The prisoner bit her lower lip hard. "There's nothing like that—I did it for the money."
"I'll give you another chance to live. Was there feeling involved?"
The prisoner looked away and retreated into her thoughts. When she had made up her mind, she gathered the strength to speak. "It was that damned Second Prince's fault. We aren't people to him—just things to sell. I'll kill him."
Xue Yanluo felt the anger in her words and smiled. "I like that. I'll spare you. Don't resist." He lowered himself toward her, bringing his hand gently to her neck, and with the other eased aside the cloth covering part of it.
His warm breath hit her neck, and she trembled faintly. She resisted for a moment by reflex, trying to glance sideways at Xue Yanluo.
Xue Yanluo bit her neck and drank. This time he felt a burning sensation in the blood, a faintly spicy aftertaste lingering in his mouth. He didn't even need to check his dantian to know a strand had formed—a strong one.
The prisoner collapsed to the floor, her body shaking in spasms. Within minutes she had completed her transformation and broken the chains with her new physical strength.
"Congratulations. How do you feel?"
"Fine… I think. Wait—what did you do to me? What is a vampire? Why am I a vampire now? Am I not human anymore?…"
"Quiet," he cut in. "Quiet and let me explain your situation briefly. I've turned you into a vampire—a being that drinks human blood. Hua Zhenfeng will tell you the rest. For now, test your powers on the last prisoner."
In the corner, the last prisoner had wet himself and was shaking uncontrollably, begging for his life. The prisoner wasted no time and moved quickly toward him—she ignored his pleading and, with a knife taken from Hua Zhenfeng, cut his neck and drank the blood that seeped out.
"Does blood always taste this good…? Was mine good?" she asked, looking at Xue Yanluo.
"Yes… Yours was better than his," he said, glancing at Hua Zhenfeng. "Stop wasting time and check whether a strand has formed in your dantian."
"No," she said a few seconds later, "there's nothing."
Could it be that, having been an iron foundation cultivator before her transformation, she kept her strength during the conversion to physical power? That's quite useful…
Xue Yanluo checked his heart and saw the crystal was almost completely translucent. So this crystal is what lets me turn people… A limit…? That's inconvenient… Will it grow as I get stronger? I hope so…
A thought broke through his mind without warning, and he couldn't leave it unanswered, so he asked the prisoner, "What's your name?"
"Bao Qingcao."
"It's a good name. Do you have a reddish crystal in your heart?"
"Yes," she answered immediately, "isn't that normal?"
"Come here, let me see it."
Bao Qingcao sat on the floor with her legs crossed, and Xue Yanluo sat behind her, placing his left hand on her back where the heart sits. His energy pressed through the pores of her skin and reached her heart.
He felt it carefully, then withdrew his energy. It's… quite small. Not even half of mine, and the color is somewhat dull… Why would that be? "It's good. This crystal lets you turn someone into a vampire—though the way it is, you'll be able to turn someone from the first realm at most. And before you turn anyone, you'll need my permission." Those last words he said were meant for both of them.
"Yes, my lord."
"Understood."
"Bao Qingcao, you'll need to keep a low profile and change your identity. I'll create a new one for you, and you'll enter the palace as a maidservant. I won't allow any mistakes."
"Understood."
"Good. Zhenfeng, explain to her how she'll need to live as a vampire from now on."
After listening to Hua Zhenfeng, Bao Qingcao nodded, murmuring something, and there seemed to be a quiet sadness in her eyes—though she didn't show it openly. It had been quite a blow to learn she could no longer enjoy the sun directly.
Xue Yanluo reached into his storage emblem and produced a parasol, handing it to Bao Qingcao. "Here — you don't need to return it."
Bao Qingcao took the parasol and reviewed it. "It's a bit ugly—all red and black. Don't you have one in green or blue?"
"No. Stop wasting time." He looked around, and his nose wrinkled. "Let's get out of here—it's filthy."
"Should we leave it like this?" asked Hua Zhenfeng.
"Someone will clean it. I said, Let's go."
"Forgive me."
Outside, the soldiers had been standing guard, and upon seeing Xue Yanluo emerge, they came forward to greet him.
"Clean up inside—leave nothing of them."
"Yes, young master."
Hua Zhenfeng looked at both soldiers carrying out the orders without a single question and seemed to understand something.
The sky was barren, the moon at its smallest, too weak to light the world, and the sun buried, indifferent to the struggle below.
In weather like this, the night brought little of its usual strength, and Xue Yanluo lay down in his bed and slept for the first time in two full days.
In the morning he was still asleep when a voice woke him.
"Yanluo, are you still sleeping? You're supposed to see the mistress today… Are you awake?"
Xue Yanluo turned over a couple of times and managed to open his eyes, stretching and looking toward the door. "Yes, thanks to you. What are you doing here?" he said, fighting a yawn—and losing it.
"I came to watch your training bout against the sun, like you said—though it looks like it was against the bed in the end," she teased.
"Tch. You're in an excellent mood today. What happened?"
"It's a secret."
"Even from me?"
"Yes."
Xue Yanluo wrestled the blankets off himself and dragged his legs to the edge of the bed, stood up, and got dressed. He picked up his parasol and stepped outside.
"Why do you always carry a parasol now?"
"It would be a great loss to this empire if I got burned by the sun."
Ruan Xueling just laughed and went into the kitchen, setting out some snacks she had made for breakfast. The two sat down to eat and discussed daily things—mostly matters that circled Xue Yanluo's mother.
A few hours later, Xue Yanluo and Ruan Xueling were walking through the city, arriving at a residence bearing a large plaque with the name of the family who lived there: the Yue family. The writing was smooth and elegant, carrying a calming feeling that Xue Yanluo had never quite felt anywhere else.