VAP - Chapter 75
Chapter 75: The Supreme Sage Hopelessly Obsessed with Beauty (34)
The reason Rand Abio appeared among the vampires' captives wasn't due to some grand scheme or purpose. He was just purely... unlucky.
In his memories from before his rebirth, the war initiated by the magical beasts started about ten years later than it did now, as did the timing of the vampire raids.
By then, Abio should have already advanced to the rank of Magus and Grand Warrior. Such a high level would have been enough for him to survive on the battlefield, perhaps even turn the tide of the war.
But now, Abio was merely a high-level practitioner.
Although he used his memories from his past life to advise his superiors and reduce the empire's losses, his own lack of strength was still a critical weakness.
But what protagonist doesn't have a trump card or two? Relying on his ace in the hole and the help of the Dharma Saint's soul, Abio managed to survive.
The sad part was, while he managed to evade the claws of the magical beasts, he couldn't escape the vampires' surprise attack—he ran into a certain young vampire lady.
Abio: "..."
This scene was all too familiar.
In his past life, this three-hundred-year-old vampire girl had taken quite a liking to Abio. Ignoring the dissuasion of her kin, she had passionately confessed her feelings to him. When her confession failed, she tried to kidnap him.
But since she couldn't defeat him, she had to settle for the next best thing. She did Abio a favor, and in return, demanded his blood, supplied in regular, fixed amounts.
The young lady didn't persist for long. After about three to five years, she sent a message telling Abio he no longer needed to supply her with blood, as she had found a new love.
Abio, who was already a Grand Magus by then, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
—It was this incident that made Abio deeply realize how terrifying the vampire race was, leaving him with a faint psychological scar.
And yet, this time around, he still ran headlong into that same young lady.
The difference from last time was... he couldn't defeat her.
Despair.
Ten years earlier, ten years later—the difference was that stark. Without the strength to back him up, Abio was powerless to resist and was knocked unconscious and dragged away by the vampire.
When Abio awoke, he was filled with sorrow. "Teacher, Teacher, am I alright? That woman didn't touch me, did she?"
The old man in the necklace said kindly, "No. I suspect she didn't bite because you were unconscious. It's no fun that way."
Seeing his disciple's look of utter despair, he felt a surge of disappointment.
"What's the big deal? So what if you get bitten a couple of times? When I was young, I had a fling with a vampire myself. Trust me, she can show you a whole new world of sensations."
"No, you don't understand," Abio said in despair.
He was traumatized by vampires!
To defend his neck... and perhaps something deeper, Abio gritted his teeth and came up with a desperate plan: he poisoned himself.
The poison was from the old man's collection. It would make the user's entire body toxic without killing them, and the toxins would naturally break down after three months.
The poison's only side effect was that after the toxins finished breaking down, the user would fall into a short period of mental lethargy.
It was, one might say, quite suitable for all sorts of peculiar purposes.
And now, this poison was Abio's salvation.
When he calmly explained the situation to the young vampire lady, she laughed out of sheer anger.
"Fine! We'll see how long you can hide from me!"
Probably because she was absolutely furious, she turned and threw Abio into the blood-slave confinement chamber, telling him to reflect on whether he'd rather be a communal blood slave or be with her.
Abio: Sorry, I think escaping is the better option.
With this mindset, Abio seized every possible chance to escape, spending all day plotting his getaway.
But before he could put his plan into action, he was sent out along with his fellow captives.
Of course, Abio had no idea that as these events unfolded, a pair of eyes had been coldly observing him from the shadows.
These eyes belonged to a black-feathered crow.
From start to finish, the male protagonist's movements never escaped Nai Yin's control.
Lord Nai Yin was keeping an eye on him. The male protagonist couldn't be allowed to die, nor could his foundation be damaged to the point where he lost his potential to become a Dharma Saint.
But beyond that, whether he was abducted or used as a blood bag, Nai Yin couldn't be bothered to care.
She didn't even take it seriously, finding it a nuisance.
At this moment.
Witnessing Abio's haggard face, Yue Du fell silent and turned her gaze to her lover.
"What is it?" Nai Yin's smile was radiant.
Yue Du confirmed, "The male protagonist, was he captured along with the others?"
"No, he was captured separately. But since someone has taken a liking to him, he's in no danger here, so there's no need to worry."
Yue Du's expression was complicated. "...I suppose that makes sense."
"See? See?" Nai Yin's eyes curved into a smile that held all the charm of a cunning fox.
In truth, if one had to point out something noteworthy, it was how incredibly unlucky the main character of this incident was.
His misfortune made the whole story so amusing that it could be told to Yue Du as a curious anecdote, after which they could both share a heartless laugh at the protagonist's expense.
That had been Nai Yin's plan when she first received the news from the black-feathered crow.
It was only because of that day's impromptu "extra meal" that she had set the amusing matter aside and hadn't brought it up again.
Abio... really had it tough.
Now that the topic was revisited, Yue Du listened as Nai Yin recounted the full story of Abio's capture. Looking at him again, she felt an urge to laugh.
His luck, in a way, was truly astonishing.
He was definitely the most miserable protagonist she had ever seen!
