Chapter 42: Eyes of the Nigh

t [Volume 2 - Bloom of the Other Shore Flower]

Whether it be the Yellow Springs Training Camp that Qianye attended as a child growing into a young man, or Red Scorpion, both had a standard class of training to resist captivation.

Such training was exceptionally cruel, as it trained from both mental and physical aspects. The coming of age ceremony in the Yellow Springs Training Camp was a beginning, but not the end, and its objective was to raise killing machines with no weaknesses at heart.

Yet, prodigies who have greater potential than others would have even more rigorous demands placed upon them by the instructors, and the intensity of the training would increase as well. After too much of these kind of experiences, many of them would turn into freaks.

Qianye had always thirsted for great power as fast as possible, so in the Red Scorpions, he had always applied for the highest limit of all kinds of trainings that he could endure. This class was no different. Due to that, although he couldn't be considered a freak, in the later sessions he had often approached the brink of crumbling. It was still Nan Batian that had directly used his authority to cancel the rest of Qianye's classes.

But Qianye never once regretted the enormous price that he paid in his training, especially since mind captivation was a killing technique of many dark races. Anyone whose willpower wasn't strong enough would end up dead when going against those dark race experts with strong mind powers.

And what he looked up to was the world of the strong with people at Lin Xitang's level. Qianye was absolutely unwilling to stop halfway through.

In one of the final tests in the Red Scorpions, Qianye could already resist the psychic control and seduction of those with Champion-level mind control and captivation for a short time. No matter how he looked at her, this girl couldn't be at the Champion level, which is to say that she shouldn't have been able to captivate Qianye at all.

Shouldn't have, emphasis on should. In this world, there were too many things that shouldn't have happened but still did.

Looking at it purely results-wise, Qianye had indeed been captivated just now, and to a fairly deep degree at that. Deep level captivation like this would often leave behind some difficult-to-perceive hidden concerns.

Just what exactly is going on?

Qianye's mood was very much in a mess at the moment; this strange woman was making him unusually irritated and uneasy, yet she was clearly still merely unconscious.

It was to the point that Qianye didn't even dare to look at her, terrified that he could be captivated by her. That's right, it was captivation, how else would he be able to explain it? Qianye's frustration towards this was different from the frustration he held against when his thirst for blood flared up. It was like the entire world was revolving wildly around him, and he wished very anxiously to have something to grab onto.

Remain calm! When Qianye was undergoing captivation resistance training, the first thing that the Red Scorpion instructors taught Qianye was to remain steadfast. No matter what he saw or felt, he had to remain calm. If he couldn't keep himself steady with his own strength, then he should try to brace himself with something else.

Qianye began to consider what he had on hand. Against this kind of terrifying woman, it wouldn't bode well if no preparation was made.

A smoke? Or maybe alcohol?

Both didn't seem good enough, the power was too weak. Even those special products with stimulants added wouldn't be enough.

This woman, while in a state of unconsciousness, could already influence Qianye like so and and cause him to instinctively feel extreme danger within the chaos. Perhaps it was such alertness against danger that stopped Qianye from entirely sinking into confusion.

The more he didn't understand, it meant the greater the danger she was.

Qianye steeled himself, and suddenly took out a syringe hidden pocket from behind the bar top, stabbing it into his arm and pushing down the plunger fully. He then silently waited the three minutes for the medicine to take its complete effect.

This was a standard issue tranquilizer of the Red Scorpion, its effect was simple and unrefined. It would cause someone who took it to thoroughly calm down in a short amount of time, turning them into an iron-hearted butcher. This kind of tranquilizer also could effectively resist mind impact as well as a series of influences and attacks from mind power. It could also be used to treat the psychological problems that would arise from excessive killing. Unfortunately, this was the last of his stockpile.

As the sedative took effect, it was as though an barrier had been added onto Qianye's mind, and he no longer dreaded external influences. He walked up to the girl once again, and quietly looked at her face. This time around it was indeed a lot better than the last; although her tightly-shut eyes still had that deadly attraction, it no longer had that feeling of nearly falling into an abyss.

But what Qianye didn't expect was, even under the calmest circumstances, he still felt that her features were of his ideal. He somehow felt that he had seen her somewhere, yet couldn't remember where at all. Unless it was really only in his dreams?

However, Qianye could finally resist the effects of those eyes and spend more time looking at her face with an examining gaze. She had short, somewhat messy hair, and together with her well-defined, absolutely stunning features, she carried a natural ice-coldness and pride. Moreover, under that layer of frost was deadly captivation.

Her face was a sickly white, and her skin was as exquisite as the most delicate jade. But as he looked, Qianye suddenly found that there was a very abnormal red flush along her neck. So he reached out and touched it, and instantly felt an astonishingly high temperature, almost scalding his hand. But as he placed his hands upon it for a while longer, he felt a coldness from his fingertips as if he was touching an ice block.

Qianye was shocked. That sickly pale skin as well as that greatly fluctuating body temperature were exactly the initial symptoms of a blood thrall! He sniffed, and indeed, there was an extremely faint smell of fresh blood. He immediately examined her entire body again and saw that there were two small rips on the sleeve of the field army uniform, along with a little bloodstain.

Qianye tore her field army uniform and the bodysuit beneath, revealing her entire arm. As expected, there were two deep and round holes on the upper arm area. Those were the tooth marks left after being bitten by vampiric fangs!

