Vampires indeed rely on blood to survive. After He Sui’an drank Qi Buyan’s blood, her body, weakened by hunger, seemed to improve a bit.
Two small fangs deeply embedded in the skin of his neck, she opened her mouth and drank his blood.
Not long ago, He Sui’an still appeared timid and unable to act, and Qi Buyan had not been on guard against her. Unexpectedly, while other vampires couldn’t even touch him, she bit him.
Qi Buyan felt He Sui’an’s small fangs as if they were going to bite deeper to suck more blood. He raised his hand, intending to snap her neck, but she voluntarily let go of him, muttering continuously.
Due to their close proximity, he could hear what she was saying.
“I can’t bite anymore.”
“He will die.”
The first two sentences were He Sui’an talking to herself. Then, she spoke to him, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bite you.”
He Sui’an looked at Qi Buyan’s neck with deep guilt. There were two obvious bite marks there, with quite a few beads of blood oozing out, tempting to any vampire, and looking striking on his pale skin.
He stood up, his fingers brushing over the small wound she had made, staining his fingertips with blood.
The nearby vampires were ready to move.
But Qi Buyan didn’t give this vampire a chance to act. He released a poisonous gu, causing the vampire to bleed from all seven orifices and die instantly from the poison.
At the same time, several snakes took care of the other four vampires, and the abandoned courtyard returned to a deathly silence. He Sui’an stood nervously in the corner, trying to stay as far away from Qi Buyan as possible.
She did this to prevent herself from succumbing to the temptation to bite again.
And she was also afraid he would kill her.
After all, it was undeniable that she had lost control and bitten him.
He Sui’an occasionally glanced at Qi Buyan, and when she saw him looking at her, she was filled with fear again. She nervously wiped the corners of her mouth, afraid that there might still be some of his blood left there.
The two small fangs showed signs of disappearing after He Sui’an drank Qi Buyan’s blood. In a moment, she looked just like an ordinary person.
Qi Buyan leaned casually against the pillar, pondering how to deal with her.
Hurting him must come with consequences.
She bit him.
Even though she didn’t do it on purpose but was driven by her vampire nature.
But what was done was done.
So, if he let the poisonous gu consume her, it wouldn’t be excessive. Just as Qi Buyan thought of this way of handling her, He Sui’an spoke, filled with remorse, “Let me bandage your wound for you.”
Qi Buyan seemed amused by her words. “You bandage me? How can you ensure you won’t bite me again while doing it?”
He Sui’an admitted he had a point.
Although her two small fangs had disappeared, they would reappear whenever she had the urge to suck blood. She was aware that she still couldn’t fully control herself.
After some thought, He Sui’an picked up a piece of wood, wrapped it in a clean cloth, and bit down on it, indicating that she could seal her mouth to prevent it from opening and biting him.
Qi Buyan still wanted to kill her.
But he recalled that when He Sui’an approached him, her scent seemed to relax him. It was faint, yet present.
Also, the sight of her with two small fangs just moments ago was quite amusing. Although she was a vampire, she was likely still young, and her fangs were much smaller than those of ordinary vampires.
He wondered if he could turn a vampire into a gu, then use her to kill for him.
He found himself reluctant to kill her.
His thoughts were always unpredictable.
Qi Buyan tapped his fingers on the pillar, hesitating for a moment.
He Sui’an, unaware of his thoughts, mustered the courage to walk over and wipe the blood off his neck with another cloth. Seeing that he stood still, she took it as permission.
Qi Buyan looked down at her.
If He Sui’an tried to bite him again tonight, he would kill her without hesitation.
But she didn’t.
She bit down on the wood in her mouth, suppressing her nature, and focused on cleaning and bandaging his wound, behaving properly without saying much.
Perhaps it was because she had just drunk blood and was no longer so hungry that she could finally resist.
He Sui’an’s height only reached Qi Buyan’s shoulder, so she had to tilt her head slightly and raise her hands above her head to reach his neck. Her fingers were slightly cool as they brushed against him.
The scent of blood faintly wafted through the cloth, and He Sui’an slowed her breathing.
Qi Buyan found it a bit odd.
He never bandaged his wounds, usually letting them heal on their own.
He Sui’an seemed afraid of hurting Qi Buyan, applying very light pressure. Before bandaging, she glanced at the bite marks she had made, thinking it must have hurt a lot to break the skin and bleed.
If it were He Sui’an, she would probably be rolling on the ground in pain.
She didn’t dare ask Qi Buyan if it hurt, fearing he would remember her biting him. People already had a bad impression of vampires, and He Sui’an, who had bitten Qi Buyan, was even more anxious.
His gaze swept over her mouth, now without fangs, and suddenly he asked, “What’s your name?”
“He Sui’an.”
Biting the wood made He Sui’an’s words unclear. After a while, she added, “He, as in congratulations, and Sui’an, as in peace throughout the years.”
After bandaging Qi Buyan, she moved a few small steps to the side, putting some distance between them.
He Sui’an thought that asking for a name should be reciprocal, as a matter of politeness. “And you, what’s your name?”
“Qi Buyan,” he replied, not minding to tell her. It’s just a name after all.
He Sui’an responded, “Oh.”
Hearing this, he glanced at her again.
She slowly realized her tone might have been misunderstood and quickly added, “Your name sounds really nice.”
