But Fu Sheng doesn't let go of her throat. Instead, his fingers become tighter. Li Dai Yu struggles, slapping his hand, and grunting in pain until she loses her consciousness. Fu Sheng holds her in his arms, watching her with pain. He hugs her to his chest and closes his eyes. A tear drops on her hair. Fu Sheng exhales as his heart constricts in pain.
"I am sorry." Apologies cannot bring back his Huang Qiuyan. Whether she will ever come back or not, he doesn't know it. She's been waiting for him and he failed to come back in time. Li Dai Yu was right. He didn't take her as his priority.
He covers her with his coat. He can't bear to look at her wounds. He realizes the problem. While her magic is growing at an alarming speed, her body can't cope with it. It's dying. Her healing ability is slowing down.
He inserts his finger in her mouth and presses it against her canine. It might amplify the growth of her magic and make Li Dai Yu stronger, but he cannot let Huang Qiuyan's body die or suffer in pain. A few drops of his blood is enough to heal the wounds. The scars vanish within minutes, but her missing body parts aren't regrowing. That would happen only if she reaches the peak of the Bishop Rank. She's not far from it.
All hope is not lost. Li Dai Yu mentioned that Huang Qiuyan would disappear if she manages to fulfil all of her wishes. What were her wishes? He doesn't even know them. How will he stop Li Dai Yu?
***
In the castle. Xiao Chun Dan is staring down at the lake from the window. Host's stats are frozen. Whenever he tries to find his host in the mental plane, he always senses a block. However, he's been levelling up as a system. It only means one thing -- his host is also rising up in ranks. How is she doing that? Is she fighting the vampire-zombies alone? She won't be able to fight well without him. Where is his emotional and foolish host? She should have taken him along with her.
He's worried. She might be upset about attacking Fu Mian. It's not his host's fault. The girl has a scent that affects vampires a lot. Besides, something was already wrong with his host. When he meets his host again, he will tell her that it wasn't her fault.
"Uncle Dan."
Xiao Chun Dan turns around. Fu Mian is standing behind the pillar, looking at him with big round eyes. He puffs his cheeks and turns his back to her. His host is gone because of her. He can't scold this little girl because pureblooded vampires in the castle might throw him out of the window if she cries. Though he wants to get out of the castle, he would like to take the stairs if he can find them.
She has no one to talk to. Who will tell her where her mother is? She just wants to know if Mother is feeling better. She came here to find Uncle Dan, but he is ignoring her now. Uncle got hurt because of her. He is still favouring his shoulder a little. She has a feeling that her mother got sick because of her. Fu Mian sniffles. Big drops of tears are on the verge of falling out of her eyes. She doesn't want to be like this. She doesn't want to be a threat to her family. But she has weird blood. She keeps causing trouble for everyone.
"Why are you crying?" Xiao Chun Dan frowns at her. "I didn't do anything."
"Uncle Dan, I didn't want to hurt mother." She clutches the fabric of her skirt, not looking up to meet his eyes. "I didn't know that she would become like that. You also got hurt because of me. Mother hates me, right? That's why I can't see her anywhere. Father is also gone."
Xiao Chun Dan blinks his eyes. He didn't expect that she would be thinking about such things. The girl was acting so arrogant a few days ago. Today, she is apologizing for things that are not her fault. Okay, he did blame her a little. But she is who she is. His host was doing fine with Fu Mian before the magic went out of control. It's nobody's fault in the end.
If his host, who has adopted him as her younger brother, thinks of this girl as her daughter, then she is also his family. He wipes her tears with his sleeves. "Idiot niece! It's not your fault. Elder Sister was fine. Something went wrong with her magic. That's why she turned out to be that way. I am sure that she will come back to her senses. She might be guilty about hurting you. Now, show me your hand. Did you get a bandaid?"
Of course, a smart system like him already knows that she got the treatment. He already scanned her body. But he had read in the books that little children must be treated like this. He pulls up her sleeve and checks the bandaid. "Elder Sister and your father will come back soon. I am sure that they also miss you a lot. When they come back, you should welcome them with a smile. My host-- I mean, my Elder Sister likes cute children. There's no way that she will ever hate you. You are a cute child. How can anyone ever hate you?"