"Ah... Help… Help, please!"
Suddenly, cries for help rang across the mansion – those voices belonged to the Jianghu guests.
"What's going on? Are we in danger?" Chen Xiaobei quickly tensed.
"I don't know… I've never heard anything like that before…" Song Qincheng shook her head; she was worried too.
"Fan Tong's friends aren't low-life thugs. It must be something serious, I'll go check it out." Chen Xiaobei said in a very deep voice.
"Don't go! Don't risk your life! Let's just hide inside the house!"
Song Qincheng immediately wrapped her arms across his; she absolutely refused to let him go. He may be the most powerful man in Green Vine City, but she thought that he could not hold his own in a fight. He was barely in his twenties after all; he could not possibly be a Jianghu veteran, or stand up against one. He would simply be risking himself!
"It's fine, baby." Chen Xiaobei soothed her. "I must go. The entire mansion won't be safe if even those Jianghu elites were spooked."
"But…" Song Qincheng was desperate to have him hide away with her.
"Follow me if you don't believe in me!" Grabbing her hand, Chen Xiaobei led her in a run towards the screams.
It was a scene straight out of a nightmare. A man with extremely pale skin and black clothes was standing at the front porch; he looked like he was mid-twenties but his hair was an ashen white. Both his eyes were blood red, and two fangs jutted out of his mouth. Everything about him screamed vampire – the mythical creature in western folklore!
In fact, he was behaving like one of them right now!
"Mercy! Please… Please let me go…"
A Jianghu veteran was begging for his life, unable to free himself from the man's grasp no matter how he hard he struggled!
"Garbage! Your weak foundation is already buried deep within your bone marrow. You aren't even worthy of Si Xuanyu's Embrace!" The monster of a man turned his head and buried his fangs into the man's neck.
*Slurp*
*Slurp*
In a flash, the middle-aged Jianghu elite paled, and his eyes rolled back inside their sockets. He expired before long.
*Boom!*
The vampire threw the lifeless body aside forcefully and glared at the rest the group with his bloody eyes. They appeared to have fought him earlier; none of them was unscathed. Now, however, they bunched up like a flock of fowls, hoping for escape from the butcher's knife.
The mustached man – who always seemed more capable than the rest – was bold enough to ask: "Are… Are you one of those vampires of legend?"
"Imbecile! I'm Lord Si Xuanyu from the Deathbane Family – the noblest of all blood descendants! We were never 'vampires', uneducated fools gave us that rubbish of a name!" The man said proudly.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! You're the most honorable blood descendant…" The mustached man gulped. "My lord, please head to the dining hall if you're looking for Fan Tong. We won't stop you… So… Please spare us…"
"Hehe… I could, but I won't. I'm here for every single one of your heads – that's the direct order from Night Lord Deathbane Ai Linlong! Of course, you could keep your life if turn you into my Embrace and join the Deathbane Family!" Si Xuanyu said with a vicious smile on his face.
"What…What's an Embrace?" Someone asked in both fear and hope – anything was better than getting killed!
"Embrace is a vam- No. They're the lowest ranked member in a family of blood descendants, equivalent to a servant…" the mustached man barely managed to squeak.
"Hehe… It seems like you're unexpectedly knowledgeable! Then would you happen to know the difference between a baron and viscount?" Si Xuanyu asked.
The mustache man nodded. "Barons are descendants recognized by the family awarded with a noble title, and usually possess combat power above seven thousand. On the other hand, a viscount is of a higher rank. I don't know about their combat power, but I heard that they are able to utilize Dark Energy – they are thought of as the future of each family!"
The others were stunned by his explanation. They have never even heard of blood descendants before this!
Si Xuanyu clapped. "I didn't expect a smart man like yourself standing among these imbeciles. Congratulations! You have a chance to join the Deathbane Family!"
"Uhm…" The mustached man paused, not quite ready to accept the offer. He was also aware that the Baron was just one rank higher than Embrace, but somehow Embraces were treated as nothing more than animals and were cannon fodders sent out to die.
"Why? You aren't accepting my offer?" Si Xuanyu glared at the mustached man in fury. "This was a golden opportunity that you should have been grateful for! You've disrespected my family – what you've done is nothing less than blasphemy! "
*Whoosh*
Si Xuanyu moved, and grabbed the man's neck before he could blink.
"So fast… He is even faster than Fan Tong!" The other fled without so much as a glance behind. They had, for all intents and purposes, abandoned their comrade.
"Mercy… Please let me live… My daughter is still really young… No one will take care of her if I die here…" The mustached man could barely breathe; he had to choke those words out forcefully.
"Hmph! I'm a blood descendant, not a philanthropist! Your daughter is none of my business!" Si Xuanyu scoffed.
"No, but it's my business!" Chen Xiaobei bellowed as he walked calmly towards the vampire, after having forced Song Qincheng to hide herself in a far corner.
The others – who had been busy running – turned to look at the newcomer. "Why is he here?" They exclaimed in shock. "He's going to die!"
"What are you going to do?" Si Xuanyu said nonchalantly – he could not care less about Chen Xiaobei.
"I'm going to save him," the young man said evenly.
"What?! You would save me?" The mustached man could not believe his own ears. He never expected his 'brothers' to abandon him, only for this stranger he kept insulting to stand up for him.
"Not really, it's for your daughter. I consider this a gift for my fan!" Chen Xiaobei shrugged.