Seeing these tooth marks, Qianye suddenly felt heartstrings tugging, and felt a powerlessness as though he was suffocating.

Such young lady, was already a blood thrall?

How much longer could she persevere? Seven days? Three days? Or maybe... one day?

After frequently coming into contact with the dark races, Qianye already knew that being bitten actually wasn't a sure sign of contamination. Normal people would be in danger even just from touching a blood thrall. It was because they had no origin power, hence they were especially susceptible to being invaded by dark energy. For the strong, some wounds with blood aren't very much fatal.

But being stabbed deep into the blood vessels by vampiric fangs was an exception; unless one could receive the Embrace of higher ranked vampires and formally become a vampire, they wouldn't be able to shake off the inevitable destiny of becoming a blood thrall. People like Qianye who could resist the invasion of the blood of darkness up until now could be said as very few.

Perhaps those rumored aristocratic family's secret arts really had effects, and maybe there were others who could endure, but the Empire's policy about blood thralls had always been the same; terminate on sight, with nary a hint of compassion. Ever since that year where a prince of the Empire who had been infected with the blood of darkness was executed, this policy had never had a single exception nor compromise.

If it had been half a year earlier, Qianye would have killed her without any hesitation or delay, no matter how he was captivated by her supernatural power. In the Empire's eyes, death was a form of release to a blood thrall. Even if he didn't have a merciless heart, Qianye still wouldn't have wanted to watch her turn into a mindless blood thirsty monster.

But now, without him noticing, Qianye's feelings had long since changed. He himself was a very good example that, testifying that as long as one persisted, a miracle really could happen.

Qianye gave it some thought, and then cut open his own wrist and placed the cut next to her mouth. As expected, she reacted towards that pulsing fresh blood, and after sniffing it, she instinctively drank all of the blood that flowed beside her mouth.

After being bitten by a vampire, the thirst for fresh blood was almost irresistible. At the same time, fresh blood was also a vampire's miracle drug. No matter how deep the wound, as long as vampires had enough fresh blood, they would recover.

She kept drinking the fresh blood, and her pallid face rapidly gained a healthier shade. When the blood near Qianye's wound dried, her breathing clearly quickened, and her face looked immeasurably pained, instinctively lifting her head and searching for blood. Qianye once again cut open his wrist and let the fresh blood seep out.

Qianye even had an immature conjecture; perhaps his suppression of the blood of darkness was due to his blood having some sort of antibody or something. Feeding her more of his blood might just be able to delay the activation of the blood of darkness within her body.

As the wound dried for the second time, Qianye had already begun to feel his entire body turning cold. His face was more so ghastly pale while his vision was starting to blur, a clear sign of too much blood loss. The good thing was that she finally wasn't suffering any longer, as her expression looked far more relaxed.

When some color returned to that girl's face, she suddenly released an even more irresistibly lethal force of attraction, and even after Qianye had taken the tranquilizer, he could still feel his heart jump at every little move she made.

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

She didn't panic and didn't overreact either, just calmly turning her head to survey the surroundings as if she had just woken up in her own home. The girl's large eyes were filled with innocence and vacantness, but Qianye knew that her act was definitely a facade.

"You're awake?"

She didn't reply but lowered her head to look down at her exposed arm, and then she reached out her hand to her lips and rubbed her lips gently, tasting the fresh blood on the tip of her tongue. Finally, she looked at Qianye she asked, "It's you who saved me?"

Her voice was gentle and a little overcast, and paired with those somewhat unfocused gaze, it had another unique feel to it.

"I guess, but that's not important. Your current state is very troublesome..." Qianye squirmed a little over his words, unsure of how he should break it to her.

The fact that she was going to be a blood thrall was too cruel, and she was evidently quite young, maybe the same age as Qianye, or even a little younger. Could she handle such a cruel blow?

"Troublesome? You mean... I've become a blood thrall?" She was far calmer than Qianye imagined her to be, and was also very knowledgeable.

"...Yes."

Her eyes finally gained an expression as she looked at Qianye seriously. "Then shouldn't you kill me right now, and not save me?"

Qianye smiled bitterly. "A blood thrall is not entirely without hope, perhaps you still have enough time. My advice is, you can... head west. There lies the territory of the dark races, as well as some vampire activity. If you are lucky enough before you lose your wits, you might meet an upper-class vampire and receive the Embrace, then you may live on... as a vampire."

The girl's expression turned somewhat baffled, as she asked with interest, "Aren't you human? You'd actually suggest that I go become a vampire? Doesn't that increase another enemy of humanity?"

"Since I've met you in this state, of course I had to save you. As for the future... If, I'm saying if, we ever have the chance to meet on the battlefield, I will personally kill you!" Qianye's voice was calm.

She looked at Qianye's wrist, intentionally or otherwise, "You're really a strange guy! Saving me just for the sake of killing me in the future? And you'd even let our your blood for me to drink... you're pretty knowledgeable about blood thralls."

Qianye took out a bandage, and while he bound his wounds, he spoke, "Everyone knows about blood thralls well, especially in this god forsaken place! Here, almost everyone had experienced relatives or friends who turned into a blood thrall."

She went silent for a moment, and then stood up, holding out her hand to Qianye. "I understand now. My name is... Nighteye."