The serpent-eagle carried the little bat along the wall, slithering toward Shi Pengpeng before raising its head respectfully to present the bat to her.
Shi Pengpeng took out a yellow talisman, wrapped it around the bat, and lifted it up.
Seeing the situation was hopeless and now in her grasp, the bat simply rolled its eyes, stiffened its legs, and feigned death.
Before closing its eyes, it let out a pitiful squeak-“Squeak—”
Shi Pengpeng: “…”
The serpent-eagle then closed its ferocious maw, slithered back the way it came, and reverted into a relief carving.
Yan Jing and Xiao Lingshu stepped forward.
Xiao Lingshu poked the bat’s head with his finger.
“This vampire’s transformation is pretty ugly looks like a winged rat!”
The little bat: “…”
If it weren’t playing dead, it would’ve bitten him twice!
Yan Jing ignored the bat and first checked Shi Pengpeng’s expression.
Seeing her look normal and unharmed, he relaxed slightly and asked, “How do you feel?”
Shi Pengpeng smiled at him.
“I’m fine…”
“Hey, Senior Sister, no offense, but you were too reckless this time. It’s just a tiny vampire-no need to use a talisman soldier when your junior brother is right here.”
“Your priority now is to recover your spiritual veins. As the saying goes, ‘As long as the green hills remain, there’ll never be a shortage of firewood…” Xiao Lingshu rambled disapprovingly.
“My spiritual veins are restored,” Shi Pengpeng said.
“Really?” Xiao Lingshu looked skeptical and reached out to check her pulse.
“Senior Sister, don’t push yourself too hard. You’ve got other strengths now-not me, I mean Brother Yan…”
Shi Pengpeng and Yan Jing: “…”
The two exchanged exasperated glances at the little bat, regretting not letting it silence Xiao Lingshu’s vocal cords earlier.
Xiao Lingshu was about to say more when he suddenly paused in surprise.
“Huh? Senior Sister, your spiritual veins…?”
Yan Jing perked up.
“Well? Are they really restored?”
Xiao Lingshu: “Yes-no, wait…”
Yan Jing: “Which is it?”
“They’re restored, but not just restored.” Xiao Lingshu stammered, looking slightly dazed.
“They seem… stronger now.”
“What do you mean?” Yan Jing frowned and turned to Shi Pengpeng questioningly.
Shi Pengpeng smiled thoughtfully.
“I think the Underworld’s compensation just came through.”
She hadn’t acted recklessly when using the talisman soldier.
Earlier, when Liu Ruyan trapped her with her wings, Shi Pengpeng had only intended to ignite a talisman flame to survey her surroundings.
But the moment the flame lit, she suddenly felt her long-dormant spiritual power returning.
To be precise, her spiritual veins had begun repairing themselves.
Shi Pengpeng was briefly startled before recalling Yin Cong’s words at Yuan Yi Temple—the Underworld had taken full responsibility for her damaged spiritual veins and would compensate her once their investigation concluded.
It seemed the Underworld had reached a verdict and begun transferring the compensation.
Shi Pengpeng didn’t know how the Underworld had repaired her spiritual veins, nor was this the time to dwell on it.
Regardless, it had resolved her immediate crisis.
Hearing this, Yan Jing finally relaxed completely and took her hand.
“That’s wonderful.”
Xiao Lingshu patted his chest and sighed.
“Senior Sister, your strength really has returned.”
Yan Jing: “…”
He was determined to find the best mute medicine for his precious son!
The three of them looked at the tiny bat, which was still playing dead with its legs stiff.
Shi Pengpeng gave it a squeeze and said lightly, “Stop pretending. Answer our questions honestly, or I’ll drain all your blood.”
Squeezed until two more drops of blood oozed out, the bat reluctantly opened its eyes and let out a faint “squeak.”
“Since I’ve fallen into your hands, I admit defeat. Do whatever you want. I only have one request let me meet Ouyang Jue. I have something to ask him face to face. Don’t worry, with you holding me like this, I can’t take his life.”
