Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen
On the way out of the dungeon, the path was even safer than Tang Qing had imagined. The group smoothly arrived at the gap in the garden wall.
Tang Qing instructed, “After you leave, make sure to warn those around you to be careful of vampires. Don’t appear near Castle Csejte at night and don’t get caught again by Countess Bathory, understood?”
The group, having finally seen the long-missed sunlight, nodded obediently and looked at Tang Qing with grateful expressions.
Tang Qing slipped through the gap first, glanced around to confirm no one was there, then took out the wooden bird given by Princess Lily. After turning the knob, the wooden bird flew toward the capital of Ireland.
Tang Qing pointed in the direction the wooden bird was flying and said, “Everyone follow this wooden bird, don’t fall behind or you’ll get lost.”
The group filed out one by one, eager to leave the blood-sucking castle.
The last to leave was the adorable little girl. She hugged Tang Qing and asked, “Pretty sister, are you coming with us?”
Tang Qing was about to answer when suddenly the little girl’s older sister let out a terrible scream.
A figure abruptly appeared behind them.
The person’s face was pale, wearing his usual work uniform, still wearing a polite smile, but his eyes were filled with suppressed, uncontrollable crimson fury.
It was the butler, Andrew.
“Maid Anne, you sure are bold. Seems the noble lady shouldn’t have been so merciful to you that night. She should have skinned you right then.”
“Since you let these blood slaves escape, tonight you’ll replace them to entertain the noble guests.”
Andrew licked his lips, revealing a brutal and eerie smile.
“No, that won’t be enough. I’ll make your death as painful as possible. Only such a feast will satisfy the guests.”
“Torturing food is an art. Before death comes, I’ll make you experience every shred of agony. You’ll die in a way beyond imagination.”
“Maid Anne, I’ll slowly tear your limbs apart, letting your blood drip out drop by drop. Then I’ll cut open your chest, watching your heart beat its last desperate beat with my own eyes—surely that will be a magnificent sight.”
As the butler Andrew spoke, he stretched out his hand, transforming into beast-like claws, instantly moving next to Tang Qing. His complexion was no longer pale but stained a blood-red color, turning his originally refined face into a grotesque and terrifying mask.
Andrew’s speed was extremely fast. Tang Qing was startled and reflexively shielded the little girl behind her.
Just as Andrew was about to touch Tang Qing, a green light shot out and directly blasted Andrew away.
“Andrew, she is my maid; I will handle her.”
Without anyone noticing, the black-haired vampire boy suddenly appeared in front of Tang Qing. His green eyes flashed with a sharp light, as if able to pin people to the spot, leaving them unable to move.
Andrew knelt on the ground, clutching his wound with one hand and struggling to look up at Julian. “Young master, I thought you wouldn’t interfere in such trivial matters… This maid just let all the blood slaves in the lady’s dungeon go free; once the lady finds out, she definitely won’t spare her.”
“I said this maid belongs to me alone.”
Julian cast a cold glance at Andrew, his tone leaving no room for doubt, “I will personally deal with her.”
Andrew looked at the eastern maid hiding behind Julian, his eyes full of resentment.
This young man wasn’t the master of Castle Csejte and had no right to meddle in the castle’s affairs.
He did not know the identity of this boy, only that Countess Bathory treated him with utmost respect.
Furthermore, the boy exuded a mysterious and powerful aura, making people unwilling to raise their heads to meet his visage—his pressure was comparable to that of the legendary prince.
Andrew had no choice but to suppress his dissatisfaction and lowered his head, saying, “Yes, young master.”
Julian no longer looked at Andrew and issued a direct order, “Step back.”
Andrew slowly stood up, staring fixedly at the maid and little girl behind Julian, his eyes full of unwillingness. Even if the boy wanted to protect this maid, what about the little girl behind her?
Countess Bathory favored such young girls the most.
“Don’t make me repeat myself again.”
Julian’s voice was filled with overwhelming authority and unquestionable power, as though he had seen through all of Andrew’s thoughts.
“Yes, young master.” Andrew had no choice but to clutch his increasingly burning chest, lower his head, and quickly leave.
Tang Qing gently pulled the trembling little girl from behind, placed her into her sister’s arms, and softly said, “You should run quickly.”
The sister grabbed the little girl, repeatedly expressing thanks, then hugged her and ran out.
Only after watching the two sisters disappear into the distance did Tang Qing finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, looking at the green-eyed vampire boy who had saved his life again, Tang Qing nervously pressed his lips together and said quietly:
“Julian, thank you.”
They had been at a cold war just last night. Tang Qing thought that after saying those words, Julian wouldn’t speak to him anymore. Unexpectedly, today Julian still came to save him.
It was false to say he wasn’t moved.
Moreover, this was Countess Bathory’s castle. Julian meddling like this—Tang Qing didn’t know if it would cause a falling out between Julian and the Countess.
“If you help me like this, if the Countess finds out, will she…” Tang Qing tightened his fingers, his tone full of worry.
