Chapter 11: The Vampire’s Prey (11)
After composing herself, Yu Jiao followed the guiding blood servant, her mind racing.
Xie Yanchuan was a patient chess master.
Calm and collected, always in control—a man that proud would never allow himself to lose his composure. That was why he had waited until now to make his move.
What Yu Jiao needed to do was throw his mind into chaos, to pull him down from his pedestal.
As they passed through a corridor and rounded a corner near a washroom, a familiar, piercing pain suddenly shot through Yu Jiao’s chest. The color instantly drained from her face.
“Second Miss, are you alright?”
Yu Jiao waved a hand, forcing herself to walk another two steps despite the pain. But she found that the further she moved from the washroom, the more intense the burning in her chest became. Her eyelashes fluttered. Not far away, the washroom door was closed, like a blatant, waiting trap.
“I’m going to the washroom. Wait for me at the door and don’t let anyone else in.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Yu Jiao pushed open the washroom door. The moment she stepped inside, the world began to spin.
An unfamiliar presence enveloped her. Her hands were wrenched behind her back, and her entire body was pressed against the cold wall, completely immobilized.
Through the reflection on the white porcelain tiles, she could only see his chest. The suit was made of fine fabric, and the pattern on his tie looked somewhat familiar…
Suddenly, she felt a foreign object press against the small of her back, making her breath catch.
It wasn’t a dagger. It seemed to be a thin, long wooden stick. The person holding it, in a gesture that was both threatening and teasing, applied a little pressure with his wrist, creating a small dimple in the soft flesh of her waist.
The tip of the stick was slightly blunt, so it didn’t hurt, but it produced a strange, ticklish sensation, as if all her senses were converging on that single point.
“Good evening, little young master,” a hot, moist breath washed over her ear. “Or perhaps, I should call you… Second Miss Xie?”
The low, husky voice had a tender, intimate quality.
“…Wei Changlin.”
Yu Jiao was a little surprised, but mostly, it was what she had expected.
She just hadn’t thought that the mysterious vampire hunter could disguise himself as a member of a vampire clan without a single flaw.
A tall frame pressed against her from behind. Wei Changlin breathed softly by her ear, “Second Miss Xie has quite the figure. My apologies for being so unobservant last night.”
Though his tone was flippant, he made no move to touch her, maintaining a subtle distance. This created a cold sense of disgust, as if the flirtation and intimacy were a deliberate attempt to humiliate her, to provoke her.
Remembering the ‘unyielding young noble’ persona she had established last night, Yu Jiao strained to turn her head away, trying to escape his breath. She struggled and demanded, “What did you do to me? Why did that symbol appear on my chest?”
“Just the mark of a blood curse,” Wei Changlin said nonchalantly.
He twisted his wrist, and the thin wooden stick at her waist began to wander, sliding from the small of her back to her lower abdomen, then upwards, like a cold snake.
In contrast, his whisper was gentle. “The pill I fed you last night was the medium for the blood curse. It contained a drop of the caster’s blood. Once you swallow it, you become the caster’s puppet.”
“Your life and death are in the hands of your master. Even if you have the slightest thought of harming your master, you will suffer the excruciating pain of having your heart burned.”
The wandering stick slowly came to a halt, landing precisely over the symbol on her chest, separated only by the fabric of her clothes.
“Want to guess whose blood was in the pill you swallowed?” he asked, his tone light.
Yu Jiao’s heart sank.
The answer was self-evident.
“I developed this little thing specifically to deal with high-purity vampires. I was planning to use it on someone from the Secret Society first, but it seems you got to it ahead of them.”
Wei Changlin’s tone was intimate, as if Yu Jiao hadn’t been afflicted with a vicious curse, but had instead gained some sort of advantage.
“How does it feel to have your heart burned?”
Yu Jiao pressed her lips together, silent. Wei Changlin chuckled. “You see, I’m a man who cherishes beauty. Of course, I wouldn’t want to see a beauty like Second Miss Xie suffer such pain. However…”
The thin object began to move again, tracing the midline of her neck. The path it took was cold and itchy. To escape the discomfort, Yu Jiao was forced to tilt her chin up, exposing her snow-white neck. She flinched restlessly, like a fish caught on a hook.
Wei Changlin flipped his wrist. At that moment, Yu Jiao finally saw it clearly. The object pressed against her chin was a familiar hairpin.
Her wooden hairpin, which had been knocked out by the flow of wine and lost in the banquet hall.
Wei Changlin used the hairpin to draw a flirtatious circle. “However, I prefer beauties who know how to adapt to the circumstances.”
Yu Jiao closed her eyes and enunciated each word clearly, “You can forget it.”
“Don’t be so quick to refuse,” Wei Changlin said.
He seized her chin and forced her to face him. They were extremely close, their breaths almost mingling.
“You’re already under the blood curse. There are plenty of ways to make you obey. But those methods are too crude, and they might leave you with the reputation of a family traitor. In that case, no one would ever know of your nobility, your sacrifice, your unyielding spirit. Are you truly willing to let that happen?”
“…”
“Besides, what I’m asking you to do isn’t anything monstrous. I just want you to find something in the Xie family’s study.”
“Aren’t you curious about how they cultivate high-purity vampires? Aren’t you curious about why you, an illegitimate daughter, were suddenly brought back to the Xie family? Do you really think that sanctimonious father of yours cares whether you live or die?”
The young woman’s expression faltered, a look of struggle in her eyes.
Wei Changlin let out a soft laugh, like a victor who had already won the game.
He said coolly, “Go to Xie Yanchuan’s study and find his wax seals. You don’t need to know why. Just be a good girl, make an impression of all six seals, and bring them to me.”
With that, Wei Changlin released his grip on Yu Jiao and considerately smoothed the wrinkles on her sleeves.
Because of the curse he had placed, Yu Jiao couldn’t move an inch, like a doll being dressed up by someone else.
Wei Changlin deftly gathered her silky black hair with the wooden hairpin. After arranging it to his satisfaction, he rested his hands heavily on her slender shoulders. In the reflection of the porcelain wall, their intertwined, blurry figures were faintly visible.
He leaned down, his gaze fixed on the reflection of Yu Jiao’s misty eyes.
“Good luck, my little puppet.”