Shi Sheng only left the villa after making sure Liang Ge pasted the wards all around the perimeter.
As her figure flashed through the night, the hem of her dress fluttered in the wind.
‘Very good! Now it’s time to see which little bitch was plotting against me(lz) behind my(lz) back!’
Shi Sheng returned to the academy. None of the lights were on, making it seem like a giant beast lurking in the darkness.
The people from the BHA hadn’t withdrawn, so Shi Sheng found several ambush points around the academy. She avoided them and made a round through the academy grounds.It was completely silent. Almost terrifyingly so.
Shi Sheng searched the whole academy but didn’t find anywhere that seemed off. She jumped up to the tallest building there to get a better look, but hadn’t expected someone to already be up there.
Shi Sheng raised her brow, blue light flashing in her eyes. ‘ML-sama? What’s he doing here?’
Zuo Lie turned his head to sweep a calm gaze at her. “You still dare to enter the academy?”
Shi Sheng stepped forward a few paces. “Not as if they can catch me. What do I have to worry about?”
Zuo Lie, “...” ‘This arrogant tone is really obnoxious...’
Shi Sheng tilted her head, somewhat curious. “Why’d you give me a warning?”‘Just what’s up with the ML?’
“Seems like you’re completely unaware.” Zuo Lie only spoke in a low voice after a while.
Shi Sheng was rather confused. ‘Unaware of what?’
Zuo Lie turned around to face her, a black and gold invitation card appearing in his hand. He reached out to give it to Shi Sheng. “The Vampiric Feast is about to begin.”
‘Vampiric Feast? Isn’t that...’
The Vampiric Feast was a banquet held for vampires and vampire hunters to gather. The official reasoning behind it was to get the two sides to know each other better.
But not a single Vampiric Feast had ever ended amicably, so they were called off. Why, then, was it being held again?
“There are some amongst the vampires with impure motives. We’re in a lot of danger right now. Be careful.” Seeing that Shi Sheng wasn’t taking the invitation card from him, Zuo Lie placed it on one of the tables which were gathering dust at the side. “They detest Pure Bloods due to their jealousy. And I don’t want to make an enemy of you.”
Pure Bloods and the other vampires held differing views, hence their political stances were incompatible. But Pure Bloods possessed great power, so they had an important position in the vampire community.
As a result, although Pure Bloods had high status, they weren’t very welcomed by the rest of their race.
Shi Sheng’s eyes moved as she thought. “What you’re saying is, it’s the vampires that are targeting me?”
Zuo Lie’s expression was unreadable. “That might not be the case.”
‘Might not? The ones targeting me might not be vampires?’
Shi Sheng’s eyes narrowed slightly. “This isn’t the reason why you’re warning me. Zuo Lie, don’t beat around the bush. Just what do you want?”
There was rivalry between Pure Bloods too, let alone the fact that she and Zuo Lie had some minor disputes. There was no way Zuo Lie was warning her out of the goodness of his heart.
“There is something with which I wish to request your aid.” Since Shi Sheng already pointed it out, Zuo Lie saw no need to hide his agenda. “This Vampiric Feast is being held for something important: to elect a new Vampire King. I need your support.”
Shi Sheng scoffed, “We’ve been without a King for a century. Why pick one now?”
Ever since the vampire and human races signed on the terms of the alliance, the matter of choosing a new Vampire King after the last one died was tacitly never raised.
All the power was held in the hands of several Princes. With authority split between more than one person, a balance where no one party could be more influential than the rest had formed.
“The news came suddenly for me as well.” Had it not been the case, he would never have risked picking Mi Nai.
He had been ostracised by those people all these years. Though he’d cultivated some of his own talents, their support couldn’t compare to that of a Pure Blood’s.
Shi Sheng rubbed her chin, pondering for a moment before speaking, “I’ve got no interest in participating in these sorts of things. Though if they cross my line, I don’t mind crushing some trash.”
