A Promise Sealed in Blood

She didn't know how many days had passed—the dates in her memory were always ambiguous. Even Li Lin couldn't pinpoint the exact time; he could only sense that the green outside the window had faded, and autumn's withered yellow had become the dominant colors of the world. Angela practiced diligently again and again, holding herself to extremely high standards. She still didn't understand why her father and mother didn't come to see her, and now even the frequency of their meals had decreased; the once delicious food had become ordinary water and black bread. And there was only this one meal a day. So, for the next few days, Angela could only lie in bed, using sleep to escape the unspeakable hunger. Undeniably, even an adult couldn't endure such a life for long, let alone a mere girl. Gradually, Angela became increasingly taciturn, her facial expressions diminishing. Sometimes she would curl up in bed, talking to herself, but quickly fall silent again. Tormented by both physical and mental exhaustion, Angela was on the verge of collapse. She didn't know why she had become like this, nor what had happened. Although there was a large tree not far from her window, and Angela, she had no such thought.

Finally, on this day, her fate was completely changed.

Footsteps sounded outside the door again. Li Lin noticed a change in Angela's expression. She slowly raised her head, staring at the doorway with disbelief. Then, the door, which hadn't been opened for many days, was pushed open.

"Mother!"

Looking at the familiar and kind face at the door, Angela smiled. She quickly got out of bed and then gave her mother a proper ladylike bow.

"Mom, you're finally here, Angela..."

However, Angela hadn't finished speaking when the woman walked up to her, pressed her shoulder, and looked anxious and pained.

"Angela, I'm sorry, I know you hate it when we do this, but I'm sorry... I don't have time to explain now, quick, hide!"

"Hide...?"

Angela clearly didn't understand what her mother's order meant, and she looked at her mother with some confusion, unsure of what to do.

"Your father, he..."

The woman paused at this point, seemingly unsure how to express herself.

"He's acting a bit strange... Anyway, you're in danger now, quick, hide!"

As she spoke, the woman looked around, then her gaze fell on the huge trunk by the wall. She immediately went over, opened the trunk, picked up Angela, and placed her inside the large wooden trunk.

"Mother??"

"Listen to your mother, Angela. No matter what happens, don't come out or make a sound, understand? Don't answer anyone who calls you except me, okay?"

Angela looked at her mother with some surprise. However, she still nodded slightly.

"Okay... Mom, Angela will be good... So, please don't ignore Angela anymore, okay?"

"Of course, my child..."

The woman hugged Angela tightly, kissed her forehead gently, then placed Angela in the box and closed the lid.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside again, but unlike before, this time the footsteps were heavy and somewhat chaotic.

Standing in the empty room, Li Lin couldn't see what was happening at all. Even Angela's mother disappeared the moment the lid was closed, since that part wasn't within Angela's sight, so even she couldn't see what had happened. Soon, the door was pushed open with a loud bang, slamming against the wall, and then Li Lin heard a heavy, rough male voice.

"Christie! Where are you?! Come out now! Christie!!"

Then, the woman's voice rang out; at that moment, she was so calm and peaceful.

"I let her go, darling."

The man was clearly taken aback by this answer.

"You let her leave!? Do you even know what you're doing?!"

"Of course I know."

Li Lin could clearly sense the undisguised brutality and murderous intent in the man's voice, while the woman's voice remained completely unchanged.

"She's our daughter, dear, at least we must keep her alive..."

"She's not our daughter!!"

The man rudely interrupted her.

"She's the devil! She's the devil's apostle!! She's the one who spread this terrible curse into our castle, into our family and our territory! If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be suffering like this! Have you been deceived by her too! Open your eyes and see clearly, we are all tormented by that painful curse, so why is she the only one who remains healthy! Without the slightest sign of illness!"

"You treat your own daughter like this because of these baseless speculations?"

"This is not baseless speculation! I will not be tempted by the devil again. It's not too late. As long as we bravely fight her and kill that terrible devil, the great gods will once again watch over our family. Christie's soul will be purified! It's not too late. Tell me, where has she gone!"

"... I won't say anything, my dear. Haven't you realized yet? Angela is our angel. It's because she's here that I can stand here. She's an angel incarnate, which is why she escaped the devil's clutches. You, on the other hand, have been tempted by the devil, attempting to kill your own daughter. God will not condone such a sin! Give up!!"

