Chapter 90

Translator : Mukyuu Editor : Mikyuu

In deference to them needing to get the Victory Fruit the next day, Wang Xiaoming got one precious night of rest.

Just this once, Singh was treated to the honor of staying in the mansion for the night and riding in the same carriage as the two, which departed at 11am sharp the next day for the first arena. After an entire night’s rest, Wang Xiaoming finally won back the right to his own body. At least, waking up, eating, and getting into the carriage were all things he did by himself.

The first arena of the competition was located on the most eastern side of the Gloom City. It was oval-shaped and could hold ten thousand Kindreds at the same time, though no more than 20% of its seats were occupied at any one time. For a Kindred, it was clearly an intolerable thing to be stuffed with other Kindred members in such a tiny space.

Wang Xiaoming watched as Singh handed a test tube over to Baal and instructed, “You need to provide a drop of blood in here as a sample.”

Wang Xiaoming felt anxious.

Kindreds were super sensitive to blood. Baal’s blood would definitely let them figure out who he was, but it would also not be easy to cheat since Singh was sitting right there.

Baal accepted the test tube without batting an eyelash and then turned around.

A lot of Kindreds didn’t want others to see their wounds, and Singh was quite understanding about it so he averted his gaze, contrary to Wang Xiaoming’s expectations.

Baal moved quickly. It didn’t take more than two seconds for there to be three drops of blood collected at the bottom of the test tube.

Wang Xiaoming recalled Baal’s favored trick—spatial movement—and sighed in relief.

Singh gave the test tube to a staff member in exchange for a little placard and walked in with them.

The time hadn’t come yet and already there were a few Kindreds standing around the arena in groups of twos or threes.

Singh explained, “Many Kindreds will come try their luck. You know, you won’t always meet someone stronger than you every round.”

The few Kindreds had been rejoicing at not having any strong opponents this time, only to look up and see a Giovanni clan Elder coming personally. Their exuberance immediately chilled. After all, the remaining time was getting shorter and shorter and nobody knew what would happen the next day, just like those who gave up the previous day wouldn’t have been able to predict an Elder coming during this round.

“Victory Fruit is a metal ball covered with sharp thorns. It spins at a rapid speed and you have to move at the same exact rate to catch it,” Singh told Baal with a smile. “Of course, this shouldn’t be a problem for you, right?”

Baal lifted an eyebrow and pulled Wang Xiaoming toward the center of the arena.

Singh suggested, “You best leave him here. Kindreds were never ones to live under sunlight.”

Baal’s eyebrows immediately furrowed.

Wang Xiaoming let go of his hand with a smile. “Relax, I’ll take good care of myself.”

…

Everybody knew this was just a type of platitude. In the Kindred’s territory, aside from being willing food, humans had a hard time taking care of themselves.

Baal stared at Singh. “If a single hair goes missing…”

“You’ll make me pay,” Singh continued with a laugh.

Baal responded in a cold voice, “I’ll demolish the entire Kindred Realm.”

Singh looked at him in startled surprise. Very few Kindreds would use the Kindred Realm in a threat, as that equaled suicide.

Baal stroked Wang Xiaoming’s hair and turned around to walk toward the center of the arena.

There had been a few Kindreds who looked at him like they were meeting a powerful enemy, but when they detected that he only carried the blood of a sixth generation, one of them relaxed slightly but the others’ expressions turned even darker.

Just from their expressions, Baal could guess that the one sighing in relief must be at least higher than the sixth generation. Those whose expressions had turned unpleasant would be sixth generation or younger and very likely part of the same group. So they had discussed some sort of strategy and his presence had ruined all their plans.

On the east side of the arena stood a giant clock and the minute hand was ticking slowly toward the 12 o’clock position.

Baal heard slight vibrations coming from the ground and a small red patch slowly shifted aside, revealing a square about the size of a palm.

The other Kindreds gradually became serious, but they weren’t looking at the hole. Instead, they were looking at their opponents.

Baal crossed his arms and appeared nonchalant.

Whether it was getting the thing from under the ground or from someone else, they were all things he was good at, as long as he knew what the thing was.

With a buzzing sound, a golden light flashed by them, and a ball exploded into the air and then bobbed up and down in midair, right in the middle.

The other Kindreds didn’t move.

At a moment like this, the one who moved first would, without fail, become the target of the others. Getting rid of an opponent would increase anyone’s chances of victory.

Baal became a bit impatient. He simply let himself move so fast he became a blur and then firmly stuck the Victory Fruit inside his own space.

As expected, the other Kindreds attacked.

In front, behind, left, right. At least one Kindred from every direction attacked him.

But from Baal’s point of view, their actions were as slow as a turtle’s crawl.

He used freezing to fix the Victory Fruit, grabbed it, and then ducked away from the attack as if it were a stroll in the park.

Singh looked at Baal walking toward him and something dark flashed across his eyes, but he quickly smiled and said, “Nicely done. I had never thought that a Kindred could win so easily.”