Qi Buyan lifted his indigo robe and sat on the haystack, his elbow resting on his knee, his palm supporting his chin, lazily turning his head to watch the poison gu creatures in the courtyard. They were feasting on the bodies of the five blood clan members.
He Sui’an crouched behind a pillar, avoiding the sight of the poison gu feasting on the blood clan.
She didn’t leave.
Nor did Qi Buyan drive her away.
The reason He Sui’an stayed was because the scent of Qi Buyan’s blood gave her a feeling of fullness. Whether starving to death or dying at his hands, she couldn’t escape either way. So, she decided to take a gamble.
Qi Buyan didn’t drive He Sui’an away or kill her because he had already decided to keep this blood clan member. If he could turn a blood clan who liked to suck human blood into a poison gu, it would be something novel.
They stayed in the courtyard, each with their own thoughts.
Late at night.
He Sui’an fell asleep on the haystack without any sense of propriety. At first, she warned herself to follow Qi Buyan and not fall asleep, but she couldn’t withstand the overwhelming drowsiness.
Several snakes raised their flat heads to look at He Sui’an, confirmed that this blood clan member had no offensive capability and was not a threat, then scattered to rest.
Unaware of being looked down upon by the insects and snakes, He Sui’an turned over and continued sleeping.
Early the next morning, the snowy wind blew away the old lantern in the courtyard with a “clang,” startling He Sui’an awake. She climbed out of the haystack, discovering that the indigo figure was no longer in the courtyard.
He Sui’an clutched her now hungry stomach, thinking of going out to see if she could find Qi Buyan. Before she could take a few steps, he came in from outside.
A trace of joy appeared on her face. “I thought you left.”
Qi Buyan looked straight at her.
“Were you looking for me?”
He Sui’an nodded vigorously, wanting to get closer to smell his blood but holding back. “Yes, yes.”
Qi Buyan walked towards her with a smile, bending down to look her in the eye. “Do you like my blood that much? Even though I might kill you, a blood clan member, you still want to find me?”
“Would you kill me?” He Sui’an didn’t answer but asked back.
Absentmindedly, he lightly kicked a black snake trying to climb his boot and gave a noncommittal answer, “Not today, but I can’t promise about the future.”
With that, Qi Buyan picked up the bundle covered by dry grass and stepped outside.
He Sui’an trotted to catch up.
Once she got close to Qi Buyan, the hunger faded as she smelled his blood through his skin. She suddenly felt hopeful that she might survive without having to suck human blood.
*
Qi Buyan didn’t settle down in Chang’an but wandered around. Since that day, He Sui’an had been following him for over a month.
She had fully confirmed that staying with him allowed her to survive without sucking human blood; just smelling his blood was enough.
The condition was that she couldn’t leave him.
Well, she could leave, but not for more than half an hour.
Otherwise, He Sui’an would immediately become so hungry that she’d want to suck blood from anyone she saw. Over a month had passed since she last sucked human blood, and the only time she did was from Qi Buyan, which was just a small taste.
The streets were very noisy today.
It was said that blood clan members were becoming increasingly rampant in Chang’an, having drained the blood of over a dozen people. The Blood Slaying Department was intensifying their hunt, killing on sight.
He Sui’an shivered involuntarily when she heard the Blood Slaying Department announcing the notice.
Qi Buyan found a tea stall to sit at.
She followed suit.
He Sui’an’s mind still echoed with the loud proclamation of the Blood Slaying Department.
They said, “There is a way to confirm if someone is a blood clan member. Place some human blood in front of them. It won’t take long before the blood clan member can’t control themselves, revealing their fangs and losing control.”
“As soon as it’s confirmed that the person is a blood clan member, killing them won’t break the law.”
She nervously drank a few sips of tea.
He Sui’an genuinely had no intention of hurting anyone, but with these measures, she would eventually be killed.
Qi Buyan suddenly put down his teacup and got up to leave the tea stall. Fearful that she might crave human blood without his scent, He Sui’an hurriedly grabbed his sleeve. “Where are you going?”
He looked at her hand holding his. “I have some matters to attend to. It’s inconvenient for you to follow.”
He Sui’an let go.
He replied, “Soon.”
Hesitant, He Sui’an asked, “Could it be within half an hour?”
“Depends.”
He left.
She held her teacup, waiting for him to return.
Not far away, there was a butcher shop. Suddenly, the butcher let out a cry of pain; he had cut his hand, and blood flowed down his fingers. He cursed his bad luck but didn’t do much about it, just wiped the blood away casually.
The vampires had very keen noses. Even from a distance, they could smell human blood, let alone now, when they were so close. He Sui’an couldn’t help but stand up and head straight for the injured butcher.
When she reached the butcher, her sharp fangs appeared.
But not many people noticed her.
He Sui’an was small and rarely aroused anyone’s suspicion.
Just as He Sui’an was about to sink her fangs into the butcher’s neck, a hand covered her mouth from behind and dragged her away.
Moments later, in a small alley on the left side of the long street, He Sui’an was lying on Qi Buyan’s shoulder.
Her long hair brushed against him.
Qi Buyan’s indigo clothes were disheveled by He Sui’an, his collar slipping off his shoulder. Her lips and teeth were pressed tightly against his skin, sucking continuously. Their clothes were tangled together in disarray.
Members of the Bloodslayers passed by the alley entrance, while He Sui’an clung to Qi Buyan.