Amid the joking, hearing the shift in Jun Beiyue’s tone, everyone fell silent along with him. The Blood of the Five Elements, the undying blood—that was Ali’s blood.
No one had ever imagined Ali would leave behind something so weighty.
“Whether it’s the Left Envoy or the Blood Master, only the undying blood can wake them. Before they’re awakened, there’s no way to draw their blood by any means,” Baili Weisheng said, turning serious as well.
This was a troublesome problem.
To draw blood, they needed to wake the Left Envoy first—but once he woke, who could possibly handle him?
Everyone turned, without a word, to look at Jun Buli. He was the only one.
Yet everyone also knew—no matter who he faced, even an enemy, Jun Buli was always reluctant to bite.
Being reduced to that state felt too wretched, too degrading to him.
Yet Jun Buli merely smiled. “Don’t worry. On the night of the full moon, we’ll wake the Left Envoy, drain his blood, and kill him. I’ll save a cup for Yaotiao.”
No one knew whether Jun Buli had truly made peace with his past, with who he was now—but seeing this reaction, this courage from him, was enough. No need to ask further.
Situ Jing’er glanced at him. In all the time she’d known him, this was the first time she’d genuinely admired the man.
Thinking back on those ten years he’d endured, surviving through it all—that truly did take courage.
Everyone had their own things they minded, their own private matters. His concealment wasn’t really a matter of right or wrong.
“Li Qinqin wanted me to come here on the night of the full moon—probably hoping I’d kill the Left Envoy for her,” Jun Buli said flatly. That woman, Li Qinqin, would stop at nothing for her so-called freedom.
Baili Weisheng nodded. “She wants your addiction to trigger, wants you to bite the Left Envoy to death.”
He hesitated a moment, then said flatly, “Once the Left Envoy dies, the vampire clan will inevitably fall into chaos. The only thing keeping them contained is that tomb gate.”
At this, Situ Jing’er spoke up urgently. “Sister Duo’er can handle that. Her barrier techniques are incredible.”
At this, Baili Weisheng didn’t think much of it at first—but strangely, everyone else suddenly fell silent, as if there really was something to it.
Yet the atmosphere didn’t affect Baili Weisheng at all. He nodded with a smile. “Indeed, her barrier techniques are remarkable.”
Just as they were talking, a faint creaking sound suddenly came from nearby—the tomb gate had opened.
Everyone brightened, quickly looking over—but saw nothing at all. That was exactly right—it had to be Duo’er and Ziqing!
Sure enough, moments after the tomb gate slowly closed again, Ziqing and Meng Duo’er appeared out of thin air before everyone.
“Little Qingqing!” Baili Weisheng waved excitedly.
That voice!
Ziqing was startled, immediately turning to look, and there stood a white-robed scholar not far away, waving at her excitedly!
That infuriating scholar!
Ziqing broke into a delighted smile, instinctively running toward him. But behind her, Meng Duo’er froze in place—so this was what people meant by “a single glance, a lifetime’s worth of longing.”
She watched him from a distance, watched his smile bright as sunshine, watched him wave with such excitement—yet it wasn’t for her.
Yet even though her heart ached unbearably, even though tears welled up in her eyes without her realizing, seeing him smile so happily, she found herself smiling along with him too, helplessly.
Ziqing suddenly remembered Duo’er and stopped abruptly, turning back to look—only to find her standing there foolishly at the tomb gate, her delicate face etched with exhaustion, laughing and crying at once, looking pitiful yet somehow radiating a stubborn, unyielding strength.
“This silly girl.”
Ziqing sighed quietly to herself, ignoring Baili Weisheng entirely, turning instead to walk toward Meng Duo’er, facing her, her back to everyone else, blocking their view.
She carefully wiped away Meng Duo’er’s tears. “Don’t cry. No matter when we see that man, we don’t cry—not unless he’s dead.”
Meng Duo’er wiped at her own face and only then realized she’d been crying. She hurriedly dried her eyes—hadn’t they agreed not to cry? They’d agreed!
She wiped her tears dry, composed herself, and smiled at Ziqing.
“You’re prettiest when you smile!” Ziqing praised her with a grin. Meng Duo’er’s face flushed slightly, and her smile grew even lovelier.
“Let’s go.”
Ziqing took her hand and led her toward Baili Weisheng.
As the saying goes, the old become sly—Baili Weisheng was the oldest one present, and one glance at the situation told him everything. He greeted them both cheerfully, not distinguishing between them, saying simply, “Been a long time, hasn’t it.”
Ziqing scoffed coldly, while Meng Duo’er still couldn’t help bursting into laughter—so happy, so glad to see him, not even sure why it felt so good, just knowing that it did.
Just then, Jun Yaotiao, having just wandered back with the tall one and short one, suddenly appeared and shouted, “Mama!”
Ziqing froze mid-step, her heart skipping a beat. She whirled around and saw that familiar little figure standing right beside her father, smiling so wide her eyes nearly disappeared!
“Yaotiao!”
Ziqing rushed over immediately, sweeping her little Yaotiao into her arms. Just moments ago she’d told Duo’er not to cry, and now here she was, wanting to cry herself!
In truth, those who could cry, who could let themselves cry when they wanted to—they were probably the luckiest of all.
Yaotiao was nearly crushed by Ziqing’s embrace, prompting Jun Buli and Jun Beiyue to hurry over and pull them apart.
“Alright, alright, she’s fine now!”
“Enough, you’ll hurt her!”
…
The moment Ziqing let go, Yaotiao nearly passed out from the squeeze, gasping for breath several times before finally speaking. “Mama, did you find Li Qinqin’s coffin?”
“First tell me… tell me… how did you end up here?” Ziqing asked, both startled and delighted.
Jun Beiyue was about to explain, but Jun Yaotiao beat him to it, recounting the whole story to Ziqing briefly but with exaggerated flourish, making sure to heap praise on Uncle Scholar along the way.
Ziqing kept glancing back at Baili Weisheng as she listened. This man—ever since she’d first met him, he’d always, always been helping her, openly and secretly both.
She never expected he’d still be helping this much, even now!
Baili Weisheng let her look all she wanted. “If you want to thank me, just say so, no need to be so polite.”
At this, the whole group burst out laughing. After all these years apart, the infuriating scholar’s sharp tongue remained as sharp as ever, though he’d picked up an extra dose of humor along the way.
“Mama, hurry up and tell me, did you find it or not!” Jun Yaotiao urged impatiently.
Everyone else looked over too, quite invested in the answer.
If they’d found Li Qinqin’s coffin, everything would become much easier. Rather than launching a full assault that would alert most of the vampire clan, quietly eliminating Li Qinqin first would be far better.
Seeing everyone so anxious, Ziqing smiled and nodded.
Jun Yaotiao immediately pulled out a small black ball—one of Ziqing’s homemade gunpowder devices. “Let’s go in right now, drag it out, and blow it up!”
Her serious, matter-of-fact tone was so adorable it sent everyone into fits of laughter.
But she wasn’t wrong—it did need to be dragged out and blown up! Blow up Li Qinqin’s nest and see how arrogant she’d be after that.
The thought of Yaotiao’s injuries flashed through Baili Weisheng’s mind, and a flicker of malice crossed his eyes, his voice turning slightly cold. “Duo’er, take me in.”
Uh…
Meng Duo’er blinked, staring at him.