After passing through a formless barrier of water, Qianye and Nighteye arrived at a primitive forest. There were majestic mountains on the horizon, and the void was visible on the other side. The sky was filled with magnificent colors, through which one could see two continents drifting in the distance.
Nighteye observed the two continents, saying, “That’s our New Moon Continent and the demonkin’s Azir Continent. That means we’re on Twilight Continent.”
“Reynold hid us on Twilight?” Qianye felt that setting up a hiding place on Twilight Continent wasn’t a suitable choice. If even the Azure King had to flee for his life, it was very likely that Twilight had also fallen.
Nighteye saw it differently. “Considering the small size of this secret realm, it’s safer to place it on Twilight Continent. No one will comb this place to search for us.”
The border regions of the continent were indeed quite desolate and full of dangers. The vampire race’s population density was much lower than the Empire’s, to begin with. Most of them lived as clans, and those with good inheritances possessed land at the heart of the continent. The newer families were more inclined to fight for fertile land on war-torn continents, so very few people would choose to settle here.
Qianye and Nighteye were advancing cautiously at first, but they later let loose and started running at full speed. After traveling for hundreds of kilometers, they finally saw an ancient castle in the distance.
The castle was built on a mountainside and, judging from the size, probably belonged to a marquis. The castle itself was pretty close to the summit, with an array of buildings scattered around the hillside. The small city at the foot of the mountain seemed to be home to tens of thousands of people. The settlement was surrounded by farmland, and there were numerous workshops of varying sizes situated along the river.
This was Qianye’s first time seeing a castle on the vampire mainland. It somehow felt different from those on the lower continents and other war-torn lands, yet he couldn’t explain what it was at the moment.
Nighteye said, “Look, the style of the castle’s main structure is different from the surroundings. It was built from an unpolished natural rock, an architectural style of the ancient vampire race. This proves that the castle was constructed quite a long time ago; it has at least one thousand and five hundred years of history. The structures below are different. They were built from cut stone, a technique only made common after the daybreak rebellion.”
“Daybreak rebellion?”
“Oh, the War of Daybreak as humans call it.”
The War of Daybreak was the war in which the Empire was founded, an out-and-out rebellion in the eyes of the vampire race.
With Nighteye’s explanation, Qianye now saw the castle differently. The main structure was crude and strong, with only long narrow windows around it. Apparently, the main use of this castle in ancient times was for war. It could be expected that living inside wouldn’t be comfortable, especially for people like the vampires who preferred to live a life of luxury.
The cl.u.s.ter of buildings below was much more refined. They were made of cut stone, many of which were engraved. The buildings down the next level were even more extravagant with wide floor-to-ceiling windows. These structures were clearly not made for war.
Even the lowest point in the castle was a fair distance from the foot of the mountain. The city on the flat plains was a mixture of various architectural styles, and there was even a large section that looked like the slums.
Nighteye glanced at Qianye. “You’re a complete vampire now.”
“… I know.”
His blood core was on the cover of the Book of Darkness, while his heart was at the bottom—the dominant component was clear. Qianye’s origin crystals had moved into his heart as well, so he was a complete vampire at the moment. The only things that made him human were at the bottom of the tome.
Nighteye sighed. “Are you adapting well?”
Qianye said frankly, “Not so much at first, but the body is just the body. What we are will ultimately be decided by what we do.”
Nighteye looked at him, saying, “Are you still standing with the human Empire?”
This problem caused Qianye to go silent. He had always been avoiding the issue, but it was no longer possible for him to escape since Nighteye had asked.
After some thought, he said, “I don’t understand why the Empire wants to kill you at all costs.”
“I don’t know the concrete reason, but I can make some general guesses. Everyone on the Sacred Mountain hopes I can return because only I can truly open the door to the new world.”
Qianye was stunned. He hadn’t realized that Nighteye was the true key to the new world.
“There are also some in the council who hope that I won’t return. They don’t know about my connection to the new world nor do they care. The Sacred Mountain is a place they can never hope to see in their lifetime, so the long-standing hatred passed down since ancient times is the most important. Since they couldn’t openly oppose the Sacred Mountain, some of them decided to leak my information to the Empire. If you were a figure of authority in the Empire, would you let me return to Evernight?”
“You’ve lived in the Empire before and have no enmity toward humans.”
“Enmity? There’s quite a lot. Have you forgotten why we went to the neutral lands?”
Qianye sighed. “Must they do this just to remove a potential threat?”
Qianye’s words betrayed his thoughts; he understood that the Empire had enough reason to prevent the appearance of a new supreme and the opening of the new world.
“And it’s not the first time, either. I don’t think Jundu knew about the heavenly monarch bullet in his gun.”
“Jundu’s heavenly monarch bullet?” Qianye was shocked.
