Chapter 48: The Vampire’s Prey (48)
“Jiao Jiao?”
The soft call received no answer. Xie Yanchuan and Xie Zhenye stood still, their expressions complex as they looked at the young woman standing in the ruins.
Her figure was slender, as if it were about to merge with the shattered auditorium. Her thin shoulders were trembling slightly, as if she were desperately enduring an intense pain, looking empty and grief-stricken.
“…”
Yu Jiao was unaware of their wild assumptions and had no time to care. The moment the system notification fell, the invisible current of air that had been guiding her now swirled around her like a tide. A fine electric current coursed through her body, quietly changing something…
Xie Yanchuan seemed to have misunderstood. He frowned slightly and explained, “On the day the Xue—the Xue clan was destroyed, the resentment they had accumulated for generations could no longer be suppressed. Everyone in this area was affected, becoming violent and bloodthirsty. Wei—ahem, he must have suffered a backlash.”
The names of the two he mentioned seemed to scald his tongue. The usually composed Xie Yanchuan had rarely stumbled over his words.
Xie Zhenye added, “Because he was the eye of the array that reversed the powers, most of the energy was concentrated on him.”
At this point, Xie Zhenye paused, his gaze deepening. His pale eyes were a vast, tolerant blue, and his lips curled in a sarcastic smile. “He, who endured humiliation and went undercover in the academy, wanting to wipe out all the vampires—”
“—Ultimately became the very thing he loathed most.”
As his words fell, the place grew silent. Only the dust motes floated, like unwilling, wandering souls.
A cold snort came from behind.
The people from the Church had arrived late. The middle-aged man who looked like an archbishop was caressing his staff. “His death was well-deserved. He must have been so ashamed of becoming an ugly, fallen creature that he chose to take his own life. At least he did not betray the teachings of my God.”
Being called an ‘ugly, fallen creature’ to his face, Xie Zhenye shot a disgusted glance at the Church followers, then looked at his brother. “Hey, Xie Yanchuan, can’t you control this group of god-botherers you brought back?”
Having been repeatedly taunted by his brother, Xie Yanchuan said without a change in expression, “The Archbishop is our esteemed guest.”
His cool gaze met Xie Zhenye’s slightly fierce one.
The two of them were silent, their similar faces expressionless. Their gazes clashed like blades, as if a single spark could ignite a raging fire.
At this moment, seeing the drama of the brothers’ conflict, the Archbishop was no longer dizzy, nor was he angry. He and his followers watched the battle with great interest.
Yu Jiao was speechless. Has no one noticed that something is wrong with me for so long!?
Yu Jiao overcame a great resistance and turned around. Because she was still entangled in the invisible current of air, her movements were extremely slow.
Just then, a strange change occurred! Her raven-black hair, without any wind, began to fly, a snow-like white eating its way up from the ends.
The twins finally noticed the anomaly.
The young woman’s face was completely devoid of color, her expression pained. Yu Jiao suddenly opened her tightly closed eyes, her glistening grey irises had turned red, like surging magma.
The Archbishop’s superior demeanor was shattered. He looked as if he had seen a ghost and blurted out:
“The Son of God?!”
The Archbishop’s breathing suddenly grew ragged, his expression changing several times. He looked at her as if she were a walking embodiment of fame and fortune. He waved his staff. “Take her!”
The dozens of white-robed followers, having received their orders, immediately moved to surround the exhausted Yu Jiao, their menacing approach like that of hyenas, cornering their prey.
Yu Jiao didn’t even have the strength to lift her hand. Yu Jiao leaned against a broken wall, and then, her vision blurred.
With a muffled thump! one of them was sent flying.
As Xie Zhenye lazily retracted his foot, the tip of his shoe, as if by chance, kicked up a cloud of dust and rubble, which flew into the faces of the Church members, soiling their snow-white robes.
He sneered, “What holy church? I see nothing but a bunch of filthy dregs.”
The Archbishop tore his viscous gaze from the white-haired, red-eyed young woman and turned to the twins who were standing in front of her.
He gave the ‘partner’ a fake smile. “Young Master Xie, there’s no need to be so hostile, is there? Don’t forget, you need the help of our Church.”
“Is that so.”
Xie Yanchuan didn’t even glance at him, his eyes lowered as he toyed with a badge in his hand. On it was a bat’s wing, pierced by a nail, clearly the symbol of the Church.
The Archbishop’s face changed slightly. He immediately fumbled in his robes. “…You! When did you!?”
