Chapter 176: Ana Zi, The Thieving Mistress!

Chapter 176: Ana Zi, The Thieving Mistress!

On a snowy peak nestled deep within the China Empire many years ago...

Inside an ancient, Chinese-style homestead, three natives dressed in flowing white robes sat on floor pillows around a low wooden table. A small, crackling fire burned inside the old stone chimney, casting a warm glow against the frost-covered windows.

A middle-aged beauty calmly poured steaming green tea for her husband and young daughter. She was fair-skinned, possessing long brown hair and striking blue eyes.

Her husband wore his long white hair in a tight ponytail. His most distinguishing physical feature was a jagged scar running clean across his face, resting just under his sharp blue eyes. He carried the heavy, unyielding air of a man of exceptionally few words.

Their daughter, who looked to be roughly six to eight years old, had short white hair and matching blue eyes. Despite the fierce snowstorm howling outside, she was entirely focused on reading a heavy historical volume resting on the table. Her mother was actively guiding her through the text as if it were a normal school day.

"Mother, I don't understand this specific section," the little girl murmured.

"What exactly do you not understand about the history, my little snowflake?" her mother asked gently.

"Why is our very first Emperor treated like a bad guy in modern text if he created so many wonderful things for the land? Absolutely nothing written here actually states he was a cruel ruler."

Her mother reached across the table, her finger tracing a massive timeline that mapped out a history spanning over thirty thousand years. She tapped a specific historical junction dating back exactly two thousand years.

"Right here, the greedy nobles of the China Empire grew hungry for the Yellow Emperor's divine powers," her mother explained, her voice dropping to a serious whisper. "They actively plotted to slaughter the Li Imperial family, intending to seize the remaining Li bloodlines to share the genetic power exclusively among their own noble clans."

"But the loyal Li line, with the direct assistance of the four traitor factions, successfully whisked the Imperial bloodline away to the continent of Eurasia. Because of that betrayal, China permanently lost its most powerful birthright. Do you know what Eurasia was like two thousand years ago?"

The cute little girl placed a finger against her chin, her face twisting in deep thought. Then, a bright smile broke across her features as she answered. "It was a wild territory entirely ruled by the barbarians of the North American Vikings and the brutal warriors of the Japan Empire, locked in a bloody conflict over the continent, right?"

"Ufufu, the Japanese were not barbarians, my dear," her mother corrected with a soft chuckle. "They were our structured allies, and they possessed a rich culture. But yes, the entire continent was trapped under a cycle of constant war and death for territory and resources. Tell me, what happened to Eurasia the exact moment the four clans and the divine Imperial bloodline finally arrived on those shores?"

The little girl cheated, quickly flipping ahead to the next page while her mother purposefully ignored the little trick. The child's eyes lit up with excitement as she read the passage aloud.

"The battle against the native forces was bloody and incredibly cruel! The four traitor clans systematically split up in all four directions to conquer the lands. The Long family marched West, the Feng family seized the North, the Tang family conquered the East, and the Lang family completely subdued the South!"

"But after winning the continent, the four families immediately waged a massive war against each other for ultimate control. Shortly after the chaos peaked, the Yellow Emperor reemerged, successfully conquering all four families to unite the land under a single banner!"

"That is absolutely correct, my smart little snowflake," her mother praised, running a hand through the girl's white hair. "With the Yellow Emperor forcing his absolute will upon the factions, the continent of Eurasia experienced a glorious renaissance of peace and prosperity."

"From the ashes of the old world, they subjugated the fallen North Americans and the brutal Japanese soldiers directly into their ranks. They formed brand-new servant lines utilizing the descendants of the original sixteen servant families. Now tell me, in the last two thousand years, what has happened to China without our Emperor?"

"Umm," the girl paused, studying the charts. "We have fallen drastically backwards compared to the other advanced nations of the world?"

"Correct. And that stagnation is entirely because our people lost our greatest national treasure due to pure aristocratic greed. Never speak this truth out loud in public, but the current ruling Empire is not legitimate."

"Mother, is that the real reason our family is moving away?"

