Chapter 56: Starving

Golden Trait!?

Is this heaven’s reward for her, Luwei the Great Philanthropist??

Luwei’s eyes lit up, drool almost dripping from her mouth.

But she restrained her expression a bit, to avoid giving the girl in front of her a bad impression.

“Little girl~~ Why are you all alone here?”

“Don’t come closer, I have no money.”

The girl’s voice was listless, so weak it sounded like she hadn’t eaten for days.

But her pale skin made one wonder if she was injured or suffering from some illness.

“As if I’d be after your money…”

Luwei weighed her words,

How does one chat with a little girl by the roadside?

“Look at you, so pretty and delicate, what if you run into danger all alone out here?”

As she spoke, Luwei couldn’t help but glance at the golden light above the girl’s head, wiping the corner of her mouth again.

“Your skin is so pale… your hands are so small…”

“And you even have black hair…? That’s pretty rare around here~”

Seeing the girl remained unmoved, just staring at her with vacant eyes…

Luwei simply reached out to pull her.

“Why so shy, I’m not a bad person, come with me, big sis will take you to eat good food!”

“Go away…”

Lilique simply had no strength to respond to the silver-haired girl before her…

Not long ago, she had arrived at this sensed location by carriage, which was also the northernmost part of the Human Federation—Kares Territory.

But just a few nights ago…

A powerful magical wave suddenly swept across the entire Kares Territory, sending a chill down Lilique’s spine as she was resting.

She even thought that mysterious powerhouse had sensed her arrival and was coming to settle scores!

So, she immediately used the little power she had left to disguise her mana and appearance—

The consequence was that Lilique exhausted her already scarce mana.

Already starving to the point of her ribs showing, she was now so weak she could barely walk…

And affected by this mysterious mana,

Lilique found she had lost her sensing ability…

She couldn’t locate Vera’s position, nor could she sense her own curse!

Thus, she could only wander the outskirts, waiting for this mysterious powerhouse’s aura to disappear, while seeking a chance to turn things around…

And just when she was at her most desperate… things went from bad to worse.

This silver-haired girl suddenly appeared, wearing a standard mischievous grin, approaching Lilique with ill intent!

“Hehe, looking at you, you must be starving, right? Big sis will take you for a good meal~~”

Looking at this overly familiar human before her…

Lilique bared her teeth at her, but the other paid no mind.

If it were any other time, if a human dared touch her with dirty hands, she would definitely break their entire arm!

But now… looking at the guard beside the silver-haired girl, Lilique suddenly calmed down.

Even with her mana completely gone, she could tell this guard was no ordinary person…

His aura was only at the third tier, but the faint magical fluctuations he emitted reached even the fourth, or even fifth tier!

“What exactly do you want?”

Lilique forced down her physical discomfort, speaking coldly.

“I don’t want anything, I just want to be friends with you, little girl.”

Seeing the silver-haired girl’s awkward expression, paired with this strange way of speaking, Lilique felt all her hairs stand on end.

She had initially thought she looked somewhat pleasant, but the moment she opened her mouth, how could the words coming out be so greasy?

“Oh right, my house is pretty big, would you like to come visit?”

“I…”

Looking at the guard’s gloomy expression beside the silver-haired girl, Lilique forcibly swallowed the word “no.”

Seeing the black-haired girl’s hesitant expression, Luwei suddenly had a moment of realization.

“Oh right, I haven’t introduced myself…”

Not even saying hello before trying to take someone home for a visit, that really is a bit strange.

“My name is Luwei, little one, what’s your name?”

Hearing this, Lilique was taken aback, “My name is… Li… Ke…”

Oh no, my brain isn’t working because I’m too hungry, I actually said my name!

“Li Ke?”

“Uh… that’s a very nice name…”

Hearing this name, Luwei’s heart skipped a beat.

Why did this little one have such a name?

It’s only one repeated character away from that terrifying Vampire Princess!

