Chapter 4: Blood Slave Camp

After Aiwei finished those actions, she finally regained control of her body.

But Aiwei felt her hands and feet turn icy cold, as if her whole body was being invaded by a chill, unable to stop shivering.

Really… I can’t control my body anymore.

Is this… magic?

Aiwei looked at her own hands, clenching and unclenching her fists again and again, only by doing this could she regain a little sense of security, of being able to control her own body.

At first, she had only humbled herself and tried to please the other party for her own sake, to make things a bit easier for herself, ignoring her pride and dignity.

But Aiwei realized she had been too clever for her own good.

Her obedience and attempts to please were utterly worthless in the other person’s eyes.

Instead, they only aroused suspicion.

Maybe if she had insisted on keeping up the strong, unyielding image of a hero from the start, refusing to bow even unto death, perhaps she wouldn’t have ended up like this…

But Aiwei closed her eyes slightly. Maybe even if she had stayed true to the hero’s persona, she still wouldn’t have escaped the fate of being branded a slave.

Because Fuluoxi had clearly prepared this long ago. There was no point in sugarcoating the road not taken.

Fuluoxi looked at Aiwei, who was still crying, and suddenly felt bored. She snapped her fingers, as if giving some kind of order.

Soon, a Vampire Clan member entered from outside the door, appearing to be a blood servant who had only recently been turned.

“Take her to the Blood Slave Camp.”

Fuluoxi paused for a few seconds, then added:

“To my private Blood Slave Camp.”

The blood servant bowed her head in acknowledgment and silently led Aiwei out the door.

Aiwei cooperated fully, doing whatever she was told. At this moment, she just wanted to get as far away from the madwoman Fuluoxi as possible.

The walk to the camp wasn’t long, because the so-called Blood Slave Camp Fuluoxi mentioned was actually in the basement of the Vampire Castle.

All it took was passing through a long corridor and turning three corners to reach the door leading to the basement.

Along the way, Aiwei was still crying, but her sobs had grown much quieter. Now she only wiped her tears in silence, making no sound.

The blood servant beside her watched Aiwei secretly wipe her tears, looking especially pitiful as she tried not to make a sound, and couldn’t help but feel a surge of sympathy.

Perhaps because she had only recently become a Vampire Clan member, the blood servant spoke up.

“Um…”

The blood servant looked around, as if making sure Fuluoxi wasn’t nearby.

But in truth, she knew her checking didn’t really matter—she wouldn’t be able to detect anything anyway. It was just for her own peace of mind.

Tears still clung to the corners of Aiwei’s eyes, her pale gold eyes misted over, making them look even brighter.

Aiwei looked at the blood servant who suddenly spoke to her with a pitiful expression, appearing completely naive and innocent.

“Actually, Her Highness the Prince… she’s a good… Vampire Clan member.”

“She just isn’t good at talking. Sometimes she does strange things out of nowhere, but she’s really a good person deep down. For example, she…”

The blood servant hesitated, wanting to say something nice about Fuluoxi, but remembering the scene she had just witnessed in the room—the slave brand burned onto Aiwei—she stopped halfway.

“In any case, if anyone bullies you in the camp, you can come find me. I don’t have much authority, but I can at least look out for you.” The blood servant finally spoke up.

Aiwei sniffled, gently wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, and forced a bright smile.

“Big sister, thank you. You’re really kind, completely different from the other Vampire Clan members.” Aiwei seemed to let her guard down, speaking with childlike innocence.

The blood servant looked at Aiwei and her gaze grew even softer.

What a good child. She wondered why Aiwei had been sent here as a blood slave, and what her family must be thinking.

The blood servant thought to herself.

“Big sister, can you tell me your name?”

“My name is Aiwei.”

The blood servant hesitated for a moment, then said, “My name is… Liya.”

“Thank you, Sister Liya.” Aiwei kept her bright smile, looking harmless as her big, sparkling eyes gazed at Liya without blinking.

Being looked at like that by Aiwei, Liya couldn’t help but blush a little, then softly urged Aiwei.

“Remember, don’t tell Her Highness the Prince I said any of this to you, or I’ll be punished.” Liya whispered a reminder to Aiwei.

“Don’t worry, Sister Liya. I definitely won’t tell.” Aiwei patted her small chest in assurance.

The two continued walking. Along the way, Aiwei also noticed a door that seemed to lead outside, and she quietly memorized its location for a possible escape in the future.

But for the rest of the way to the Blood Slave Camp, there was nothing else that seemed useful. Aiwei just roughly memorized the route, and then was brought into the Blood Slave Camp.

Though it was called a camp, it was really more like a place for keeping pets.

There were many cages of various sizes here.

Some cages held many people, some just a few, and some were empty.

People around them whispered and cried softly, but no one seemed surprised at Aiwei’s arrival.

A faint scent of blood lingered in the air, making Aiwei wrinkle her brow and feel a bit uncomfortable.

Liya led Aiwei into a small cage, which was empty except for a blanket spread out on the floor.

Liya seemed unwilling to show any special treatment towards Aiwei in front of the other blood slaves, so she deliberately put on a stern face, though her eyes still showed some softness and pity.

Aiwei pretended not to know Liya, but her eyes were full of smiles and dependence on Liya.

After settling Aiwei in, Liya turned and left, but glanced back at Aiwei before going out the door.

Aiwei quietly waved at Liya, the movement small, but Liya still noticed and smiled gently before closing the door.

As soon as Liya left the Blood Slave Camp, the innocent look on Aiwei’s face vanished, and the smile in her eyes disappeared, turning utterly calm.

It was as if the person who had just waved so sweetly at Liya wasn’t her at all.

Aiwei observed her surroundings.

Dark, damp.

That was her first impression of this place.

She scanned around and quickly noticed a black-red stain on a cage not far from her.

If Aiwei guessed right, it was probably blood.

Aiwei pursed her lips and looked at her own little cage.

Her cage was quite clean, completely different from the others around her.

When she first entered, she had glanced around and noticed that, aside from her own cage, none of the others had blankets.

So this was Fuluoxi’s special treatment for her?

But Aiwei wasn’t the type to be moved by a little kindness from others.

That included Liya just now.

Even though Liya had shown her goodwill, Aiwei didn’t fully trust her.

But if Liya really was fooled by her innocent act…

Maybe she could use Liya’s sympathy to help her escape.

It wasn’t the most ethical thing to do, but there was no other choice.

Aiwei stretched her body, but the cage was so cramped that she couldn’t stretch out at all, and a wave of exhaustion washed over her.

Earlier, in Fuluoxi’s room, the intense tension and humiliating acts had drained a lot of her strength, and Aiwei was already very tired.

She had been so tense before that she hadn’t felt it at all, but now that she was somewhere she could rest, the fatigue finally showed itself.

Aiwei lay down on the blanket, looking up at the top of the cage.

Honestly, even with a blanket, sleeping in a cage was still uncomfortable.

The blanket was soft and didn’t smell bad, but it was nothing like her bed at home.

Aiwei suddenly missed the big bed from her previous life, and the huge teddy bear she hugged every day.

If she had the chance, she was determined to get a big teddy bear in this world too.

Aiwei’s vision gradually blurred as sleep swept over her like a tide.

She had wanted to think about why she couldn’t use this body’s strength, but she was just too tired.

Things had come to this—she might as well rest for now…