Chapter 23: Fate

Once again, they witnessed a scene reminiscent of purgatory; the only difference was that last time the catastrophe befell the vampires, and now it was humanity’s turn.

When they returned to Han Qi’s place, he was nowhere to be found. For such a calamity to strike humankind, Han Qi could not possibly stand by and do nothing. Just the thought that he might be in danger again made Suye’s expression turn cold.

Yuan Che said, “He’s probably gone to see Lan Jin. Let’s go and check.”

Aside from the “Banquet of Flowers,” Han Qi wouldn’t go anywhere else. Given his temperament, he would certainly seek out Lan Jin for answers. That such an obvious clue hadn’t occurred to Suye at once proved how worry muddled his judgment.

That shopfront had already been ravaged by the violent earthquake. Following the exposed underground passage, Suye and Yuan Che quickly made their way inside. As expected, everyone was there.

When he lifted his head and saw the scene before him, Yuan Che could hardly believe his eyes. His body seemed frozen, cold and rigid. Only after a long time did he dare to step forward. The savage roots had already pierced through Qiao Nian’s body, greedily drinking his ceaselessly flowing blood. The youth’s body had withered to a pitiful state, his eye sockets sunken, his skin layered with unsightly wrinkles; he looked like a dead, dried branch.

Yet he was not dead. Blood still flowed, but he was utterly unconscious. The final state of the blood sacrifice was neither living nor dead—an eternal source of blood, never to be released, never to escape.

Only now did Yuan Che understand the source of the youth’s resolve and despair. He had decided long ago to make himself the final offering. The new-born vampires would thrive endlessly, drawing from the wellspring of his blood.

It was both vengeance and atonement.

Yuan Che gripped the boy’s hand tightly, embracing him, tears sliding one by one from his eyes, falling onto the boy’s withered skin.

A voice, gentle but filled with heart-wrenching pain, sounded: “Little Nian… Little Nian…”

That voice was soaked with tears, tinged with blood, each word carving another wound into the heart. With every call, blood and tears fell—a sorrow so deep it ached to the marrow.

Han Qi collapsed heavily to the ground, burying his face in his hands. Tears slipped through his fingers in long streams, wracking his whole body with sobs.

Suye helped him up, holding him close. “It’s almost over,” he whispered, “everything will come to an end soon…”

Choking, Han Qi asked, “Do we have to go to the Bloodwood Forest to activate it again?”

Before Suye could answer, Han Qi shook his head. “That would save the vampires, but there’s no way to bring humankind back, is there…”

“The fate of vampires and humans is intertwined. It can be done…”

Han Qi lifted his tear-stained eyes. “What do you need me to do?”

“Just wait for me here…”

Suye leaned down to kiss him. Han Qi instinctively closed his eyes, and in that quiet moment, the half-blood-red crystal was silently placed into his heart.

As Han Qi and Suye were about to leave, Li Ye barred their way with all his strength.

He grasped Han Qi’s shoulders tightly, his voice hoarse and raw. “You can’t go. The Blood Key can only be used once. Last time you nearly vanished into dust. This time… please, don’t take that risk again…”

Han Qi’s expression was calm, as if he were not facing death itself. “Jin, do you truly long for eternal life? Because I don’t, not at all…”

Li Ye was stunned. He stared at Han Qi, and at last, his expression gradually returned to tranquility.

“Even if I don’t desire immortality, I still can’t bear to see you die,” he said, turning his gaze to Suye. “Ye, are you willing to let Han Qi wager with his life?”

Suye stood silent, his handsome features as still as frozen snow. Slowly and gravely, he nodded, then lowered his long lashes, hiding the dampness in his eyes.

Li Ye offered a bleak, despairing smile, stepped aside, and let them pass. Watching their silhouettes recede, he suddenly felt all the strength drain from his body, leaving him hollow and exhausted.

Why must the vampires repeatedly suffer calamity for humanity’s sake? Last time, it was because they were framed; and now, they’re expected to help them again? What, then, is the meaning of his revenge? What of Qiao Nian, now a blood sacrifice? It’s a cruel joke! He could not let history repeat itself.

Li Ye’s long hair billowed in the current he summoned. With a slight lift of his hand, all the light in the space dimmed. He meant to call forth a giant man-eating flower to entrap them here, forbidding their escape!

Because of the quake, the prison holding Ling Yan had already been destroyed. Now standing at Li Ye’s side, Ling Yan sensed his intent and lunged, wrapping him in a tight embrace. “Don’t do anything foolish!”

Li Ye roared in fury, “Let go!”

Ling Yan used all his strength, and for a moment Li Ye could not break free. The next instant, Li Ye buried his sharp fangs in Ling Yan’s wrist. The searing pain was laced with a numbing venom. Gritting his teeth, Ling Yan refused to let go, a defiance that only inflamed the vampire’s cruel instincts. Li Ye’s eyes turned blood-red, and he bit down harder, his long fangs nearly piercing through Ling Yan’s wrist. Waves of agony crashed over Ling Yan like an ever-mounting tide.

