Chapter 21

"Nothing to worry about, the harm of yin energy to the human body is very slow, and we won't be staying here for long." Zhao Futu looked at her pale face and gently comforted her.

Yin energy is formed due to frequent deaths, and living in a place with dense yin energy, vampires and werewolves might not care much, but for ordinary humans, their bodies would often be invaded by the cold yin energy, making it impossible to live past the age of forty. After the age of thirty, the human body's qi and blood begin to gradually decline, and the rate of decline varies, but after forty, it becomes very noticeable.

Generally, people at this age feel the passage of time, and once they enter such a yin energy field, their resistance is very limited.

In reality, there are places where yin energy gathers, such as graveyards and execution grounds. The latter has a very high concentration of yin energy, which often remains condensed. However, Zhao Futu had never felt such dense yin energy before. Even when he entered the castle, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his back. In medieval Europe, there was no electricity, and the dissipation of yin energy took longer. The yin energy here was so dense that it felt almost tangible, indicating that countless people must have died here!

As they entered the castle, a sudden gust of wind blew, rustling the leaves around them.

This wind was eerie. The castle was surrounded by high walls, and the sudden gust made everyone feel a chill, a mysterious coldness. The human yang energy and the so-called yin energy are like heat and cold; in a semi-enclosed environment, a sudden gust of yin wind can cause this. This wind was indeed strange, making Zhao Futu feel a chill all over his body!

After entering the castle, Zhao Futu and the others were separated.

The women and children were taken to the other side by a small group of vampire maids. They would take over part of the maids' work and be assigned to the vampires in the castle, serving as a source of blood. The young children would be trained as loyal blood slaves. Vampires cannot move during the day, so they need human blood slaves to guard them!

These blood slaves are also the source of soldiers in the Death Corps.

Since the reign of Vampire Prince Victor, he has been trying to domesticate werewolves, turning them into his slaves and guards.

Among the people brought here, the adult males were confined together, while those suspected of being infected with the werewolf virus were separately imprisoned in small cells. The cells had special torture devices, and those possibly infected with the werewolf virus were all shackled with handcuffs and leg irons.

Zhao Futu, being seriously injured, naturally received the same treatment.

People bitten by werewolves are almost 100% infected with the werewolf virus, but those only scratched by werewolf claws have about a 50% chance of infection, roughly a 50-50 chance, depending on luck. Those who survive the night without turning into werewolves are considered safe, while those infected with the werewolf virus must successfully endure their first transformation to become true werewolves.

At dawn.

Human blood slaves from the castle came to deliver food to everyone. The food was not bad, quite abundant, and at least it could replenish blood.

In this regard, vampires do not mistreat humans, as they do not eat grains and cereals. Vampire Prince Victor owns vast lands and has no shortage of the food needed by ordinary humans. Only by feeding these human blood slaves well can they provide enough fresh blood for the vampires in the castle.

It's like how humans raise pigs and sheep.

The vampires of this era are actually very cruel and bloodthirsty, very different from the modern vampires who consume artificial blood and receive proper human education.

They are not much different from the beast-like werewolves!

The faces of the human blood slaves were pale, and their eyes were quite turbid due to long-term exposure to dense yin energy. Their pupils were noticeably smaller, and the turbid white color dominated their eyes. In the process of being food for vampires, they were also partially infected with the vampire virus, but not enough to turn them into vampires, instead making them look like ghosts!

"Are you okay?"

Zhao Futu heard the voice of the bounty hunter leader, Cain.

He was shackled with handcuffs, leg irons, and a spiked iron collar around his neck, which was prepared to prevent werewolves. During the transformation, ordinary werewolves might be pierced by the spikes on the collar, but it wouldn't be fatal, just painful. However, if the transformation was like the giant werewolf Zhao Futu saw, the spikes would deeply pierce the throat!

Of course, the iron collar might also be completely torn apart.

The infected were placed close together. Cain was on his left, and another survivor, Butcher, was on his right, in the third position.

When Zhao Futu focused on Cain, his pupils suddenly contracted. Cain's wounds on his arms and chest were completely healed. Unlike his data-driven body, Cain, despite his strength, was still a human body. The reason he could recover so quickly was that he had already been infected with the werewolf virus and was entering the mature stage, giving him some of the werewolf's healing abilities.

"I killed so many werewolves, but I never thought I would become one of them!" Cain noticed Zhao Futu's gaze and showed a pained expression, speaking slowly.

His eyes looked through the small window to the distance, and he sighed, "I am a believer in the Lord and cannot commit suicide."

"May the Father in heaven forgive my sins!"

Catholics cannot commit suicide, as it is said that they cannot enter heaven after suicide. As a practitioner, Zhao Futu was aware of this. Not only Catholics, but most religions strongly oppose suicide. For Muslims, suicide is a violation of Allah's command and a major sin, punishable by hellfire. In Buddhism, suicide is considered a severe act of killing, leading to rebirth in the hell, hungry ghost, or animal realms. Of course, modern Buddhism can be more inclusive.

Cain, as a warrior, might not fear death, but he probably fears being abandoned by his faith.

Many religious beliefs are strange. Their gods can forgive all sins committed by believers, but they cannot forgive those who commit suicide. For Cain, a demon hunter serving his faith, being killed by others after turning into a werewolf would allow his soul to be saved, but committing suicide before the transformation would send him to hell.

This is their strange belief.

Zhao Futu is a practitioner, and there is a difference between practitioners and Daoists.

Their core is self, with a fundamental difference. Other beliefs, including Buddhism, involve entering the realm of the deity after death, while Daoism seeks immortality and enlightenment. Daoism, despite its many rules, has a core pursuit of freedom, spontaneity, and ease.

In modern terms, practitioners have a romantic pursuit of freedom.

Faith.

It is a very strange power!

Zhao Futu clearly felt Cain's extreme resistance to becoming a werewolf, but he was silently preparing to endure the transformation process until he was killed by others, out of fear of not being forgiven by God.

This gave Zhao Futu a very special feeling, but he couldn't describe it.

Nor could he put it into words.