Ye Ming had been travelling together with Puyol’s group for about an hour, during which they had even climbed over a towering mountain ridge. They arrived at the mouth of a canyon. Puyol stopped and whistled. Several Vampires instantly flew out of the dense forest.
“You’re back, Lord Puyol.”
“Did anything happen while I was away?” asked Puyol.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” replied one of the Vampires.
“Good. Keep standing watch.”
Puyol then led Ye Ming into the canyon.
“Our tribe is located in this canyon. There’s only one entrance and it’s hard to detect. Even if the Werewolves find this place, they won’t be able to get in.”
Puyol gave Ye Ming some explanations while they walked. The two sides of the canyon were steep stone cliffs, so the narrow canyon in the middle was the only traversible path. If they had some people standing watch above, it was a terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
“How many years have your tribe been living here? Are there other tribes in other parts of the Dark Mountains too?” asked Ye Ming.
“There are several. We’re just one of the Gangrel tribes around here. We visit each other regularly.” While Puyol was giving Ye Ming the introduction, they had passed through the narrow canyon.
Ye Ming’s field of vision instantly widened. He saw numerous tents made of animal hide scattered in an orderly but uneven manner in the distance. The scenery was a picture of idyllic pastoralism.
Suddenly, the system notificaton went off in Ye Ming’s mind.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have discovered a treasure chest!]
“Oh?” Ye Ming looked around. He found a treasure chest sitting behind a rock less than five meters away from him.
“Let’s go,” urged Puyol.
“Sorry, but I need to pee,” Ye Ming said the first excuse that came to his mind.
“Oh…okay. We’ll wait for you at that tent over there,” Puyol did not suspect anything. He led the other Vampires to wait at the tent.
After making sure that they were a safe distance away and were not paying attention to him, Ye Ming quickly ran to the stone and picked up the treasure chest.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have discovered a golden treasure chest!]
Ye Ming opened the chest and found a drop of Viscount Blood Essence and some ingredients inside.
“I can use these ingredients in alchemy.” In the past, he would take them to a trading house and sell them for coins, but he was an alchemist now, so he could now use them himself.
After putting the things away, Ye Ming quickly caught up to Puyol who was waiting ahead.
Puyol led Ye Ming to his tent.
“Have a sit,” said Puyol.
Ye Ming took a seat on a chair made of polished stone and asked, “Which Marquis governs this place?”
“We don’t have a Marquis here. Everyone is free and equal. If you have to pick someone whose words are heeded, I should count as one.”
“I see.” Ye Ming realised to his surprise that the person he encountered was actually a big shot. But the free spirit here was very much to Ye Ming’s liking, unlike the Vampires in the city who gave people a sense of oppression. Every time Ye Ming met a higher-ranking figure in the city, he had to put on a submissive act. It annoyed Ye Ming to no end.
Because he appreciated their way of life as well as their aid in his time of need, Ye Ming took out two bottles of strength-enhancing potion that he had made himself and handed them to Puyol as a gift.
“This is a potion I developed myself. It can enhance the strength of a Vampire. Consider it my way of paying back your kindness in saving my life.” Ye Ming placed the small bottles on the table.
Puyol eagerly picked them up with a look of surprise and disbelief. “Will they really increase our strength?” he asked.
“Of course,” Ye Ming replied confidently. “You can find someone to test it out. It was thanks to this potion that I was able to deal with four Werewolves by myself, and that was during a full moon too.”
Puyol showed no hesitation. He gave a bottle to the Vampire beside him and dranked the other bottle himself. Ye Ming appreciated his selflessness. Any Marquis in his place would have let someone else try the potion first to confirm that it was safe before consuming it himself.
Upon consumption, Puyol felt refreshed. He clenched his hand into a fist. The tight, bulging muscles told him that the man sitting across from him was not lying.
“This is amazing. Is it possible to make more of this potion for our tribe?”
“Sure, not a problem. As long as you can find the ingredients I want.”
Puyol was ecstatic. “That’s great! You really are a ray of hope for our tribe. To be honest with you, the strength of the Werewolves have suddenly increased lately for some reason, and their numbers have even surpassed ours. It’s a problem that has been worrying me. Your arrival has given us a way of enhancing our strength. This is great news.”
“Please, don’t mention it. I have to make the potion for myself anyway, so it’s not that much trouble. Moreover, you people even saved my life. That’s all the more reason for me to help you.”
“Good, good. That’s too good of you. Spo, go and get a cup of fresh blood for Yelina.”
Hearing this, Ye Ming asked, “You have humans here too?”
“Yes, but they’re just livestock. You don’t have to pay them any mind.”
“Wait, Lord Puyol. There’s something I’d like to ask you to do for me. Do you think you can improve the living conditions of the humans in your tribe?”
Puyol frowned slightly. “I don’t understand why you would ask that.”
“Oh, it’s like this. Before I came here, I happened to spend some time in the city of Benguela, where the Marquis gave the humans a lot of freedom and respect. The humans just have to give the Vampires a certain amount of their blood every month as tax payment. The Marquis thus gained the respect of the humans in Benguela, and the humans willingly offer their blood for him. Don’t you think this method is much better than the old way that relies on brutality and fear? There’s a large difference in quality between the blood drawn from a happy person and the blood drawn from a person in fear. This is much like herbs. The same kind of herbs that grow in different living conditions will have differing medicinal effects too.”
“It’s not that I’ve never heard of these things you’re saying, but is it really necessary to go that far?”
“Of course. If you don’t believe me, you can try dividing the humans you have into two groups. Continue to rule over the first group with brutality and fear like you’ve always done, while with the second group, adopt the ruling method of Benguela. You can see for yourself the difference between the blood obtained from both groups.”
“Is that so…” Puyol appeared deep in thought. After a while, as if he had gain a sudden comprehension, he said, “Okay, since an alchemist like you have said so, I’m willing to give it a try. After all, you have a deep understanding of herbs, and people and herbs are both part of nature. There must be similarities between the two.”
“Thank you for your willingness to heed my advice, my lord.”
“There’s no need for thanks. I’m willing to consider any suggestion that is beneficial to us.”
Ye Ming heaved a sigh of relief. At least he was able to contribute a little to improve the current situation of the humans. Hopefully, it’ll improve their living conditions a little, so that they would at least not be treated like cattle and sheep.
On that day, Ye Ming found another golden treasure chest and a few other silver ones while wandering around the tribe. However, he only got some ingredients and supplementary potions from them.