The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Precognitive Dream

Tao Yitong remained blissfully unaware of the cracks in her disguise. Her daily life continued to revolve around eating, sleeping, investigating, and protecting her “meal ticket.”

Gradually, however, she sensed a shift in the atmosphere at home. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, but a faint sense of unease lingered. Jiang Zitan seemed increasingly busy, leaving the house feeling strangely deserted. It was normal for a powerful executive to be swamped, yet if it wasn’t just her imagination Zitan’s attitude toward her had become a bit odd. Perhaps a touch more… “polite”?

Secretary Fang’s worldview had already taken a severe hit. One could argue a monkey might mutate, but Tao Yitong’s situation had completely shattered the boundaries of a normal person’s reality.

Splashes of the monster’s blood stained Tao Yitong’s face, adding a touch of sinister edge to her normally sweet features. She stood expressionless, scrutinizing the monster’s corpse as if looking for something perplexing.

Secretary Fang noticed President Jiang step forward, naturally pulling a tissue from her bag to wipe the blood from Tao Yitong’s hands and face. She did it with a practiced ease that suggested it wasn’t the first time. Does President Jiang know that Director Tao is…

But the monkey was here—what about her niece!

“Where is An-an!” Secretary Fang stared at the monkey’s body, her heart plummeting into an icy abyss as she feared the worst.

“It didn’t eat her; the child must be somewhere nearby.” Tao Yitong clicked her tongue. She had intended to let the monkey lead her to the child, but things had gone sideways. “I didn’t mean to kill it, and I didn’t hit any vitals. These things have tenacious vitality; it wouldn’t die this easily.”

Tao Yitong flipped the monkey’s corpse over with her foot. “Its heart was pierced by someone else first. The residual power is quite pure—it shouldn’t be another monster. Perhaps a passing, kind-hearted esper rescued the child.”

Hopefully.

Tao Yitong asked her sister and Secretary Fang to wait while she searched the area where the monster was attacked.

Secretary Fang realized her hands were shaking. Jiang Zitan patted her shoulder and handed her a tissue. “Tongtong will bring the child back.”

Tao Yitong found the spot where the monkey had shrieked. There were few signs of a struggle; the only blood belonged to the monkey. It was likely ambushed or faced an opponent so overwhelming it couldn’t resist. After being dealt a fatal blow, it dropped the child and fled.

But as Tao Yitong searched, the vegetation only showed signs of the monkey’s trampling. The grass elsewhere was unbent, as if no one had walked through. Did the rescuer fly away with the child?! Tao Yitong sniffed the air. Amidst the stench, she caught a sharp, sweet scent of candy.

It was the candy she had just given the child!

At Sea

Earth Demons dislike water; they get seasick just being on a boat, and fighting in water severely reduces their strength. Consequently, the “Mole” (Master of Earth Demons) stopped at the ship’s railing.

Suddenly, however, he felt the world spin. His body leaped overboard, completely out of his control. Who can control me?! Is there a Chinese S-class esper here?!

Splash! Tao Yitong had already decided to deal with those vampires once the cannibal business was finished. That was the Bureau’s stance: if you don’t kill the loudest chicken to scare the monkeys, these monsters will think you’re a soft touch.

Usually, a clever “person” wouldn’t put themselves in the crosshairs. But when a tribe grows too large, a few eccentrics are inevitable. Since the vampires had been relatively well-behaved for thirty years, the Bureau allowed them to engage in ordinary life—working or running companies—as long as they didn’t harm humans or expose themselves.

An Yu had taken a celebrity endorsement for the Jiang Group, providing a perfect chance to get close to Jiang Zitan. But the moment she stepped into the Jiang Group headquarters today, she smelled a faint scent of decay.

Because she sensed high-level vampire energy, An Yu’s blood was restless. Her own vampire ancestor was high-ranking, but the only person who could exert this much pressure on her was the Prince of Hai City!

Besides the Prince, there were numerous chaotic scents belonging to low-level vampires. Why are so many vampires gathering here suddenly? Remembering her investigation into the vampire clan, An Yu’s heart skipped a beat. A vampire Prince was S-class—beyond her ability to handle. Seeing the vampires acting so “frenzied” lately, she immediately sent a message to Tao Yitong.