Her father finally broke his silence, his deep voice carrying an immense weight. "We are relocating to join our fellow Kunlun martial siblings in Eurasia, strictly to position ourselves near our true Emperor. The timeline indicates he will return to claim his throne very soon."

"My cousin has explicitly requested us to bring our sacred Snowflake Scriptures along during the migration, and their handlers will integrate us into their society."

The little girl puffed out her chest in pure pride, her blue eyes wide. "That's right! The Yellow Emperor personally founded our traditional Temples, didn't he, daddy?"

The veteran warrior took a slow sip of his green tea before offering a firm nod. "The Yellow Emperor is the absolute father of all Kung-Fu. This sacred martial art is the exact power that allowed China to completely overwhelm every opposing force on the planet. Though it remains unproven by modern scholars, it is widely whispered that our first Emperor also graced our allies in the Japan Empire with his teachings in the ancient past."

With literal stars dancing in her eyes, she looked up at her father. "When we go to the Snow Temple, can I meet the Emperor?!"

Her father shook his head in a slow, negative motion. "The Emperor remains entirely hidden from the world to protect his physical safety. Our lineage is simply not significant enough to be granted an audience with his majesty. We can only watch from a distance as he rises to spread his enlightenment across the globe. He is a God of Enlightenment, after all."

He patted her head and said, "But positioning ourselves near his hands will allow us to feel the grand changes he uses to color the world. Study hard, little one. Become strong enough to claim the title of Snow Temple Sect Master, and you just might catch the Emperor's eye."

The little girl flipped through the ancient pages, pointing her tiny finger at an old, faded illustration. "Is this exactly what he looks like?"

Her mother leaned in to inspect the drawing, nodding affirmatively. "The one unchanging characteristic regarding the Yellow Emperor is that he is always reborn as a man possessing black hair and piercing blue eyes. His divine powers manifest the exact moment he transitions into manhood. That is the singular common thread across every reincarnation of his majesty. It is because his veins carry the absolute blood of the Immortal Imperial Dragon." (A/N: The Li bloodline has real dragon blood diluted in it, due to the Yellow Emperor.)

Her father lowered his gaze, his voice turning incredibly stern as he issued a final warning. "Little Lan, you must never, ever speak of this topic when we depart for Eurasia. The Central Government will instantly imprison you for spreading treasonous lies. Or worse, they might systematically execute our entire family to prevent the secrets of our first Emperor from spreading. Do you understand me?"

"Father, Lan understands completely!"

The memories faded...

"Lan Chow, the world will change with or without my intervention," I replied, a dark, ambitious smile spreading across my face. "But I intend to forcefully reshape it entirely in my own image. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

"Lan Chow understands completely, and I will faithfully follow your divine teachings to the letter... Ancestor."

Did the corner of my lip violently twitch at that final title? Yes, it absolutely did. Lan Chow caught the brief slip in my otherwise unshakeable facade, a brilliant, knowing smile breaking across her face at my exasperated expression.

Soon after our philosophical exchange, the production crew called us back to the kiddie coaster tracks to finish up the final touch-up shots while the natural afternoon lighting remained perfectly correct...

Friday afternoon arrived a few days later, finding our primary cast gathering at the central food station to receive our final rolling schedules for the last day of filming on location at Disneyland.

Logan leaned across the heavy plastic table, his features twisted into a thoroughly bewildered expression as he lowered his voice to question me. "So, why exactly did you choose to not eliminate that crazy woman on the tracks? She is completely creeping me out now, Rick. She is acting incredibly friendly toward me, and she even formally thanked me for systematically ruining her life!"

"Oh, right, I completely forgot to mention it to you," I chuckled, taking a sip of water. "She is officially working directly under my network now. I informed her that you are a close friend of mine, so she is legally barred from trying to kill you anymore."

Logan stared at me as if I were a highly unstable psychiatric patient. "You possess a terrifying gift, Rick. A literal gift for attracting exceptionally dangerous women and somehow forcing them to act incredibly sweet toward you. Tell me, are you a closet masochist? Just ensure you keep that psycho bitch far away from my perimeter, alright!"

I glared across the table, pointing a finger directly at his face. "See, that exact attitude is precisely why she tried to assassinate you in the first place. You never even bothered to look past the surface to discover she is actually a good woman."

