Mordgemälde

Kapitel 17

No, he could no longer feel the hunger, a feeling entirely different from simply lacking food. It wasn't a cry from his stomach, but from his heart, from his blood, from his very cells:

blood!

His fingers trembled. He was still rational; he knew it was wrong. But his heart, his desires, made him feel that it was wrong, and that nothing at all.

I'm already a vampire, I've been one for ten days. I've already drunk blood, sweet, warm blood. I've already drunk it once, why can't I drink it a second time?

He stood up groggily, walked to the refrigerator, touched the handle with his fingers, but suddenly stopped.

“I didn’t lose,” he licked his lips. “I still have my senses, I know what I’m doing, yes, I know. Yes, I’m sad, but not afraid of this sadness. I just…” He swallowed. “I just wanted to do an experiment, to try something. I just wanted to taste blood while I was sober. Isn’t that interesting? After all, not everyone can be a vampire. Maybe tomorrow I can become human again, so why not experience it now?” He opened the door to the freezer and took out the packet of bright red liquid.

blood!

Red blood!

His arm suddenly twitched, and the blood pack fell to the ground.

no!

He opened the freezer door and stuck his head inside. The icy air immediately suppressed a certain part of his desire.

I can't make excuses for myself!

Once it happens the first time, it will happen again and again...

This time it was animal blood, next time, will I want to try human blood?

I must hold on, I must hold on!

He closed his eyes, rushed to the bed, pulled the covers over his head, and trembled all over.

He kept telling himself he couldn't, but he could no longer find a reason not to. All those previous thoughts and convictions now seemed so ridiculous.

It's no big deal. If others can drink it, so can I. Besides, what I'm drinking is just animal blood, just chicken blood...

He slowly got out of bed and walked slowly to the refrigerator. The blood still shone an alluring red under the light.

If I really shouldn't drink blood, then give me some hints. Earthquakes, rain, thunder—whatever it is, if God doesn't want me to drink it, give me a hint and I won't.

He bent down, picked up the plastic bag, and then glanced around as if surveying the surroundings, a strange smile appearing on his lips.

No? So God made me drink it, so I should drink it.

He closed his eyes, bit open the bag, and the cool blood slowly flowed into his mouth and esophagus, mingling with his own blood. He clearly felt his heart and cells, which had been aching with desire, calm down, and his nerves slowly relaxed.

Blood,

Bright red blood.

Feng Nian'en opened her eyes and was horrified to see that her hands were covered in blood.

What am I doing?

What am I doing?!

With a "thud," the bag in his hand fell to the ground. He stared blankly at the blood flowing on the floor, at the shoes stained red, his lips twitching uncontrollably, before suddenly bursting into laughter.

He laughed, laughed incessantly, but his body gradually shrank downwards, until he reached the ground and curled up into a ball. He was still laughing, a sobbing laugh…

He didn't know how much time had passed before he groggily stood up. His body, contorted from being curled up for so long, collapsed back to the ground. He lay prone on the blood-stained floor, wanting to stay there forever. But eventually, he got up. He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps a year, perhaps an hour. Time meant nothing to him anymore.

He's already... he's already a ghost...

He numbly changed his clothes, mopped the floor, and tidied everything up as if nothing had happened.

After he had finished everything, he could only stand there blankly until the piercing ringing of the bell reached his ears.

He picked up the microphone.

"Is this Mr. Feng?"

The voice sounded familiar, but he had no desire to recall it, and simply replied, "I am Feng Nian'en."

"Ah, I'm Zhou Renkuan."

"Oh." Zhou Renkuan, who is that?

"Hehe," the man said immediately, perhaps realizing that the other person was not familiar with his name. "It's Zhou Renkuan from the police station, Xiao Kong's father."

"Oh." This time Feng Nian'en knew who the other person was. "What do you need?"

"That's right, we know that Miss Siwen is Mr. Feng's friend."

"She's my neighbor, is there a problem?"

"Neighbors? If they're just neighbors, then..." The other person hesitated.

“She’s my neighbor,” he unconsciously took a deep breath, as if he could smell a strange scent mixed with tobacco, “and also my… friend. What’s the problem?”

"No problem, no problem at all. It's just that Miss Siwen ran a few red lights yesterday and got photographed. Then, she probably smoked too much or something else, and fell asleep on the road. So, if it's convenient for Mr. Feng, perhaps you could come and take her home. You know, her family is hard to find..."

“Okay,” he replied, then added as if remembering something, “Do I need to bring a deposit?”

"Oh, no need, no need, we absolutely trust Mr. Feng."

Feng Nian'en put down the microphone, exhaled, and seemed to see sunlight in the darkest night, her whole being filled with vitality.

It's no big deal. Didn't I think of that from the beginning? Otherwise, I wouldn't have prepared that blood. This is good; with experience, we'll know how to handle it next time. Besides, we've already made a good start; the children are no longer afraid of him, and in the remaining ten days, he has every chance to get a girl's tears and become human.

The important thing now is to bring Siwen back. And—he thought with guilt—that he had actually yelled at her to get out yesterday; he must have been crazy.

He grabbed his wallet, ran downstairs, hailed a taxi, and went straight to the police station.

"尻!尻尻尻!"

The familiar voice made Feng Nian'en smile unconsciously.

"What law forbids people from sleeping on the road? I just like it, so what? What right do you have to bring me back? What right do you have to stop me from leaving? Are you police officers? Are you police officers?"

"We brought you back for your own good, in case you got hit by a car..."

