Chapter Five: A Graceful Figure in the Depths of Night
Late at night, Eastern Shore City, Demon Suppression Bureau.
“Lord Gong Yang, I am incompetent and failed to uncover the true source of the demon. Yet, based on my years of experience, I believe this demon likely arrived via foreign ships crossing the distant seas.”
Zheng Yishan bowed his head respectfully as he reported.
In just a few short days, the Demon Suppression Bureau of Eastern Shore City had seen turbulent changes and a dramatic shift in power.
Gong Yang Yan, the guardian, had brought in two Demon Suppression Inspectors as deputies.
The structure of the Bureau was simple: beneath the guardian were the left and right deputy guardians, and the rest were categorized as Demon Suppressors of four ranks—A, B, C, and D.
Rank was tied to both strength and accumulated merit. No matter how much merit one amassed, without adequate strength, it was all in vain.
Both deputies were loyal to Gong Yang Yan, while the previous left and right deputy guardians had been reassigned—sent off to serve as guardians in disordered inland towns. It seemed a promotion, but in reality, it was a demotion cloaked in elevation.
Eastern Shore City was a strategic stronghold of the Great Yuan Empire, known as the gateway to the East Sea. Its status far surpassed any remote town.
With the replacement of the deputy guardians, the Bureau lost its backbone, scattered like loose sand.
Zheng Yishan, ever quick to adapt, immediately adjusted his attitude and followed Gong Yang Yan’s lead.
“This demon is peculiar. Those bitten become vampiric demons of the night, but their weakness is obvious—exposure to sunlight reduces them to ashes. Yet, despite this flaw, their threat is immense; the demon’s aura spreads through bites, turning the dead into bloodthirsty, frenzied attackers.”
Zheng Yishan dared not hide a thing, detailing all he had discovered.
“Bat vampires are widely featured in the legends of Western nations, known as vampires. They resemble outsiders, fear sunlight, and the higher-ranked vampires are not easily killed by it. These beings hide in the upper echelons of Western society, adopting noble identities, indistinguishable from common folk, and possess extraordinary longevity. What’s more frightening is that some Western elites, in pursuit of immortality, willingly become their blood slaves—turning into vampires.”
Gong Yang Yan held a book, reading intently. Yet, she easily managed to listen to Zheng Yishan’s report while supplementing his information.
“Vampires?” Zheng Yishan was stunned. With so many foreign merchants in Eastern Shore City, he had heard tales of such creatures from overseas traders.
“Investigate further—all Western ships arriving at the port, especially those carrying nobles. The demon I slew bore the features of our Great Yuan people; it means the true vampire is still at large. This demon was merely a blood slave, created through the vampire’s embrace.”
Gong Yang Yan spoke calmly.
Zheng Yishan’s face showed surprise—the guardian before him was young, yet not only strong in martial arts and learned, but possessed remarkable insight, even regarding foreign lands.
“Yes, my lord! I will thoroughly investigate those blue-eyed, golden-haired barbarians and won’t let you down,” Zheng Yishan declared, pounding his chest.
Whether he could restore his image in the eyes of the guardian depended on the outcome of this task.
Gong Yang Yan looked up, watching Zheng Yishan’s departing figure, and fell into contemplation.
Was it truly the legendary vampire from overseas?
She had seen vampires before, once mingling in an overseas royal delegation summoned by the court.
Elegant in demeanor, impeccable in speech and bearing, their thirst for blood was an innate curse, making them vampires.
Once human, some could not cope with endless loneliness, succumbing to madness and becoming bloodthirsty monsters.
Yet, no matter what, they always remained elegant.
Clearly, the demon she had slain was crude and vulgar—not worthy of true vampires.
Her judgment that vampires were not responsible hinged on her understanding. Vampires would never waste their precious embrace on a Great Yuan native.
“Where did the bat demon come from?”
Her brows knit as she paced, book in hand, pondering the Bureau’s receipt of a strange report—originating from a blood-stained letter.
The Bureau’s commander had secretly summoned her, conveying the emperor’s decree: come to Eastern Shore City, investigate the blood letter’s source, and safeguard the city, dispelling the prophecy.
“It begins with blood; Eastern Shore falls, Great Yuan ends.”
That single prophetic line seemed to reveal something.
The blood letter itself was not alarming; the central Bureau could have dismissed it as a prank.
But the letter predicted three events, all fulfilled.
The sixteenth prince drowned.
The imperial concubine went mad, her hair turning white overnight.
The emperor fell ill.
In short, the situation was dire.
“Time is running out,” Gong Yang Yan sighed.
Everyone envied her rise to guardian of this eastern stronghold, wielding immense power.
Yet she knew—if the death of the prince, the madness of the concubine, or the emperor’s sickness were mishandled, it would spell her doom.
Not to mention the prophecy: “Eastern Shore falls, Great Yuan ends.”
