Chapter 39
What kind of vasectomy did he have?
Fu Xia had a bad feeling. She was still on her period, and although the shock had lessened the flow and there were signs it might end early, she couldn’t just disregard her own body for his sake, right?
Fu Xia pressed her hand to his face, struggling to create some distance between them.
“I’m on my period,” she said, cursing Zhu Ye a thousand times in her head, though her tone with Song Yingxi was still gentle. “We can’t go all the way. Hands at most.”
She didn’t know if her words even registered. He licked her palm, his moist eyes filled with a pleading look.
Fu Xia snatched her hand back as if electrocuted.
He looked down, pointed to his own lips, and whispered, “Can I use this?”
She was a bit confused, thinking he meant he wanted to kiss. She was about to say yes when he suddenly pressed on her waist and slowly moved downward.
Fu Xia: “…” Oh, so that’s what he meant!
She quickly grabbed his hand and pulled his face up. Even though she would have been the one being serviced, she couldn’t get past that mental block.
—Vampires are one thing, but with a human, I should at least wait until my period is over. Otherwise, it’s just too weird!
He looked up at her pitifully. “But I want you to feel good too…”
“No need!” she said quickly.
To stop him from saying anything else strange in his dazed state, she reached out a hand, showing no mercy.
He seemed to curl in on himself.
…It was like listening to an audio loop of a male ASMR artist’s heavy breathing.
The room’s air conditioner was set to a constant twenty-six degrees. It was fine if you weren’t moving, but with any exertion, she quickly felt hot.
Seeing that he still hadn’t given up, Fu Xia said quickly, “It’s okay. Let’s take care of your problem first.”
Thanks to his poor health, he wasn’t very strong. She quickly regained control.
The half-bottle of pills had a long-lasting effect. By the time she had finally managed to calm his reaction and quiet his sweet-sounding gasps, she felt like she was half-dead herself.
His face was buried in the soft pillow, the exposed parts of his neck and ears flushed a deep red. She pulled the covers back up over him.
It wasn’t until the sun rose outside the window and dawn broke that his condition finally stabilized.
He had fallen asleep.
Fu Xia sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his face. His breathing was steady; he didn’t seem to be troubled by nightmares.
She had been dragged into this kidnapping because of him. The scent of blood was a natural tracker. Knowing she couldn’t escape, she decided to eat well and conserve her energy. Her half-breed captors were quite considerate; the room was fully stocked with all sorts of daily necessities. She hadn’t suffered at all. The only one who seemed to be tortured in this whole ordeal was Song Yingxi.
She didn’t know how long they would be held. He had just had surgery; if he passed out again and something really happened, she would be completely finished. She could be cold and detached, but he… was special.
“His health is already poor,” Fu Xia said to the room. “What if that drug causes neurological damage?”
The red light on the camera blinked twice. A few seconds later, Zhu Ye’s slightly distorted voice came through. “Then you can form an alliance with me, senior. You have to cooperate with a vampire anyway. I seem like a better choice than Yan Zhu, right? After all, he still hasn’t managed to get in here.”
Fu Xia pinched the bridge of her nose. Cooperating with Zhu Ye meant being a puppet. Cooperating with Yan Zhu meant gaining power for herself. How could they be the same?
She lowered her head, no longer bothering to look at the camera. She still needed to find a way to get his blood… she had to find the right opportunity.
…
Surveillance Room.
The golden-haired, golden-eyed young man sat in a chair, one leg propped up on the edge, his elbow resting on his knee. He casually twirled a bottle of pills between his thumb and forefinger.
On the monitor, the girl walked toward the washroom. She didn’t notice the young man on the bed slightly push himself up, his gaze following her.
Zhu Ye, like a golden leopard stalking its prey, complained slowly, “Why do I always have to be the bad guy?”
A half-breed standing behind him answered softly, “My lord, you volunteered for this.”
Zhu Ye tilted his head back, his golden eyes coldly staring at the one who had spoken.
The half-breed’s face stiffened. He quickly apologized. “M-my apologies, my lord.”
Zhu Ye smiled. “Next time you speak to me, remember your place.”
Half-breeds and pure-bloods were two mutually hostile factions. But at the school’s party, he and Song Yingxi had formed a temporary alliance. Song Yingxi would provide help to the half-breeds, helping them establish a foothold in the chaos following the Progenitor’s death, and in return, Zhu Ye would help him act out this play.
He casually placed the pills on a nearby table and watched the monitor as Song Yingxi pushed himself up and examined the bite marks on his body. The blond-haired, blue-eyed young man’s head was bowed, his expression unreadable.
The drug Zhu Ye had brought was also effective on vampires. This high and mighty Prince had certainly gone to great lengths to obtain the Progenitor’s legacy; all his symptoms were real.
