In the 32nd year of the Yuan Zheng reign of the Qi Dynasty, various regions experienced varying degrees of blood clan disasters.
Blood clans must rely on sucking human blood to sustain their lives, posing a certain threat to the people. After careful consideration, the court specially established the Blood Slaying Department to specifically hunt and kill blood clans.
By some twist of fate, He Sui’an was born into a blood clan and had no choice.
Blood clan.
Modernly known as vampires.
Here, blood clans are like normal people before the age of eighteen, eating, drinking, and excreting just like anyone else, allowing them to hide well among the populace without being discovered. However, after turning eighteen, they must consume human blood to survive; otherwise, they will perish.
Yesterday, she had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday, which meant from now on, she would have to consume human blood to stay alive, or face certain death.
But how could He Sui’an, timid as a mouse and with a modern mindset, dare to do such a thing?
Her blood clan parents, who raised her, had already sent her out a month ago to fend for herself because they would grow old and die and couldn’t protect He Sui’an forever. She had to learn the ways of survival.
Apart from needing to drink blood to maintain their lives, blood clans are pretty much like normal people in every other way, including their lifespans.
Provided they regularly consume human blood.
Generally speaking, blood clans have strong combat abilities, but He Sui’an was an exception.
She thought she might be the most cowardly among the blood clans, being scared just seeing her kind consume human blood, wishing she could hide as far away as possible. As for combat ability, she was probably even worse than an average person.
At this moment, He Sui’an stood in the corner of a street alley, looking up at the night sky, feeling bewildered.
Now, she craved blood, feeling very hungry, and eating like she did before turning eighteen no longer alleviated the hunger. No matter how much she stuffed into her stomach, the intense hunger persisted.
So hungry.
Tonight, she was so hungry that she couldn’t help but come out to find something to eat, only to discover that she couldn’t get full.
Did she really have to suck blood?
He Sui’an crouched down and hugged her knees.
She still couldn’t get past that psychological barrier, trying hard to suppress the hunger.
Under the night, He Sui’an’s red dress was very conspicuous. The ribbon falling from the back of her head trailed down her waist, her small face with a lot of soft flesh, yet her figure was slender.
Her unadorned skin looked even more delicate and white under the dim light. She bit her lip, using the slight pain to suppress her hunger.
It was the cold winter season, with snowflakes flying.
As a blood clan, He Sui’an wasn’t afraid of the cold, but to disguise herself as a normal person, she would dress warmly during the day. However, she was in such a hurry tonight that she only wore a thin ruqun.
Suddenly, a chaotic clamor of footsteps echoed from the street outside.
He Sui’an peeked out, curious.
It turned out that a blood clan member had been seen by the Blood Slaying Department while sucking human blood to survive late at night. They were now being chased, fleeing in panic.
After turning eighteen, blood clan members reveal their two sharp fangs at night. Sucking blood allows them to quickly recover, reducing the likelihood of capture. Suppressing the urge to drink blood means they can only recover by morning.
However, the maximum time a blood clan member can go without sucking blood is three days; exceeding this limit results in death.
He Sui’an had already endured for a day and a night.
She had no idea what to do next and could only take one step at a time.
In the street, the blood-sucking blood clan member was captured by the Blood Slaying Department and killed on the spot, splattering blood everywhere and staining the snow on the bluestone road red. The scene was quite shocking.
He Sui’an curled up into a ball.
Not only would the Blood Slaying Department kill blood clan members, but ordinary civilians would also go to great lengths to kill them, as they posed a threat.
However, due to the disparity in strength between ordinary civilians and blood clan members, civilians would choose to flee first upon encountering them to avoid being sucked dry, and then find someone from the Blood Slaying Department to eliminate the blood clan member.
The Blood Slaying Department was composed of individuals carefully selected by the court, capable of fighting against blood clans.
Naturally, as a blood clan member, she didn’t dare provoke the Blood Slaying Department. She would avoid them whenever encountered, and tonight was no exception.
She watched as the Blood Slaying Department members skillfully dealt with the blood clan’s corpse and then left.
He Sui’an wanted to sneak back home.
