VAP - Chapter 69
Chapter 69: The Supreme Sage Hopelessly Obsessed with Beauty (28)
Nai Yin Galor was an existence detached from the war.
The war between the magical beasts and the Empire continued to rage. More and more practitioners were sent to the ever-receding front lines, and the emperor repeatedly sent envoys to persuade her...
But persuasion was useless. Nai Yin clearly had no intention of getting involved in the mess.
However, the castle master's attitude didn't represent the thoughts of everyone else in her domain.
Ordinary people wouldn't get involved, but practitioners would. Over the past two days, a succession of graceful attendants had come to tender their resignations.
In truth, given their situation, they could have lived out their days peacefully in the castle. Even if the human race fell to the magical beasts, what reckless beast would dare cause trouble for the First Dharma Saint?
Despite this, these young male and female practitioners still came to the chief attendant to request their leave.
Tina was in a difficult position and reported it to her superior.
Nai Yin was unconcerned.
The castle had always housed spies from various imperial factions. It was only due to the First Dharma Saint's magical constraints that they hadn't been able to cause any trouble; over time, they had even slowly come to accept her from the bottom of their hearts.
But these were special times, and they had to return.
In addition, there were those who truly loved the Empire. With the nation in turmoil, these people could not possibly stand idly by.
Those who requested to leave generally fell into these two categories.
Nai Yin calmly instructed the chief attendant, "I know some want to go to the battlefield. Let them leave as they please, but I will not lift the silencing spell."
Tina bowed, withdrew in silence, and conveyed her superior's message to the others. After another group departed, the castle returned to its usual tranquility.
Yue Du took it all in but said nothing.
She, of course, disliked war, but she also knew the conflict between humans and magical beasts was irreconcilable. Even if Nai Yin were to tell the Silver Wolf Emperor that Lorins was alive and well, the magical beasts would not abandon their offensive.
Once the curtains of war were drawn, there was no turning back.
After all, how could years of accumulated animosity and hatred be so easily resolved?
Meanwhile, Yue Du was still keeping an eye on the situations of the male and female leads.
Lorins seemed to have no intention of getting involved in the conflict between the two races. She harbored an indifference toward the Empire that she herself hadn't even noticed.
The mercenary group Lorins belonged to didn't want to get involved either, though they would accept paid commissions related to the war.
Abio, who was at the Royal Academy, was completely bewildered.
"The magical beasts are starting a war?" he asked, utterly bewildered. "How can it be so early..."
The Dharma Saint's soul had also been lamenting the matter, but upon hearing Abio's words, he said in surprise, "Early? I wouldn't say it's early. In fact, it's already strange that those magical beasts have remained peaceful for several hundred years."
He paused, then added thoughtfully, "Speaking of which, they were probably wary of Nai Yin Galor before, weren't they? The First Dharma Saint you learned about in your Imperial History class?"
The old man in the necklace was an ancient soul, so of course, he knew nothing of figures from the past few centuries. His entire understanding of Nai Yin came from the Royal Academy's Imperial History class.
Abio remained silent for a long moment before replying helplessly, "I suppose so."
As for why he thought it was early, he couldn't very well say he had been reborn, could he!
In Abio's memory, the war with the magical beasts was supposed to start more than a decade later.
Back then, he had chosen to join the imperial army, swearing an oath to the gods to fight the magical beasts for the sake of the Empire's stability.
Lorins, however, had been uninterested. She had put it bluntly: "I have no feelings for the Empire. We're mercenaries. We work for pay. No pay, no deal."
...And then, Lorins, the one who wouldn't fight without pay, went off to help the magical beasts fight.
Abio hadn't known how to react when he first found out. Lorins had sent a message with a simple explanation, saying she'd been mistaken about herself. She was actually a magical beast, the queen of the Bird Tribe, and had only thought she was human because she had lost her memories.
Now that her memories were back, her power level restored, and her true form unsealed, she was going back to help her kin!
Abio: "..."
At the end of the message, Lorins had added with great camaraderie, "Even though I'm not human, I still consider you my brother. Let's meet up for a drink after the war is over. Oh, right! My sister heard about you and said she wants to meet you, too."
Abio had been speechless. Faced with such a carefree best friend, he could only reply in an equally carefree manner, "Sure. We'll talk after the war."
And so, they fought on opposing sides for several years.
It wasn't until the vampires started stirring up trouble in the shadows that humans and magical beasts put aside their differences—at least on the surface—and joined forces to deal with them.
That was when Abio met the sister his brother had mentioned: the Silver Wolf Emperor, Musha Fenrir.
Hiss...
Just thinking about that wolf gave Abio a headache.
The feeling of being stared down by a Saint-rank Wolf Emperor was truly unpleasant. So much so that even after he became a Dharma Saint and a Holy Warrior, he would still straighten his back reflexively at the sight of the Silver Wolf.
At this thought, Abio shuddered and shook his head.
There was no point in thinking about it so much. His memories were useless now anyway. If the war was starting early, so be it.
He just hoped that the strange person pulling strings from the shadows wouldn't cause any more trouble.
The strange person pulling strings from the shadows was currently holding her lover, leaning back in a chair.
The chair in Lord Nai Yin's room was tall and large, with a soft, plush cushion and backrest in a rich, beautiful black and gold.
