Long Time No See

And so, the battle among the vampires lasted nearly three hours.

When the last Dark Young was ruthlessly slaughtered by Evelyn, the crimson Blood Moon gradually faded, and the world returned to silence.

Luo Wei followed the cavalry of the Thornflower family, trekking a distance before setting up camp in another part of the wasteland.

"Our current position is here," Monica drew a circle on the unfolded parchment map, "and the Black Forest is here. My suggestion is to circle around to the northern side of the Black Forest. That way, we’ll be closer to the border between the two nations. If we alert the Kingdom of Whelan, we can retreat to the Northern Frontier at the fastest speed."

Jo, however, disagreed. "We’re already deep in enemy territory as it is. We should fall back to the Demon River Valley area. That way, we can rely on favorable terrain for defense. We don’t want a repeat of what happened tonight."

The two core vampires of the Thornflower family held opposing views, leaving the next course of action undecided.

"Since Luo Wei has already been rescued, our family doesn’t owe him any more favors, right?" Mike said with a nonchalant expression. "If you ask me, we shouldn’t meddle in this mess anymore. Let’s head home at dawn and avoid endless trouble."

As the group around them began to murmur in discussion, Jo suddenly asked, "What about the family head? What does she think?"

This was a decision best left to Evelyn, the family head.

"You’d better not disturb her," Mike’s tone carried a hint of teasing as he glanced in a certain direction. "The family head is... busy right now."

Monica also looked in that direction and rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Yeah, busy with romance..."

Under the night sky, the long-separated couple was glued to each other. Monica watched the two chatting and laughing, curling her lips in disdain.

"Tsk tsk..."

"Practically stuck together. How nauseating..."

On the cliff, Evelyn suspiciously glanced toward the camp.

"Luo Wei, I feel like someone’s talking about me behind my back."

"Really? My guess is Lady Monica."

"Hmph, she must still hold a grudge over me dumping all the account books on her!"

"Don’t mind her for now."

Luo Wei gently wrapped his arms around Evelyn’s slender waist. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, clinging to him tightly.

"Luo Wei, it feels like it’s been forever since we’ve had time alone..."

"Yeah," Luo Wei lowered his head, gazing into those beautiful emerald-green eyes under the moonlight. "How have you been lately, Teacher?"

"Not good. Not good at all..." Evelyn sighed. "Life without you is so boring."

"Between reorganizing the family and undergoing trials," Luo Wei chuckled, "I doubt you’ve had a dull moment. You’ve even ascended to a Vampire Prince now."

"Boring! Still boring!" Evelyn lifted her head in frustration. "The Northern Frontier is just a frozen wasteland—nothing fun at all! No luxury boutiques like in Saint Callen, no theaters or concerts, nothing! Luo Wei, you have no idea how many limited-edition bags I’ve missed out on!"

"They release those things that fast? And they call them ‘limited’?" Luo Wei sighed helplessly. "Honestly, this might be for the best. You should really break that overspending habit of yours."

Back when she was a teacher at Callen University, her salary was more than decent. Yet Evelyn would blow through it all by mid-month, then whine about being broke. Luo Wei had never seen a vampire so bad at managing money...

"Luo Wei, I regret it so much. I never should’ve fallen for your and Ophelia’s trick..." Evelyn grumbled, nuzzling against his neck and pretending to bite him.

"Even without all those things, as long as I had you with me, it would’ve been enough. But at Thornflower Castle, I couldn’t even see you..."

"After hearing about what happened in the Royal Capital, I wanted to rush there immediately, face those dangers with you, just so I could see you again..."

"But Ophelia absolutely refused to let me go!" Evelyn puffed up her cheeks like an angry kitten.

"Calm down, Teacher. She was thinking of the bigger picture," Luo Wei soothed. "Which side the Duke of Thornflower, guardian of the Northern Frontier, leans toward is a crucial signal for all factions."

"I know, I know..." Evelyn sighed. "The only reason I pushed myself to ascend so quickly was to be of use to you—to all of us."

"The trial must’ve been tough, right?" Luo Wei asked softly.

"Mhm," Evelyn nodded. "It felt like every bone in my body shattered and regrew. But thinking of you kept me going. So? Isn’t your teacher amazing?"

Though she made it sound effortless, Luo Wei could sense the true danger of the trial. He held Evelyn tighter.

"Teacher... thank you."

"Don’t thank me!"

Evelyn perked up again, boasting proudly. "Now this is what you call talent! How many vampires in history have achieved what I have? Now I can finally fight alongside you all! At this rate, I might even surpass Tilis in a couple of years!"

That might be a stretch, Luo Wei thought silently.

Though she could definitely overpower Helena—unless the latter was piloting that custom-built "Steam Gundam" of hers.

The two talked deep into the night, wishing time would slow so they could pour out their hearts without restraint.

Luo Wei suddenly remembered something. "Teacher, how did you find me?"

He never expected Evelyn to be the first to locate him.

"The moment I heard you’d been captured, I charged straight for the Kingdom of Whelan with my forces!" Evelyn huffed. "Now that things in Saint Callen are settled, Ophelia can’t stop me anymore, right?"

Luo Wei stared at her in surprise. From their conversation, he realized Evelyn had arrived at the Demon River Valley even earlier than he had.

"Teacher, how were you so sure I wasn’t taken somewhere else?" Luo Wei wondered inwardly. After all, Eleya had even threatened to lock him away in the Sacred Mountain of Siston or something...

Evelyn blinked playfully.

"A woman’s intuition!"

"Uh... is that so?"

After chatting a while longer, they noticed the camp was on the verge of an argument. With a resigned sigh, Evelyn pulled Luo Wei along to intervene.

Once the family head made the final call, the debate quickly reached a resolution.

If they were going to explore the Black Forest, they might as well wait for Tilis’s mages. Burn the forest in the morning, saturate it with mana-crystal bombs in the afternoon, and by nightfall, Evelyn would activate the Blood Moon Domain to cover their advance into the depths.

The vampires present all agreed it was a relatively sound plan, yet Luo Wei still harbored concerns—he felt things couldn’t be this straightforward.

If the Black Forest could truly be destroyed, it wouldn’t have stood so abruptly in the wasteland for centuries, defying even the Church at the height of its power.

But with no better alternatives at hand, Luo Wei had no choice but to suppress his unease and quietly await the arrival of the witch.

As the discussion concluded and the others dispersed, only Luo Wei and Evelyn remained in the tent.

Evelyn gazed at Luo Wei, lost in thought, her lips parting slightly with a hint of hesitation.

"Xiao Wei..."