His hand was most likely ruined, but that was not the worst of it. The greatest consequence was that he would become a lower vampire. The venom spread swiftly through his veins, and Ling Yan’s eyes slowly reddened.

He should have felt furious. He should, while he still retained his hunter’s abilities, have killed this vampire who was the source of all his pain. Yet strangely, none of these emotions touched Ling Yan.

In that moment, he felt a strange sense of relief. As if, by becoming a vampire, he could more truly feel Li Ye’s sorrow, his despair, his hatred, his reluctance…

When Li Ye saw fangs emerge from Ling Yan’s mouth, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. In an instant, all his anger and madness vanished, replaced by a chilling dread that threatened to consume him.

What had he done? He had turned Ling Yan into a vampire.

Sudden tears blurred Li Ye’s vision. He instinctively reached out to gently touch the savage bite marks on Ling Yan’s wrist, only to find himself paralyzed, unable to move.

“You once accused me of stealing your incense, of stealing your love. Now you’ve bitten me, so we’re even, aren’t we?”

Li Ye’s expression was numb, yet the tears kept falling.

Ling Yan actually managed a smile. “Are those tears for me?” He raised his only usable hand and gently wiped away Li Ye’s tears. Suddenly, Li Ye seized his wrist, lowered his hand, and turned away. Ling Yan embraced him from behind.

“You’ve crippled me. Shouldn’t you take care of me for the rest of my life?”

Li Ye’s body stiffened abruptly; he was at a loss for words.

In this brief pause, Suye led Han Qi away.

Han Qi asked, worried, “Will they be alright?”

Suye smiled knowingly. “He’s been wanting to do that for a long time, hasn’t he?”

Han Qi was perplexed. “Why would he want to turn Ling Yan into a vampire?”

“Which is easier to possess—a vampire or a hunter?”

Han Qi could only nod, half-understanding. The mind of the army doctor was not something that could be explained by ordinary logic.

Suye gazed at the distant horizon and said to Han Qi, “This time, the ending may not be the same as before. Perhaps we won’t be as lucky. If I’m no longer here, you…”

Han Qi interrupted him. “What do you mean, ‘if you’re no longer here’?”

Suye touched his face lightly with a finger and smiled. “It’s nothing.”

The Bloodwood Forest, shrouded in mist, seemed peaceful and beautiful, not at all like a place that hid the vampires’ greatest secrets.

Suye and Han Qi stood together on a patch of grass, neither speaking. Suye was focusing, trying to sense something. He could feel that something in this forest had changed, but he could not quite grasp what it was.

Han Qi, sensing the danger in Suye’s serious expression, furrowed his brow. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

Suye shook his head, though the memory of those gentle, immense blood-red eyes flashed through his mind.

They continued onward, Han Qi growing ever more puzzled. He remembered that last time, the dark vortex had appeared quickly, but this time, there was nothing—not even a hurricane. He wanted to ask Suye, but noticing the cold sweat beading in Suye’s palm, he decided to keep silent.

The dark vortex was supposed to appear above a lake; they had already arrived at the lake, yet the vortex was absent. Perhaps the lake was only part of the Ice Mirror? If that were the case, everything made sense.

Both the Ice Mirror, the dark vortex, and even the forest were in fact formed from different vampire progenitors, each controlling a different region. Suye recalled what happened before—if the Ice Mirror controlled the vortex, did that mean the place to activate the Blood Key had shifted?

Suye reached his hand into the blue lake. Because the bloodlines had been successfully exchanged, the lake responded to the Blood Key. Its color rapidly deepened, turning crimson and finally becoming a pool of blood.

The sight shocked Han Qi. He nearly went mad, rushing toward Suye, but when he was only a step away, he found himself unable to move forward. It wasn’t a barrier Suye had set; the lake simply permitted only the Blood Key to approach.

Suye turned to Han Qi, his face calm as ever. “If I don’t come back, you must live well.”

Han Qi shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t understand! Let me through—I want to be with you!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even leave you a child to keep you company…”

Only a single step separated them, yet it was an insurmountable distance.

Han Qi gazed at Suye, tears streaming from his eyes.

In the next instant, the lake transformed into a vast, blood-red, translucent ribbon that wrapped around Suye with unseeable speed. Without a sound, the shore was left empty.

Han Qi’s tears did not cease. Eventually, they turned a pale golden color, falling onto the back of his hand; only then did he realize these were Suye’s tears of blood. Their bloodlines had long since been exchanged—the fate and tribulation intended for him had been forcibly taken on by Suye instead.

Suddenly, several heavy, muffled peals of thunder burst in the sky.

Rain began to fall—blood-red rain.