Anning waited for half an hour without any notification. The people behind her left after receiving their silver, and no one stopped them.
Perhaps the people in Qianjin Tower did not believe such a coincidence could occur.
Watching the departing maidens and the dwindling silver in the boxes, the people of Qianjin Tower could not help but complain, "What's the difference between what the Left Protector is doing and searching for a needle in a haystack? It's just a waste of money. This is all hard-earned by our brothers who risked their lives. Such extravagance..."
"What can we do? She's the Left Protector. Besides the楼主, she's the highest authority."
Before the words were finished, a cold wind swept from not far away. By the time people reacted, a woman had landed there.
Dressed in flamboyant, gorgeous attire, with a delicate and enchanting face, she surveyed the surroundings. Upon seeing Anning, she suddenly flew down and landed in front of Anning, saying, "This lady, the楼主 requests your presence."
Anning nodded, "Please lead the way, miss."
Anning was unaware that Qianjin Tower had a Qianjin Pavilion. Qianjin Pavilion was very tall, about twelve stories high. Standing on the top floor, one could probably overlook the entire state of An.
"Please, miss..." Wenuan said.
Anning nodded. Indeed, after she ascended to the twelfth floor, Wenuan pushed open the door, stepped aside, and said, "Please, miss."
As Anning stepped in, she was hit by a nauseating scent of blood, thick and overwhelming her senses.
"You have arrived, Princess Anning..."
Anning was stunned, so surprised that her urge to vomit vanished. She looked up and saw the speaker.
What met her eyes was a man with disheveled hair. His white robe was stained with blood, resembling blooming blood flowers, and an eerie, terrifying atmosphere permeated the place.
After her initial surprise, Anning calmed down. It was only natural for the foremost assassin organization in the world to know her information.
"Since the楼主 knows who I am, I have no need to conceal myself. I wish for Qianjin Tower to be at my service."
"Presumptuous," Wenuan said coldly.
Agreeing to a condition was vastly different from being at her service.
Anning saw the楼主 of Qianjin Tower before her raise his head. His face emerged from his disheveled hair. She was slightly taken aback. She had expected the楼主 of Qianjin Tower to be a burly man or a shrewd old veteran, not such a young man who appeared to be not much older than her.
Yet, it was such a person who controlled the foremost assassin organization in the world.
His clean, handsome face was pale, clearly indicating his exhaustion. His eyes, stained with blood, had regained some clarity.
Bloodstains remained on the corner of his lips, exuding an eerie and sinister aura.
"Wenuan, you may leave..."
The man's voice, though soft, carried an undeniable authority, asking Wenuan behind Anning to leave.
Wenuan was startled. "楼主, you cannot! If she..."
"She has no skills, she can't kill me. Leave."
The man's voice, though soft, was unmistakable.
Wenuan dared not disobey and could only bow and retreat.
"I am Wen Yuxi. Princess, you may call me Yuxi." Wen Yuxi stood up, sat on a chair, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it towards Anning.
Anning walked forward, her feet crunching on the blood-soaked, shattered ground. She reached the table and sat down.
"楼主..."
"Call me Yuxi..."
Anning frowned and spoke again, "Yuxi..."
Wen Yuxi's lips curved slightly upwards. "Drink your tea."
Anning picked up the teacup and took a sip. Expecting a taste of blood, she found the tea to be sweet and smooth, with no bitterness at all.
Wen Yuxi swept his sleeve, and the shattered jade cups on the ground suddenly flew out of the window.
Left Protector Wenuan, who was hit on the head by a fragment of a jade cup: "..."
And the innocent Right Protector Wen Yu: "..."
Wen Yu was about to speak when the remaining half of a jade cup was stuffed into his mouth.
Wen Yu felt like crying but had no tears. This was the楼主 signaling him not to speak.
Anning, unaware of what was happening below, contemplated how to speak.
"Princess Anning, you said earlier that you wished for Qianjin Tower to be at your service?"
Anning nodded. "Yes."
"The price..." Wen Yuxi asked without looking up.
"A regular monthly offering of blood to the楼主." This was the method Anning devised.
Wen Yuxi raised his eyes and looked at her, his gaze filled with an emotion she couldn't decipher. "How about becoming my blood slave? Everyone in Qianjin Tower, including myself, will be at your beck and call."
"Lord Wen, I am free. I belong to no one," Anning replied, her gaze clear and cold.
Wen Yuxi paused for a moment. At this instant, the young woman before him exerted a powerful pressure on him, a feeling that was both familiar and long-forgotten.
"Good," Wen Yuxi suddenly said.
Anning blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?" Now it was her turn to be astonished.
Wen Yuxi smiled. "One day each month belongs to me."
"I do not sell myself," Anning stated.
"Your Highness, you worry too much. This楼主 only desires your blood."
"Deal," Anning was not one to be coy.
Wen Yuxi looked up, his eyes glinting. "Now, this楼主 wishes to receive a token of appreciation."
Anning felt her entire body being pulled in one direction. Before she could react, a dark figure lunged at her.
"Not asking who Wen Yuxi is?"
"Wen Yuxi, I said I won't sell..." Anning gritted her teeth and said angrily.
The clothes on her right shoulder were torn by Wen Yuxi, exposing her shoulder. The cold wind blew, making her shiver.
She angrily exclaimed, "Wen Yuxi, you broke your promise..."
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her shoulder. She turned her head to see Wen Yuxi biting her shoulder, blood trickling from his lips.
It hurt, it hurt terribly...
After an unknown period, Wen Yuxi released her and stood up, without any unnecessary movements.
"The token of appreciation is sufficient. What does Your Highness wish to do now?"
If Anning had seen a decadent and ferocious Wen Yuxi earlier, she now saw a refined gentleman.
Anning pulled her clothes together, preparing to stand, but her vision suddenly went black, and she fell back onto the bed.
Seeing this, Wen Yuxi quickly stepped forward, took her wrist, and examined it. He discovered she had been given a paralyzing drug.
After taking this medicine, one's entire body would lose all strength.
Wen Yuxi put down Anning's hand and sighed. "You are truly remarkable, to be able to come here and negotiate with me even after being drugged with a paralyzing agent."
He reached out and removed the human skin mask from her left cheek, revealing a shocking scar.
It was unclear how she had managed to inflict such a wound on herself with such brutality.
He turned and took a bottle of medicine from a box, applying it to her face.
The scar on her face healed at a visible rate, eventually closing completely, leaving no trace of the previous wound.
Anning awoke to find it was already dark. She sat up, and a voice came from nearby, "Your Highness, you are awake."
Anning trembled and turned her head, only to see another presence in the darkness.
As she was contemplating this, the room suddenly lit up.