She died already.

She was now Hongyue.

—and she was no longer that powerless.

Her fingers lightly trembled, but she swiftly collected herself. Hongyue released a breath she never knew she held. How many years has it been now? The memory was still as vivid in her mind. Her eyes lowered, and she examined Qingyu. She reached her fingers out to take the Dragon's Glory but soon paused.

Did he suffer as well?

Was he also betrayed?

Was he...like her?

Hongyue only knew what it was like to be different.

No, called and identified as different. Marked as something sinister and evil even when she committed nothing wrong at all. It was strange how she was labeled as a monster when all she ever did was give and never asked anything for return.

How ridiculous it was that side by side, she resembled exactly like the humans and mermaids, yet no one would accept her with open arms. Instead, they flung curses and targeted her.

Hypocritical, that even though they pursued her with knives in hand, they still wanted her blood and powers. They proclaimed themselves righteous when they hunted her down yet when she retaliated, they cried out 'foul demon!'

Why does it matter?

She was a demon.

However, she was never this cruel in the first place. They made her this way. Hongyue's gleaming eyes dimmed, and she withdrew her hand. She turned to leave but slowly paused, and she tilted her head lightly.

In her last life, she didn't have anyone. No one stood by her side. No one cared. Yet here, in this world, a mere stranger of two days was willing to play with his life for her. He could have moved. He could have blocked. He could have hurt her. In the end, he didn't.

Nothing.

He accepted everything she gave him.

Although she never said it out loud, her heart was awfully tired.

Weary.

Maybe it wouldn't be bad to have someone by her. What did they call it? A pet? Wouldn't she be the master?

How fitting. She had a drop of her blood inside his body anyway. Her eyes blinked. Even if he misbehaves, she'd still possessed influence over him.

"Protect."

As soon as the words transmitted from her lips, the air began to consolidate, and water drops were gradually pulled out of the air. Each water drop was drawn out to be long strands, scattering themselves all over the room. Hongyue extended her finger and touched one of the strands. Blood was immediately drawn out as the strand sliced into her finger. Hongyue licked the wound and observed the light injury heal, the skin pulling and melting together smooth as before.

Turning away from Qingyu, Hongyue left the room.

Your master will be back.

Dumb pig.

--------------------

Amid the night, a figure gracefully spun herself on to a branch of a wide tree. Her eyes reflecting sharply in the dark, Hongyue frowned. Was he still not here? With a sharp twist, the black bracelet slid off her wrist and flipped into position. A long whip appeared and lashed into a different branch that belonged to another tree. With a deafening crack, the whip seemed to slice right through the bark of the tree. The entire tree swayed before topping over.

"Say, Royal Pervert, you have awful manners; arriving yet not saying anything. Don't tell me you became mute," Although Hongyue called out pleasantly, her words sounded cold.

Jiayi scowled, but he couldn't bring out any words to retort back at her. With his mouth shut tightly, he glared at her. Hongyue chuckled, her voice echoing cheerfully.

"Was it because of my message?"

Jiayi refused to talk. At that time, he was never so confused. What monster is coming to kill him? What blood wouldn't be enough, she wanted his bones as well? Black had thrown out all his words with fear, his teeth chattering. Jiayi almost believed he sent Black to watch the wrong person. In the end, he could only wave Black away in confusion, not understanding at all what Hongyue wanted of him other than to come here tonight.

Hongyue smiled.

"Looks like you don't get it. Let this miss demonstrate," As the words flowed out of Hongyue's lips, her hand slid over her whip, and the end of the weapon lashed out for Jiayi's head.

The end coiled tightly around Jiayi's neck and pulled the prince towards her. Jiayi quickly tried to stop her with a counterattack. With his palms out, a circle of fire headed straight for her. Nevertheless, the whip held tight while Hongyue simply tsked. Not that she recovered 25% of her original power, he was no match for her.

She clicked her tongue.

Hongyue couldn't help think of Qingyu. This prince was nothing at all like that dumb pig. That guy didn't even fight back when she poisoned him.

Hongyue's eyes turned dark, and the whip tightened. With a wave of her hand, the fire died out within the air.

Jiayi's eyes also deepened, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke, "What is the meaning of this?"

"What is the meaning of this? Don't you already know?" Hongyue smiled. Nevertheless, her smile didn't quite meet her eyes.

"What is your royal father planning?"