Chapter 19: The Vampire’s Prey (19-2)
When she woke up again, her head was throbbing and her limbs were weak.
It was pitch black all around her.
She couldn’t move. When she struggled slightly, her wrists were chafed by a rough rope.
—Her hands and feet were bound, her mouth was gagged, and her body was curled up, sealed in a wooden box like an animal.
Through a crack in the wooden planks, she could vaguely see a dirty concrete floor and the cool light of the moon.
Yu Jiao’s eyes were cold.
She compared the location to the Secret Society’s meeting place that Lin Qiuzhe had mentioned and came to a conclusion: this was most likely the abandoned school building on the back mountain.
Nearly inaudible footsteps slowly approached.
At the same time, a moving shadow appeared in her line of sight.
Although she didn’t have much hope, Yu Jiao struggled with all her might, trying to make a noise to attract the person’s attention.
Thump, thump, thump.
With all her strength, she slammed her shoulder against the wooden box, over and over. Splinters scraped against her delicate arms.
But then, she heard a sarcastic chuckle.
“Don’t waste your energy.”
—Xie Ning.
Yu Jiao felt no surprise or despair, only leaned quietly against the inside of the box, taking deep breaths to recover her strength while listening to Xie Ning’s rambling.
“Yu Jiao, oh, Yu Jiao,” Xie Ning sighed. “I should have sent you to your grave long ago.”
Her voice was laced with a triumphant smile, but also a hint of subtle melancholy.
After a long silence.
She sat lightly on top of the wooden box, swaying her head as if she were drunk. “Did you know,” she said in a ghostly voice, “I was the one who forbade Father from letting you take the Xie surname… But you still came. You came to take what belongs to me.”
As she spoke, Xie Ning descended into a frenzy. She pounded on the wooden box.
“Your bitch of a mother stole my mother’s husband, and now you’re here to steal my father, the Xie family, and everything!”
“I hate you so much! Because of your bitch of a mother, my mother killed herself! And Father still brought you back! Your existence is a thorn that has pierced my perfect family.”
Her words came faster and faster, as if she were on the verge of a breakdown.
This boring family drama was making Yu Jiao sleepy.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Xie Ning giggled neurotically. “The specially-admitted student who was chosen as prey ran away—”
“—So you can take her place.”
Hearing this, Yu Jiao raised her eyebrows. Just then, the system notification sounded:
【Main Quest: Successfully get selected as prey by the Secret Society, and survive for one week. (Progress: 45%)】
What is this? The main quest, delivered right to my door?
No wonder Xie Ning’s attack triggered the [Law of Causality].
“Father will forgive me,” her voice suddenly became light, and she even swung her legs happily, her heels tapping against the wooden box.
“After all, you’re sacrificing yourself for the great cause of the Xie family.”
A glint appeared in Yu Jiao’s eyes.
She knew that their father had given the twins a mission, which was most likely to obtain the so-called Holy Medicine. It seemed that with Xie Ning’s interference, she had also become a part of this plan.
“It’s a pity you’re still so full of life… Why can’t you just accept your death?”
After a rustling sound, Xie Ning’s voice became muffled.
It seemed she had put on some kind of mask. Then, the sound of a spray nozzle being pressed followed, and a cold mist sprayed into the box, seeping in from all sides.
“To die without knowing anything is the greatest mercy I can offer you.”
With that, she turned and left.
Inside the box, the bound Yu Jiao had nowhere to escape. After inhaling the unknown gas, her eyelids grew heavier and her strength rapidly drained away. She could only dig her nails into her palm, using the pain to stay partially conscious.
Yu Jiao tried to open the game’s item shop to find something to help her escape, but the interface was greyed out and unclickable.
The long-absent system suddenly spoke up: 【Sorry, host. This is an otome game. Everything is in service of romance. Self-rescue is prohibited. Please work hard to achieve the ‘hero rescues the damsel’ plot with a capture target~】
Yu Jiao almost cursed out loud. “If you want me to die, just say so!”
The system disappeared again.
Waves of drowsiness washed over her, each one stronger than the last. Yu Jiao fought against it with all her might.
