Chapter 127: Silent Night
A few small Christmas trees,
A handful of cute snowmen of various sizes,
Arranged in a pleasing composition in every corner of the golden hall.
If one looked closely, they could also find some small gift boxes on them,
Filled with genuine Christmas presents.
The festive decorations of the Golden River Club
Were completed before noon.
To avoid being gaudy, the Christmas-themed atmosphere was just enough to set the mood without overwhelming it.
“…Hmm, continuing to rely on the Wang family’s plan is still feasible. For the next two months, you need to pay extra attention to Huang Gu. He can handle intelligence work, but he still lacks in business acumen.”
In a luxurious private room, Wan Yue flipped through the proposal sent by Zhong Jing,
Reading it carefully twice before nodding slightly.
Noticing that Zhong Jing seemed preoccupied,
She smiled and playfully tapped him on the forehead: “What are you daydreaming about? Those two girls worked the night shift last night and will be coming in later today.”
“You rushed all the way here just to show me a few pages of paper… Today is Christmas Eve, so why don’t you just say what’s on your mind regarding your wife?”
Wan Yue set down the proposal and looked at the young man with a beaming smile, a teasing expression on her face: “It seems like I remember that on days like this, any woman who hasn’t cut ties with you gets your flattery.”
“Well… Master, how exactly does the initial embrace ceremony of the families of the true bloodlines proceed?”
Zhong Jing was still immersed in his thoughts and did not respond directly to Wan Yue’s teasing,
Instead, he lit a cigarette, displaying a curious expression.
“Hmm? Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping? What a random question… Why are you suddenly interested in this?”
Wan Yue blinked a few times, revealing a contemplative look.
“Just a few days ago, I happened to chat with Hegami Haruka about this… It’s said that the Fujiwara family has a tradition of holding the initial embrace ceremony on Christmas Eve.”
Zhong Jing poured red wine for Wan Yue with an expression of casual ease.
Wan Yue raised her glass, glancing at Zhong Jing’s expression before slowly speaking: “Haruka even told you about this? Heh, such a ridiculous tradition. Just a bunch of clowns from an island nation last century, clamoring about slipping out of Asia into Europe…”
“The initial embrace is an ancient ceremony for true blood families, originally intended for developing suitable partners among regular humans. However, in modern times, it has mostly become a mere formality; in essence, it allows for risk-free transformation into a bloodline without the complications of a regular blood invasion, which takes a considerable amount of time.”
“Every true blood family has its own set of initial embrace rituals and unique blood invasion potions. For example, the Wang family’s method involves having individuals take the blood invasion potion and then entering deep sleep for about one to two months. If they wake up, it’s considered successful. However, the older the individual, the higher the failure rate remains; it’s just somewhat more controllable than the usual blood invasion process.”
“The blood invasion potion for the initial embrace also varies in quality. The top-tier potion reportedly allows the recipient to directly become a retainer or even a knight. Of course, nowadays, the initial embrace ceremony is rarely used on regular humans in true blood families; most are done for ordinary infants born from the marriage between humans and bloodlines.”
Listening quietly, Zhong Jing had half a cigarette burned down without taking another puff. After a while, he softly asked, “So complicated. If an accident occurs with this blood invasion potion, can it be interrupted?”
“Interrupted? Once it’s begun, why interrupt? Are you worried about Meng Huai’s condition?”
Wan Yue was taken aback, her brows slowly furrowing. “The anti-blood invasion immunity potions used by the Dark Arrow are actually just high doses of Ywinder, which fundamentally is a type of subpar chronic blood invasion potion. Blood invasion potions are a double-edged sword; if it doesn’t lead to becoming a bloodline in the end, survival becomes incredibly challenging.”
“Your brother Meng Huai probably falls into this category… Even if the Dark Arrow invested heavily to save his life, living on means he’ll be plagued with illness; let’s see if he can last a decade.”
After finishing, Wan Yue began to observe Zhong Jing closely, seemingly feeling there was something strange about today’s topic.
“Heh, didn’t my big brother come back alive? He seems to be doing fine, not at all in the dreadful condition you mentioned. I heard he’s transitioning out of service at the end of this month; the police and municipal departments want to pick him.”
Zhong Jing smiled and extinguished his cigarette, crossing his arms casually while speaking lightly.
“What’s so special about him? He’s the son of Fujiwara Miya, a descendant of the Apennine bloodline and regular humans. His survival is worth much more than an average bloodline baron.”
Wan Yue lit a cigarette, twisting her body to rise and walking to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out into the distance with a hint of worry in her brow: “Xiaojing, I have a feeling that the Dark Arrow won’t let him go…”
Zhong Jing’s smile gradually faded as he turned his head slowly, falling into deep thought.
