Chapter 20: The Vampire’s Prey (20p1)
Xie Yanchuan, being slightly closer, reacted swiftly. As if handling a fragile treasure, he lifted the young woman horizontally out of the cramped wooden box.
His eyes were downcast, his expression unreadable, and the aura around him was chilling, yet his embrace was surprisingly warm.
Xie Zhenye was right behind him. His brow was tightly furrowed, his gaze dark and heavy. With gentle, careful movements, he untied the ropes from her wrists and ankles.
The sight was horrifying—her pale, tender skin was covered in angry abrasions.
But it wasn’t over.
After the tape was torn from her mouth, Yu Jiao coughed up several mouthfuls of bloody foam. A few crimson flowers immediately bloomed on the cold, grimy concrete floor.
The twins’ gazes both darkened.
A bloodthirsty killing intent crept into their eyes, and their clear blue irises were covered by a thick layer of red.
An ill-timed round of applause broke the silence.
“Wow.”
Xue Zhu, who loved nothing more than to stir up trouble, clapped his hands. His dark eyes were like some kind of precision instrument, examining the bloodstains on the ground. He suddenly smiled and licked his lips. “I didn’t expect to find the Second Miss Xie in my blind box.”
Yu Jiao leaned weakly against Xie Yanchuan’s chest, her lips stained a vivid red by the blood, like a bright flower blooming next to a grey tombstone.
Xue Zhu chuckled. “Hmm? Is this the surprise the Eldest Miss Xie prepared for us?”
Though he was asking Xie Ning, his delighted gaze remained fixed on Yu Jiao.
His question directed all suspicion towards Xie Ning.
Considering her bizarre behavior earlier, it wasn’t hard to guess what she had done.
The twins’ gazes turned to ice as they both looked at Xie Ning.
Xie Zhenye’s brow was heavy with a fierce aura. He enunciated each word, “Did you do this?”
After the struggle, Xie Ning’s hair was disheveled and her clothes were covered in dust. She was a pathetic sight, but her expression was cold and arrogant. She elegantly smoothed her hair and sneered, “So what if I did? Are you going to lock me up again?”
Her eyes were bloodshot as she slowly scanned the twins.
“Get it straight. The two of you are just dogs raised by my father. I only gave you a bit of respect before because of your bloodlines.”
Xie Yanchuan lifted his eyelids and scoffed, “I thought that was called sucking up, flattery, and bootlicking.”
Xie Ning choked on her words and shot him a hateful glare. “Now that I’ve awakened, I don’t need to rely on you. Everything in the Xie family belongs to me.”
She lifted her chin, her gaze imperious.
“And you two… will be my dogs sooner or later.”
A vein throbbed on Xie Zhenye’s forehead. He laughed in anger. “In your father’s dreams.”
Xie Yanchuan’s gaze swept over Xie Ning, as emotionless as frost. “Now is not the time to reason with a delusional person.”
The young woman in his arms had her eyes closed, her breathing shallow.
After holding on for so long, she was at the end of her rope.
“She needs to rest.”
As if a rein had been pulled tight, Xie Zhenye paused. He shot the self-satisfied Xie Ning a dark glare, then left with Xie Yanchuan, carrying Yu Jiao.
Watching the young woman’s limp, jade-white hand, Xue Zhu’s gaze was as heavy as a circling vulture, following their retreating figures. He muttered, his meaning unclear, “So she was right under my nose all along.”
…
Once she was safe.
Yu Jiao could no longer resist the overwhelming drowsiness and passed out.
She didn’t know how much time had passed… Her consciousness gradually returned. Yu Jiao slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at the bright ceiling, feeling as if all her strength had been sucked away by the soft mattress beneath her.
She had slept for what felt like an eternity, but she didn’t feel rested at all. In fact, she felt even more exhausted.
Perhaps it was because of Xie Ning’s unknown potion.
“You’re awake?”
The voice was like jade falling on snow.
It was his usual, cold tone.
