Silver Wolf

Dressed in red, Li Bingbing stepped inside the room where she was going to spend the night with the man who bought her purity. As she did, her eyes landed on the man who was sitting by the window.

His long, golden hair that was tied into a high ponytail swayed when a cold, strong breeze blew against him. She felt like the moon was bigger than it usually was. It was as if staring at a painting. Even through the layers of clothing, she was sure that a sculpture-like body was hidden under it.

She sucked a sharp breath when she met his eyes again, making her heart jump in surprise. She snapped and averted her eyes from his. She drew her eyes on the ground, giving him an elegant bow to greet him.

A low, animalistic growl entered her ears, startling her. As she shot her gaze back at him, her eyes widened. The man was now standing in front of her, his gaze examining her.

Despite having the feeling of being disrobed by his hard gaze, what bothered her the most was that... How did he manage to appear in front of her in just a matter of seconds? Were her eyes playing with her? No. That was impossible.

"Li Bingbing, right?" The low vibration in his voice made her flush in embarrassment and at the same time, desire. He held her chin and upon doing so, she felt a strange spark the moment their skins touched.

The man never failed to surprise her even further. He was speaking in a language she had never thought of hearing again. The Oriental Continent was divided into three kingdoms; Heian, Sejong, and Ying. Each Kingdom had its own languages.

Li Bingbing knew that she should just play safe and be obedient if she wanted him to be her patron but something at the back of her mind told her another thing. "You know my real name."

She had been using the alias 'Akane' for years. The only people who knew about her real name were Okasan and Sachiko. If he had gotten her real name from someone, it was going to be either one of them.

"Of course, I do." The side of his lips curled up into a charming smirk. "I've been looking for you for so long."

Li Bingbing furrowed her brows in confusion. She was sure that she would never miss such a one in a million face so what the hell did he mean by those words?

Before she could open her mouth to ask a question, she was caught off-guard when he swooped her off her feet and carried her in his arms. The feeling of his body against hers made her heart jolt once again.

"W-What the---"

"As much as I'm tempted to mark you right here and then, I'm in no condition to do you justice right now."

In the blink of an eye, Lu Xian Yu jumped out of the window, startling Li Bingbing.

"A-ARE YOU CRAZY?!!" She screamed as they fell from the tall building. She unconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck.

Lu Xian Yu's gaze softened and at the same time, he looked rather pleased.

She felt his chest reverberated as she heard him laugh in amusement. "You'll get used to this, I promise."

It was something she was not looking forward to at all! She was not ready to die! She shut her eyes, tightening her embrace on him. "Shit! Shit! Shit! I don't want to die! F*ck! F*ck!"

"I'm glad to see that you're as impatient as me but sadly, we have to run away first before we can f*ck, sweetheart," he calmly said as he jumped from one roof to another until he leaped on top of the wall that caged the red light district.

Li Bingbing was not in the mood to even retort. All she could do was bury her face in the crook of his neck. Was he even a human? How could they still be alive? She had always been afraid of high places.

She only opened her eyes when she noticed that he finally stopped leaping.

Hesitantly, she loosened her hold on him as she slowly pulled away.

As she turned her head, she saw another man, adjusting his monocle. She knew who he was. The man before them had always been famous in the district. Takugawa Ren. He served as the Shogun's second-in-command

"You shouldn't have come to this place all by yourself, Lu Xian Yu." He cast his eyes at Li Bingbing. "You should have fled at once after assassinating Hanamaki-sama instead of taking a souvenir out. You may be strong but you seem to be underestimating us."

More men came out from the shadow of the trees, surrounding their targets. Both Li Bingbing and Lu Xian Yu were now cornered.

"I shall bring your head to the Emperor." Tokugawa's pupil began to dilate as one long horn grew in the middle of his forehead.

"A… Y-Yokai..." In particular, he was a one-horn ogre! Chills ran throughout Li Bingbing's body. She had heard stories about different kinds of Yokai but she had never seen one in person.

"Are you ready to die?"

Carefully and gently, Lu Xian Yu placed the woman in his arms on the ground. He handed her the small bag he was carrying before he faced the monocled man. "That is a question you should be asking yourself."

Crack. Crack. Crack. One by one, Lu Xian Yu's bones started deforming as he began to shift.

Right before her eyes, the blond-haired man changed into something Li Bingbing had never expected to witness…. A humongous silver wolf.