Chapter 41: You Being Safe Matters More Than Anything

Noah clenched her teeth.

Her hands pressed against the ground.

Her nails dug into the asphalt from sheer force.

Luoyao’s scent was like a fuse igniting dynamite.

It forced Noah to draw on the last strength in her broken body.

For that girl, she couldn’t fall yet.

“Get up… Noah… get up… stand up!”

She roared at herself.

As if shouting could erase the pain.

Her fractured bones propped up her battered frame.

Her legs trembled from agony.

But she limped toward Luoyao’s home.

Blood dripped from her pant legs and sleeves.

It left a long trail on the ground.

Onlookers parted to let her pass.

A few steps in, the little girl’s voice came again. “Sister, you’re hurt.”

“You should go to a hospital, or your body won’t hold out.”

Hearing the girl’s innocent words, Noah paused.

She clutched her chest, where broken ribs ached.

She half-turned, her bloodied face managing a smile. “Thanks.”

“But if I don’t find her, it’s my heart that won’t hold out.”

With that, the silver-haired girl turned.

She hobbled away under stunned gazes, disappearing around a corner.

Her body was slowly healing.

But she couldn’t leap rooftops like usual to reach Luoyao’s window.

She lingered downstairs, checking for Suyue or other Church zealots.

Certain it was clear, she entered the building.

Each step up the stairs felt like a thousand pounds.

She gripped the railing.

Each grasp left blood on the metal.

It reminded her of the mall shootout long ago.

Ambushed by Suyue, she’d dragged her near-dead body to Luoyao’s door.

Her state now was even worse.

The hallway’s motion-sensor lights flickered on and off with her steps.

After several cycles, she reached Luoyao’s door.

It was ajar.

The living room’s light spilled into the hall.

The lock bore clear signs of forced entry.

Noah’s heart sank.

She stumbled inside, merging three steps into two. “Luoyao! Luoyao!”

She called her love’s name, searching each room.

But every room was a mess.

Clearly ransacked.

“Did Suyue already take her…?”

It was the worst outcome.

The one Noah couldn’t bear.

That zealot would do anything to kill a vampire she despised.

Even use an ordinary human like Luoyao as leverage.

“Luoyao… Luoyao!!”

Noah shouted desperately.

Only the hum of the hallway’s lights answered.

Thud—

She collapsed to her knees.

Her head bowed, silver hair hiding her face.

Her hands covered her face, shoulders trembling slightly.

“Luoyao… Luoyao… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

She choked, grief flooding her like a tide.

All she could do was murmur Luoyao’s name.

Three hundred years.

Noah thought she’d lost the ability to cry.

But realizing she might have lost Luoyao forever, a tear fell.

Her first in three centuries.

The salty liquid slid from her eye, mixing with blood at her lips.

Blood and tears tasted awful together.

Wait—

“Blood and tears…”

“Blood…”

Noah shot to her feet, scanning the room.

She sniffed, catching that unique scent in the air.

“Luoyao’s scent hasn’t faded…”

For the first time in centuries, Noah was grateful to be a vampire.

Her heightened sense of smell could track the one she cared for most.

Following the familiar scent, she rushed out.

She climbed the stairs toward the rooftop.

The closer she got, the stronger the scent.

“Almost… almost!”

She reached the final step and kicked open the rooftop door.

A wooden stick propping it shut flew off.

Noah didn’t care.

She followed the blood’s trail.

Ahead.

Just ahead.

Pain forgotten, she sprinted forward.

After searching, she found her little dummy in a corner.

Luoyao huddled by the rooftop flowerbed.

Clutching a worn baseball bat, trembling uncontrollably.

“Luoyao…” Noah called softly.

“Ah! Don’t come closer! Don’t!”

Too tense, Luoyao hadn’t noticed Noah beside her.

When Noah called her name, she swung the bat wildly.

Bang—

It hit something.

But that “something” didn’t fight back or attack.

Luoyao peeked cautiously.

The bat had struck Noah’s head.

“Ah!! N-Noah… I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t know it was you…”

Noah just smiled, gently taking the bat and tossing it aside.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I found you.”

“Does it hurt…?”

She shook her head, smiling. “Not at all.”

“But you’re bleeding…”

“Really, it doesn’t hurt.”

Her little dummy’s strength wasn’t enough to hurt.

But despite Noah’s words, Luoyao saw her other wounds.

“How’d you get so hurt? Did you run into the Church? Where are you injured? Your face is scratched…”

In that moment, Luoyao’s fear and tension turned to worry.

Her trembling hand reached out.

She touched Noah’s cheek, brushing bloodied hair behind her ear.

Her voice broke with tears. “How’d this happen?”

“It must hurt so much…”

It hurt.

Of course it hurt.

The scrapes, gashes, and torn skin all screamed pain—

But Luoyao’s heart hurt more.

Noah lifted a hand, gently holding Luoyao’s wrist.

She leaned forward, pulling Luoyao into her arms.

“Just took a bad fall.”

She stroked Luoyao’s back, breathing in her neck’s scent.

In the gentlest tone, she said, “You being safe matters more than anything.”