After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: The Wolf and the Whip-Wielder

◎ You must recite the content of your education from beginning to end. ◎

The moment she realized who was standing before her, Al suddenly relaxed, losing consciousness completely in the very next second.

Jiao Qingyin caught her body, which was as scorching as a furnace, to prevent her from collapsing onto the floor.

The unconscious Al was entirely limp, soft as a piece of rice cake. As Jiao Qingyin lifted her up, she noticed the girl was even lighter than she had been a week ago. She had worked so hard to nurse her back to a bit of weight, only for Al to toss herself into this state the moment Jiao Qingyin let go.

Jiao Qingyin could no longer suppress her fury, but Al had a knack for picking the perfect time to faint, leaving Jiao Qingyin with no target for her frustration.

She stared at the little rascal for a few seconds, suddenly pulled her closer, leaned down—and bit Al’s cheek.

After taking that bite, Jiao Qingyin felt the gloom within her dissipate by half. No wonder the girl always liked to bite her; doing so was indeed quite satisfying. Jiao Qingyin observed the teeth marks she left on Al’s cheek for a moment, finding them increasingly pleasing to the eye.

Possessing strong self-control, Jiao Qingyin resisted the urge to take another bite. She tightened her hold around Al’s knees and prepared to carry her out of the cell. The makeshift treatment room was at the outermost edge of the dungeon; it was a long walk, and she needed to move quickly.

“Nn…?”

Hearing a sound, Jiao Qingyin paused and looked down at the person in her arms.

Al hadn’t woken up. She seemed to be dreaming, letting out some meaningless murmurs while unconsciously nuzzling against Jiao Qingyin. However, in a princess-carry position, her head was resting against Jiao Qingyin’s chest. This nuzzling quickly became a problem.

Jiao Qingyin tried to hold Al further away, but the posture was physically taxing, and since the latter kept leaning into her instinctively, certain points of friction were unavoidable.

Having sensitive areas repeatedly brushed against, Jiao Qingyin’s temple throbbed, and her irritation flared. Yet the culprit knew nothing; she clung tightly to Jiao Qingyin as if that were the only way to find a shred of security.

Just as Jiao Qingyin was considering whether to just sling the girl over her shoulder, Al’s lips moved, letting out a sound that stirred the imagination.

“Jiao-Jiao…”

She was calling her name?

Jiao Qingyin decided that since she needed to adjust her hold anyway, she might as well head back to the cell. She laid Al down temporarily on the soft bed.

With her arms empty, Jiao Qingyin forcibly ignored the slight sense of loss. Before picking her up again, she turned back to pull the key from the lock. However, in that single turn, she looked back to see Al clutching the bedsheets, her face flushed with an abnormal fever, babbling her name in distress.

Al’s actions and voice were so obvious that even the densest person would realize what was happening. But why—

Before Jiao Qingyin could think deeper, a strange fragrance drifted from Al’s body. Faint, sweet, and possessing a magic that made one sink deeper and deeper.

As if bewitched, Jiao Qingyin took two steps forward. It wasn’t until her fingertips touched Al’s cheek that she suddenly snapped back to reality.

Something’s wrong…! Jiao Qingyin’s pupils shrank. She wanted to retreat, but Al opened her eyes at that exact moment.

Those blue-green eyes were brimming with moisture, shimmering and unable to focus, looking like a moon reflected in disturbed lake water.

“Jiao-Jiao…” Al couldn’t see clearly, but she recognized the person before her by instinct.

Her muddled brain couldn’t process information normally; she couldn’t even tell if she was awake or dreaming. In the past few days, she had dreamed of Jiao Qingyin far too many times.

She reached out her arms, wanting to cling to Jiao Qingyin’s body just as she had in her dreams—to hold her beloved, and then do everything she wanted to—

Her hands were caught mid-air.

“…?” Al blinked in confusion, not understanding what was happening. Rejection had never been part of her dreams.

“Al.”

Jiao Qingyin spoke. That ice-cold voice caused Al to shrink back instinctively despite her lack of reason. She habitually wanted to apologize, but then felt she hadn’t done anything wrong. Guilt and resentment mixed together, resulting in a whimpering sound.

Jiao Qingyin continued in a voice clearly suppressed with emotion: “Have you had these symptoms since seven days ago?”

