Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Night-time was when the Vampires were most active. Ye Ming had asked the butler for a day off tonight as he wished to go to the Blood Coffin store in the city of Lahmia to buy a Blood Coffin for himself. A Blood Coffin was what the Vampires slept in, much like a bed for the humans, except that a bed did not have any enhancement effect like the Blood Coffin did. A good Blood Coffin could significantly improve the effect of a Vampire’s cultivation. And that was the reason Ye Ming was requesting to buy a Blood Coffin for himself.
The staff at the castle were having more free time on their hands with the Count not being around, so the butler agreed to Ye Ming’s request.
Carrying the two Viscount Claws and the Baron Fang he had acquired in the past few days, plus the Vampiric Dagger and the other items he obtained last night, Ye Ming departed for the city. He planned to sell everything but the Vampiric Dagger in Lahmia’s black market to fund his Blood Coffin purchase.
The city of Lahmia was about seven miles away from the Count’s castle. Along the way, Ye Ming took the chance to try out the flight ability he acquired last night. He could only sustain it for a hundred meters or so, but the novel sensation still felt really fun for him.
Along the way, Ye Ming saw some lights appearing from some buildings ahead. It was a curious sight for him. Generally, Vampires lived in ancient castles, which the buildings in front of him were obviously not. They were all low buildings, much like those seen in a human village. Driven by curiousity, he hastened his pace towards the lights.
Only once he approached could he see that it was indeed a village, and he could also vaguely see some humans walking around inside. And so he walked into the village. Little did Ye Ming expect the villagers to be so frightened when they saw him that they started fleeing in every direction like they were avoiding the plague. Ye Ming went up to a guy that had tripped and pulled him up.
“Wait, I have something to ask you.”
But before the man had even replied, Ye Ming already noticed the hard sensation transmitted back through his grip, like he was gripping a bone devoid of any flesh. While he was still in shock at the discovery, the man turned his head around, and what Ye Ming saw was a pale, shrivelled head, like one belonging to a corpse. That shocked him even further.
“I-Is this guy still a human?”
If not for the pair of eyes that still had some life in them, Ye Ming would have thought that he had caught a walking skeleton.
“Please, sir, please let me go. I’ve already paid my blood tax for this month in full, I don’t have any more to give…” The man looked at Ye Ming with terrified eyes. His clothes were in tatters and could barely cover his body. Even the beggars Ye Ming had seen in his previous life were in better conditions.
“No, don’t misunderstand, I’m not here to take your blood,” consoled Ye Ming.
“R-Really?”
“Really. Now tell me, how come you people are living here?”
“We’re humans that the Vampires keep here for the purpose of providing fresh blood to them. Every month, the Vampires will send someone here to extract the maximum amount of blood possible from us, but not enough to let us die. They do this to both adults and children alike.”
Ye Ming, who finally discovered the truth, was shocked speechless. He let go of the man’s arm and said with a gloomy expression, “You can leave.”
The man ran back to his house in panic. Looking around at the dreadful environment, Ye Ming could not help but be saddened by the fate of these humans, but there was nothing he could do right now. He would need to become much more powerful to do anything about it. This further fueled Ye Ming’s determination to get stronger.
He left the village and continued his journey towards the city of Lahmia. Along the way, he passed several more villages like the previous one, all of which housed humans that the Vampires were keeping in captivity.
Little by little, the density of travellers on the road increased, all of whom were Vampires heading to Lahmia. From quite a distance away, Ye Ming could already see the outline of the city. Shrouded in the dark of the night, it looked eerie and terrifying, like a man-eating beast silently waiting for its prey to come to it.
Arriving in Lahmia, the first thing that caught Ye Ming’s eye was how grim the city was. The crumbling church encroached by vines, the dull sound of a bell that had long lost its shimmer, and bats that would fly out of buildings from time to time were all signs announcing that the place was no longer the territory of men.
Some creepy-sounding cooing noises attracted Ye Ming’s attention. He looked up and found a pair of eyes shining with a ghastly light sizing him up from atop the church bell tower. The creature fluttered its wings and swooped down, then pulled up in an arc right above Ye Ming’s head to fly into the dark of the night.
“So it’s just an owl,” Ye Ming had almost pulled out his Vampiric Dagger.
After calming himself, he continued walking down the overgrown street deeper into Lahmia. He would occasionally see Vampires congregating in groups of two or three laughing and exchanging recent news, some holding goblets filled with scarlet blood. Their topic of conversation would usually revolve around things like what kind of blood tasted the best or what virgin blood tasted like.
For the Vampires in Lahmia, Ye Ming was a new face. When he passed by these Vampires, he would occasionally attract gazes that were filled with vigilance or hostility.
Ye Ming himself was equally wary as he looked around. The closer he was to the inner city, the more crowded the place, and the noisier it got. From time to time, some grandiose music would come from the distance, stirring the emotion of the people who heard it restless. A scantily-clad lady Ye Ming passed by beckoned at him as her luscious, blood-red lips uttered provocatively, “Would you like to have some fun, dear?”
Ye Ming smiled back and waved his hand in rejection. Obviously, he was not in the mood at the moment.
At the black market, he displayed his goods and started hawking them to passers-by. He was definitely on the lucky side today as the fourth person he asked already showed interest in his wares. After some bargaining, the two sides settled on the price of forty gold coins.
As he received the gold coins handed to him by the buyer, Ye Ming asked in passing, “Do you know where I can buy a Blood Coffin?”
“Yeah, just head down this way and go all the way to the edge of the black market, and you should see it,” replied the customer before he tucked away his newly acquired goods and left.
Ye Ming followed his instruction and walked straight in the direction the customer pointed. As expected, at the edge of the black market, Ye Ming found a store that sold Blood Coffins.
The moment Ye Ming stepped inside, he was greeted by a well-dressed vampire, “Good day to you, sir. Welcome to our store. We have every kind of Blood Coffin to satisfy your needs.”
“Great! Can you give me a rough introduction of your merchandise?”
“There is no need for words. The price of every item is clearly displayed and is based on the quality of the coffin. Our prices are guaranteed to be fair.”
Seeing the shopkeeper who was brimming with confidence, there was nothing Ye Ming could say. With his fund of 40 gold coins, he strolled around the store and finally stopped in front of a Blood Coffin that was valued at 38 gold coins. “Can you open it up, please? I’d like to take a look inside.”
The shopkeeper happily opened the Blood Coffin.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have found a platinum treasure chest.]
“Thanks. You don’t have to attend to me. I’ll just take a quick look at the coffin.” After sending the shopkeeper away, Ye Ming gave the order to the system to open the treasure chest.
[Congratulations! You have obtained a drop of Marquis Blood Essence.]
Ye Ming rejoiced inwardly. Putting away the Blood Essence, he said to the shopkeeper, “I’ll take this.”
After paying a deposit, Ye Ming gave the shopkeeper his address. The shopkeeper promised to deliver it by tomorrow evening.
And with that matter settled, Ye Ming left the Blood Coffin store carrying his new-found Blood Essence.