"Now's not the time to break the fourth wall! Zhao Yan is in trouble! Be serious!"

"I don't know if we are going to make it in time," I muttered darkly. In a way, I was right. Before we could reach Zhao Yan's position, she was already under attack from Xu Wu Cheng, whose glowing red hand was poised to hit her from behind.

Instinctively realizing there was a threat, Zhao Yan spun away and managed to dodge Xu Wu Cheng's strike.

The both of them turned around at the same time, with Zhao Yan swinging her sword to slash her a.s.sailant, but Xu Wu Cheng jumped a step back. Reluctant to allow her prey to escape, Zhao Yan closed in with another strike, but Xu Wu Cheng deftly evaded the powerful blow. He landed on the ground in a crouch, skidding backward from his momentum.

Even without telepathy, from seeing the troubled frown on his handsome face, I could clearly guess what he was thinking.

She's stronger than Ji Yan. Perhaps she wasn't drugged?

Dude, it didn't matter whether Zhao Yan was drugged or not. She was still stronger than Ji Yan.

As Xu Wu Cheng tried to retreat, dodging yet another slash from Zhao Yan, a group of newcomers strolled into the gymnasium through the main entrance. The leader of the group stepped forward and took up a position next to Xu Wu Cheng to whisper into his ear.

While the red-haired vampire was still fighting Zhao Yan and dodging her blows. Yeah, figure that one out yourself.

"Stand down," the leader of the newcomers ordered. "Allow me…"

Xu Wu Cheng bowed and placed a hand over his shoulder in a respectful salute, steppingback obediently.

"Yes, sir."

I could see from my vantage view that it was a handsome dude with longish blue hair and some weird wing-like adornment above his left ear. A bat wing, to be exact. He reminded me of the beggar from this morning. Well, actually, he was the beggar from this morning.

Zhao Yan still hadn't realized his true ident.i.ty, however – a case of plot-induced stupidity. Fan Le Lao dashed across the gymnasium and crossed the distance in a single bound, charging at Zhao Yan. For some reason, she threw her sheath of her sword aside in order to grasp her weapon with both hands.

Apparently, she recognized him as a dangerous enemy. Even more so than Xu Wu Cheng.

Before she could grip the hilt with her left hand, however, Fan Le Lao was already in her face. He grabbed hold of her sword when she slashed at him in reflex, holding the blade tightly.

"He can touch my sword?"

Surprised, Zhao Yan recoiled, realizing that her current opponent was far stronger than she had originally expected. Fan Le Lao merely smiled.

"Thanks to your sword, I can spill my blood."

His fingers squeezed the sharp blade and his flesh was broken, blood trickling both metal and hand to drip onto the floor. The moment the maninfused fluids touched the floor, they transformed into barbed vines that snaked out and rapidly expanded across the interior of the gymnasium. Zhao Yan's eyes widened when she spotted the th.o.r.n.y appendages.

His blood can turn into blackthorn trees?

As I said, I didn't need to be a telepath to tell what they were thinking. It was all so predictable. Unfortunately, Zhao Yan wasn't able to predict what came next and she found herself surrounded on all sides by the blackthorn branches.

Fan Le Lao released her sword and stepped back, taking up position some distance away to allow his th.o.r.n.y vines to capture his target. Closing his eyes, he focused his mana into the th.o.r.n.y vine spells and drove them into a frenzy, the blood-infused appenddages growing at an insane rate.

But it was useless.

With a single slash, Zhao Yan cut through all of the th.o.r.n.y vines, freeing herself from the plant-like cage. She almost escaped, only for the vines to rapidly regenerate and wrap around her again. She desperately hacked the vines apart, but they surrounded her, stubbornly tangling themselves around her limbs. She flailed about, but her movements only served to tighten the restraints.

The more I cut them, the more aggressive they become. What's going on?

Her thoughts were visibly spelled out on her pretty face even as the vines coiled around her limbs, locking her movements and restricting her. With a sudden jerk, the vines yanked her upward, causing her to cry out in pain and shock. She lost her grip on her sword, which clattered uselessly on the floor. The vines continued to grow and surround her, trapping her within a cage.

With a satisfied expression, Fan Le Lao raised his hands and closed his fingers, recalling most of his vines and leaving just enough to bind the now unconscious Zhao Yan, who was gently lowered to the ground, beside her dropped weapon.

How anticlimactic. I mean, I understood that Fan Le Lao was strong, but even so…to hype up Zhao Yan as this genius hunter, only for her to get defeated in less than thirty seconds? What the f.u.c.k, dude?

Then again, what did I expect from a shoujo manhua? Fight scenes were not the focus. The toxic, cheesy romance was.

Turning away, Fan Le Lao issued a single order to his minions.

"Bring her."

"To where?"

I had finally caught up with the b.l.o.o.d.y vampires, having had to run all the way across the courtyard to the gymnasium. Rossetti and Kufa also came to a stop, pausing momentarily to catch their breaths.

Xu Wu Cheng smirked when he caught sight of us. "You again. And this time, you've brought your friends with you."

"Yahallo!" I waved at him. "Still as unaccomplished as ever, I see."

My two friends burst out laughing while Xu Wu Cheng bristled at my joke (basically his name Wu Cheng was h.o.m.ophonic with unaccomplished in Chinese), but one look from Fan Le Lao silenced him and he sullenly stepped back. The leader of the young vampires stepped forward to greet us.

"It's the second time we've met, isn't it?"

