Chapter Forty-One: Xingyu's Crisis

Beneath the black night sky, Starlight swung his sword once more, severing the head of a vampire. He watched as its corpse slowly turned to ashes, drifting away on the night wind. This was the fate of vampires: living in darkness, vanishing into darkness, leaving nothing behind at the end.

"Forty-three." After killing the vampire, Starlight murmured to himself, counting. Over the past few days, he had slain forty-three vampires, including five true bloods and three werewolves. Because of his bloodthirsty and violent nature, fewer and fewer blood hunters were willing to join him; now, it had become Starlight's solitary crusade.

He gazed at the cold moon above, whispering, "Xiaoyou, can you see? I've avenged you. Rest assured, someday, I'll find the one hiding in the shadows and tear him to pieces." There was a chilling coldness in his voice. Avenging Le Xiaoyou had become the sole force keeping Starlight alive.

"That's enough for tonight. Vampires have gone into hiding lately, harder and harder to find. What new plot are they scheming?" He recalled that every time vampires grew quiet, disaster soon followed. The thought weighed heavily on his heart. This time, Le Xiaoyou had sacrificed her life to save him. Last time, Lilith was gravely wounded while saving him. Starlight sighed inwardly, "Lilith, how should I face you?"

Lost in thought, Starlight did not notice a shadow swiftly approaching. Just as he turned to leave, a figure lunged at him from behind.

"What—?" In the instant the shadow closed in, Starlight sensed a surge of murderous intent. He realized an attack was coming, but it was too late for an effective defense. He could only instinctively guard his throat and heart.

"Ah!" A cry of pain escaped him. His right arm, thrown up to protect his throat, was slashed deeply, the wound exposing bone. The arm guard offered no resistance to the shadow’s blade, sliced through like paper.

Clutching his bleeding arm, Starlight forced himself to look at his attacker.

The shadow was wrapped head to toe in a black cloak, even the gloved hands were black. A short black dagger, still dripping fresh blood, gleamed in his grasp. The figure emitted not the faintest presence—no breath, no sound. It seemed if Starlight closed his eyes, the shadow would simply vanish.

"Who are you?" Starlight asked, voice trembling through the pain.

The shadow said nothing, merely stood in silence, as if to say: "You need not know. Death is all that awaits." A cold, silent tension stretched between them.

Slowly, the figure began to fade—yes, fade—gradually vanishing from sight until it was gone. Starlight’s nerves went taut.

He scanned his surroundings, tense, but saw no sign of the shadow. Yet he knew: it lurked nearby, patient, like a venomous snake waiting for the fatal moment.

Starlight stood motionless in the silence, nerves stretched to the breaking point, bracing for an attack from any direction. Fear crept through his heart, a terror unlike the despair before death—a dread of not knowing when or where the attack would come, tormenting him more than despair itself.

Time ticked by; the two remained locked in a standoff. But Starlight’s mind grew hazy. The prolonged tension and his untreated, bleeding arm drained his strength, his consciousness fading.

He bit his tongue hard, forcing himself to stay awake. "I must not die here. Xiaoyou’s vengeance depends on me. I cannot die here, cannot waste the life she gave saving me," he cried out inwardly.

So Starlight moved, forcing himself past the mounting terror, turning to flee at full speed. He knew if he stayed, death was certain; when his nerves finally snapped, so would his life. He had to gamble, using his own life as bait to draw out the attacker, hoping to find a weakness.

As he fled, Starlight remained alert for an attack at any moment. He failed to notice that, though his arm still bled, the wound beneath the blood was slowly healing. It was slow, but the wound did shrink. This was Lilith’s magic—the blood clan’s power of regeneration.

He ran for a long time, breathless, but no attack came. Gradually, Starlight slowed, wondering if his assailant had left. He doubted it; the attacker wouldn’t abandon the hunt so easily. He’d exposed many openings during his escape, yet was not struck. Had the shadow really departed?

As Starlight stopped, his moonlit shadow on the ground suddenly came alive, lunging at his throat.

His eyes widened as the black dagger neared, about to sever his throat. There was no time for any reaction. The shadow had seized the moment when Starlight relaxed, freed from fear—a deadly lapse.

"Am I going to die?" Starlight thought. "What a bitter end. Xiaoyou’s vengeance unfulfilled—must I die like this?" It was as people said: a parade of memories before death. He closed his eyes, recalling days spent with Xiaoyou. Yet, oddly, the last image in his mind was of Lilith. In his final memory, he saw Lilith’s eyes—dead and numb—after he had raised his sword against her.

Starlight felt a sharp pain at his throat, but death did not follow. He opened his eyes in shock: the black dagger had cut him but was halted, unable to finish. A large hand, clad in a silver glove, had seized the dagger meant to claim his life.

"Shadow Fiends, is it?" The Optimist looked calmly at the shadow. "Just in time. Had I been a moment late, I’d never know how to answer my dead daughter."

"So the blood clan finally couldn't resist?" The Optimist addressed the shadow. "Leave. You should know: with me here, you cannot kill him."

"This time, he’s lucky. But he must die. That is Princess Liriel’s order. He cannot escape," the shadow replied coolly.

"Why Liriel? What about Lilith?" Starlight demanded.

"Princess Liliana has been sealed by three Grand Dukes. Don’t expect her to save you. You caused her great pain; Princess Liriel will not let this go," the shadow said, fading away once again.

"Ah, this is troublesome," the Optimist sighed. "The Shadow Fiends—born assassins. To guard against their ambush, I’d have to follow you everywhere." He turned to Starlight.

"Why? Why was Lilith sealed? Isn’t she a princess of the blood clan?" Starlight seemed not to hear the complaint, pressing for answers.

"Precisely because she is a princess of the blood clan, she was sealed. It seems it hasn’t been exposed yet, or it wouldn’t be so simple as sealing. Remember what I told you: never let anyone know you made a pact with Princess Liliana," the Optimist said gravely.

"What is the pact Lilith made with me? Tell me," Starlight demanded.

"Some things you need not know. Just remember, Liliana sacrificed much for you," the Optimist’s voice grew somber.

Hearing this, Starlight clenched his fists in silence.

"Enough. These matters aren’t for now. The urgent thing is to treat your wounds," the Optimist said, seeing Starlight’s bloodied arm.

"Yes, I understand," Starlight replied, turning toward the Blood Hunters’ Guild.

"What a troublesome child," the Optimist muttered, watching Starlight’s retreating figure. Then he looked up at the sky and murmured, "Xiaoyou, you surely wish for this boy’s happiness, too."