Upon Her Lips - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Western Calendar Year 3052, 9:00 AM

The moment she pushed open the door, the man frowned slightly as the pervasive scent of blood invaded the air.

The once pristine white bedding was now stained a dried reddish-brown. The man had no choice but to navigate around the mess on the floor, walking with light, quiet steps until he stood two meters from the edge of the bed.

He stood respectfully, waiting in silence.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint murmur broke the silence, followed by the rustling sound of a woman rising.

The man remained slightly bowed, standing with a respectful yet distant posture, not daring to look at her directly.

“What time is it?”

“To my Master: it is already nine in the morning.”

The woman gave no reaction. Instead, she pulled back the thin duvet and gently traced her fingers over the lifeless face beside her. Within her crimson eyes, the pupils stood vertically erect, like those of a wild beast.

Hypovolemic shock.

“Humans truly are fragile,” the woman said, her voice tender, though her expression was as cold as frost. She toyed with a strand of the person’s black hair and asked her most loyal servant, “Daolei, they say that once a human harbors greed, their end is usually quite tragic.”

“Indeed, humans are inherently covetous,” the man named Daolei replied with reverence.

She blinked slightly, and in an instant, her eyes returned to a beautiful golden-brown. “To think she actually wanted to be my mistress. How utterly presumptuous.”

The woman finished speaking and dropped the strand of hair with a hint of disdain. Her tone shifted to one of mock pity. “Blame yourself for choosing the wrong family to serve. And for being so foolish.”

Daolei looked at the human woman. Her blood had already stagnated. In about three minutes, the single drop of the House Head’s blood remaining in her heart would cause her weak human frame to collapse under the invasion of foreign essence.

There were only two ways to save her: Mu Fei’s “First Embrace,” or extracting that drop of blood.

Obviously, no one was worthy of the Master’s First Embrace. Thus, this ignorant woman could only pay the price for the aftermath of her pleasure.

Mu Fei stared intently at the woman’s chest, then pressed her fingertip into the area above the heart. A mere touch from her was enough to extinguish a human’s life signs.

Of course, she did not intend to take the woman’s life.

In the next second, she withdrew her finger. The woman, who had been in shock, instantly regained a heartbeat. Blood began to flow through her body; her breathing steadied and her pulse returned to normal. However, her body underwent a visible, chronic transformation—her eye sockets became sunken, her skin sagged, and she suddenly appeared to have aged many years.

Mu Fei looked coldly at this person whose beauty had vanished, then glanced casually at her loyal old butler. “When she wakes up, send her back to the Rong family as a warning. Tell them to show proper respect and stop sending such low-class individuals to me. It’s not fresh at all.”

“Understood.”

Looking at the no-longer-young human woman on the bed, Daolei carefully took a clean, thin blanket from the cabinet and draped it over her with gentlemanly grace, then signaled his subordinates to handle the rest.

Truthfully, after all these years, he still wasn’t used to his Master’s cold and capricious way of handling things.

The woman’s golden-brown eyes fixed on the faint sunlight filtering through the window, and she frowned with displeasure. She hated the sun; it brought an inexplicable irritability to her heart.

She stood up, exposing skin as pale and cold as white paper. Daolei stepped forward to offer a clean dressing gown.

“I don’t particularly like the scent of this laundry detergent,” she said with a faint, thin smile. She undid the robe and let it fall to the floor without putting it on, then walked into the bathroom with a frigid expression.

Her face, as exquisitely beautiful as a statue of Venus, often bore a most holy smile—even just now, when she had pierced a chest to extract a drop of blood. This elegance was the terrifying core of Mu Fei, the Master Daolei had served for over seven hundred years.

The old servant sighed helplessly. It seemed they would have to replace all the toiletries in the hotel again.

..

After Mu Fei finished her bath, she wrapped herself loosely in a towel and walked out. The room was now bright and tidy; every item was perfectly arranged, and the bed was freshly made. No one would have guessed the horrific events that had just transpired there.

Mu Fei stood to the side, watching a maid straighten the new sheets. The maid lowered her head and reported respectfully to Daolei that the cleaning was complete.