After arriving in Chang’an, she had been living in an abandoned, secluded courtyard.
She observed the street for a long time, making sure no one was around before stepping out. However, she encountered someone halfway across.
She quickly covered her mouth to hide her fangs.
A middle-aged man stumbled and fell in front of He Sui’an, clutching her skirt and pleading desperately, “Save me, young lady, please save me.”
Instinctively, He Sui’an tried to pull her skirt free, but the man was startled.
He had seen her fangs.
A blood clan!
This person was a blood clan! Many people in Chang’an had died from being sucked dry by blood clan members.
The middle-aged man wanted to turn and run, but found himself trapped. In front of him was a blood clan member who lived by sucking blood, and behind him was a youth out for his life. How could he escape? His heart was filled with despair.
Seeing the middle-aged man trembling as if about to faint, He Sui’an kindly wanted to tell him she wouldn’t suck his blood.
Before she could speak, a silken thread wrapped around the man’s neck.
The middle-aged man, terrified, begged for his life, “I was wrong! I shouldn’t have been blinded by greed and tried to poison you, planning to steal the Gu from you and sell it. Please, spare my life!”
Gu could fetch a high price in the martial world, especially top-quality Gu.
A few days ago, the middle-aged man, who often dealt in selling Gu, saw the Gu the young man carried and immediately recognized its high quality. Driven by greed, he resorted to underhanded tactics, never imagining that the young man was actually a Gu master.
He had thought the young man was just a naive noble who liked playing with Gu.
Now, the middle-aged man regretted his actions deeply. Provoking a Gu master from the Tianshui Village in Miaojiang was courting death.
The middle-aged man continued to kowtow and confess.
But the silk thread kept tightening, strangling him until his eyes rolled back, cutting off his breath.
In the blink of an eye, his head separated from his body.
The silk thread had severed his neck.
Witnessing this scene, He Sui’an was too scared to move. When fear paralyzes a person, they truly can’t move. She looked up at the young man approaching step by step.
He wore indigo robes, with silver ornaments reflecting the moonlight, and a bone flute hung from his waist. Several loose strands of hair fell over his chest, with a few small braids among them.
A few snakes of different colors slithered at his feet, making the sight even more frightening.
He Sui’an forgot to cover her mouth again. Her two small, white fangs were exposed, giving her a somewhat dazed expression, devoid of the decisive demeanor typical of blood clans.
Though she was extremely scared of such scenes, she could still distinguish right from wrong. From the middle-aged man’s pleas, it was clear that his own malicious intent had led to his current fate.
Qi Buyan’s gaze fell on her face, then on her small fangs.
He Sui’an realized he was staring at her fangs and must have figured out she was a blood clan member. Given his abilities, he could kill her without needing the Blood Slaying Department’s help.
Should she run away?
The thought crossed He Sui’an’s mind but was quickly dismissed.
She glanced at Qi Buyan’s long legs below his waist sash, then looked at her own. Begging for mercy like the middle-aged man? He Sui’an looked at the corpse and gave up on that idea.
Qi Buyan suddenly walked towards her.
He Sui’an took a step back.
Finding no escape, she cried out, “It’s true I’m a blood clan member, but I’ve never sucked human blood, not even once. Please don’t kill me or hand me over to the Blood Slaying Department, okay?”
Qi Buyan stood right in front of He Sui’an, who held her breath, not daring to exhale.
But Qi Buyan’s scent still reached He Sui’an’s nose. Blood clans have a strong sense of smell for human blood, able to detect it through skin. His blood was very special.
To blood clans, it smelled incredibly delicious.
So, his blood was extremely enticing to her, especially since she hadn’t drunk blood for a day and a night.
He Sui’an couldn’t help but swallow.
She desperately wanted to pounce on him and suck his blood, but her reason and common sense told her that was impossible.
The next moment, He Sui’an saw Qi Buyan raise his hand. Thinking he was about to strike, she instinctively grabbed him, stammering, “Don’t—don’t kill me, I swear I wasn’t lying just now.”
The reason people wanted to exterminate the blood clans was because they drank human blood.