Zuo Lie merely had to think for a bit before understanding Shi Sheng’s meaning.
She wouldn’t help him but wouldn’t make things difficult for him either...given that he didn’t cross her bottom line.
‘Such an arrogant tone... If those old fellows heard her, they’d probably get off their arses to whomp her to death.’
Zuo Lie was rather disappointed, but he knew that the possibility of getting her help was almost nil. After all, the clan backing her...
Once he knew there was no chance of getting her to support him, Zuo Lie simply told Shi Sheng to be careful and left.
Shi Sheng picked up the invitation card. She didn’t open it up, merely flicking her fingers to chuck it into her space.
A storm was approaching...
She remained on the rooftop for a while longer before leaping off and disappearing into the night.
......
Shi Sheng didn’t reveal herself in the following period of time. The people from the BHA seemed to have a sense of urgency around them. In the end, they withdrew from the academy grounds.
However, once they’d left, someone had their blood sucked. This time, the victim was Ai Wei’s roommate.
The student body, which hadn’t calmed down yet, was immediately thrown into a state of frenzy. Everyone wanted the academy to give an explanation.
Some of the students were brought home by their parents. There were even some who simply transferred schools.
The school authorities were going out of their minds with anxiety.
In the principal’s office...
“Mr Du, you promised us these incidents would not happen again! How do you explain this?!” The Principal questioned Du Jue angrily.
Du Jue’s expression was unsightly. His people had only pretended to withdraw—he still had others waiting in the shadows. But even so, someone had still died. He felt like he’d been challenged.
“Mr Du, if you don’t have the ability, I suggest that someone with more experience be dispatched.” It was apparent the Principal had some understanding of the BHA—his tone was very assertive.
“Principal, I will resolve this matter.” Du Jue raised his head to meet the Principal’s gaze, the eyes beneath his glasses glinting with a chilling gaze.
The Principal was shaken by that look, his aura weakening a lot.
“Give me a definite deadline.” The Principal gave him a concession.
“Three days.”
Du Jue spoke, “If I haven’t caught her in three days, I’ll accept punishment from the Association.”
“Fine, I’ll give you your three days.”
When Du Jue exited the principal’s office, he rubbed at his temples somewhat tiredly. He hadn’t had a real chance to rest during these past few days.
When he returned to their temporary meeting point, Du Jue’s subordinates immediately crowded over.
“How’d it go, Team Leader?”
“We have three days. If we haven’t caught Mi Nai by then, we’ll have to go back to the Association to receive punishment.”
Everyone looked at one another. They’d kept watch for so long, yet hadn’t so much as seen Mi Nai’s shadow.
“Isn’t she with Xi Yin...” Someone quietly spoke up. ‘Team Leader appeared apprehensive of that man—he gave up on Mi Nai when the man showed up.’
“Our evidence wasn’t substantial the last time. But now that we have sufficient evidence, we’re just going by the book.” ‘And besides, Xi Yin isn’t with her right now.’
Du Jue pushed his glasses up, restraining the frosty light that flashed in his eyes. He spoke coldly, “Time is of the essence. She has to still be in the academy. We’ll bait her out tonight.”
“Team Leader, there’s a call for you.”
Once the people around him had dispersed to busy themselves, Du Jue went to answer the call.
“Team Leader, we discovered a tomb in the northern outskirts of the city. You might need to come check this out.”
“What tomb?” He currently had his hands full, where would he find the time to go check out a tomb?
“We’re not sure either... From the looks of it, it appears to be quite old. And the inside... I can’t explain it clearly over the phone. You should come take a look for yourself, Team Leader.”
Du Jue kneaded the space between his brows. Only after three seconds did he give a reply, “Fine. I’ll head over there in the afternoon.”
The other party spoke a bit more before Du Jue hung up.
‘The northern outskirts... A tomb...
What’s Xi Yin trying to tell me? Or is it just a trap?’