The greasy smile was gone from his face. He looked over with a venomous, hateful gaze.
Xie Yanchuan nodded slightly, as pure as the moon and the wind. “Cooperation requires sincerity. Seeing that you had no such intention, I had to take back the ‘sincerity’ myself.”
With that, Xie Yanchuan casually tossed the small piece of iron in his hand. The golden badge flashed a sharp light in the air, and with a soft whistle, the group of white-robed followers collapsed, one by one, their faces contorted in pain.
The Archbishop stood alone, facing the two of them.
He gritted his teeth. After a few breaths, he forced a smile. “A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. My Church has always regarded those with white hair and red eyes as the Son of God. That’s why I wanted to invite this young lady to the Church. If you two are not at ease, you can accompany her.”
He spoke smoothly, but when his eyes swept over Yu Jiao, they were dark and greedy, like a long-starved wolf, smelling blood.
“No, thank you.”
Xie Yanchuan glanced at his brother and said meaningfully, “Lest the holy church be defiled by ‘ugly, fallen creatures’ like us.”
The Archbishop froze.
Xie Zhenye still had a sour look on his face and didn’t look at his brother, but hearing this, his eyebrow arched slightly, like a fierce, large dog, twitching its ears.
***
The storm had passed, but an undercurrent still remained.
It was unclear what kind of cooperation Xie Yanchuan and the Archbishop had reached, but from time to time, one could see followers in white robes walking through the academy, under the guise of: helping to restore order.
Yu Jiao looked out the window.
Yu Jiao saw two followers helping an injured blood-race student into the infirmary. In the distance, a crazed specially-admitted student was tied to a post, and a few followers were surrounding him, muttering as they performed a ‘purification ritual’.
As Yu Jiao was lost in thought, a glass of warm water was handed to her, interrupting her.
Xie Zhenye sat on the edge of the bed and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. He asked in a light tone, “Are you alright?”
In the sunlight, his sharp eyes were like they were filled with popping candy, anxiously waiting for her answer.
Yu Jiao knew he had misunderstood, thinking that she was still hung up on the person who had died.
She smiled and took the water.
—The emotions from the illusion had long since dissipated. All she wanted now was to clear the game as quickly as possible.
“Where’s Xie Yanchuan?”
The young woman’s lips were wet, stirring one’s desire to bite, to stain that pale color with a rich one.
Xie Zhenye looked at her expression and secretly assessed her. One worry had been put to rest, but another, heavier one still hung in the air, making him anxious.
As he worried, he pouted and answered, “He’s talking to that cult leader.”
Yu Jiao caressed the glass, her eyes lowered to the translucent glass, which reflected her white hair and red eyes. It was not the vibrant look of her first awakening, but a sickly, withering one.
Click. The door was pushed open.
Yu Jiao’s hand trembled slightly, and the water rippled, her reflection becoming twisted and broken.
Footsteps approached.
A long, jade-like hand lifted her chin. Her gaze followed, and she met Xie Yanchuan’s focused eyes. He was cupping her face and examining it carefully, as if she were a fragile piece of porcelain. Finally, he asked, “Are you alright?”
—The two brothers asked the same thing.
Yu Jiao shook her head. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt an itch, rising from her heart to her throat. Yu Jiao immediately pushed his hand away, covered her mouth, and let out a heart-wrenching cough.
The young woman’s slender shoulders, neck, and back heaved violently, as if she were being hit with a heavy, blunt object, over and over.
Amidst the twins’ helpless pats on the back, offers of water, and worried voices, Yu Jiao gradually calmed down and slowly opened her hand—
In her pale palm was a dark red bloodstain.
An extremely rich fragrance spread, but it cast an ominous color over the warm, bright room. A dead silence. The two men’s pale irises turned a dark red. Xie Yanchuan frowned gravely, and Xie Zhenye said in a choked voice:
“…Jiao Jiao, why does your blood smell like… Xue Zhu?”
Xie Yanchuan leaned down, close to the dazed young woman, to wipe the blood from her lips. Then, he lowered his eyes and licked the blood from his fingertip. His sharp jaw tightened. After a moment of silence, he said:
“It’s Holy Blood.”
***
The two of them suppressed their panic, and after comforting Yu Jiao, they hurried away, probably to find some solution.
Yu Jiao took a sip of water, rinsed the metallic taste from her mouth, and as she spat out the pale red water, she asked, “What’s going on?”
The system let out a burst of static, then stammered:
【Host, this is your reward!】
Yu Jiao sneered.
