"How is she doing, meow?"
"She's awake. Lady Lottie is feeding her lunch."
"What about her wounds, meow?"
"We've done some basic treatment. You know, in this situation, we dare not administer treatment rashly. Only the captain has the full confidence to do so."
"Kara? That person is indeed capable, meow. It's a pity she's too obsessed with hunting Blood Demons, almost to the point of being pathological... meow."
"There's no help for it, the captain has always been like that... Uh, Lord Niss, forgive my frankness, but could you please stop adding 'meow' to your words?"
"Meow... sorry, it's a habit. Ahem, how is her mental state?"
"She's still a bit dazed. After all, she experienced such a terrifying incident last night. Ah,she's only fourteen years old."
"She's already fifteen. Yesterday was her birthday."
"Damn it! What a poor child. I heard she's the only survivor left in the entire Castille Manor..."
"That's hard to say. In previous Blood Demon cases, no sacrifice has ever survived."
"Didn't they say that stupid Bloodline Demon drew the sacrifice magic circle backwards?"
"It's not that simple. This incident has already alarmed the higher-ups. The Grand Priest and the Duke are both quite enraged, and the Inquisition is ready to intervene."
"Dammit! Those lunatics from the Inquisition just want to stick their hands into our Demon Hunting Institute!"
"..."
Clear voices drifted in from outside the door, one hoarse and casual, the other young and respectful. Although the door was tightly closed and the speakers deliberately lowered their voices, Xia Luo, who was half-lying on the sickbed, could hear every word clearly.
Ever since last night's sacrifice ritual, her hearing seemed to have undergone a qualitative change, far exceeding the limits of ordinary humans in terms of acuity.
"So... you still don't know what happened?" A gentle voice like flowing water sounded in front of her.
The speaker was a beautiful and dignified woman. Dressed in a black robe, her brown long hair was coiled to one side. She held a wooden bowl filled with thick porridge in one hand and a soup spoon in the other, speaking slowly and softly, as if emanating a reassuring maternal glow.
Priestess Lottie. This was the title Xia Luo had heard from the Demon Hunting Knights. At the same time, the other woman was also the healer who had stayed by her side ever since she was transferred from the basement of Castille Manor to the church hospital last night.
Meeting Lottie's gentle and concerned gaze, Xia Luo summoned all her mental focus. As the final beneficiary of the evil ritual, she certainly knew what had happened last night. But these were things she definitely could not reveal.
"I... I don't know..." "Grandmother suddenly turned into a monster... suddenly turned into a monster..." "Woohoo..."
Xia Luo slightly lowered her head, her delicate face carrying a look of loneliness and confusion, with faintly red eye sockets, like a frightened little kitten.
Seeing the maiden's pitiful appearance, Lottie's heart melted. She sighed, and a hidden fury flashed in her eyes filled with compassion, as she hatefully said:
"These detestable Bloodline Demons!"
Bloodline... Demon? Xia Luo's heart stirred. This was the second time she had heard this term. She appropriately feigned ignorance and confusion: "Blood Demon?"
Lottie's expression softened, and she explained patiently: "You can think of them as extremely evil beings. They fear light and holiness, crave blood, live by sucking blood, and are evil, crazy, and cruel... The monster that tried to blood-sacrifice you last night was a Bloodline Demon."
Craving blood? This was no different from a vampire! It was hard for Xia Luo not to associate the other party's description with some Western legends from her previous life.
"Alright, don't let your thoughts run wild. Have some porridge." Looking at the silent maiden, Lottie sighed. She scooped up the thick porridge, gently blew on it, and then slowly brought it to Xia Luo's face: "This is milk porridge, a patient's meal from the church hospital. It's made by crushing oats, boiling them, and adding milk, eggs, and meat broth. It will help your wounds recover."
Lottie's movements were gentle, and her voice was warm. She seemed to enjoy popularizing various kinds of knowledge to the maiden. Whenever the maiden showed confusion about something, she would explain it patiently.