If I fall asleep, it’s all over… Yu Jiao had never believed in fairy tales, and she would not entrust her life to the whims of some so-called capture target.
She had to stay awake, to control the situation as much as possible.
Yu Jiao steeled herself and bit the tip of her tongue. The sharp pain brought her back to her senses. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but just as she was becoming numb to the pain, the sound of conversation and footsteps gradually approached.
…Finally.
Yu Jiao braced herself.
“Yo, the Eldest Miss Xie is quite efficient. She’s already packed up the prey and left it here. Tsk tsk, what an exciting gift.”
The members of the Secret Society had arrived.
They circled the wooden box, laughing and joking, their tones arrogant, like wicked children waiting to divide a cake.
Amidst the malicious jokes, Yu Jiao heard someone ask obsequiously, “Boss, why have you been rubbing your wrist all day?”
Hearing this, the other members stopped their noise and crowded around, fussing over their boss.
Xue Zhu yawned and complained, half-joking, half-serious, “It’s not just my wrist. My whole body feels off. Maybe I didn’t sleep well at the Xie’s last night.”
The moment he said this, his lackeys immediately began to criticize the Xie family from every angle, tearing them down completely.
Just then, a voice as cold as frost cut in, “President Xue, please watch your words. Do not lead the slander against the Xie family any further.”
Another lazy voice followed, “Maybe President Xue is the princess and the pea, too delicate to endure the slightest discomfort.”
The twins.
“Oh my,” Xue Zhu chuckled. “Caught talking bad about someone behind their back.”
His voice was sweet, showing no guilt.
Yu Jiao gathered her strength and slammed against the wooden planks again, making muffled sounds, trying to get the twins’ attention.
However, her efforts only drew a round of jeers. “Haha, this prey is full of life.”
“It seems our prey is also getting impatient.”
Xie Ning’s slightly hoarse voice sounded, filled with suppressed excitement.
She smiled. “President Xue, according to the rules of the Secret Society, a newly awakened vampire has the privilege of ‘opening the gift’. So, this time, it should be my turn to inject the prey with the Holy Medicine, right?”
In that instant, Yu Jiao understood.
If their father had wanted ‘someone with the Holy Medicine’, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths. What he wanted must be the purest, un-injected ‘Holy Medicine’ itself.
So, under the cover of the twins, Xie Ning would swap the Holy Medicine. Combined with her earlier words, what she was about to inject her with must be a deadly poison.
And Xue Zhu, who was already secretly supporting the Xie family, would just turn a blind eye…
Click.
A lighter flicked.
Xue Zhu held a cigarette between his lips and nodded with a smile. “Of course.”
Yu Jiao leaned weakly against the inside of the box.
She heard footsteps slowly approaching, and then, a pair of eyes filled with a twisted killing intent met hers through a crack in the box.
Xie Ning held a syringe and gestured with it. “Looks like this spot… is the cheek.”
Her eyes were filled with pleasure. “As I recall, the Holy Medicine just needs to be injected into the flesh. There’s no need to find a vein, right?”
“That’s right. But I remember this prey is a very beautiful little thing. Everyone knows that the skin where the Holy Medicine is injected will fester and grow. Is the Eldest Miss Xie planning to be so cruel?” someone clicked their tongue.
The sharp needle reflected a cold light.
Looking at Xie Ning’s increasingly excited, bloodshot eyes, Yu Jiao was still trying to find an angle to slam against the wooden planks. The rough splinters rubbed her delicate skin raw.
The thin layer of skin seemed about to break.
Yu Jiao was calm.
All she had to do was shatter the pendant Xie Zhenye had given her, and he would find her.
But… why was this thing so sturdy?!
Just as a tiny crack appeared in the crystal, Xie Ning’s needle was about to pierce her.
In that split second, she heard—
“Wait.”
Xue Zhu spoke up suddenly.
“What?” Xie Ning had a bad feeling. She forced a smile. “What’s there to wait for?”
She clutched the syringe filled with poison, which she had swapped out when no one was looking.