Yu Jiao’s pupils slowly turned.
There, Xie Yanchuan was sitting by the window, his expression indifferent. The sunlight from outside cast a thin golden glow upon him, making him look like a handsome, cold stone statue.
His eyes were downcast, and in his long, beautiful hands, he was toying with a glittering dagger.
The dangerous glint of the blade brought Yu Jiao’s senses back.
This was her bedroom in the Xie Manor.
Yu Jiao’s breath caught.
—Her dirty school uniform had been changed. Her body was clean and fresh, and medicine had been applied to her injuries.
She had been unconscious. She couldn’t have changed and bathed herself. Someone must have helped her. In that case, the symbol on her chest must have been…
Shing.
The dagger sliced through the air.
Even though Yu Jiao had anticipated this before she passed out, her heart still couldn’t help but clench.
Looking at him, Yu Jiao sighed inwardly: It seems my identity has been exposed.
“I’ve been thinking for a long time.”
Xie Yanchuan suddenly spoke softly, like a signal.
Here it comes, Yu Jiao thought.
The interrogation.
He still didn’t look at her. His gaze was fixed on the world outside the window, as distant as a thick, impenetrable ice fog, making the bright, sunny day seem to freeze over.
He said slowly:
“Before I was brought to the main branch of the Xie family and became the lofty First Young Master Xie, Zhenye and I were just two of the countless, unknown junior members of the blood race.”
“In our branch alone, there were over a dozen young masters and ladies. Family resources were limited. In order to survive, even half-grown children learned to scheme and to bully the weak while fearing the strong.”
His voice was calm, but it made Yu Jiao think of the turbulent undercurrents hidden beneath the surface of a tranquil lake.
“We were very young then. Together, we raised a rabbit that was just as weak as we were.”
He lowered his eyelids and gestured with his hands.
“About this big.”
His expressionless, serious demeanor had a strange sort of cuteness to it, but looking at the dagger in his hand, Yu Jiao only felt her heart pound with fear.
What is this?
A heart-to-heart before the execution?
“Things that are too cute tend to attract the envy of others.”
His gaze finally turned to her, landing on her face.
“It went missing.”
“…”
Yu Jiao couldn’t quite gauge his attitude.
Although she felt weak, she struggled to sit up in bed, leaning against the soft headboard.
They were at eye level.
“And then?” Yu Jiao asked.
Xie Yanchuan looked at her. “I searched for a whole day.”
He twisted his wrist, and the sharp blade reflected a blinding white light.
Yu Jiao couldn’t help but squint, unable to see his expression clearly. She could only hear his cold, calm voice, like a steel blade steadily piercing her lungs.
“And then I found it on the dinner table that night.”
Yu Jiao paused.
The room was silent for a moment, only the dust motes floating in the sunlight.
“Perhaps it’s inevitable for children to have a certain innocence. To think that as long as you become strong, you won’t be bullied anymore, and the things you love won’t be taken away.”
His ice-like eyes stared at her calmly. He stood up, looking down at her from a superior height.
Yu Jiao’s heart tightened. She silently clenched the bedsheet.
Tap, tap, tap.
He began to walk towards her, the sharp dagger held in the hand at his side.
“But now I’ve discovered—”
He was close now. His tall figure cast a shadow, enveloping her like a shroud.
It gave her the illusion of being unable to breathe.
Xie Yanchuan lowered his eyelids and slowly and deliberately rolled up his sleeve, revealing his sharply defined forearm, the dagger in his hand.
He looked as if he were about to strike.
Yu Jiao was weak, her back tense. She tried to retreat as if to escape, but only sank deeper into the soft headboard.
—She had nowhere to run.
Like a piece of meat on a chopping block.
Reason told her: even if he hated being deceived, Xie Yanchuan wouldn’t go so far as to kill her…
A blade flashed!
Yu Jiao’s thoughts were like a kite with its string cut.
She couldn’t help but close her eyes.
The next moment, the sweet, metallic scent of blood filled the air.
