"Ah!" he screamed in pain.
"You!" He pushed me away with all his strength, clutching his wounded neck with both hands. His eyes widened as he stared at me, locking his gaze on me!
He was terrified, scared to death!
He could no longer stop the dark red blood from flowing out. He watched me as I walked toward him.
He desperately tried to crawl backward.
But he was powerless! At this moment, he couldn't even move. He lay on the ground, staring at me with wide eyes.
"Don't come any closer." Only now did he realize what kind of opponent he had encountered.
From a young age, I had possessed a pair of venomous teeth. Anything I bit would become completely paralyzed. My retractable teeth were the nemesis of many animals—let alone humans!
I looked at him, the corners of my mouth curling upward. In the end, he still became my food. Just moments ago, I had considered sparing him. But...
I stumbled toward him.
I was truly starving!
"Didn't expect this, did you? You can't move now, and you can't escape!" I said coldly, without a trace of emotion.
He shook his head in terror, his eyes turning pale.
Wasn't it a bit too late to be afraid now?
I lunged at him. This time, I sank my teeth into his wounded neck and began to suck the blood flowing out into my stomach.
A feeling of fullness instantly spread through my entire body.
So this… this is human blood.
My excited eyes glowed blue.
I hadn't expected human blood to taste so much better than animal blood. Satisfied, I sat up. Human flesh must taste better than animal meat too.
He lay there, unmoving, staring at me.
"Don't, don't kill me! Take me with you," Lin pleaded, trembling in fear.
I paused, slowly lifting my head. There was still a faint trace of blood at the corner of my mouth. I looked at him in confusion.
"Even animals are hard to find now! Take me with you—I can last you ten days as food," he said, lying on the ground.
"…" I looked at him coldly, pondering his words. He was right! He could indeed last me ten days as food. Why hadn't I thought of that? This way, I wouldn't have to search for food.
"Hmph! Who would've thought you'd actually help me out!" I sneered.
**My child, my dear child, you must not show even the slightest mercy to humans. When you show them mercy, the next moment they will try to kill you. My child, you know very well that humans are not good creatures. They hunt us. Remember, humans are our enemies.**
My mother's words echoed in my ears. I stared at him for a long time.
Wasn't he a lesson in himself? I must remember this. Mother, how should I live?
"Who… are you?" he asked painfully, then resignedly closed his eyes.
I looked at him and shook my head.
"I'm not human. I'm the same as you." Yes, I was like him—a blood-drinking monster.
"I… I am a member of the Yaleba tribe. I've never eaten humans before. I only thought of eating you because I was too hungry. Spare me, and I will serve you faithfully," he said, speaking earnestly.
I chuckled. A member of the Yaleba tribe? Should I believe him? A person who once tried to eat me—should I trust him? Ha… are all humans this amusing?
"I've never eaten humans either. You're the first. I don't need your loyalty. For the next few days, you'll be my food." I stood up and slung him over my shoulder, leaving the farm.
We headed north, not knowing where we were going. Occasionally, I would hear his cries of pain.
I didn't understand—why did it hurt? My mother's departure left me lost. I had to survive. I couldn't just die like this.
Should I go find Aunt Li?
Although I didn't know where to find her, I believed that one day I would.
From a distant land, the sound of bells rang again and again, mysterious and sorrowful. Who were they calling home??? I found myself walking in the direction of the bells.
I had always wanted to know where such bells came from. When I was young, my mother forbade me from exploring. Now, I wanted to see for myself—as long as I didn't lose my heart. I had a feeling Aunt Li would be where the bells were ringing.
In the morning, I hid him and myself from the blazing sunlight. I hated the feeling of sunlight on my skin. It was piercing and unbearable.
In the mornings, I usually hid in tree hollows to sleep peacefully. Meanwhile, he would sit quietly beside me. He seemed to have given up on escaping. Along the way, he had tried to run away several times, but I always caught him. Each time, I would viciously bite him, leaving him more injured and unable to run. Perhaps he was scared now—afraid of the pain, afraid of his wounds rotting and maggots crawling inside. That must have been unbearable, right? So, he stopped running and stayed quietly by my side.
At night, I would take him—my only source of food—and continue on our journey. I didn't know where I was going; I simply followed the direction of the bells. I felt that Aunt Li was in that place.
Three days later, he was still alive. I had started giving him water, though he had become much thinner than before. Whenever I was hungry, I would drink a few sips of his blood. My appetite wasn't large; just a few sips would make me feel full. I didn't kill him immediately—he was meant to be my long-term food supply. For some reason, his blood kept replenishing itself. But that was good for me. If his regenerative ability continued, allowing his blood to recover quickly, I would gladly keep him by my side.
I also began sharing the birds and wild animals I caught with him. I didn't want him to die. If he didn't have food to sustain his life, he would die quickly, and I'd lose my only source of food. I couldn't let that happen.
"Here!" I tossed the bird I had just caught to his mouth.
He bit into it immediately, tearing at the bird and swallowing it in large chunks.
He must have been starving. I had to let him eat. If he didn't have the strength to live, he would die soon, and I couldn't let that happen.
