Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Ning Qiuyan’s limbs were icy and stiff from soaking in the water. He had stayed afloat solely on a burst of adrenaline, but now he could barely move. It took everything he had just to drag his body toward the shore, nearly drowning several times in the process.

Finally, Lu Qianque grabbed him firmly and hauled him up.

Ning Qiuyan shook uncontrollably, water dripping from every inch of his body.

Lu Qianque hadn’t expected him to jump into the water to save his own life. Having arrived in a hurry, he was unprepared and could only take off his own jacket to wrap around Ning Qiuyan as a makeshift blanket.

After walking a few steps with him, Lu Qianque saw that Ning Qiuyan could barely stand. He turned his back to him and said, “Get on.”

Ning Qiuyan was truly exhausted. He didn’t try to be polite and slumped directly onto Lu Qianque’s back.

Water pitter-pattered as it fell, soaking the grass and the ridges of the fields.

They left the pond in the middle of the field and entered the pitch-black woods.

“You’re so light, Ning Qiuyan. Haven’t you been eating lately?” Lu Qianque remarked. “Even Gu Yu weighs more than you.”

Ning Qiuyan shivered as he spoke. “I… I ate.”

Lu Qianque carried him effortlessly. “Your voice sounds terrible, too.”

Ning Qiuyan didn’t want to talk anymore.

The car was parked outside the woods.

The driver opened the door, and Ning Qiuyan was helped into the warm backseat. Lu Qianque immediately instructed the driver to turn the heater up to full blast.

The interior lights were bright, and no one else was inside.

Ning Qiuyan glanced at the passenger seat; it was also empty.

He didn’t know why his mind was wandering at a time like this. It wasn’t until Lu Qianque got into the car and saw his face clearly that the man’s expression darkened heavily. “Where else did he hit you?”

He was worried about internal injuries.

Ning Qiuyan shook his head. “Just my face.”

Lu Qianque gritted his teeth and asked, “Did he bite you?”

Ning Qiuyan shook his head again. Only then did Lu Qianque’s expression soften slightly, though it remained grim. “I’m sorry. It’s our fault you had to go through this.”

It was too late for apologies, but Lu Qianque explained anyway. “The moment we saw the video yesterday, we started tracking your phone’s location, but unfortunately, Chi Yang figured it out. We spent the entire day conducting a city-wide search. He left quite a few clues; we were already on our way shortly after you arrived at the gas station. We didn’t agree to his demands immediately because a pardon from the Blood Supervision Council is valid for life and irrevocable. Once he obtained it, he would have certainly killed the hostage anyway to get his revenge…”

“I know,” Ning Qiuyan replied, his lips blue. “I could tell.”

Chi Yang was insane; he had completely lost his humanity.

“We would have saved you regardless,” Lu Qianque said, before praising him. “But you were amazing. I really didn’t expect you to escape from his hands. Jumping into the water was a very smart move.”

Ning Qiuyan remained silent.

“It’s been so long since we last met. I wish our reunion could have been under better circumstances,” Lu Qianque said. “I promise, you will never be threatened like this again.”

Someone outside was speaking to Lu Qianque.

He opened the car door and stepped out.

A blast of cold wind rushed into the car briefly. Ning Qiuyan wrapped Lu Qianque’s jacket tighter around himself. It was a short jacket, and his knees were aching from the cold, forcing him to curl into a ball. After a while, Lu Qianque got back in and gave Ning Qiuyan a longer black overcoat.

“Wear this one.” Lu Qianque helped him pull the coat tight. “I’ve arranged for a doctor. I’ll take you straight to the hotel now, alright?”

Ning Qiuyan nodded.

As he huddled inside the long black coat, he caught a faint scent of incense. In his state of confusion, it felt strangely familiar.

He was probably just hallucinating.

On the way, Ning Qiuyan nearly drifted off several times, but each time his body would jerk violently, snapping him awake.

Lu Qianque stayed by his side the entire time.

Though the environment was now comfortable and safe, Ning Qiuyan’s nerves remained pulled taut. Since he couldn’t rest anyway, he decided to ask about the current situation, and Lu Qianque answered him point by point.

Lu Qianque had already sent people to deal with those Chi Yang had harmed at the hospital and the gas station. Fortunately, no one had died, and they would all receive proper medical treatment.

As for the girl who had engaged in mutual feeding with Chi Yang, Lu Qianque had also sent people to track her down. It might even lead to an underground Huanle trade network-something Lu Qianque had been investigating for a long time.

Ning Qiuyan then asked Lu Qianque, “What is the Blood Supervision Council?”