A conscious Al would have realized disaster was imminent, but the version of her present was one tortured by her heat cycle into forgetting everything. Thus, Al nodded very honestly.

Faintly hearing a light chuckle from above, Al’s animal-like intuition finally kicked in. “Wh-what is it…”

“No, it’s nothing…” Jiao Qingyin reached out, gently brushing a stray lock of hair from Al’s forehead. Her voice sounded like a slowly drawn cello. “I just think the education plan I prepared earlier needs some… revisions.”

Al didn’t understand, but it didn’t matter. Soon, her body would understand Jiao Qingyin’s meaning long before her brain did.

“Al, open your eyes.”

“Wuu…”

“Open your eyes.”

Al’s eyelashes trembled as she obeyed. As her tear-filled eyes slowly opened, she let out a sob.

Feeling the dampness against her thumb, Jiao Qingyin didn’t soften her heart; instead, the smile at the corner of her mouth grew more intrigued. Pinching Al’s chin and taking advantage of the fact that the girl couldn’t see, Jiao Qingyin gently wiped away a tear that had slid to her jaw with her thumb and brought it to her lips to taste.

—It was sweet.

Though the salty taste of tears was still on her lips, Jiao Qingyin gave a completely opposite evaluation without changing her expression.

Al didn’t notice. Her tears fell pitter-patter, and occasional cries of frustration escaped her teeth.

“Why…”

Al’s voice was a blur. Jiao Qingyin didn’t hear it clearly, so she curled her hair around her finger and patted her head. “Hmm?”

“Why… won’t you kiss me…” Al’s voice carried a sob, sounding utterly aggrieved. “Even though… you’ve done so many excessive things…”

Jiao Qingyin didn’t answer. Instead, she posed her own question: “Everything I just taught you—have you memorized it?”

Jiao Qingyin had asked the same question over a dozen times. No matter how slow Al’s brain was, she was forced to carve the answers into her physical instincts.

“One… when you like someone, you c-can’t just do whatever you want… you have to ask for their consent first.”

Jiao Qingyin gave a soft “Mm.”

“Two… you must cherish your own body, n-not do dangerous things.”

Jiao Qingyin nodded.

“Th-three…” Al’s response, which had been somewhat fluent, hit a snag on the third point. She repeated the number over and over, so anxious that sweat beaded on her nose. The consequences of not answering were too… severe. Al didn’t want to experience them again.

Jiao Qingyin’s lips curled up. She gently stroked Al’s hair. “Think harder.”

Al used to love having her head patted by Jiao Qingyin, but now, the gesture had been given a new meaning. Even in her daze, she immediately realized what she was about to face.

“N-no…” she tried to plead.

Jiao Qingyin offered a kind smile, her gaze doting and indulgent. Al didn’t feel a follow-up movement and looked up hopefully, thinking she was about to escape. However—

“No. We made a deal.”

Al was plunged back into darkness. She was once again dragged into the mire by Jiao Qingyin. The mischievous woman always stopped deliberately just before the final moment. The repeated torment brought Al to the brink of collapse. After an unknown amount of time, she heard Jiao Qingyin’s gentle voice in her ear.

“Do you know your mistake?”

“I kn—wuu… I know.”

As if rewarding her, Jiao Qingyin kissed Al’s forehead. “Good girl.”

But Al couldn’t feel it. She was still sad that she couldn’t even get a single kiss. Her tears fell like pearls from a broken string, unaware that it was precisely because she cried so pitifully that she was being bullied so ruthlessly. She gripped Jiao Qingyin’s sleeve tightly, her arched neck looking even more slender and pale against the black collar—like a swan offering its neck for slaughter.

“Is it… r-really impossible… to kiss me once?”

Jiao Qingyin looked down at Al, who looked like melting caramel. After a moment, she let out an imperceptible sigh and covered those expressive eyes with her palm.

“Sleep for a while.”

Al slept for a long time. When she woke up again, she was in a daze of full-body soreness for a long while before regaining clarity. As she slowly recalled what happened before she lost consciousness, she snapped her eyes open, searching for Jiao Qingyin.