It then snorted coldly and cursed, “That old bastard must have done too many evil deeds, hiring so many mages to protect him at a banquet. What a coward!”
Hearing this, the other three exchanged glances, their expressions turning strange.
Shi Pengpeng asked, “You came to cause trouble for Ouyang Jue?”
“What else?” The bat rolled its eyes.
“Aren’t you here to protect him?”
The three: “…”
Xiao Lingshu said, “No, we’re not familiar with him at all. If anything, we’d like to cause him some trouble too.”
“???”
The bat was shocked.
“Then why did you attack me?”
“You struck first,” Shi Pengpeng said calmly.
Xiao Lingshu added, “I heard someone was bullying my senior sister, so I came to back her up.”
The bat: “…”
“Squeak !!”
The bat’s mentality collapsed, its wings trembling wildly.
“I thought you were like that Xu Qin, hired by Ouyang Jue as his lackeys!! Ah, what a misunderstanding!!”
At the mention of Xu Qin’s name, Shi Pengpeng tensed and gave the bat another squeeze to calm it down.
“What’s really going on? And who exactly are you?”
The bat squeaked twice and, seeing no point in hiding the truth anymore, said, “I’m Ouyang Jue’s ex-girlfriend. Back then, he lied to me, saying he wanted to marry me, and tricked me into going to Gaul. In the end, he abandoned me and even hired assassins to kill me…..”
“Such a thing?” Xiao Lingshu was shocked but also puzzled.
“Wait, why would he do that? If he didn’t like you anymore, breaking up would’ve been enough. Even if you were married, divorce was an option. Ouyang Jue is filthy rich he could’ve easily paid you off, right?”
Yan Jing suddenly spoke up.
“Ouyang Jue is a marriage-free advocate.”
He knew a thing or two about Ouyang Jue.
The man had long declared himself a marriage-free advocate.
Over the years, he’d had countless women by his side, but none lasted more than six months.
Those women knew it was just a transactional relationship-take the money and leave.
None ever dreamed of climbing the social ladder.
“So that’s the image he’s crafted now?” The bat let out two cold squeaks.
“That’s not what he told me back then…”
Shi Pengpeng sensed something amiss.
Ouyang Jue was nearly sixty now, and according to Yan Jing, he’d been proclaiming his marriage- free stance for decades.
“When exactly were you involved with Ouyang Jue?”
The bat fluttered its wings, its voice distant.
“I can’t remember clearly… almost thirty years ago…”
[End of translation]
Thirty years ago, Liu Ruyan was just in her early twenties when she luckily received an offer from the Ouyang family’s company right after graduation.
It was only later that she discovered her selection by this wealthy corporation had been personally arranged by Ouyang Jue from the very beginning.
Rumor had it that Ouyang Jue had been searching for women born under specific astrological signs, and Liu Ruyan-both in terms of her birth chart and appearance-fit his requirements perfectly.
Liu Ruyan didn’t think much of it.
She knew many wealthy people were superstitious, so such concerns weren’t unusual.
After joining the company, Ouyang Jue launched an intense pursuit of her.
At the time, Ouyang Jue was only around thirty, a true young prodigy.
Though Liu Ruyan felt the disparity in their statuses was vast, she ultimately couldn’t resist his financial courtship and soon fell completely under his spell, becoming his girlfriend.
Ouyang Jue genuinely doted on her, showering her with designer gifts and treating her with utmost care.
Less than six months into their relationship, he proposed, promising to take her to Gaul for their wedding.
Liu Ruyan truly believed they would have a happy ending, overjoyed as she accompanied him to Gaul.
But it was all a lie.
In the end, Ouyang Jue abandoned her not only leaving her stranded alone in Gaul but also secretly hiring local underworld thugs to kill her.
Liu Ruyan nearly died in a foreign land.