…
It seemed there was no more important matter, so Zhong Jing chose to spend the entire afternoon at the Golden River Club, but it wasn’t until past three o’clock that Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao finally arrived.
“You do your thing, I’m too busy!”
Jiang Yao had changed into a Lolita-style outfit today, but her attitude was somewhat cold. She was sitting in a corner of the hall, looking down and playing a mobile game by herself, even too lazy to entertain guests.
Zhong Jing scratched his nose awkwardly, chuckling with a phone in his hand, looking like a scoundrel: “I wanted to team up with you for a session, but you’re just sitting here solo and then tell me you’re busy? That’s not the impression your face gives!”
“What do you care what my face indicates? Aren’t you busy? Three days without a single reply?”
Jiang Yao raised her head and glanced at Zhong Jing, seeing his playful grin, her voice slightly raised in anger: “Are you playing the cunning game again, trying to win me over?”
“Hey, that’s such a dirty thought… Jiang Yan told me to keep my distance from you. Should I listen to her or to you?”
Zhong Jing sighed, wearily browsing through the dozens of unread messages piled up in his social media, his tone helpless: “Every word I reply to you takes me a long time to ponder. You haven’t changed your phone password, and God knows when she’ll check your phone again. I can’t handle her debating with me.”
“If I change it, she’ll be even more suspicious… Ugh, when did you ever listen to me!?”
Jiang Yao’s face turned red instantly, but her attitude softened, and her voice lowered considerably: “She’s going south to handle some business with Sister Wan at the end of the month. Maybe she won’t make it in time for my birthday…”
She hesitated, sneaking a glance at Zhong Jing; this was already the second time she had hinted at him.
“Hmm, I’ve heard about it. It seems to be a collaboration with big shots from the Hiders Alliance to grab business from the Heilongjiang Association, and there are also some business projects collaborating with the Luo family down south. I have to follow up on that. Brother Zhao is currently laid up, and I’m the only one left to deal with the busywork…”
Zhong Jing looked at Jiang Yao, secretly amused but kept his expression neutral.
“Oh, those are all big matters; you should be busy…”
Jiang Yao forced a smile, disappointment lingering as she no longer felt like continuing the conversation.
“You two are back to playing games here again.”
Suddenly, Jiang Yan appeared before Jiang Yao and Zhong Jing with a cold expression.
“Hey, you two continue chatting; I’ll check on Brother Zhao.”
Zhong Jing quickly jumped up, straightening his suit and humming a tune as he walked away.
Sister Wan has arranged everything well. When I go south this time, you’ll stay with Sister Xiaoping for a while. Everyone who used to have a good relationship with her… has left; Sister Ling will have to wait for Brother Zheng to fully recover before she can return. Among the remaining people, you and she have the closest relationship.
Jiang Yan sat down beside Jiang Yao, curiously touching the latter’s Lolita dress while glancing at a girl alone by the fruit stand in the distance.
“I don’t understand why Sister Xiaoping is so adamantly with that so-called academic star; she might be getting played; isn’t Hyacinth better?”
Jiang Yao still hadn’t figured out Zhou Ping’s thoughts and felt some confusion with her own ideas, her mood beginning to sour.
“Can you guarantee that you can stick to a closed life with Hyacinth for over ten or twenty years without being tempted by a better life?”
Jiang Yan shook her head slightly, reaching out to touch Jiang Yao’s hair. She was a proper woman, older than us, so what could we understand?
Jiang Yao was taken aback, slowly turning her head to gaze intently at Jiang Yan’s face, then speaking word by word, “Sister, what if Meng Huai comes back to look for you?”
Jiang Yan paused, her eyes flashing with a hint of panic, but ultimately she wore a cold, indifferent expression, silent.
…
In religious texts, on Silent Night, the night Jesus was born, angels conveyed the message to shepherds in the wilderness that the savior had come to the world. It is said that the prophet Isaiah had predicted this outcome even earlier.
Around the year zero, coinciding with the height of the bloodlines, certain cults secretly controlled by the bloodline used this to self-identify as angels on earth, which led some extreme esoteric historians to spin myriad conspiracy theories.
On Christmas Eve 2009, night finally fell.
In Yuanguan Town, City B, Province Y, an old motorcycle carrying a large canvas bag slowly drove into the town along the provincial road.
Just three days after leaving Yuankang Town, Meng Huai felt that something was off; it seemed that someone had been trailing him, causing him to spend a great deal of time evading, and he even had to reroute.
The Dark Arrow was unlikely; they were already far from the heavily sealed southwestern front lines, leaving only one possibility: a bloodline. However, until now, Meng Huai had not sensed any so-called pheromonal presence.