A drop of blood fell onto the white bedsheet, blooming into a startling crimson.
Yu Jiao felt no pain. She opened her eyes, stunned, and met Xie Yanchuan’s quiet gaze.
On his outstretched left arm was a deep, bloody gash. Beads of blood welled up, one after another, and slid down his pale skin.
Like a small, wet firework.
—He had actually cut his own wrist with the dagger.
Yu Jiao was astonished.
The dagger was tossed aside.
Xie Yanchuan rested one knee on the bed and braced his uninjured right arm against the wall, leaning over to meet her gaze.
It was an intensely intimidating posture.
With a cold expression, he brought his bleeding left arm to her lips. The warm blood wet her slightly parted mouth.
Yu Jiao turned her face away. “…What?”
Xie Yanchuan’s gaze fell on her lips. He didn’t answer her question, but continued where he had left off. “But now I’ve discovered that so-called ‘protection’ is the most useless thing.”
“I can’t decide whether the one I like is a rabbit or a lion. I can’t control the hunters lurking in the shadows. And of course, I have no right to demand that it live its entire life in a safe cage.”
He was so close. Looking into those deep, ocean-like eyes, Yu Jiao felt as if she were already trapped in a cage.
His large hand cupped her face, unyieldingly feeding his blood to her lips. The sweet, metallic liquid slid down her throat, creating the illusion of a scorching heat.
A gentle warmth filled her limbs.
In contrast, the color gradually drained from Xie Yanchuan’s lips, leaving them even paler. He was like a deity carved from snow-white jade.
He looked at her deeply.
“But at the very least,” he said, “I can make it indestructible.”
Cool fingers wiped the bloodstain from the corner of Yu Jiao’s lips.
Then, he stared at her without blinking, brought his long, jade-like fingers to his own mouth, and licked the blood from them.
The scarlet blood smeared against his pale lips, adding a touch of eroticism.
It was a demonic sight.
The young woman stared blankly for a moment, then pressed her lips into a firm line.
She looked as though she had been swept up in a wave of intense, pure emotion and didn’t know how to react.
Xie Yanchuan knelt on one knee on the floor.
He was in a lower position, his head tilted slightly up. His expression was faint, but his gaze was deep and far-reaching, like some kind of highly corrosive chemical.
As he watched her, he intertwined his well-defined fingers with hers, slowly lifted their joined hands, and pressed a light kiss to them.
A cool, ticklish sensation spread.
Yu Jiao lowered her eyes, subconsciously avoiding his gaze.
After a pause, she pulled her hand away. Xie Yanchuan’s eyes darkened for an instant, but then he saw her adjust her position and place her hand back on his, her fingers slowly closing to interlock with his.
Like the first thaw of ice and snow.
Xie Yanchuan’s eyes, which had melted into a pool of sweet, snowy water, were fixed on her.
Yu Jiao suddenly reached out and covered his eyes. “…Don’t look at me like that.”
She mumbled, “It’s against the rules.”
Hearing this, his lips curved into the faintest of smiles.
Yu Jiao immediately used her other hand to press his lips flat.
“No more rule-breaking!”
“Alright.”
His cool voice was slightly hoarse. The moment he spoke, he suddenly darted his tongue out and lightly licked her fingertip.
A blatant seduction.
Yu Jiao snatched her hand back with a whoosh and dove back under the covers, turning her back on the player who had just been struck out.
They really are twins. They both love to push their luck!
Before Xie Yanchuan could do anything more outrageous, a knock came at the door. The blood servant’s cold voice followed, “First Young Master, the family head has requested your presence.”
“Understood.”
After replying, Xie Yanchuan pulled back the thick covers and braced himself on the edge of the bed.
“I’ve already requested a leave of absence for you,” he paused. “I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Don’t wait for me. Get some rest.”
Yu Jiao snatched the covers back and said in a muffled voice from under them, “Who’s waiting for you? Just go.”
Through the thick blanket, she felt him give her a light pat.
“Rest well.”
…