VAP - Chapter 56
Chapter 56: The Supreme Sage Hopelessly Obsessed with Beauty (15)
Lord Nai Yin’s “bloodlust period” lasted for about one holy day.
After that, she finally settled down a bit.
But that didn’t mean Yue Du was no longer a soulless blood-supplying machine—the vampire form wasn’t limited to the bloodlust period.
Although the frequency did decrease, as long as Nai Yin wanted to, she could grow her fangs and black horns to enjoy Yue Du’s sweet, fragrant blood.
...Though Yue Du herself couldn’t taste the sweetness of her own blood.
Different diets, nothing to be done about it.
While Yue Du was peacefully lazing about, Leo’s treatment concluded. Freed from the Abyss Beast’s curse, the Empire’s God of War was reinvigorated, like a mighty lion with a sleek, glossy coat.
Before returning to the border battlefield that haunted his dreams, the warrior, now back at his peak, came to bid Nai Yin farewell.
Given that he was no longer as slovenly and disheveled as before, Lord Nai Yin granted him an audience.
“I don’t know how to thank you, my lord.” Leo bowed sincerely, his back bent for a long time. “Without you, I would never have been able to return to the battlefield. My life would have been mired in pain, like being sunk in an eternal night.”
Nai Yin was uninterested. “Oh.”
Then she added, “I told you, you should be thanking Yue.”
“Yes, thank you, Lady Galor!” Leo turned and offered another sincere bow.
Nai Yin’s lips curled in satisfaction. Yue Du had reason to suspect she just wanted to hear the Lion God of War call her “Lady Galor.” So scheming.
Leo continued, “This is a life-saving grace, a debt of rebirth. I owe you both. If ever you need me in the future, I, Leo, will not hesitate.”
“Though I can’t imagine what I’d need you for, I’ll remember your words,” Nai Yin said with a wave of her hand. “Go on.”
The Lion God of War departed, full of vigor. A tuft of golden hair on the back of his head bounced defiantly with his every step.
Watching his retreating figure, Yue Du sighed. As expected, villains and protagonists received different treatment.
For the protagonist, it was: “I’ll give you my life and become your most loyal underling.”
For the villain, it was: “I owe you a favor, and I’ll definitely repay it someday.”
Was a bewitchingly beautiful Dharma Saint really less convincing than a boy who was still growing up? Yue Du was thoroughly perplexed.
“What are you looking at?” Nai Yin asked.
Yue Du replied, “The back of his head. There’s a tuft of hair sticking up. It’s quite interesting.”
Nai Yin followed her gaze and, sure enough, saw the tuft of golden hair.
Lord Nai Yin looked at her own smooth, flowing silver hair and fell into deep thought.
Could it be that Yue liked hair that stuck up? Or did she like golden hair?
The urge to dye and perm her hair stirred restlessly.
Yue Du felt a headache coming on. “I’m not, I don’t, don’t overthink it.”
To add credibility to her denial, she gently stroked her host’s beautiful hair and said, “Believe me, no one is more beautiful than you.”
Nai Yin: “Just no one?”
Yue Du: “...Alright. I mean, no human, vampire, sea-dweller, or magical beast is more beautiful than you.”
Only then was Nai Yin satisfied.
Yue Du should have let go after stroking Nai Yin’s silver hair, but she couldn’t resist smoothing it down again, watching as her host squinted her eyes in contentment, like a large, snow-white cat.
In the last world, hadn’t she thought Qi Jiu was like a large, pure-black cat?
Yue Du felt a strange sense of guilt.
But she still forced herself to find comfort: As expected of the same being, they’re both so cat-like.
After that, life went on as usual.
During this time, the protagonist, Abio, was also working diligently. He successfully advanced to the rank of junior mage using the treasure hidden in the mountains behind the academy, earning a small reputation for himself.
Although he had fewer resources than the Abio in the original plot, his advancement speed was even faster.
“I suspect he’s been reborn. Whether it’s knowing in advance that he would meet Leo, searching for treasure in the back mountains, or his incredibly fast cultivation speed, it all points to this possibility.”
So said Yue Du, who was once well-versed in the scripts of various web novel adaptations.
“Or perhaps it’s because his aptitude is truly excellent. If he didn’t even have that, how could he be the protagonist?” Nai Yin proposed another possibility.
Both of them thought the former was more likely.
They had already established their future course of action: keep a close eye on the protagonist’s movements. If what he was about to do was related to a major plot point, they would nip it in the bud. If it wasn’t a plot point, they would pretend they saw nothing and let the protagonist grow stronger.
“If he can’t find other cultivation resources on his own, I’ll just deliver them right to him,” Nai Yin said. “I’ll pile them on him until he becomes a Dharma Saint if I have to.”
The subtext was: do everything possible to extend the protagonist’s life. Her system wouldn’t be leaving this small world for at least a few hundred years.
Yue Du: “...”
You’re the strongest, so you call the shots.
Things seemed to be moving in a positive direction. Yue Du’s attitude gradually softened, and she no longer maintained her distance at all times as she had in the beginning.
On one occasion, just as Nai Yin’s sharp fangs pierced her skin, she even allowed the half-vampire to embrace her as they fell onto the bed.
Their two beautifully curved bodies lay pressed together, a trickle of blood flowing from a slender, snow-white neck, staining the light-colored sheets red.
Although Yue Du quickly pushed her host away after the fangs were withdrawn, acting as if she had just realized what she’d done, she changed the sheets herself with feigned calmness.