"Phht! Damn, and a venomous cobra makes for a cuddly house pet!" Logan snorted, shaking his head in absolute disbelief. "Fuck, you genuinely believe highly dangerous females are pretty, don't you? Cough... Hinata Kyusho!"

My mouth opened to aggressively scold him for the callout, but the sheer amusement dancing in his dark eyes stopped me cold. He was actively begging me to deny the claim.

I sat in silence, internalizing the terrifying realization. Fuck. Am I genuinely attracted to crazy women? No, absolutely not. I have plenty of perfectly sane, stable lovers in my mansion too, right?

My bastard friend simply let out a massive, booming grin as the director's voice boomed over the megaphone, calling my name.

[Moving on to site two, we require Rick, Ana, Sam, Daniella, and Kevin to report for the second indoor fight sequence! We are shooting inside the 'It's a Small World' ride facility!]

The moment the announcement cleared, Ana turned her head, winking her vibrant green eyes directly in my direction.

Kate’s posture instantly stiffened, her expression turning thoroughly irritated due to the volatile, cats-and-dogs dynamic she shared with the rival actress. Kate knew with absolute certainty that Ana was executing the provocative gesture for the sole purpose of pissing her off. Watching the two prominent icons silently bicker brought a genuine smile to my face.

Ever since our intense encounter on Monday afternoon, Lan Chow had been acting oddly kind whenever the production crew wasn't within earshot. She constantly bowed with absolute, rigid respect whenever our paths crossed.

To make matters funnier, she always purposefully integrated formal titles like "Venerable Ancestor" into her casual sentences, leaving a highly amused, awkward sensation lingering in my heart. I found myself wondering if she secretly knew I was completely full of shit and was simply teasing me back. However, my doubts had been thoroughly shattered yesterday afternoon when I officially handed her the complete, unrestricted text of the lost Snowflake Scripture. The moment her fingers brushed the ancient pages, she burst into genuine tears.

She simply stood there in the trailer, holding the document tightly against her modest chest while a beautiful smile broke through her tears. She never explicitly revealed the exact reason behind her emotional breakdown, but it was glaringly obvious the text held immense, generational importance for her lineage.

Sitting on the vinyl bench of the staff go-kart as we cruised toward the entrance of the [It's a Small World] ride, Ana smoothly slid her arm through mine, utilizing the physical contact to create a massive barrier between herself and Sam Sun.

She leaned her head close, her soft lips brushing against my ear as she delivered a quiet whisper. "It has been an incredibly long, exhausting week not being permitted to shoot any direct scenes alongside you, Rick. Also... I wanted to thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart for the backing."

Smelling her expensive perfume as she leaned in close, I felt thoroughly confused as to why she was acting so remarkably grateful. I turned my head slightly, questioning her directly. "Why exactly are you so happy and thanking me, Ana? Did I actually perform something incredibly important for your career?"

She offered a beautiful, radiant smile, her green eyes locked onto mine. "Thanks to your intervention, I never have to force myself to submit to the manipulative whims of powerful men ever again for the rest of my life. I possess the freedom to completely ignore all of them now. Rick, did you genuinely manage to forget exactly what you recently deposited directly into my personal bank account?"

My entire face stiffened instantly as the realization hit me. I had completely and totally forgotten about the five million in cold cash that I had dropped into her balance the previous evening. Oops. To make matters funnier, I had entirely neglected to even mention the massive transaction to her beforehand. I offered a highly awkward smile, clearing my throat to explain away the oversight. "Well, I happen to be exceptionally wealthy at this current point in my life, so that sum really was absolutely nothing to worry about. If you ever find yourself needing more capital in the future, simply let me know and I will arrange it. The truth is that I just feel a lingering sense of guilt regarding the complexity of our dynamic, and I genuinely want you to be happy."

Ana stared at me, processing the fact that I was finally showcasing genuine care for her well-being. The raw concern thoroughly thawed her heart from the lingering bitterness of her past industry trauma. She offered a soft nod, being a highly intelligent woman who knew exactly better than to push her luck or demand further concessions from a man of my status. However, she leaned in slightly closer to murmur a final reassurance. "Do not worry about the optics, Rick. I am a completely discreet mistress, and I promise I will never expose your wonderful, protective side to a single soul in this city. Thank you so much for caring about me."

