Chapter 11: The Eyes of Night

Whether it was the Yellow Springs training camp where Qian Ye grew from a child to a youth, or the later Red Scorpion, one of the regular courses was resistance to enchantment.

This training was extremely brutal, a dual torment for both the mind and body. The coming-of-age ceremony at the Yellow Springs marked the beginning but not the end, with the goal being to create a killing machine with no vulnerabilities in its soul.

The more potential a prodigy had, the stricter the instructor would be, and the more intense the training would be. Many who went through such rigorous training often became psychologically warped.

Qian Ye had always yearned to possess great power as soon as possible, so he always chose the highest level of intensity he could handle for all his training in the Red Scorpion, including the resistance to enchantment. Though he couldn’t be considered completely warped, he had come close to breaking down in the later stages. It was only thanks to Nan Ba Tian’s direct intervention with his authority that Qian Ye’s remaining training was canceled.

However, Qian Ye never regretted the enormous toll he had paid in training. Mental seduction was a deadly skill of many dark races, and those with weak wills faced certain death against the powerful practitioners of mental strength among the dark races.

He aspired to reach the level of Lin Xi Tang, a tier of strength where he would never stop.

In the final test at the Red Scorpion, Qian Ye was already able to resist the mental control and enchantment of a warlord-level opponent for a short time. This girl certainly did not seem to be at the warlord level, meaning she should not have been able to enchant Qian Ye.

Yet, “should” and “is” are different. There were many things in this world that happened even though they “shouldn’t.”

From the result, it was clear that Qian Ye had indeed been enchanted, and quite deeply. Such profound enchantment often left behind hidden dangers, subtle and hard to detect.

What exactly was going on?

Qian Ye’s mind was in turmoil. This strange woman made him extremely restless, even though she was still unconscious.

Qian Ye dared not look at her again, fearing he might be re-enchanted. Yes, it was enchantment; otherwise, how could he explain it? His disarray and thirst for blood were different—like the whole world was spinning out of control, desperately needing something to steady himself.

Calm down! In the training to resist mental enchantment, the first thing the Red Scorpion instructors taught Qian Ye was to remain calm, no matter what he saw or felt. If he couldn’t maintain composure on his own, he needed to seek external help.

Qian Ye began to consider his options. Facing such a terrifying woman, he had to be prepared.

Smoke, or alcohol?

Neither seemed sufficient. Even his special concoctions, which he enhanced with stimulants, weren’t enough.

This woman, still unconscious, was having such an impact on Qian Ye, making him instinctively feel extreme danger. Perhaps this alertness to the threat prevented him from completely losing his mind.

The more mysterious she was, the more dangerous she must be.

Qian Ye gritted his teeth, suddenly pulling out a syringe from a hidden compartment behind the bar. He injected the medication into his arm and waited three minutes for it to take full effect.

This was a standard tranquilizer used by the Red Scorpion. It acted quickly and brutally, allowing one to become utterly calm in a short time, turning into a heartless butcher. This tranquilizer could also effectively resist mental attacks and other effects stemming from psychic power. It was used to treat psychological issues resulting from excessive killing. This was his last vial.

After the tranquilizer took effect, Qian Ye’s mind felt shielded, no longer vulnerable to external influence. He walked back to the girl and gazed at her face. This time, he felt much better. Although her closed eyes still held a lethal allure, he no longer felt the sense of falling into an abyss.

But to his surprise, even in his most calm state, he still felt like he was looking at the face of his dreams. He felt he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember where. Was it just in a dream?

At least, Qian Ye could now resist the influence of her eyes and focus on her face for a longer time. Her slightly messy short hair, combined with her exquisite features, exuded a natural coldness and arrogance. Beneath that icy exterior, there was a deadly seduction.

Her skin was a sickly pale, as translucent as the finest jade. But Qian Ye noticed an unnatural flush on her neck and reached out to touch it, immediately feeling a high fever, almost burning hot. After a moment, however, he felt a chill as if touching ice.

Startled, Qian Ye realized the pale skin and erratic body temperature were early signs of a blood slave! He sniffed and detected a faint scent of blood. He examined her again and found two small tears in her combat uniform, stained with blood.

Qian Ye tore open her uniform and the tight undergarments beneath, exposing her entire arm. On her upper arm, there were two deep, circular punctures—vampire fang marks!

Seeing these marks, Qian Ye felt a strange, suffocating weakness.