...She didn’t let the servants do it.
Nai Yin reverted to her human form and smiled, confident of her victory.
This was progress that would have been unimaginable before, wasn’t it?
Until one day, Tina came to report on the day’s affairs.
“Sherry from the collection room is clamoring to see you, my lord,” Tina said, frowning. “She says if you don’t come see her, she’ll send a message to her father and tell him how you’ve been mistreating her.”
“...” Nai Yin asked blankly, “Who’s Sherry?”
Tina said, “She’s that girl from the sea tribe, the third daughter of the Merman King.”
Yue Du detected a different meaning in her words. She put down her quill and raised an eyebrow. “Collection room?”
Tina suddenly fell silent as a cicada in winter.
Nai Yin: “Uh.”
Yue Du recalled the cup of sea tribe blood Nai Yin had drunk on the first day of her bloodlust period, then considered the implications of what Tina had just said.
Sherry of the sea tribe, clamoring to see Nai Yin, and seemingly having stayed in the castle for a long time.
A smile appeared on her face, her tone calm. “So, have I missed something?”
Nai Yin: “...”
And so, Yue Du learned about the so-called collection room.
Lord Nai Yin had a collection room, located in the building closest to her castle.
It housed a variety of creatures, living and dead, animal and plant.
Without exception, they were all considered the most beautiful members of their respective species.
There were also living, intelligent beings from the sea tribe and magical beasts inside. Their presence there was mostly voluntary.
It wasn’t because Nai Yin was particularly kind or considerate of her collection’s feelings, but because she disliked hearing their noise and seeing them struggle—it ruined the aesthetic.
In short, these beautiful creatures lived in the vast collection room. The treatment was excellent, with food and drink provided, and occasionally, special requests were met. Their job was to be admired by the castle’s owner, like animals in a zoo.
Sherry of the sea tribe was one of them.
As the daughter of the Merman King, she naturally wanted for nothing. The reason she was willing to stay here was that she had fallen in love with the continent’s number one Dharma Saint at first sight.
At a conference of the four tribes’ powerhouses over a decade ago, Princess Sherry, who had been brought along by her father, laid eyes on the human race’s strongest expert, Nai Yin Galor. She was instantly smitten, nearly clinging to her father’s tail and begging for an inter-tribal marriage.
The Merman King thought this was an excellent idea. What was not to like about winning over a powerful human expert?
He had heard that the number one Dharma Saint liked beautiful creatures. His daughter was so lovely, she would surely catch her eye.
So the Merman King subtly expressed this intention to Nai Yin.
Nai Yin: “Rejected.”
Sherry asked in disbelief, why?
Nai Yin: “You want a reason?”
The reason was that she didn’t want her. Becoming Lady Galor was impossible. Nai Yin was accustomed to looking at pretty things, not looking to satisfy her lust.
In this regard, her heart was as still as water.
Sherry settled for second best and asked to be a maid.
Nai Yin rejected her even more swiftly.
The maids in the castle weren’t just for show. Each was responsible for a specific task and had reached the pinnacle of skill in their respective domestic domains.
And what could a mermaid princess do? She was the one who needed to be served, wasn’t she?
Having been rejected twice in a row, Sherry was heartbroken. She burst into tears, clinging to her father’s tail and refusing to let go.
The Merman King was at a loss. He said they could find any random task for her; he was getting old and couldn’t bear to see the younger generation cry in front of him.
Nai Yin said coldly, “Oh.”
What did that have to do with her?
In the end, it was the Merman King who offered up a great many benefits to get his daughter a place in the collection room.
As a beauty-obsessed person with a peculiar way of thinking, Lord Nai Yin enjoyed looking at pretty things from different species. Whenever she remembered, she would take a stroll through the collection room to see her collection.
Sherry stayed in the collection room’s aquarium. However, having been pampered her whole life, she found the environment difficult to get used to. Every so often, she would have to return to the sea for a while before coming back to be a collectible.
The people in the castle were also helpless. They had to set up a special spell to restrict Sherry to the collection room while she was in the castle. If she wanted to come and go, she had to be escorted by the captain of the knights.
Otherwise, if word got out that the castle of the number one Dharma Saint could be freely entered and exited by other tribes, it would be a great loss of face.
Ever since Yue Du appeared, Nai Yin had never gone to the collection room again. In fact, she had completely forgotten about its existence.
And now, Sherry had arrived.
She had been waiting in the collection room for several days without a visit from the Dharma Saint and had started to cause a ruckus.
Tina had no choice but to come and ask for instructions. After all, since it involved the Merman King, it was not a matter she could decide on her own.
After learning the whole story, Yue Du wore a faint, knowing smile.
Nai Yin: “...” My little rose, don’t smile like that, you’re scaring me!
Lord Galor truly didn’t remember this fish. She had never paid her much mind during her previous visits to the collection room. After all, there were plenty of pretty little things there; she wasn’t lacking one fish.
Nai Yin peeked at Yue Du.
Yue Du’s expression was placid, as if she didn’t find it a big deal. “What’s wrong?”
In truth, she felt a little upset, a vague, sour feeling she couldn’t quite name. But on second thought, it was quite unreasonable.
It wasn’t like she and Nai Yin were anything to each other. Besides, this had all happened before she even arrived. Yue Du told herself she had no reason to be unhappy about it.
Nai Yin looked at her and said thoughtfully, “You’re in a bad mood.”
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