Julian snorted coldly, his gaze full of disdain. It was obvious he didn’t take Bathory seriously at all.
Those blood slaves were nothing more than that woman’s arbitrary choice, a sacrifice she planned to offer as food.
He hadn’t drunk human blood for a long time, not even from those seemingly fresh and tender boys and girls.
Julian glanced at Tang Qing, his eyes scanning over him. Suddenly, his expression darkened. He walked over and grabbed Tang Qing’s delicate wrist, dragging him silently into the castle.
“What’s going on?”
Tang Qing was completely confused. He was dragged into a room, and then with a bang, the door shut behind them. Julian said to Tang Qing:
“Take off your clothes.”
Tang Qing stared at Julian in shock. His mind went completely blank.
Take… take off my clothes? What did that mean?
The little maid’s face instantly flushed red.
Although Julian truly was a magnificent and elegant noble youth and had treated him well, both of them were boys. How could Julian suddenly make such a request?
Even if he had just saved his life, that didn’t give him the right to make such a demand…
Tang Qing stood there helplessly.
“You smell like others. It stinks,” Julian said with disgust.
As he spoke, he casually threw a piece of clothing to Tang Qing.
Vampires have extremely sensitive senses for blood, especially those of higher rank. Their ability to smell fresh blood is even more keen.
Tang Qing looked down and realized that at some point, his clothes had been stained with the fresh blood of others from the dungeon, his whole body emitting a faint bloody smell.
So this was what Julian meant by asking him to take off his clothes…
Feeling embarrassed, he took the clothes Julian tossed to him, turned his back, and awkwardly changed.
These medieval clothes were very complicated. After struggling for a while, Tang Qing finally managed to get his hands out of the tight sleeves.
He noticed some small wounds on his arms, probably from being rushed through the bushes in the garden while leading the people out of the dungeon—twigs had scratched his skin.
But the wounds were tiny and not troublesome.
Julian had turned his head away, averting his gaze.
Was this little maid really so scared out of her wits? How could she start changing clothes right before his eyes without any hesitation?
Although the little maid’s figure was indeed unremarkable—compared to the curvy shapes of Western women, this Eastern girl looked almost undeveloped, surprisingly flat.
However, from a glance just now, while the little maid lacked the sensuality of Western women, she was fair-skinned and petite, her entire skin beautifully flawless. The contours of her back were white and delicate like Oriental porcelain, exquisitely smooth and radiant.
The faintly sweet scent of blood was still vaguely noticeable.
By the time Tang Qing finally finished changing, he found that Julian had already left.
…
That night, he dared not leave Julian’s room. He heard that Countess Bathory was furious and had fiercely punished Butler Andrew, even implicating ordinary servants.
Luckily, no one came to bother Tang Qing.
He didn’t know exactly what Julian had done to make the enraged Countess Bathory dare not seek revenge on him.
But Julian did not show up until Tang Qing fell asleep.
When he woke up the next day, Tang Qing found a clean maid uniform beside him.
His heart softened involuntarily—he didn’t expect Julian to be quite thoughtful.
As usual, he got up and tidied the room once again.
At this moment, a male servant came over and knocked on the door. “Anne, have you cleaned the fourth-floor corridor yet?”
Tang Qing was a bit puzzled; he hadn’t been to the fourth floor before, and it hadn’t been his responsibility in the past.
“The servant in charge of cleaning the fourth floor is sick. Could you please clean the fourth floor when you have time?”
“All right,” Tang Qing nodded.
The servants had also been reprimanded yesterday because of the people escaping from the dungeon. Tang Qing felt a bit embarrassed, so he took the cleaning tools and headed to the fourth floor.
The fourth-floor corridor of the castle was dim and mysterious, lit only by sparse candlelight, casting a faint yellow glow on the walls, yet it still couldn’t dispel the darkness at the corridor’s end.
Even under the candlelight, the corridor evoked a strange sense of unease and oppression.
It seemed that unspeakable secrets lurked here, secrets that perhaps did not want to be discovered by anyone.
On the wall at the end of the corridor hung a huge portrait. In the painting was a black-haired, red-eyed vampire man, dressed in a black suit, standing straight like a cold and ruthless monarch.
His face was sharply angular, with cold and severe lines—it was an expressionless face, showing no warmth whatsoever. His eyes resembled burning coals, as if flames were flickering within, or like dried-up blood, devoid of any life.
Those eyes seemed to pierce through one’s soul or strip one’s consciousness completely. The corners of his mouth always seemed to hold a slight curve, like a contemptuous sneer, mocking all the ants who stopped to look up at him.
That kind of aloofness was like a ruler looking down on his subjects.
Arrogant, cruel, and invincible.
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1 thought on “Chapter 174 – “Take off your clothes.””
Imma be honest, I feel like in this arc our baby tangtang needs to step up, he is just being this “good hero” Julian has done a lot for him. It’s lacking, effort and all from his side, what do you think. Also I feel like your cats story is outta of a novel or movie like the tsundre and aloof characters hehe. Thank you for the chapter ChuRen jieie.