Simmons folded her pitch-black, bat-like wings and landed in Lingjiang Town, a remote little settlement.

She looked about twenty, dressed in a brown trench coat and white sneakers—posing as an ordinary college student.

As the Vampire Empress’s personal handmaiden and a seasoned scout, Simmons was renowned for her steadiness and caution, earning the Empress’s deep trust.

Her mission: investigate a small clinic based on intel from Duke Kristin.

A Blood Clan princess falling for a mere human? Utterly absurd. Hence, one explicit order stood clear:

If the target was ordinary—or possessed only trivial supernatural ability, even at the fifth tier—eliminate them without hesitation.

Simmons operated at the sixth tier. The Empress’s meaning was plain: end all beneath her level. Higher threats would demand stronger assassins.

Reconnaissance served only one purpose: precise elimination, conserving the Blood Clan royal family’s resources.

Following verified coordinates, she arrived on Yanwei Street, scanning for the address.

An extravagantly decorated clinic stood at the entrance. Simmons glanced and stepped inside.

Moments later, she backed out awkwardly.

She checked her notes, then the plaque.

“Wrong place,” she murmured.

Realizing her mistake, Simmons retreated with an apologetic smile. Nurses watched, puzzled.

Though she held humans—these inferior beings—in contempt, she was on their turf. As a scout, keeping up appearances was prudent.

“Number 233… Why would such a tiny street host two clinics?” Simmons was baffled.

With so few customers, placing clinics side by side risked mutual ruin. Thankfully, the intel specified the number—otherwise, a catastrophic blunder awaited.

At the correct address, she eyed the unremarkable, slightly dilapidated clinic. She took a steadying breath, calmed her nerves, and entered.

“How can I help you?” a warm, concerned voice called.

Simmons sized up the doctor: a young man barely past twenty, wearing a professional smile. A tuft of slightly golden hair stuck up adorably. Clean-cut features, not strikingly handsome.

Discreetly, she rubbed her wristwatch—a disguised energy scanner. Yet it detected not even a trace of supernatural energy.

*Could this really be the man Princess Sisha favored?* Doubt flickered in her mind.

That practiced, hollow smile? Simmons knew it well—she’d worn such masks herself to gather intel. Warmth was just a tool.

Princess Sisha had likely been deceived.

Still, caution prevailed. She’d observe longer…

Then her gaze locked on a vibrant green sapling in the glass cabinet.

Slender branches swayed without wind. Leaves waved like a dancing maiden, or a gentleman inviting a lady to waltz.

A whisper urged her to offer her heart… no, *everything*… to surrender, to merge.

*Offer your heart!*

A violent, unnatural urge surged. Simmons’s eyes glazed. She stared fixedly, hand reaching for her chest, nails digging into skin, feet shuffling forward…

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Suddenly, the young doctor cradled the pot. The eerie allure vanished. Simmons snapped back, stumbling two steps back, drenched in cold sweat.

Her fingers had pressed with brutal force—as if to tear out her own heart. Nails sank deep; her inner shirt was likely bloodstained, wounds throbbing faintly.

Had he not moved the pot just then, she would have ripped out her heart, then buried the bloody organ in the soil with her last strength…

Who *was* this man? How could he wield such terror? Simmons had to reassess him entirely.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Lu Feng said, cradling the pot with a smile.

He was smiling…

Simmons paled. Mockery? Contempt? Dominance? Had he worn that smile from the start—deliberately issuing a warning?

He’d seen through her disguise all along.

Lu Feng observed her expression and pieced it together.

She’d seemed fond of the plant—then withdrew her hand with timid hesitation when he lifted it.

Ah. Just a reserved girl, too polite to touch others’ belongings.

“If you like it, go ahead and touch. It won’t bite,” Lu Feng chuckled, hugging the pot closer.

The emerald leaves swayed gently, beckoning…

*No. One more touch and it would consume me.* Simmons’s face tightened. She stepped back hastily, cold sweat beading on her brow.

He was speaking in sarcasm. A warning. Touching it truly meant death.

*He is a supreme being…* Princess Sisha’s words echoed.

Not only supreme—but with a twisted sense of humor, displaying such horror openly. A moment’s delay, and she’d be dead. Now Simmons believed every word.

“No, thank you for the offer,” she managed, forcing a strained smile. Her back was soaked with sweat.

Seeing her retreat, Lu Feng didn’t press. He placed the pot back on the counter.

“So—here for a consultation, or to pick up medicine?” he asked warmly.

“N-no… I’m here to investigate something. About you,” Simmons stammered, swallowing hard before choosing honesty.

*Investigate?*

Lu Feng glanced at her youthful outfit. College student age. Likely a market research assignment.

*Poor thing. A timid girl doing this alone? No companion? How irresponsible.*

He offered a kind, gentle smile, his gaze warm and reassuring.