The man leaned there listlessly, watching the group of bloodthirsty vampires in the center of the courtyard. There was no anger or fear in his eyes, only a hint of mockery born of indifference.
Soon, K noticed Qin Chu's gaze. He was taken aback when he saw Qin Chu's empty hands, but then a smile appeared on his lips, and he walked towards Qin Chu.
K had barely taken two steps when there was a slight commotion at the edge of the courtyard.
The commotion was initially inconspicuous, just a soft gasp from a lady. But soon, one vampire after another turned their gaze in that direction.
In the southeast corner of the yard, a little girl of about five or six years old stood there. She was half-hidden behind the flower bushes, curiously watching everything in the yard.
The girl's unusual scent indicated that she was a human who had unwittingly stumbled into a vampire banquet.
Chapter 36, Second Story (11)
"Oh, damn it! It's a human? A living human?"
A loud curse rang out, and Qin Chu raised an eyebrow and looked over.
He recognized the voice; it belonged to a parent he saw every day. This woman was usually very elegant and exceptionally loving towards her child.
But now, the look of disgust on her face made it seem as if she wasn't seeing a human who had stumbled into a banquet, but a live chicken that had jumped onto the table.
Qin Chu turned his gaze to the little girl beside him, and his brows immediately furrowed.
Born in the interstellar age, Qin Chu had only ever seen humans in this state in history books.
The girl was as thin as a stick, wearing a frayed linen dress that looked like a tattered rag wrapped around her body. She clutched a worn-out ball in her arms, and her small face had eyes that looked so big they seemed about to pop out.
At this moment, those eyes were looking at the glamorous vampires around them with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
Still dazed by the blood they had just tasted, many of the vampires present unconsciously began to move closer to the little girl.
Under the watchful eyes of a group of vampires, the skinny little girl chasing the ball was like a lamb that had strayed into a pack of wolves, with almost no power to resist.
The vampire closest to her had clearly lost all reason. He disregarded his pride in elegance and etiquette, grabbed the girl by the collar, and lifted her up.
Qin Chu couldn't help himself and jumped up from his seat.
Noah beeped in Qin Chu's mind, trying to calm him down, but apart from the notification sound, he couldn't say anything else.
No one knew Qin Chu better than Noah. It was simply impossible for him to watch a child be sucked to death.
"Noah, is this girl merely a data entity, or does she possess human consciousness?"
Noah heard Qin Chu's cold voice.
At this moment, telling a lie could have resolved Qin Chu's worries, but Noah hesitated repeatedly before saying, "I'm sorry, sir, I can't break through the mainframe's disguise and make that judgment right now."
Qin Chu clenched his fingers but did not answer.
The terrified little girl finally came to her senses and began screaming and struggling.
Such struggles did not elicit sympathy from the vampires; instead, more and more vampires gathered around, eager to get a share of the spoils.
Duke Tess, who was standing next to Qin Chu, smiled and turned to Qin Chu, saying, "It was just a minor incident. If it made everyone happy, then it's a good result."
He had hoped to gain the prince's approval, but instead met Qin Chu's icy gaze.
Noah couldn't help but want to cry.
Shut up, you idiot! If you keep yelling, we'll all die!
At that moment, the vampire holding the little girl cried out in pain and suddenly threw her away.
Everyone was startled. Their excellent eyesight allowed them to see that the spot where the girl had scratched the vampire had developed a bright red burn. The wound continued to spread until it covered the vampire's entire palm.
The little girl fell to the ground, and several beads that gleamed coldly in the darkness rolled out of her palm.
The commotion at the banquet intensified, unlike the earlier whispers tinged with greed and desire. The vampires' eyes gleamed with fearful rage: "Silverware?"
Why would domesticated humans have silverware in their hands?
Duke Tess, the host of the banquet, could no longer sit still and quickly walked over.
The vampires who had surrounded her earlier, their minds clouded by the blood, cleared for a moment, but their gazes toward the little girl were filled with anger and wariness. Enraged by the burns on his hands, one of the vampires lost his mind and lunged again, grabbing the girl.
But no one dared to touch the three rolling silver beads.
Under the gaze of the vampires, the three silver beads that fell from the little girl's hand bounced and rolled. Two of them stopped slowly in the middle, but one stubbornly kept bouncing and then hit a pair of shiny riding boots.
The owner of the riding boots bent down and picked up the silver beads with his fingers. Although his skin was immediately burned, the man clearly didn't care and happily put the silver beads into his pocket.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the vampire magically produced a silver gun and pushed a silver bead into the chamber.
Then he looked up at the little girl and said, "The reward is good, I accept your commission."
With that lazy, chuckling voice, the dark muzzle of the gun was pointed at the vampire holding the girl.
"hunter?!"
A vampire screamed, and an empty space immediately appeared around K.
At this banquet exclusively for vampires, not only did a human accidentally wander in, but a vampire hunter also appeared?
The commotion in the courtyard grew even greater.
The mother immediately scooped up her running child. Many people who had seen K at the Prince's Castle began to look towards Qin Chu.