Then she saw the person she was looking for. Dressed in a maid’s uniform, Jiao Qingyin was sitting in an armchair that looked completely out of place in the dungeon, expressionlessly polishing a military saber. Her left foot was resting on the luxurious velvet of the chair while her right leg was stretched out straight. She looked relaxed and lazy, like a great cat sharpening its claws. That humble maid’s uniform was somehow worn with the aura of high-class finery.

“Jiao…”

Al had just opened her mouth when she stopped, startled by her own unbelievably hoarse voice. What—she moved to sit up, only to hear the clink of metal.

Huh…?

Al lifted her head bit by bit, her neck so stiff it practically made a cracking sound. A golden chain met her eyes; one end was connected to the handcuffs on her wrists, while the other disappeared into the wall. The chain was short, restricting her movement to a tiny range. At most, she could only sit up; she couldn’t even get out of bed.

And Al remembered clearly: there was no such thing in the cell before she fainted.

While Al tried to use her chaotic brain to sort through the situation, Jiao Qingyin finished polishing her blade, leisurely sheathed it, and set it aside. Then she looked over with composed interest.

“Awake?”

Al instinctively nodded, looking into Jiao Qingyin’s eyes. The moment their gazes met, Al’s heart began to thud violently. She subconsciously leaned forward, wanting to be closer to Jiao Qingyin—

The resistance from her wrists forced her to stop. Al tugged at the chain in a panic. Then, she realized in a daze that the handcuffs on her wrists weren’t just padded on the inside; they were engraved with hollowed-out roses on the outside. They were the most considerate and exquisite restraints she had ever seen, almost looking like pieces of art.

Taking in all of Al’s reactions, Jiao Qingyin let out a chuckle. “As expected, you only look well-behaved when you’re tied up.”

As she spoke, Jiao Qingyin shifted her posture, putting her foot down from the chair and crossing her legs. She found the long skirt of the maid’s uniform troublesome, so she pulled the hem to one side, revealing her shapely calves.

“…” Having just managed to sit up under the restriction of the chains, Al saw this scene and felt her throat was about to burn dry. She had too many things to say and too many questions to ask, but all her words were forcibly choked back. She didn’t understand the status quo, but she was afraid that if she said the wrong thing, she would push Jiao Qingyin further away.

“…Jiao-Jiao.” In the end, she only called out the other’s name.

Seeing her stunned expression, Jiao Qingyin noticed her gaze was slowly becoming clear. “Aren’t you going to ask me why I locked you up?”

“…Why did you?”

Jiao Qingyin pulled a pocket watch from her bosom, pressed a button, and spoke: “Every hour, your body temperature spikes rapidly, then cools down over five to fifteen minutes. You slept for ten hours, so you’ve experienced ten high fevers. Yet, neither magic nor medical means can find a cause—but I think you know why.”

Listening to this, Al’s first reaction was that she had missed the chance to have Jiao Qingyin take her out of the dungeon and examine her with magic. If she had been awake then…

“You have one minute. If you don’t speak, I will no longer care about this matter.”

The ticking of the pocket watch reached Al’s ears. She suddenly understood that Jiao Qingyin had started the timer. Her pupils contracted.

“Wait—” Tick. “One minute is too short, I—” Tick-tock.

Realizing time was running out, Al threw all her reservations, worries, and fears to the back of her mind. She closed her eyes and gambled everything: “—It’s my heat cycle.”

Click. The timer stopped.

After revealing the truth, all the strength seemed to leave Al’s body. She kept her eyes tightly shut, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. Shame turned her face scarlet, and her fingernails dug deep crescents into her palms. Al fell into extreme self-loathing.

Before her first fever started, she never imagined she would one day be controlled by desire to the point of losing control over her body and becoming so wretched. The hallucinations brought by the heat had made her lose herself several times; she had begun to dream constantly, and those dreams were full of her unrequited love. And today’s “dream” was even more…

Blurred scenes flashed before her eyes, tightening her nerves to the limit. The more beautiful the scenes in her dreams, the more she hated her body after waking up. Especially since Jiao Qingyin’s arrival had caused the peak of her heat—which should have come during the full moon—to trigger several days early. Al was worried… had she already shown a disgraceful side of herself while unconscious?

Al didn’t want to imagine how Jiao Qingyin was looking at her right now. Would she find her disgusting? Would she think that an Al who couldn’t control her own body was no better than a beast?

