Seizing the King (10)
Standing in the plaza, Chen Li couldn’t help but ask again: “Do you really think this will scare them?”
He stared at the brightly colored gift box in front of him—it was about the same height as he was.
Fu Moyang had promised to teach him how to scare people, and this was what he gave him: a heavy, rectangular gift box.
Fu Moyang winked at him: “It’ll work. Just remember—once you put down the gift box, walk away. Don’t look back.”
“Got it.” Chen Li put on the mask, transforming once again from a “player” into the mysterious NPC.
He temporarily stored the gift in the system space and headed to the basement alone to avoid suspicion.
Aside from Fu Moyang, the other players were already waiting. As Chen Li approached, the other three showed varying degrees of nervousness.
Only Gu Fu carried a different emotion—alert suspicion—as he watched Chen Li closely.
He didn’t know why Chen Li hadn’t shown up yet, but he was worried this NPC might use it as an excuse to threaten him.
Fortunately, this unpredictable NPC didn’t seem to care about the missing player. With a casual wave of his hand, he conjured a massive gift box out of thin air.
The player from the undead clan couldn’t help but ask: “What is that?”
Trying not to give anything away, Chen Li lifted his chin arrogantly and avoided looking at them. He answered curtly: “Open it and find out.”
Leaving behind the line Fu Moyang had taught him, Chen Li turned and walked away—even though he was just as curious about what was inside.
After he left, the group of players cautiously circled the box. Only Gu Fu seemed distracted, lost in thought.
He didn’t understand why Chen Li hadn’t appeared tonight, but something told him it had everything to do with Fu Moyang.
After several careful touches revealed no immediate danger, Ar was the first to step forward: “Let me open it.”
He shouldn’t have acted so recklessly, but the urge to prove himself in front of Gu Fu got the better of him.
The gift box was cleverly designed—just a pull of the ribbon, and it would open automatically.
With a loud pop, a grotesque humanoid figure was revealed. Blood and muscle were exposed, and the movement of opening the box dislodged its barely-attached head, sending it tumbling to the ground. It shattered like a watermelon, and from the dozens of stitched seams on the body, foul-smelling yellowish pus began to ooze out.
One of the eyeballs that fell from the severed head rolled across the floor—stopping right at Gu Fu’s feet.
A human player cried out: “What is that thing?!”
Even after going through many games, the sheer horror of this sight made several players gag.
The realization hit Gu Fu hard. His expression darkened: “It’s the elf player.”
He never imagined that the seemingly harmless NPC who had promised to bring the elf player here would do so by delivering his corpse in such a gruesome way.
There was no doubt Fu Moyang had a hand in this. This was a warning. A calculated threat.
Sure enough, when it came to guide NPCs, one could never let their guard down.
Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows of the plaza, Chen Li listened to the screams coming from inside as the system cheerfully announced an increase in the fear level. His curiosity about what was inside the box only grew.
[What the heck was in there?]
System 001: […Trust me, it’s better if you don’t know.]
. . . . .
“Lately, there’ve been strange rumors around the city. Some people say the princess has been seen with a vampire.”
“Nonsense!” The vampire subordinate couldn’t hold back his anger. He slammed a hand on the table—only to freeze when Fu Moyang glanced his way, instantly shrinking like a frightened quail.
Ever since the last time he got beaten up, most of the vampires had avoided showing their faces around Fu Moyang. Even this subordinate was only here by forcing himself to stay.
Yes, werewolves were natural enemies of vampires, and sure, they had higher health and damage output—but this strong? That just wasn’t normal!
Fu Moyang casually looked away and continued playing with Chen Li’s hand, as if admiring a fine piece of porcelain.
After a few failed attempts to pull his hand back, Chen Li gave up and let him be.
Sticking to the original character’s love-for-drama tone, Chen Li said loftily: “Ignore them. Stirring up scandal is a classic move in a power grab. That human traitor’s not completely stupid.”
Just last night, they’d gained a huge surge in fear level, and now today the players were already taking more aggressive action.
The vampire subordinate nodded: “And the featherfolk is also splitting into two factions—they’re having an internal conflict.”
Exactly what the original character would have wanted. Chen Li pretended to be interested and asked a few more questions before finally waving him off.
Once the NPC left, Chen Li’s previously rigid posture finally relaxed.
“They’re all starting to take the missions seriously. Aren’t you going to—” He turned to look at Fu Moyang, only to find him staring blankly at his hand.
The word “dazed” never really suited him—but right now, he truly seemed to have stopped thinking altogether.
That look made Chen Li feel like Fu Moyang wasn’t staring at a hand… but at a piece of juicy, freshly roasted meat.
Chen Li: “What’s wrong with you?”
Fu Moyang still didn’t look away: “Nothing.”
“But you’ve been acting weird all day.” As soon as Chen Li said that, he suddenly felt something wet on his fingers.
He looked down in disbelief and saw Fu Moyang had taken his fingertips into his mouth.
A tingling, electric sensation instantly shot up from his fingers.
“What are you doing?” Chen Li panicked and tried to push him away, but all he managed to do was mess up Fu Moyang’s hair.
Yep—definitely weird!
