After all the blood hunters present had left, the woman stayed behind.
With a scrutinizing glance, she swept past Wen Si, her gaze lingering with profound meaning on the blood near Shi Yu’s cheek.
“What I said earlier is true; I will not entirely blindly trust what the subordinates of the man surnamed Wu said. However, those vampire fledglings suddenly going mad and specifically targeting the man surnamed Wu for attacks is indeed suspicious. It is normal that you are suspected, so don’t take it to heart.”
“My younger brother told me about what happened at the challenge stage earlier.” Looking at Wen Si, the woman’s tone was calm and detached. “Your strength is sufficient to become a blood hunter, and that will not be affected by what happened just now.”
“Mm.”
Wen Si cast a sidelong glance at Shi Yu and asked, “The one who was carried away just now had an agreement with us: as long as we passed the most primitive method of selecting blood hunters, my younger brother would be allowed to join the mission together. I wonder if this still counts?”
As his words fell, Shi Yu also looked toward her expectantly.
The woman paused, not answering immediately. Instead, she stared thoughtfully at Shi Yu for a few seconds before finally relenting.
“Although he didn’t directly participate in the test just now, he didn’t get hurt either, so it can barely be considered passing.”
Shi Yu let out a sigh of relief.
In truth, he had participated in that test one hundred percent.
[Perhaps this is what a true unsung hero is like: quietly making sacrifices before fading into the shadows, deeply hiding all achievements and fame.]
Lanyin finally appeared again.
Shi Yu: “…”
Did Lanyin have some kind of profound misunderstanding about what an unsung hero actually was?
The corners of his mouth couldn’t help curving upward as he obediently and gratefully said, “Thank you, Sister.”
“I’ll do my best not to cause trouble for you all,” he added, picking up on Wen Si’s imperceptible gaze.
He had a clear sense of his own position; in the eyes of the blood hunters, he was surely nothing more than a troublesome burden. Stating directly right now that he would try not to cause trouble was the best possible attitude to project.
The woman revealed a look of surprise, her lips curving upward. “I will be joining you all on this mission.”
“You don’t need to feel uneasy. There is someone in the team going this time who is just like you. The two of you can actually become companions on the road, so it won’t be too boring.”
Someone like him?
Shi Yu experienced a flash of realization. He understood they were both going to be dead weight.
Shi Yu replied, “That’s simply wonderful.”
Wen Si seemed calm on the surface, saying, “You’ll be able to make a new friend on the road, and I’m very happy for you.”
“But darling, I thought you weren’t bored when you were with me.”
Shi Yu: “…”
A numb sensation literally crawled up from the base of his spine.
Wen Si’s second sentence was spoken in a low, intimate tone, laced with a hint of faint, lingering grievance.
[Wow, what kind of deep-palace-resentful-husband scene is this?]
Through this exact setting and mood, Lanyin recalled a certain “classic literature” piece she had read a long time ago.
There was a line in it that went like this:
[No wonder the latecomer surpasses the pioneer, because the latecomer fights and scrambles for everything.]
[Wen Si’s words basically translate to: Darling, I always thought we were the closest. Turns out you can get bored of me too. It’s fine, go make new friends, I’ll be just fine.]
If the world had a mute button, one could definitely hear the sound of Shi Yu’s mental defenses shattering.
Shi Yu furrowed his brow, pressed his lips together, and said, “Of course it’s not boring being with Older Brother, but it’s also great to make a new friend this time.”
He spoke earnestly, light-colored pupils filled with smiles.
He was practically a grand master of the linguistic art of balancing bowls of water, specifically designed to counter Wen Si.
Having listened to the dialogue between the two brothers, the woman swept a complex look over them, deeply concealing a trace of amusement.
“That’s right, for this mission, blood hunters will receive corresponding expense subsidies in addition to their basic remuneration. The subsidy requires drawing up an application in advance and getting it approved.”
“Meet here tomorrow, and remember to hand over the drafted list of expense items you need reimbursed.”
Shi Yu agreed, “Alright.”
Shi Yu was always far too lazy to handle such planning, so he cheerfully shifted this task right over to Wen Si.
What Wen Si had told the blood hunter earlier was the truth they were staying right around here.
He had booked a room in the vicinity.
It was a fine tavern that provided both food and lodging.
When entering, Shi Yu caught a glimpse of the payment Wen Si handed to the front desk: a heavy stack of gold coins, a full pouch of them practically overflowing, gleaming brilliantly golden.