Yet at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel some despicable thoughts. A voice tempted her to reach out to Jiao Qingyin: The heat cycle—what a perfect excuse. No matter what she did, she could blame it all on that.

Having not seen Jiao Qingyin for seven days, Al felt she was going crazy. If the heat could give her a chance to touch the other—

Knowing she should have just finished a round of fever, Al felt her temperature rising again along with her heart rate.

The answer Jiao Qingyin got was slightly different from what she had hypothesized. She thought the girl had been drugged, but a heat cycle… Jiao Qingyin was certain that pure-blooded humans in this world didn’t have such things. So… did it have something to do with Al’s mysterious background, which wasn’t even mentioned in the script?

She shifted her gaze, tracing the girl’s features until her eyes landed on the corners of Al’s eyes. At some point, they had been stained with a rich red, beautiful and eye-catching. Jiao Qingyin flexed her knuckles.

Judging by Al’s reaction after waking up, she didn’t seem to remember what had happened earlier. This made Jiao Qingyin’s teeth feel a bit itchy. To forget… meant the memory wasn’t deep enough.

Jiao Qingyin knew very well that she had lost too much control today. Perhaps it was due to that strange fragrance, or perhaps because the girl was just too delicious, but she felt no regret. It had already happened; with her personality, she wouldn’t deny the fact.

And while Jiao Qingyin knew rationally that Al forgetting their intimate contact was actually a good thing for the big picture, emotionally, she just wanted to give the girl another lesson.

Despite the high heat in her body, Al suddenly shivered. She hesitated, then slowly opened her eyes. It was late at night. The starlight through the skylight was dim, and only one wall lamp was lit in the dungeon. In the darkness, Jiao Qingyin’s eyes seemed to glow faintly. For some reason, Al felt a sudden urge to shrink back.

Why wasn’t she saying anything? Why was Jiao Qingyin completely unresponsive after hearing the truth? Al couldn’t find a single trace of emotion—be it surprise, disgust, or anything else—on the other woman’s face. Jiao Qingyin’s mouth remained in a flat line, as if Al had just mentioned a minor cold rather than a heat cycle, making it entirely unworthy of a fuss.

Al knew very well that Jiao Qingyin treated those she didn’t care about with this exact attitude. But she wasn’t satisfied. Jiao Qingyin had disguised herself as a maid to see her, had stayed by her side waiting for her to wake up, and hadn’t even left after hearing the truth. Did that mean… she cared, at least a little?

She waited for a reply with near-obsessive focus, but Jiao Qingyin still didn’t say a word, as if she had forgotten her existence. As time ticked by, the familiar heat crawled back onto Al’s cheeks. Influenced by instinct, she unconsciously cast her gaze onto Jiao Qingyin.

Jiao Qingyin wasn’t looking at her anymore. She was busy adjusting the bow on her maid uniform. She seemed very dissatisfied with the one on her waist, untying and retying it over and over. The white ribbon flitted through her fingers like a real butterfly. As she watched, Al’s breathing grew heavy. She wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and tear off the two ribbons that were stealing Jiao Qingyin’s attention, making her look at Al—only Al.

And—she was wearing a maid uniform! The symbolic meaning of the uniform, combined with the phrase the other had said while lifting her chin—“I am your Master”—echoed in Al’s mind, making her heart beat faster and faster.

Jiao Qingyin stirred too many desires in her. Countless thoughts swirled in her mind, yet in reality, she was locked firmly in place by the chains. Aside from watching, she could do nothing. Al choked on her own breath, letting out a series of coughs. This noise finally drew Jiao Qingyin’s gaze. The latter looked at her with a half-smile. Once Al’s coughing subsided, she slightly curled her lips.

“That look in your eyes… do you want… me?”

Having her thoughts exposed, Al stared stubbornly at Jiao Qingyin, her lips pressed tight without a word. She faintly sensed a hint of teasing in that smile. So, even though she desperately wanted to nod and pour out every one of her thoughts, she was keen enough to do nothing, refusing to show her emotions.

However, Jiao Qingyin didn’t intend to wait for an answer. She uncrossed her legs, causing her skirt to move. A flash of pale skin appeared, and Al’s face turned scarlet instantly; her previous performance lost all its persuasiveness.