Meng Huai had memorized nearly all the training materials of the Blood Dragon Team, but for him, many insights were still quite raw. Aside from almost instinctual blood boiling control, he could only say that he grasped the surface nuances of deeper bodily micro-sense control.
Only by relying on ample internal and external hormone suppressors could Meng Huai barely shake off the unknown tail.
Aside from several supermarkets along the provincial road playing Christmas songs out of context, this Western holiday stirred little in such a rural town.
A two-story building appeared ahead; the first floor housed a restaurant, while above was a rural entertainment venue branded as a KTV.
Meng Huai carried his travel bag, ascending the stairway step by step, finally reaching the KTV counter. There, a middle-aged man with a plain appearance and a tattoo around his neck was laughing and joking with a young woman.
“Li Huai.”
Meng Huai paused at the counter, glancing at the young woman and locking eyes with the tattooed man.
“Go on; I have things to do.”
Yang Jiu pushed away the young woman beside him and laughingly assessed the tall youth, his eyes flashing with cunning.
…
Inside a KTV private room, Yang Jiu sat opposite Meng Huai, a passport and a border resident certificate displayed on the tea table before them.
“You called me the day before yesterday but only just arrived today. Have you been targeted?”
“Your passport and border resident certificate are a bit rough. With a little more care from the border inspection, you wouldn’t even get through… So, can’t make it over in Myanmar?”
Yang Jiu flipped through the ID Meng Huai had provided, smiling mysteriously, and his tone was laced with mockery: “Brother, don’t think you can cover up anything. Rare blood type, tall and strong, it’s obvious you used to be in the military.”
“I find it hard to believe that you weren’t once a member of the Dark Arrow… But don’t get tense; everyone knows what a place the great southwest is.”
Facing Yang Jiu’s feigned mystery, Meng Huai merely smiled and had no intention to rebut, for most of this was expected; the mix of truth and lies felt the most reasonable.
“Every couple of years, one or two unfortunate Dark Arrow soldiers get blood-invaded; it’s not unusual for people to escape there, but few dare to come back. You better not drop the Mandarin; that thick S province accent shows you must have hit it rich and are looking to return home.”
Yang Jiu had pointed out nearly all the flaws Meng Huai had purposely revealed while puffing out smoke rings with satisfaction.
“Hmm, Brother Yang has a keen eye… A friend introduced me, and I hope Brother Yang could provide a good way out to see if I can settle down with the Luo family.”
As Meng Huai spoke, one hand gently tapped his travel bag, conveying a money-talking attitude.
You’re just a mid-level retainer now; to align with the Luo family, even with your rare blood type, that’s just mediocre…
After surveying Meng Huai once more, Yang Jiu lit a cigarette, releasing his mid-level knightly aura to display his local influence and power.
“I’m very familiar with the Luo family, but you know they are very selective about those who align with them. They are worried about risks… How about I introduce you to a rogue bloodline gang instead?”
Yang Jiu was exuding significant pressure at this moment, almost making it hard to breathe; despite his tremoring hands and feet, Meng Huai remained outwardly calm.
Still wishing for a bit more safety, how much do you need?
Meng Huai lightly tapped the table, not shying away, even taking out a gold bar from his clothing and playing with it in his hand.
One million! I can introduce you to a knight in B city’s territory of the Luo family; he’s a good friend of mine; at least start as his subordinate!
Gold is very solid! Yang Jiu’s eyes lit up, and an exaggerated number burst from his mouth.
“Brother Yang, I’ve heard that even new domestic identity documents are just thirty thousand.”
As he spoke, Meng Huai pulled out a few gold bars and twenty thousand dollars, piling them on the table; it could roughly convert into thirty thousand.
How many years have you been there to be holding onto such old-fashioned ideas? Ninety thousand; I’ll help you handle new identity documents!
Yang Jiu exhaled clouds of smoke, with a smug expression indicating he was in a seller’s market and felt secure. But that greedy gaze was fixed on the gold bars and dollars on the table.
Forty-five thousand, no need for a new identity! If it weren’t for a friend’s introduction, I would have gone to L City. I know people in the rogue bloodline gang there; I could get in for at most half the price.
Meng Huai then tossed a box of blood boiling medicine onto the table, staring intently into Yang Jiu’s eyes, a cool smile gracing his face.
…
Ten minutes later, inside the KTV private room, only Yang Jiu remained, drinking alone; the gold bars and blood boiling medicine had long been pocketed as he joyfully counted stacks of dollar bills on the table.
With a loud bang, the door was kicked open, and a burly man with a cold expression stood in the doorway.
“Damn it, what’s going on? You’re not afraid I’ll kill you!”
Standing before him was a mid-level retainer; the “impurities” in his aura immediately revealed he was from the black bloodline, darkening Yang Jiu’s expression as he grabbed a beer bottle and stood up.