Daolei nodded for her to leave. As the girl complied, she caught a glimpse of the beautiful woman in the towel. Just one look made her blush, and she quickly looked away, not daring to stare. The manager had strictly warned her: the guest in this suite was the owner of the hotel. She was to remain silent about anything she saw or heard and never look the guest in the eye.

When she had first seen the state of the room, she had been terrified. She had only managed to suppress her panic and resist the urge to flee so she could clean the room quickly. She hadn’t expected the guest to be such a stunningly beautiful woman.

“Are you afraid?” Mu Fei stepped forward, offering a “friendly” concern to the young maid.

The girl shook her head, but her body felt cold—a shivering sensation like being watched by a predator.

“Oh,” Mu Fei narrowed her eyes, staring meaningfully at the girl’s neck for a moment before looking away with a frown. “Then get out.”

Startled by the sudden, flat, icy tone, the girl broke into a cold sweat. Overwhelmed by a primal fear, she nodded and hurried out of the room.

“A body saturated with various drugs… this kind of blood isn’t fresh at all,” Mu Fei muttered to herself. She dressed and tucked her long hair behind her ear, then asked the silent butler with a smile, “Were you just now condoning my desire to feed?”

“I trust your judgment. Besides, you enjoyed the ‘dessert’ offered by Miss Rong Xian last night. I imagine you won’t need to feed again for a few days,” Daolei replied, placing her high heels by her feet.

“Oh, her name is Rong Xian.”

“Yes, the second young miss of the Rong family.”

Daolei answered, thinking to himself how cold-blooded his Master truly was. To have spent the night with someone, nearly killing them, and not even know their name.

Mu Fei smiled. She didn’t indulge her desires very often.

However, last night at the banquet, she had been lured into bed by this woman named Rong Xian. The woman offered herself, and Mu Fei had accepted. But the woman’s blood was laced with high-concentration alcohol. Mu Fei, usually a picky eater, had drunkenly consumed a large amount and accidentally allowed her own blood to flow back into the woman’s body, which now made her feel nauseous.

Human bodies cannot withstand the blood of a pureblood noble.

“Blood containing alcohol doesn’t suit me, Daolei. I am very picky.”

But you also enjoyed it, Daolei thought, though the old fox would never dare say it out loud.

…

Snow began to fall outside. The morning light seemed to be smothered by the gloomy, eerie city, leaving only tiny patches of shadow illuminated.

“It’s snowing,” Mu Fei said.

She put on purple silk gloves and pulled back all the curtains. Sure enough, the last trace of light vanished into the frozen city. Mu Fei curled her lips slightly; she preferred this cold, damp weather. It was quiet and helped her calm down.

She picked out a lipstick and applied it to her pale, thin lips. The red instantly made her complexion appear even whiter and more glamorous.

“To someone who didn’t know better, they’d think you were a superstar from the Kentas District,” Daolei complimented.

Indeed, she looked radiant in the mirror. Beneath that beautiful skin, who would know she had lived for over seven centuries?

“Daolei, I must say, your flattery is quite outdated, but I still enjoy it,” Mu Fei laughed. She threw on a black coat and walked out, with Daolei following closely behind.

They took the elevator alone; Daolei had pre-arranged it. Mu Fei had a germaphobic streak and disliked sharing elevators with others. Daolei was always extra careful with his temperamental Master; one never knew when her mood might shift.

If she was in a good mood, she might grant someone wealth or glory beyond their dreams. For instance…

“This piece is quite good,” Mu Fei said as she stepped out into the lobby. The deep, stirring sound of a cello echoed through the hall. The melody was complex yet powerful—a mix of lyricism and a mournful protest against the world’s injustice.

“Find out who the performer is.”

“Yes.” After whispering to a subordinate, Daolei reported back. “It is an intern who just joined the hotel. No special background.”

“Then see to it,” Mu Fei waved her hand. She gave an appreciative look toward the performer at the music bar. Clearly, this young intern was about to receive a very generous bonus.

As she turned to leave the main entrance, a woman carrying a child suddenly rushed in. Mu Fei nimbly sidestepped, perfectly avoiding a collision.