"Getting run over by a car is my own fault, it's my own fault, I like it! I like getting run over by cars, what's it to you? What does it have to do with you? I..."

Si Wen, who was shouting, stopped when he saw Feng Nian'en, then turned around and continued shouting.

“Mr. Feng.” Zhou Renkuan came up to him, grabbed his hand, and turned to call out, “Xiao Gao, process the formalities for Miss Siwen.”

"Go through the formalities?" The girl blinked. "What formalities?"

"Mr. Feng brought you here, you can leave now." There was a hint of ingratiation in his tone.

"Mr. Feng? Which Mr. Feng?" The girl turned around, glanced at Feng Nian'en casually, her eyes indifferent, as if he were a stranger. "You mean this seemingly foolish guy? What does he have to do with me?"

"Si... Siwen," Feng Nian'en stammered as she called to the girl, "Um, shall we go back first and talk about it later?"

"What do you mean, 'this' and 'that'? Hey, buddy, people will misunderstand if you say that. Look, that section chief who's holding your hand like that misunderstood. Look at his eyes."

Zhou Ren loosened his grip and chuckled twice: "Miss Siwen really likes to joke. Hurry up and go back with Mr. Feng."

"Miss? Director Zhou actually called me Miss, I'm truly flattered." The girl twitched the corner of her mouth. "But even if you call me Princess, I can't just go with a stranger. Who knows if he'll sell me off?"

“Alright, alright, Siwen,” Zhou Renkuan stepped forward and patted the girl’s shoulder like an elder, “Don’t be angry, hurry up and go home with Mr. Feng, the police station is not a good place.”

“Director Zhou,” the girl turned around and said casually, “why do you always make me go with this guy? Yes, he lives next door, but we’re not related, we’ve only talked a few times. What you’re doing is damaging my reputation. People will think I have some kind of relationship with him. It’s very distressing for a girl like me to have that kind of reputation. Besides, didn’t I run a red light yesterday? Didn’t you take pictures? Aren’t you good police officers who follow the rules? Letting me go like this doesn’t seem to be in accordance with the rules.”

Zhou Renkuan's face twitched slightly, and he forced a smile, "We have absolute trust in Mr. Feng. Besides, you're not even eighteen yet, and you don't even have a driver's license. How could you run a red light? It must be a mistake, haha, haha, let's go, let's go."

The girl stared at him, gave a cold smile, and was about to say something more when Feng Nian'en quickly stepped forward and whispered, "I know you're angry with me. Yesterday I really..."

"Ha! Mr. Feng, what you're saying could be misunderstood. I have no relation to you whatsoever, so why should I be angry?"

“I know, I know.” He took a breath and said quickly, “No matter what, you haven’t forgotten those three things tonight, have you? You don’t really want to…” He lowered his voice, “leave the Moonlit Clan.”

Si Wen glanced at him, his lips curled slightly, and he kicked the table next to him hard with his right foot before striding out without looking back.

"Thank you very much, Director Zhou," Feng Nian'en said, shaking Zhou Renkuan's hand.

"Not at all, and we absolutely trust Mr. Feng. Xiao Kong came back yesterday and said he really enjoyed being with you. Please come visit us sometime." Zhou Renkuan's oval face was beaming with smiles.

"Definitely, definitely." After exchanging a few pleasantries, Feng Nian'en immediately turned around and caught up with Si Wen.

The girl walked extremely fast, as if some ferocious beast was chasing her. He followed silently, not daring to speak or stop her. The bright sunlight made him feel uncomfortable all over; his eyes blurred, and his legs felt weak, but he felt lighter than yesterday.

He shook his head and tried his best to follow the girl's steps.

The temperature rose higher and higher, the sunlight became more and more dazzling, and his mind became more and more blurred, to the point that he did not realize that his current figure was similar to Ranya in some ways.

Finally, for some unknown reason, the girl stopped and went into a nearby bakery. Feng Nian'en immediately followed her in, leaning against the wall, panting heavily.

The sales clerk looked at him curiously: "Are you alright, sir?"

"N-nothing." He opened his eyes and, through the seemingly distorted air, saw the girl sitting by the window, eating cake with gusto. He staggered forward, placing his hands on the table for support.

After finishing the first cake, Siwen finally looked up at him. The girl, who was still angry, immediately jumped up.

"What's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing," he managed a weak smile.

"Nonsense! If you're okay like this, then no one in the world is okay. Sit down, you idiot! Trying to pass out here?"

“I’m fine,” he said softly, sitting down and leaning on the table. “I’ll be fine after eating something.”

"Have something to eat?" Would anyone starve themselves to this extent in modern times?

"kindness."

He responded, feeling his strength gradually returning, knowing that he would be fine once the effects of the sunlight on him wore off.

"So, what flavor of cake do you like?" Her voice was a little hesitant, her initial anger having unknowingly turned into worry.

"Let me have a glass of milk first."

The milk was served, and Feng Nian'en drank it slowly. By the time he finished the cup, he was able to sit up straight.

"Let me make this clear first." Seeing that his complexion had improved somewhat, the girl said indifferently, "I'm not forgiving you, I just don't want to lose to Linda."

“I know,” Feng Nian’en nodded and said softly, “Yesterday, it was my fault.”

"snort!"

The girl turned her face away and slowly ate her cake. After a while, she said, "Are you sick?"

"I……"

"If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it." She adopted a nonchalant attitude.

“No,” Feng Nian’en hesitated for a moment, “it’s nothing. It’s just that I can’t go hungry, I can’t, um, I can’t skip a meal, especially I can’t be out in the sun for a long time without eating.”