Chapter 9

'Hmm...'

As he gazed at the assassin, Yahyun's mood suddenly changed.

Yahyun stood up, crossed his legs, and stared intently at the assassin disguised as a servant.

'He seems quite capable...'

The assassin, who had been cleaning diligently, suddenly paused, looking intimidated as he turned his head toward Yahyun.

"Sir, have I made any mistake...?"

He couldn't even meet Yahyun's eyes; if he hadn't known better, he might have been fooled.

'I like him even more.'

"No, I just feel uncomfortable with you here. I'll give you some space."

Yahyun stood up and walked past the assassin, leaving the room.

As he passed the assassin:

Flap!

Yahyun's sleeve flapped, and a mosquito hidden in his clothes quietly landed on the assassin's neck. Despite needing to feed on human blood, the mosquito with red eyes was careful not to make a sound, sitting quietly.

After leaving the room, Yahyun looked up at the fourth floor.

There stood Hongam and Wolyoung.

Wolyoung nodded slightly at Yahyun, who smiled in response, understanding the meaning.

* * *

Three days passed mercilessly...

As the sun set and people began to fill the Honglu Street,

Yahyun, dressed lightly, left Juyuelou. As he looked at the street where the atmosphere was gradually getting lively, another vision overlapped with his.

In this vision, he saw his own back walking down Honglu Street. Another vision showed the face of the assassin, who had disguised himself as an old man.

'An old man this time?'

As he was about to leave Honglu Street, another vision began to shake violently.

Yahyun stopped, closed his eyes, and focused on the other vision. In the shaking vision, he saw narrow alleys and low walls passing by quickly.

Yahyun opened his eyes and looked to the left.

The assassin was running behind a building.

After observing him for a few days, Yahyun liked the assassin even more.

He was cautious and showed the decisiveness to carry out the assassination despite unexpected variables. He seemed quite useful to have around.

'I should play along for now.'

This was because he had something to finish before meeting the assassin.

The Iron Horn Gang.

'Will it be worth the wait?'

Yahyun smiled coldly and resumed his steps. After leaving Honglu, he entered a deserted street.

"Ugh! Drunk!"

On the dark street opposite, a middle-aged man staggered toward him, drunk.

"Ugh!"

Yahyun's eyes showed a hint of interest as he watched the middle-aged man, who was leaning against a wall and vomiting. This was due to the assassin, who had quickly changed his face and skeleton in a short time.

'It can't be magic, and it's certainly not an artifact... His martial arts are quite mysterious.'

The servant's appearance he saw at Juyuelou had remained the same for a while, but the quick and perfect transformation from an old man to a middle-aged man was truly impressive.

However, admiration is one thing...

Yahyun's eyes turned cold again.

As the drunk middle-aged man and Yahyun passed each other,

Thud!

A small dagger pierced Yahyun's side.

"!"

The assassin, seeing Yahyun stagger from the shock, quickly stabbed his heart again. Yahyun's body slowly collapsed forward toward the assassin.

"Ah, this person. What will you do if you collapse here?"

The assassin, now in the guise of a middle-aged man, looked around and supported Yahyun's body. He quickly checked Yahyun's pulse and breathing.

Thump!

After confirming Yahyun's death through his pulse and breathing, the assassin slung Yahyun's body over his back and leaped toward the outskirts.

* * *

Caw!

In a desolate cemetery in a slum, the crows' cries added to the eerie atmosphere.

Thud!

The assassin, who had entered the cemetery, laid Yahyun on the ground.

"Phew—"

After checking Yahyun's pulse and breathing again, the assassin let out a deep sigh.

"I've taken care of it... Damn it!"

The assassin, as if something had occurred to him, kicked a nearby grave.

"Killing is one thing, but why do I have to bring the body here?"

Despite his childish grumbling, the assassin found a valuable coffin made of sandalwood between the graves, placed Yahyun inside, and closed the lid.

Yahyun, lying inside the coffin, slightly frowned.

Unlike other vampires, who usually wake up in a coffin when reborn as a member of their race, Yahyun was different.

Thus, he instinctively felt uncomfortable in the coffin. This was due to his strong desire to maintain his human life, following the teachings of his master, Jiaoxia Zhenren.

After a while, the coffin began to rattle.