“Let me see your boss! Let me see your boss! Come out—!”

The voice was agonizingly shrill. The woman’s hair was a tangled mess, and her once-pretty face was sunken—a hallmark side effect of Fique (a new type of hallucinogenic stimulant).

“You heartless, trash corporation! You’ll go bankrupt! My husband died in this hotel and you don’t care! Look everyone, people die in this hotel! Who dares stay here? I curse you all to hell!” The woman screamed, kicking the security guards and even biting one of them.

Mu Fei caught the scent of human blood in the air. She watched the scene with cold, detached interest.

The hotel manager, Mr. Hong, rushed over in a panic. He knew the highest-ranking leader of the company was currently resting in the hotel; he couldn’t let her see this mess. When he arrived, his heart sank. He saw Director Daolei—the tall, thin man with a deep scar on his left cheek.

“Alert PR and get this madwoman out of here!” Mr. Hong hissed to his men, then bowed fearfully to Daolei. “Director Daolei, this is my failure. I will handle it immediately. Please forgive me.”

The man was sweating profusely, not daring to look up. Daolei looked at Mu Fei, then asked the manager, “Who is this woman?”

“Well, her husband was a maintenance electrician for the hotel. He died in an accident. The hotel followed all procedures and paid a large sum in compensation. But this woman is a drug addict who keeps coming back to harass us for more money. We will handle it!”

Mu Fei heard every word. The “madwoman” collapsed at the door, exhausted, while her child hid behind her, dazed. Security had dispersed the onlookers. In this hotel, the guests were wealthy and tended to ignore the drama of the lower class. Among them were a few vampires hiding in human skin, their eyes narrowing at the scent of blood, but no one dared make a scene. The owner of this hotel was a pureblood noble.

Mu Fei lowered the brim of her hat, prepared to leave. She took one last look at the “greedy” mother and daughter.

A pair of sincere, pitiful black eyes stared straight back at her. It was the girl hiding behind the mother.

Mu Fei remained silent for a few seconds. She didn’t walk out the door. Usually, she wouldn’t bother with such trivial matters. But it was snowing hard outside, and she was in no rush.

She walked slowly up to the woman.

“Do you want money that badly?”

“Yes…”

The woman looked up at Mu Fei, her eyes filled with a desperate craving for gold. Mu Fei grabbed the woman’s arm. The woman tried to resist but had no strength; the ice-cold touch of Mu Fei’s skin terrified her. Mu Fei pushed up the woman’s sleeve, revealing countless horrific needle marks.

“A body so filthy even a dog wouldn’t eat you,” Mu Fei whispered with a smile. “I understand the hotel has already paid you. But if you want more money, I can give it to you.”

“Really… really?!” The woman’s dull eyes lit up with hope.

Mu Fei glanced at the ragged little girl behind her. “But you must trade something of value. It seems you have nothing.”

“Something of value… something of value…” the woman muttered, searching her pockets. Then she spotted the girl. She gave a manic giggle and dragged the child forward. “Her? Can she do it? I raised her… she’ll do…”

The woman was clearly out of her mind. She didn’t care how terrified the child was.

Mu Fei smirked. Human greed truly knew no bounds, not even for one’s own kin. After all this time, her impression of humans remained the same: greedy and base.

Feeling bored, Mu Fei glanced at Daolei. He understood instantly. He stepped forward, whispered a warning to the woman, and handed her a bag. It was filled with money.

The woman was stunned. They didn’t want her child, yet they gave her the money. Despite the man’s warning—which likely meant her life if she returned—she clutched the bag and ran out of the hotel, dragging the girl along.

As they walked, she looked at the child with nothing but disgust. Who would want this brat? Such bad luck! Now that she had the money, she could go to the North District—to the casinos, the paradise of fame and fortune. The child was just a burden now.

“Wait here for me! Do you hear me?” The woman pointed at a streetlamp and commanded the girl. She tucked the money tightly into her coat.

The cold street was deserted. The girl shivered. “But… but…”

A heavy slap across the face silenced her.

The girl huddled under the streetlamp, alone, until the falling snow began to cover her small, frail body.