Fu Moyang still wouldn’t let go. He looked up at Chen Li, and this time began to lightly nibble with his teeth.
His round pupils slowly narrowed into slits as he stared at him.
Chen Li’s mouth opened in shock, his panic growing: “Are you sick or something?”
He thought the slit pupils were some kind of werewolf gene showing.
Fu Moyang didn’t respond—he just gave his fingers another gentle bite.
This time, it hurt. Chen Li kicked at him instinctively: “Bad wolf!”
Sensing that his prey was trying to escape, Fu Moyang let out a few low, growling sounds of warning from deep in his throat. But in the end, he released Chen Li’s hand—and pulled him into his arms instead.
Chen Li, completely stunned by the sudden rescue of his hand, now found himself wrapped tightly in Fu Moyang’s embrace. The man kept sniffing at his neck, as if trying to confirm something.
“Do you have a fever?” Chen Li asked, starting to feel the hug was way too warm.
The werewolf’s burning body heat clashed with the vampire’s naturally cold skin. The intense heat radiating from Fu Moyang felt like it could melt the little vampire in his arms.
“No.” Fu Moyang flicked his wolf tail behind him, but having failed to catch the scent he was looking for on his prey, he began to grow restless.
This was his prey. He should be marked as his own—so no one else would even dare to covet him.
Just from his voice, Fu Moyang sounded perfectly sane. But his actions made it clear—something was definitely wrong.
Chen Li: [System, what’s going on with him?]
Could it be food poisoning? But they’d been together the whole time. There was no chance he picked up something to eat on the sly.
System 001: [Do you remember the moon you saw when you woke up last night?]
Although he wasn’t sure what that had to do with anything, Chen Li still made an effort to recall: [I remember it was really big and round.]
System 001: [Because yesterday was the night before the full moon. And tonight is the full moon!]
Thanks to the reminder, Chen Li suddenly remembered—weren’t werewolves supposed to transform or go berserk during the full moon?
This was his first time dealing with something like this. Clumsily, he reached out to smooth down Fu Moyang’s hair.
As he ran his fingers through the short black strands, his mind raced: [What can I do to make him feel better?]
Fu Moyang had just been about to bite down and leave his mark. But when Chen Li started petting him, he paused, obediently lowering his head to make it easier for him. His eyes narrowed in contentment.
The wolf tail that had been twitching anxiously behind him gradually calmed.
As Chen Li kept petting, he couldn’t help switching to gently pinching Fu Moyang’s wolf ears. He had no idea what kind of reaction that would cause.
Werewolf ears were especially sensitive during this kind of “special” time. Fu Moyang’s muscles tensed as he held Chen Li in his arms, struggling to stay in control and not hurt him.
System 001: [I think you might need to take him back to the werewolf clan. They’ll know what to do.]
Chen Li: [But didn’t he say he had nowhere to go because he fought with the Wolf King?]
Nervous, he accidentally squeezed the wolf ears a little too hard: [Wouldn’t going back be dangerous?]
System 001: [There’s no other way. Even if you asked Gu Fu for help, he wouldn’t know anything about werewolves.]
Chen Li gritted his teeth: [Fine. Got it.]
He stopped petting and gave Fu Moyang a pat: “Get up. I’m taking you back to the werewolf clan.”
Fu Moyang didn’t respond. Instead, he stubbornly grabbed Chen Li’s hand again and placed it back on his wolf ears. His lips parted and he uttered a single word:
“Pet.”
He hadn’t heard a single thing Chen Li had just said.
Chen Li felt like he was trying to soothe a spoiled, tantrum-throwing dog. His voice instinctively softened: “Just give me ten minutes, okay? I’ll come back and keep petting you, promise?”
At the sound of pet, something clicked in Fu Moyang’s brain. His eyes sharpened, the lethargy fading.
“Five minutes.”
That was his limit for compromise.
Chen Li: “…Fine.”
He moved faster than he ever had in his life, summoning a trusted vampire subordinate and ordering him to prepare a carriage immediately.
Though Fu Moyang did let go as promised, his eyes never left Chen Li, shadowing his every step—so close it felt like he’d fused into his back. Like a giant, overprotective tail.
That big tail did not take kindly to the presence of the vampire subordinate who had “invaded” his territory. Unconsciously, Fu Moyang emitted a crushing aura.
Even without meeting his gaze, the vampire felt like a massive hand was wrapped around his heart, ready to squeeze it to pulp if he made one wrong move.
He didn’t even dare lift his head to look. Deep inside, he couldn’t help but admire Chen Li—as expected of the Vampire Prince. Only he could tame this beast.
Of course, the poor subordinate didn’t realize that right now, the so-called beast was looking at His Highness with pure, unrestrained greed and possessiveness.
The carriage arrived quickly. Lavishly decorated with golden embellishments, it was even larger than the broken one from before—big enough to fit a whole family comfortably.
No time to be picky. Chen Li hurriedly pushed Fu Moyang inside, then climbed in after him using the step stool.
The moment they got in, a powerful force slammed him to the floor. The half-transformed werewolf panted heavily above him, making no attempt to hide his desire.
“Pet me.”
Five minutes were up.
Author’s note:
Someone (fiercely): Pet me! (Tail wagging like crazy.)