The hot, humid wind whistled through the forest, with condensed raindrops sliding down the leaves and silently falling onto the grass.
For a moment, the forest was extremely quiet, with no sound of anyone speaking.
A bat lying on the ground couldn't hold it in anymore and sniffled, muttering in a muffled voice, "Prince Qiao You, their curse hasn't been lifted yet."
So they still couldn't speak.
Qiao You: ...
He glanced sideways at the bat that spoke: "No need for you to say it, I know."
Then this vampire called Qiao You pulled out a yellow paper from somewhere, with dark red markings on it. Like a shaman, he started jumping around exaggeratedly in front of Yun Manman and Alice, while chanting:
"Blood as oath, moon as witness... Borrow my power, break this curse!"
Qiao You was handsome, with mysterious and bewitching dark purple eyes, exuding a demonic and seductive aura.
He was wearing a proper and serious formal attire, even with a tie, but now he was doing something completely inconsistent with his demeanor in exaggerated movements, leaving Yun Manman dumbfounded.
Was this some kind of mysterious ritual?
It seemed a bit fantastical.
After Qiao You finished his performance, he panted and stared at Yun Manman.
Yun Manman tried to speak but found she still couldn't make a sound.
Dude, are you capable or not?
Qiao You saw the blatant disdain in Yun Manman's eyes, and almost lost his composure and smile.
At this moment, another bat weakly said, "Prince, there's no moonlight..."
The sky was covered with dark clouds. Forget about the moon, even the sky behind the clouds wasn't visible.
And the low-hanging rain clouds indicated that another heavy rain would fall soon.
Indeed, there seemed to be no moonlight.
Yun Manman pondered.
So did this so-called "curse" of the vampires need moonlight to be broken? Did it also need the yellow talisman in his hand?
Qiao You gave up and waved his hand: "It doesn't matter. The curse will wear off in twenty-four hours anyway, and they'll be able to speak then."
He bent down to look Yun Manman in the eye, his dark purple pupils flashing with an enticing light.
"Little Miss Kitty, I heard your mental power purity is 99%, making you a natural guide."
"Why don't you join our vampire clan? Our jewels are quite valuable, you know. Join us and you'll never worry about food or money again."
"You won't need to run that shabby dessert shop anymore."
Yun Manman and Alice were inwardly shocked.
Yun Manman's mental power purity was confidential. Apart from the few people present at the time, no one else knew about it. The medical center was a public institution directly under Kashida and wouldn't have leaked the information.
How did this vampire know about it so quickly?
Qiao You was very pleased with the undisguised shock in their eyes: "Don't worry about how I know."
He persuaded gently, "We vampires are all very polite, you know. We treat guides with the utmost respect, and would never have someone as brutal as Lu Qi."
"It must be exhausting to guide him, right?"
"So, what do you say? Just agree to become our vampire clan's guide, and I'll help you out of those bindings. It must be uncomfortable in that sack, right?"
Yun Manman turned her head directly, presenting the round back of her head to Qiao You, indicating her disagreement.
Alice simply closed her eyes, demonstrating what it meant to be out of sight, out of mind.
"Fine!" Qiao You laughed angrily, "Since you don't want to travel comfortably to Holy Gold Country, you'll have to stay in the sacks."
"We'll have ways to make you agree when the time comes."
Yun Manman just found him noisy, constantly chattering.
And he seemed not very smart and a bit neurotic.
Qiao You watched the two girls allow the bats to bag them up without any resistance. Leaning against a tree, he said lazily:
"Don't think about waiting for Lu Qi to save you. He can barely save himself."
Yun Manman suddenly raised her head to look at him. What did he mean?
Qiao You spread his huge black wings behind him and flew into the air: "Take them to the entrance. I'll go check on the Beastfiend herd in the back."
He even blew Yun Manman a kiss by pressing his index finger and thumb together before turning around and leaving stylishly.
Beastfiend herd??
Both girls saw the terror in each other's eyes.
This vampire lunatic wouldn't use Beastfiends to deal with Lu Qi, would he??
That was exactly what Qiao You had in mind.
He had infiltrated Kashida for so long, all for today.
What first attracted Qiao You was the online rumors about Yun Manman's desserts having a guiding effect.
He originally came for Yun Manman but unexpectedly discovered news about the missing Lu Qi.
Coincidentally, it was also the arrival of the rainy season. The sun that bats hated had disappeared, and except for the weak moonlight, it was the perfect timing!
Poor him, he had been eating vegetarian for so many days! And even used his own blood to draw the curse!
Now he could catch both the guide and Lu Qi in one fell swoop!
Lu Qi insisted that his parents' death was related to the vampires, and he always defeated the vampire army on the battlefield.
Holy Gold Country could only retreat again and again, moving away from Kashida and hiding.
Kashida's defenses also became exceptionally strict, and vampires could no longer sneak in for a quick taste of blood like before.
If it weren't for the chaos on the border this time and someone assisting from the inside, he wouldn't have been able to bring bats in to kidnap people.
What's wrong with drinking a little blood! It's not like anyone would die!
Qiao You absolutely hated Lu Qi and hated Kashida.
Now that his father king was old, it was up to him to lead the vampires back to Kashida and reclaim everything that belonged to them!
At the edge of the forest.
Lu Xi and his team were conducting a thorough search with flashlights.
The forest canopy was dense, making it impossible for flying beastmen to search from the sky.
So most of the soldiers sent were canine beastmen with keen sense of smell, tracking the lingering vampire scent in the air as they dispersed forward.
Lu Xi said regretfully, "If only we had registered Miss Yun and Miss Alice's mental power, we could have located them through their mental power fluctuations."
Walking in front of him, Lu Qi pressed his thin lips together, his face pale and silent, his expression dark and unclear.
His mental power was woven into a vast net, searching for nearby life forms, trying to find that familiar strand of mental power with a sweet fragrance.
Lu Xi looked at the long white jade-colored tail behind Lu Qi, wanting to speak but hesitating.
The General's own mental power was still in chaos, and now he was forcibly using his mental power against advice.
Sigh.
Lu Xi mustered his spirits and also released his mental power, intending to search from another side.
At this moment, Lu Qi's tall figure suddenly stopped, and he raised his hand to signal the soldiers behind him to stop.
He said in a deep voice, "Something's coming."
As soon as he finished speaking, a huge cat quickly ran out from the forest on the left.
To call it a cat, the enormous beast before them looked more like a leopard.
With smooth golden fur, a curved and jagged horn on its forehead, and five long tails swaying up and down behind it, each tail tip adorned with white fluff.
It was Yan Ye.
Yan Ye ran to Lu Qi's side and stopped, his golden pupils looking towards the depths of the forest along with Lu Qi: "Something's coming."
Lu Qi's crimson phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, his aura suddenly turning fierce.
However, his slender fingers slowly unbuttoned his shirt one by one, revealing a pale and muscular chest.
"Mm. Old friends, it seems."