Chapter 52
Xie Yan was a very patient teacher. He complained about the trouble, but most of the time, he did things himself. …He didn’t resist at all when Fu Xia drank his blood. When the toxin was too much, he would just tilt his head back in a daze and let the newborn do as she pleased.
Fu Xia spent three days adapting to her new identity and, in the process, successfully carried Xie Yan into the top 100, which counted as her tuition fee.
Xie Yan had no complaints.
…If there was any trouble, it was his colleagues who were constantly wandering around his villa.
Vampires were territorial. Several of them made no effort to hide their presence, blatantly moving about on someone else’s turf.
The third time Xie Yan ran into another Prince in the corridor, he couldn’t help but stop.
“Have you all made this place your home?”
Pei Wang: “…”
Yan Zhu looked left and right. “Ahem.”
Song Yingxi smiled gently. “I am a captive, after all.”
You’re the one with the thickest skin!
Xie Yan’s head ached.
Song Yingxi glanced behind Xie Yan, and just as a slightly disappointed expression appeared on his face, he heard Xie Yan say that Fu Xia was sleeping.
“Did you feed her your heart’s blood?”
Song Yingxi had the face of an angel, but his mind was full of schemes. Xie Yan even suspected he was thinking of secretly taking her away while she slept.
“…What are you planning to do?”
Song Yingxi’s eyes curved into a smile. “I want to become her first fledgling. Can’t I?”
Yan Zhu: “Am I hearing things? You’ve lived for hundreds of years and you still don’t understand the concept of first come, first served?”
Pei Wang was more direct. “Is it your turn?”
Xie Yan: “…All of you, get out of my house.”
While the Princes were openly and secretly fighting over who would be fed on first, Fu Xia was in her coffin, staring at the ceiling. Although the feeling of power was great, she knew she was still in danger. Yan Zhu and the others had pledged their loyalty, but to be completely safe, she had to reach the top.
Just as Fu Xia was preparing to rest and start drinking the Princes’ blood the next night, the door was thrown open, and a figure swept in like the wind.
She lay warily in her coffin, listening as the newcomer searched the room and then smashed a bunch of things.
Fu Xia didn’t move.
Until a head peeked over the edge of the coffin. The young man had the face of a beautiful woman, with short black hair and hints of red. His exquisite face still held the remnants of anger.
They stared at each other for a few seconds.
“You’ve been turned,” Xie Rin said sinisterly. “What are you still doing in Xie Yan’s bed?”
He was like an erupting volcano, as if her lying in his brother’s coffin was some kind of betrayal.
Fu Xia stared at his pretty face, a mischievous thought bubbling up. She blinked and asked innocently, “…Who are you?”
Xie Rin’s expression instantly turned ugly. He didn’t know what he was imagining. “You lost your memory after being turned? What did that idiot Xie Yan do to you?”
He couldn’t accept the idea of her forgetting him. He was about to storm off to find his brother when Fu Xia grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the coffin.
“I’m kidding,” she said. “Why did you cut your hair?”
Xie Rin was silent for two seconds, then said sarcastically, “If you dare to say you liked it better before, I’ll kill you.”
Fu Xia easily saw through his flimsy defense. Didn’t he cut his long hair just because I said I preferred a more masculine look?
She couldn’t help but laugh. Feeling his cool temperature, her hand moved to the back of his neck, her fingers closing and gently stroking.
“…I thought your first move would be to confront me.”
But the target of his anger wasn’t her; it was his brother.
Xie Rin flinched as if burned and tried to sit up. The coffin wasn’t very large, and they were pressed close together. He could clearly see Fu Xia’s expression.
…The expression of someone who had him completely under her control.
But Fu Xia gave him no chance to escape. She pressed him down, her hand moving from his neck to the center of his back.
“I want to drink fresh blood,” she whispered. “Can you give it to me?”
Xie Rin wanted to say, in your dreams, but he couldn’t help but think of the feeling of sharp fangs piercing his neck. His Adam’s apple bobbed. He was tempted.
To do this with her, in his brother Xie Yan’s sleeping place…
“Am I the first?” Xie Rin asked.
“Mhm,” Fu Xia said, already eager. First come, first served.
His blood had a rich, sweet fragrance. Fu Xia bit his neck and drank for a while, her hands busy untying his clothes, exposing most of his back. She had frozen his heart’s blood before, but it was nothing compared to the fresh stuff.
Her fingertips pressed against the center of Xie Rin’s back. The young man’s breathing was rapid and sweet. It wasn’t until her hand pierced his skin that Xie Rin let out a pained, high-pitched cry. But the pain was quickly soothed by the toxin she injected. He whimpered and let her drink his blood.
What is this?
Am I that cheap?
He had pried open the door his brother had specially designed to lock him in, and the first thing he did wasn’t to get revenge, but to cut his hair and then rush over to find her. Was he just here to deliver a meal?
…But he was the first.
That single word made everything acceptable. Vampires had such long lives. He hadn’t been the one to turn her, but now, wasn’t she the first to have him?
Fu Xia drank her fill, licked her lips, and lapped up the last drop.
A warmth flowed through her. She could clearly feel power surging into her body.
“Get up,” she said suddenly.
Xie Rin’s eyelashes trembled. His skin was even paler after she had fed. He was about to scold her for her use-and-toss behavior, but his body uncontrollably pushed itself up from the soft bedding.
…He had completely obeyed her command.
His expression turned extremely strange.
Fu Xia let out a breath. “It’s okay. Come back.”
She relaxed and lay back on the soft padding. The heavy stone in her heart had finally lifted. Yan Zhu hadn’t lied. After drinking their heart’s blood, these dangerous Princes were controllable.
“You were experimenting on me?” Xie Rin asked, displeased.