Just as the message sent, she spotted a lazy beauty leaning against a wall in the shadows, appearing half-asleep. The woman opened her eyes, and the blood-red pupils, combined with the crushing pressure of her rank, nearly shattered An Yu’s disguise. Despite people passing by, no one noticed the anomaly; it was as if they were in a different dimension.

“Oh, it’s a child of the family.” The lazy beauty retracted the dangerous glint in her eyes, returning to her sleepy demeanor. She sensed An Yu’s bloodline was of her own kin; she was always gentle toward the “good children” of the family. She yawned and walked slowly toward An Yu.

“A-class. Impressive. It’s been a long time since the family produced such an excellent child. What is your name? I don’t believe I’ve seen you at home.”

My name is An Yu. I grew up outside, which is why you haven’t seen me.” An Yu cursed her luck. This woman, who looked ready to doze off at any moment, was Prince Noreen, who hadn’t appeared in decades.

“I see.” Noreen replied listlessly. To achieve such heights without family resources meant the child was even better than she thought certainly better than the crooked younger generation. Even though Noreen smelled the scent of the Mermen on An Yu, she intended to take this mixed-blood junior back. She wasn’t like the Princes back home who valued blood purity above all else; she accepted all children of the house. If she didn’t act now, would she wait for the Mermen to come and snatch her?

The Prince, with all her aura retracted, didn’t look frightening. Combined with her drowsy state and slow, elongated drawl, An Yu was reminded of a sloth crossing a road. An Yu dazed out for a second before snapping her mind back to attention. Vampire Princes were never easy; they could influence others’ consciousness without trying. Thinking of the horrors in that factory cellar her colleagues had photographed… she didn’t dare lower her guard!

“I have some business with the head of this company. Once we’re done, I’ll take you home. Wait here.” As Noreen spoke, more vampire scents approached.

“Your Highness!” A group of vampires in business suits, disguised as humans, hurried over. Their Prince would automatically set up a barrier whenever she started dozing off; they had been searching for ages. “Your Highness, the appointed time is approaching…” The lead vampire saw An Yu. Since they were of similar rank, he couldn’t see through her disguise and feared he’d spoken too much in front of a human.

Wait. Prince Noreen said she was meeting the head of the company did she mean Jiang Zitan? This vampire Prince had never been recorded personally handling secular business. An Yu’s expression shifted. And what did the Prince say? Taking her “home”?

Are there still Princes who don’t despise mixed-bloods? But since her case was linked to the vampires, this might be the perfect chance to infiltrate the enemy’s headquarters.

“This is also a child of the house; she’s coming with us later.” Noreen didn’t ask for An Yu’s opinion. She was a Prince, after all; while friendlier than the Princes across the ocean, she was arrogant to her core. An Yu didn’t immediately respond but found an excuse to follow Noreen to Jiang Zitan’s office. Zitan was a key lead in the cannibal case and the Captain’s sister; whatever this vampire Prince wanted, An Yu had to stay close to prevent an accident.

The Battle at Sea

The Master of Earth Demons didn’t have time to alert his two companions before seawater filled his nose and mouth. He felt several killing intents blocking all retreat. The “ink” sprayed by the Sea Demon was intended to hide the ship from outside eyes, but now it only scrambled his perceptions. He was no swimmer, and his teammates’ clumsy “assistance” made his struggle even harder!

A sharp blade flashed; he reacted just in time to keep his head from being pierced.

You fool! Hurry up and help! The Earth Demon Master cursed the giant octopus lurking in the ocean.

Unfortunately, the entity in the deep sea didn’t follow logic. His angry outburst offended the Master of the Sea Trench. It “helped,” but its attacks didn’t distinguish between friend and foe. The Earth Demon Master didn’t even see the hidden enemy before being struck by one of his teammate’s tentacles.

