Chapter 17: Chapter Sixteen: Awakening

At midnight, returning to the hotel room, Su Qing was completely transformed: his face was flushed and lustrous, his eyes bright and spirited, appearing full of vigor, the exact opposite of his earlier gaunt, listless departure.

This is the astonishing aspect of a vampire's self-healing ability: with enough blood, it can give a person a tremendous change in a short time.

"Aside from feeling a bit uneasy in my stomach, it's still quite delicious." Su Qing recalled the recent feast, unable to stop smacking his lips.

The two horses, each as tall as a person, together held nearly a hundred liters of blood; aside from the one liter specially reserved for Selinna, he drank every drop of the rest.

He was, after all, a vampire for the first time, and had no idea whether his enormous appetite was normal.

Anyway, after the first sip, his taste buds were instantly conquered by the blood; even his originally weary spirit became extremely comfortable, his soul seeming to float to the clouds, carefree, blissful, satisfied—so intoxicating that one could not pull oneself away.

If one had to sum up this feeling in a single sentence, it would be: "Wow, I feel like life has reached its peak, its climax!"

Fortunately, Su Qing's will was firm; after merely indulging for a moment, he forced himself to sober up.

Immediately, he sensed that his blood vessels had turned into high-speed tracks, his blood into a bullet train, racing wildly along them.

And with the blood rushing so fast, his body began to heat up; under his gaze, his formerly corpse-like body started to fill out at a visible speed.

By the time he had drained both horses completely, Su Qing had regained his flushed complexion and was healthier than ever before.

When the recollection ended, Su Qing, holding a bottle full of fresh blood, walked to the bedside.

Selinna on the bed lay with her eyes tightly closed, peaceful and tranquil; Su Qing paused, then reached out to part her soft lips and carefully poured the blood from the bottle into her mouth.

Soon, the entire bottle of blood had been poured down.

Su Qing set down the bottle, took out a handkerchief, intending to wipe the blood from Selinna's lips.

But before the handkerchief could touch her, the person on the bed suddenly opened her eyes and stared straight at him.

"Eh!"

Su Qing's hand froze midair, he gave an embarrassed smile, and said, "You're awake."

Selinna's eyelid twitched, she turned her gaze away from Su Qing, and softly said, "Mm! Thank you."

Actually, she had woken up ten minutes earlier.

She merely felt flustered upon discovering her clothes had been changed, and coincidentally Su Qing returned just then.

To avoid embarrassment, Selinna simply closed her eyes and continued pretending to be unconscious.

Subsequently, Su Qing's meticulous feeding made her both shy and flustered, yet she could still keep up the act.

Until Su Qing reached out as if to help wipe her mouth, she could no longer keep up the pretense.

Since her family was killed when she was eighteen, she had devoted her heart to slaughtering werewolves for revenge, and even now, after more than five hundred years, she had never been this intimate with someone of the opposite sex.

She glanced sideways at the man beside the bed, and her usual composure vanished.

Su Qing felt a bit panicked, his hand hanging in midair, wondering whether he should wipe or not.

However, considering that she had awakened, it would be inappropriate for him to continue.

It would be better to give the handkerchief to Selinna so she could wipe herself.

Thinking this, he simply handed over the handkerchief, saying, "Here, there's blood on the corner of your mouth!"

"Mm." Though Selinna felt shy inside, she could still control her expression, replied softly, sat up, and reached out to take the handkerchief.

Due to the angle, their hands inevitably touched when they exchanged the handkerchief.

Su Qing had no particular reaction, but Selinna's expression startled, and she suddenly grabbed his hand.

"Hey, what's the problem?" Su Qing sounded somewhat puzzled.

The moment Selinna grabbed Su Qing's hand, she knew her feeling was not mistaken, and she said with a somewhat complex tone, "You've become a vampire!"

"How do you know?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bite you."

"I... I know you didn't mean it; I let you bite me willingly, and I have no regrets." Su Qing didn't know how she was certain he had become a vampire, but since it saved him the trouble of explaining, he saw no reason to deny it.

