Chapter 37: The Little Vampire in the Ancient Castle 10

Follow his instructions?

Yu Deng was extremely puzzled. When had he ever issued such an order?

The butler’s lips curled into a faint smile. He said nothing, simply holding the young master securely as he descended from the air. Once they were back on the ground, Wen Luo took advantage of the fact that Yu Deng hadn’t asked him to let go, keeping him tucked firmly in his arms.

Yu Deng went through a strenuous process of deduction, trying to sort through the butler’s logic.

Oh... he had just asked Wen Luo to wipe the juice off his face, but since Wen Luo had been holding him with both hands the entire time, the only way to fulfill that order was through a kiss.

Having straightened out this logic, Yu Deng felt as though he had been led into some strange trap, yet he could find no evidence of it. He looked up, only to see the black-haired butler still wearing his usual obedient, tame, and loyal expression.

They locked eyes for a few seconds before Wen Luo spoke first: "Young Master, there is still some left."

Yu Deng blinked: "Eh?"

Wen Luo pressed his lips to Yu Deng’s once more, his green eyes fixed on him.

Yu Deng was not a sharp, shrewd person. The delicate young master was a bit dim, yet not at all unlikable... the number of people who liked the young master was countless. Fortunately, the young master did not resist his little schemes—or perhaps, the young master simply hadn’t realized what was happening.

Yu Deng was kissed by the butler again.

As a trace of a whimper escaped Yu Deng’s throat, that faint, elusive ripple of power from the previous night appeared once more. Yu Deng felt that strange resonance again, falling into a brief, trance-like state for a moment.

...Who was calling to him, making him feel such a powerful urge to grow close?

The black-haired butler, dissatisfied, added a bit of force, biting down on that soft lip. The pathological possessiveness hidden beneath his gentle exterior was slightly revealed, imbuing the kiss with a predatory edge.

How could one let their mind wander during a kiss?

Sensing the subtle pain on his lips a beat too late, Yu Deng suddenly snapped back to reality. He shoved Wen Luo’s chest and scolded him fiercely: "I was just saying that your kissing felt quite nice... you bad man! You’re being too rough."

Bad men just couldn’t handle a compliment!

The butler lowered his head and apologized sincerely: "My apologies. It is my dereliction of duty to cause you pain. Thank you for the lesson, Young Master; I shall reflect on my actions."

Yu Deng’s momentum vanished instantly.

Huh? The butler was so sincere... and he looked quite obedient, too.

Right, the butler was also one of his targets. Should he try to complete the mission now? Yu Deng fell into deep thought, urgently considering how to tackle this task.

[Host, you can just do it the same way you did in the last instance.]

"Oh..." Yu Deng raised his eyes and called out, "Wen Luo."

"Young Master, please give your command."

Yu Deng phrased his words for a few seconds before saying slowly: "If I ask you to submit to me, to listen to what I say, and even cooperate with me in doing things that might make you lose face, will you agree?"

It was clearly just a description of a special task, but the way Yu Deng phrased it made it sound exactly like he was looking for a dog that met his requirements.

The air grew inexplicably hot.

Wen Luo was somewhat surprised by the young master’s request. He paused for a few seconds before asking in return: "I am curious, would you make such a request of others?"

Of course he would. There were already three others in this instance alone.

Yu Deng was just about to nod when he caught sight of the butler’s gentle green eyes. His animal-like intuition suddenly kicked in, and he became alert. He was truly bad at lying, so he could only stammer: "Um... I've only asked you for now."

It was true that he had only asked the butler for now. Even if he did tasks with others later, he hadn't said anything wrong at the moment.

Of course, the butler was not so dense as to miss such an obvious subtext.

Wen Luo nodded, understanding: "I see. I will certainly listen to your instructions." He always fulfilled the young master’s orders, didn’t he? It was just that he occasionally used different methods to do so.

Hearing Wen Luo agree, Yu Deng felt a surge of energy, waiting for the special task to be completed. But after waiting for quite a while, he didn’t hear the system’s notification sound.

Yu Deng: "Eh?"

Was his mission broken? The butler had clearly agreed.

Wen Luo’s expression showed no sign of anything amiss, remaining a mask of perfect, gentle smiles. Yu Deng was utterly baffled.

System 01: [.] Stupid host.

...

Yu Deng, filled with confusion, persisted with another half hour of flight training. He managed to barely master the techniques for flying upward and downward before he was too exhausted to move.

His little wings had been flapping for so long that they were slightly feverish. Once he stopped flying, they curled up tremulously, still twitching uncontrollably at the tips. Because of the exercise, Yu Deng’s cheeks were flushed a healthy pink, and the sweet scent on his body grew richer, filling the air with his presence.

