Chapter 2002 - 2003: Subduing Lisa

Chapter 2002: Chapter 2003: Subduing Lisa

Back at Black Wind Port, when Ye Xuan recognized Qin Lan, he was utterly shocked.

Everyone knew that this old ancestor of the Xiahou Family was the textbook recluse. For her villa to cross the ocean and show up in the Vampire tribe—just her walking out of the Xiahou Family gates, or even that old house of hers, was already an extremely rare event.

And yet Qin Lan actually became Ye Xuan’s lifesaver!

How could he not ask about that?

As the question slipped out, the look Ye Xuan gave Qin Lan carried a trace of nervousness, like he was waiting on her answer.

Whether it was instinct or just how bizarre her appearance was, Ye Xuan kept feeling... this hundred‑and‑eighty‑six‑year‑old old hag was hiding some secret she didn’t want him to know.

And as Ye Xuan’s voice fell, the atmosphere on the wide deck also froze for a brief moment.

Ye Xuan furrowed his brows, then got bolder and asked directly.

Qin Lan, however, suddenly opened her mouth: "Happened to be passing by."

"Happened to be passing by?"

Ye Xuan was stunned at that. This answer... was way too perfunctory!

Qin Lan continued, her voice as still as an ancient well: "As for the injuries you mentioned, they’re no longer a problem. Thank you for your concern."

Ye Xuan: "..."

And there went the conversation.

Qin Lan was just too cold, practically even colder than the one back home!

Sure, you could say Lin Tong was cold, but at least she was cold outside and warm inside; right now Qin Lan’s cold was totally cold on the outside and cold on the inside too!

Talking to her—even just having her around—gave Ye Xuan this feeling that he was a little kid, and no matter what he said or did, in her eyes it was all childish.

And everything she said back felt exactly like an adult brushing off a child.

Son of a...

The woman who once gave me nosebleeds, and now...

Sigh, better not even bring that up!

Ye Xuan could only clasp his fists toward Qin Lan in thanks: "No matter what, I still have to thank you for saving my life this time. If I ever get the chance in the future, I’ll repay you a thousandfold."

Qin Lan quietly gazed out at the sea, no longer giving Ye Xuan any response at all.

As if she hadn’t heard him.

Or as if she simply didn’t care about a child’s so‑called gratitude...

Ye Xuan tugged at the corner of his mouth, and stopped making a fool of himself. He turned back into the cabin, leaving Qin Lan alone, still standing solitary on the deck, letting the wind blow over her, watching the scenery.

She slowly closed her eyes, but the corner of her eye twitched faintly.

Maybe the wind was too cold.

Only, for a top master like her, how could she possibly be afraid of the cold?

...

Night passed, day came.

At the boundless horizon, a faint fish‑belly white slowly emerged.

Ye Xuan stood at the cabin window, looking out at the beautiful view, slowly letting out a breath: "We’re finally about to make land."

Yes, Ye Xuan had already seen the outline of Hell Beach. As soon as they returned to Volos, this whole ordeal would basically be completely over.

This battle had truly been grueling.

Because Ye Xuan really hadn’t expected that in the Vampire tribe there would still be someone as powerful as Odin sitting as Guardian.

If Qin Lan hadn’t appeared, Ye Xuan would definitely have been facing nine deaths and one life at best.

In that kind of desperate situation, even if the post‑war syndrome burst out, Ye Xuan still might not have been able to defeat Odin. He understood very well the gap between their strengths.

"Odin..."

Thinking back to that series of events at Black Wind Port, Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes, killing intent surging.

If, after those three palms, Odin had kept his word and let Ye Xuan and Lisa go, then it could have ended there. But since he went back on his word and stooped to any means, how could Ye Xuan ever let that slide?

He’d always been the type to repay every slight.

Glancing to the side, Ye Xuan looked off into the distance toward the Balkan Peninsula, his eyes blazing.

One day, he would descend on that peninsula again.

And when that day came, it would be an entirely different scene...

After a night of Breathing Control, aided by the Elixir Pills Ye Xuan had given her, Lisa—who had already recovered from most of her injuries—was also staring in the direction of the Balkan Peninsula.

There was a complexity and sorrow in her eyes that couldn’t be put into words.

Ye Xuan noticed Lisa’s mood. He pressed his lips together, then asked with a smile: "Lisa, what are your plans from now on?"

"Plans?" Lisa was stunned, her expression instantly turning lost: "I... I don’t know..."

Right now she looked just like Chiba Sakurako back in the Northern Federation, when she’d been betrayed by the Sword God Association and left with nowhere to go.

Come to think of it, the two of them were really in the same boat.

Only, by comparison, Lisa was actually worse off, since before this, far too many loyal subjects had died for her...

Ye Xuan pondered for a moment and said: "Since you don’t really have any plans, if you don’t mind, you can just follow me from now on."

"Follow you?" Lisa was dazed.

Ye Xuan smiled and explained: "Don’t get the wrong idea. I mean, come with me to Yan Country’s East Sea. It’s a city that’s very suitable for living in. And after what just happened, no one can guarantee the Vampire tribe won’t try to hunt you down again. Staying by my side will be relatively much safer."

Lisa fell silent, sinking into hesitation.

Ever since she was young, she’d been fed the belief that she must never stand with humans. Staying by Ye Xuan’s side from now on would indeed be much safer, but... she was a Vampire.

As if seeing through Lisa’s thoughts, Lou Yaoyao curled her lip and said: "I swear, girl, you still don’t learn your lesson. How did your own kind treat you again? And you’re still hung up on all that Vampire crap?"

"If you don’t follow my little bro and you get dragged back by Vampires someday, then my little bro will have to come save you again, maybe even die directly. Would that be fair to those Vampires who sacrificed themselves for you?"

After hearing Lou Yaoyao’s speech, Lisa suddenly saw the light.

"Right, I can’t die. I have to live on for my father and for those clansmen who sacrificed themselves!"

Lisa clenched her teeth, her gaze turning firm: "Then... I’ll follow you from now on, Ye Xuan. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it, to repay your lifesaving grace!"

"What lifesaving grace? I saved you to repay a favor in the first place."

Ye Xuan laughed: "Now we’re square. From now on we’re just friends, no higher or lower, no debts between us. If someday you feel uncomfortable in East Sea and want to go somewhere else, that’s completely your freedom too."

Lisa pressed her lips together and didn’t speak again.

She’d never once thought of herself as Ye Xuan’s lifesaver, because when she went to Lou Yaoyao for help back then, it was entirely because she didn’t want her own kind to be too steeped in sin, didn’t want the Vampires to be so greedy and insatiable.

So, in her heart, she now owed Ye Xuan a colossal favor—literally her life!

No matter what Ye Xuan said, it wouldn’t change that...

Ye Xuan naturally sensed Lisa’s thoughts, and felt rather helpless about it. The kinder someone was in this world, the more stubborn they tended to be.

He shook his head, but didn’t nag her.

After a brief quiet both inside and outside the cabin—

Clang!

The huge ship finally reached Hell Beach and ran aground at the shore.

"Let’s disembark."

Ye Xuan swung his arm and strode out of the cabin first.