Lazio received Ye Ming very warmly, which Ye Ming somewhat expected. The Gangrel clan was generally very hospitable.
Lazio invited Ye Ming to have a seat. The three of them sat down around a wooden table. Lazio asked, “I heard from Dembele that you saved him, and that you know Puyol?”
“That’s right, Lord Lazio,” Ye Ming answered politely.
“Why don’t you stay in our tribe tonight? In order to show our gratitude, we’ll throw a little feast for you. What do you think?” Lazio asked sincerely. He cast an expectant gaze at Ye Ming, hoping Ye Ming would agree.
Of course Ye Ming agreed. He still wished to look for more treasure chests here. He nodded and said, “I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality, Lord Lazio. Saving Dembele is merely something that I did out of a sense of responsibility as a Vampire. I think any Vampire who sees a fellow Kindred in combat against our natural enemy, the Werewolves, will not hesitate to step forward to help.”
Lazio nodded approvingly. “That’s right. No matter how much conflict there is between us Vampires, when it comes to Werewolves, we must discard our differences and stand united. That’s the real reason why the Vampire race can last for so long.”
All of them nodded in agreement. Lazio then asked, “I heard you’re from the Tremere clan?”
“Yes, my lord. I’m a Tremere.”
“Does that mean you know alchemy?”
“Of course, my lord. I even helped Puyol’s tribe with my alchemy not long ago.”
“Is that right? What did you help them make?” Lazio was getting slightly excited.
“A potion to enhance strength,” replied Ye Ming.
Lazio and Dembele exchagned glances upon hearing that. Ye Ming could see the delight in their eyes.
Lazio said a little excitedly, “That great! To be honest with you, our tribe is facing a certain problem right now. The Werewolves are getting stronger, while our strength has stagnated. What happened to Dembele is a good example. Before this, he was evenly matched with a Werewolf one-on-one, but he now has to run from a Werewolf. It’s honestly a bit humiliating. Nowadays, we can only fight the Werewolves if we have numerical advantage. Every time we go out now, we have to go in a group of ten to twenty people just to be safe. Can you also make some of those strength potions for our tribe so that we can face off against the Werewolves?”
“Of course that won’t be a problem. But you have to provide the ingredients. And I’ll need a separate place to live in where no one can easily disturb me.”
“Not a problem at all. Please make a list of all the ingredients you need so that I can send someone to collect them for you. Oh, before I forget, you should also write down any alchemical equipment you need. I’ll make the arrangement immediately. Time is of the essence.”
Ye Ming instantly listed out all the materials he needed. It did not take him long. He then handed the list to Lazio.
Lazio took the list and gave it a glance, then handed it to Dembele and told him, “Tell someone to get on it right away. Make sure all the equipment are ready by tomorrow, and collect the ingredients as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, my lord. I’ll make the arrangement immediately.”
Dembele turned around and left. There was nothing else to do for now, so Ye Ming told Lazio that he would like to walk around the tribe to take a look. Lazio readily agreed to his request and even accompanied him along the way.
When Ye Ming came to the place where the humans were kept in captivity, he felt a little uncomfortable again. Therefore, he made the same suggestion to Lazio as the one he made to Puyol. He also told Lazio that Puyol had carried out the reformation according to his instruction and had already received favourable results. The human blood obtained became sweeter and more fragrant.
Thanks to Ye Ming’s persuasion, in addition to the news that Puyol had tried it and obtained concrete results, Lazio had no reason to refuse. He passed down the order to improve the living conditions of the humans. From now on, blood will be drawn from them once a month as tax.
Ye Ming heaved a sigh of relief. ‘This should count towards my good karma, right?’ he secretly thought.
He visited every part of the tribe accompanied by Lazio, but to his annoyance, he did not find any other treasure chests.
Ye Ming had no choice but to stop searching. That night, Lazio threw Ye Ming a feast to show his appreciation as he promised. It was another night of songs and dances.
The next day, Ye Ming saw that some large pots had been arranged on a piece of empty land in the tribe. The other equipment were also in preparation.
Lazio had been awake for a while now. He was there to supervise the proceedings, lest the workers make any mistakes. When he saw Ye Ming, he came up to greet him. “What do you think? Will these do? Can we start the brewing right away when all the ingredients arrive?”
Ye Ming pondered for a moment and replied, “Not yet. You’re missing a canopy to shelter the potions from the rain.”
“Oh, you’re absolutely right. I’ll get some people to build one right away.”
Lazio thus mobilized additional manpower to build a canopy. After a busy day, everything was pretty much in place. They waited for two more days, and those who were sent out to gather ingredients finally came back.
They sorted the multiple bags of newly gathered ingredients into portions and type according to Ye Ming’s instructions, then lit fires to boil the water.
Ye Ming simply stood at the side to supervise while Lazio’s underlings did all the work according to his instructions. It was actually pretty relaxing for him.
Ye Ming stayed in Lazio’s tribe for a whole week. He had searched every corner of the tribe, but still could not find any other treasure chests.
Most of the people in the tribe had had their strength increased from drinking the potion, so Ye Ming decided it was time to leave. As for those that had not taken the potion, Ye Ming could not be bothered anymore. He could not serve them forever; he had his own business to take care off.
After bidding Lazio farewell, Ye Ming went on the road once again. Lazio was reluctant to see Ye Ming go, but there was nothing he could do. It’s not like he could make Ye Ming stay by force.
Ye Ming continued to look for ingredients and treasure chests in Dark Mountains. The ingredients he gathered he would bring back to the cave to brew potions with. His efforts were not in vain. During his time in the mountains, he actually came across a lot of treasure chests, but most of them were silver or bronze grade. Golden and platinum treasure chests were very rare. They did give him the rare few drops of Count Blood Essences, but most of the things he found were just basic ingredients. Even so, Ye Ming did not waste them; he used them to brew potions.
Meanwhile, the Count Blood Essences had been of great help to Ye Ming. Ye Ming divided them evenly. He used half of them to enhance himself and half of them to brew potions. The potions that had Count Blood Essences added to them displayed even greater power.
Ye Ming drank all the strength potions he concocted. Thanks to that and his {Ancient Blood Refining Technique}, he finally succeeded in breaking through to the realm of a Count.
Ye Ming could feel the increase in his power. His arms that were full of strength and his fangs and claws that had gotten even longer were all proof of that. “I won’t let you down, Alice. After six months, you will see a completely different version of me!”