"Am I that kind of person?" Chloe asked, her voice filled with existential doubt.
"To me, everything in this world has life. How could I possibly do such a terrible thing for my own selfish reasons?"
Daniel glanced at the bracelet on her wrist, woven from various animal teeth, and replied halfheartedly:
"Everything you say is right."
Chloe belatedly realized she had given herself away. She quickly hid her hand behind her back and casually pushed forward a drawing of a snake she had made:
"Look at this."
"I see it," Qin Huaibei said. "What are you trying to express?"
As he spoke, he took the milk from Katherine and placed it next to Chloe.
Chloe picked it up and took a sip:
"Do you remember this?"
Daniel leaned in to take a look, stroking his chin thoughtfully before saying, "There are so many vengeful spirits of snakes that have died miserably at your hands. How about a hint?"
"Like, where did you find this snake?"
Chloe: "..."
"I didn't kill it," she said, while giving Daniel a smack on the head.
Daniel didn't mind the knock at all; after all, this was a daily occurrence for him.
He even picked up the drawing and examined it for a moment before suddenly saying:
"Hey, this does look a bit familiar."
He turned to Qin Huaibei: "When we visited your place, didn't we go to that amusement park with extremely poor safety measures?"
Qin Huaibei: "...Your place is the one with poor safety measures."
After saying this, Qin Huaibei also remembered:
"Are you talking about those 'superheroes' with their underwear on backwards?"
Katherine glanced at him: "Don't spread rumors. They didn't have their underwear on backwards."
At this point, everyone remembered.
It was that criminal gang that had attempted to kidnap the children but ended up being killed by them instead.
They had found several snake emblems on the criminals at that time.
And that snake, the one Chloe had drawn now, was identical in pattern, body shape, and pose.
"Why suddenly bring up those idiots?" Daniel asked.
Chloe then told them all about her dream.
After listening, Qin Huaibei was still a bit dazed. He blinked his eyes:
"A divine message in a dream? Is it really that mystical?"
Chloe reminded him: "It's not a divine message, it's the guardian deity of us Vampires."
Qin Huaibei mumbled that it was about the same, then began to worry:
"So what do we do? Should we get a medical check-up?"
Ren Yunying had later explained to them about the Viper Group's story.
Like the gene modification drugs.
Daniel asked skeptically: "Could Chloe, the little princess who grew up pampered in the Vampire clan, really have been infiltrated by the Viper Group?"
Chloe was disgusted by his "little princess" comment and rolled her eyes:
"I was kidnapped by them when I was little."
As soon as she said this, the room fell silent.
After a moment, Chloe frowned and widened her eyes in horror:
"What are you doing?!"
The other three had each grabbed Chloe's hands and forehead, examining her carefully.
Seeing Chloe squirming, Qin Huaibei scolded her sternly:
"Stop fidgeting! I'm checking your pulse."
Meanwhile, Katherine was using her magic to carefully inspect Chloe's body, paying extra attention to her heart.
Daniel, not knowing what else to do, just placed his cold paws on Chloe's forehead.
After a while, Chloe was released.
She asked helplessly: "Well, did you find anything?"
Qin Huaibei and Katherine exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison: "No."
Hearing this, Chloe sighed and criticized: "Your skills are lacking."
Qin Huaibei rolled his eyes: "Yes, yes, everything you say is right."
Katherine, however, thought Chloe had a point and said seriously: "I'll train harder in the future."
Chloe found Katherine incredibly sweet and went to give her a hug.
"Let's not worry about this for now," Chloe said, folding the drawing and putting it in her pocket. She casually asked, "What time is it now? Why hasn't my dad come back yet?"
"No idea," Daniel said. "We haven't seen him in a long time."
Remembering her experience in the temple, Chloe felt uneasy. She put on her coat and walked out.
Daniel called after her: "Where are you going?"
"To find my dad," Chloe replied.
Hearing this, Daniel mocked: "Such a little baby, not weaned yet."
Chloe couldn't be bothered to respond to the childish little wolf.
As she went downstairs, she ran into the Lord.
Seeing Chloe, the Lord's face immediately broke into a wrinkled smile: "Oh, where is the young miss off to?"
Chloe replied hurriedly: "To find Xavier."
The Lord was surprised for a moment at her irreverence in directly using the ancestor's name, but quickly recovered:
"Don't worry, young miss. His Majesty is still in the temple."
Hearing this, Chloe stopped in her tracks: "He's still there now?"
She looked at the sky: "It's so late. Has he eaten?"
The Lord smiled and said: "He's offering sacrifices to the gods. Of course he can't eat or drink, to show his sincerity."
Chloe blinked, finding it a bit absurd: "So he can't sleep tonight either?"
The Lord shook his head: "Of course not."
He then invited Chloe to the dining table for dinner.
Chloe hesitated for a moment, then only took a piece of strawberry cake from the table: "I think I'll go to the temple first."
With that, she hurried out the door.
Watching the young one's retreating figure, the Lord's eyes filled with a smile, and he praised:
"The young miss is so thoughtful. She and His Majesty have such a good relationship."
...
The thoughtful Chloe was now sitting in front of Xavier, who hadn't had a drop of water or a grain of rice all day, leisurely enjoying her cake.
She deliberately sat very close to Xavier, making sure he could fully smell the fragrance of the cake.
As she ate, Chloe kept praising:
"The Lord's cook is really skilled. This cake smells particularly good."
She looked at Xavier: "Does Daddy want some?"
Then she covered her mouth in mock surprise and self-reproach: "Oh my, I almost forgot that Daddy can't eat anything right now! How pitiful."
Xavier's mouth twitched, but in the end, he couldn't help but smile a little.
He knelt on the cushion, his posture dignified and serious.
The scriptures he was reciting never stopped.
On this side, Chloe, having finished her cake, sat beside Xavier with her chin propped up. She looked up at the ugly-faced but compassionate-looking statue of the deity, and once again recalled that ambiguous dream.
After hesitating repeatedly, Chloe finally spoke up:
"Dad, can you help me check my body when we get back?"
As her words fell, Xavier's low, chanting voice came to a stop.
Those dark red eyes turned towards Chloe, his brows slightly furrowed: "Are you feeling unwell?"
The night had grown deep, and outside, a "rustling" gale began to blow.
Chloe pursed her lips and said:
"You know I was kidnapped before, right?"
"Earlier, while praying, I had a dream."
Chloe lifted her head to look at the statue:
"I dreamed that the deity reached into my chest and pulled out a venomous snake."
