Chapter 71: I Will Love You Forever

Plop.

Sweat slid from the girl’s cheek, dripping onto the ground.

The scorching sun evaporated it instantly.

Her fingertips and palms were scraped raw by the rough well wall.

Before the wounds could scab, the next day’s trial arrived.

Luoyao’s knees, from prolonged kneeling, were severely damaged.

Blood soaked through her jeans, seeping into the ground beneath.

This was the second day of their confinement in the Well of Atonement.

With Huangwei’s stamina potion, Luoyao barely held on until three in the afternoon.

The blood-red sunset crept over the well’s edge.

Though less intense than midday, its lingering light and heat were still deadly to Noah.

The well’s mouth was cunningly designed.

No matter the sun’s position during the day, sunlight always found its way in.

Without Luoyao shielding her with her body, Noah would likely be like the bones at the well’s bottom by now.

“Luoyao…”

Noah softly called her nickname, but got no response.

Luoyao still braced her hands against the wall, kneeling before Noah.

Her head hung low, her hair, dry as weeds, swaying faintly with her unsteady body.

Noah reached out, brushing aside Luoyao’s hair, only to see her half-conscious.

“Luoyao! Luoyao!”

Panic seized Noah.

She instinctively reached to pull Luoyao into her arms.

But the moment her fingers left the shadows into the sunlight, searing pain hit.

Noah hissed in agony but endured, tugging Luoyao’s clothes.

“Mm… huh? Is it night…? Oh! Sorry, sorry, I dozed off. You’re not hurt, are you, Noah?”

Regaining some awareness, Luoyao lifted her head.

She gently took Noah’s hand from her waist, placing it back on Noah’s chest.

“Don’t move. Look, you’re burned again.”

Noah’s exhausted tone carried a hint of reproach.

“Your hands are so beautiful. Don’t hurt them again, okay?” Luoyao added.

Noah bit her lip, tears in her eyes.

She looked up, gazing at Luoyao’s face with a complex expression.

“You’re covered in wounds yourself… Why, even half-conscious, is your first thought to worry about someone else? Luoyao, do you really… really… not care about your own life at all? Little fool.

It breaks my heart. It breaks my heart to death.”

Noah closed her eyes, tilting her head to rest lightly on Luoyao’s shoulder.

Tears flooded down her cheeks, unstoppable.

“Sorry… I’m so sorry, Luoyao. I shouldn’t have come back for you… You were free, and I dragged you into this mess… I’m sorry.”

“…”

Partings are painful because they might mean never seeing each other again.

Noah thought their bond had ended the night she marked Luoyao.

But fate tangled them again, their love burning fiercer than ever.

So fierce it now scorched her.

When challenging Yelan, Noah had said she’d rather die than watch her love be trampled.

But seeing Luoyao suffer before her, Noah’s heart felt sliced by a thousand knives.

She felt she’d failed Luoyao.

She shouldn’t have let a girl yearning for freedom be dragged into this bloody tyranny.

If she could, Noah wished Luoyao’s pain could transfer to her.

But… reality offered no such kind ifs.

Luoyao endured torment no ordinary person could bear.

Tragically, she could’ve lived freely as an ordinary human girl.

“Fool…”

A smile broke through Luoyao’s pale face.

Propping one hand against the wall, she reached back with the other, gently wiping Noah’s tears.

“Three hundred years old and crying like that? I’m tougher than you.”

Luoyao nudged Noah’s nose with her forehead, continuing,

“You didn’t fail me, Noah. I told you, love isn’t one-sided. I chose to be with you, and I’m not afraid of the cost. This situation? It’s just a bit hot, a bit tiring, a bit painful. No big deal.

Compared to ‘leaving you,’ this is nothing.

Always remember one thing, Noah: no matter what happens, no matter our roles or status, no matter who stands in our way, no matter what the world becomes, even if the next second is the apocalypse—

I will love you. Always love you. Forever love you.

Because you complete my broken soul. Without you, my life isn’t whole.

Got it? My dearest… Noah.”

So direct.

Her little fool had never expressed her love so boldly.

Usually, it peeked through shy interactions.

Yet in this moment, she declared her love for Noah with such conviction…

‘True love is hard to find.’ An old saying, but one you could trust.