A single blood letter had provoked imperial wrath.
She was being roasted over the flames.
“Whether they are vampires or not, anything bearing ‘blood’ is original sin.”
“Zheng Yishan, do not disappoint me.”
Gong Yang Yan must, within half a year, eradicate all demons of Eastern Shore.
“The Bureau’s strength is woefully insufficient. The commander has permitted me to recruit one hundred more members, but the city’s martial artists merely practice forms, lingering at the level of blood cultivation.”
If not for this, Gong Yang Yan would have purged the Bureau of these wastrels long ago.
“At least as cannon fodder, they have some use.”
Her demeanor shifted, cold and ruthless, a stark contrast to her usual benevolent face.
“Some martial artist seedlings in the city, paired with firearms, might outmatch the constabulary.”
Building the team was vital.
Only with enough manpower could she marshal the city’s forces.
Gathering all of Eastern Shore’s strength to face the impending prophecy.
After a hearty meal, Bai Li Feihong felt as though he had been resurrected.
He sensed a surge of blood vitality coursing through him, focusing it in his palms, and felt his fists could fell a tiger.
He knew the thought was naïve, but wielding such power still sent his mind wandering.
Fists to tigers, wrestling elephants.
To become the strongest warrior under heaven.
Delightful.
But reality soon dragged him down.
Money vanished like water.
His funds, merely covering meals, would last only a few days.
Worse, without skill points, what little he had wouldn’t suffice to buy even a single medicinal meal from his master.
Purely relying on food for energy to refine blood was painfully slow.
To advance from first to second blood level would take at least two years.
Skill points could solve his immediate plight.
But he had so few left.
Only 9 skill points remained, and Bai Li Feihong was reluctant to invest them all in the Four Seas Boxing.
If he could learn the Blood River Blade, investing those 9 points would yield greater returns.
The Four Seas Boxing could be improved slowly through practice and experience.
“How are skill points acquired?”
He wracked his brain to no avail.
The skill book offered no hints.
Damn this lousy golden finger.
“It’s already dusk. Stand for two hours in the three-posture stance, then sleep.”
Knocking sounds echoed—“Thud thud thud~~~” “Duang~~”
The night watchman’s bamboo tube and copper gong resounded from afar.
“Dry weather, beware of fire!” the watchman cried in his raspy voice.
Bai Li Feihong, drifting into sleep, felt the cold creep in and reached for his blanket.
But what he grasped was a damp, icy, smooth little arm.
In a light sleep, Bai Li Feihong bolted upright, heart pounding like a frightened deer.
Thump thump~~
“Phew, just a nightmare!”
He scanned the room in the moonlight.
After a moment’s confusion, he caught his breath.
Suddenly!
He raised his hand—his left was dripping wet.
He was sure he hadn’t wet himself.
He could distinguish nightmares from wet dreams clearly.
A chill seeped into his bones.
Bai Li Feihong gingerly climbed out of bed, moving to the window facing the courtyard.
At some point, the stone cover of the well that had always caught his attention was ajar.
Beside the well stood a white-clad figure.
She was drenched, radiant, her delicate form enticingly visible.
Black hair fell to her waist, swaying in the wind, with a hint of red ribbon at her midriff.
Her white dress hugged her hips, accentuating their perfect curves...
A shadow among them—surely just a trick of the moonlight.
Bai Li Feihong swallowed.
As a programmer, daily exposure to content review had made him immune to beauty.
He thought himself unshakable.
But he forgot—his body was young, and even a heart of stone couldn’t withstand hormones.
He leapt lightly through the window.
Such a scene—meeting Nie Xiaoqian herself would be worthwhile.
“Miss, don’t be rash. Throwing yourself in the well may bring brief relief, but your family will be left in tears. If you have something to say...”
He called out.
The white-clad figure seemed startled, spinning around with a wide, grinning mouth.
Her smile split to her ears, revealing eerily white teeth, blood-red gums, and a serpent-like tongue.
Her gaze pierced him, locking onto the handsome, muscular man before her.
It had been so long since she’d seen a man.
Too long in the river’s depths, too lonely.
“Sir, do you think me beautiful?”
Her tongue flicked seductively across her lips...
Oh hell, a slit-mouthed woman!
“Add points!”
“Add points!”
“Max them all!”
In terror, Bai Li Feihong retreated to the wall, shouting to reinforce himself—forget optimizing skill point use, survival was priority.
Instantly, the skill book activated, consuming two points.
The experience of 1600 Four Seas Boxing drills surged into him.
His flesh transformed.
A new surge of blood vitality flooded him.
At once, his mastery reached proficient.
3200 drills’ worth of experience poured in, his muscles forged like steel.
A third surge of blood vitality galloped within him.
Now, his body radiated heat, steaming and reddened, his physique expanding.
He had reached consummate mastery.
Only 4 skill points remained.
These, too, vanished.
