Chapter 36

"Expeditionary Force... It's fine, I just want to take a quick look."

The voice that followed was clear and pure, soft and pleasant, like a gentle breeze on a sunny summer afternoon that set the crystal wind chimes in motion.

"If you insist, then give me a moment to clear out the Expeditionary Force and the blood slaves inside, and then you can go in."

"No! I just want to take a look; there's no need to kill so many people!"

"......Alright."

The door of the bar silently turned to ashes and vanished, and the temperature inside the hall suddenly dropped by several degrees. Everyone, including the Expeditionary Force soldiers, found themselves suddenly unable to move, with only their eyes able to turn.

A girl walked into the bar.

Her figure was slender and petite, and the black fitted coat made her exquisite face seem to glow with a gentle light, like the finest porcelain. She had large, clear, and pure eyes, eyes that did not belong to this chaotic, bloody, and dirty world.

When she walked in, the entire Manjushage suddenly became a pure land, no longer cold, no longer dirty. All the changes came from this mysterious girl, who seemed to have the powerful ability to cleanse souls.

She seemed incredibly powerful, yet also incredibly fragile, as if a gust of wind on the wasteland could blow her to pieces. At the sight of her, many people felt an inexplicable pain, as if this delicate and pure girl could fall at any moment.

Her gaze slowly swept over everyone and every corner in the bar, not missing any detail. When she saw Qian Ye, her eyes lit up with a hint of surprise, but then dimmed again, and she sighed softly.

"I thought a place called Manjushage would be different... Sigh! Perhaps I was overthinking it. Let's go, Uncle Wang."

Following the girl's call, an old man with snow-white hair quietly appeared beside her. He had actually been standing next to her all along, but everyone subconsciously ignored his presence.

The old man glanced at Qian Ye and said to the girl, "This is just an ordinary bar, like all others, full of filth and corruption. Perhaps he just happened to know the word and doesn't understand its true meaning."

The girl wrapped her coat tighter and sighed, "Perhaps! But to see this word in the Abandoned Land is still a small surprise."

Uncle Wang smiled, "It's rare for the young lady to like something, so let him share in your joy. A lucky young man, hehe."

"Yes, a lucky guy indeed!" the girl said softly.

The girl left the bar, and the old man took out a small black velvet bag and placed it on the bar counter, saying to Qian Ye with deep meaning, "Since you made the young lady happy, whatever you have is worth rewarding. This is yours."

After the old man left, the people in the bar regained their ability to move, but they still seemed petrified, forgetting to move or speak. The experience of being unable to move or speak was like a nightmare, and the girl was the only light that flickered in that nightmare world.

Qian Ye's face was pale, and his hand rested on the black velvet bag left by the old man. After a long time, he opened it and took a look inside.

It was full of Imperial gold coins!

Dozens of Imperial gold coins were a huge fortune that would drive people mad on the wasteland.

In this lawless land, three silver coins could buy a human life, and five silver coins could almost make any woman lift her skirt. One Imperial gold coin could be exchanged for a hundred silver coins. Pure Imperial gold coins were unspendable, as nothing was worth an Imperial gold coin.

The gold coins did not make Qian Ye dizzy, but his eyes were fixed on a crystal box half-buried in the gold coins. The crystal box was only three fingers wide, with a flower carved on its surface that resembled a rose, exquisitely crafted. Through the lid, one could see three silver bullets inside.

The three bullets had transparent crystal heads, with silver liquid flowing inside, and the silver casings were also engraved with a flower similar to a rose.

These non-standard silver bullets were clearly custom-made by a noble family of the Empire, with special killing effects on dark races, especially terrifying for vampires.

At the sight of these three silver bullets, Qian Ye's face turned as pale as paper, and he broke out in a cold sweat, drenching his clothes.

Many people in the bar were curious about the contents of the black velvet bag, peering and showing greedy expressions, but they did not dare to approach. Curiosity and greed might make people bold and crazy, but in the face of absolute power, humans would well restrain themselves.

The Imperial soldiers put down their half-eaten food, quietly formed a line, and escorted the blood slaves out of the bar.

An Imperial soldier walked to the bar counter and said coldly, "Kid, you're lucky, but just now that old... "

He intended to say, "What did that old man give you? Show me." But he was interrupted by Liu Jiang.

The lieutenant colonel actually placed an Imperial gold coin on the bar counter!

He said solemnly, "This is for the meal. Your luck is really good, winning the favor of a big shot. From now on, no one from the Expeditionary Force will bother your business. But if you change your mind, you can always come to the Expeditionary Force's fortress. Remember my name, I'm Liu Jiang. You can find Chu Xiong or me."

Qian Ye thought for a moment and slowly said, "Thank you, I... will consider it."