Outside the tavern door, it was clearly written: Standard lodging room, 30 gold coins per night.
It wasn’t until he was sitting on the couch inside the room that Shi Yu asked Lanyin.
“Lanyin, what kind of concept is 50 gold coins?”
[Gold coins in the human capital are uniformly minted, with a single gold coin made of about 4.5 grams of gold. One gold coin is roughly equivalent to 60 silver coins, and 6 silver coins are roughly equivalent to 240 copper coins.]
[You can probably buy a pig with two gold coins.]
“The amount Wen Si gave just now was way more than 50 gold, and the room he booked doesn’t look like a standard room either.”
Shi Yu surveyed the room’s decor the oil paintings hanging on the walls and the burning lamp trays overhead adorned with crystal pendants.
Although he could tell those gems weren’t exceptionally precious varieties, it still didn’t look like standard room decoration.
[Darling, your industrial empire spans across humans and vampires. This money is just tiny pocket change!]
Lanyin eagerly informed Shi Yu, sounding like an overly protective mother terrified her wealthy, beautiful child might get scammed away by a poor boy over a simple bowl of plain porridge.
Shi Yu understood now. So Wen Si had been properly managing his business assets all along.
Calculated this way, how could the room he was currently staying in not be paid for with his own money?
However, why had they only booked a single room?
Shi Yu tossed the question over to Wen Si.
At that moment, Wen Si was just receiving items delivered to the doorway by a staff member.
“Wen Si, why did we only book one room?”
It wasn’t until Wen Si walked closer that Shi Yu noticed he was carrying a brand-new set of bedding, possessing a soft, plush texture and carrying a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Hearing Shi Yu’s question, he showed no surprise. Instead, he walked over to the bed and began making it unhurriedly while explaining himself with complete composure.
“This tavern didn’t take advance bookings, and this was the only room left. Besides, our identity in front of the blood hunters is that of brothers, so it’s not strange for two people to book a single room.”
Shi Yu didn’t believe it. He walked straight over to the bedside and planted himself squarely on the side Wen Si had already smoothed out.
He had to admit, the delivered bedding was indeed very plush; Wen Si certainly knew how to live comfortably.
Skeptically, he remarked, “What a coincidence there happened to be a room left right when we arrived, and it just so happened to be only one.”
His words carried an obvious lack of belief. How could things possibly be that coincidental?
It was impossible for Wen Si not to catch Shi Yu’s implication, but he nodded along without changing his facial expression.
“Yeah, what a coincidence indeed.”
Splendid. It was like punching a giant mass of cotton.
Only half the bed had been made when Shi Yu sat right down on it, clearly broadcasting the intention to cause trouble.
The wicked notion of intentionally making things busier for the busybody Wen Si quickly bubbled up inside him.
Hehe, he wouldn’t help out, but he would cause disruption.
It could also be considered indirect participation, albeit purely negative participation.
However, before his mischievous urge to stir up trouble could be put into action, his spell was completely interrupted by a single sentence from Wen Si.
With deep, profound eyes, Wen Si simply asked him: “Darling, did you take your medicine today?”
Shi Yu: “…”
Splendid. His previous malicious little scheme had just been thoroughly intercepted.
No wonder Wen Si had been so calm just now; he was quietly plotting a single decisive counter-attack.
He had to hand it to Wen Si that completely unruffled sentence had really dealt a massive blow.
Did he take his medicine?
Of course not.
Maintaining an expressionless face, Shi Yu answered, “I took it.”
Anyway, Wen Si had no way of knowing whether he actually had or hadn’t.
“Really?” Wen Si asked, as if simply confirming the detail.
Shi Yu blurted out: “Of co”
Of course.
Unfortunately, Wen Si’s next words taught him another harsh lesson.
“Yet I recall that aside from the night you fainted when I fed it to you, I gathered up the medicine afterward.”
The underlying meaning was clear: the medicine wasn’t even in Shi Yu’s possession, so how on earth could he have taken it today?
Shi Yu had fallen straight into a blind spot, and now he was getting heavily penalized for it.
Refusing to give up, Shi Yu looked at Wen Si with an innocent expression. “Then I must have remembered incorrectly.”
Following that, he twitched the corner of his mouth, suppressing a smile.
“Besides, we left in such a rush today that I didn’t even have time to go grab the medicine and bring it along.”
