Chapter 6

His mysterious eyelids slightly changed as he stared at the figure slowly emerging behind the curtain. The figure was also dressed in black, a slender girl.
She knelt on one knee, her left wrist adorned with a familiar silver bracelet that shone brightly, refracting spiritual light that converged into a silver bow and arrow, the arrowhead steadily aimed at him. With the backlighting, her face was unclear, but her resolute, fearless eyes were visible.
His heart trembled violently, as if the woman who had aimed her bow at him several times hundreds of years ago was before him again. He thought he could finally die at her hands but always lived on in despair.
He steadied his mind and said hoarsely, "Are you from the Derlin family?"
She resembled her, but she was not her. The girl's gaze was too determined, showing no hesitation in killing him, unlike her.
However, having battled with the women of the Derlin family for countless times, the only ones aside from her who could infuse spiritual power into the bracelet to form a bow and arrow artifact of such dense and refined quality were her and this girl.
"Let her go." Derlin·Sarah kept a close eye on the blue-eyed man, yet her attention was partly on the woman he was holding by the neck, ready to shoot her swift silver arrow through his chest at the slightest hint of him harming the woman.
She was always cautious, especially now, knowing the man before her seemed laid-back but was actually a formidable opponent. Her invisibility technique, which even her mentor couldn't detect, was perceived by this man, showcasing his terrifying acuteness.
Emile remained composed, his long fingers still clasped around the neck of the unconscious beauty, "Being able to use that bracelet, could it be you're the new emissary? That old hag got injured by me, and even the 'Yuan Zhen' she always used was taken by me. Knowing she won't recover in a year or half, she hastily appointed you to clean up her mess, didn't she? How useless."
Derlin·Sarah was not provoked by his taunts, pulling her bow even tighter, "That arrow was a warning, this one will pin you down. Release her immediately."
"Do you really think you can kill me?" he chuckled lightly, "You're too young, dear. To deal with me, you'll need a few more years of practice."
"Whether I can deal with you or not, we'll only know after trying." She secretly calculated, her arrow was fast, and she was 70% confident she could kill him before he harmed the woman, but any mistake could potentially lead to the woman's death...
Suddenly, the man on the bed vanished without a trace.
Derlin·Sarah was startled and before she could react, a cold hand was already on her neck, his lazy voice whispering in her ear, "Take off the bracelet, throw it into the corner of the room. Be good, your neck is quite pretty, it would be a shame to break it."
So fast!
She stiffened, staring at his smiling, sinister face, knowing she was at a disadvantage. Reluctantly, she took off the bracelet, and the bow and arrow artifact disappeared as she tossed the bracelet into the corner of the room.
"That's right, just like that," he praised, scrutinizing the girl he had captured.
She was about twenty, with delicate features. Her inner double eyelids cast a subtle arc-shaped shadow over her pupils, giving her a mysterious and serene appearance. Held captive by him, she was neither angry nor panicked, facing him fearlessly. He could sense her calmness, hiding an observation—she was waiting for a chance to counterattack.
Seems like a tough character.
"Are you the new emissary?" Her gaze ignited a long-lost fighting spirit in him, stirring something that had been dormant in his heart for a long time.
"Not exactly." There were other candidates, but she was the most outstanding among them, almost designated as the successor. The emissary had given her the bracelet to use. "The emissary sent me to kill you and retrieve Yuan Zhen."
Yuan Zhen was a human soul controlled by the women of the Derlin family for hundreds of years. In life, he was a mage who was close to the emissary of the time, Derlin·Beck. After death, his soul became a spirit that could be commanded, continuing to protect the Derlin family. Yuan Zhen had no will of his own and acted according to his master's orders, making him an excellent assistant in exorcising demons. Now, having been defeated by him and even Yuan Zhen taken away, it was a great humiliation for the emissary.
"Kill me?" He laughed in surprise, "It seems, dear emissary didn't tell you everything. Dear, if you want to succeed as the emissary, you first need to understand the rules of the game between me and your Derlin family. Charging into my territory so arrogantly wanting to kill me will bring you big trouble. Besides, constantly fighting and killing is boring. How about we sit down, have a cup of tea, and chat?"
"Impossible." She stated decisively, "You and us are mortal enemies, forever."
He shook his head, "Times have changed. There are more and more mages, and the Derlin family's status is no longer as exalted and unique as before. I no longer need to flee and hide, able to walk openly on the streets, having a life like any ordinary person."
At ease? Perhaps, but all of this was obtained under unbearable conditions, and the inherent disdain for his lowly nature remained unchanged.
"Some things never change."
He looked into her stubborn eyes, seemingly amused, "Do you really want to kill me?"
"I do what I must."
What she must do? The woman from those years was also doing what she must, hence leading people to kill him. Now, this girl said the same. Was his existence truly intolerable by the heavens, or did they narrowly determine his fate from the start, never giving him a chance to live?
The pressure on her neck suddenly increased, Derlin·Sarah gasped, her dark eyes locked onto his face. He still smiled, his long lashes slightly lowered, revealing anger and cruelty.
Was he going to kill her? She speculated. He had slaughtered over a hundred of her clan members in one go, but over the centuries, whenever they encountered each other, he only injured people, never killed, and it was always her Derlin family who troubled him, he merely defended himself passively. And his nightly seduction of women to drink their blood also left them alive.
Compared to the evil spirits and demons she had exterminated, his evil deeds seemed somewhat inferior.
"Smart girl," he murmured lowly. Her eyes were intelligent and calm, clearly seeing through his intention not to take her life, hence not even thinking of resisting.
He didn't like the look in her eyes, too deep and calm, as if nothing could disturb her—just like her, when they met again after their separation years ago, she had the same calm, lifeless gaze. Their entanglement with him couldn't be simply explained by hatred or love. Why did this girl, who he met for the first time, look at him with such eyes?
His gaze swept over her fine eyebrows, prominent nose, tightly closed pale cherry lips, then slowly to her tender cheeks and delicate earlobes, "Now, without the bracelet, no other magical tools or charms, and under my control, how do you plan to solve this predicament?"
"You..." She gasped for breath. He actually bit her ear! Reflexively, her hands raised, spiritual power gathering, ready to strike his chest.