【…It’s true.】
【For every ending you successfully collect, the main system will issue a reward. [Holy Blood] is the reward for [Blessing is a Curse].】
【In addition, the reward for [Slaughter is Atonement] is [Concealment]. Host, hurry up and try it!】
The system sent over the method to activate the skill. Yu Jiao’s eyebrow arched. She followed the instructions and took out the diamond ring, putting it on. She felt the strange current of air once again wrap around her.
Yu Jiao decided to go out and test this [Concealment].
Dragging her exceptionally tired body, the moment she stepped into the dim corridor, Yu Jiao curled her lips, not a trace of a smile in her eyes. “You say it so nicely. It’s both a reward and a warning bell, urging me to complete the mission quickly, isn’t it?”
【…】
The door was closed with a heavy thud.
“This body can’t last much longer.”
***
Yu Jiao leaned against the wall and walked slowly down the long, dark corridor. The blood servants coming and going looked straight ahead, and sure enough, they couldn’t see her.
A thought stirred in her mind. Yu Jiao followed her memory to the twins’ lounge in the academy, passed the blood servants guarding the staircase, and just as she arrived at the door, she heard the faint sound of an enraged argument from inside.
“Xie Yanchuan, are you insane or am I? You dare to believe the people from the Church?”
“I didn’t say I believe them. It’s just that Yu Jiao’s physical condition is urgent. From the Archbishop’s expression, there might be records in the Church’s internal documents.”
Xie Zhenye sneered and repeated, “The Archbishop’s expression—he doesn’t look like he has good intentions. How can you be at ease, entrusting her safety to them? Does the Church know more about blood-race matters than we do?”
Xie Yanchuan’s tone grew impatient. “What do you take me for? An irrational, defenseless idiot?”
Listening to the war of words inside, Yu Jiao raised an eyebrow.
I didn’t expect my body to be the cause of their conflict.
The two of them argued more and more fiercely, gradually straying from the topic.
“Don’t think I don’t know. Your so-called cooperation with them is to sacrifice a few blood-race students to that damn Archbishop every once in a while, so that he can be promoted and get rich!”
“Yes. So what?”
“…”
Xie Zhenye let out a very cold laugh and gritted his teeth. “Xie Yanchuan, when did you become like this… selfish, self-serving, treating human life like grass, with only power and influence in your eyes.”
Xie Yanchuan also laughed.
“When? When you loathed the Xie family and were unwilling to take on the responsibility of an heir. When you were enjoying the various conveniences that ‘power’ brought, yet went to help those specially-admitted students who were chosen as prey.”
“…”
Xie Yanchuan’s voice was as cold as usual, but his words came a little faster. “Did you think I didn’t see it? Did you think you could get away with helping those idiots under the banner of opposing Xue Zhu? Was it useful? Weren’t you there when they died?”
The closest people often know best where the chinks in each other’s seemingly impenetrable armor are.
The daggers they plunged were also the most painful.
“Xie Zhenye, is your mind still stuck in kindergarten, when you wore diapers and played house?”
Thump!
Xie Zhenye fiercely punched the wall. A spiderweb of cracks spread, making his fist look as if it were trapped in a web. The plaster fell, like a tearless, mournful cry.
—During their birthday banquet, Xie Yanchuan had taunted him with the same words.
So, the seeds of their conflict had been sown long ago.
…
Xie Zhenye took a deep look at his twin brother.
“Yes, someone always has to bear the heavier burden. But you’ve been holding the gavel that decides life and death for too long. So in comparison, those lives have become insignificant dust in your eyes.”
Xie Zhenye turned around, his back to the long table, and the man sitting behind it.
He clenched his fists and then relaxed them. Before he left, he left one last sentence.
“You’ve forgotten that those things that are insignificant in your eyes, in the eyes of others—”
“—Are as precious as that rabbit was back then.”
…
…
Yu Jiao carefully pressed herself against the wall and watched as Xie Zhenye pushed the door open and left without a shred of reluctance. His tall figure moved through the dancing candlelight, as if he were breaking through one shackle after another.
And in the dim room, Xie Yanchuan sat alone in the armchair, veiled in a shadow, his expression unreadable, like a frozen statue.
The door slowly closed. He was as if swallowed by a bloody mouth, without a struggle.
Yu Jiao let out a soft sigh and tapped the system:
“Let’s not beat around the bush. The so-called collecting of endings is to make them die, right?”
Yu Jiao curled her lips, her beautiful red eyes as if brushed with a dark color, revealing a cold, joyous grey.