"Shut up! Shut up!! Shut up, shut up, shut up!!!"

The man's roar suddenly grew louder, followed by a soft thud as something fell heavily to the ground.

"The gods have given me revelation!! I must follow their guidance and complete what I must do! The family will prosper again!! It's no use where she went. Christie has no way to leave this castle."

The words, spoken with heavy breathing, faded away quickly, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps leaving the room and gradually disappearing into the distance.

There was no sound in the room. After a long while, the woman's voice reappeared, but this time, it was very weak.

"Angela? Okay... you can come out now..."

"Mom... Mom?"

The lid opened, and Angela peeked out. At that moment, Li Lin finally saw the woman—she was lying on the ground not far from the wooden crate. From her left shoulder down, a shocking wound was constantly oozing blood.

"Mother!!"

Upon seeing the woman before her, Angela hurriedly emerged from the box, ran to her mother's side, and tightly grasped her hand.

"Mom, what's wrong, Mom..."

"Angela... my lovely child..."

The woman's face was unusually pale, but she still managed a smile and reached out to gently stroke Angela's cheek.

"Forgive me, Mom... I'm so sorry for making you suffer so much... But now, it's too late to say all this..."

As she spoke, the woman's voice suddenly became much clearer, and her originally pale complexion suddenly turned rosy.

"Listen carefully, Angela. Terrible things are happening outside. Everyone is... But you're unharmed. You must try to live on, do you understand? Leave here, Angela. I'm sorry, we can no longer give you a normal life... From now on, you must live on your own... Leave here, leave this castle, leave this land. May God protect you... and grant you a happy life... Now! Quickly! Go! Don't let your father see you! Quickly!!"

The woman practically shoved Angela away, giving a stern command at the same time.

"Angela, you must live on, no matter what happens! Promise Mom you'll try your best to live! Okay?"

"Okay, Mom."

Although she didn't know what had happened, Angela nodded subconsciously. Then she walked to the door, hesitated, turned around to look at her mother, and finally Angela into the darkness.

Watching everything unfold before him, Li Lin was helpless. He couldn't stay and watch the woman face death peacefully, nor could he find out where Angela's father had gone. However, as he followed Angela's memories away from the castle, Li Lin finally understood what the man meant.

The only passage connecting the manor to the outside world, the drawbridge, was now erected high. Around the manor flowed a wide, deep, and fast-flowing river. With the girl's current strength, she couldn't loosen the drawbridge or cross the river. Angela ran a complete circle around the manor, but saw no other exits. Instead, all Angela saw were stiff, dead corpses. There were guards and servants. Their faces were black, their bodies festering, their skin covered in tiny white bumps like grains of rice, emanating a nauseating stench of decay and thick, viscous fluid.

For a ten-year-old girl, what she was seeing was undoubtedly Hell on earth.

She ran, frantically calling out the names of everyone she knew, but received no response. Even the soldiers who remained faithfully at their posts were long gone, some sitting, some lying down. The entire castle was deathly silent, with only dry air carrying the stench of corpses and a nauseatingly sweet smell.

"Sister Betty!!"

In despair, Angela ran to the servants' huts near the castle, where corpses were also scattered everywhere, but the girl had no energy to pay attention to them. She pushed open the door and rushed into one of the rooms.

Inside, a maid was facing away from Angela, seemingly asleep. Angela rushed to the maid's side and pushed her body forcefully.

"Betty! Betty! Wake up, everyone! What's wrong? What happened?"

The maid did not respond to Angela's calls. Instead, her body went limp, and with Angela's pull, she turned around weakly and collapsed to the ground.

Upon seeing the maid clearly, Angela screamed in terror. She collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the maid. That once familiar, kind, and gentle face was now rotting, covered in countless lumps of flesh. Her eyes were nothing but black slits, from which white worms could be clearly seen swarming. Vomit stains were everywhere around her withered lips, and filthy liquid stained her body. Even more horrifying was the maid's face, contorted with pain.

Angela couldn't bear to look at that face anymore. She turned her head away and vomited violently, crying out in pain. Her small body trembled violently, completely at a loss for what to do.

