Hearing that Liliath wanted to suck her blood, Sairi instantly became alert, hurriedly covering her enticing white neck with both hands.
“No—definitely not, it’ll hurt, I don’t want you sucking my blood.”
Besides, she still remembered the sting from the first embrace just now.
“Oh, it won’t hurt, Sister will be very, very gentle…” Liliath coaxed, prying open Sairi’s wrists and pressing her hands onto her own head.
Though Sairi was a hundred times unwilling, she couldn’t resist Liliath’s strength, which was far beyond what she could handle.
“Ugh… no…”
Sairi struggled, genuine fear and resistance flashing in her eyes. Being bitten to suck blood felt completely different from just drinking the blood in a cup.
It was like the doctor wiping alcohol on your butt before an injection—pain was imminent.
“Be good now, just a little bit…”
Liliath bent down, her icy lips already pressing against the side of Sairi’s neck. That soft touch and cold temperature made Sairi’s whole body stiffen.
“Liliath… please don’t do this…”
Sairi’s body trembled slightly, resisting.
But Liliath didn’t stop. She opened her mouth, her sharp fangs gently piercing the tender skin on Sairi’s neck.
“Ugh…”
Sairi let out a muffled groan in pain, tears welling in her eyes.
But unexpectedly, what followed wasn’t intense pain. Instead, it was a strange sucking sensation mixed with a mild sting, a tingling numbness, and an indescribable pleasure.
It seemed that the Blood Clan, when sucking blood, would secrete a substance that numbed the prey, injecting it into the wound.
Moreover, Liliath was truly restraining her strength, sucking very gently, as if savoring.
A subtle sensation, as if her soul was being touched, spread through Sairi.
She felt her body growing soft, her strength to struggle draining away, her consciousness becoming hazy and drifting.
The feeling wasn’t unpleasant—perhaps even… somewhat comfortable? But along with it came a shameful sense of intrusion and control.
She guessed correctly: Sairi felt almost no pain at the wound now, but rather an itchiness.
This method of “hunting” was something Sairi had heard about before—many creatures in nature hunted this way, draining their prey little by little instead of killing outright.
“Ugh… Liliath… enough…” Sairi weakly pushed her away, her voice faint like a mosquito’s.
Liliath didn’t take much blood. She soon lifted her head, licking the blood drops from her lips and Sairi’s neck with her tongue. Her crimson eyes sparkled with satisfaction and great surprise.
“As expected… very special…” she whispered, gazing at the dazed Sairi beneath her, whose cheeks were flushed an unusual red (for a Blood Clan member) and breathing slightly heavier.
“Your blood… tastes very pure, yet it holds some… power I can’t quite describe. Though unfamiliar, it feels like I’ve seen it somewhere before. And beneath the sweetness lies a resilience against assimilation… no wonder the transformation isn’t complete…”
Liliath had previously tried secretly to awaken Sairi’s Bloodlust with magic, but with little success. Now, she finally found part of the reason—the constitution and blood itself were resisting full Blood Clan transformation.
Her gaze landed on the seemingly ordinary pentagram hairpin in Sairi’s hair. At the moment of bloodsucking, she thought she sensed a faint energy fluctuation from it.
This thing… was no ordinary trinket.
Sairi had no interest in listening to her analysis. The strange sensation soon passed, replaced by an overwhelming drowsiness like a tidal wave.
The weakness from having a little blood drawn (though greatly reduced by her constitution), combined with emotional turmoil and playful exhaustion, made her eyelids so heavy they kept fluttering.
“So sleepy…” she murmured softly, her golden eyes half-closed, nearly unable to stay open.
Liliath watched the nearly sleeping Sairi in her arms. That defenseless, drowsy, and innocent look strangely calmed a violent possessiveness stirring within her.
Silver hair.
Hairpin…
***
For once, Liliath didn’t continue to torment Sairi. Instead, she hummed softly and pulled the soft Silk Velvet Quilt over her.
“Sleep.” Her voice unconsciously softened. “We’ve had enough fun for today.”
Almost at the very moment she said this, Sairi slipped into deep sleep, her breathing even and steady.
She curled under the quilt, her pale-pink hair framing cold white skin, looking like an exquisite Ceramic Doll.
Liliath sat leisurely by the bedside, crimson eyes fixed long on the sleeping Sairi, her fingers idly twirling a lock of her own hair.
This little one… seemed to hold more secrets than expected. A unique constitution, blood that resisted transformation, and that mysterious hairpin.
“Looks like raising a Childe… is far more interesting than I imagined.”
She murmured softly, a smile full of intrigue curving her lips.
But there were plenty of days ahead—she had all the time in the world to slowly uncover every secret this little one held.
As Sairi sank deeper into sleep, her breathing steady and long, her curled lashes cast gentle shadows beneath her eyes.
Her gold-and-white hair lay a bit tousled on the dark Silk Pillow, making her delicate face seem even more peaceful and well-behaved, completely different from her daytime mischief and stubbornness.
And those slightly puckered lips, occasionally and unconsciously pressing together, as if still savoring the taste of blood.
Liliath’s crimson eyes quietly watched Sairi in the dim light.
The mischievous and teasing expression on her face gradually faded, replaced by a focus even she hadn’t noticed in herself before.
This little one was surprisingly well-behaved when asleep. (False, it was just because Sairi was too weak today; otherwise, Liliath would feel the pain of having her big bed monopolized by Sairi alone.)
As expected, after not long, Sairi began tossing and turning in bed. Many strands of hair got trapped and tangled beneath her, and the quilt was kicked off.