“I thought you’d have more backbone—” Jiao Qingyin propped her elbow on the armrest, resting her chin on her hand with a beaming smile. “This expression of yours now is quite similar to earlier.”

Earlier? Al opened her mouth to defend herself, but in the next second, fractured images abruptly appeared in her mind.

Before the shocked Al could sort through her thoughts, Jiao Qingyin continued: “Before today, I didn’t know that you look so… cute when you cry.”

Every word struck Al’s heart, terrifyingly hot. Al finally snapped back to her senses, her expression falling apart.

C-could it be…! Those painful, pleasurable… those things that almost drove her mad… weren’t dreams?!

Jiao Qingyin took in Al’s sudden change in expression, her smile deepening: “You remember now?”

“…” Seeing Jiao Qingyin’s figure grow larger before her eyes, Al’s pupils contracted. All those memories she had briefly forgotten flooded back, entangling her in a web.

“Al, why did you lift your waist?”

“Do you like it to hurt a bit more?”

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you very fond of biting people before?”

“Ha…” Jiao Qingyin blew a laugh into Al’s ear. The latter’s tensed body immediately went limp uncontrollably, and she let out a broken cry.

“Why are you crying?” Jiao Qingyin’s wicked voice sounded beside her ear. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“It’s… mgh! It’s not!”

“Then do you want me to stop, or do you want me to use more force?”

The chains clattered sharply. Jiao Qingyin acted as if she didn’t understand Al’s meaning, tilting her head in feigned distress. “If you don’t say it, I won’t know what you want. How about this… either recite what I taught you before from start to finish, or… beg me.”

Hearing this, Al felt like she was going to crush her own teeth. But after a long silence, she squeezed out a sound: “One…”

She finally surrendered. Her voice, trembling and laced with tears, recited the results of Jiao Qingyin’s “education” from beginning to end.

“It sounds like you remember it all…” Al’s eyes brightened slightly. “—But I still want to hear you beg me.”

Jiao Qingyin flashed a smile, fully displaying her malicious side. She looked down at Al, more delighted than ever to see the girl’s eyes widen in disbelief. Bullying a puppy was so much fun, Jiao Qingyin thought. Especially bullying a conscious, bashful puppy—it was many times more satisfying than before.

It wasn’t until the sky began to turn white, and the stars and moon disappeared, that faint orange sunlight filtered into the dungeon. Jiao Qingyin looked at the sky, then at the exhausted Al, and stood up from the bedside.

“I… remember everything.”

Jiao Qingyin paused while searching for a handkerchief. She looked up at Al, who finally had the strength to speak. “So?”

Al braced herself up with difficulty, her voice incredibly hoarse. “Not just the things you made me recite… but also… everything you did to me. I remember it all. So…” She gritted her teeth, her eyes swirling with burning emotion. “In the future, I will definitely… return everything from today to you twofold.”

Al’s eyelashes trembled with her breath as she stared deathly at Jiao Qingyin. Bound by chains, her body looked fragile, like a fine jade that could shatter at any moment, but her expression was fiercely aggressive. All the submissiveness and confusion had vanished; she stripped away her hypocritical shell and revealed her truest side.

Just as when she first met Jiao Qingyin. This was the trait that had initially attracted Jiao Qingyin—no matter how well-behaved she pretended to be on the surface, she was untameable to the bone. Like a wild lone wolf, even if trapped or broken, she would always try to bite the throat of her enemy or prey as long as she had one breath left.

Jiao Qingyin laughed. No matter how fierce this wolf was, she would still show her snowy-white belly to her, whimpering like a puppy in surrender. Could there be anything more delightful than this? She couldn’t help but pat the “puppy’s” cheek, nodding with a grin. “While I don’t think you can do it—alright, I look forward to it.”

Sensing Jiao Qingyin’s indifference, Al’s sapphire eyes were tinged with red again. She wanted to say more, but Jiao Qingyin had finally found her handkerchief. She approached Al, cleaned her body under her blushing, furious gaze, and as she finished, dropped a light but heavy bombshell:

“I forgot to mention. Since you’ve successfully passed your heat—I’ve had the butler pack your bags. Starting tomorrow, you are no longer a slave of the Prince’s Manor.”