Seeing the familiar gun in K's hand, Qin Chu's eyebrows twitched slightly. He reached out and touched his waist, but as expected, he found nothing.
Qin Chu looked calmly at K. This man, who was pointing a gun at someone else, even had the nerve to turn his head and wink at him.
"Would you like to experience my marksmanship?"
K looked at the vampire holding the girl again. Despite doing something as dangerous as pointing a gun at someone, his voice remained completely calm, sounding as gentle as if he were teasing an old friend.
The vampire being pointed at was nervous, but clearly still had some sense.
Instead of putting the girl down immediately, he lifted her up and held her in front of his chest, covering her vital heart.
The hunter simply clicked his tongue, his voice tinged with helplessness and tolerance: "Brother, you're a bit foolish. I've already taken my payment, why would I care about my employer's life or death?"
The atmosphere in the room was frozen for a long time because of his outrageous remark.
Even the little girl who was looking at K with hopeful eyes was stunned, clearly not expecting the hunter to say such a thing.
Moreover, seeing the hunter's finger tighten on the trigger, every creature present felt a chill run down their spine, because this illogical statement was clearly taken seriously.
"K, put down the gun."
Qin Chu spoke up.
Upon hearing Qin Chu's words, K's movements froze for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal.
His lips were still upturned, but his eyes narrowed, revealing a faint displeasure.
But after the prince spoke up, the other vampires present all breathed a sigh of relief.
It's no secret that Qin Chu is cursed, nor is it a secret that he has just embraced a vampire hunter. All vampires know that they have absolute control over low-level vampires created in this way.
The vampire holding the girl was no longer afraid. Instead, he smiled, opened his mouth wide, and bit down hard on the girl, revealing his teeth.
Qin Chu tightened his grip, and the gleaming white fangs sprang out once more.
Noah cried as he began preparing to be ejected from the world.
Just then, a huge roar suddenly rang out in the western sky, like fireworks or a deafening thunderclap.
The roar was so close that many of the vampires with sensitive hearing were temporarily deafened.
With a deafening roar, a silver cannonball hurtled towards them. It flew into the air above the castle, then exploded, scattering flames that illuminated half the sky.
Qin Chu was startled and looked over, his eyes blinded by the flames. Within the crimson light, strange rays of light flowed and refracted.
Suddenly his gaze sharpened, and he shouted sternly, "Find cover!"
The vampires, dressed in their finest attire, were clearly taken aback by this turn of events and stood frozen in the courtyard.
The first burst of light splashed onto the rocks or landed in the cups they were holding. The vampires looked down curiously and saw the fire gradually die down, while something else mixed in with the fire became bright in the moonlight.
At first, it was just a splash of silver liquid in the air, then the liquid solidified and turned into familiar, terrifying silver beads.
Screams erupted instantly.
The vampires, who had been standing frozen in place, finally sprang into action, scattering across the courtyard like headless flies. Under extreme danger, all the elegance and composure this race prided itself on shattered. Even the strong women, remembering their children, frantically tripped over their skirts, collapsed to the ground, and wailed wildly.
In just a few seconds, the courtyard, which had been filled with laughter and joy, was completely thrown into chaos.
The elaborate costumes, flowers, and empty wine glasses tower, illuminated by the firelight in the night sky, exuded an absurd desolation, the whole scene resembling the impending doom of the vampires.
Just as the second wave of splashing silver beads was about to fall, a pair of black wings suddenly appeared above the castle, completely protecting the entire courtyard.
With this brief respite, the vampires who had been fleeing in all directions regained some of their senses.
"They are the prince's allies!"
"Quickly! Get to the Prince's side!"
The silver beads that melted in the flames landed on the wings that Qin Chu had raised with his abilities, and instead of being bounced off, they melted into them.
This stuff is extremely harmful to vampires. Qin Chu could clearly feel something burning through his skin, directly melting into his flesh, and continuing to burn deeper inside.
Ignoring the burning pain, Qin Chu coldly said to Duke Tess beside him, "Open the door and let them in!"
Qin Chu held on to his wings until the last vampire in the courtyard tumbled and crawled into Duke Tess's castle before slowly withdrawing his power.
He glanced at her coldly, saw the girl from before hide in the flower bushes and run away quickly, then turned and entered the castle.
For the vampires present, this night was an unforgettable experience.
Although only two shells were thrown from outside the courtyard, the terrified vampires didn't flee back to their homes until dawn was approaching.
Qin Chu did not return immediately.
He first looked in the direction from which the cannonballs came, but found nothing, before returning to his castle.
When Qin Chu returned to the castle, his clothes were soaked with blood, emitting a strong stench of blood and the smell of burnt flesh.
The wings that unfurled at Duke Tess's castle, though a vampire's ability, were also an extension of Qin Chu's body. The molten silver that landed on the wings was essentially landing on Qin Chu's body.
The butler hurriedly opened the bedroom door for Qin Chu: "Your Highness, your injuries are severe. Let me bandage you."
"No need." Qin Chu refused coldly, standing by the door. "I need to rest, don't bother me."
With that, Qin Chu closed the door and locked it from the inside.