Was this girl already a blood slave?

How long could she hold on? Seven days, three days, or just one day?

Having dealt with the dark races, Qian Ye knew that not every bite led to corruption. Ordinary people could be endangered by mere contact with blood slaves because they lacked origin power, making them especially susceptible to dark forces. For the strong, some bleeding injuries weren’t necessarily fatal.

But being bitten by a vampire’s fangs and having their venom enter the bloodstream was unavoidable, unless one received a higher-ranking bloodline’s embrace, becoming a true vampire. Otherwise, there was no escape from the fate of a blood slave. People like Qian Ye, who could resist the dark blood’s corruption, were extremely rare.

Perhaps some secret methods of the aristocratic families really worked, and perhaps others could also resist. But the Empire’s policy towards blood slaves was always to kill them upon discovery, without exception. Since a prince of the Empire, corrupted by dark blood, was executed, there had been no compromises or exceptions.

If it were six months ago, Qian Ye would have killed her without hesitation, even if he was attracted to her abilities. In the Empire’s view, death was a release for a blood slave, and even if he didn’t have a heart of ice, Qian Ye wouldn’t want to see her become a mindless, bloodthirsty monster.

But now, unknowingly, Qian Ye’s feelings had changed. He himself was proof that, with perseverance, miracles could happen.

Qian Ye cut his wrist and brought the wound to her mouth. She reacted to the fresh blood, inhaling deeply and then instinctively drinking the blood that flowed to her lips.

After a vampire bite, the craving for blood was almost unstoppable. Blood was also a powerful restorative for vampires. No matter how severe the injury, drinking enough blood could restore one.

She continued to drink, her pallor quickly returning to normal. When the blood from Qian Ye’s wound dried, she showed signs of extreme pain, instinctively lifting her head and searching for more. Qian Ye cut his wrist again, letting the blood flow freely.

Qian Ye had a hunch: his ability to suppress the dark blood in his body might be due to some antibodies in his blood. Feeding her more blood might delay the onset of the dark blood in her system.

When the second wound dried, Qian Ye started to feel cold, his face becoming ashen, and his vision blurry—signs of excessive blood loss. Fortunately, she no longer appeared in pain, and her expression became more comfortable.

When color returned to her cheeks, she radiated an even more irresistible allure. Even with the tranquilizer, Qian Ye felt his heart throb with her every slight movement.

Finally, the girl slowly opened her eyes and sat up.

She showed no panic or extreme reaction, but calmly looked around, as if waking up in her own home. Her large, innocent eyes were filled with confusion, but Qian Ye knew it was a facade.

“You’re awake?”

She didn’t answer but looked at her exposed arm, wiped her lips, and tasted the blood. Then she turned to Qian Ye and asked, “Did you save me?”

Her voice was soft and low, adding another layer of allure.

“Sort of, but that’s not important. Your situation is very complicated…” Qian Ye chose his words carefully, unsure how to explain.

The truth of being a blood slave was too cruel, and she seemed very young, perhaps the same age as Qian Ye or even younger. Could she bear such a harsh blow?

“Complicated? You mean… I’m a blood slave?” She was far calmer than Qian Ye expected and seemed to know a lot.

“…Yes.”

Her eyes finally showed emotion as she looked at Qian Ye and asked seriously, “Then you should have killed me, not saved me, right?”

Qian Ye smiled bitterly and said, “Being a blood slave isn’t hopeless. You might have enough time. My suggestion is, go west. That’s where the dark races and some vampires are active. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a high-ranking vampire and receive an embrace, allowing you to live… as a vampire.”

Her expression became oddly intrigued. “You’re human, right? Yet you suggest I become a vampire, creating another enemy for humans?”

“Since I found you, I had to save you. As for the future… if, I mean if, we meet on the battlefield, I’ll kill you myself!” Qian Ye’s tone was calm.

She glanced at Qian Ye’s wrist and said, “You’re a strange one! You saved me just to kill me later? And you even let me drink your blood… You know a lot about blood slaves.”

Qian Ye wrapped his wrist with bandages and said, “Everyone knows about blood slaves, especially in this damn place. Almost everyone has a relative or friend who became a blood slave.”

She fell silent for a moment, then stood up and extended her hand to Qian Ye, saying, “I understand. My name is… Ye Tong.”

As she stood, an aura of power emanated from her.