A torrent of blood vitality, like molten lava, coursed through him.
6400 practices’ worth of experience blossomed—he grasped the essence of the Four Seas Boxing, reaching enlightenment.
His body was now devoid of excess flesh, all forged of steel-hard muscle.
He was like a reef in the sea—hard and unyielding.
Four streams of blood vitality pulsed within, granting tremendous strength.
Skill points: zero.
Proficient cost 2, consummate mastery 3, pinnacle 4.
“Sir, you’ve hurt me. Is it that I’m not beautiful?”
She feigned sorrow, pitiful and tearful.
Her mouth closed, revealing exquisite features—lovely and sweet, pure and beautiful.
A man’s heart would stir with desire to protect and possess.
She was truly beautiful, a blend of classical and modern allure, irresistible.
But her mouth ruined it all.
“Sir, don’t hate me. Don’t you like my hips? I’ll let you admire them.”
She arched her hips at him invitingly.
But with her face twisted to match her backside, was it not bizarre?
“See, sir, you do like my hips...”
She smiled again, mouth splitting.
Damn! Again!
“Twin dragons leap from the sea!”
Four Seas Boxing, fourteenth move.
Blood vitality surged into his fists, roaring like the ocean, manifesting twin dragons as he struck at the slit-mouthed woman in white.
Blood energy filled the courtyard.
Blazing as the sun.
“Ah~~”
A shriek rang out.
White smoke billowed from her body, shrouded in blood vitality, her form becoming misty and distorted.
Before his fists landed, her spirit was wounded.
She vanished down the well.
He stopped, calming his agitation.
Yet soon, his expression darkened.
He stared at the well.
Damn the agent.
This was a haunted house.
The ghost wasn’t strong.
She only knew a few tricks to scare people, which is why Bai Li Feihong’s blood energy injured her.
But...
The well water—his source for cooking, drinking, bathing—all came from it.
If there was a corpse at the bottom...
“Miss, I was rash, acted impulsively, I’m sorry. Come out, let’s talk.”
His tone softened.
No response from the well.
“Really, come out, I won’t kill you... Gentleman’s word is his bond. Bai Li Feihong keeps his promises.”
He kept coaxing.
He couldn’t rest easy until she was dealt with.
“Re...ally...?” A timid voice echoed from the well.
He was taken aback.
The ghost was rather naïve.
“Really.”
“No, you’re lying. You don’t even like my hips.”
What did that matter?
“My lover used to adore my figure. Later, I was persecuted, my mouth slit open, and he didn’t like me anymore.”
She spoke bitterly, her resentment swelling, sending the well’s water surging.
“Why not seek revenge? Why not reincarnate?”
He pressed.
Truly, nothing is more poisonous than a woman’s heart.
Such cruelty.
“My grudge is unavenged, resentment unresolved—I cannot enter the cycle of rebirth. Also, Eastern Shore City is strange, shrouded by something mysterious. I was trapped in the river’s depths by this force.”
Her voice calmed, the well water settled.
She wasn’t unwilling to be fierce.
She simply lacked the strength.
Any use of power brought agonizing pain.
The man’s blood vitality had burned her.
It hurt!
She was angry, but couldn’t win.
“You’re a ghost now. Find your enemy, settle it.”
He was speechless.
“Oh? That’s true. But I don’t know where she is, and... killing is wrong, isn’t it? Against the law.”
Unbelievable!
He finally understood—she meant no harm.
Her terrifying smile was genuine.
As a ghost with a slit mouth, she looked like a monster, but perhaps she herself didn’t realize how frightening her smile was.
Maybe she remained attached to her former beauty.
“Should I help you?”
“Really?” She jumped from the well, but sensing his blood vitality, quickly shrank back, only her eyes peeking out.
“No. You said killing is illegal—why would I help?”
“I could... offer myself?” She tried.
Men used to like that reward.
“No, I wouldn’t dare, and you should respect yourself.”
“But I was the star of the Red Lotus Courtyard...”
“You’re not anymore. You’re a ghost now. Even as a ghost, keep your dignity—don’t offer yourself so easily.”
He never imagined he’d one day urge a woman to reform.
“Then, money?”
“You have money?!” His eyes shone.
“I drowned myself with a chest full of gold and jewels I’d saved for years.”
Her voice grew somber.
Memories surfaced, even the agony of her death.
“All right.”
He thought for a moment, then agreed.
“All right what?”
“I’ll avenge you, and you’ll give me your treasure.”
Her big, watery eyes brimmed with joy; her head slowly rose from the well, mouth splitting open.
He jumped in fright, stepping back.
She puffed with anger and spat out three gold ingots.
Then closed her mouth, gazing at him with tearful eyes.
He had no pity for her.
Once, men lined up from the west to the east of the city just to see her.
“Wait, what’s your name?”
“Xiaoqian, Ji Xiaoqian.”