Chapter 664: The Blood Clan's Youth Is Back!

Inside the guest room, A’Ming sat in a chair with both feet propped on the table and his hands folded over his abdomen, sleeping peacefully.

The Sword Maid lay face-down on the bed, sniffling from time to time.

Fan Li sat beside the table, tearing into naan with huge bites.

Long ago, Yuan Zhenxing had told the Sword Maid what the jianghu was.

It was the pride of refusing to bend one's back for five pecks of rice. It was the chivalry of helping the weak and punishing the strong. Add to that a little carefree mischief, free and unfettered beneath Heaven.

The Sword Maid thought her first master had been right.

But he... was dead.

Even so, the dream of the jianghu had always remained buried in her heart. At last, she had grown from a little loli into a young girl and been allowed to travel outside.

And then... inside this shabby inn... that damned man whose skin was even whiter than hers... had stomped her dream to pieces!

No.

Being stomped on would have been better.

That was not what he had done.

He had spilled ink all over her dream!

And yet... and yet... damn it all, she could not even argue with him!

All one could say was that A’Ming did not know how to raise children.

Or perhaps he simply could not be bothered.

The reason he had come along was partly for the monkey wine. The other reason was that he had only just emerged from the Tianduan Mountains, and there was a decent chance he would soon have to accompany Master to Yanjing again. Stealing a little leisure in the middle of all that work and getting out for a change of scenery was not bad.

As for a child's dreams, he had no time to indulge them.

Besides, just like Fan Li's earlier little test of the hunchbacked waiter, the nature of the Demon Kings could not really be called cruel.

But it was absolutely indifferent.

Outside, the sun began to set.

The common hall downstairs grew noisy for a while, perhaps because another group of guests had arrived and were eating. Mixed in among the voices was the proprietress's hearty, flirtatious laughter.

A’Ming slept for a while, woke for a while, slept again, woke again. Whatever happened, he never changed his posture.

He was used to sleeping in coffins.

Naturally, his sleeping posture was impeccable.

When he heard the commotion downstairs earlier, A’Ming could not help remembering his days in Tiger Head City.

Back then... they had even forced him to eat blood curd.

Ah.

What unbearable memories.

As for whether all of them might one day open an inn of their own... hard to say.

At least for now, they had not finished playing with the world.

There were countless fine wines beneath Heaven. Most of the East's finest wines were found in Qian, and most of Qian's finest wines were found in Jiangnan.

Unfortunately, with Master's current status, setting aside the political chaos that might erupt if he inexplicably disappeared, even if he truly went incognito to the State of Qian, wandered through Jiangnan, chased famous courtesans, plagiarized poems, and put on a refined literary show... the people most excited to see him probably would not be the scholars and libertines, nor the girls suffering from literary-young-woman syndrome.

It would be... the Silver-Armored Guard.

Troublesome.

Truly troublesome...

If only that little bat they had once taken from a Chu Shaman Rector were still around, A’Ming could at least have played with it.

Unfortunately, Xue San had borrowed the bat for experiments some time ago and killed it.

Fan Li had taken the corpse afterward and barbecued it.

Nothing left to play with.

...

Night deepened.

The noise downstairs gradually faded.

Presumably everyone who needed to eat had eaten, and everyone who needed to rest had gone to rest.

There came a light knock on the guest-room door.

"Master, it's me."

The hunchbacked waiter.

A’Ming lowered his feet.

The Sword Maid climbed off the bed.

Fan Li finished his naan.

The door opened.

The hunchback bowed respectfully.

"Master, those dozen-plus Savages have all been knocked out. They're tied up now as well. Please."

A’Ming nodded and gestured for Fan Li and the Sword Maid to follow.

The four went downstairs, crossed the common hall, and walked behind the inn. A low half-hill rose there, leaving a fairly large open area. Even from a distance, the smell of horse manure was obvious.

Only two torches burned, but in their light they could make out seven or eight men armed with sabers and swords.

Before them lay more than a dozen Savages.

Every one of them was unconscious.

Every one had his hands and feet tied.

This inn was a black inn.

But its service was genuinely excellent.

If you had enough money, and enough background to go with that money, it would provide the most considerate service imaginable.

Fan Li walked over and inspected the captives.

Savages looked somewhat different from Xia people, but the most obvious distinction was their hairstyles.

"Mm."

Fan Li nodded.

No mistake.

A’Ming pinched his own wrist and said to the Sword Maid beside him:

"You can open the blade now."

The Sword Maid replied irritably, "What's the point of killing people like this?"

It was worse than slaughtering pigs.