Her palms were cold as she clutched Qi Buyan’s wrist, causing the butterfly silver chain around his wrist to jingle incessantly.
Qi Buyan slowly raised his other hand and removed the white Gu that had silently climbed onto He Sui’an’s shoulder and couldn’t be summoned back. Then he lowered his gaze to look at her, still gripping him tightly.
He could indeed tell she was a blood clan member.
Those two small fangs were quite obvious; anyone with functioning eyes could see them.
But what did her being a blood clan have to do with him? Qi Buyan had no intention of interfering unless someone wanted to make a deal with him, and clearly, there was no transaction between them.
After retrieving the white Gu, Qi Buyan turned to leave. He Sui’an, realizing he didn’t intend to kill her, released his hand and softly apologized.
The curfewed streets of Chang’an were mostly empty, with only the two of them walking.
After a few steps, Qi Buyan stopped.
He looked at the shadows on the ground.
One shadow had been following him a few steps behind. He turned to look.
He Sui’an immediately stood still, nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes. The blood clan’s nature made her uncontrollably follow the scent of his special blood. Her feet moved on their own, and she couldn’t help it.
Qi Buyan chuckled softly, a chilling sound, “Why are you following me?”
I want to suck your blood.
That’s what He Sui’an thought.
It wasn’t that she truly wanted to suck his blood; it was just the blood clan’s nature at work. She stammered, “You are the first person I’ve met who doesn’t want to kill a blood clan member.”
He laughed, “And then?”
He Sui’an finally admitted, “It’s because your blood smells really good, and I can’t control myself from following you. But don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. I can’t hurt you even if I tried…”
Her voice trailed off.
Qi Buyan listened to her and, without another word, found an abandoned house to stay in.
She dared only to follow him from a distance.
As soon as Qi Buyan entered the house, he lay down. The weather was very cold, and the heavenly silkworm Gu in his body made him drowsy. He wasn’t afraid of what the blood clan member might do because he knew she didn’t have the strength to cause trouble.
Moreover, Qi Buyan always had three snakes guarding him, and even if he fell asleep, there were rarely any accidents. So, he lay down and fell asleep almost immediately.
Perhaps the scent of Qi Buyan’s blood was too enticing, attracting other nearby blood clan members.
Four blood clan members climbed over the wall and approached him step by step. The red snake, black snake, and silver snake worked in unison, separating to deal with them. The red snake took on two, leaving the other two to handle one each.
He Sui’an didn’t want anything to happen to Qi Buyan because she discovered that merely smelling his blood gave her a slight feeling of fullness. She wondered if this could help her avoid the necessity of drinking blood to survive.
She didn’t want to suck human blood every three days but also wanted to live well.
This was He Sui’an’s wish.
Another blood clan member sneaked in and directly lunged at Qi Buyan.
In fact, Qi Buyan still had some awareness and knew exactly what was happening. He moved his fingers slightly, preparing to release a poisonous Gu, but He Sui’an ran over and stood in front of him.
Qi Buyan paused, curious to see what she would do.
The thwarted blood clan member frowned.
He sneered, “Just a little blood clan member, and you dare to fight me for food?”
He Sui’an, with little confidence, said, “I found him first. Blood clans have rules; you can’t take someone else’s find.”
The blood clan member couldn’t care less about such rules and walked over aggressively to push her aside. He Sui’an picked up a piece of wood and hit him with it, using so much force that she almost stumbled.
This was probably the boldest thing she had ever done, and her hands and feet trembled slightly.
While the blood clan member was momentarily stopped by the hit, He Sui’an tried to lift Qi Buyan, but he was too heavy for her.
She looked up and met his delicate, fair neck, so close that the scent of his blood seemed to seep through his thin skin.
Being just eighteen, she couldn’t resist the blood clan’s nature in the face of such blood.
He Sui’an bit down.
Without any warning.
She happened to bite his Adam’s apple.
Almost immediately, the young man opened his eyes, his five fingers clenching at his side, fingertips slightly white, “Hmm… you.”
He Sui’an continued to suck his blood, her tongue licking around his Adam’s apple, collecting the blood droplets.