Chapter 52: Midnight Choices and a Hunter’s Obsession

Su Mian stood before the opulent yet unfamiliar hotel entrance. A cool night breeze stirred, yet it failed to dispel the profound confusion and intense unease swirling within his heart.

He utterly failed to comprehend the motives behind Xiao Moyuan’s sudden series of actions.

Suppressing the burgeoning fear in his heart, he turned to Xiao Moyuan, who had already exited the car. His voice, unbeknownst to him, trembled slightly. “Xiao Moyuan, what… what exactly have you brought me here for?”

Xiao Moyuan turned, his expression remarkably calm beneath the hotel’s brilliant lights, even tinged with an air of absolute certainty. He succinctly uttered two words:

“To sleep.”

“Or should I sleep *you*?”

Su Mian: “???” He almost thought he had misheard.

Observing the shock and disbelief etched across Su Mian’s widened eyes, Xiao Moyuan condescendingly offered a few more words of explanation, his tone remaining flat.

“It’s already midnight. You have two choices.”

He extended two fingers.

“First, stay here with me. I will book a separate room for you.”

“Second, find your own way to hail a taxi back to N University.”

Su Mian instinctively glanced at the time on his phone, then estimated the distance.

Hailing a taxi at this hour was already difficult. To make the journey back to N University from here would likely take until two or three in the morning, by which time the dormitories would be locked.

Moreover, an intense wave of drowsiness washed over him, his biological clock screaming in protest.

“I… I still don’t understand!”

Su Mian attempted to untangle the convoluted logic.

“Why would you drive for over two hours just to bring me all the way out here to sleep? Earlier, when I said I wanted to get off downstairs at Zhixia Building, you insisted on taking me home!”

Xiao Moyuan’s eyebrow subtly arched, his deep-set eyes appearing particularly sharp in the night. He countered faintly, “But originally, you were the one who got into my passenger seat without my permission. Wasn’t that right?”

Su Mian was instantly speechless, as if his throat had been seized.

Indeed, at the time, to prevent Xiao Moyuan from being alone with Shen Zhixia, he had recklessly squeezed into the car first.

This was truly a case of lifting a stone only to drop it on his own foot; he had brought this upon himself.

Xiao Moyuan seemed unconcerned by his predicament. He continued with his seemingly rational yet utterly bizarre logic.

“I had a sudden whim to drive around and clear my head. I drove too far, got tired, and found a nearby hotel to rest. What’s the problem?”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Su Mian’s eyes, which were slightly reddened from weariness. “As for bringing you along… it was merely a convenience.”

Su Mian was almost driven to laughter by this excuse.

Driving around? A convenience?

Could the excuse be any worse?

He didn’t want to drive around at all!

This guy was absolutely doing it on purpose; he was purely insane!

However, despite his internal complaints, the harsh reality lay before him.

His eyelids were battling against sleep. Taking a taxi back would not only be time-consuming and exhausting but he might not even be able to get one.

*Forget it. At least I’m not paying for the room. I’ll just make do for one night…* He could only console himself this way.

Seeing Xiao Moyuan already turn and stride with long legs towards the hotel’s brightly lit revolving doors, Su Mian gritted his teeth. Ultimately, he resignedly hurried to follow.

Upon reaching the front desk, Xiao Moyuan succinctly told the duty receptionist, “Hello, two rooms.”

The receptionist, her face adorned with a professional, sweet smile, checked the computer system before displaying an apologetic expression.

“My sincerest apologies, sir. Due to the late hour, we currently only have one deluxe suite available. Perhaps you would consider…”

“Only one room left?”

Su Mian’s heart plummeted. Just as he was about to say, “Then I’ll just call a taxi back,” he was interrupted by the receptionist’s next words.

“But please rest assured,”

The receptionist quickly added, her tone professional. “Our deluxe suite features a two-bedroom, one-living-room layout. It is equipped with two independent bedrooms and bathrooms, offering excellent privacy. You won’t disturb each other at all.”

Two bedrooms?

Su Mian blinked. This information allowed him to relax slightly.

He truly had no concept of the configurations of such high-end hotel suites.

Xiao Moyuan turned his head, his gaze falling upon Su Mian’s face, which was etched with conflict and weariness. His voice carried a hint of subtle mischief. “Are you still staying?”

Su Mian’s cheeks felt somewhat flushed, an intense internal struggle raging within him.

