"Get out..." Ye Jingyu lashed out with a kick, but Liang Xiaoke, already prepared, dodged it easily. "Xiangyi, ignore him.

You should change into her clothes!" Ye Jingyu said calmly. "Mhm..." Gongsun Xiangyi nodded, accepting the gauze skirt handed to her by Gongsun Lu and slipping it on over her existing attire.

This greatly disappointed Liang Xiaoke, who had hoped for a more scandalous scene. He could only cast his sly eyes toward Gongsun Lu.

While the girl was not unattractive, her figure was too underdeveloped. Even though she was only draped in a dudou (a traditional Chinese bodice), the area in question was noticeably flat.

"Sigh... should I wait a few more years before turning her into a Blood Corpse?" Liang Xiaoke thought sadly, looking at Gongsun Lu, who resembled a matchstick.

He had intended to mold Gongsun Lu into an all-around asset capable of fulfilling certain specific needs of his. "Alright, hide yourself inside the covers.

When they discover Xiangyi is missing by morning, you’ll be the only one left to marry her. Of course, you should bribe the maids who help undress you to put on your head covering early.

Once we reach Jincheng, even Xuanyuan Xue won't be able to go back on his word!" After Gongsun Xiangyi finished dressing, Ye Jingyu instructed Gongsun Lu, who was covering her abdomen with her arms. Gongsun Lu nodded immediately and hurried toward the bed, her slender legs swaying, her small backside giving a little wiggle that possessed a certain charm.

"Heh heh, this arrangement looks much better!" Liang Xiaoke smirked again from the side. "Enough dawdling, let's go quickly!" Ye Jingyu shot Liang Xiaoke a dismissive look.

After placing the head covering on Gongsun Xiangyi, Ye Jingyu was about to follow her toward the exit when he suddenly heard steady footsteps approaching from outside. "Your Servant greets Your Highness!" a maid's voice called from beyond the door...

Gongsun Xiangyi and Gongsun Lu both changed color simultaneously. Only Xuanyuan Xue could be referred to as 'Your Highness.' He was Gongsun Xiangyi's fiancé, but even though he resided in the Gongsun Manor, he shouldn't be coming here before the marriage was finalized.

Why was he arriving at this hour? "All of you, rise.

Has the young mistress retired for the night?" A steady voice sounded from outside. "No, Young Lady Lu just went in?" It was unclear which maid responded.

"Oh? What did she come for?" Xuanyuan Xue clearly knew the little vixen of the Gongsun family; his tone was laced with open disgust.

"The young lady said she came to visit her aunt and brought some gifts for Young Miss Xiangyi!" the maid continued. "Oh, then I shall go in and see!" As these words faded, footsteps sounded right outside the door.

"What do we do?" Gongsun Lu, Gongsun Xiangyi, and even Liang Xiaoke, who was already preparing to burrow into the earth, all turned to look at Ye Jingyu. Ye Jingyu glanced at Gongsun Xiangyi, then at Gongsun Lu, who was peeking halfway out of the bed, and finally settled his gaze on Liang Xiaoke...

"Kill!" A chilling command emerged from Ye Jingyu's lips. As the word was uttered, Gongsun Xiangyi and Gongsun Lu froze momentarily, but Liang Xiaoke’s figure was already lunging toward Gongsun Lu.

Gongsun Lu reacted instantly. Her cooperation stemmed from her desire to marry Xuanyuan Xue, but if Xuanyuan Xue were to be killed, would all her efforts still hold meaning?

Just as she was about to cry out a warning to Xuanyuan Xue outside, Liang Xiaoke was already upon her, clamping one hand around her neck and hoisting her entirely into the air. Gongsun Lu's expression cycled rapidly—from shyness to fury, then to stark terror, followed by utter despair.

She tried to beg for mercy, but Liang Xiaoke's grip felt like an iron vise; she couldn't draw a single breath. Before Gongsun Lu could suffocate, Liang Xiaoke's head dove toward her delicate neck, and he bit down hard.

A searing pain shot through Gongsun Lu’s mind, followed immediately by an intense suction. The blood within her veins surged madly toward his mouth.

The draining sensation brought her close to collapse; she felt as if her very soul was being drawn out. She wanted to scream loudly but could utter nothing; she yearned to struggle fiercely but possessed not a shred of strength, as if there were no other outcome save being sucked dry by her assailant.

This feeling of helplessness plunged Gongsun Lu into complete despair, an emotion that gnawed at her core, saturating her very soul with its flavor. Soon, every drop of blood in Gongsun Lu’s body was siphoned away by Liang Xiaoke.

As he fed, his large hand did not neglect to caress her buttocks... Witnessing a vibrant young woman transform into a desiccated husk in the blink of an eye, even Gongsun Xiangyi, accustomed to various grim scenes, turned deathly pale with fright.

Had Ye Jingyu not been there, she might have shrieked aloud. "Tsk, I originally intended to take your body before killing you, but necessity demands expediency!" Liang Xiaoke tossed Gongsun Lu’s corpse onto the bed and then pointed a finger at her forehead.

A single drop of golden blood sank into Gongsun Xiangyi's brow, and instantly, her shriveled corpse began to slowly plump up and fill out. Liang Xiaoke paid no further attention to Gongsun Lu’s transformation and instead turned his gaze toward the main entrance...

At that moment, footsteps drew near. Ye Jingyu and Liang Xiaoke exchanged a look; one darted to one side, the other dove downward, and both vanished without a trace.

"Snap!" The door opened. Xuanyuan Xue, clad in a silver-white python robe and wearing a feathered crown, stepped inside.

He immediately saw Gongsun Xiangyi, clad in a white gauze skirt, standing by the bedside, while Gongsun Lu lay motionless on the couch for unknown reasons. "Xiangyi!" A flicker of confusion crossed Xuanyuan Xue's eyes, quickly replaced by an expression of rapt adoration, as if he were gazing upon the lover he had cherished for years.

This look left Gongsun Xiangyi deeply bewildered; did she even know him? Xuanyuan Xue paid no mind to the bewilderment in Gongsun Xiangyi’s eyes and turned to close the door.

"Xiangyi, what is wrong with Gongsun Lu? Why is she lying on your bed?" Xuanyuan Xue asked Gongsun Xiangyi, looking questioningly at the body on the couch.

"She came to complain, saying she should be the one marrying you. I got annoyed and killed her!" Gongsun Xiangyi had now regained her cold and venomous composure.

"Ah... she is your niece!" Xuanyuan Xue was clearly stunned by the callousness of Gongsun Xiangyi's statement.

"Isn't this all your fault? I don't understand; you've never met me, so why insist that I marry you?" This had always been the core of Gongsun Xiangyi's confusion.

"I have seen you. I saw you two years ago, I..." Before Xuanyuan Xue could finish his sentence, a sharp blade of light materialized from the void, causing his face to contort in alarm...