Emancipation

When both of them thought the danger had passed, Ye Ming suddenly noticed a soft sensation in his hand. At the same time, Alice also felt a strange sensation on her chest. Both of them shifted their gaze downward simultaneously, to see a hand on a boob.

"AH!" Alice shrieked.

Ye Ming's hands jerked back almost instantaneously. It resulted in Alice dropping to the ground.

"Sorry, sorry..." Ye Ming apologized in panic. Alice climbed up from the ground, patted the dust on her behind and said, "It's okay. It's just an accident. It happened because you're trying to save me..." Alice did not finish her sentence, but both of them knew what she was trying to say.

And so, the air around them instantly became ambiguous and awkward. After some time, Ye Ming reminded her, "Potion...the potion."

Alice finally snapped out of her daze. She urged him, "Quick, add the powder! The potion will lose effect if we don't hurry up!"

Only then did they forget their embarrassment and got busy again.

"Good thing we didn't miss the timing," Alice wiped away the sweat that had seeped out of her forehead due to nerve.

"You can say that again. A few days of hard work almost went down the drain. Now we just need to pour the potion out and dry it into powder form," Ye Ming said with anticipation.

"Yup. After we've done that, all that's left is to gather some Carefree Grass tomorrow and this potion will be done," said Alice with a face full of joy.

"Carefree Grass? It's not that hard to find, is it?"

"Nope. There's plenty at the place where we killed the Werewolf previously."

"Oh, in that case, let's get some rest now so we'll be ready for tomorrow."

They drank some of the blood Ye Ming brought to replenish some stamina. The next day, the two set out in search of Carefree Grass. They then stayed in the cave for another week.

The progress Ye Ming made this week could only be described as remarkable. Under the tutelage of his friend and mentor, he quickly became a qualified alchemist. Things got a bit romantic between them too. Their hands would occasionally touch and they would sometimes make dirty jokes at each other. But Ye Ming was careful not to go too far lest he annoyed Alice. Even the dirty jokes he told, he kept at an appropriate level.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Alice was organizing some medicinal powder on the wooden shelf. After separating them by type, she packed them into the packaging she had prepared in advance.

Watching her clean up, Ye Ming suddenly felt a homely atmosphere. Alice was like the mistress of the house doing the cleaning, while Ye Ming was like the master of the house responsible for making a living outside. The scene sent Ye Ming into a daze.

When Alice had finished packing, she turned around to find Ye Ming staring at her in a trance. She waved her hand in front of his eyes and asked curiously, "Hey, are you alright? Stunned by my beauty?"

Ye Ming came back to his senses. He smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry, your figure just now gave me an illusion – an illusion of a home."

"A home? Tell me more."

Ye Ming declined with a wave of his hand and a slightly embarrassed expression. "No, it's silly."

Alice would not relent. "Tell me. I want to hear it."

"Okay, but promise you won't be angry."

Alice nodded, so Ye Ming continued, "When I watched you pack up just now, for a moment, you felt like my wife who's doing housework, and I'm like the head of the family working outside to support the family. I told you it's silly." After saying that Ye Ming shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Is that so? Maybe it's because we've been alone for so long these past few weeks."

"Hmm. I guess so."

"But it's okay. I plan to leave and return to the city soon."

Ye Ming was stunned upon hearing the news. "What? You're leaving?"

"Yup. We've finished our tasks here. I think it's time for us to leave."

"Oh, I see." A touch of gloom instantly glazed over Ye Ming's eyes.

Alice seemed to notice that something was wrong, so she asked, "What's the matter? You're not coming with me?"

"Oh, I'm not. I don't feel like leaving."

"But why?"

"There are some things that I don't know how to tell you about."

"You can tell me anything. I'm listening."

"Actually, I'm...I'm a wanted criminal!" Ye Ming forced the words out of his mouth.

Alice's eyes and mouth widened in shock. "A wanted criminal?! You're a wanted criminal?!"

Ye Ming nodded and added, "I killed Marquis Andrew's men in his territory. He's been hunting me down ever since."

"Why did you do that?"

"Back then, a woman that had a small child with her pleaded for my help..." Ye Ming told her the story of how he killed Marquis Andrew's men to save someone. He also recounted the tragic scene he saw in Marquis Andrew's territory where humans were being reared in villages as livestock, and the cruel acts the Vampires performed on them. He told the story with such emotions that Alice had tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I've been running ever since. I was in Benguela for less than a month before I was found out. In order to shake off the pursuers, I risked my life coming to the Dark Mountains, where I then met you. You know the rest of the story. Forgive me for not telling you the truth from the beginning, Alice."

"To be honest, I don't blame you. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to tell a stranger I've just met this kind of thing either. In the first place, I disapprove of the practice of some Vampires who keep humans in captivity like animals. I don't object to the citizens of the Nehekhara Empire sucking human blood, because Vampires need blood after all, but I'm strongly against overly harsh blood-drawing regulations. Those are simply barbaric. The fact that you're willing to tell me these things means that you trust me as a friend, so I'll be honest with you too. I'm actually the granddaughter of Marquis Bildar Tremere of Lobito City. If you follow me back to my grandfather's place, I'm sure he'll give you asylum."

Ye Ming shook his head and declined Alice's good intentions. "Alice, I don't want your grandfather to become enemies with other clans because of me. It's not something I'd want to see happen. You should just get on with your life. Don't get involved in my affairs, or I'll feel really guilty about it."

"But you can't just stay here forever. You'll have to return to civilization sooner or later."

"I'll go back after I get stronger. Now's not the time yet. My pride as a man won't allow me to live under the shelter of another person forever. That's simply cowardice. That's why, I can't go back with you."

Those words made Alice evaluate Ye Ming even more highly. She believed that the man in front of her was the person she had always wanted to find. She was starting to hopelessly fall for Ye Ming.

Alice deliberately postponed her departure for two more days in order to stay with Ye Ming a little longer. During this time, they did not go out to gather herbs, nor did they practice alchemy in the cave.

Instead, they embraced each other on the large bed. For two whole days, the cave was filled with the high-pitched moan of a woman. Two young souls completely emancipated themselves in this secluded place.