Watching him devour the bird, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction in my heart. We were the same kind. He didn't even let the drop of blood that dripped onto the ground go to waste. He licked it up with his tongue, a look of contentment on his face.
"Thank you," he said stiffly.
I stared at him with my glowing blue eyes. What did "thank you" mean? I had never heard those words before. My mother had never taught me! I stared at him, dazed, and then asked softly:
"You don't want to die, do you?"
He nodded. He didn't want to die. He wanted to return to his homeland.
"I don't want to die either, so you can only be my food." My words were cold and merciless. I couldn't let him go out of pity. If, in the days to come, I had no food, I would starve to death.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked quietly, lying beside me. He had given up trying to escape—or rather, he was too powerless to run.
"I want to find Aunt Li," I said, revealing the person I was looking for. I hoped to learn something about Aunt Li from him. I knew nothing about her or where to start searching.
He should have seen more of the world than I had. I knew nothing about it. Every day, I moved from place to place with my mother, knowing nothing about the outside world.
But his eyes told me he knew more than I did.
**Introduction to Chi'er:**
- **Attributes:** Mutated vampire, bloodthirsty; commonly known as "Blood Princess."
- **Weapon:** A pair of retractable venomous fangs. Any bite causes full-body paralysis, and the more the victim struggles, the faster the venom takes effect.
- **Emotion Index:** 0 (completely devoid of emotion, a cold-blooded creature).
- **Attack Power:** 60% (currently a low-level vampire).
- **Danger Level:** E-class (ranked A–B–C–E, with E being the lowest). Appears harmless but kills and eats people without hesitation.
- **Potential:** Unknown.
- **Appearance:** Possesses a face that captivates all who see it.
- **Likes:** Drinking blood, eating human flesh, gnawing on bones.
"Aunt Li!" His pupils dilated, and he looked especially fearful.
"You know her?" A trace of joy flashed across my face.
"Aunt Li is a witch from the distant Illusionary Kingdom. She is a powerful witch. By day, she appears as a young and beautiful lady, kind and gentle to others. But at night, she becomes an old witch, feared and hated by everyone. She casts the Curse of Li on her apprentices, forcing them to submit to her. She commands billions of followers, and every night after midnight, you can hear the haunting chimes of bells. Those bells call back the lost souls, forcing them to marry powerful monsters, further solidifying her position."
He spoke weakly, his voice tinged with sadness. Suddenly, his expression turned sorrowful as he recalled his sister, who had been married off to an old monster in the walled city. His sister's pitiful fate was to spend her life trapped there. He hated Aunt Li and hated his own powerlessness even more.
I smiled faintly. "The world is vast. How do you know the person I'm looking for is this Aunt Li of yours?"
My mother once told me that the haunting bell chimes were a soul-calling curse. If you let the sound into your heart, you would lose your soul and become heartless. To retrieve your lost soul, you would have to find the master of the bells.
If Aunt Li was the person my mother wanted me to find, why didn't she say so back then? Why didn't she tell me that the owner of the bells was my Aunt Li when we heard the chimes?
My mother's sister?
"You don't understand. 'Li' is Aunt Li's exclusive name. No one else in the world dares to use the name 'Li,'" he said, swallowing nervously as he stared at the sun outside. She doesn't understand, he thought. She knows nothing. She looks so innocent now, but her heart will gradually turn wicked.
If she falls into Aunt Li's hands, she will become evil, killing people and drinking their blood. Her power will grow, and she will surely transform into a cold-blooded, merciless monster.
"You're lying. I don't believe you!" I suddenly shouted. My Aunt Li couldn't be the monster he described. My mother was so kind. Our kind had never harmed humans. My mother never allowed me to drink human blood. There was no way she could have such an evil sister. It wasn't her.
But—this was my only path forward. I had to find her.
"Aunt Li is a heartless, desireless monster. Don't go looking for her. Come back to my kingdom with me," he pleaded, trying to persuade me. He couldn't let me become a monster.
I shook my head. I couldn't. I had to find Aunt Li, whether she was human or demon. She was my mother's only sister. I needed to ask her if she knew Mo Shan.
If she truly was my Aunt Li, I would tell her about how humans had killed my mother.
I pushed him aside with one hand. "You don't understand. She's my only family! I must find her!"
He looked at me, speechless. He knew that in the near future, the world would see the rise of another terrifying monster.
Night fell in the blink of an eye. I stood up.
My stomach began to growl with hunger again. This time, I looked at him seriously. But I didn't drink his blood—I thought I still had a shred of humanity left.
"Do you know? I'm hungry," I said suddenly.
To my surprise, he extended his hand. "Go ahead and drink."
This time, I shook my head. "I'm tired of your blood." My voice was cold, but in truth, I just wanted to give him a chance to live.
He smiled faintly. "Chi'er, you're human. You're not a monster. Come back to my kingdom and live a normal life."
I shook my head. Let me become a monster.
At that moment, I heard the crisp sound of bells ringing again and again.
I looked out from the tree hollow and saw a group of people passing by in the distance. They moved in single file, step by step, heading northward. At the front of the line was a golden bell, swaying from side to side.
At night, my vision was sharper than anyone else's. These people were heartless beings.
"A… a headless bride…"