Chapter 80: The Three Sisters of the Ye Family

Ye Mei saw Pan Fei take to the sky, attempting to escape, and hastily spun around, pushing her sword forward as she called out, “The Eight Sword Formation.”
The first sword split into eight, launching straight at him. Seeing her relentless pursuit, Pan realized he would have to kill her to end this. His expression turned savage, revealing his fangs, and his eyes shimmered blood-red.

He watched as the eight swords attacked, each aiming mercilessly for his heart. Dodging left and right, he evaded their continuous assaults, growing increasingly annoyed by their relentless pursuit. After eluding one wave, he attempted to grasp a sword, but the instant he touched it, searing pain shot through his hand, forcing him to recoil. As the swords closed in on him again, he noticed a flaw—their true target was the one controlling them. She was fully focused, unable to divide her attention while commanding the swords.

Seizing the opportunity as the swords struck, he swiftly dodged and, using his momentum, flew directly toward Ye Mei. Confronted by his overwhelming force, she was startled. Pan crashed into her, pinning her by the throat against a tree. Her swords, losing control, fell uselessly to the ground.

She saw the murderous intent radiating from Pan. The ease with which he broke her formation was a crushing blow. Now, facing death with no strength left to resist, her thoughts turned to the warmth of home. She regretted her reckless confidence, thinking she could subdue this vampire—she had been too naive.

Tears welled in her eyes. Pan raised his left hand and, without hesitation, aimed a punch at her heart. Terrified, she squeezed her eyes shut and cried out loudly, not wanting to die.

A sharp, clear scream echoed through the forest. Pan, startled by her sudden cry, drove his fist into the tree instead. Having never been confronted with a woman’s tears before, he was at a loss. Looking into her frightened eyes, he was struck by a strange feeling. “I’ve never seen a hunter so afraid of death. If you’re so afraid, why pretend to act righteous? I really don’t understand why you girls involve yourselves in these matters.”

He let go. She looked at him with tear-reddened eyes, wanting to speak, but sank powerlessly to the ground instead. The memory of that moment left her with an indescribable feeling, her hands trembling uncontrollably.

“Why didn’t you kill me? I am afraid to die, but I’ll never beg you for mercy.”

Pan sat before her, watching her weep. He smiled gently. “I don’t kill the weak. Not like you so-called hunters, who refuse to rest until every last one of us vampires is dead. Have you ever thought about whether all the vampires you’ve killed were truly monstrous, unforgivable beings? Must our whole race be exterminated?”

“I…I don’t know. All I know is that as a hunter, it’s my duty to kill you.”

With a wave of his hand, the red-bladed sword on the ground was lifted by an unseen force and planted between them. “If you think we deserve to die, that we should be erased from this world, then take up this sword and kill me.”

Ye Mei stopped crying. She wanted to pick up the sword and kill him, yet his words were not without reason. Why do hunters kill vampires? Is it because they are different, because they drink human blood, or because their power threatens humanity’s dominance?

She felt lost. As a hunter, she shouldn’t hesitate, but she couldn’t find a reason to kill him. Should she claim it was because he injured her father? But it was her father who had provoked him in the first place.

She raised the sword high, her heart wavering, when she noticed blood flowing from his body, dripping steadily onto the ground.

“It’s the wound from the red-bladed sword. Are you all right?” Ye Mei lowered the sword and moved to examine his injury. Pan didn’t answer her question. “Do you agree, then? In a vampire’s heart, we don’t attack humans without cause—it’s because we’re forced by humans.”

“Enough. You’re bleeding a lot.”

She realized that after this contact with him, she no longer felt the same hatred toward vampires as before. She began to want to understand the story of his people.

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need. Consider it repayment for sparing my life.” After Ye Mei finished bandaging his wound, she realized it was the first time she had ever tended to a vampire’s injuries. How naive she had been, always wanting to help her father kill vampires.

“Who would have thought that, after centuries of enmity between our families, we could sit here and talk so peacefully?”

“I never imagined I would one day be bandaging a vampire’s wound and having a conversation with him.” They both laughed unconsciously, their eyes meeting and locking for a long moment. Realizing this, they quickly looked away, cheeks flushed.

“You should go home. Your family will worry about you,” Pan said, hastily changing the subject to ease the awkwardness. Ye Mei replied, “What about you? Why aren’t you with your family?”

Pan’s expression darkened as memories surfaced. Thankfully, he had been out with friends that fateful time, or he too would have perished.

“My vampire family was slaughtered fifteen years ago in the ancient castle of Florimis, Italy, by the League of Gifted Ones.”

“Killed? I’m sorry,” Ye Mei said, shocked. She hadn’t expected that supernatural alliances worldwide would band together to exterminate his kind. That battle must have shaken the heavens and the earth.

“It’s all right. If I hadn’t been out with friends, I would have died in that massacre as well. Don’t worry—your people had nothing to do with it. The mastermind who orchestrated the slaughter was killed by me long before I ever met you.”

“So, you’ve already taken your revenge.”

“In a way. There are still a few minor vermin hiding, harder to find. You should go home—I have no wish to be your enemy.”

Pan stood and turned to leave. She quickly called out, “Will we meet again?”

“We will. If you wish to see me, I’ll be there. My name is Pan,” he replied with a flourish. He had never felt this way before—a feeling that made his heart race.

“You can call me Ye Mei.”

“This is for you. As long as you wear it, even if I should ever lose myself, I will never harm you.”

Ye Mei took the gift, gazing at the beautiful red teardrop-shaped gem, which shimmered with light from within.

He unfurled his wings and soared into the sky, soon vanishing from sight. In the darkness, she stood watching his departure, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

“Why did I say such things? I…” Her face flushed without her realizing it, startling her. She tried to convince herself it was nothing, reminding herself that she already had someone she liked.

Back at the hunters’ compound, Ye Mei lounged by the window, gazing at the moonlit scenery. Suddenly, she found herself thinking of Pan. Unconsciously, she removed the necklace, holding it up to the moonlight. The reflected glow made the clear gem shine with an even deeper blood-red brilliance.

“Why do I think of him? Is it sympathy for his plight, or is it something more…”

Perhaps the memory of these events would teach her a lesson—her reckless adventure had nearly cost her life. She was frightened, but Pan’s mercy had spared her, and he had told her so much about vampires. Should she continue hunting them, knowing full well they were evil? Why did she feel hesitant, unable to harden her heart? Was it sympathy?

Days passed. She did not seek out Pan, who remained in seclusion, recovering from his wounds. Meanwhile, Ye Yongjian made up his mind—he would hunt down that detestable vampire, the most powerful of his kind.

This time, he brought his three daughters with him. Ye Mengyao accompanied Wu Qiwei as well. Throughout the journey, he noticed Ye Mei’s anxiety and tried everything to cheer her up.