"No?" Xue Yanluo murmured. "That's fine then. How do you feel in your new body?"
"Ah? It's strange. I've lost all my cultivation, and my meridians have changed, so I can't cultivate—though I've noticed my body is much more robust than before. My senses have changed too, and it took me a while to adjust."
"Get yourself ready—in a few days you'll be promoted to my personal guard. Don't do anything unusual until then."
"Yes, my lord. Safe travels," he said, kneeling.
In the busy city, Xue Yanluo walked through the evening with his red parasol, blending into the surroundings. His mind was scattered across a few thoughts, and he paid little attention to the road. What could that red strand be? Does it only appear when I turn someone into a vampire…? A cultivator… Maybe it appears if you drink the blood of a cultivator—their blood is loaded with energy… His pace slowed as he came close to an answer.
I need to test it… The best way would be to find a lone cultivator, but everyone here has a fairly high realm… I'd find one easily at the empire's borders—no, that's impossible, too far away. In the capital… Prisoners? Yes, they're desperate, and with my mother's family's help it'll be easy to arrange… His steps quickened and his shoulders lifted, pleased with his plan.
Back at his residence, he took hold of a silver bell and shook it—it rang four times before going quiet and glowing faintly from within. That night, a maidservant slipped into the residence and waited outside Xue Yanluo's room.
"You may come in," his voice carried through the door.
The maidservant entered and knelt on the floor. "Good evening, young prince. This humble servant presents herself before your greatness."
"Stand," he said, rising and moving to a bookshelf in the room. He took a book from it, and from between the pages drew a folded sheet of paper. "This letter is for my mother—deliver it as soon as possible."
"I will give my life to complete the task." With that she left the room, departing the same way she had come.
Through the night he spent his time adjusting to his body and reading, since turning into a vampire had made it quite difficult to sleep at night. He felt his blood run hot when the moon took command of the sky and the sun fell away.
In the morning, a folded piece of paper dropped in front of his room. He picked it up and opened it, reading the writing inside. It was a letter from his mother—his request was already arranged. A discreet house, three prisoners from the Qi Awakening Realm, and one from the Iron Foundation.
He headed to the house and picked up Hua Zhenfeng on the way. At the house, two soldiers were standing guard inside who, upon seeing Xue Yanluo, snapped to attention and greeted him. "Welcome, young master."
Xue Yanluo simply raised his hand in response and walked in. In one room, three men and a woman were shackled with reddish chains at their feet, hands, and necks. They were relatively quiet until he entered the room, where they began muttering through the gags in their mouths.
One of the soldiers stepped forward and struck one of the prisoners. "Quiet."
"Leave them. I don't want to waste time on this."
"Forgive me, I overstepped," the soldier said, bowing toward Xue Yanluo. "These three," he said, pointing at the three men, "are Qi Awakening cultivators arrested for murder, robbery, rape, and numerous other crimes. She is Iron Foundation, arrested for trafficking slaves and commoners."
Xue Yanluo frowned at the woman. "I'm certain I asked for criminals sentenced to refinement and soul destruction. How did she end up with that sentence?" Xue Yanluo shuddered involuntarily after saying it. Refinement and soul destruction—what a brilliant monster, whoever first conceived of such a death. The screaming alone is enough to frighten demons. It's fortunate to have found so many; they always find ways to kill themselves days before their executions.
"The slaves and commoners she trafficked belonged to the Second Prince's domain."
"She can consider it a blessing she ended up here." He said, then looked at the soldiers in the room. "Get out—I don't need you here anymore."
"Yes, young master."
The prisoners glared at Xue Yanluo, reacting to every move and word he made.
"You can relax—not all of you are dying today." The prisoners muttered with greater agitation, all except the woman, whose expression remained just as unreadable. "Hua Zhenfeng, pick one and drink."
Hua Zhenfeng stepped forward, and the three men tried to back away, toppling over with their feet in chains. He took another step, and they struggled in a panic. One more step and two of them settled slightly, though their eyes stayed locked on him.
The selected prisoner was bleeding from the mouth from his repeated attempts to speak and plead, and his hands and feet showed raw redness where the chains had bitten.
Hua Zhenfeng crouched and placed his hand on the prisoner's neck. With his other hand he held a knife and cut the neck directly, collecting the blood flowing from the wound in a container.
The prisoner twisted every way he could; he felt his body draining and his eyes going dark. He spent his last strength looking at the man killing him. He fought against his eyelids, which wanted to close the world away forever, and tears ran without control. In the end his eyelids never quite finished closing when his body went slack and his breathing stopped. The other prisoners shook violently and pressed themselves as far away as they could, huddled in a corner.
Hua Zhenfeng swirled the container, watching the somewhat thick liquid, and smelled its sharp scent. His mind still recoiled at the smell and the texture, but that vanished the moment it touched his lips, and he drank down to the last drop.
He finished it in one go, then sat on the floor and felt for his dantian. A few minutes later a reddish strand had formed within it, and he told Xue Yanluo. "My lord, this time a red strand has formed."
Xue Yanluo nodded and moved toward the two remaining prisoners in the corner, grabbing each by the head and looking them over before settling on the more unpleasant-looking one. He did the same as Hua Zhenfeng—but after a few minutes, no strand had formed.
Hmm… Nothing… Could it be the realm? I have the strength of an iron foundation cultivator, so do I need blood from one of them? Xue Yanluo turned his gaze toward the woman prisoner, who was still unmoved, glancing at him from time to time.
"You're remarkably calm given the situation."
The prisoner looked up and met his eyes steadily. "Do you want me to cry?"
"It's rare to see someone daring enough to traffic people—especially a lone cultivator. I wonder if there's some feeling involved," he said with a half smile and narrowed eyes.