"... Thank you!" Watching Su Qing say without hesitation, "I have no regrets," Selinna's eyelid twitched; a warmth she had never felt before spread through her heart, her tone unconsciously shifting dramatically, becoming exceedingly tender—so much that hearing it made one want to get drunk.

Su Qing gazed at the girl holding his hand, her eyes full of tenderness, and instantly understood: this was an opportunity—if he seized it, he could win her; if he missed it, they would remain merely friends.

At that moment, there was nothing to hesitate about; he directly reversed his grip, seized Selinna's small hand, half-sat on the bed's edge, and with a pull drew her into his arms.

"Mm!"

Selinna's body stiffened, then she struggled hard, but fearing she might hurt Su Qing if she used too much force.

Thus, after struggling for a while, she only sank deeper, ending up leaning directly into Su Qing's embrace.

Seeing this, Su Qing realized he must now use action to completely open Selinna's heart.

He then gave a light smile, lowered his head, and boldly met the flower in full bloom.

The flower, kissed by the spring breeze, quivers its stamen, sheds its leaves, finally releases its hold, embraces, and undoes its garment.

Only then does the flower reveal its true appearance on Mount Lu.

Truly speaking:

Peaks gather like a throng, waves surge like fury, and the mountains and rivers' inside and out lead to the Tong Pass road.

Gazing afar at the Western Capital, without hesitation, at the sorrowful place where the Qin and Han dynasties once passed.

Kantebolei lies in the borderlands of Dayingguo; this area has many desolate mountains and ridges, few travelers pass, and it is secluded and quiet.

After buying horses and sucking their blood at night, Su Qing went to the barren mountains to bury corpses and erase traces, when he unintentionally discovered a winding narrow path, not knowing where it led.

But, being a vampire for the first time and fearing discovery, Su Qing resolutely set foot on the path, pressing forward without hesitation.

Along the way he found the path undeveloped, not only narrow and difficult to walk, but also overgrown with weeds; yet he did not retreat, pressing further in, and finally discovered that the path's end was a spring pool, with clear water trickling forth.

Upon seeing such a place of clear waters and lovely scenery, Su Qing's initial anxiety about drinking blood inexplicably eased; he simply took off his clothes and jumped into the spring to play happily.

Because his movements were somewhat large, the clear water in the spring splashed out, soaking the clothes nearby.

But Su Qing was having so much fun that he paid no mind to his mere clothes, moving back and forth in the water like a joyful fish, feeling completely unrestrained.

He played so long that he lost track of time, until the horizon showed a white fish belly, only then did he finally come to his senses, muttering to himself.

Dawn had broken, and as expected, my heart remained just as it was in childhood, loving to play.

I've heard that keeping a childlike heart can slow aging.

I had only ever seen diving on TV before; now I finally have a chance to try it—I wonder what it feels like.

Su Qing was a person of action; he immediately used both hands and feet to clamber ashore, took a vigorous stride forward, and with a fierce leap plunged straight into the spring, sending up a spray of clear spring water.

With that leap, his whole body submerged in the spring, reaching straight to the bottom of the spring eye.

What kind of fish is this?

Su Qing opened his eyes at the bottom of the spring and was astonished to discover many strange fish living here.

These fish were plump and white, but their tails were thin and tiny, making them very cute.

Astonished, he intended to catch one or two to take back and have a look.

But what he hadn't expected was that these fish swam with incredible speed, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

What the heck?

Su Qing never imagined he would miss; his competitive spirit flared, and he chased after the fish.

After several minutes of pursuit, he finally discovered that many fish had gathered together and were swimming into a crevice at the bottom of the spring.

Seeing this, Su Qing realized he couldn't catch them, shook his head, and gave up the idea of continuing to play.

He then waved his arms, surfaced, clambered ashore, dressed, and headed back along the path, disappearing into the morning shadows before long, leaving no trace.