Ye Ming returned to the cave he was staying in and packed up his things. He took one last look at the place that had given him so many fond memories, then turned around and left. Following the path he took when he came, he departed from the Dark Mountains.
Outside the Dark Mountains, Marquis Ollier’s men were keeping watch from the dense forest in boredom. They had been waiting in this place for over a month now.
“What if the boy was killed by Werewolves, sir? In that case, aren’t we just wasting our time here?”
A Vampire who was resting with his eyes closed slowly opened his eyes. “We’ll wait a few more days. After that, I’ll send you back to report to Marquis Ollier and ask for his permission to withdraw. You’re right. If the boy was killed by Werewolves, this is one big waste of time.”
“Wise choice, sir.”
While they were having that conversation, Ye Ming actually showed up on the road not far away! Ye Ming never expected that Marquis Ollier would leave men here to lie in wait for him, or that they would actually wait this long.
That was why he was not using {Stealth}. He simply walked out of the Dark Mountains.
A sharp-eyed Vampire spotted Ye Ming. He shouted nervously but excitedly, “The boy has appeared, sir! He’s not dead!”
“What?!” The leader instantly jumped up from his resting posture and looked at where his subordinate was pointing. Holy crap, the guy they were waiting for was actually slowly walking towards them!
“Gentlemen, it’s our time to shine! Once we catch him and bring him back, Marquis Ollier will definitely reward us handsomely!” He pointed at a few of his men. “You, you, and you. Circle around to his back and surround him. Do not let him escape back to the Dark Mountains at all cost!”
The men who got the order quickly circled around to surround Ye Ming.
The leader led the rest of his men to wait for Ye Ming to fall into their net.
Ye Ming was unaware of the impending danger. He was happily strolling along with a bright-colored flower in his hand – the kind he found by the spring – while humming his favorite song from his previous life.
“I WAaannNNtT IIITT ThAt WAy…w-way?” Before he could get to his favorite part, four Vampires appeared ahead, blocking his way.
‘Crap, are you guys for real? It’s been over a month, almost two months now! You guys still haven’t gotten over it?’ Ye Ming turned around to run back, but to his dismay, his path of retreat had been cut off.
‘Damn. No choice but to fight.’ He instantly pulled out the Vampiric Dagger and lunged straight at one of the Vampires.
Combat broke out almost immediately. Ye Ming unleashed {Embrace of Pain} without delay. It had become his signature move.
There was no way the Vampire he was targetting could resist the mental attack of Ye Ming who had the power of a Count by now. He grabbed his head in pain. Ye Ming seized the opportunity to stab the Vampire’s chest with his dagger. The whole sequence took less than two seconds. It was truly an insta-kill.
The others were momentarily stunned. Not too long ago, they were still chasing around and trashing this kid, but today, he actually manged to kill one of them so effortlessly, and the one he killed was not even that weak. This truly shocked the Vampires.
The leader was the quickest to react. “Stop standing around! Swarm him and take him down!” he shouted
With the encouragement of their leader, the Vampires suppressed their astonishment and simultaneously pounced on Ye Ming.
Ye Ming activated the {Blood Demon Body Technique}. He swayed and threaded through the space between the assailants at extreme speed. All the assailants could see were his afterimages. They stood rooted to the spot in shock.
Ye Ming sneered. He quickly left the place. A few moments later, several bodies dropped to the ground. Each of them had a bloody hole in their chest. They did not even have time to utter a single word before they perished.
Having killed several of Marquis Ollier’s men, Ye Ming came to a fork in the road. The path to the left led to Benguela, while the path to the right led to the city of Arthuria. Obviously, he could not return to Benguela. For all he knew, his portrait might have become a household item there by now. After all, the one he angered was the highest authority in the city.
After a short hesitation, Ye Ming turned right. He would go to Arthuria to try his luck. It also happened to be in the direction of the territory of Alice’s grandfather.
He traveled for a day and a night and finally arrived outside the city of Arthuria. It looked more or less the same as other Vampire cities. There was nothing that particularly grabbed Ye Ming’s attention. But when he arrived at the city gate, Ye Ming froze. He found that a portrait of him had been posted on the city wall. It was a very lifelike portrait as well. It made him wonder which painter could have so skillfully painted such a realistic portrait of him purely based on other people’s narratives.
‘It seems that drinking human blood isn’t all that the Vampires know how to do. There are some talented people among them too.’
Ye Ming snuck into the woods outside the city. By the time he came out of the woods, he was already wrapped in a cloak. After pulling the hood down and wrapping himself a little tighter, he stepped into Arthuria.
But soon after he entered the city, he froze again. A portrait of him was pasted every few steps inside the city. It reminded him of the celebrity advertisements in the subway stations in his previous life. Who would have thought that he would also become famous one day – but as a fugitive. Ye Ming smiled bitterly and continued walking into the city.
The main reason he came here was to sell the potions he had brewed so far and the remaining ingredients he had. Using the gold, he would buy some Blood Essences to improve his strength.
He found a trading house and walked in.
The shopkeeper warmly received the new customer, despite the customer only showing half his face. “How can I help you, sir?”
Ye Ming brought out the potions and ingredients, “These are the strength enhancement potions that I brew. How much can you offer for them?”
“Oh, a Tremere I presume?” The shopkeeper took a bottle and inspected it.
Ye Ming nodded. The shopkeeper said, “A hundred gold coins. What do you think?”
Ye Ming thought about it and said, “Why don’t you give me some Blood Essences for them.”
“Which grade do you have in mind?”
“Give me the rates.”
“If you want Viscount Blood Essences I can give you 30 vials in exchange for these. If you want Count Blood Essences I can give you 5 vials.”
“I’ll take the Count Blood Essences, please.”
“Okay. Please come this way.”
The shopkeeper led Ye Ming to the back of the store. The moment Ye Ming stepped in the back, he received a system notification. He quickly looked around and saw a golden treasure chest sitting in a corner. Seizing the moment went the shopkeeper went into the warehouse to get the Blood Essences, Ye Ming sneaked over to the the treasure chest and opened it.
[Congratulations, you have obtained a drop of Count Blood Essence.]
Ye Ming pocketed the Count Blood Essence in satisfaction. The shopkeeper then came out and handed 5 more to Ye Ming without suspecting anything.
Ye Ming thanked him and hurried out of the trading house.
But no sooner had he stepped outside, he ran into a few Malkavian city patrol guards. The leader of the patrol squad could not help but be suspicious of a guy who had concealed himself completely with a cloak. “Halt! Pull your hood down.”