—The effects of this poison are enough to pass for the real thing. My meticulous plan is about to succeed. Why is Xue Zhu interfering?!
“I need to confirm something.”
His voice was lazy, but it held an unquestionable authority.
This variable made Xie Ning’s heart sink.
She dropped all pretense. Her expression turned vicious, and she suddenly turned, about to stab the syringe through the crack in the box and into Yu Jiao’s face.
Xue Zhu gave a cold laugh and raised his hand.
A black object flew from his fingers, shooting forward like lightning, and struck Xie Ning’s wrist. She cried out in pain.
The syringe and the dark, weapon-like object fell to the ground together.
It was a custom-made metal lighter.
Xue Zhu lifted his chin and ordered his men to restrain the screaming, cursing Xie Ning.
Having watched the show long enough, Xie Yanchuan finally said coolly, “What is the meaning of this, President Xue?”
Xue Zhu was staring thoughtfully at the wooden box. He approached with a graceful stride, a dark light dancing in his eyes, as if he had received an unexpected, unknown gift.
Hearing the question, he replied without turning his head, “I don’t think I need to explain my actions to you.”
Bang!
The lighter on the ground was kicked by an arrogant foot, spinning through the air and landing at Xue Zhu’s feet, stopping him in his tracks.
“I think,” Xie Zhenye said, drawing out his words lazily, “that as members of the society, we have the right to question the president’s actions.”
Xue Zhu’s lips curled. He lifted his foot to crush the “pebble” blocking his path.
A sickening crunch sounded as the expensive, hard lighter was shattered into pieces.
Silence spread.
The air was frozen.
A cold scoff.
Xie Zhenye’s expression was dark as he cracked his knuckles. With a series of pops, Xie Yanchuan slowly and deliberately rolled up his sleeves, revealing his smoothly muscled forearms.
The members of the Secret Society, who had been laughing and joking together just moments before, now had cold, hard expressions. They were divided by an invisible line, the two sides facing off.
In this tense atmosphere, Xue Zhu held a cigarette between two fingers, narrowed his glistening phoenix eyes, and took a deep drag. He exhaled slowly and casually tossed the cigarette butt to the ground.
The cigarette rolled on the dusty concrete floor.
The orange ember glowed and faded, and then suddenly, it ignited the volatile situation.
…
Xie Ning took advantage of the chaos to pick up the syringe. She dodged the fighting members of the Secret Society and, with a crazed look on her face, approached the wooden box, still trying to stab the syringe into Yu Jiao’s face.
A quick-witted underling noticed her persistence.
Seeing that Boss Xue was locked in a fierce battle with the Xie twins, and remembering that the cause of the fight was the injection of the Holy Medicine, the underling immediately broke away and stopped her.
Xie Ning was furious and struggled wildly.
Unexpectedly, she was difficult to handle. The underling cursed, “Damn it, I’ve been awakened for years and I can’t even handle a newly awakened brat like you.”
As the two of them pulled and shoved, they accidentally knocked the lid off the wooden box.
The heavy, rough lid crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, like a silent explosion.
The underling coughed, still holding onto the roaring, biting Xie Ning. He glanced casually at the wooden box, but his gaze suddenly froze.
“B-Boss, the one in the box isn’t the prey…” He swallowed hard and said in shock:
“Why is it the Second Miss of the Xie family?!”
The words hit like a muffled thunderclap.
Like a bone-chilling winter wind.
The three men who were fighting suddenly froze. Three sharp gazes shot over at the same time, fixed on the inside of the wooden box.
There, a slender young woman was curled up in the dark box, her legs drawn up.
She wore a summer school uniform. Her exposed white skin was covered in a shocking contrast of purple and red bruises. She was like a white flower petal that had been crushed and folded several times.
Under the desolate moonlight, she lifted her head, trembling.
A strip of black tape was stretched across her pale face, sealing her lips, revealing only her small nose, red from crying, and a pair of hazy, tear-filled eyes, filled with a lingering fear and helplessness.
Xie Yanchuan’s breath caught.
Xie Zhenye’s pupils constricted.
“Yu Jiao?”