However, looking at the harmless black-haired girl before her, Luwei quickly set her mind at ease.

What a joke, If Li Ke really was Lilique, wouldn’t the Li Ke before her have already wiped her out with a single finger?

After all, she bore Lilique’s curse!

So Li Ke couldn’t possibly be Lilique; a sixth-tier Lilique wouldn’t fail to detect her own curse planted on someone even at this close distance.

Moreover, Luwei had seen Lilique’s portrait; Lilique and Li Ke looked nothing alike.

Thinking this, Luwei crouched down, looking Li Ke up and down.

To further appraise her traits using the panel, she must form a contract with her.

But there’s no need to rush.

Luwei reached out, wanting to pat Li Ke’s head, but she subtly twisted away.

The other’s wariness and resistance finally stirred the small amount of normal human thinking left in Luwei’s heart…

“Li Ke, right? Why are you all alone here? Where are your family and parents?”

She finally asked a question a normal person would ask…

Parents?

Hearing this, Lilique just listlessly shook her head—

She didn’t want to say another word.

If possible, she wished this person called Luwei would stop bothering her.

But unfortunately, after seeing Lilique shake her head…

The silver-haired girl’s eyes suddenly seemed to turn a bit green.

Could it be that learning she had no family… excited her?

Lilique’s fists clenched…

“Can you go away, I want to be alone and quiet…”

But the Luwei before her remained persistent.

“Did you lose your family because of the disaster? How pitiful…”

Her voice carried a hint of sorrow.

Hearing this, Lilique almost doubted her ears…

Weren’t you just happy a moment ago?

But when she looked up at Luwei’s face,

She found her expression had changed to one of sympathy and pity…

This change of face completely stunned Lilique.

She’s simply… a weirdo trying to abduct a roadside child!

“What exactly do you want!?”

She mustered all her strength to shout this, wanting to express her resistance,

But perhaps she used too much force, Lilique felt dizzy, covering her head, almost collapsing to the ground…

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Luwei beside her widened her eyes, quickly moving to support her…

“This little one… is it from hunger?”

“So pitiful… I’ll take you to get something to eat right now…”

Falling into Luwei’s embrace, Lilique felt a wave of shame,

Why is this person so rude?

Calling her ‘little one’ over and over… she’s only half a head taller, acting all mature?

“I… won’t eat…”

Lilique struggled to say.

She didn’t want the other’s charity, nor did she want to eat human food…

She didn’t need it in every sense!

Vampires can hardly consume ordinary food,

Their digestive systems, long unused, have become quite atrophied.

If they eat human food, not only is it hard to gain energy from it, they must also expend extra mana to aid digestion… eating too much can lead to a series of symptoms like stomachaches, nausea, and vomiting.

But even so…

Hearing someone ask if she was hungry, Lilique almost cried.

She was so hungry she could faint, yet she had to insist she wasn’t…

“Does this look like you’re not hungry?”

The girl’s helpless voice came, and she pulled Lilique closer into her embrace with pity…

“Go away…”

Too close…

With Luwei’s movement…

Lilique caught the rich, delicate fragrance from the girl’s body—

Her face felt a warm, smooth touch, though flat and a bit hard against her cheek.

But paired with that fragrance, it stirred an incredibly strong appetite within Lilique’s heart…

So… so fragrant…

Lilique was so hungry she was about to lose her mind.

Not to mention, the cake before her had actively hugged her!

Just like that, completely defenselessly…

“Gulp…”

Lilique carefully swallowed her saliva, trying to hold her breath.

But that refreshing, heart-stirring fragrance ignored her resistance, relentlessly drilling into her nose.

The soft, vulnerable neck, the slightly pulsating blood vessels…

The fragrance of blood, mixed with the girl’s delicate scent, almost robbed her of all reason.

Lilique couldn’t hold back anymore, extended her little tongue, and gave a gentle lick…

“…!?”