The woman's statement bothered Xiang Liu. Had he really lost his memory? He was a demon with immense spirit power; it was unlikely that arrows, even poisoned ones, could steal his past from him. Yet, the familiarity with which the woman breached his personal space and touched him without a lick of fear or apprehension made him want to believe otherwise. 

"Xiang Liu," Xiao Yao cupped his cheek, urging him to look at her. The heat from her palm seeped into his skin. The beast within him hissed. He tried to pull his face away as a mighty urge to sink his fangs into her neck and suck her blood came over him. If he were to believe her, she had saved his life. Taking advantage of her… hurting her was immoral, even for a demon. 

"Look at me, you silly demon," the confident woman chided; nonetheless, her fingers on Xiang Liu's cheek were as gentle as ever. "I have disinfected your wound, but the poison in your blood refuses to be conquered. I have tried everything I can think of, but it's not letting you go. My blood has healed you in the past; I reckon it's the only thing that can help you now." With that, she leaned towards him; pulling her hair out of the way, she exposed the side of her neck. "Go on then. Drink to your heart's content," she said like she was offering tea, not her blood. 

When Xiang Liu resisted the urge and refused to bulge, the woman sighed as if bored; taking the jade hairpin out of her bun, she pricked her neck. Blood oozed out of the tiny wound and trickled down her neck till it seeped into her once-pristine-white inner robe.

The scent of fresh blood broke the demon's self-restraint. Abandoning morals, Xiang Liu took what the woman offered willingly. As soon as his fangs sank into her delicate neck, she gasped. A soft shudder rocked her petite frame. 

This close, he could feel her heart race. Xiang Liu found it odd that their hearts sang the same tune. However, before he could dwell on it, the first drops of blood entered his being. Intoxication, the kind the demon had never experienced, embraced him. The more he sucked, the deeper he fell into the abyss of ecstasy. 

Without meaning to, as strength returned to his body, his arm wrapped around the woman's waist, pulling her into him. And for the first time since crawling out of his egg, Xiang Liu felt at home. 

Chapter word count: 427
Word count so far: 4185