At least pigs struggled desperately when you tried to kill them!

A’Ming turned toward her. Then he took a single white glove from his pocket and put it on his left hand.

"Why are you only wearing one glove?" the Sword Maid asked.

"Your master sent you out to gain experience," A’Ming said.

"Yes. But not experience like this."

"Oh? Did the Sword Saint tell you exactly how you were supposed to train?"

"Well... no."

A’Ming nodded. By then, the white glove was fully on.

"Kill them."

"This is boring. Big Guy, you kill them."

Smack!

A’Ming slapped the Sword Maid across the face.

Fan Li stood to the side and gave two soft chuckles.

The Sword Maid covered her right cheek and stared at A’Ming.

A’Ming raised the gloved hand in front of himself, inspected it carefully, then blew on it.

Calmly, he said:

"You've been spoiled rotten.

"Truly."

The Sword Maid bit her lip and glared at him.

"The jianghu can take many forms, but it absolutely isn't a place where you get to pick and choose. They are your enemies. They are still alive. Therefore, you have to make them dead.

"Maybe it's dull. Maybe it's tedious. Maybe it isn't nearly as exciting as you imagined.

"How should I put it?

"When it's time to be melodramatic, by all means be melodramatic. Life without a little melodrama is like cooking without salt. It loses the flavor.

"But when it isn't time for that nonsense... you'd better not indulge in even the slightest bit of it."

A’Ming bent down and looked directly at her.

"Understand?"

The Sword Maid nodded.

She was not some glass-hearted little girl. She knew when she ought to bow her head.

Smack!

Another slap landed on her face.

Once again, the Sword Maid covered her right cheek and stared at A’Ming in confusion.

"To deepen the impression."

After saying that, A’Ming removed the white glove, walked to the brazier near the stable, tossed it into the flames, and watched it burn.

Fan Li, meanwhile, walked over to a large basin of food.

These Savages had presumably eaten from it before being drugged.

Fan Li rubbed his stomach and drew in a breath.

The Sword Maid drew her sword and walked over to the unconscious Savages.

Raise the sword.

Stab.

Dead.

Raise the sword.

Stab.

Dead.

She was not afraid of blood.

She was not afraid of corpses.

And when she killed, she was efficient.

Her talent was exceptional. The Sword Saint had taken one look at her and accepted her as a disciple.

The problem was... perhaps she had spent too long growing up around the Marquis Residence.

As the saying went, stay close to cinnabar and you become red; stay close to ink and you become black.

She had picked up some of the same bad habits as Master.

But she was still young.

Not clear-headed enough.

When most children reached this state, the root of the problem could be summarized very simply... they needed a beating.

And look.

Wasn't she behaving properly now?

The Sword Maid continued stabbing.

Like an emotionless life-harvesting machine.

The hunchbacked waiter waved a hand, and the surrounding jianghu men all withdrew.

Then he walked up to A’Ming, took out a box, and respectfully offered it with both hands.

A’Ming did not touch it.

"Open it yourself."

He was afraid it was dirty.

Xue San had once mocked A’Ming for keeping his ten fingers spotless, never touching mundane chores, while having no objection whatsoever to driving his fangs straight into a person's neck and sucking mouthful after mouthful of blood.

Which was, in fact, completely true.

The hunchback opened the box.

Inside lay the two gold ingots he had taken from A’Ming earlier.

There were also two additional gold bars.

"Serving you is our honor, Master. A blessing cultivated over three lifetimes.

"In the future, if Master needs anything, simply give the order. Even if we have to risk these lives of ours, we'll make certain the job is done properly."

A’Ming did not take the box.

He waved a hand.

"I gave it to you. Keep it."

The hunchback's expression became strained.

"Whatever happens next time can be discussed next time."

Only then did the man's face relax.

Over on the other side, the Sword Maid finally finished stabbing every captive once.

A’Ming reminded her:

"One more thrust into each of them."

The Sword Maid said nothing.

She only nodded and continued down the row, giving each one a second appointment with her sword.

Seeing the hunchback still standing beside him, A’Ming frowned slightly.

The waiter immediately closed the box.

"May Master enjoy health and fortune."

A’Ming no longer wanted to speak to him.

At last, the Sword Maid finished her second round.

"Master, don't worry. We'll clean everything here up."

A’Ming took Fan Li and the Sword Maid and left directly instead of returning to the inn.

After the three departed, the hunchback carried the box back to a side room off the common hall.

The proprietress sat inside.

A circle of jianghu figures sat around her.

"They're gone?" she asked.

The hunchback nodded and put the box on the table.

