238. Miss Kongming Wants Me
Looking at the person lying on the ground, who looked exactly like her, Kongming was immediately surprised.
"Blood...blood..."
The girl murmured, her brows furrowed, her expression one of great pain.
"Could she be the blood-drinking monster I heard about by the roadside gossip a few days ago?" Kongming didn't rush forward, but carefully observed her movements.
Looking at the face so identical to her own, she hesitated for a moment, then slightly cut her fingertip, squeezing out a drop of blood and dripping it onto the other party's red lips.
Tasting the sweetness of the blood, she eagerly wanted more, but Kongming had already set up a magic circle, trapping her.
The other party seemed to realize that she couldn't break free with her current strength, so she lay on the ground waiting for Kongming to feed her.
After a short while, her breathing became much calmer, and she fell into a deep sleep.
"Never mind, let's ask her when she wakes up." Kongming sighed helplessly and conjured a gust of wind to carry her to the side to lie down.
Soon after, Yun Ling regained consciousness first. His body had recovered somewhat; at least now he could barely walk.
"Thank you for saving me, Miss Kongming," Yun Ling said politely.
"It's nothing," Kongming waved her hand dismissively.
"Is this your sister?" Yun Ling's gaze fell on a girl not far away who looked exactly like Kongming.
"…No, I don't know who she is. She suddenly barged in. She's probably the blood-drinking monster that's been circulating lately." Kongming shook her head.
"You two look so alike… never mind, what was this blood-drinking monster you mentioned? A vampire? Her?"
Yun Ling seemed somewhat incredulous about the vampire rumors, and even more incredulous that the vampire was this fair-skinned little girl before him.
Except for those bright red, luscious lips, she didn't look like a vampire at all.
"She seemed to be dying just now, so I fed her some blood," Kongming replied.
"...You want to save her?" Yun Ling looked at the white-stockinged loli in front of him with surprise.
It's best to keep your distance from vampires, creatures that only exist in fantasy.
Kongming's face also showed a hint of helplessness.
"After all, she looks exactly like me. It would feel strange not to save her. Let's ask her what happened when she woke up."
Kongming used her fan to cover her face, making it impossible to see her expression.
"Then I'll stretch my body a little." Yun Ling stretched, but the pain in his back made him involuntarily bend over.
"You're not allowed to leave; aside from that, you can do whatever you want." Kongming's tone was undeniably authoritative, like that of a supreme emperor.
"Why?" Yun Ling asked, puzzled.
"I saved your life, so it belongs to me now." Kongming unceremoniously claimed ownership of Yun Ling.
"...Do you think this is appropriate?" Yun Ling tilted his head.
"You can try," Kongming said casually.
Yun Ling narrowed his eyes and walked towards the door.
However, the instant he reached the doorway, an invisible force repelled him.
"???"
Yun Ling scratched his head, somewhat skeptical, and tried again.
Then his over thirty years of scientific worldview collapsed.
There were no obstacles at the door, but he just couldn't get through!
"What is this?" He asked, not afraid, but rather like a curious child.
"An array. With your current strength, even if you multiplied your own strength tenfold, you still couldn't get out," Kongming explained considerately, shaking her fan.
"That's quite a novel term. Please allow me to study it."
Yun Ling focused his gaze on the invisible curtain. An unfamiliar spell or image appeared before him.
"Do all people from Shenzhou possess such wondrous things?"
Yun Ling now seriously doubted whether all people from Shenzhou possessed extraordinary skills; at least the two Shenzhou people he had encountered so far were.
Watson's inhuman physique—during a previous case, she even demonstrated catching a bullet with her bare hands...
And this Kongming could set up something so extraordinary, which made him feel a slight longing for Shenzhou.
"Not entirely." Kongming shook her head.
"Only you can open this?" Yun Ling continued to inquire.
"That's how it is for now." Kongming's hand, which was waving a fan, paused, as if she understood what Yun Ling wanted to do.
"Miss Kongming, I don't want to do anything bad to you. Could you please open this formation?" Yun Ling said with ill intent.
Although he was grateful to Kongming for saving him, it didn't mean he would let himself be trapped here forever. Kongming waved her fan simply and calmly, watching him with an unwavering expression.
Yun Ling rushed forward, and then...
Kongming sat on Yun Ling's back, swinging her small, white-stockinged feet, not even a drop of sweat falling from her skin.
Sure enough, none of his boxing or Barton techniques had ever been of any use!
Yun Ling lay on the ground, pondering his next move.
Should he really entrust his life to a complete stranger?
But as things stood, escape seemed like a pipe dream.
Leaving aside the fact that Guan Xing possessed those incomprehensible 'arrays,' her mere display of martial arts skills was enough to easily subdue him.
"So, have you made up your mind?" Kongming's voice came from above.
"So, are you planning to keep me locked up here for life? Or what value do you need me to demonstrate? Money or fame?" Yun Ling continued, probing.
"Whether or not I keep you locked up here...that depends on your performance. As for those latter things you mentioned, I don't care about them."
She was once the Empress of the Ming Empire; how could she possibly care about such things?
She didn't want money, she didn't want fame, and she just wanted him to be locked up here.
If it wasn't simply revenge...
Yun Ling quickly processed the information related to himself and the other person, combining it with the subtle anomalies he had sensed earlier.
Eliminating all the impossibilities, what remained was the answer.
"So what you actually want is...me? Or rather, that person named 'Yun Ling'?"
As soon as Yun Ling spoke, he clearly felt the girl sitting on his back tremble violently.
This proved that he had guessed correctly.
"Sometimes being too clever isn't a good thing," Kongming said, a hint of threat in her voice.
"That's precisely what I'm proud of."
Yun Ling, as always, wanted to hold his head high, but found it impossible in his current posture, so he had to abandon the idea.
"So you know Fu Hua?" Yun Ling continued to press.
"Of course I do." Guan Xing nodded.
"Then… What a coincidence! She's my friend. I think we'll have a lot in common." Yun Ling immediately seized the opportunity to step forward and establish a connection.
"But I didn't say we were close, right?"
Kongming's words sent Yun Ling's heart sinking once again.
…