Li Lin watched Angela run out of the hut. Tears still lingered on her face, and her eyes were still red and swollen. Such a blow was simply too terrible for a little girl.

"Oh right, I need to go find my dad. My dad..."

At this moment, Angela had completely lost her judgment. She was grasping at any straw that might be a lifeline, utterly disregarding whether it was poisoned. In her intense fear and anxiety, Angela had forgotten her mother's warnings. Even so, when she arrived at the study, Angela hesitated slightly. But ultimately, it seemed that fear prevailed, and Angela knocked on the door.

"Dad, are you there?"

"..."

There was no response.

"Dad, it's me, Angela. May I come in?"

"..."

"I'm sorry, Dad..."

Angela apologized softly, pushed open the door, and then stood there blankly in the doorway.

Her father was indeed in the study, but now he was hanging from the beam. A rope was deeply tightened around his neck, and the asphyxiation from death made his face look ashen. Like the other dead men, half of his face was beginning to rot, with horrible spots appearing.

For Angela, this meant the end of the world.

Li Lin couldn't imagine what Angela would become after witnessing this scene. Although Angela was right beside him, he couldn't fathom what choices the girl would make or how she could survive in that environment. In the following days, Angela seemed to have completely become a walking corpse. She just huddled blankly in the dark corner of the study, staring intently at her father's body, lost in thought.

Finally, Angela slowly stood up.

"By the way... Mom wants Angela... no matter what happens... she to live on..."

The girl murmured to herself.

Living in a castle with hundreds of corpses is unbearable, but not entirely unbearable. However, the physical problems are far more serious than the mental ones. Without food and water, a person cannot survive. Although Angela found a cellar where food was stored, there wasn't much left to sustain her, and judging from the current situation, most of the food had already been squandered.

Although she could only eat rotten, smelly bread and drink stagnant, murky water, Angela persevered. Her life returned to what it was like when she was locked in her room. Every day, after eating the almost inedible food, Angela would find a dark corner, curl up in a ball, and wait motionless for night to fall and day to break.

Perhaps, in such an environment, it would be a better option for her to go completely insane.

Although Li Lin thought this way, he didn't know if it was the little girl's innate personality or her strong will. Despite living such a terrifying, Hell life every day, Angela's occasional words and actions showed that her mind still firmly controlled her body and she did not go crazy, go berserk, or collapse because of these external stimuli.

Autumn ends, winter arrives.

Finally, the food was all gone.

Despite wearing a thick coat, the castle was bitterly cold without a fire. Although the drop in temperature had eliminated the usual pesky rats and bedbugs, Angela still couldn't escape this enormous cage. If there was anything good about it, it was that the low temperature had finally suppressed the stench of the corpses, making the air inside the castle much fresher.

But none of these compare to the crisis of not having food.

"So hungry... so hungry..."

Collapsed to the ground, Angela murmured softly, her pale blue eyes devoid of life, filled only with a blank stare.

"Mommy... Angela... so tired... so sleepy... Angela wants to sleep..."

As she spoke, Angela slowly closed her eyes, but just as she was about to close them, she opened them again.

"No... no..."

Once again, Angela weakly but resolutely got up from the ground, her hands and legs trembling from the double torment of cold and hunger.

"Angela... must live on... and promised Mom..."

As if lost in thought, Angela staggered along, her gaze vacant as she looked around, searching for anything edible. But there was nothing left to eat. Days ago, she had Angela even the insects crawling on the ground and the few remaining plants. Now, with winter upon us, there was nothing left to eat in the entire castle, inside or out. As for the rats, they had long since disappeared to who-knows-where for the winter.

Only one exception.

Li Lin quickly noticed that Angela had stopped what she was doing and was staring blankly at what was in front of her.

There lay the corpse of a maid, her body shriveled, blackened, and stiffened by the low temperature. Yet, precisely because of this, her body had not yet completely decomposed.

"I'm so hungry..."

The girl, as graceful as a dream, walked to the corpse and slowly lifted one hand, which was now skin and bones, black and withered.

"It looks... delicious..."

As the girl spoke, she opened her mouth and slowly moved closer to the dry, hard arm.

She didn't realize that Li Lin was standing beside her, gently stroking her hair.