Liu Jiang nodded, called out, "Let's go!" and led the Expeditionary Force soldiers out of the bar.

At the city gate, the bald police chief had crawled out of the rubble. His face was covered in blood, but he didn't wipe it off. He just sat on a large rock, looking up at the sky, muttering, "I knew it wouldn't be peaceful recently, I knew it..."

It was already night, and the huge moon in the sky was a deep red, like blood!

Qian Ye closed the bar early and waived the drink charges for everyone that night. People, shocked, wanted to go home early to rest and calm down.

The main topic of discussion was still how much money was in the small bag, and many people were also discussing what Manjushage was. But in the town, few people could read, and no matter how they imagined, they would not come to any conclusion.

Inside the bar, Qian Ye stared at the flower on the crystal bullet box for a long time. The flower was not a rose but a legendary flower, Manjushage.

Manjushage, also known as the flower of the other shore, is said to grow only in the River Styx, guiding souls to the other shore.

The night grew deeper, and the town gradually quieted down, with people falling into sleep one by one. The bald police chief returned home, drank half a pound of cheap liquor, and fell into a deep sleep.

The town's gate was still damaged, and it would take more than a few days to repair. In fact, the town's wall, which was less than five meters high, could only block ordinary beasts and blood slaves.

But there was no need to worry tonight, as the Expeditionary Force had clearly conducted a large-scale sweep nearby, hoping for peace for ten to fifteen days.

For scavengers, pioneers, and adventurers, even a fully fortified Lighthouse Town was no different from an unguarded place, and the regular soldiers of the Expeditionary Force and the dark races could easily level the town. But those were not the concerns of the bald police chief. For things beyond his capabilities, he was always very open-minded. Even if he couldn't let go, he was powerless.

Qian Ye also went to bed. In a daze, he found himself in a quiet, deserted street.

There were no lights, no people, only his lonely footsteps echoing in the empty street. A huge blood moon occupied half of the night sky.

He instinctively felt that a great danger was approaching, but he found no weapons on his body or around him. In a panic, he rushed to the roadside, trying to pull out an iron pipe stuck in the ground. But as soon as his hand touched the iron pipe, countless blood slaves leaped out of the darkness, howling and pouncing!

Qian Ye felt his body incredibly heavy, and every movement was several times slower than usual. He had no time to block and was knocked to the ground by a blood slave, who bit into his neck, its sharp teeth piercing deep into his carotid artery!

Qian Ye suddenly sat up!

He panted for a long time before realizing he was in his room, and it was just a nightmare.

But the dream was too vivid and clear, and the feeling of the vampire's fangs piercing his neck was as real as it could be. Even though he knew it was just a dream, Qian Ye couldn't help but touch his neck.

The skin there was smooth, but when he touched it, he could feel two faint protrusions. These were the scars left by the vampire.

Qian Ye's chest heaved violently, and he was drenched in sweat.

He did not lie on the bed but huddled in the corner, a habit he had developed on the Eternal Night Continent to avoid being ambushed in his sleep. This way, he could also counterattack an unexpected attacker.

Qian Ye stood up, feeling weak and dizzy, almost falling to the ground. He steadied himself, went to the cabinet by the wall, and picked up the black velvet bag again. He took out the crystal bullet box, hesitated for a moment, and finally opened it.

In the dim light, the three silver bullets glowed faintly, very beautiful. As soon as the crystal box was opened, a strong aura of primal force rushed out.

Qian Ye whispered, "Indeed... they are primal force bullets."

He reached out to touch the primal force silver bullets. As soon as his fingertips touched the bullet, there was a slight hiss, and a small part of his fingertip was immediately burned. The liquid inside the bullet head also began to churn violently, as if it might explode at any moment.

Qian Ye immediately withdrew his hand, and the reaction of the primal force silver bullet gradually subsided. He knew these three were not ordinary primal force silver bullets but specially made demon-breaking silver bullets for vampires. From the resonance and agitation of the primal force, the person who made these three demon-breaking bullets was an extraordinary strong person.

Qian Ye looked at his hands; his left hand glowed with a faint spiritual light, while his right hand was wrapped in a dense blood aura.

The girl's eyes had a terrifying power to see through illusions, and the old man beside her was an extremely formidable expert, whose primal force fluctuations were restrained and not released, making him one of the strongest he had ever seen.

He left this box of specially made demon-breaking silver bullets in the Imperial gold coins, clearly seeing through Qian Ye's secret. But because his bar was named Manjushage, he did not expose him.

But what else was special about Manjushage besides being the name of the Empire's top gun? What made the old man, who wanted to purify everyone in the bar, let Qian Ye, who might be a black blood polluter, off so easily?