Chapter 53
Aside from a bit of a scuffle with Heceline, the remaining Princes didn’t put up a fight at all.
After her heart’s blood was taken, Heceline lay on the floor and complained, “…Why are these guys so obsessed with love and romance? Virgins are so…”
Fu Xia wiped the blood from her lips and patted Heceline’s shoulder. “The matter of you hypnotizing me is now settled.”
Heceline stared at the ceiling. “Fine, fine. Even if you didn’t say it, it would have to be settled. I don’t want to be ambushed by you like this again, Your Majesty, the future Progenitor.”
Heceline was certainly a flexible person. After lying there for a few minutes, as if considering something, she propped herself up on her elbows and looked at Fu Xia with a burning gaze.
“…Speaking of which, if there’s any dirty work to be done, can you let those male Princes do it first?”
Seeing Fu Xia look at her, Heceline grew more animated. “You know, my abilities are mainly for support. They’re definitely not as useful as Pei Wang’s and the others’, right?” She winked furiously at Fu Xia. “But if you need to hypnotize someone to do something bad, you can call me directly.”
“…We’ll see,” Fu Xia said. Why is this one such an evil chatterbox?
After quickly dealing with the relatively manageable Heceline, Fu Xia took the coat Yan Zhu handed her. The vampire who held the power of a Prince but rarely used it now moved with the practiced skill of her personal butler.
Fu Xia let out a slow breath. “Only one left.”
She could already control so many Princes. Those who wanted her heart would have to think twice. Everyone knew how difficult it was to win her love. But that didn’t mean they would give up.
Let a newborn vampire obtain the Progenitor’s full power? What a joke.
Fu Xia knew it too. If she were in their shoes, she would never let another vampire get such a good deal.
“With this much power, dealing with those ants will be more than enough,” Yan Zhu said softly.
Fu Xia shook her head. “No, I think it’s better to be cautious.” Although arrogance and greed were the true colors of every vampire, she had, after all, been human—a certain amount of caution and humility remained.
“The last Prince, where is she?”
…
Before meeting the reclusive last Prince, Fu Xia received a text from an unexpected source.
It was Zhu Ye.
He invited her to meet the night before the Full Moon Ball, saying he hoped she would come and that he absolutely would not disappoint her.
The last time they had met, Fu Xia had still been human.
She figured Zhu Ye must have known she had been turned by now. She thought for a moment and told Xie Yan about it.
Xie Yan took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “…Are you planning to meet him alone?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem, right? Xie Rin and Yan Zhu will be with me.”
“It’s not your safety I’m worried about…” Xie Yan pinched the bridge of his nose again and changed the subject. “Alright, I am a little worried. He recently absorbed all the half-breed factions and is now their leader.”
In his eyes, the invitation was likely a trap.
The leader of the half-breeds…?
Fu Xia blinked, thinking of the silver dagger she had hidden in her room. It had only been a few days, and Zhu Ye had already risen so high?
“It’s fine, I’ll be careful,” she said.
Xie Yan looked at her and, after a moment, nodded. In truth, he had no way of stopping her from doing what she wanted. But the fact that she had asked him gave Xie Yan a strange feeling.
…Is this something she has to report to me?
Fu Xia had no idea what kind of complicated feelings Xie Yan was wrestling with. She decided to go to the meeting after sunset.
Zhu Ye was wearing a solid-colored hoodie, his blond hair tousled by the night wind. He was leaning against a railing, his long legs casually propped up.
Fu Xia didn’t approach immediately. Pei Wang’s subordinates were on guard in the surrounding area. Pei Wang and Yan Zhu, not trusting her to meet with Zhu Ye alone, had also come along.
“If you want to get rid of him, just give the signal,” Yan Zhu said softly.
“Mhm, I know.”
The slight sound caught Zhu Ye’s attention. He dropped his leg and looked over. He scanned her from head to toe with his brilliant golden eyes, and then a smile bloomed.
“Senior.”
“What do you want?”
“Well,” Zhu Ye said slowly, “I feel a little bad about what happened before…” He was referring to colluding with Song Yingxi to deceive her.
“Although I played the role of the absolute villain in that incident… I still want to redeem myself in your heart, senior…”
“Considering you left me a dagger in the end, I won’t be completely merciless with you,” Fu Xia said.
Zhu Ye laughed, surprisingly still sunny. “Thanks, senior.”
Fu Xia didn’t think he had called her out just to reminisce. She leaned against the railing, waiting for Zhu Ye to continue.
“The Full Moon Ball is coming up,” he said softly. “It’s tomorrow night. You should know that, right?”
“I’m aware. Are you planning to attend?”
Zhu Ye shook his head, leaning back against the railing. “Are you interested… in putting on another play?”
