Chapter 188: Jasmine's Return

Just as Murong Yun reached for the door of the room where Jasmine was imprisoned, a muffled thud suddenly echoed from the villa's main gates.

Thump. It sounded as if something had slammed against the doors.

Murong Yun's expression shifted slightly. This was his private villa, highly secluded. How could someone be knocking this late at night?

He released the doorknob and glided like a ghost toward the front entrance.

He listened cautiously at the gates, but there was no further sound outside.

After a brief hesitation, Murong Yun threw the doors wide open. Outside was completely empty; aside from the villa's lawn, there was nothing else.

His expression turned grim. At his level of strength, auditory hallucinations were impossible. The doors had absolutely made a sound just a moment ago!

Just as he prepared to search the area, the corner of his eye caught a slight rustle in a low bush. A moment later, an orange cat popped its head out. Its glowing green, slitted pupils threw a cautious glance at Murong Yun before it darted away.

Murong Yun frowned. "A cat?"

He shut the doors and headed back toward the room where Jasmine was imprisoned.

Unbeknownst to him, Jasmine was gradually fading away at that very moment. Her body turned increasingly transparent bit by bit until she vanished completely.

Jasmine had been pulled into the dreamscape by Su Mu. Ever since he had devoured more Divinity, the dreamscape had grown closer to the real world, to the point that it could begin to bear the physical matter of the Real World.

Such as humans.

But this ability to pull people into dreams had restrictions. The dreamscape's carrying capacity was finite; it could not bear massive amounts of physical matter. Furthermore, it was best used on inanimate objects, as they would neither move nor resist.

If a living creature entered and struggled violently inside, it would affect the dreamscape's stability, causing the dream to collapse.

Ordinary people were manageable, but if a transcendent's physical body entered the dream and caused a ruckus inside, the dreamscape would inevitably fall apart. The stronger the transcendent, the more power they carried themselves, and the greater the destruction they would cause to the dream.

Therefore, this ability currently lacked much offensive utility. He could only pull in ordinary people, or transcendents who entered willingly and lacked the conscious will to resist.

Jasmine had now become a member of the Blood Clan, transcending the limits of an ordinary person. However, since she was in a deep coma, she naturally wouldn't resist. Thus, Su Mu effortlessly dragged her into the dream and took her away.

Click!

Murong Yun threw the door open, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Little wildcat, can you hold it back any longer? As long as you obediently submit, I'll—"

Murong Yun choked on his words halfway through, as if his voice had jammed in his throat. His eyes stared fixedly into the empty room.

"Where is she?!"

He scoured the room like a madman, overturning cabinets and hurling clutter to the floor, but there was no sign of Jasmine anywhere.

Unwilling to give up, he directly activated [Wind Shadow Speed]. His figure became like a gust of wind as he scoured the entire villa in an instant.

Nothing! She wasn't anywhere! Jasmine had vanished into thin air, as if she had evaporated from the face of the earth.

Amidst his raging fury, a creeping dread washed over Murong Yun. It was absolutely impossible for Jasmine to have escaped on her own. Having just become a member of the Blood Clan and having not fed for a long time, she definitely lacked the strength to flee.

Which meant someone had entered his villa just moments ago and spirited Jasmine away without anyone noticing.

"How is this possible?!" Disbelief painted Murong Yun's face. Lord Xueyuan had only left moments ago. When did this person arrive? How could they possibly evade Lord Xueyuan's perception?

Xueyuan was a Gold powerhouse. To slip past his perception, the intruder would undoubtedly have to be a Gold powerhouse as well. But what reason would a Gold powerhouse have to come and take Jasmine away?

Unless...

He thought of a possibility, and his expression instantly turned ugly.

Unless Lord Xueyuan had done it himself!!

The moment this thought arose, it spread through his mind like a plague. Lord Xueyuan had just explicitly voiced his displeasure at him turning Jasmine into a vampire, and he was the only other person who knew Jasmine was imprisoned in this villa.

Had Lord Xueyuan deliberately taken Jasmine away to take the opportunity to teach him a lesson?

"Damn it!" Murong Yun cursed in fury, yet he dared not seek Xueyuan out for confirmation. His actions had already drawn the man's displeasure; going to question him now would only seal his own doom.

He knew full well that he was not irreplaceable to Xueyuan. The Murong Family had other children. The only reason he had been chosen was because of his strength—he was Silver 2, while his siblings were all merely Silver 1. Coupled with his status as the eldest legitimate son, his position was perfectly justifiable.

He was simply the optimal choice, not the only option.

.......

.......

Lower District, inside Yang Dongqing and Jasmine's home.

Yang Dongqing sat on the sofa, his eyes bloodshot and his expression on the verge of a breakdown. He buried his hands in his hair, gripping his locks tightly.

"Jasmine... where on earth are you? Please don't let anything happen to you."

"She's fine," Su Mu's voice suddenly rang out from the second floor.

Whoosh!

Yang Dongqing shot to his feet, only to see Su Mu already standing on the second-floor stairs. Without pausing to wonder how Su Mu had gotten inside, he bolted up the steps, taking them two at a time, and rushed over to him.

"You found Jasmine?!"

Su Mu nodded, his gaze gesturing toward the second-floor Bedroom.

Yang Dongqing's near-breakdown expression instantly shifted to wild ecstasy. He sprinted straight for the second-floor Bedroom.

Bang!

The door was violently thrown open. He saw Jasmine lying on the bed, her skin abnormally pale.

It was exactly this violent crash of the door opening that startled Jasmine awake from her deep slumber.

Jasmine jolted as if waking from a nightmare. Tears streaked her terrified face as she thrashed her slender, pallid arms wildly. "No! No! I don't want blood..."

Yang Dongqing's heart nearly shattered. He rushed to the window, pinning down Jasmine's flailing hands. With red-rimmed eyes, he cried out, "It's me! Jasmine, it's me!"

Jasmine looked at Yang Dongqing as if waking from a dream. She froze for a moment, her eyes widening in disbelief, before a fresh flood of tears spilled over. Trembling, she reached out her hand to touch his face.

"Dongqing... is it really you? I'm not dreaming, right?"

"You're not dreaming. It's me, it's me. Are you alright, Jasmine? Where have you been these past few days?" Yang Dongqing clasped Jasmine's small hand tightly, pressing it against his own cheek. The touch was ice-cold, devoid of any body heat—it felt like holding the hand of a corpse.

His heart ached even more.

"How am I here? Wasn't I just..." Jasmine was somewhat incoherent.

"Su Mu brought you back. You went missing, and he just found you and brought you back. What on earth happened to you, Jasmine? Did someone abduct you? Who was it?! Tell me, and I'll kill them!" Yang Dongqing gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered, a towering inferno of rage practically overflowing from his chest.