"They didn't take the money back?"

The hunchback shook his head again.

The proprietress leaned back slightly.

"Then their status must be quite high."

These days, anyone capable of scattering two gold ingots like splashing water could not possibly be ordinary.

A one-eyed burly man sitting nearby said:

"If they're from the Marquis Residence, we'd better not provoke them."

The proprietress shot the one-eyed man a sideways look.

"What, did your other eye go blind too? Does that look like I was provoking them? I was practically rushing over to lick their boots. If that handsome master had ordered me to warm his bed tonight, I'd have gone."

The one-eyed man laughed.

"I think you'd have been delighted. That master was rather handsome."

The proprietress sighed, genuinely a little heartsore.

These days, a truly handsome man was harder to find than a beautiful woman.

Plainly... the proprietress had taken a liking to A’Ming.

The hunchback said, "All those Savages at the stable are dead. We'll need to clean it up in a while."

"All right, all right."

The proprietress clapped her hands.

"We can't afford to offend the Marquis Residence. Fortunately Hunchback handled things properly, so we got through today without a real scare."

The one-eyed man nodded.

"Exactly. Keeping the Ancestor safe is the most important thing."

Then the one-eyed man seemed to remember something. He looked at the waiter.

"Hunchback, where did you get that knockout drug?"

Knockout powder was high-grade merchandise.

In fact, it was extremely valuable. It was absolutely not some standard item every wandering jianghu man carried around, because most could not afford it.

Poisons and aphrodisiacs were considerably cheaper by comparison.

The hunchback replied:

"I bled the Ancestor a little."

"You!"

The one-eyed man shot to his feet and glared at him.

"How dare you!"

"What? What was I supposed to do?"

The hunchback tried his best to stretch his neck upward as he argued back.

"Where the hell was I supposed to find that much knockout drug? Even if I found it, if I mixed ordinary knockout powder into the food, wouldn't those Savages taste it?

"There were several capable fighters among them.

"And that noble from the Marquis Residence had such a bizarre demand. He insisted on taking off his pants just to fart and making that little girl kill them personally with her sword.

"What was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to do?

"If a real fight broke out and all of us had to step in, weren't you afraid someone might recognize our martial techniques?

"Heh.

"I only borrowed a little blood from the Ancestor. There are eighteen fresh corpses lying outside now, still warm. We'll drag them down later and let the Ancestor replenish himself.

"Besides, forget the Ancestor being asleep. Even if he were awake, he would've agreed to this."

"Enough!"

The proprietress stood and shouted over them.

"Both of you shut up. A-Biao, take some men and clean up the stable. Hunchback, go watch the inn. There are still several guests who haven't left. Feel them out."

"Huh? We're still making a move tonight?" the hunchback asked in surprise.

A black inn preying on its own guests was naturally standard practice.

The proprietress shook her head.

"No. That saber traveler who came in today... something about him feels unusual. Keep a closer eye on him."

"All right. Got it."

The proprietress turned, bent down, and lifted a ring set into the floor.

A hidden hatch opened.

Beneath it was a tunnel.

She took a lamp and descended.

The underground chamber was not large.

A dense floral fragrance filled the air.

There was a water vat, a bed, and recessed niches all around the walls containing human bones and various ornaments.

The proprietress first walked to the vat.

A layer of blood remained at the bottom.

She used a ladle to scoop a large bowlful, then carried it to the bed on the other side.

An old man lay there.

He was very fat.

His complexion was ruddy.

His eyes were closed, and he did not move.

The proprietress placed the bowl above his chest and slowly poured the blood over him.

At once... two fangs gradually extended from the old man's mouth.

At the same time, small sheets of batlike wing membrane emerged from both sides of his body around his arms.

The blood poured over him did not drip away.

Instead, it was visibly absorbed through pores all across his body.

Calling them pores was not quite accurate. They were far too large, more like dense rows of tiny holes made by stabbing thick silver needles into his flesh.

Once the blood had been completely poured out... the little holes closed and vanished.

The bat wings along his arms withdrew as well.

A deeper crimson appeared in his complexion.

The proprietress let out a breath of relief.

She set the bowl down.

Then she knelt beside the bed and kowtowed respectfully to the old man.

"Ancestor.

"We're waiting for you to awaken."

...

Beneath the night sky, the Sword Maid walked at the front.

She shed silver-bean tears as she went.

She no longer sat on Fan Li's shoulders.

"Don't cry," Fan Li said.

"Heh heh," A’Ming laughed.

The Sword Maid wiped her tears.

