Upon Her Lips - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Yuran watched the vehicle drive away from the mansion before obediently following Aunt Dai back inside.

Along the way, she realized she hadn’t seen Sister Fu Ya at all. She found it strange, but she didn’t dare ask.

Aunt Dai led her to the kitchen, where a glass of milk and two slices of bread appeared before her. Aunt Dai signaled for her to eat while it was hot.

Yuran picked up a slice of bread with her small hand, but she didn’t dare touch the milk. To her, milk was a luxury; she felt that someone of her status wasn’t allowed to consume such things.

The little thing just tried to swallow the bread dry.

Aunt Dai had no choice but to say, “This glass of milk was requested by the Mistress for you to drink. Well? Are you still not going to drink it?”

Yuran visibly stiffened. She immediately cupped the glass with both hands and gulped it down in one go, nearly choking. She stared at the empty glass, then slowly placed it back on the table.

It was her first time tasting milk. Though it had a slightly gamey scent, it carried a hint of sweetness. If it was requested by Lady Mu Fei, she found it delicious no matter what it was.

“She really is completely submissive to the Head of the House. Earlier, when I offered her milk, she didn’t dare touch it. Her courage is far too small.”

The speaker was the head chef, Mr. Han Sheng, who bore the formidable nickname “The Butcher.” Yuran looked at the tall man and immediately greeted him with a beaming smile.

“Han… Han…”

“Alright, alright, I’ll take it as you’ve called my name.” Han Sheng didn’t mind Yuran’s stutter; he was just curious if the little girl spoke with such a stumble in front of Mu Fei as well.

Yuran could only smile shyly. She knew her speech was a bit of a burden for everyone. She would try to improve, slowly.

“Yuran, you will be helping Mr. Han Sheng for the time being,” Aunt Dai instructed from behind her.

Han Sheng was incredibly surprised and teased, “Leave this little girl with me? Are you sure you’re not afraid I’ll eat her?”

Aunt Dai pursed her lips slightly and took an instinctive step back, maintaining some distance from this man who appeared kind on the surface.

In the past, Han Sheng was a bloodthirsty maniac. He had followed the previous Head (Mu Fei’s father) to expand their territories, and his hands were stained with countless lives. The number of vampires who had died by his hand was astronomical; “The Butcher” was a title earned in blood.

After the previous Head entered a state of hibernation, he could have left, yet he insisted on staying at the mansion. It was a mystery why a rigorous and noble vampire like the Mistress would accept such a one-eyed freak as a cook.

Though he was older, compared to the handsome Mr. Dao Lei, he was truly… beyond words. Aunt Dai gave a silent pout in her mind.

“Fu… Fu Ya… Sis…?” Yuran tilted her small head and looked at Aunt Dai.

Aunt Dai was silent for a few seconds before smiling. “Sister Fu Ya has returned to the countryside and probably won’t be back for a while. So, you’ll stay here and learn some skills from Mr. Han Sheng. I hear he was once quite a good teacher.”

Hearing Aunt Dai’s rare praise, Han Sheng let out a mocking chuckle. As she was about to leave, he stepped sideways to block the path of the meticulous housekeeper.

“Why lie to the child?”

Aunt Dai met Han Sheng’s playful gaze and instinctively avoided his meaningful eyes.

“It is the Mistress’s wish.”

Han Sheng snorted. “Oh, so it’s to protect the brat’s innocence. This child isn’t simple—to stay in the Black Mist Forest for that long and come back with only scratches. Fine, I’ll teach her whatever I feel like, though maybe not cooking.”

“As you wish.” Aunt Dai glanced at the thin girl and ultimately left the decision in the hands of “The Butcher.” If the Mistress was willing to leave the poor thing here to assist someone as erratic as Han Sheng, she must have her reasons.

“Truly an unlikable woman.”

Han Sheng shrugged, turned around, and scooped little Yuran up. She was suddenly hoisted high into the air before being dropped onto Han Sheng’s shoulder.

Hearing the girl let out a yelp, Han Sheng laughed. “Since Mu Fei put you here to work for me, I don’t want any spindly-limbed weaklings getting in my way.”

Little Yuran was forced to sit on the shoulder of the seven-foot-tall man. In just a few seconds, they arrived at a small wooden cabin outside the mansion. Yuran had no idea how they had reached this place so quickly; her jaw nearly hit the ground in shock.

Han Sheng placed Yuran on the ground. She curiously studied the old, dilapidated cabin. She didn’t dare go inside and simply stood in the yard, watching.

“This is a place the Young Mistress used to like.” An isolated spot where she would run to cry alone whenever she was sad or hurt.

Of course, Han Sheng didn’t explain that; he had to save some face for the current Lady Mu Fei in front of the little brat.

However, the Mistress rarely visited anymore, so it had become a place for this old man to occasionally seek solitude. After hundreds of years of wind and snow, the cabin had been torn down and rebuilt, patched and repaired many times. It wasn’t as scenic as it once was, but it remained a quiet, secret spot.

Yuran followed behind the giant of a man, silently taking in the scenery. It was much quieter here than elsewhere, and no snow seemed to accumulate. Though it was a bit run-down, it had everything one might need.

Yuran felt a chilling aura radiating from the cabin—not the cold of the weather, but a man-made chill that kept other animals from approaching the area. There was a faint, lingering scent of blood.

Seeing the girl wrinkle her nose and sniff, Han Sheng remembered he hadn’t finished cleaning the deer he hunted earlier. The brat had quite a sensitive nose.

Accustomed to the slaughter of the battlefield, he still hadn’t lost his taste for fresh food after all these years. While the refrigerated blood provided by the mansion was fine, it couldn’t compare to the thrill of blood flowing directly from a pulse.

Hunting humans in a noble’s private territory was forbidden—that was the rule. This toothless rule couldn’t bind a butcher who had walked through hell a thousand times like Han Sheng, but not eating the girl was his basic code. Besides, someone like Yuran wasn’t even enough to get stuck in his teeth.

She was weak enough that he could crush her small head with a single finger, yet her willpower was startling.

“Hey, brat.”

Hearing Mr. Han Sheng call her, Yuran immediately turned around—only to see him hurl an… axe at her!!?

Luckily, having scavenged outside from a young age and often being chased by wild dogs, Yuran had developed excellent agility. She dodged this heavy “axe greeting.”

The axe buried itself deep into the ground in front of her. Her eyes widened, and she shakily looked up.

“…P-Present!”

“I don’t know why the Mistress stuffed you here to do chores, but since you’re here, I don’t want a little thing that only knows how to whimper and cry.”