Ultimately, the overwhelming drowsiness and logic (the suite had two rooms) triumphed over that subtle awkwardness and unease.

“Stay…”

He mumbled the word, his voice barely a whisper, like a mosquito’s hum.

Receiving the room card, they took the elevator to their floor.

When Su Mian pushed open the heavy suite door, he was still slightly awestruck by the spaciousness and luxury within. This was no mere hotel room; it was practically an exquisite apartment.

The living room was bright and expansive, elegantly decorated. Indeed, as the receptionist had stated, there were two closed doors, indicating independent bedrooms.

With this, his last shred of worry vanished.

The space was so vast, there was no need to fear accidentally revealing anything in front of Xiao Moyuan.

Xiao Moyuan seemed accustomed to the luxury here. He didn’t even spare a glance at the living room, walking directly to one of the doors, clearly the master bedroom.

He pushed it open casually, then closed it with a ‘click’ from the inside, completely shutting Su Mian out.

Su Mian stared at the closed master bedroom door for a few seconds, then quickly slipped into the second bedroom, likewise locking the door behind him.

Leaning against the cool door panel, he finally let out a long sigh.

***

Inside the master bedroom, Xiao Moyuan did not immediately rest.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the scattered lights of the unfamiliar city outside. His mind, however, replayed Xia’s gaze towards Su Mian—a seemingly gentle look that concealed a hidden greed.

His expression unconsciously darkened, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

That Xia, he was definitely problematic.

Although several spiritual energy probes had indicated the other party was merely an ordinary person, the instinctive vigilance, like being targeted by a venomous snake, and the incongruous aura around him, prevented Xiao Moyuan from lowering his guard.

The reason he had almost forcibly taken Su Mian away tonight, even driving to such a distant place, was a subconscious reluctance to let Su Mian return to the dormitory where Xia resided.

Su Mian carried too many secrets, possessing a unique physique. He was like a tempting, fragrant dessert with no means of self-preservation. Leaving him near that individual with unclear motives was far too dangerous.

Most importantly, Su Mian was his ‘target’.

He took out his phone and dialed a number, his voice reverting to its usual coldness.

“Thoroughly investigate someone for me: a recent transfer student at N University named Xia. I want all his information, the more detailed the better, including all his movements before and after entering the country.”

After hanging up, he pondered for a moment, then dialed another number, issuing new instructions: “Find another apartment for me in the building where I currently reside. Get it done as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Young Master.” A respectful reply came from the other end of the line.

Having arranged these matters, Xiao Moyuan finally walked to the bed and sat down. He closed his eyes, his fingertips forming a hand seal, guiding the pure spiritual energy within him to slowly circulate, entering a state of cultivation.

He had no habit of sleeping; for him, sleep was cultivation.

***

Meanwhile, in an apartment on the other side of the city.

Shen Zhixia sat restlessly on the sofa, her heart troubled by not having spent time alone with Xiao Moyuan today.

Suddenly, a faint flutter of wings sounded from outside the window.

She looked up alertly, only to see a completely black bat silently slip through the slightly open window.

It circled half a turn in the center of the living room, then transformed into a dense black mist, finally condensing into a slender human figure. The figure leaned languidly on the sofa opposite her.

Shen Zhixia’s expression instantly turned solemn, her voice carrying a hint of imperceptible tension.

“It’s not yet the agreed time to deliver blood. Why have you come so suddenly?”

The black shadow, or rather, the owner of the black shadow, let out a cold, low laugh.

“I have come to give you a new mission—to hunt someone.”

Shen Zhixia frowned.

This was the first time this ‘master’ had so clearly specified a hunting target and personally delivered the command.

Suppressing her surprise, she asked, “Who?”

The shadow’s voice carried undisguised killing intent, each word enunciated clearly: “That Xiao Moyuan from your school. I want you to drain him dry.”

Suddenly, Shen Zhixia felt as if her heart had been fiercely gripped by an invisible hand, almost stopping its beat.

She forced herself to remain calm, her fingernails digging deep into her palms, and tentatively asked, “Why him? Do you… have a personal grudge against him?”

As the words left her mouth, she keenly sensed the aura around the black shadow growing more violent and unstable.

She gasped in a low voice, “No! You are… Xia?”

With her words, the shadow on the sofa’s face gradually became clear, shedding its disguise to reveal Xia’s handsome yet twisted face, contorted by extreme rage.