"I understand what the jianghu is now. I also understand what should be done and what shouldn't. Truthfully, I understand what you two were saying. My First Master once said he understood why Baili Jian entered Shangjing and took an official position.

"But I still think the jianghu really shouldn't be like this.

"Yes, my Sword Saint master lives next door to the Marquis Residence now. But he didn't stay there because he covets the Residence's wealth and glory. He stayed because the Marquis governs the region well.

"Otherwise... with the whole world so vast, where couldn't my Sword Saint master go?

"Riches and honor?

"With his ability, would he lack them?"

In truth... the Sword Maid was right too.

A’Ming said:

"Nothing is absolute. Of the Four Great Swordsmen, your master is still doing better than the others. The other three aren't free at all.

"Baili Jian's younger sister serves in the Silver-Armored Guard, and he himself is the Crown Prince's martial instructor.

"Li Liangshen has military orders to obey.

"And that Chu swordsmith spent the last war running all over the place, busy from beginning to end.

"They've already reached the summit of the jianghu, yet not one of them lives as freely as an ordinary wandering swordsman."

Then A’Ming added:

"True freedom exists.

"Become a Sword Saint first. Then we can talk."

"I will," the Sword Maid said.

"Heh."

She stopped walking and turned back toward him.

"Once my swordsmanship is complete, I'll first help you kill a few people to repay the debt of raising me. Whether I stab the Marquis afterward can be discussed later.

"But I will definitely repay that slap first."

A’Ming raised two fingers in a victory sign.

"Two slaps."

The Sword Maid wiped her tears fiercely.

Stubbornly, she said:

"One.

"I deserved the first one."

A’Ming froze for a moment.

Then he nodded.

This girl really was a little interesting.

At that point, the Sword Maid was no longer angry.

She turned toward Fan Li.

"Big Guy, I'm hungry."

She had spent the whole day sulking, lying on the bed choking back tears, and had not eaten anything.

Fan Li smiled and put down the basket on his back.

The Sword Maid instinctively leaned over to look for food.

Instead, she saw a huge food basin.

"Why did you bring this along too?"

Fan Li scratched his head.

A’Ming walked over, looked into the basin, and said to Fan Li:

"You brought this out here to drug her?

"She's still a child."

The Sword Maid's face abruptly turned red.

Fan Li scratched his head again.

He pointed at the food in the basin.

"Tastes... strange."

"You tried it?" A’Ming asked.

Fan Li nodded.

"About a fingernail's worth. Made me a little dizzy."

"Are you sick in the head? Heh. What does it taste like?"

"A little sour."

"Gone bad?"

"Kind of like..."

"Like what?"

"Someone's taste."

"Who?"

"You."

A’Ming stared at Fan Li.

Then he reached out a finger, hooked a tiny bit of food from the basin, brought it to his mouth, and tasted it.

His eyes lit up.

Then... he smiled.

He smiled extravagantly.

He smiled with absolutely none of the composure of a nobleman.

His arms even began to tremble.

"Paralytic and hallucinogenic effects.

"That's the taste of a high-ranking vampire's blood."

Seeing A’Ming smile, Fan Li smiled too.

He even deliberately copied A’Ming's expression, pulling the corners of his mouth wide and trying to look sinister.

The Sword Maid had no idea what was happening.

But at this moment, neither man had any attention to spare for explaining.

"It's fresh, A’Li."

Fan Li nodded hard.

"Right."

"Which proves the living source is nearby.

"Inside that inn."

A’Ming opened his mouth.

He looked almost as though he were about to launch into an opera, barely suppressing the urge to sing.

"A’Li... do you understand what a genuine high-ranking vampire means to me?"

Fan Li thought seriously.

Then answered:

"Good-tasting blood."

"No, no, no!"

A’Ming delivered the three denials with exaggerated force and waved a hand.

"It isn't merely about whether the blood tastes good.

"If I can keep that living body with me, it means... it means..."

A hot, savage light appeared in A’Ming's eyes.

"It means I'll have a blood bank I can draw from whenever I want.

"Many of my abilities that are currently restricted and unusable, even Blood Clan magic, could be powered through transfusions from that living body.

"We've spent all this time researching how to break free of Master's shackles.

"This... is the method.

"My method!"

A’Ming bent down and looked at the Sword Maid.

He reached out and gently stroked her cheek.

Softly, he said:

"You can slap me back now."

The Sword Maid did not.

A’Ming in this state frightened her.

"Hehehehehe..."

A’Ming began laughing darkly.

Then he sighed with heartfelt emotion.

"Now...

"I absolutely fucking love this jianghu."

[End of Chapter 664]