“Because I trust you more.”
Xie Rin paused. His face didn’t show it, but his heart was easily soothed.
He lay down beside Fu Xia and asked slowly and sullenly, “How far have you gone with Xie Yan? Even if you’ve been turned, you don’t have to sleep here… That damn guy locked me up for so long…”
Fu Xia thought for a moment. “His technique is a little better than yours.”
Xie Rin bit her shoulder in frustration, holding back so he didn’t break the skin. He rolled on top of her, his face a mixture of annoyance and anticipation. “…Then let’s do it now. Right here, in his bed.”
Her gaze shifted.
Sound traveled through solids. The coffin thumped a few times. Someone was knocking on the outside.
Xie Yan stood by the coffin, his cold gaze on Xie Rin. The short-haired young man grinned, a provocative smile on his face.
“How about it, brother?” he said, using the title for the first time, his tone full of pride and mockery. “Are you satisfied with what you see?”
…
They were fighting.
Fu Xia sat on the edge of the coffin, watching the two completely dissimilar brothers. Xie Yan was stronger. After about ten minutes, he had his brother pinned against a table. His suit was a mess. He stared coldly at Xie Rin. His private domain had been invaded, and the culprit had secretly escaped from his confinement.
“…Don’t think you’re so great just because you were born a little earlier, Xie Yan,” Xie Rin’s voice was distorted with anger. “Didn’t you tell me not to get involved?! You were pretty quick to jump in yourself!”
Xie Yan was strangely silent for two seconds.
“If you’re going to keep fighting, I’m going to go to sleep,” Fu Xia said.
The sun was shining outside. The weather had been nice these past few days. The sun made Fu Xia a little drowsy. She could now understand why Pei Wang had walked in the shadows—it wasn’t fatal, but it was uncomfortable.
“How do you feel now?” Xie Yan asked.
“Nothing special. Just a little hot.” It felt like all her blood was boiling, but it was still within Fu Xia’s tolerance.
Xie Yan released his brother. “When you’ve recovered, contact me. We should have enough time before the Full Moon Ball.”
When Fu Xia left the room, she immediately sensed someone standing by the door. She glanced over and saw the black-haired, green-eyed young man leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.
Fu Xia closed the door behind her. “Waiting for me?”
Pei Wang straightened up, answering her with his actions. He followed a little behind her.
She heard her say, as if in casual conversation, “Has anyone noticed?”
“If they do, just kill them all,” Pei Wang said flatly.
Fu Xia thought for a moment. “True.”
Vampires were cold-blooded creatures. After being turned, Fu Xia could feel her own empathy weakening, her mind becoming more rational and ruthless. So even when Pei Wang said something like that, she didn’t find it strange at all.
“To be honest, I never thought it would turn out like this,” she said. Not long ago, she had been worrying about a few hundred yuan for living expenses and looking for part-time jobs.
Pei Wang looked at her shadow, which was stepping on his own. “You’ll get used to it quickly.”
“I never thought you’d have so much faith in me.”
“It was a gut feeling,” Pei Wang said in a normal tone. “You’re well-suited to be one of us.”
Fu Xia had heard this from several different people by now, but she still said thank you.
She continued to rapidly consume the heart’s blood of the Princes and could clearly feel her power growing.
—Greed and arrogance were the true colors of almost all vampires.
Fu Xia was no different. She spent two days mastering her new powers and, under the guidance of Xie Yan and Yan Zhu, dealt with several vampires who came looking for trouble herself.
Standing in front of several corpses that had been pierced through the heart and then exposed to the sun, Fu Xia said, “I need to see Song Yingxi.”
…
Night fell again.
In the reception hall of a luxurious three-story villa, Fu Xia sat at a table. On it was a glass of excellent quality blood.
Across from her, a woman with wavy, sea-blue hair sat, the curls like rolling waves. Heceline’s voice was gentle, with a lulling quality.
“My, my, I haven’t seen a newborn in almost a century… We’re going to be great sisters, aren’t we?”
Fu Xia took a sip of the blood, unmoved. She had contacted Heceline through Song Yingxi. The Prince was indeed a neutral party; Fu Xia could negotiate with her to hand over her heart’s blood.
—But considering what had happened before, she had no intention of making it too comfortable for her.
Fu Xia took a sip of blood. “When you hypnotized me, why didn’t you think we could be good sisters then?”
The smile on Heceline’s lips stiffened. Who knew that even with his looks, Song Yingxi couldn’t win over this human… How useless.
“Haha, that old fox Song Yingxi forced me to do it. You were still human back then.” Heceline was very good at reading people, even cunning. From Fu Xia’s every move, she could tell that although she had only just been turned, she was not weak.
“Now that I know you want to inherit the Progenitor’s legacy, of course I have no objection—you know, what vampire doesn’t want that…” If the target hadn’t been female, Heceline would have gone for it herself.
Fu Xia didn’t waste any more words. She put down her glass, her elbows on the table, her tone light. “Since you know what I want to do…”
“Are you going to take it yourself, or should I?”
In the shadows of the building, many figures had appeared at some point, silently surrounding the table.
Heceline gasped at her thuggish behavior. She held up her hands. “Seriously, you’re targeting me right after being turned…?”
“If I do it,” Fu Xia said slowly, “I might not know my own strength. You have thirty seconds to decide.”
Heceline, after all, held the power of a Prince. She was just about to run through the encirclement when she felt a chill on the back of her neck.
At some point, the vampire in front of her had disappeared.
A chill ran down Heceline’s neck. In just two or three seconds, Fu Xia was behind her, a sharp dagger pressed against her back.
The smile on Heceline’s lips vanished.
She heard Fu Xia whisper, “I told you, you only have two options.”