The Price of Desperation

Just as the bartender and manager lingered behind the counter, idly speculating about what Manager Wang might do to Bai Xia, a thunderous crash suddenly erupted from the direction of the VIP room.

“Boom—”

The deafening explosion instantly tore through the bar’s raucous music. The VIP room’s solid wooden door panel shattered like paper, splinters flying everywhere as Manager Wang’s corpulent form was sent hurtling backward like a ragdoll. He slammed heavily into the bar, demolishing the entire row of liquor cabinets.

Amidst the showering debris, a petite white figure emerged from the doorway of the private room. Small leather shoes crunched on glass shards as she stepped out slowly, her ruby-like eyes glowing with an eerie, blood-red light as she cast a cold gaze over the entire establishment.

The sudden, violent turn of events plunged the entire bar into an instant, deathly silence. Every guest froze in place, leaving only the wreckage strewn across the floor and the abruptly echoing background music that no one had managed to turn off.

‘She knew it. Sending her to deliver drinks was never going to be with good intentions.’

‘These hateful wretches!’

Bai Xia was absolutely furious at that moment. All she had wanted was to earn a small sum to cover her daily expenses, yet not only had her wages been constantly delayed, but now something like this had actually fallen upon her. It was… truly too much to bear!

Bai Xia’s gaze, frigid and sharp, swept over Manager Wang, who lay slumped by the bar, his face covered in blood. Her eyes finally landed on the bartender and manager, who were still dazed and bewildered by the unfolding chaos.

If she could, Bai Xia truly wanted to tear those two apart right then and there. But not only had she already caused such a massive commotion, the crucial issue was that she didn’t know when the drug she’d been given would take effect. Practically speaking, her time to escape was rapidly dwindling.

‘And… if someone were to call the police right now, it would be over for me. I absolutely cannot be discovered by the police in my current state!’

‘I have to leave quickly!’

A subtle gleam flickered in her ruby-like eyes. A deterrence, originating from a higher species, instantly stunned everyone in the room who had yet to recover their senses. Seizing this brief moment, Bai Xia darted forward, smashing through the bar’s glass door, and disappeared into the night.

Of course, before leaving, she didn’t forget to snatch the wad of cash Manager Wang had tossed onto the table.

‘They tried to assault me; can’t I take their money?’

‘Besides, it was meant to be my tip anyway. No harm in taking what’s already offered.’

As for her wages… ‘Well, I wasn’t exactly a legitimate employee, so they’re probably unrecoverable. But this stack of money is far more than my wages would have been; in a way, it makes up for my losses.’

However, what worried Bai Xia more now was whether she would be targeted by the Blade Keepers Agency. After all, she had been forced to use her abilities to save herself, and those people, once they recovered, would surely call the police.

She had seen the televised images of extraordinary individuals encircling and suppressing creatures from beyond the veil. She certainly didn’t want to become the target of such an operation.

‘If I really get caught, I’ll have money but no life to spend it with.’

‘A little blood princess like me, who has always pretended to be an ordinary human, would definitely be captured for research if discovered.’

‘Forget it, for now, I should worry about what exactly that drug I was fed is…’

‘A sedative? An aphrodisiac? Or both, or something even more terrifying?’

Bai Xia truly dreaded imagining what she would become once the power she was using vanished. After all, the strength and lucidity gained from expending her stored energy were only temporary, offering only a brief suppression of the drug. Once its effects fully manifested…

‘If it’s just the former, a sedative, then at most I’d simply pass out. But if it’s an aphrodisiac, my fate…’ Bai Xia couldn’t bring herself to think any further. She knew that if a blood princess willingly drank someone’s blood, it was no different from acknowledging them as a master. ‘If I, in a moment of clouded judgment due to such circumstances, were to drink someone’s blood, then my life would be ruined forever!’

‘I’m so cute; I absolutely don’t want to inexplicably become some downtrodden old man’s plaything in the middle of the night!’

At this moment, Bai Xia was truly terrified. Although the blood of animals like chickens and ducks didn’t taste particularly good and contained many impurities, it still provided enough energy for her to maintain her disguise at school. As for human blood, she had never even considered touching it.

‘No, I must get home before my power runs out!’