Luoyao’s eyes held no fear or hesitation, only serene acceptance.

Noah knew Luoyao was truly committed to walking this path with her.

She was ready for whatever lay ahead.

But…

Noah didn’t want her to do this.

When she was the untouchable vampire of the castle, Luoyao stayed by her side.

Now, trapped in this hellish Well of Atonement by a tyrannical Mother, Luoyao still stayed.

From start to finish, her little fool never abandoned her.

Her earlier promise wasn’t empty words—she proved her love with every action.

“I…”

This time, the silver-haired, cocky vampire was left speechless by the charm.

“You what? No more crying. Your face is all messed up, not pretty anymore.”

Luoyao wiped the dust, blood, and tears from Noah’s face.

Finally, she lifted Noah’s hair, revealing her full face, satisfied. “Still so gorgeous. Can’t get enough.”

Noah smirked. “Beaten up by Mother like this, and I’m still gorgeous?”

“Gorgeous is gorgeous. Kiss~”

Smooch—

Her little fool leaned in for a kiss, making the usually shameless vampire blush.

Noah covered her face, muttering, “My family status is ruined.”

“Hmph, good to know.”

Noah looked up. “Didn’t you say you loved being teased by me? Wanted me to tease you forever? Forgot already?”

“Nope, didn’t forget. I just changed my mind. Can’t I?”

Luoyao huffed smugly.

Her reward was Noah’s fingers reaching over.

“Hey, hey, why’re you tickling my waist again? Stop it, stop—”

“Ahh!”

Sunlight burned her again.

Noah yanked her hand back like she’d been shocked, clutching it to her chest, not daring to move.

Luoyao frowned, nudging Noah’s forehead. “I told you, no more hurting yourself.”

“Mm, mm, okay, okay.”

“Noah, you’re so beautiful and such a fighter. No one in the vampire clan ever chased you?”

The topic jumped, catching Noah off guard. “Uh, yeah, there were some.”

“How many?”

“A lot—er, not a lot, not many, just a few!”

Luoyao narrowed her eyes. “A few…”

“Well… cough… like seven or eight.”

“Go die! That many?!”

Another forehead bump, this one a bit too hard, making Luoyao wince.

“What was I supposed to do? Cripple myself and scar my face?”

“Oh, cripple yourself? You think you’re cultivating immortality?”

“If I could cultivate immortality… Yaoyao, would you join me—”

“Nope.”

“Come on~ Come on~”

“No! Way!”

The two bantered at the well’s bottom, unaware of a figure lingering at the well’s mouth.

Huangwei sat at the edge, listening to their playful teasing, a smile tugging at her lips.

“At this point, what could possibly tear you two apart?”

She stood, brushing dust off her pants, and walked back.

Huangwei had come to check if the two were in danger.

If something happened, not only would Mother’s plan falter, but Huangwei couldn’t bear it either.

Fortunately, her worries were unfounded.

They were suffering, sure, but their spirits held strong.

One day remained. They could probably make it.

Inside the castle, lights still blazed.

On her way back, Huangwei heard “strange” sounds from the woods beyond the fence.

“Tch… these young vampires are way too wild…”

Muttering, she quickened her pace, not wanting to disturb anyone’s… private moment.

As she neared the castle’s back door, she spotted a girl in a white dress returning from nearby.

Huangwei pursed her lips, studying her.

White dress, black hair, tall, holding an old-fashioned phone playing a monotonous bell chime.

The girl’s steps were stiff, her eyes vacant, like a marionette.

When she was a few meters away, her phone’s chime stopped.

She froze, as if waking from a dream.

“You’re… Yuxiao? The blood s*ave Xiyue brought back?” Huangwei asked.

“Yes, that’s me. Teacher Huangwei, right? Good evening.”

Yuxiao replied.

Huangwei eyed her suspiciously, finding nothing odder, and said, “Don’t wander alone. The castle’s full of hungry vampires.”

“Okay, thanks for the reminder, Teacher. I’ll head back.”

“Mm.”

Yuxiao nodded slightly, hurrying into the castle and upstairs.

Huangwei stood at the door, listening to Yuxiao’s rushed footsteps, murmuring, “Looks like I need to have a chat with Xiyue.”