Baal answered, “You should expand your mind.” He held the Victory Fruit by its thorns, which were so numerous it made the Victory Fruit seem like a metal hedgehog.

Singh said, “Now you can push one of the thorns aside and then down. All its thorns should retract.”

Baal dubiously followed instructions, but he heard a click and the Victory Fruit became a bald silver ball.

“What do we do next?” Wang Xiaoming took the ball out of curiosity.

“Now that we have the ticket in, of course we’ll be participating in the official competition.” Singh lowered his voice dramatically, “But the official competition will be much harder. Let’s walk and talk.”

The three of them got back into the carriage and drove all the way to the south.

Singh explained, “The Sacrificial Night of Fresh Blood has a total of three challenges. The first two are held in the Gloom City. The third challenge is a joint challenge from the thirteen clans’ Elders.” He gave Baal a small smile. “Of course, by the time you get to the third challenge, you won’t have to worry about a thing. The really worrisome challenge is the second one.”

Wang Xiaoming detected the seriousness in his voice and couldn’t help but ask, “Is it hard?”

“Because it’s an elimination competition. From the beginning until now, at least a hundred Kindreds have entered, but only ten remain.”

“Ah, then we have the advantage,” Wang Xiaoming declared happily.

Singh shook his head and said, “No, this is the most dangerous situation because only ten can enter the third challenge.”

Wang Xiaoming was still confused but Baal understood. “They’ll form an alliance?”

“Out of the remaining ten Kindreds, three are from the Sabbat, two are neutral, and five are from the Camarilla. In order to contend against the Camarilla, the neutral clans and the Sabbat have reached a temporary truce. Which means, before your entrance, they’re in a rare state of peace.”

Wang Xiaoming asked, “But McAvery is a Camarilla, so he should be supported by the Camarilla, right?”

Singh said, “McAvery is quite special in the Camarilla.” He hesitated over his words. “In most cases, the last name McAvery leans toward being independent.”

Baal stated, “You can just say crazy.”

Singh said with a laugh, “I worry that if I say so, you’ll toss me out the window.”

“No,” Baal paused, “you are still useful for now.”

Singh burst into laughter. “You’re really honest. Among the Kindred clans, probably only the McAvery clan could create a genius like you.”

Baal gazed at him, his eyes turning darker and darker, as if contemplating something in his mind.

Singh looked over at Wang Xiaoming and said, “When that time comes, you should come back with me.”

Wang Xiaoming’s heart constricted. In the Kindred Realm, he was like a lamb living in a wolf den. There was danger everywhere. The only person he could depend on and trust was Baal. It was because he trusted Baal that he had come to the Kindred Realm without a word of protest. Even so, he didn’t want to become a burden to Baal, which was also why he had left with Singh before. He had lost his life once already and seen Baal’s spirit form. He knew how painful it was to die, so he could not let Baal be exposed to danger because of him.

“Hmm.” He nodded.

Baal’s hair stood up. “How dare you leave my sight without my permission?”

Singh remarked, “He’s human. It’ll be very, very inconvenient for you to bring him.” He was very indirect about it.

Wang Xiaoming also said, “I don’t want to drag you down.” Just hearing Singh’s explanation made Wang Xiaoming think how dangerous the event would be. If Baal brought him along, Baal might be able to scrape by but could also be forced into revealing his identity. If that happened, it wouldn’t just be ten Kindreds who would find their way to him.

Baal demanded haughtily, “You think I’m the type of… Kindred… that will get dragged down just because you think so?”

Wang Xiaoming turned around and looked at him sincerely. “Then promise me something.”

“I promise you.” Baal didn’t even ask what it was.

Wang Xiaoming asked in surprise, “You won’t even ask what it is?”

“No matter what,” Baal replied calmly.

Wang Xiaoming gazed at him and the corners of his lips slowly, very slowly, lifted.

Baal suddenly glared at Singh. “Will you scram by yourself? Or be tossed out?”

Singh gave a self-deprecating laugh. “You just said I was useful.”

Baal answered, “So we’ll meet up at the destination.”

Singh stared unblinkingly at Baal to make sure that Baal was serious about what he had just said. He sighed in resignation, opened the carriage door, and then quickly vanished.

Baal closed the door and yanked Wang Xiaoming over, laughing rakishly, “We have lots of time.”

…

“We’ve arrived.”

Baal’s lips just touched Wang Xiaoming’s when he sensed the carriage stopping and heard Singh’s voice outside the door.

Baal gave Wang Xiaoming a bruising kiss.

The Kindred Realm was a really despicable place.

In contrast to the first challenge, this was an amusement park.

Of course, there were some differences between a Kindred amusement park and that of the humans. For example, theirs was constructed indoors and, from the layout, looked more like a human’s haunted house.

Just standing by the door made the hairs on Wang Xiaoming’s arm stand up, like little ballerinas dancing.

Singh said, “The Camarilla has two members from the Venture Clan. They’re twins. Two of them come from the Noferre clan and one comes from the Torredo. I think you know him.”

Baal asked, “Daniel?”