Wen Luo stood by with his hands at his sides, struggling slightly to resist the urge to stroke those little wings.

"No more learning, I'm so tired," Yu Deng muttered. He directed Wen Luo to carry him back to his bedroom, washed his face thoroughly, and fell asleep as soon as he flopped onto the bed.

Yu Deng slept lightly for two hours to recover his strength. By the time he woke up, it was already getting dark. The time for the nightly banquet had not yet arrived, and all the players currently remained unaware of whether tonight would be a safe dance night or another night of life-threatening games like the one before.

As for Yu Deng, he woke up from his nap still unable to understand why his mission hadn’t been completed. With no answers, he remembered the experience from the last instance and asked: "By the way, Tongtong, I have an energy progress bar, right? Other than flying, what else can I do?"

[Yes. Once your energy accumulates to a certain level, you may unlock new abilities. However, Host, because the background of each instance is different, the way they are used will also differ. You can try experimenting.] The system answered dutifully. [Your current progress bar is at thirty-five percent. I will remind you once it passes fifty percent.]

Yu Deng trusted his system implicitly. He acknowledged it, climbed out of bed, and prepared to go downstairs to see what the situation was.

For Yu Deng, one thing about this instance that was much better than the last was that although the lighting in the castle was quite dim, there were no Chinese-style ghosts, so Yu Deng occasionally dared to act alone.

Yu Deng arrived at the banquet hall of the main building, stood by some carvings not far from the main entrance, and peered into the hall. There were about a dozen or so guests moving about inside.

These non-human entities in the hall were standing in groups of two or three. Of course, there might also be players with hidden identities among them. The only exception was a corner not far from Yu Deng, where Ms. Edith, the woman skilled in divination, stood without any companions.

The petite witch was wrapped in a cloak, her eyes half-closed, clutching an ice-blue crystal ball to her chest.

Yu Deng happened to pass by the witch and heard her old, raspy murmurs.

"...The Blood Moon hangs high, the darkness cycles. When the song of the death-announcing bird rings out, you and I shall ultimately move toward destruction."

The witch’s voice sounded ethereal, and the meaning of her words was strange. Yu Deng shivered.

What was this witch talking about...

"Apologies, it seems I have frightened you?" The witch opened her eyes at some point and looked at Yu Deng.

Yu Deng hesitantly shook his head, looking curiously at the crystal ball in the witch’s hands. The inside of the crystal ball was as empty as his own head; there were no images, and he saw nothing at all.

And yet, it felt as if some image had flashed through just a moment ago?

The witch, who was hundreds of years his senior, was very indulgent toward a child like Yu Deng. She watched him for a moment and said: "You seem quite interested in my crystal ball. Would you like to try playing with it?"

Yu Deng was surprised by the witch’s generous invitation: "Hm? I can use this crystal ball too?"

[Ding. Congratulations to player Yu Deng for triggering a side quest: The Witch’s Divination Game.]

[The player must complete three rounds of divination within the time limit. The specific content and method of the divination will be decided by the witch.]

Yu Deng was dumbfounded: "?!" Wait, he had just said that off the cuff; how could that trigger a side quest?

This witch’s divination skills seemed very powerful. What if she divined his true identity? Wouldn’t that mean he’d fail the mission?

During the few seconds Yu Deng was in a panic, the scenery around him changed. Yu Deng had arrived in a space similar to a void, surrounded by misty blue barriers.

Yu Deng’s little wings tensed, and he looked vigilantly at the witch opposite him.

"Do not worry, this is my divination space."

The witch comforted him and let the crystal ball hover in the air.

The previously empty crystal ball slowly began to display an image. It was a Q-version of Yu Deng as a vampire.

"I can tell that you seem to have many questions," Ms. Edith said, looking straight at the young vampire master. "However, for a first divination, perhaps we can start with something simple. Would you like to try divining your significant other?"

"Significant other?"

The witch said slowly: "Yes. What is revealed will be your closest person in the future; generally speaking, this refers to your partner."

For non-humans, this was actually a very presumptuous suggestion. After all, most non-humans were creatures with a strong sense of territory, and they usually did not show the secrets in their hearts to others—especially intimate relationships like bonds, which were even less to be pried into.

But Yu Deng didn’t realize anything was wrong... and even if he did, he couldn’t refuse, as it was now a side quest.

So, Yu Deng nodded: "That’s fine."

Ms. Edith injected magic into the crystal ball, making it spin. She explained to him: "Light spots will appear later to point the way. The light spot may represent your future partner; they will be the beloved with whom you spend the rest of your life. Oh, it may also represent your dearest friend."