What on earth did she mean by a discreet mistress?! I have literally done absolutely nothing physically intimate with this woman yet, but I suppose the act of secretly providing her with massive financial backing behind the scenes technically borders on that specific definition, sigh. I guess Logan’s cynical theories regarding my attraction to problematic women are actually turning out to be entirely correct, aren't they?

In today's scheduled shooting sequence, the plot centers entirely around my character arriving on location to heroically rescue Lilith from the clutches of the High Inquisitor, played by a thoroughly unhinged Sam Sun.

The production crew had Ana securely tied up onto a scaled-down mini-version of the Eiffel Tower set piece, and the cameras rolled as Sam's professional stunt double and I engaged in a brutal physical battle. The script required the wounded Ana to watch our violent exchange in absolute despair from her bindings.

I fluidly utilized my two prop handguns alongside my heavy boots to repeatedly deflect the heavy blows of the blunt longsword the stuntman swung at my head. I executed a massive amount of classic, high-octane Gun-Fu movements, intentionally missing several dramatic gunshots to build cinematic tension. In a real underworld conflict, that dude would have been dead as fuck within the first two seconds of engagement, but this is a fictional movie, and the main antagonist simply cannot die so easily on screen.

The director finally gave the signal, remotely detonating a simulated gunshot wound directly into the stuntman's stomach. The scene was immediately cut to allow the real Sam Sun to get into proper physical placement on the set.

Sam’s character gripped his abdomen in deep shock, coughing up fake blood as he bitterly taunted my character for throwing away his humanity to love a monster of the night. I played Ken perfectly, completely ignoring the dying words of the holy man as I stepped past his collapsing form to free the pinned Lilith directly into my arms. Her character’s limbs had been punctured with multiple wooden stakes, mimicking a dramatic crucifixion layout.

The weakened Ana rested heavily in my embrace, crying genuine tears of blood as her character faced the intense trauma of being exposed as a full vampire in this brutal manner. I held her body tight against my chest. Following the script, she desperately bit directly into the skin of my neck, draining my life force to instantly heal her severe wounds. My character maintained a look of profound melancholy, portraying a normal man watching his entire reality turn completely upside down in a single afternoon.

The trauma of the physical encounter forced the suppressed memories of his past hypnosis to violently resurface in his mind. As Ana concluded her feeding and stood up on her own two feet, my character Ken looked at her with a haunted expression. "Even back when we made love in private, you utilized your supernatural hypnosis to force me to drink with you. Tell me the truth, Lilith... did we ever share a single moment of genuine love, or was I simply a mindless pawn tricked from day one?"

Lilith looked completely torn by the accusation, because she had indeed utilized her dark gifts on her partner, yet her internal love for him was entirely genuine. She could only weep, her voice trembling as she delivered her line. "I—I love you more than life itself, Ken, but my physical body desperately needs to feed... Vampires must drink blood to survive, so I—I had no choice..."

"No, you are completely wrong," Ken countered, his voice dripping with disappointment as he shook his head. "You could have simply asked me for the truth from day one, and I would have freely offered my neck to you without a single complaint, Lilith. I need some time alone to think about what we are. I am simply glad that you are safe from harm."

As I turned my back to walk away from both the dying holy man and the heartbroken vampire, the cameras continued to roll to capture the final dramatic beats. Lilith turned her tear-stained face toward Sam's collapsing character, her voice turning icy cold. "This absolute ruin is entirely your fault for destroying the one pure love I possessed... Just for that transgression, I refuse to grant you the mercy of death. Stay alive, and enjoy your pathetic existence feeding exclusively on your God's mindless sheep."

[CUT! THAT WAS ABSOLUTE PLATINUM!] the director screamed.

In the immediate follow-up scene, the holy man hanging on death's door is discovered by Logan's character, who ruthlessly transforms him into a vampire against his will. Because of that twist, the holy defender officially became humanity's biggest sinner...