“No, Yanuk.”

Wang Xiaoming felt a headache coming on.

“Luckily, the two neutral clan members come from the Giovanni and Ravnos respectively. I think you should know who’s dependable. The three that come from the Sabbat—one is from Lasombra and two are from Tzimisce.” Singh noticed that Baal was getting impatient and wanting to get inside. He said, “Before you go in, allow me to give you a final word of caution. The Tzimisce can change their appearance at will.”

Wang Xiaoming’s mind blanked. “Change their appearance?” He felt like his childhood nightmare was returning. There had been a wuxia TV show back then where one of the bad guys killed a matriarch of some noble family and then disguised themselves to be her and did all sorts of bad things to her family and everyone else. But nobody recognized her. He hadn’t seen how the TV series ended because he had been too afraid. Back then, he had even been too scared to talk to his parents and older brother because he wasn’t sure if there was another face hiding behind their faces.

Baal watched Wang Xiaoming’s face pale and asked with a frown, “What are you thinking?”

“Let’s set up a code.” He pulled on Baal’s sleeves.

“What code?”

Wang Xiaoming said, “We can use the code to recognize each other if we get separated and then meet up again.”

“For example?”

“The King of the Sky covers the Tiger of the Earth, and the temple captures the river demon 1 This line was used as code in a 2015 drama that described the effort of the army to rid the Dongbei Province of thugs and robbers. It has no real meaning but some have ascribed the following meaning to the conversation: You dare come and anger your ancestors? If that was the case, let me fall down the mountain and drown in the rivers. ,” Wang Xiaoming blurted out.

Baal, “…”

“Not a good idea?” Wang Xiaoming chuckled self-consciously. “Then let’s set up a security question.”

“…”

“Like who is Xiang Wenxun’s younger brother?”

Baal raised his eyebrows. “You keep thinking of Xiang Wenxun?”

Wang Xiaoming said awkwardly, “That’s not what I meant.”

Baal looked at him silently for a while and then said, “I won’t mistake you.”

Singh said from the sidelines, “Tzimisce’s skill can only be used against non-Kindreds since Kindreds much rather use smell to identify the other person as opposed to their face.”

Wang Xiaoming became more and more worried. “I’m scared that my nose won’t be sensitive enough.”

Singh remarked, “I don’t think it’s a good thing for you to participate in this challenge. Once the challenge starts, even I, an Elder, can’t do anything to interfere with it. Whatever happens during the competition is each individual’s own responsibility. This means that even if you want to back out, I’m afraid that it won’t be so easy.” He looked at Baal. “I reserve judgement.”

Baal answered, “Whatever.”

Wang Xiaoming said quietly, “Elder Singh means well.”

…

Was that the case?

Baal glanced at Singh, who practically had the words “sincere” written on his face, and laughed coldly inside.

“Then, in you go. I wish you success. I will be celebrating with you on Bloodnight Mountain,” Singh said with a smile.

Baal held Wang Xiaoming’s hand and walked in.

Wang Xiaoming waved continuously at Singh. “Thank you, Elder Singh!”

Prilli flew in and landed on Singh’s shoulder.

Wang Xiaoming felt warmth blossom in his heart. Though the unknown danger inside made him feel very afraid, at least in this particular moment he felt happy because there were so many friends in the Kindred who were trying their best to help them. The only thing that made him feel guilty was the fact that they couldn’t reveal Baal’s true identity. To lie to such helpful friends made him feel anxious from the bottom of his heart.

“Baal,” Wang Xiaoming said quietly. “I want to help Elder Singh get his wish.”

“You want to establish a clan?” Baal didn’t care one way or another. Come to think of it, the Unseen was a clan he had established because he was the one who chose their ancestors from the regular long-living species and then gave them the special ability of becoming invisible. Though he didn’t think this was a praiseworthy accomplishment.

“No, I just want to make his wish come true.” Wang Xiaoming only had a vague thought and no idea about the details. He thought for a long time without coming to any conclusions. He could only say, “But it has to wait until we get back from Bloodnight Mountain.”

The entrance to the amusement park was right in front of their eyes.

It was a bright red door, covered by bats dancing around the door. They were big and small, but each of them looked like they could be alive.

In the middle of the door was a round slot, which was exactly the size of the Victory Fruit.

Baal placed the Victory Fruit in.

They watched as the Victory Fruit seemed to get swallowed and slowly sucked in. Then with a plop, it fell into the thick door. Immediately afterward, there came a series of rolling and clanking sounds. The Victory Fruit seemed to be going through a maze as it traveled through the door and then fell to the bottom.

The entire trip took about two minutes. Then the door creaked and slowly rose up.

Before Baal and Wang Xiaoming got a chance to see what was going on behind the door, the thick smell of blood rushed into their faces.

1

This line was used as code in a 2015 drama that described the effort of the army to rid the Dongbei Province of thugs and robbers. It has no real meaning but some have ascribed the following meaning to the conversation: You dare come and anger your ancestors? If that was the case, let me fall down the mountain and drown in the rivers.