated that shortly after their departure, another jiangshi outbreak had occurred in the capital.
This time, the scale was unprecedented. The court was overwhelmed, desperately trying to contain the situation. Grand General Duoluo, as the commander of the imperial army, was leading the fight against the jiangshi. However, during a battle, he had been severely injured while rescuing Brother Wu, who was now in a coma, his condition critical.
Countless civilians had been killed, and the number of jiangshi was growing with each death. The army, without their general’s leadership, was in disarray, struggling to fight back. The capital was in chaos. The Prime Minister, seizing the opportunity, had launched a rebellion, accusing the Emperor of incompetence and inability to protect his people. He was preparing to overthrow the dynasty. The Emperor was trapped, his options limited.
Li Xinjun’s heart sank as she read the letter. Grand General Duoluo was like a father to her. Hearing that he was injured, she couldn’t sit still. But even if she returned, what could she do alone? She wasn’t invincible. Then she remembered. She was a jiangshi now, immortal and powerful. Perhaps she could actually help.
And she couldn’t stay here anyway. She knew Song Ling would eventually track her down. Until she could control her bloodlust, she didn’t want Song Ling near her. Instead of hiding, she could return to the Qing Dynasty, visit her grandfather, and avoid Song Ling at the same time.
After careful consideration, she decided to go back. She took out a brush and ink and wrote a letter to Song Ling, then left the cottage, heading towards the docks.
Meanwhile, Song Ling and Mark were still on their way to the cottage. They had been traveling nonstop, even losing a horse to exhaustion. Finally, on the evening of the second day, they arrived. Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Song Ling jumped out and rushed into the cottage, calling out Li Xinjun’s name.
“Jun’er! Jun’er!”
She flung open the door and searched the cottage frantically, her heart pounding with hope and dread. Finding no one inside, she emerged from the back room, her shoulders slumped with disappointment. Then she noticed a letter on the table. She grabbed it eagerly and tore it open. It was the letter Li Xinjun had left for her.
-Sister Ling, please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. I know you’re worried, and I’m sure you’ve guessed that I would come here, so I’m leaving this letter for you.
I wanted to stay with you, to forget everything else and be together forever, like you said. But I’m not the same person I used to be. I’m a monster now.
I thought I could pretend that nothing had changed, but I was wrong. Terribly wrong.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t control my monstrous instincts. The craving for blood overwhelms me. I don’t want to hurt you. I can’t imagine what I would do if I ever bit you. I could never forgive myself.
So I’ve decided that until I can control myself, I won’t come back to you. Promise me you won’t come looking for me.
With all my love, Jun’er-
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