The drop of blood Wen Si had fed him earlier just a tiny drop had already made Shi Yu’s complexion look much rosier. He looked like a lazily content little cat after a satisfying meal, flushed in the face with a languid exhaustion lingering between his brows and eyes.
He understood his own body well enough to know he wouldn’t starve today even if he skipped the medicine.
What’s more, even though he hadn’t been entirely lucid that night, the taste of that medicine remained vividly etched in his memory during his dreams.
It was truly bitter.
Shi Yu intended to skip it whenever he possibly could.
He forced out a sigh, “Ah, forgot to bring the medicine. What a pity.”
Not a pity at all.
Good thing he had prepared ahead of time and deliberately avoided mentioning bringing the medicine before departure this morning.
Lifting his eyes, Wen Si listened to him talk with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Originally, it really would have been a pity.”
Shi Yu: ?
A strong premonition flared up inside him that Wen Si was about to add more congestion to his already obstructed mood.
Sure enough, Wen Si’s words sounded like whispers of a demon:
“Knowing you might forget to bring the medicine, I simply didn’t give it to you—I’ve been keeping it safe on my person the entire time.”
Shi Yu: “…”
Heh, how wonderfully malicious.
“Good thing you’re around.”
He gritted his teeth, barely managing to scrape together a polite expression.
Wen Si let out a light laugh and offered considerately, “The medicine is right there on the table, hurry up and take it.”
Shi Yu tried hard to comfort himself.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t working.
Reluctantly, he rose from the bed and walked over to the table.
Sure enough, the white medicine had already been dissolved in a cup, and the water temperature was just lukewarm so he could drink it immediately.
Even death-row inmates were granted a brief moment of reprieve before execution.
As for him, the medicine was right by his lips with not a single second allowed for procrastination.
Pinching his nose with a wrinkled face, Shi Yu chugged the medicine down.
The moment he set the cup down, the bitter aftertaste was already starting to flood back.
Right at that instant, a candied fruit was pressed against the corner of his lips.
Following his instincts, Shi Yu bit down and drew it into his mouth.
Wen Si fed him the candied fruit just before his taste receptors could fully register the bitterness.
Shi Yu’s light pink lips parted slightly, taking the candied fruit inside.
The moisture from the medicine he had just consumed, which hadn’t yet been wiped clean from the corners of his mouth, unavoidably brushed across Wen Si’s fingertips at the moment of contact, leaving behind a damp trace.
Shi Yu didn’t notice it.
With a slight flicker of his brow, Wen Si calmly withdrew his hand, stared deeply at the moisture on his fingertips, and broke into a satisfied smile.
Wen Si had barely managed to salvage his act of forcing Shi Yu to take his medicine, but who could blame Shi Yu for having a foul temper?
Lanyin quickly reached a conclusion.
[Wen Si forced Your Highness to take medicine, he’s bad!]
[Wen Si took the opportunity to hand-feed a candied fruit and took advantage of Your Highness, he’s bad!]
[Darling’s medicine is bitter, but he tried hard to take it. Darling is wonderful ]
Hearing this in his heart, Shi Yu thought Lanyin was practically an upright, crystal-clear judge.
To speak the truth.
A single room only had one bed, even though that bed was large enough to fit three strapping men.
Lazily, Shi Yu let out a yawn, blinking drowsily.
“Go get some rest.”
Reservedly, Shi Yu asked, “Then what about you?”
One bed—if Wen Si also wanted to sleep, he could barely manage to draw a dividing line using a body pillow. That would at least neatly resolve the issue: sharing a bed without sharing dreams.
Who could have expected Wen Si to pull a helpless expression and ask him joyfully: “Does darling want me to accompany you that badly?”
Accompany him to do what?
Accompany him to sleep.
Was Wen Si alright?
Shi Yu: “…”
He didn’t understand, but he was profoundly shocked.
Before he could process his stun, Wen Si smoothly bypassed the subject: “I have matters to attend to tonight, you go on and sleep.”
“I definitely won’t be this busy next time, I’ll definitely accompany darling then.”
Please, feel free to keep being this busy.
As a vampire duke, Wen Si’s current physical state didn’t require that much rest. Missing a single night of sleep wouldn’t have any major impact.
With an almost expressionless face, Shi Yu went over and lay down on the bed.
His drowsy brain suddenly turned abnormally alert.
Anyone whose sleep was bombed by a few casual remarks right before bed would lose all sleepiness instantly.