Chapter 23: The Dangerous Allure of the Blood Clan
“Doctor Lian, you could go abroad—to Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Thailand—take your pick.” Jiang Yan-senpai continued introducing places one by one. Uh… wait, Jiang Yan-senpai, so you’re this familiar with the Six Realms? Is this really basic knowledge for all guys?!
Doctor Lian shrugged lazily again, “Chinese women still have the smoothest skin…”
Seriously… is it really appropriate for you two to discuss such forbidden topics in front of a girl like me? And one of you is a teacher speaking to a student!
Once upon a time, I was pure and innocent. I used to think that when guys talked about or watched things like this, it was so perverted. But… later… we girls got our own books…
That stuff… and this stuff… are actually the same at their core. One is animated, the other is written. Everyone knows it—guys prefer visuals, girls prefer fantasy. So, in essence, we… are the same as the guys…
Eventually, I stopped disliking guys for it. Sometimes, we tough, straightforward girls even talk about it with them until we’re spitting all over the place, and even the guys can’t keep up with our raunchiness.
But in the end… their stuff… and our stuff… all got banned… Suddenly, I feel like after five thousand years, we, the men and women of Central China, have finally achieved true equality!
Doctor Lian, what you’ve lost is just Dongguan, but we girls… we’ve lost the whole internet. You still have Las Vegas, Amsterdam, and damn Thailand, which is neither here nor there, but we girls truly have nothing left… Who do we even cry to? Sigh… the meat’s gone, and now in this vegetarian era, we’re left in tears.
Jiang Yan chuckled lightly and shook his head, looking at me. “Xiao Lan, time to go.” He turned and walked away.
“Oh.” I got off the bed, feeling a bit dizzy. Doctor Lian reached out to support me and tossed me a bottle of blood replenishment pills. “Take them quickly, or you’ll end up completely drained.”
Jiang Yan-senpai’s back stiffened for a moment. He turned around, his face darkening as he looked at me. “Doctor Lian has been starved for a long time. If you stay here any longer, it won’t just be a couple of bites like the ones I took.”
Doctor Lian laughed bitterly, then let go of me, spreading his arms and stepping back. I hurriedly swallowed a blood pill and quickly caught up with Jiang Yan-senpai.
As we exited Doctor Lian’s clinic, I still felt weak and dizzy. I leaned against the wall, suffering from blood loss. Speaking of which, the “technology” in the Immortal Domain is truly amazing. Although I didn’t get a clear look at how badly I was injured, I saw that nearly half my body was covered in blood. But now, my arm had fully recovered. I still remember the excruciating pain when I was conscious, like my arm had been chopped off. If Jiang Yan-senpai hadn’t stopped the bleeding, I would have passed out for sure. Not only did he stop the bleeding, but he must have also relieved the pain.
I’m really glad I notified Jiang Yan-senpai before going to find Feng Lingcan-senpai. Otherwise, if I had gone recklessly, Xuanyuan Chen and the others would have been retrieving my corpse by now. In the Immortal Domain, if you die outside a mission, no one saves you…
Jiang Yan-senpai took a few steps and seemed to notice I wasn’t keeping up. He turned back, and the moment he saw me, his face filled with frustration. He had been quite angry with me all day.
He strode back, raising his hand, clearly intending to flick my forehead again. I quickly covered my head. “Don’t hit me, don’t hit me! I’m already dizzy from anemia.”
A glimmer of concern flashed through his clear, ruby-red eyes. He withdrew his anger and reached out his hand. “Come on, I’ll carry you back.”
I froze, staring at his handsome face, which was now radiating an irresistible charm. My heart started pounding. I turned around and leaned against the wall, scratching at it. “Jiang Yan-senpai… can you tone down your allure…?”
His outstretched hand paused for a moment, and he adopted his scholarly posture, looking like he was about to give a long-winded lecture. “This is the natural charm I exude, just like the body odor you humans give off. Can you control your body odor? If you can’t resist my allure, you could always choose not to look at me.”
I massaged my forehead. “Fine… you win…”
“And, there’s one more thing I need to explain.” He raised one finger solemnly.
I looked at him, exasperated. “What now?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I only drank one mouthful of your blood! You’re anemic because of your injury! Do you have any idea how your blood was gushing out like a fountain back then?” He waved his hands dramatically, even mimicking the sound of a geyser. Damn it, he was getting more and more animated! “Whoosh—”
I squinted at him. Jiang Yan-senpai even added sound effects! Whoosh— Jiang Yan-senpai, once you start acting goofy, you really drive people crazy.
“Have you said enough?” I glared at him coldly.
He lowered his hands, his expression gradually turning serious. His right hand propped against the wall beside my face, and he gazed deeply into my eyes with an unusually intense look. “You really scared me. There absolutely won’t be a next time!” He pointed his left hand threateningly beneath my nose.
I looked at him apologetically, lowering my head under his angry and worried gaze. “I’m sorry… for making you worry.” This was the real him—the one who commands respect and trust. That’s why, when I went to find Feng Lingcan-senpai, the first person I thought of was him.
