Gu Ga

The earth dragon, Big Black, took steady strides as it set off on a new journey.

The carriage was warm and comfortable, filled with the faint scent of dried hay.

“Coo?”

“Caw?”

“Coo?”

“Caw?”

…

On Luo Lun’s shoulder and atop Xia Yi’s head, two blood bats—one large and one small—were staring intently at each other. Their round red eyes glittered with curiosity, while their tiny wings fluttered lightly from time to time, creating a somewhat raucous symphony.

“What are those two talking about? They’re so chatty.”

Unable to contain herself, Liyana asked Luo Lun, “They’ve been talking for almost an hour since the moment they met!”

She felt as though the two furry little creatures could keep “cooing” and “cawing” forever. The peculiar rhythm even made her tap out the beat silently in her head.

Luo Lun was watching the trees flash past outside the window. At Liyana’s question, she paused, then slowly turned her head and replied expressionlessly, “Why do you think I can understand them?”

“You’ve raised the little thing for so many years.” Liyana’s tone was matter-of-fact.

Luo Lun took a deep breath, seemingly trying to suppress some emotion. “That doesn’t mean I talk to blood bats…”

“Really?”

Liyana didn’t seem convinced. She edged closer, close enough to catch the faint, cool fragrance emanating from Luo Lun. “You really don’t secretly talk to this little thing when no one’s around? It’s adorable… I think you’re the kind of person who would talk to her dolls, too. After all, you’re actually a very cute girl, just like Mo Lini.”

Luo Lun turned her head away, the tips of her ears taking on the faintest hint of red. She had no desire to engage with this woman.

Damn it. She’d actually guessed right.

Had this woman been peeking into her tent one night?

Seeing that Luo Lun wasn’t responding, Liyana stopped pestering her and turned to ask the actual expert.

“Aina, what on earth are these two little fellows talking about? Do you understand them?” She seemed particularly invested in the matter.

“They’re merely making sounds out of instinct. There’s no meaning behind them.” Aina shook her head, then began offering a simple explanation.

Blood bats were creations made from her blood and possessed an extremely simple life form. Aside from a few basic physiological activities, they mainly existed to obey their master’s commands.

As for why they made sounds…

It was simply because Aina had felt that it might be necessary to make them seem a little more lively, just like their round eyes and other facial features.

Most blood bats created by other vampires didn’t make any sounds at all, nor did their creators shape them to look as cute as Aina’s. Some practical-minded vampires made blood bats with nothing more than a pair of wings and a round ball of blood for a body.

So, in reality, the two blood bats couldn’t communicate with each other.

Under Aina’s design, whenever anyone spoke to them, they would make a sound in response.

And now, the two blood bats had encountered each other. One made a sound, and the other was bound to respond. Then the cycle repeated…

They had essentially encountered a bug.

“Quiet.” Aina gave a slight wave of her hand.

The two blood bats, which had been calling out so merrily, immediately fell silent as if someone had pressed a mute button. They obediently shut their mouths, though their two pairs of large eyes continued blinking innocently.

The reason Aina had waited until now to stop them was that she found their calls rather amusing. They added a unique background track to the otherwise somewhat dull journey, and she felt she could listen to it all day without getting tired of it…

“Don’t stop them. Let them continue.” Liyana felt as though she had done something wrong. “I’m not bothered by them… Their calls are actually pretty catchy.”

“Coo?”

“Caw?”

“Coo?”

“Caw?”

…

As if some switch had been flipped, the two blood bats began calling to each other again.

“Coo-caw.”

Sitting beside Liyana, Xia Yi seemed to be infected by the cheerful atmosphere. He tilted up his little face and imitated the blood bats, letting out a strange cry of his own.

“Hahaha, Xia Yi, they can’t understand you.” Liyana chuckled as she explained, “It’s like when you meow at cats or bark at dogs. They can’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Huh? They can’t understand?” Xia Yi’s eyes widened. “I thought that as long as I put my heart into it, they would know what I was thinking…”

Children really were adorable creatures…

Well, only Xia Yi.

Liyana wore an intoxicated smile as she thought this to herself.

“Of course they can’t understand you. You’re only imitating the sounds they make.” Liyana offered another explanation. “The odds of them understanding what you say are about as high as Moke singing a song and having a monster… Ahem, I mean, about as high as any other impossibly tiny probability.”

Xia Yi didn’t seem to fully understand what Liyana meant. He merely nodded as if he understood, his gaze still fixed intently on the two blood bats.

“Coo-caw?”

“Coo-caw?”

Yet the facts seemed determined to prove Liyana wrong immediately.

The two blood bats suddenly changed their usual tone. Tilting their heads, they looked toward Xia Yi as if they had discovered one of their own kind.

“They understood me! Aunt Liyana, look, they understood me!” Xia Yi let out a delighted cheer.

“No way…” Liyana stared wide-eyed at the two blood bats, which had clearly responded to Xia Yi in a manner completely unlike before. She immediately turned a suspicious gaze toward Aina. “Aina, that’s taking favoritism a little too far.”

Liyana naturally assumed that Aina was secretly cooperating with Xia Yi and putting on an act.

“Xia Yi is a good child, but spoiling a child too much isn’t good for them, you know.” Liyana wagged a finger.

“But I haven’t done anything.” Aina furrowed her brows slightly, a trace of confusion flashing through her crimson eyes.

“Coo-caw?” The blood bat on Luo Lun’s shoulder let out a strange cry.

“Coo-caw?” The blood bat atop Xia Yi’s head echoed it.

“Coo-caw!” Xia Yi replied excitedly.

Liyana scratched her head, puzzled. “Huh? Then what’s going on?”

“Perhaps…” A look of surprise appeared in Aina’s eyes. She beckoned to Xia Yi, who immediately scampered over and threw himself into his mother’s arms.

Aina gently took Xia Yi’s soft, fair hand and focused on his fingertips. She didn’t cut his finger, yet a drop of blood slowly emerged from the tip and quietly floated in the air.

As a member of the blood race, manipulating blood was effortless for her.

In fact, Aina was even capable of directly draining all the blood from an enemy’s body. However, the technique was far too gruesome, so she had never used it.

Aina patted Xia Yi on the head, satisfaction shining in her eyes.

“As expected of my child… Your bloodline talent is even more exceptional than I imagined.”