"You…you're from this morning!" Rossetti gasped, recognizing him.

"I see." Kufa scowled. "You camouflaged yourself just to infiltrate the school and seek out its weak points and find an entry."

"Nothing so elaborate." Fan Le Lao waved his hand dismissively. "I only intended to play the role as a beggar, nothing more. I didn't do it to scope out the defenses of your school. Not when I've already left everything to Yi Tai over here."

"Uh, okay. That's the strange hobby you have there." I glanced at the followers who were gathered around him. "If you're this loaded, then why bother begging in front of the school? You could have just asked your minions for money. I'm sure Xu Wu Cheng over there is a lot richer than most of the students here. As unaccomplished as he is, he is still a Fu Er Dai (second generation nouveau riche), after all. He can lend you his parents' money."

"Stop making fun of my name!"

Fan Le Lao chuckled, ignoring his subordinate's outburst. "I just thought it was interesting to see how mages react to people they think are lower than themselves. It is always satisfying to confirm my view that most arrogant young masters and mistresses of the so-called elite cla.s.s are superficial sc.u.m."

"And you found yourself the exception," I muttered, glancing at the unconscious Zhao Yan and wondering how my friends and I were going to save her. Fan Le Lao smiled.

"Well…probably. But you and your friends have also surprised me. You've definitely surpa.s.sed my expectations."

Fan Le Lao then stared at Rossetti, who began to feel very uncomfortable under his gaze. She reflexively hid behind me, using my body as a s.h.i.+eld to protect her from his sight.

"What's the deal with that guy? He's so creepy."

"Rossetti Picket, right?" Fan Le Lao's smile grew wider. "You're one of us, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not!" she snapped. "I'm not…not bloodthirsty monsters like you! I don't go around killing others for my own selfish desires!"

"Oh, but you are." Fan Le Lao's gaze grew even more intense, and I instinctively placed myself between him and Rossetti. She was right, the guy was creepy. "I can sense the mana in you. The blood that flows in your veins is the same as ours."

"No, it's not!"

"You can deny it all you want, but one day you will discover that you won't be able to resist it."

"Liar!" Rossetti shouted. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"He's trying to confound us," Kufa said. "Don't listen to him."

"Hmm…I guess it's pointless to tell you now. However, my invitation is genuine." Fan Le Lao offered his hand in a gesture of sincerity. All I could see was a viper barely able to conceal his fangs, though. "I would like to welcome you three. What do you say to the idea of joining us…to becoming vampires like us?"

"I'll have to say no," I replied instantly. I didn't even need to think. The guy must be crazy if he thought we were going to join his Crimson Blood Demonic Night Clan and turn into insane bloodsuckers. That would suck.

"Never! Definitely never!" Rossetti snapped, almost stamping her foot and acting all cute. Was she trying to act like an anime character or something?

"I have a suggestion." Kufa smiled politely, but I could tell that it was a mocking façade. "How about you take your offer and shove it up your a.s.s?"

"That's disappointing." Fan Le Lao sighed dramatically and shook his head. "I see a lot of potential in the three of you. You are all representatives of Saint Teresa Academy…well, Richard was the representative of Jing Tian Academy, but the point is that you are all elites of the elites. Cream of the crop. Not only that, you're not as hollow and arrogant as those other condescending schoolmates of yours. If you were to only shrug off those shackles of deluded morality and the illusion of virtue, you will reach the pinnacle of the magic world if you were to embrace our blood magic."

"Uh…and how did you arrive at that conclusion? You don't even know us well. Everyone has different compatibility with different kinds of magic and different affinities with different elements."

"I told you." Fan Le Lao's smile was sending chills down my spine. "You are the cream of the crop. You're different from the others. I can see the potential in you. I've always been a good judge of character. That's the reason why I rule over others."

Wow, his arrogance was just insufferable.

"And as I said, Miss Rossetti Picket over there is one of us. You might deny it all you want, but I can sense it. The same blood in our bodies also runs in her veins. One day you will seek us out."

"Never!" Rossetti insisted.

"Whether Rossetti becomes a vampire or not, that doesn't matter. She still won't join the Crimson Blood Demonic Night Clan." I was standing protectively in front of her. "I don't care if she has the same blood as you all, we are not handing her over to the likes of you."

"Richard's right." Kufa stepped forward, his katana gripped in both hands. "No matter what happens, Rossetti is our friend. Our comrade. We won't abandon her. And we won't join you!"

"You guys…" Rossetti looked as if she was about to cry. Not wanting to deal with the cheesiness, I moved on hastily.

"Anyway, do you mind letting Nan Gong Zhao Yan go? If you're not planning on killing her, why don't you just leave her here?"

Even though I knew what the reply would be, I still ventured the suggestion in a cheeky manner. As I expected, Xu Wu Cheng scoffed.

"Why don't you get lost instead?"

"We're here to rescue her." I jerked my chin toward the unconscious Zhao Yan. "I can't let a friend fall into the hands of a vampire clan that just ma.s.sacred a bunch of students and teachers in my school. That's just common sense, isn't it?"

"Isn't it common sense to run away when you're outnumbered and outmatched by a much stronger enemy?" Xu Wu Cheng retorted irritably. "There's over thirty of us and only three of you. Do you really think you can…?"

"What makes you think I'm outnumbered and outmatched?" I replied with a grin.

Then Vermillion Phoenix burst into the gymnasium, screeching as he set everything ablaze.

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