Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Please Don’t Put This on Me!
The inside of the collar was lined with some kind of soft dark red suede, probably for comfort while wearing it.
The buckle was silver, and it looked cold at a glance.
Hanging from the very front was a tiny silver ornament, shaped like a sharp, simplified demon emblem.
It was exactly the same as the one on the dungeon door.
At the center of the emblem was an embedded dark red gemstone the size of a diamond chip, the same color as her eyes.
This thing was exquisite, expensive, and carried an ominous kind of beauty.
Yet Ling Xi’s gaze seemed nailed to it, unable to move away.
“I refuse.”
Ling Xi took a step back, her back pressing against the edge of the dressing table.
Although she was now a maid, a worker, and even a toy in the other party’s eyes,
there had to be a bottom line.
Wearing a maid outfit could be said to be a work requirement, and wearing this Lolita outfit could be said to be for the sake of looking presentable when going out.
But wearing this?
That was pure humiliation.
“Refuse?”
Scarlet Moon held the collar in her hand, hooking a finger through it and giving it a little shake.
The metal buckle knocked lightly against itself, making a faint, crisp sound.
“This is for your own good.”
“Doesn’t this thing match this outfit very well?”
She took a step forward. Those long leather boots made no sound on the carpet, yet they seemed to step directly on Ling Xi’s heartbeat.
“I don’t think this is for my own good at all!”
Ling Xi even forgot to use honorifics. “I’m not a real pet.”
Scarlet Moon stopped walking.
The smile on her face faded a little, and there was a bit more seriousness in those blood-red eyes.
“What kind of place do you think it is outside?”
She toyed with the collar in her hand, her fingers stroking that dark red gemstone.
“The place we’re going today is the town outside.”
“It’s a mixed crowd there, full of all kinds of vile gazes and greedy hands.”
“And besides, don’t forget.”
Scarlet Moon lifted her eyes, her gaze locking onto Ling Xi.
“Those three are definitely searching the whole world for your scent right now.”
“Your body, without any magic protection, was as conspicuous in their eyes as a torch in the dark night.”
Ling Xi froze for a moment.
“This collar has my magic circuits engraved into it.”
Scarlet Moon raised the collar. Through the gemstone, a faint dark red glow could be seen flowing within.
“Put it on, and my aura will cover your aura.”
“In other people’s eyes, you will be my privately owned possession with an owner.”
“More importantly…”
She walked up to Ling Xi, pulled the two ends of the collar apart, and prepared to slip it over Ling Xi’s neck.
“It is a positioning beacon.”
“If that savage lizard Luo Long snatches you away, or Yue Qi locks you in a cage.”
Scarlet Moon’s voice lowered, carrying a tone that allowed no doubt.
“As long as you are wearing it, no matter where you are, even if you are dragged into another dimension.”
“I will still be able to find you at once.”
“And snatch you back.”
The cold leather pressed against Ling Xi’s neck.
Ling Xi instinctively wanted to shrink her neck back, but forcibly held herself still.
A protective charm, a tracker.
Although on the outside it was a terrible collar, the reasons Scarlet Moon gave were so perfect that Ling Xi could not find an excuse to refute them.
At least by Scarlet Moon’s side she would not be harmed, and wearing this seemed to be the only choice.
So this was what people meant by weighing two harms and choosing the lesser one?
It was just that this “lesser” one was a little too heavy.
Click.
The metal buckle closed behind her neck.
A strange sense of restraint instantly wrapped around her neck.
It was not tight, and even left enough room for one finger, so it would not affect her breathing.
But that unusual sensation constantly reminded her that there was now something extra around her neck.
The gemstone on the collar lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.
A familiar, icy aura belonging to Scarlet Moon instantly enveloped Ling Xi’s whole body, then sank beneath her skin.
“All done.”
Scarlet Moon withdrew her hand in satisfaction, then stepped back half a pace and looked her creation up and down.
“As expected, it suits you very well.”
She reached out and lightly flicked the small silver ring on the collar.
“Remember, this is my mark.”
“And also your lifesaving charm.”
“If you dare take it off on your own…”
Scarlet Moon narrowed her eyes and made a throat-slitting gesture.
“I’ll replace it with an iron collar welded shut.”
Ling Xi subconsciously touched the leather around her neck.
“We’re leaving. Keep up.”
The castle’s open-air platform, the same place where Ling Xi had blown up the forest yesterday.
Scarlet Moon stood at the edge of the platform, her right hand raised.
In the next instant, pure shadow burst from her palm, turning into surging black tides that swallowed the entire platform in the blink of an eye.
The shadows took shape in midair. First, a massive round obsidian platform rose up.
Immediately after, four shadow skeletal horses condensed into being, and they let out a neigh toward the distance.
Finally, the shadows formed into a pitch-black throne three meters tall.
The backrest was shaped like two spread demon wings, their membranes translucent.
Scarlet Moon stepped forward, and in the next moment she was already seated in the very center of the throne. Her skirt cascaded down the steps in layers.
She crooked a finger at the stunned Ling Xi.
“Come here.”
Before Ling Xi could even take two steps, an invisible thin thread of shadow extended from Scarlet Moon’s fingertips and wrapped around the collar on Ling Xi’s neck.
Ling Xi was gently tugged forward. Her knees went weak, and she dropped straight to her knees on the shadow before the throne.
The shadows automatically swelled upward, forming a soft yet cold carpet that fit perfectly beneath her knees.
Scarlet Moon lowered her head to look at her, the usual smile lingering at the corners of her lips.
“Lie down and wrap both hands around my boots.”
The tips of Ling Xi’s ears instantly burned red, but she did not dare disobey.
She bent down, her forehead almost pressing against the surface of Scarlet Moon’s long boot, both hands wrapping around that section of slender leg encased in black leather.
The cold touch of the leather came through the thin gloves, carrying a trace of Scarlet Moon’s fragrance.
“Very good.”
Scarlet Moon gave a satisfied hum. Her right hand rested casually on the armrest of the throne, while her left hand lowered and lightly stroked through Ling Xi’s silver hair.
Her fingertips slid down along the strands, then stopped at the silver ring on the collar and flicked it gently.
Clink.
“Set out.”
Ling Xi lay at Scarlet Moon’s feet, her face pressed against the cold surface of the boot, both hands tightly wrapped around that slender leg, her whole body seeming nailed in place.
At first, she thought her stomach would churn like it was on a roller coaster.
But… nothing happened.
The speed was absurdly fast. Forests, rivers, and mountain ranges raced backward in her field of vision as if someone had pressed a hundred-times fast-forward.
Yet she could not feel the slightest bump.
Even the wind was torn to pieces in front of them and could not touch a single strand of their hair.
Ling Xi subconsciously glanced downward.
After just one look, she regretted it.
The earth had turned into a blurred patchwork of color—deep green, earthy yellow, indigo—all mixed together like an overturned palette.
The clouds had been flung far below their feet, so thin they looked like a layer of tattered cotton.
There were no railings here, no safety belt. Her only support was this ankle in long boots that she was clutching in her arms.
If she let go, or if Scarlet Moon moved even slightly, she would fall.
That realization made her body tremble faintly despite itself.
No. She could not let go.
She curled her whole body inward a little more, and the force of her embrace tightened further.
Her cheek buried itself deeper into that patch of cold leather, trying to shut out the dizzying sight below in this way.