His pale blue pupils were now glowing with terrifying blood-red.

“This lowly, despicable worm! How dare he! How dare he look at me with such disdainful, condescending eyes!!!”

Xia’s low roar echoed through the room, filled with the humiliation of being offended and monstrous fury. “I want him dead! I want him dead! I want him dead!!”

He seemed to have fallen into a state of frenzy, the terrifying pressure of a high-ranking bloodline unleashed without reservation, a palpable weight engulfing the entire room.

Shen Zhixia was suffocated by this powerful bloodline suppression, her face ashen, her body trembling uncontrollably.

She looked at the frenzied Xia, summoning her last bit of courage, and spoke with difficulty, “Can… can you not kill him? I…”

She genuinely harbored good feelings for Xiao Moyuan; that flutter in her heart was not entirely false.

“Shut up! You slut!”

Xia suddenly reached out, his hand flashing like lightning as he seized Shen Zhixia’s slender neck, lifting her from the sofa.

His eyes were cold and cruel, filled with absolute control.

“You’d best understand your place! Your eternal life was bestowed by me! You are now a noble bloodkin, yet you harbor ridiculous feelings for a lowly piece of food? Don’t you think that in itself is a disgrace?”

Shen Zhixia was choked to the point of near-suffocation, intense fear and helplessness sweeping through her.

Before absolute bloodline suppression, she couldn’t even conjure a thought of resistance.

The vampire hierarchy was rigid, like an insurmountable chasm. From highest to lowest, they were divided into [True Ancestor, Progenitor, High-ranking Noble, Mid-ranking Noble, Low-ranking Noble, Blood Servant].

Higher-ranking bloodkin possessed absolute power over their subordinates, including the power of life and death.

And Xia, who had given her the first embrace and granted her this immortal body, was a powerful Progenitor-level bloodkin.

To him, Shen Zhixia was merely a possession he had created on a whim, dependent on him for her existence.

Xia released his grip as if discarding a piece of trash.

Shen Zhixia fell weakly to the floor, clutching her neck and coughing violently, her body trembling uncontrollably.

“Considering you are my ‘child’,”

Xia looked down at her, his voice regaining a cold calm that was even more chilling. “I’ll give you one month. Deal with Xiao Moyuan. Do it cleanly, and don’t expose your identity. Otherwise…”

He paused, the threat in his tone unmistakable. “I wouldn’t mind reclaiming the blood I bestowed upon you, turning you back into a rotting corpse.”

Shen Zhixia lay prone on the cold floor, her long hair fanned out, concealing the complex emotions on her face.

Fear, unwillingness, anger, and a trace of greed for eternal life intertwined wildly within her heart.

After a long while, she finally asked another question that made her heart pound, her voice trembling, “The… the prey you’re interested in… is Su Mian, isn’t it?”

At the mention of Su Mian, the crazed, twisted expression on Xia’s face miraculously softened, even replaced by a nearly intoxicated, morbid smile.

“That child… the scent emanating from him is simply too captivating…”

Xia’s voice grew soft, laced with a chilling obsession.

“Having lived for so long, this is the first time I’ve encountered such an enchanting ‘little cupcake’. It is he… only he, is worthy of me breaking my principles, to slowly, personally, pierce his warm skin with my noble fangs and savor that supreme sweetness…”

Merely recalling Su Mian’s alluring scent, Xia shivered with excitement, the blood-red in his pupils deepening.

He not only wanted Su Mian’s blood but also intended to carefully ‘nurture’ him, keeping him in a state of extreme emotional fluctuation—fear, excitement, love… Only then would his blood become a truly top-tier feast.

It wasn’t until Xia’s figure transformed back into a bat and vanished into the dark night that Shen Zhixia slowly pushed herself up from the floor.

She hung her head, allowing her long hair to fall, obscuring all expression on her face.

*Does eternal life… truly mean abandoning all personal emotions, becoming a walking corpse driven only by desire and the will of superiors?*

*Does eternal life… truly mean forever losing the power of free choice, forever living under the control of others?*

*Is this the eternity she pursued, even at the cost of betraying her human identity?*

*No… it’s not.*

What she wanted was not just eternal life.

She also desired the power to control her own destiny, and… to obtain what she truly craved.

When she finally raised her head again, looking towards the window where Xia had vanished, a glimmer of ruthlessness and resolve silently flashed deep within her eyes, which had previously held only submission and fear.