Chapter 29: The Little Vampire in the Ancient Castle 2

The black-haired butler’s words were steady, calm, and exceedingly polite.

Yu Deng did not catch the nuance in the other man’s tone. He hurriedly turned his head, wanting to get a look at his own wings.

His shirt was already ruined, with two holes torn through the shoulder blades, leaving his fair, tender skin half-hidden beneath the fabric.

Under the dark red moonlight, his budding black wings were plated with a magnificent crimson hue. The small wings were curled slightly, smooth and soft, fluttering involuntarily in the breeze.

Yu Deng observed them with fascination for several seconds.

Wow, he really had wings.

Yu Deng twisted himself into an awkward angle and brushed against the edge of one wing. It felt soft to the touch; the texture was actually quite nice.

[The livestream is finally open! I rushed over! Seven days, baby, do you know how I survived these seven days?! What happened at the end of the last instance?!]

[Holy crap!! Vampire Deng-Deng, such cute little wings, ahhh let me touch them!!]

[I’ve watched several vampire-themed instances before; the vampires in those didn’t have wings. I didn’t expect this one to have them! What a huge surprise!]

[Wuwuwu, unlocking a new form for my wife, wife, my wife—]

[Oh, the man next to the baby is quite handsome. Is the baby planning to tame a new man?]

[Yes, yes, give us more, give us more! I love watching men fight over the treasure!]

Yu Deng finally finished observing his wings and turned his head back. He looked at the butler’s wings and realized something was wrong.

"Why are my wings so small?"

Mr. Butler’s wings were large, standard bat wings, while his own were different—tiny, barely larger than a palm.

Yu Deng even doubted whether his wings would be able to fly. Hmm, he had to find a way to test if he could fly... He still didn't know how to do it.

The butler answered the little young master in his arms gently: "It is likely because you have only just awakened. Your power is roughly at the level of a fledgling, and your wings are still developing."

Yu Deng nodded suspiciously: "Is that so..."

The little wings behind his back fluttered twice, stirring up a light breeze.

The black-haired butler lowered his eyes for a few seconds, then couldn't help but lift his hand to touch Yu Deng’s wings lightly. This time, his white-gloved hand touched the base of the wings.

Yu Deng shuddered violently and let out a muffled hum.

Touching the base of the wings was a completely different sensation from touching the edges. The wings became itchy and hot in an instant, and a dense, electric sensation surged through his limbs, making his legs go weak.

Yu Deng finally realized the butler was up to something. He slapped the butler’s hand away and said angrily: "You—you are not allowed to touch me!"

After slapping him, Yu Deng stiffened for a few seconds and secretly shook his wrist.

*Ugh*, he had slapped too hard, his palm hurt.

And his wings—he felt nothing when he touched them himself, so why did it feel so strange when someone else did it?

"Apologies, young master. I did not mean to."

The butler apologized politely and returned his hands to a proper position, though his gaze never left Yu Deng.

How had he not realized before that this young master was so cute?

The man picked up the little vampire young master who couldn't get down from the tree, flew steadily to the ground, and only then let go.

The warm, soft little young master, who smelled of sweet fragrance, left his arms, leaving him with an inexplicable feeling of emptiness.

Yu Deng took a moment to recover from the itchy, tingling sensation and stood firmly on the ground.

At this moment, the electric buzz of System 01 sounded for a few seconds.

[Beep—Detection complete. Host, your butler is a hidden boss, which is also your target for this mission...]

Yu Deng looked up: "Eh? The mission target appeared so quickly?"

***

System 01’s electronic voice paused before continuing:

[...One of them.]

Yu Deng: "???" Huh?

[Host, the number of special mission targets is not fixed. Some instances may have more than two targets, such as this one.]

Yu Deng’s little face fell.

Two or more mission targets... Did that mean he would be very busy in this instance?!

Yu Deng turned his head to look at the butler of the ancient castle.

This black-haired butler was handsome and refined, with a peculiar mixed-race quality. Wearing a butler’s tailcoat, he looked gentle and courteous.

Mr. Butler noticed Yu Deng’s gaze and asked with a standard smile: "Young master, do you have any instructions?"

Yu Deng felt a bit of displaced anger. He raised his chin and ordered unceremoniously: "Take me back to the castle."

To his surprise, the man who had always been respectful did not obey, but gently refused: "Young master, didn't you say you wanted to understand the surroundings of the castle? It is a perfect time for a walk, and I will accompany you."

Yu Deng’s wish to be carried while flying fell through. He snorted loudly and turned to walk forward.

[Host.] The system soothed, [You are a player after all. This kind of mission is issued to all players, and you need to complete it yourself.]

Fine, so the instance was the one causing trouble.

Yu Deng stopped taking it out on Mr. Butler and started cursing the instance instead.

He knew the instance wouldn't have any good intentions!

...

This forest was vast. Every tree grew exceptionally tall, and the ground was covered in thorns, making the path extremely difficult to navigate.

Yu Deng did not run into any other players or NPCs along the way. Looking at the size of the forest, he guessed the players had been scattered in different directions.

Mr. Butler possessed high standards; he stood silently one step behind Yu Deng, quietly accompanying him as they walked forward.