Perhaps her birth chart really was auspicious, or perhaps fate simply wasn’t ready to claim her yet.
On the brink of death, she was unexpectedly bitten by a passing vampire, transforming into an immortal, blood-drinking monster.
Liu Ruyan vowed revenge against Ouyang Jue.
But a newly turned vampire was still weak, lacking sufficient power.
Liu Ruyan knew Ouyang Jue was surrounded by formidable protectors, making it difficult to get close enough to kill him.
Worse, if Ouyang Jue discovered she was still alive, he would likely send more assassins after her.
Thus, she had no choice but to remain in Gaul, honing her abilities.
That stay lasted thirty years.
Over those three decades, Liu Ruyan finally mastered her vampiric powers, attaining supernatural strength and an even more striking beauty than before.
After numerous hardships, she obtained a visa under a new identity and returned to her homeland.
Yet, to her surprise, Ouyang Jue’s influence had only grown stronger over the years.
Not only was he still guarded by powerful figures, but his estate was also warded with protective spells, and he had become deeply paranoid.
Despite months back in the country, Liu Ruyan found no opportunity to approach him.
Instead, during this time, she developed a new obsession-listening to revenge-themed audiobooks on Cat’s Paw.
Unfortunately, most of these “satisfying” revenge stories fell flat, with protagonists who remained spineless even after rebirth, enduring humiliation from absurd antagonists and only exacting vengeance by the story’s end.
The more Liu Ruyan listened, the angrier she became.
In a fit of frustration, she decided to start her own narration channel.
She registered an account under the name “Liu Ruyan,” a classic antagonist from many rebirth novels, and became an audiobook narrator specializing in cathartic revenge stories.
Fueled by her hatred for Ouyang Jue, her readings of revenge scenes were always brimming with raw emotion, resonating deeply with listeners.
Moreover, Liu Ruyan exclusively narrated stories where the protagonist struck back swiftly-never those infuriating tales of weak-willed leads that left listeners seething.
This uncompromising focus on pure satisfaction quickly earned her a devoted following.
Recently, she even received an invitation to Cat’s Paw Night.
Liu Ruyan had initially not intended to show herself.
It was only after learning that Ouyang Jue, the major backer of Yu Tian Culture-the largest MCN company on the Cat’s Paw platform-might attend the Cat’s Paw Night that she changed her mind.
After gathering information about Yu Tian Culture’s practices, Liu Ruyan deliberately dressed in a stunning and seductive manner that evening to catch Meng Zhen’s attention.
With his introduction, she finally gained access to Ouyang Jue’s private room.
To her surprise, Ouyang Jue had an extraordinary memory.
Though thirty years had passed since their last meeting and her appearance had changed significantly, he recognized her after just a few words.
“Ouyang Jue never dreamed I’d still be alive to come back for him…”
Her voice carried a bloodthirsty amusement as she spoke, but even she hadn’t anticipated the depth of Ouyang Jue’s paranoia-he actually carried a Yin-Yang sword on him at all times.
Liu Ruyan immediately attacked, but the sword nullified her assault.
Ouyang Jue then summoned Xu Qin, the top star of his company, and seized the chance to flee.
To her shock, the flirtatious-looking man turned out to be a cultivator with formidable power.
Liu Ruyan found herself outmatched and was on the verge of defeat when, inexplicably, Xu Qin suddenly turned and ran.
Unwilling to waste time fighting Xu Qin, she focused solely on pursuing Ouyang Jue-only to run into Shi Pengpeng the moment she left the room.
Assuming Shi Pengpeng was another of Ouyang Jue’s reinforcements, Liu Ruyan engaged her in battle.
After hearing her account, the other three fell into a long silence.
Finally, Xiao Lingshu broke the quiet.
“See, this is why people should talk more. If Miss Vampire here had been as chatty as I am, the misunderstanding could’ve been cleared up before any fighting started. Would’ve saved everyone a lot of trouble.”
Little Bat:”…..”