Looking at the milk porridge in Lottie's spoon, Xia Luo obediently opened her mouth and swallowed it. Now that her hands and feet were wrapped into rice dumplings with bandages and gauze, she had no psychological pressure at all about being fed.
However, compared to the delicious milk porridge, Xia Luo felt that the fragrance emanating from this beautiful priestess sister was more attractive to her. It wasn't a fragrance in the usual sense, but more like the alluring aroma a hungry person smells when facing delicious food. Especially when the other party was only a step away from her.
That enticing aroma even made Xia Luo feel an instinctive urge to pounce on the other party, bite through her skin, and suck her blood!
This is outrageous! Why do I want to drink blood? Xia Luo was shocked and uncertain. It was obvious that although she had escaped last night, her body had undergone some unknown mysterious changes. And this feeling made it hard for her not to associate it with what the other party had just said.
Craving for blood... Could it be that... by sacrificing the old hag through the ritual and devouring her power, I too have become a Bloodline Demon?!
"Don't be afraid. This is the interior of the Holy Royal Court's church, the most sacred place in Bold City. Those Bloodline Demons dare not enter here." "Here... you are safe."
Looking at the maiden's pale face and shocked and uncertain expression, Lottie showed pity and gently stroked her little head.
Xia Luo: ...
Wait a minute... If everything is really as she guessed, then the church hospital isn't just unsafe for her, but also very dangerous!
Upon realizing this, Xia Luo instantly felt completely uncomfortable, and everything in the ward seemed to clash with her.
Fortunately, in the eyes of the Demon Hunting Knights, she was just an unfortunate little poor thing right now. They didn't seem to have noticed the changes in the maiden's body, and Xia Luo hoped that these Demon Hunting Knights would never notice the changes in her body...
Xia Luo slightly shrank her body but accidentally pulled on her wound, causing her to gasp in pain. Lottie's gaze became even more filled with pity. She gently and carefully tucked the corner of the blanket for the maiden, her expression carrying an apology: "Does it hurt a lot?" "I'm sorry... having gone through a Blood Demon ritual, I dare not rashly cast divine healing on you." "But don't worry, Captain Kara is the strongest Demon Hunting Knight in the Bold Branch. She has reached the peak of Silver Moon Second Order at a young age, and her divine healing spell is extremely superb..." "When she returns, she will help you carefully examine your body, remove the dark corrosion, and treat your injuries." "Don't worry, you'll be fully recovered and discharged from the hospital in at most a week, without any corrosion or scars left."
Xia Luo: ...
She felt depressed. The various changes in her body made her unsure that she could withstand a thorough examination. She also didn't know what kind of chemical reaction the so-called "divine healing spell" would have when faced with a Bloodline Demon... Especially since the other party was titled the "strongest" Demon Hunting Knight!
Religion is often accompanied by fanaticism, not to mention that her current judgment was likely to be "evil". And the fate of "evil"... Xia Luo didn't dare to gamble.
She had to save herself. She had to prevent the physical examination. She had to find a way to escape from here. And... without arousing suspicion.
Escaping from here was difficult. Preventing the physical examination was equally so. Then, the only thing she could do was find a way to conceal the changes in her body. To this end, she first had to figure out how the so-called "physical examination" was conducted.
"Body... physical examination?" Xia Luo widened her beautiful blue eyes, slightly tilted her head, and appropriately put on a confused expression. After a short period of interaction, she had discovered that as long as she showed this kind of innocent and cute expression, this priestess lady would start explaining patiently. She needed this explanation to obtain more information from the other party's mouth.
Sure enough, Lottie smiled and said: "The so-called physical examination is actually a divine arts ritual. What examines your body is the power of the gods. There are no side effects, and it won't violate your privacy. Of course, in order to understand more details about this Blood Demon case, the church might ask you some details about last night..."