It was, of course, very comfortable to sit in, especially when two people were nestled closely together, creating a sense of peaceful intimacy.
Yue Du had guessed the male lead's thoughts more or less correctly, and she watched as he joined the army and headed for the border to fight the magical beasts.
Nai Yin held her contentedly and said in a leisurely tone, "Don't worry about him. In any case, we just need to prevent the key event next year."
"We still need to be careful," Yue Du said.
"Mm, I'll help you keep an eye on him," Nai Yin said. Then she pointed to her own crimson lips and blinked suggestively. "Is there a reward?"
Yue Du took the hint and rewarded her with a deep kiss.
After some time together, she had become quite proficient at this sort of intimate contact, even learning to imitate some of Nai Yin's little tricks.
This time, Nai Yin remained composed, letting Yue Du take the lead and allowing the temperature between them to rise until the half-vampire's cold skin and lips were tinged with human warmth.
When Yue Du pulled away, Nai Yin said unhurriedly, "That's not the reward I was talking about."
Yue Du didn't mind. "Then what is it?" she asked softly.
Nai Yin poked her collarbone, her fingertip slowly tracing a line downward, stopping after only a short distance, still far from her chest.
"I want to feed here," she said.
Yue Du: "..." Her soft tone vanished.
Nai Yin said matter-of-factly, "I've touched and even bitten places much lower than this. Why can't I choose to drink from here?"
Yue Du reminded her with some difficulty, "This area... might be a bit bony to bite."
Nai Yin was eager to try, stating that she didn't think it would be bony at all. In any case, it felt very nice to the touch.
Yue Du took a deep breath and decided to let her have her way.
As it turned out, Nai Yin really knew how to play.
While feeding in the most seductive way possible, she took Yue Du's hand and guided her fingers to her own crescent moon mark, tracing it lightly.
The spot she was biting was in the exact same position as the crescent mark on her own body, with no deviation.
In a pause between sips, a faint trace of red at the corner of her mouth, Nai Yin smiled and asked, "How does it feel?"
Yue Du couldn't speak, closing her eyes with a gasp.
...She should have known. For every clever move, there's a cleverer one. When it came to being playful, who could possibly outdo Nai Yin Galor!
Nai Yin was having a wonderful time.
When she had played to her heart's content, she pressed Yue Du into her arms and mused about the future, "Believe it or not, there are even more pleasurable things to come."
It took Yue Du a long while to recover from the overwhelming sensory experience. She first buried her face in the crook of her lover's neck and said, "I believe you."
Then, she lifted her head and said coolly, "But that's for the future, Nai Yin. I'm going to practice my summoning magic now. See you tonight."
Nai Yin: "..."
She'd gone too far.
Although things occasionally went too far, life was, on the whole, harmonious and blissful.
Nai Yin's affection carried an indulgent obsession. Yue Du had once thought this was the influence of her vampire bloodline, but over time, she realized that wasn't the case.
This was especially clear after one incident where Nai Yin had pinned her against a hallway wall for a kiss, only to be spotted by the passing chief attendant.
Tina pretended not to have seen anything and hurried away.
"When you like someone, you just can't help yourself."
Nai Yin had said this afterward, a smile touching her lips as if she'd remembered something. "You never did this with Qi Jiu, did you?"
Nai Yin rarely brought up the previous host on her own.
Yue Du shook her head.
That made Nai Yin even happier. "I bet she would have done the same thing if she'd had the chance. A pity she didn't get one."
Yue Du didn't quite agree. "She was always rather restrained."
Or was it just laziness?
"Oh, come on," Nai Yin said. "As if I don't know myself. Don't fall for that prim-and-proper act. Who knows what kinds of wicked thoughts she was having in secret."
She emphasized, "And the future 'me's will be the same! Remember, no matter how restrained and demure they seem on the outside, they're all little vixens on the inside! Don't let me fool you!"
Yue Du: "..."
Never mind that she was planning so far ahead; was it really okay for her to sabotage her future selves like this?
And so, the conclusion was: Nai Yin—as an existence—was simply unrestrained. It had nothing to do with her having vampire genes.
In fact, Yue Du had previously considered the connections and differences between Nai Yin and Qi Jiu.
The connection was undeniable.
They looked similar, liked the same colors, had the same food preferences and values, and even shared identical little mannerisms when they were thinking.
The differences also seemed obvious. Qi Jiu was always languid, avoiding movement whenever possible in her daily life, perfectly embodying the concept of "laziness perfected."
Nai Yin, on the other hand, had a near-obsessive fondness for "beauty" and "lust." Beauty was a given—she wouldn't even spare a glance for anyone whose looks weren't up to par. As for lust... well, that probably didn't need explaining either.
Yue Du banished the inappropriate, sensual images that popped into her mind and continued her train of thought.
If she had to identify the most prominent trait in their personalities and behaviors, Qi Jiu's keyword would be laziness, while Nai Yin's would be—lust?
But that didn't mean one possessed a trait the other lacked; it was simply less pronounced than their primary characteristic.
Nai Yin was lazy, too. She had served as a guardian deity in name only for four hundred years just so she could have a territory to hole up in.
And Qi Jiu had desires, too. Though she was generally restrained, that feeling of craving was undeniable.
Yue Du: "..."
Laziness, and lust.
She felt they should be connected to certain other words... but what were they?
Laziness? Lust?.. Seven deadly sins?
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