In truth, encountering Abio was just a minor interlude that didn't affect anything.
Nai Yin sent all the humans and magical beasts gathered there into her personal dimension. That was the great thing about spatial magic—especially powerful spatial magic. It made everything convenient.
Jekala watched in agony. Vampires were creatures of intense desire, both for food and for sex.
Watching the beautiful blood bags vanish before his eyes was more unbearable than taking a beating.
Finally, Nai Yin turned to him, the corners of her lips curling up in a faint, emotionless sneer.
"Thank you for your help. May you live to be a hundred," she said lightly, before adding an insincere apology. "Oh, my apologies. I forgot, you're already pushing a thousand."
Under Jekala's indignant yet helpless gaze, Nai Yin deliberately provoked him further by taking Yue Du's right hand and placing a light kiss near her wrist.
"Let's go, my dear."
Yue Du: "Mm."
As she did, she glanced over at Jekala Shulaide, a cold light flashing in her deep amber eyes.
It was the inorganic gleam of a System, like cold metal or a flawless glass bead.
...She didn't understand how her host always managed to run into such scum.
Although she knew her host wouldn't care, it still left a bad taste in her mouth.
In Yue Du's vision, the black mist representing the curse was still slowly spreading.
A System's abilities were useless in many situations, but since she could see it, she could influence it—for instance, by enhancing its negative effects.
After a moment, Yue Du gave a faint smile.
"Yes, let's go," she repeated, linking her arm through Nai Yin's.
The next moment, their figures vanished.
One of the benefits of being the strongest person on the continent was that you rarely had to worry about cleaning up your own messes.
She did it.
So what?
If you had a problem with it, you were free to retaliate.
And since no one could possibly retaliate against Nai Yin Galor, the matter was simply dropped.
Nai Yin found a random spot and dumped all the captives out of her personal dimension as if she were unloading cargo.
Amid the surprised cries of those who had escaped death, Abio looked up at them, his expression unreadably complex.
He, of course, recognized who she was.
Nai Yin Galor. In his memory, she had always been a mysterious and unfathomable figure. The few times he had seen her were at important meetings.
She always kept her head slightly bowed, looking as if nothing concerned her. Even with a perpetually bored expression, nothing could detract from her exceptional beauty.
Abio blinked, his gaze shifting to the young, black-haired woman beside her.
He had never seen this person before.
Likewise, he had never seen the First Dharma Saint look so vibrant and alive.
The two of them paid no more attention to the captives they had just rescued. They whispered something to each other, and smiles suddenly bloomed on both their faces.
Then they left together.
They left through a spatial portal.
Abio: "Hmm..."
In any case, he had been saved by them, which meant he now owed them a favor.
Abio was no fool. The repeated deviations from the events of his past life now all seemed to be connected to the First Dharma Saint.
But what could he do about it?
She had never made any effort to hide her involvement. Even after making all those inexplicable changes, she clearly didn't consider him, Rand Abio, to be of any importance.
And even if he wanted to get to the bottom of it, he would first need the strength to speak with her as an equal.
Thinking of how thoroughly the vampires had been subdued, Abio suddenly felt he had a long and arduous road ahead of him.
He shook his head and turned to leave in the opposite direction.
He had to find a safe place to ride out the coming period of mental lethargy. He couldn't let himself get too withdrawn and end up in a worse predicament.
That December, Nai Yin took Yue Du traveling, and along the way, they resolved a plot point: the male protagonist acquiring a cute pet.
The crystal dragon egg was tossed to the Snowfield Magic Dragon King for safekeeping. In its place, they left a certain gray-feathered dragon egg, which, despite its drab gray shell, was actually quite powerful.
Abio, upon receiving the gray dragon egg: "..."
Fine.
In January of the following year, Yue Du advanced to the rank of Grand Summoner. As a summoner with only a single contracted familiar, she proposed to Nai Yin.
"I think," Yue Du said, her ears turning red, "we've taken things slowly enough."
That very day, the two of them entered the bathroom together, where Nai Yin coaxed her Little Nightingale into trimming her nails and filing them perfectly smooth.
This was to ensure she wouldn't cause any injuries.
And it was on this day that Lord Nai Yin successfully satisfied the craving for "Lust" that was part of her very nature.
The residents of Galor Castle only learned the news of their two masters' impending engagement the following day.
Everyone thought they had misheard.
"Weren't they already engaged years ago?" people said. "Are you sure you didn't hear 'wedding' instead?"
Well, it was confirmed. It wasn't.
The engagement party was held half a month later, with no other guests invited.
Then, with great urgency, the official wedding was held a month later. This time, it was an announcement to the entire continent—everyone who could possibly know, knew.
The human practitioner community was shocked. Nai Yin Galor must have truly found her one true love! Not only did she dismiss all her lovers for this woman, but she's also announcing the wedding far and wide. She's really settling down!
The other races were even more shocked. Getting married is your own business, why send a special notice to our people? What relationship do we have? Are you planning to invite us to the feast?
Nai Yin, clearly, had no such intention.
As long as the notice was delivered, that was enough. As for attending the feast, well, they could come if they dared.
The other races: "..."
Sorry, we'll be making a strategic retreat.
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