Placing two people who had never interacted before in the same dangerous environment, where they could only rely on each other. In an extreme situation, the more anxious one would easily develop a sense of dependence.
But, would Fu Xia?
…
“Hiss…”
Yan Zhu leaned against a wall, his breathing ragged, his vision blurring from blood loss. A large hole had been torn in his abdomen, and blood was pouring out. Even with his natural healing ability, the rate of repair was far slower than the rate of injury.
“Still not surrendering?” A vampire in a stealth suit stood on a rooftop, a six-pointed star insignia on his chest. He looked down and said coldly, “Weren’t you the one who wasn’t going to participate in the struggle for the legacy, Yan Zhu?”
Yan Zhu took a ragged breath and glanced in the direction of the hospital. The next second, a piece of gravel grazed his cheek.
“Don’t covet the Prince’s prey. You were the one who failed to hold onto her in the first place,” another vampire said, shaking the blood from his hands, his tone contemptuous. “Wanting to snatch her back won’t be so easy.”
“But, isn’t this a bit despicable of us?”
“It’s not a sneak attack. We challenged him openly. It’s his own fault for being weak.”
“Why don’t you mention that the first dozen teams were all beaten back?”
The contemptuous vampire landed lightly in front of him. He grinned. “You can’t blame us this time, Yan Zhu. This is a mission from the Prince.”
“Who is the Prince inside?” There was no one named Song Yingxi among the Princes—
“Haha, I thought your intelligence network was so great. Don’t you even know who stole your prey?”
Yan Zhu said nothing. He knew these pure-bloods were just here to provoke and show off.
“Honestly, I’ve disliked you since the last few Full Moon Balls. You like being a lone wolf, do you? Look at you now, all alone and helpless. How pathetic.”
Yan Zhu discreetly pressed on the wound in his abdomen. This was a well-planned trap.
“Oh, right, I forgot something.” The gloating vampire pointed to his own eyes and reached out to lift Yan Zhu’s mask. “You don’t want people to see your ugly face… Pfft!”
The vampire’s hand had just hooked the edge of the mask. It teetered and then fell to the ground with a clatter, revealing a face of absolute coldness.
But in that instant, Yan Zhu’s hand shot out and pierced the other’s chest.
The vampires watching from above screamed in terror. “!! SAMAN!!”
Yan Zhu expressionlessly gripped the other’s heart, and with a slight squeeze, he tore it from the chest cavity. His fingers tightened, and it burst.
He stood up. The moonlight, like a silver veil, draped over him. He flicked his hand to the side, and the blood, along with the vampire’s body, fell to the ground.
The vampires above screamed and rushed down, carrying the fallen one back to the wall, their trembling hands trying to staunch the wound, but blood still poured out. With a burst heart, even if a vampire didn’t die, they would have to sleep for at least a hundred years.
Yan Zhu stood straight, not bothering to pick up the mask on the ground, his expression murderous. “I said, let me in.”
“Impossible!! I’ll kill you!!”
“Enough!”
Vampires in the shadows, like bats in a cave, lined the walls. The one in the lead had a solemn expression and warned in a cold voice, “If you don’t want to make an enemy of our entire branch, leave now.”
Yan Zhu looked at them expressionlessly.
“You should know that the requirement for the legacy is a heart full of love.”
“You’ve had plenty of chances,” the vampire said. “Since you didn’t succeed, you should let someone else try.”
—There had been no news of Fu Xia for several hours.
A sense of powerlessness washed over him, a feeling he hadn’t had in a very, very long time. He had just told her he would protect her, but not even a day had passed, and she had been taken by another Prince.
…They should have acted together.
Yan Zhu pressed his lips together. Blood loss and the use of his ability were making him unsteady. The vampires above watched him coldly, marveling inwardly. He had already taken out fifteen teams, and at least half of those pure-bloods would need to sleep for over a century to recover.
…This guy usually slacks off during major battles. Why is he fighting so hard this time?
“Who is the Prince inside?” Yan Zhu asked one last time.
“…It is the lord who holds the authority of ‘Desire’.”
“Leave, Yan Zhu,” the vampire said.
Before Fu Xia had been chosen as the key to the legacy, that Prince had already been active in human society for a long time.
—He liked, even enjoyed, human life.
Which meant he knew what kind of behavior would make a human’s heart flutter.
Yan Zhu took a step forward. The vampires above tensed, but he couldn’t take a second step. The dizziness was making it impossible for him to continue. He needed sleep to let his body heal.
After careful consideration, he made a call.
It rang three times and was answered. The person on the other end had a deep, steady voice. “Speak.”
“It’s Yan Zhu,” he said. “Xie Yan, I need to ask for a favor.”