Yu Deng cautiously headed toward the castle, glancing around from time to time, walking unsteadily.

Shadows of trees swayed all around, and the leaves rustled in the wind. The vines were twisted, looking like ill-intentioned monsters. As they walked through the forest, the only sounds were the wind in the trees and their footsteps on the fallen leaves and branches.

Yu Deng sniffed, trying hard to hold back the urge to cry.

*Wuwuwu*, it was so scary. It felt even scarier than the outdoors of the last instance, and this forest was so big.

"Caw—caw—"

A crow perched on a tree branch suddenly let out a hoarse cry, which was particularly jarring in the quiet environment.

Yu Deng was so startled he almost jumped, and tears immediately fell.

The butler’s fingertips twitched: "Young master?"

Yu Deng bit his lip and decided to use conversation to relieve his fear.

"Hey, I still don't know your name."

The black-haired butler lowered his head and answered the young master’s question: "Wen Luo Agnis."

"Wen Luo."

Yu Deng called out his name and was just about to speak when he caught a glimpse of shadowy trees swaying.

"Why do I feel like these plants are moving..."

After Yu Deng said this, he looked again and discovered to his horror that the scenery around them had changed, and the distance between him and the castle seemed to have changed as well.

They were really moving, what was going on?!

Yu Deng’s little wings tensed up. He leaned toward the butler, trying to gain a sense of security.

[Damn, the first-person view is so tense. The baby will definitely make it, right?]

[Don't worry, the butler is with him. But the fact that this instance set a barrier to entry before it even officially started means this instance is something else.]

[The difficulty of this instance is definitely higher than a C-level one. I suspect the wife has encountered a difficult instance again.]

[?? The guy in front, weren't you the one who said the baby wouldn't survive the second day? Turns out you've been following the livestream, and you even called him 'wife', and you're the top donor...??]

[...Is that not allowed?]

"Yes, this forest is not an ordinary forest." Wen Luo answered patiently. "The Black Forest is the first natural barrier to stop intruders. Ordinary people find it very difficult to cross this forest."

Yu Deng paced in circles, feeling distressed.

As a newly employed little vampire, he was also finding it very difficult to cross!

Suddenly, Yu Deng heard a frantic scream coming from the east, followed by a string of colorful curses. It was likely from some novice player.

[Friendly reminder: Forty minutes have passed.]

The electronic voice followed immediately after the scream. Yu Deng actually detected a hint of malice in the electronic tone.

[Another reminder: Players, please be careful of everyone around you.]

What? Only twenty minutes left?! And what did "be careful of everyone" mean...?

Yu Deng didn't quite react in time.

The shadows of the trees around them swayed gently, and plants quietly moved closer. Yu Deng felt a cold sensation on his ankles, followed by a sharp sting. He looked down and saw that thorns had wrapped around his legs.

In the next second, Yu Deng was lifted off his feet, and the thorns moved rapidly, forming a cage that trapped him inside.

However, the thorns did not immediately tighten or squeeze; instead, they hesitated while trapping Yu Deng, their branches moving around him.

Yu Deng stared blankly at the thorns that had trapped him: "...?"

So these plants could attack on their own?

The butler, Wen Luo, frowned in slight confusion, surprised that these thorns had suddenly attacked a vampire.

He raised his hand, preparing to help the little young master, who wasn't very good at fighting, solve the problem.

Inside the thorn cage, Yu Deng came to his senses. He reached out and poked the black thorns, aggrieved and anxious, saying angrily: "Don't bully me..."

He still had to reach the castle within the time limit.

The little vampire’s fingertips were cool and soft, resting lightly on the sharp, terrifying thorns, and carrying his scent with them.

The thorns swayed. After a few seconds of reaction, they seemed to receive a signal, rattling as they moved away and placed Yu Deng back on the ground.

One of the thorns at the tip even subconsciously bloomed a little flower for Yu Deng.

[My baby... you are now killing both plants and animals...]

[Even when the baby loses his temper, it's like he's acting spoiled. Who wouldn't be captivated by this?]

[The thorns letting the wife go and even blooming a flower is the funniest part. I saw streamers in other channels literally brawling with the thorns.]

[The honey trap never goes out of style (lol)]

Yu Deng was suddenly released and stumbled forward. Wen Luo, realizing Yu Deng was unharmed, controlled himself to stop the attack, but couldn't avoid the collision in time.

Yu Deng fell into Wen Luo’s arms, knocking his head against the man's chin.

Mr. Butler took the vampire impact without budging, his expression showing no change.

Yu Deng, however, had a red bump on his forehead. He rubbed it and whimpered, tears falling again from the pain.

Was it some kind of iron-clad rule that he had to get hurt as soon as he entered an instance?!

Under the pain, the pair of small wings behind Yu Deng’s back retracted abruptly. His shirt, which had two holes in it, was left exposed, and with the wings gone, a large area of snow-white skin was visible.

Wen Luo supported the soft little vampire and sighed lowly: "Young master, please be careful." As he spoke, he took off his uniform jacket and draped it over Yu Deng’s shoulders, covering his exposed back.