“The Blood Supervision Council,” Lu Qianque said. “It’s similar to the law enforcement agencies in your human world, specifically designed to deal with Vampires like Chi Yang.”
Every race has its own set of laws for survival.

Without rules, there is no order. This truth applies to any race, and for supernatural beings to remain hidden from the world for thousands of years, the operation of such institutions is indispensable.

“That man… Chi Yang, what did he do?” Ning Qiuyan asked. “Does Granny Bai’s injury have something to do with him?”

Lu Qianque said it did.

This confirmed Ning Qiuyan’s suspicion.

“They met at a culinary school. They studied together, lived together, won awards together, and got engaged very quickly,” Lu Qianque said, recounting the past. “The engagement party was held on Du Island. It was a major event for the island back then.”

Ning Qiuyan looked up at Lu Qianque. Even though many years had passed, he couldn’t help but feel that Granny Bai deserved better.

Lu Qianque continued, “At that time, Chi Yang learned about our identity. Not long after, he wanted Bai Zhilan to ask Mr. Guan to turn them into beings like us, to make them members of our kind.”

Lu Qianque told this part of the story briefly, but it was still harrowing to hear.

“For several years after being rejected, Chi Yang never gave up on the possibility of becoming one of us. He used unknown means to find an infected person-the kind of thing you saw when you followed that band-and initiated a massacre at a gathering.”

Lu Qianque picked through the threads of the event, narrating the cause and effect.

“It was during the day. By the time Mr. Guan arrived, most people were dead. Sunlight was flooding the house. Mr. Guan did his best to save the few people in the shadows, including Bai Zhilan and her husband. But while he was trying to treat Chi Yang, Mr. Guan was bitten back by him…”

“So he turned into a Vampire too?” Ning Qiuyan asked.

“No, the toxin he originally carried didn’t come from Mr. Guan. Mr. Guan didn’t give him the chance to transform, so at most, he’s a half-finished product-a high-level infected. You’ve seen what he looks like now; those scars will never heal.”

“A high-level infected?”

“Yes,” Lu Qianque said. “The process is very complicated; you don’t need to know the details too clearly.”

Ning Qiuyan finally understood why Granny Bai had stayed on Du Island her entire life.

After going through something like that, it truly took great courage to keep living. Yet she remained so kind and optimistic; she was the strongest person Ning Qiuyan had ever met.

“For the past few decades, Chi Yang has been hunted by the Blood Supervision Council. He’s been a fugitive all over the world, and I haven’t heard any news of him for a long time,” Lu Qianque told Ning Qiuyan. “But I never imagined he would have the nerve to return here and even target you. Because of that, the people responsible for protecting you were careless.”

At this point, Ning Qiuyan shouldn’t have asked any more questions.

It wasn’t something he needed to know. He knew that after this accident, Lu Qianque would definitely fulfill his promise and let him return to the peaceful life belonging to humans.

But a question still slipped out of his mouth: “Does Mr. Guan know yet?”

He was asking if Mr. Guan knew he had successfully escaped.

Lu Qianque looked at him, his eyes shimmering. “Of course. Mr. Guan is very concerned about your safety. If you hadn’t escaped, we really would have gone to the Blood Supervision Council to apply for an amnesty to exchange for you. Regardless, Chi Yang won’t escape our grasp.”

Ning Qiuyan never thought there would come a day when they would hear each other’s names again because of such matters.

He asked Lu Qianque, “Is everything okay on Du Island?”

Lu Qianque replied, “Yes, same as always.”

Ning Qiuyan asked again, “Then, are Uncle Kang, Granny Bai, and Guan Ziming all doing well?”

Lu Qianque said everyone was fine.

Ning Qiuyan found himself with no other topics to continue the conversation, so he fell silent again.

Lu Qianque was incredibly sharp and knew exactly what he was thinking. He deliberately asked back, “Why don’t you ask if Mr. Guan is doing well?”

Ning Qiuyan looked up, opened his mouth, and asked, “Then… is Mr. Guan doing well?”

“He wasn’t doing so well at first,” Lu Qianque said with a beaming smile. “But he should be getting better soon.”

The car drove very fast, and they reached their destination in less than an hour.

When getting out of the car, Ning Qiuyan noticed that this was the same hotel he had stayed at when he came to Sujing for his exams last time.

In the early hours of the morning, the hotel entrance was very quiet. Only their two cars were parked one after the other at the door.

Lu Qianque had actually arranged for two cars; it seemed he had brought quite a few people.

Ning Qiuyan hadn’t expected Lu Qianque to bring such a large entourage to save him. However, after getting out, he didn’t see anyone emerge from the car behind them. Without overthinking it, he was supported as they walked into the elevator.