In the moment of that clash of power, Liu Yue’s expression turned grave. Prince Noreen stood up abruptly in her VIP suite. Liu Yue’s puppet strings were connected to the Earth Demon Master’s brain, but an S-class monster wasn’t a marionette to be easily controlled. After being dragged into the deep, the “Mole” quickly regained control of his body.

Liu Yue hadn’t expected to fully control him, but in a clash of this caliber, even a slight nudge was fatal. Her job was to interfere with the Earth Demon’s judgment. The Sea Demon was more troublesome—it had nine brains, and one of them had already snapped most of her puppet strings.

Noreen instinctively moved to help in the water but was stopped by Tao Yitong’s voice transmission: Stay up there and watch Carnaro. Leave the two below to me and Aunt Liu.

Noreen remained in her suite. Beneath the surging waves, killing intent was everywhere as the monsters tore at each other. On deck, the auction continued in full swing. The wind and waves were abnormal; the ship lurched as if it might capsize. Humans were thrown from their seats.

They began to wonder: Why is the boat rocking like this? Will it tip? But for the monsters, the treasures appearing at the auction had turned their eyes red; they ignored the turbulence, their hearts entirely set on the auctioneer’s goods.

The Sea Demon expanded its domain on the seabed. The Earth Demon Master, constrained by the ocean, couldn’t spread his power. Tao Yitong, however, released the power of Taotie without reservation, her body beginning to manifest its monstrous traits.

At the Park

“Go down the mountain, quick!” Tao Yitong rushed back.

Secretary Fang didn’t ask why; if Tao Yitong said go, she ran. Before they even reached the path, they heard a child crying. Her little niece was walking along the mountain path, sobbing. Tao Yitong led the way, and the child’s aunt ran over to embrace her. Both burst into tears.

“Thank goodness the child is safe.” Tao Yitong breathed a sigh of relief, sweat nearly beads on her forehead—not from exhaustion, but from sheer nerves.

Once the child calmed down, Tao Yitong asked softly, “An-an, can you tell Sister who saved you?”

The child huddled in the aunt’s arms and sobbed, “It was a deer! A really, really beautiful white deer!”

The child was young and lacked vocabulary, but Tao Yitong and Jiang Zitan simultaneously thought of the white deer in the Deer Pen. Was it him?

“A white deer that appears elsewhere in the park, and monkeys that don’t belong to Monkey Mountain… Tongtong, both points from that online ‘Rules of the Park’ story match.” Jiang Zitan wondered if the author of that story knew secrets about the Choushan Zoo.

Tao Yitong was still pondering the deer. At Jiang Zitan’s reminder, her brows furrowed. “It’s beyond a coincidence now. I’ll have someone put the author under surveillance.”

And that deer…

After entrusting Secretary Fang and her niece to the arriving colleagues, Tao Yitong bought another bag of hay and entered the Deer Pen with Jiang Zitan. The elegant white deer still stood proudly away from the crowd; no one could touch a single hair, except Jiang Zitan.

This time, Tao Yitong was smarter. She stuck close to Jiang Zitan. She had just killed the monkey and still carried a trace of “ferocity.” The other deer hesitated and didn’t dare approach, but not the white deer. Seeing Jiang Zitan, it strolled over and followed leisurely at her side. Jiang Zitan stroked its head. It took Tao Yitong several circles and her sister’s help before she could finally manage to hold the creature’s head.

Back at the Inn

Tao Yitong hadn’t expected Jiang Zitan to wake up. This song usually aided sleep and made people drift off heavily. She blinked her innocent eyes. “I heard you having a nightmare from next door, so I came to check.”

Jiang Zitan quietly took Tao Yitong’s warm hand. As expected, this temperature is the most comfortable.

“I disturbed you. Go back to sleep.”

Tao Yitong pulled a tissue from the bedside cabinet. Gentle moonlight filtered through the curtains. By that dim light, she wiped the cold sweat from Jiang Zitan’s forehead.

“I’m not sleepy. I’ll go back once you’re asleep.” Tao Yitong’s eyes curved into a smile. “When I had nightmares as a kid, our Mom would stay with me like this. Mom isn’t here anymore, so I have to stay with you for her.”

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