After watching for a while, Liliath found Sairi’s curled sleeping posture somewhat awkward. She pursed her lips, then extended her cold, slender fingers.
The movement wasn’t especially gentle but was exceptionally careful as she helped Sairi adjust her position.
She straightened Sairi’s head, smoothed the hair pressed down beneath her, and re-draped the kicked-off Silk Velvet Quilt, tucking the corners neatly to make sure the body of this newborn Blood Clan (incomplete version), prone to chills, was wrapped tightly and warmly.
Having done all this, her gaze couldn’t help but fall again on the seemingly ordinary pentagram hairpin.
In the room’s dim light, the hairpin seemed to emit an extremely faint, almost imperceptible, glossy sheen.
“It’s this strange little thing…”
Liliath whispered to herself, curiosity rekindled. After hesitation, she couldn’t resist reaching out a fingertip to gently touch the hairpin’s surface.
The touch was cold, seeming like ordinary metal or crystal, with no special energy fluctuations.
But the odd sensation she felt during the bloodsucking, along with Sairi’s ability to ransack the kitchen, suggested that only Sairi herself could activate this hairpin.
“What exactly is its origin…”
Liliath frowned slightly. A flash of inquiry crossed her crimson eyes.
She was convinced the hairpin contained an immense, restrained Spatial Power, perfectly sealed or hidden by a higher-level existence. Even with her abilities, she couldn’t forcefully probe any of it.
“Looks like the little one I embraced has quite a few secrets… Interesting. I’ll find time to explore them properly.”
The mystery surrounding Sairi sparked even greater interest in Liliath.
Unable to glean any answers for now, Liliath reluctantly withdrew her hand. There would be plenty of time to study it later—no need to alert her just yet.
Turning her gaze away from the hairpin, she suddenly recalled the daytime commotion in the hall and the anxious punishment awaiting her before Mother.
“Tch, annoying,” she muttered impatiently, her delicate brows knitting. “Have to go see Mother tomorrow for punishment… that Old Thing will make it unbearable.”
Sun Acupoint.
Imagining the fearful scene before Mother tomorrow gave her a headache, and she unconsciously rubbed the nonexistent spot.
It was all that troublemaker in her arms’ fault. If not for her public resistance that embarrassed Liliath, it wouldn’t have caused such a big scene.
Her gaze fell again on Sairi’s peaceful sleeping face, contrasting with the “torment” she’d have to endure tomorrow, and an unfair feeling arose.
“Hmph, ungrateful little one, I’ll be punished tomorrow, but you’re sleeping so soundly here.” She extended a fingertip and gently poked Sairi’s soft cheek. The touch was cool and smooth, like fine soft jade.
Light specks.
Sairi seemed to feel the disturbance in her sleep, turning her head and burrowing deeper into the warm quilt.
Seeing her like this, Liliath’s small complaints suddenly faded. Forget it, what was the point of fussing with a little fool.
At least with this interesting little one around, the days ahead shouldn’t be as boring as before.
Raising a Childe seemed… pretty good? At least more fun than dealing with those stuffy old folks and tedious formalities.
Though Mother had once said that raising a Sheepman was no easy task, and more troubles would surely come her way in the future, that was a problem for another time.
Outside the window, the Blood Spirit Empire’s unique, eternal, hazy Moonlight quietly shifted, casting an even more tranquil and mysterious glow across the carpet through the stained glass.
Liliath yawned softly, a hint of weariness coloring her crimson eyes. After a day of fussing, she was a bit tired. She looked at the wide bed, then at the soundly sleeping Sairi.
After hesitating a moment, she finally kicked off her delicate little leather boots, lifted a corner of the quilt, and slipped in.
Her cold body touched Sairi’s comparatively “warm” (for a Blood Clan) and soft little frame, and she sighed in comfort.
Hehe…
Treating this Little Progeny as a little pillow actually wasn’t a bad idea.
She stretched out an arm, somewhat clumsily and tentatively wrapping it around Sairi’s waist, pulling the small body—exuding a faint milky fragrance and the unique scent of her blood—into her embrace.
Liliath’s body stiffened slightly, then relaxed. Holding this warm (relatively speaking) and soft little thing felt… not bad at all. Silly as it was, it was definitely better than a cold, lifeless pillow.
She lowered her head, looking at Sairi’s peaceful sleeping face nearby. Their silver-white hair and Sairi’s gold-and-white dyed strands intertwined.
She tightened her arms, gently resting her chin on Sairi’s head, and slowly closed her eyes.
Rest now.
“Goodnight, my Little Progeny…”
She murmured softly, almost inaudible, and soon slipped into the Blood Clan’s unique, tranquil light slumber.
Tomorrow would come early enough. The shocked expression on Mother’s face when Liliath told her about embracing a Childe today still echoed in her mind.
That Old Thing had already ordered her to receive punishment early tomorrow and to find a chance to meet the newly embraced Little Progeny.
Thinking of that made Liliath restless.
Forget it, why think about unpleasant things? Better to sleep now, or she’d be too drowsy tomorrow.
Liliath imagined patting her own head as a reminder to sleep, then relaxed and slipped into deep sleep.
At this moment, the grand, cold room was left with only two intertwined, even breaths.
The Blood Clan Princess and her newborn, exceptionally unique Little Progeny, sleeping embraced.
Outside, the Moonlight silently watched over it all, softening slightly. Tomorrow might bring troubles and reprimands, but for now, there was rare peace and… a faint, almost imperceptible warmth.
In the future, she would find time to ask Mother about more peculiar magic and explore the secrets within Sairi.