Inside the elevator, he watched as Lu Qianque casually pressed a button and swiped a room card. His gaze lingered on the card.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Qianque asked.

“I…” Ning Qiuyan spoke with a nasal tone from his cold. “I stayed at this same hotel when I came for my exams last time. It seems like it’s even the same room.”

“That’s perfect then,” Lu Qianque said. “Didn’t you like that room very much?”

Ning Qiuyan nodded.

As the elevator continued its ascent, Ning Qiuyan’s thoughts suddenly became a chaotic mess.

He kept remembering Lu Qianque’s words to Chi Yang over the phone: “Sir won’t be coming.” Yet, he also couldn’t stop thinking about when he had called Lu Qianque from the woods; Lu Qianque had mistaken him for Chi Yang and blurted out, “Sir has already agreed to your demands.” Then there was what Lu Qianque said in the car: “If you hadn’t escaped, we really would have gone to the Blood Supervision Council to apply for a pardon.”

If Guan Heng wasn’t here, none of those statements made sense.

Then he thought of the two cars parked at the hotel entrance…

Ning Qiuyan hung his head, trying to force himself to calm down. However, a faint scent of incense drifted into his congested nose, awakening his sense of smell.

It was the scent of the black overcoat wrapped around him.

Before the incredible thought could even flash through his mind, Ning Qiuyan’s hand had already reached out, frantically pressing the elevator button.

His heart hammered wildly.

He turned to look at Lu Qianque. To his surprise, Lu Qianque was already looking at him, yet he didn’t ask a single question.

The elevator doors opened.

Ning Qiuyan’s feet remained glued to the floor, unmoving. Lu Qianque gave him an almost imperceptible nod and raised an index finger to his lips in a “shh” gesture.

Thus, the original floor was canceled, and the elevator headed all the way back down.

The entire descent took only dozens of seconds, but to Ning Qiuyan, it felt like an eternity. The moment the chime rang, he strode out and into the hotel lobby.

The lobby was empty.

The pain in the soles of his feet vanished miraculously. He ran across the cold marble floor toward the entrance, stopping only when he reached a massive pillar, not daring to go a step further.

Outside the revolving doors stood a tall figure.

Someone must have just passed through, as the glass doors were still slowly turning, refracting and blurring that familiar silhouette.

Ning Qiuyan’s heart constricted violently before beginning to thrum fiercely.

The revolving glass doors finally came to a standstill.

Guan Heng’s figure became clear.

Below the steps, a man dressed like a doctor was speaking to him.

His expression seemed cold and indifferent; Ning Qiuyan could only see his profile. His frame was tall and straight, and he wore only a shirt. His long black hair draped naturally down his back. Caught in the warm glow of the lights, the entire scene looked like a hazy, grainy shot from an old movie.

Guan Heng belonged to the night.

He was like the protagonist of a film-mysterious, detached, and unreachable.

After a brief exchange, the driver opened the rear door for Guan Heng.

At that moment, Ning Qiuyan found a sudden surge of courage from somewhere unknown.

He ran out quickly, shouting just as the car door was about to close: “Mr. Guan-”

Clearly, no one had expected Ning Qiuyan to return. Even the doctor and the driver outside the car were stunned.

The rear window of the car rolled down. Guan Heng looked up from inside the vehicle, casting his gaze toward the top of the steps.

Ning Qiuyan was draped in the long coat, his feet bare and filthy, looking utterly disheveled. His chest heaved rapidly from agitation, and the cold wind whipped his hair into a messy tangle.

They gazed at each other from a distance.

From Du Island to Wutong, and from Wutong to Sujing.

After six whole months, they had met again.

Amidst the ink-thick darkness of the night, Ning Qiuyan ran down the steps and stood before the car window.

Ning Qiuyan’s face was terrifyingly pale, and his lips were devoid of color. The cut at the corner of his mouth and the purple bruises on his face from being slapped were a startling sight.

He gripped the edge of the window, neither getting into the car nor speaking. Perhaps he didn’t know what to say, or perhaps he couldn’t bring himself to speak in front of others; regardless, he clearly didn’t want Guan Heng to leave.

Guan Heng opened the door and stepped back out of the car.

“Mr. Guan?” The driver asked, unsure if they were still leaving.

However, Guan Heng had already swept Ning Qiuyan up into his arms, carrying him as easily as if he were a human-sized doll.

The moment he was picked up, Ning Qiuyan tightly clutched the lapels of Guan Heng’s shirt, burying his head in the crook of Guan Heng’s neck like an ostrich hiding from the world.

“Let’s go up together.”

A faint, deep red flickered in Guan Heng’s eyes. His voice was heavy as he spoke to the doctor.