From Zhu Ye, Fu Xia learned his intentions. As a half-breed, he wanted a piece of the pie when she vied for the Progenitor’s power.
“We can be a tool for you to display your strength,” his tone was still light, as if he were just a high school boy. “After all, those pure-bloods… most of them have something wrong with their heads.”
None of the vampires are much better, Fu Xia thought faintly.
She didn’t see a problem with it. Although she had been turned by a Prince’s blood, she had been human not long ago. There would be no shortage of vampires who looked down on her.
“But, how can I be sure you’re sincere?”
Zhu Ye’s eyes curved. “Although I didn’t really believe their stories before… you should know that vampires have a saying about a [Lighthouse], right?”
The young man looked up and sighed. “Once my ability is activated, it requires seven consecutive days of fresh blood to be removed… but in reality, my ability had already stopped working on you before the last day.”
In short, Fu Xia was his Lighthouse.
Fu Xia took a quiet breath. Don’t tell me my ability is to “become the Lighthouse of every vampire I come into contact with”?
“So? I’ll bring my subordinates to clean up the opposition—and you can slip some of your friendly Princes in with us.”
Anyway, anything that went wrong could be blamed on the half-breeds. For them, this was a chance to gain a foothold in vampire society. The pros outweighed the cons.
Fu Xia also looked up. The countless stars were reflected in her eyes. She admired the night sky for a moment, and after about two minutes, she said slowly, “Give me your heart’s blood, and I’ll agree.”
…
On the night of the full moon, Fu Xia attended her first Full Moon Ball.
Vampires liked a retro style. The venue was a historic castle.
“This was the Progenitor’s former residence,” Song Yingxi said. He was wearing a gray suit, his figure tall and straight. “Half of the vampires here tonight have ill intentions.”
“Are you sure the last Prince will come?”
Fu Xia was also wearing a suit tonight, her long hair tied back neatly, her cold expression adding an unapproachable distance.
“She will come…” Song Yingxi said gently. “I guess she wants to meet you too.”
From her high vantage point, Fu Xia saw Chen Wang. The human woman had no idea that the powerful people around her were non-human creatures. Her only purpose in coming was to gain more resources and win the power struggle in her family.
Considering their past relationship, Fu Xia tilted her head and said to the vampire beside her, “Don’t hurt her later.”
Song Yingxi’s gaze rested on Chen Wang for only two seconds before he said in his eternally gentle voice, “Alright. I’ll be careful.”
Everyone tacitly understood that there would be a fierce battle tonight, concerning the legacy of the Progenitor and whether the new one could successfully take the throne.
By the time the clock struck twelve, the hall was already bustling. Vampires on good terms were chatting. Fu Xia could feel many eyes on her, all waiting for the right moment. And the humans, mixed in among them, were socializing against the clock, unaware of what was about to happen.
Her enhanced vision allowed Fu Xia to see the subtle expressions on their faces. She was watching boredly when she suddenly felt Song Yingxi poke her arm.
His voice was very soft, like a passing breeze. “…She’s here.”
Fu Xia instinctively looked in the direction he had indicated.
Behind her, at some point, a vampire Fu Xia didn’t recognize had appeared.
The moment she saw her in her peripheral vision, alarm bells blared in her mind. This was a very dangerous vampire. At least for her current self, this person could probably crush her with a single hand.
“It’s okay,” Song Yingxi said. “She’s always appearing and disappearing like that. Eva, we have no intention of disturbing your peaceful life, but… you should know what we want.”
The vampire named Eva didn’t answer Song Yingxi, her gaze fixed on Fu Xia.
Under the full moon, Fu Xia stared at the vampire before her.
Her appearance was young, no more than thirty at most. But her hands were held loosely in front of her, and her back was slightly hunched, giving her an ancient appearance. It was as if her skin was still young, but her insides had already rotted away.
“…So you’re the one, the human chosen by the Progenitor,” Eva said softly. Her voice was just as distant, as if it could dissipate at any moment. “I need to speak with you alone.”
“I can’t leave,” Song Yingxi said. “You’re too dangerous for her.”
Eva lowered her eyes and turned. “I know where the Progenitor’s legacy is… If she wants to take that seat, she has to face this alone.”
The atmosphere reached a stalemate.
Fu Xia hesitated for a moment. She heard screams from below; the half-breeds had easily infiltrated the venue under the deliberately relaxed security.
“…You wait for me here,” Fu Xia said.
Song Yingxi hesitated for a moment, but Fu Xia had already followed Eva.
Eva walked quickly. She passed through the intricate corridors of the castle and arrived at a… desolate, dense forest.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the trees. Eva stopped in the center.
The woman’s gaze fell on her. It was heavy, pressing down on Fu Xia’s shoulders, immobilizing her.
“Actually,” Eva said, “I think you’ve chosen a rather incorrect path.”