Through another vision hidden in the assassin's body, Yahyun confirmed that the coffin containing him was being loaded onto a cart and moved somewhere. In that short time, the assassin had changed back into the appearance of an old man.

The rattling sound and the old man's humming were natural.

After about an hour, they arrived at a large estate. A sign reading "Iron Horn Gang" hung under the eaves of the main gate.

'This is quite inconvenient.'

If there was one inconvenience since coming to the Central Plains, it was the Chinese characters.

'I need to learn to read them when I have time.'

At least he could read the sign "Iron Horn Gang" thanks to the fragmentary knowledge contained in the blood of the Black Dog Gang leader, Galguo Biao.

'Finally here.'

As Yahyun crossed the main gate of the Iron Horn Gang, a cold murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"Brother, the item has arrived."

At Zhang Mengqi's words, Liuyanming stood up.

"Zhuizhu?"

"Although he can't move, he must be present."

Liuyanming smiled and left the office at Zhang Mengqi's cold voice.

"Who brought it?"

"A villager brought it. I made sure to give him extra money and keep him quiet."

"Good job."

Liuyanming patted Zhang Mengqi's shoulder and headed toward the enclosed garden, which only he and Zhang Mengqi used. In the garden, Lüzhu (a wheelchair) was waiting, with Yuzhui already there.

"Father... cough!"

Yuzhui, who had tried to stand, fell back due to the pain from his chest wound and panted heavily. Seeing Yuzhui, pale and sweating, Liuyanming's face showed concern.

"It's fine, stay seated."

"Still, you have the spirit of a man."

Zhang Mengqi praised Yuzhui, who had come to the garden despite his difficulty moving.

"A man should have this much spirit."

Liuyanming, with a mix of concern and pride, looked at Yuzhui and then glared at the coffin with a cold murderous intent.

"I'll open it."

As Zhang Mengqi stepped forward, Liuyanming stopped him and approached the coffin.

Crack!

After a moment of silence, Liuyanming broke part of the coffin lid and pulled it off. Inside, Yahyun lay with a dagger in his heart.

"Is this the one?"

If he could speak, he would have already ground the words into dust, his voice full of rage.

"Yes, brother."

Zhang Mengqi approached the broken coffin and examined Yahyun's face, then checked his pulse and breathing to confirm he was dead.

"Bring a knife."

As Liuyanming extended his hand, Zhang Mengqi handed him a blue sword.

"I need to do it myself, but today I'll do it for you. I'll tear this guy apart and feed him to the dogs, so you can vent your anger. Understand?"

"Yes, Father."

Yuzhui, nodding, glared at Yahyun with a murderous intent.

Liuyanming, with a cruel face, lifted the sword high and was about to strike Yahyun's neck.

Flash!

Yahyun's eyes snapped open.

"Ah!"

As the dead Yahyun's eyes opened, a cold wind blew, and Liuyanming's body stiffened for a moment.

"You're not dead, hahaha!"

However, Liuyanming soon revealed a cruel, happy face and struck Yahyun's leg instead of his neck.

Clang!

Yahyun slid upward as if on ice, causing Liuyanming's sword to strike the ground.

Yahyun rose from the ground, floating in the air as if he were a bobblehead.

He turned to face them with a smile.

Pale face, prominent red lips, and white fangs between the lips.

"What a beautiful night, isn't it?"

Yahyun spread his arms and spoke in a calm voice.

* * *

Under the moonlight, Yahyun smiled and placed his hand on the dagger in his chest.

Swoosh—

The slowly pulled-out dagger blade was black, as if coated with poison. Yahyun licked the poison off the blade, feeling its unique, tingling taste.

"Huh!"

Yahyun laughed and threw the dagger to the ground.

Thud—

He turned his head, loosened his neck, and looked at Liuyanming, Zhang Mengqi, and Yuzhui in turn, then smiled.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Liuyanming, with a murderous grin, took a step toward Yahyun and swung his sword threateningly.

"I've been wanting to settle this with my own hands, but this is good."

Liuyanming's rough voice.

"Die!"

Liuyanming roared and lunged at Yahyun.

Swoosh—

The blue blade sliced through Yahyun's neck.

Yahyun quickly retreated to a distance.

# 10