Inside the mobile dressing room trailer, Ana sat directly next to me at the vanity station, carefully removing her crimson contact lenses and prosthetic fangs. She turned her face toward me, letting out a soft sigh. "Rick, your acting skills are becoming so incredibly advanced that I felt a genuine wave of fear wash through me. I honestly felt like you truly hated my guts for a split second during that exchange, sigh."

I finally finished wiping away the annoying layer of sweat and stage makeup from my skin, offering a warm smile as I looked at her face, which was still covered in streaks of theatrical blood. "Well, Ken was experiencing an immense amount of emotional hurt, so I had to deeply channel that exact feeling to make the scene pop. You and Lilith are two entirely separate entities, Ana, so there is absolutely no need to worry. I still like you a lot in reality. Excellent job on your performance, by the way."

She grabbed a clean towel to wipe her face completely clean, showcasing her gorgeous, flawless natural features without a single speck of cosmetics.

Ana leaned toward me, issuing a gentle reminder. "Do not forget that next week’s production schedule involves the main lovemaking scenes between you and Kate, followed immediately by the intimacy shots between you and me. Tell me, are you feeling nervous about it?"

"Me? Not a single chance," I laughed, shaking my head. "It might sound a bit sad to admit out loud, but my personal lifestyle experience means I am completely used to managing those kinds of physical situations. Plus, Kate and I have already made out plenty of times in private, so executing the movements in front of a rolling camera lens is simply going to be another day at the office."

"Well, Rick, I happen to be incredibly nervous about the whole thing," Ana admitted, her voice dropping to a shy murmur. "The reality is that I have never even kissed you before in my life."

"Nah, don't worry about it at all," I replied reassuringly. "The choreography is exceptionally simple and revolves entirely around standard kissing. It isn't as if the director is going to force us to make love for real on the set. Just relax, go with the flow, and try your absolute best to not blush in front of the crew."

Ana stood up from her chair, leaning her body directly over my lap while her slender fingers reached up to smoothly pull her long brown hair behind her ear. "In that case, allow me to try a brief test-kiss right now, ensuring I am not completely caught by surprise when the cameras start rolling next week."

Before I could even voice my approval or analyze the request, her soft, sweet lips overlapped mine completely. Her skin tasted precisely like pure honey, a perfect reflection of her intoxicating personal scent. The physical contact was so remarkably intense that I almost forgot this was supposed to be a simple, calculated test run.

Her hands came up to cup both sides of my face, holding my head perfectly still as her tongue confidently invaded my mouth. She seemed a bit lost and frantic in her movements at first, showcasing a raw lack of technical experience that heavily implied she had never truly kissed a man with genuine passion before in her life?!

Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of the trailer door handle turning echoed through the small space. Ana abruptly severed the kiss, snapping her body back into her seat while a deep, burning crimson blush rushed across her cheeks.

Sam Sun marched into the dressing room, surrounded by his usual gloomy, miserable aura as he took a seat on my opposite side to aggressively scrub away his makeup. He cast a highly suspicious glance in my direction, his eyes narrowing. "Why exactly do you possess the look of a man who just successfully stole something valuable, Tang? Did you go through my personal belongings while I was out on the set?"

I offered a casual shrug of my shoulders, turning to face the vanity mirror. "You don't possess a single item in your entire inventory that is actually worth stealing, Sam. If you do happen to stumble upon something valuable, ensure you let me know immediately, and I will gladly take it off your hands."

Sam glared daggers at my profile, pointing a finger directly at my face. "Why are you constantly making it your life's mission to annoy and irritate me?!"

I allowed a thoroughly evil, dark grin to spread across my face, letting him see the absolute weight of my underworld authority as I answered. "Because you foolishly chose to bother lovers that belong exclusively to my world, Sam, and I happen to thoroughly enjoy making arrogant assholes cry."

Hearing those ruthless words escape my lips, Ana’s eyes widened slightly in her mirror. She instantly internalized the declaration, feeling as though I had deliberately included her safety inside my possessive threat against Sam.

She stared deep into her makeup mirror, offering a slow, decisive nod as she finalized a choice within her mind. Her lips curved into the brilliant, scheming smile of a professional thief who had just successfully locked down her greatest prize.