The burly man chuckled, stepping aside, allowing another fat man to walk in.
The chaotic sensing made it impossible to grasp their true identities, typical of high-level bloodlines.
“Uh… it’s you, Master Pang… What brings you to my little establishment today?”
Yang Jiu shivered, instantly contorting his face into a hideous grin, the empty beer bottle now behind his back.
Pang Yun, a trusted confidant of the Black Dragon Society’s second-in-command Zhu Bixian, a low-tier baron of the Ganges bloodline, and one of the most prominent wolves in the southwestern border of the Black Dragon Society.
“Where did that person go?”
Glancing at the subordinates by his side and then at the cash on the table, the black bloodline baron’s face twisted with menace.
“He left just under fifteen minutes ago, probably heading to Renhe Town in the north… Just business; I don’t know him, just some guy sneaking back into the country, planning to align with the Luo family…”
Yang Jiu trembled as he spoke, pointing in a direction with a fawning expression.
“He used to be with the Dark Arrow; I know Master Pang is certainly interested in him…”
In two parties, even if a member of the Dark Arrow escapes a blood invasion, once the black bloodline sets their sights on them, they are usually treated in the cruelest manner.
Well, I can rest easy now; I wish Boss Yang prosperous business.
The black bloodline baron grinned, his plump body shaking with excitement, tossing a stack of cash onto the table before hurriedly leaving with his men.
As the killing god left, Yang Jiu felt his body weaken, collapsing onto the sofa, his gaze glued to the stack of hundred-dollar bills on the table, spinning with greed.
After parting ways with Yang Jiu, Meng Huai immediately consolidated all necessary materials into a travel backpack, then abandoned the motorcycle, veering off the road and deep into the woods.
He had sensed several unfamiliar bloodline presences trailing him, closing in and emanating a ferocious and murderous aura.
Okay, the request for tactical support from the Fearless Warriors has been received. Please find a safe place to hide in Yuanguan Town; the support team for the special covert operations will arrive in two hours.
The first confidential call ended like this, a state of disarray made Meng Huai let out a deep sigh.
After a moment’s thought, Meng Huai chose to lock down all functions of the secure phone to avoid the worst-case scenario.
For the next half hour or so, Meng Huai, with the tail behind him, kept changing his stealth direction, trying to buy time as if leisurely strolling.
He had already used warming medicine, internal and external hormone suppressors, among other secret medicines, and his handgun was loaded. Meng Huai carried on his back at least twenty kilograms in his travel bag, running swiftly through the mountains. Unfortunately, the ferocious black bloodline presence behind him kept drawing closer.
Finally, Meng Huai abruptly stopped and crouched down, aiming his handgun at the dark woods behind him and simultaneously activating the blood boiling.
Crimson spread across his vision; Meng Huai’s already decent night vision sharpened the clarity further. In the dimly lit woods, three figures were now within less than twenty meters of him.
When did they sneak back? Heh, members of the Dark Arrow, after a blood invasion, what audacity to not hide properly and plan to wash their identities and return to join the true bloodlines?
The plump black bloodline baron, adorned with an exaggerated smile, slowly stepped forward, followed by two others. One exuded the presence of a low-tier knight, the other a mid-tier retainer.
Tsk tsk, such a rare blood type; you think the Dark Arrow will let you go? We won’t either.
The three black bloodlines all emitted sinister laughs.
Meng Huai could not be bothered with words and pulled the trigger immediately. But he only fired one shot when he felt a blur in front of him, followed by an odd itching sensation on his back.
It felt as though swarms of mosquitoes were biting him; the itching spread quickly across his back and delved deep into the flesh.
You are… from the Ganges bloodline…
The itching transformed into an intense, writhing, and crawling sensation, spreading from his back to more parts of his body, as if numerous bugs were burrowing into him.
Caught off guard by some interference, Meng Huai’s body lost control; his blood boiled chaotically, his blood temperature soaring, followed by bone-deep pain—a precursor to the boiling blood collapsing.
All of this forced Meng Huai to give up on the boiling blood; otherwise, his own blood and organs would become the feast for the Ganges bloodline baron’s “blood worms.”
Blood worms, the exclusive ability of the Ganges bloodline baron; once they invade the body, unless the boiling blood threshold exceeds the opponent’s, the damage only worsens with the boiling blood state.
Meng Huai struggled to lift his head, finally getting a clear view of that horrifying, plump face.
The black bloodline baron’s fat face, arms, and chest were almost covered in densely packed, grotesque, blood-colored, filament-like worms stirring as if he had grown a living brush of red body hair!
Kill me…
The insect-like crawling pain within subsided, replaced by an icy congealing sensation all over, Meng Huai gritted his teeth and merely muttered half a sentence before losing consciousness.