Nighteye explained what happened that day, “Jundu is not one to lie, even on the battlefield. At least, he wouldn’t lie to me. As for how that heavenly monarch bullet appeared in his gun, that’s something we have to ask the Empire.”
Qianye’s expression turned solemn. He had never imagined that Nighteye had already been struck by a heavenly monarch bullet before, and one fired by Zhao Jundu no less. This matter wasn’t included in any of the reports he had received.
Qianye also discovered something in Nighteye’s words; she had no good feelings at all toward Song Zining. After checking all the facts and listening to Nighteye’s explanation, Qianye realized that his entanglement with Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan in the Great Maelstrom wasn’t without reason. Song Zining was likely the one pulling the strings.
He recalled the seventh young master’s gentle expression as he said, “Qianye, leave her. She’s no longer the Nighteye you know. You have a life to live, you can’t sink into depression like this. Trust me, I’m doing this for your own good. There are many other good women in this world.”
The next scene was of Song Zining lying unconscious in bed. Only in this state did he shed all pretenses fitting of a romantic clan descendant. It was as though he had returned to Yellow Springs—the solitary young man who had nothing but himself and his partner.
Qianye shook his head with a wry smile, expelling Song Zining’s image from his thoughts. Perhaps Song Zining’s actions were correct from his standpoint, but it was nothing short of hatred from Qianye’s.
After a long period of contemplation, Qianye sighed.
“Have you thought it through?” Nighteye asked.
“Yes.”
“Then what’s your decision?”
“The same thing. Who we are is decided by what we do, brothers are brothers, the Empire is the Empire.”
Nighteye heaved a sigh of relief, patting her chest as she did so. “Thank goodness, I thought you were going back to work for them.”
“Do I look like an idiot?”
Nighteye said seriously, “You don’t look like one, you, are, one!”
Pretending to be angry, Qianye picked her up and said, “We haven’t had a go since you awakened!”
Nighteye went limp in Qianye’s arms. “That… we have all too many opportunities. What are your plans from now on?”
Qianye said, “I might be a vampire now, but that doesn’t mean I approve of the vampire ways. But I discovered when I was on Fort Continent that it’s not impossible for various races to exist together. There were also quite a few vampires in Blacksun Valley who were willing to work for me. Not everyone was willing to give up their lives for tradition. I’ve thought about it, I can try to change the parts that I don’t approve of.”
Nighteye nodded. “I feel relieved.”
“I can’t change anything at the moment since I’m just a duke. I might not even be a match for a prince even when I reach the grand duke stage. But I will naturally be able to change more things once I grow stronger.”
Nighteye’s expression dimmed down after hearing this. Qianye asked her what was wrong.
She forced a smile, saying, “I was thinking that if I hadn’t been so wilful and completed the awakening process early, I would be a crowned prince by now. I would’ve ignited a blood seal. Maybe I could’ve prevented Reynold’s fate.”
Qianye patted her on the back. “What has passed has passed. We need to live on and seek revenge for Reynold.”
Nighteye nodded, struggling free from Qianye’s arms. “I’ll explain more about the vampires.”
…
In the city below, most of the inhabitants weren’t vampires but other “inferior” races, many of them treated like livestock that existed to provide blood. Naturally, there were humans among them since human blood was the vampire race’s favorite delicacy.
Before the War of Daybreak, these inferior races were mostly slaves and manual laborers. The races that could provide blood, led by the humans, were even worse than slaves. They were penned up like livestock and treated like animals.
The vampires on the lower continents habitually turned humans into blood thralls for use as cannon fodder. This act had always been a controversial topic. The demonkin objected strongly to such a plague-like production of rabid beasts. The werewolves and arachne reared their own slave soldiers, so they were in no position to object.
After the War of Daybreak, the founding ancestor led the humans to power, killing their way out of Twilight Continent and shocking the entirety of Evernight. After that, the vampire race began to reassess the human race’s potential and realized that treating them as livestock was too much of a waste.
Hence, some of the enlightened vampires tried giving humans some rights and freedom. They passed on some knowledge to them, allowing them to break new ground, farm, and build structures. They would have to provide blood at regular intervals and a set amount of meat.
The effects were fairly surprising. The humans performed with great vigor under these restrictive terms. Cities popped up one after another, and large areas of the wilderness were cultivated. As the human population increased, it became less of a problem to provide meat and blood.
In addition to cultivating land, they also began to mine and set up workshops, providing raw materials and some processed parts for the vampire factories. Some people even obtained higher positions to manage the other inferior races.
That was how this city before Qianye came to be. However, humans who had developed in such a manner were a vassal race of the vampires. There was a fundamental difference between them and the Great Qin Empire both in terms of life and habits.
The true vampires lived in the ancient castle since the superiors insisted on upholding this tradition. Many of the descendants with mixed bloodlines chose to move to the city below for convenience. Their district was clearly demarcated from other races.
To Qianye, however, this was a mixed-race culture in the making.