“As long as you understand.” He gently patted my head. “Wait here for me for a moment.” He turned and walked away, disappearing behind a door. As I watched his retreating figure, I realized that despite being so close to him just now, my heart hadn’t raced because of his allure. Why?
He returned, pushing a small cart that looked like a wheelchair. When he approached, I looked at him in confusion. “Jiang Yan-senpai, I think I’ve become immune to your charm.” I touched my chest. “My heart’s not racing anymore.”
A trace of frustration crossed his face, but then he smiled warmly. “That’s because I withdrew my charm.”
What?! That can be controlled?!
I was furious! Just moments ago, you said it was like body odor and couldn’t be controlled, and now you’re telling me you can?!
I shot him the most natural eye roll ever.
“Well… it’s time to go back.” He turned his head, pretending to look around nonchalantly, then pushed me onto the cart and moved behind me. I could hear him humming.
“Hmm~~~ hmm~~~” He was full of energy after drinking my blood! I rarely saw him this lively. Usually, he looked half-dead, always tired and yawning, as if he’d been sleep-deprived for years.
The cart squeaked as it rolled forward, with him pushing from behind. Along the way, the girls we passed all looked on in amazement. Jiang Yan-senpai didn’t even need to activate his charm; they already had hearts in their eyes and pink bubbles floating all around them.
I looked dejectedly at those girls’ admiring gazes. Hey, hey, hey, can’t you see me? It’s like I’ve become invisible, completely overshadowed by Jiang Yan-senpai’s handsomeness.
“Who’s that?”
“Who’s that guy?”
“Why have I never seen him before?”
I furrowed my brows and turned to look at Jiang Yan-senpai. He was still humming, completely at ease, as if he was used to this kind of attention from girls.
“Jiang Yan-senpai.”
“Hmm?” He looked down at me.
I scrutinized him. “Are you sure you turned off your charm system?”
He raised an eyebrow and once again adopted his scholarly demeanor. “Are you questioning me? Are you… jealous?”
I was stunned, staring at him in disbelief. He squinted, smiled, and I immediately felt a chill down my spine. “I didn’t say anything!” I stiffly turned my head away. Jiang Yan-senpai, you shameless jerk!
Perhaps because the crowd of girls was growing, Jiang Yan-senpai turned and led us into a bamboo grove. The winding paths in the woods gradually blocked those prying eyes and brought us into a peaceful, secluded world. It felt as if the only two people left in the world were me and him.
“Xiao Lan, was it really worth it for you to save Feng Lingcan?” he suddenly asked, his voice unusually serious.
“Do you think I wanted to?” I turned to look at him, but he appeared relieved. I turned back and touched my shoulder in frustration. “Plans can’t keep up with changes. The situation was urgent, and I didn’t have time to activate my shield before getting stabbed! I didn’t expect that getting hurt in that world would affect me here, too.”
Jiang Yan-senpai grew quiet. I turned to look at him again and saw that he was deep in thought, his expression extremely serious.
“Jiang Yan-senpai, what are you thinking about?” I asked.
He looked at me, frowning. “I’m searching for what kind of divine weapon could pierce your Rose Armor. The Rose Armor is an ancient relic; modern weapons can’t harm it.”
“So, the one who hurt me was using a divine weapon?!”
He nodded seriously, stopping in front of me. He crouched down and grabbed the handles of the cart, looking at me with an intense gaze. “Xiao Lan, I fear our enemies are not simple. From now on, we can’t trust anyone. Especially since you can exist in both worlds at the same time. That ability could be exploited for many things.”
His stern warning made me nervous. “You suspect the enemy is from the Immortal Domain?”
He frowned and looked at me deeply. “Demons from the Demon Realm don’t take human form.”
“Oh~~~ that explains the mask and the voice changer!”
He narrowed his eyes. “Voice changer?”
“Yeah, it was that kind of metallic voice, a mix of male and female tones. Special effects artists often use it for demonic gods in mythological films or aliens in sci-fi movies.”
He thought for a moment, then nodded. “It seems the Demon Realm is affecting their divine powers, preventing them from transforming. If they didn’t want to be recognized, they could transform.”
“What if they don’t want to transform?” I countered. Jiang Yan-senpai looked at me, puzzled. “Not want to?”
“Yeah, like, if I’m handsome or beautiful, why would I want to turn into an ugly monster?” I suddenly thought of someone. “If it were Fusu, he’d definitely think that way!”
“Right…” Jiang Yan-senpai laughed. “Fusu would rather die than lose his good looks. You may have a point. The ancient god clans are incredibly proud—too proud to transform into another species. Hmm… it looks like you’ve helped me narrow down the suspects.”
I looked at him in surprise. “You can figure out who they are?!”
He gave me a mysterious smile, stood up, and returned behind me, pushing the cart forward once more through the tranquil bamboo forest.
“If the clues are sufficient, it’s not hard to find them.” He spoke leisurely from behind me, as if he already had everything under control.
Hmph, I can say that too. If the clues are enough, even I could find them.