‘I absolutely cannot be caught!’

“Haa… haa…”

The night was as black as ink, and the white-haired girl sprinted frantically, the cold, stark streetlights stretching her panicked silhouette long across the pavement. Her small leather shoes tapped out a hurried da-da on the sidewalk, her snow-white hair streamed behind her, and her red pupils flickered in the darkness. Her sharp fangs unconsciously bit through her lower lip, and crimson blood beads trickled down her porcelain-white chin, blooming into a few tragically beautiful flowers on her pure white dress.

“I must… get home quickly…”

Bai Xia had never yearned so intensely to return to her tiny rented room. However, the little power she usually stored was now nearly depleted from such consumption, and her suppression of the drug’s effects began to wane. She could even distinctly feel her sanity rapidly draining away like sand in an hourglass.

Gradually, Bai Xia felt her legs begin to weaken. Her running speed slowed, and her small heart pounded thump-thump in her chest, instantly filling her with panic. Relying solely on this meager strength and will, it was impossible for her to reach her rented room. But if she were to pass out on the street or, worse, attack someone…

Bai Xia suddenly felt a wave of despair. If she were to drink blood, not only would something terrible happen, but more importantly, her identity as a blood princess might be exposed. She was still young; she didn’t want to be caught and dissected by the Blade Keepers Agency!

Yet, no matter how Bai Xia struggled, the pale legs beneath her dress were growing steadily weaker. Her breathing became more rapid, and her once firm, fair cheeks were now flushed with an unnatural redness.

‘It’s… it’s an aphrodisiac!’

This was undoubtedly the correct answer to what the drug was, and also the answer she had most desperately hoped to avoid.

“Damn it…”

Bai Xia’s fingertips dug deep into her palms, attempting to use the pain to maintain consciousness. But as she ran, her legs suddenly gave out, and she stumbled, collapsing onto the sidewalk. Her pale knees hit the rough ground hard, immediately seeping small trails of blood, and her snow-white dress acquired several smudges on the coarse surface.

She struggled to get up, only to find the power within her rapidly receding like a retreating tide.

“Wuwu… how could this be? Someone, please help me…”

Bai Xia’s fair cheeks were now flushed with an unnatural crimson, her breathing growing more frantic, and her ruby-like eyes were veiled with a mist of tears. A little blood princess, after all, also had a heat cycle, and the intense heat that now enveloped Bai Xia felt much like she was in one. Her snow-white hair clung messily to her flushed cheeks. She could clearly feel it—the forcibly suppressed drug effect was surging back, her line of reason collapsing. Her only hope now was to somehow make it home.

But at this distance… it was clearly impossible. She had only run two blocks since she started using her power, but her home was still at least twenty minutes away. Bai Xia realized with despair that she simply couldn’t hold on until then.

‘What to do, what to do? Is my glorious reputation going to be ruined here today?’

Though it was late night, there were still a few scattered pedestrians on the street. To prevent anyone from seeing her disheveled state, Bai Xia forced herself to stumble into a dim alley. Leaning against the cold wall, she slowly slid to the ground, her snow-white hair sticking messily to her sweat-dampened cheeks.

‘So hot… I want to take off my clothes… I want… blood…’

Reason was gradually being devoured by desire. Bai Xia curled up in the damp corner, her slender fingers unconsciously tearing at the neckline of her dress. Her fair skin glowed with an alluring pink in the alley’s faint light. Despite her desperate attempts to suppress the urge to rip off her clothes, her body’s instincts crashed against her defenses in wave after wave.

Unbeknownst to her, the power within Bai Xia was also dwindling to almost nothing. At this moment, she fully experienced what it meant to be unable to control herself; even as her remaining reason screamed in protest, her body still reacted uncontrollably—

Her fingertips had already pulled down half of her dress strap, revealing a rounded shoulder and delicate collarbone. If someone were to pass through the alley at this moment, Bai Xia dared not imagine what fate awaited her. She could only desperately curl herself up, trying to hide deeper in the shadows, unconsciously biting her bleeding lips with her sharp fangs, emitting whimpers like a small animal.

“Wuwu… is there anyone, anyone who can… save me…” The girl’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, laced with desperate sobs.