Blood Queen - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Impression

 

***

 

August 8, Thursday.

 

Today wasn’t a special day, but the night before, all members of the Golden River Club received an email: Due to the annual fire safety inspection of the building property, the Golden River Club would suspend all business activities.

 

Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, who had just returned to work a few days ago, welcomed another unexpected day off.

 

After spending many days accompanying Jiang Yao during her recovery, Zhou Ping had thoroughly bonded with the Jiang sisters. She arrived at the Jiang house in the morning, carrying bags of ingredients, ready for a family hot pot feast to combat the scorching summer heat.

 

The increased appetite of vampires meant the small kitchen couldn’t handle so much food preparation. The courtyard was under the blazing sun, so naturally, the air-conditioned living room became the food preparation area.

 

The three women sat or squatted, with a large pile of vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat in front of them. Each was busy with their hands while chatting idly about various topics.

 

“…Sometimes, I actually think being a vampire isn’t so bad. Look, no matter how much you eat, you won’t get fat, hehe.”

 

Zhou Ping was wearing a spaghetti strap top with a mini skirt today, along with her refreshing medium-short hair, making her look even more youthful and lively.

 

“Sister Ping, how many years have you been a vampire?”

 

This question had been brewing in Jiang Yao’s mind for a long time. She didn’t dare ask before when they weren’t close, but now she finally couldn’t hold back.

 

“Xiao Yao, don’t forget the rules, don’t ask around!”

 

Jiang Yan frowned and quickly interrupted.

 

“Haha, it’s okay, it should be about 15 years now. I was still a first-year high school student then. During summer vacation, my whole family went on a trip out of town, and we were attacked by a wandering vampire who had lost control due to blood thirst… My parents didn’t survive, and I was blood invaded.”

 

“Later I learned that people over 40 are very likely to die on the spot due to immune collapse during blood invasion… And then, well, anyway, I met Big Brother Huang.”

 

“At that time, I cried every day, not knowing what to do with myself. I was terrified of seeing blood when I was little, but everything changed after the blood invasion.”

 

After finishing cleaning a large basket of vegetables, Zhou Ping picked up a peeler and started peeling potatoes, her tone calm: “After that, every year, I would see some people brought in by Brother Zhao or Big Brother Huang, but some would also… would also leave.”

 

Zhou Ping spoke openly, not minding mentioning this past again.

 

Leave, probably meant die… Jiang Yan saw a hint of sadness in Zhou Ping’s eyes.

 

“What a coincidence, we also met Huang Gu! Haha, you call him Big Brother, but with his appearance, he looks more like an uncle.”

 

Jiang Yao couldn’t help but laugh when she thought of the scene of her first encounter and fight with Huang Gu, because she almost stabbed him to death at that time, feeling that Huang Gu was quite weak.

 

“Hmm, he should be older than Brother Zhao Peng, but he’s very lazy, not interested in growth or breakthrough, so he’s only a mid-level Servant now. He has several sets of made-up experiences for himself, heaven knows which are true or false. However, Big Brother Huang is experienced and very sociable in society, with quite a few friends.”

 

Zhou Ping covered her mouth and laughed, then continued: “Big Brother Huang and Brother Zhao Peng are both confidants that Sister Wan brought out from the Hermit Alliance back then. Although they’re not very strong, everyone still respects them very much.”

 

“Hermit Alliance?”

 

Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao were both startled, surprised by Zhou Ping’s casual mention of Wan Yue’s past.

 

“Mm, in China, the Hermit Alliance is a very famous large group of wandering vampires. You’re newcomers, so of course you don’t know.”

 

Zhou Ping smiled nonchalantly, as if this kind of thing wasn’t a secret at all in the Golden River Club: “It’s said that 20 years ago, Sister Wan had a conflict with some big shots in the Hermit Alliance. Sister Wan was marginalized, and in anger, she left with Brother Zhao and others.”

 

“Now as long as we don’t mention it in front of Sister Wan, Brother Zhao Peng doesn’t mind us talking about these things in private. After all, Sister Wan and the Hermit Alliance still have some connection, it’s not a complete break.”

 

Listening to Zhou Ping talk freely, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao looked at each other again.

 

The Hermit Alliance, maybe Jiang Yao had only heard of it, but for Jiang Yan, it was quite familiar.

 

It was a wandering vampire force second only to the Black Blood Clan, closely monitored by the Dark Arrow monitoring areas across the country. In terms of scale and strength alone, it was no less than an ordinary Baron-level family.

 

The Hermit Alliance was neither as closed and conservative as the Orthodox Vampires, nor as indiscriminately murderous as the Black Blood Clan. Their style was unruly, and it was said that they were responsible for the bulk of blood smuggling in China.

 

No wonder Sister Wan’s resources were unfathomable, it turns out she was once a member of the Hermit Alliance. Thinking of this, Jiang Yan’s understanding of Wan Yue grew a little more.

 

“Since Uncle Huang… Big Brother Huang works for Sister Wan, why has he been living in D City for so long?”

 

Like Jiang Yao, Jiang Yan also had another question in her heart.

 

“I don’t know, Big Brother Huang has been there for many years, it seems to be personally arranged by Sister Wan, maybe to monitor something. We’d better not ask about these things.”

 

Zhou Ping shook her head, indicating that she only knew this much.

 

“Then… are you familiar with Zhong Jing?”

 

Thinking of seeing Zhong Jing and Wan Yue going upstairs mysteriously when leaving work the other night, Jiang Yan suddenly asked, and Jiang Yao also stopped what she was doing and pricked up her ears.

 

“Zhong Jing is special, how should I put it, Brother Zhao Peng says he’s Sister Wan’s disciple.”

 

Zhou Ping tilted her head and thought for a while, smiling a bit awkwardly: “The first time Sister Wan brought him to meet everyone, he was still an adorable little boy, incredibly cute! Now, hehe, he’s already a grown man, sometimes quite improper.”

 

“Anyway, I don’t have much interaction with him normally, and he rarely comes to the club. Occasionally I hear that his family is actually very rich, um, Zhong Pharmaceutical Group, which is also quite famous.”

 

Zhou Ping started processing a few sections of lotus root, continuing to speak: “According to Sister Wan, Brother Zhao Peng handles internal affairs, while Zhong Jing handles external affairs, dealing with some problems that we can’t face publicly. Anyway, everyone treats him as one of us.”

 

“He’s an ordinary person, isn’t he afraid?”

 

Thinking of how Zhong Jing teased her the other night, Jiang Yao felt uncomfortable but also more curious about why this ordinary person would be so deeply involved in the vampire world.

 

“I guess there are just some people in the world who fear nothing, otherwise those Orthodox Vampire families wouldn’t develop what they call external line agents among ordinary people.”

 

Zhou Ping pondered for a moment, throwing out an ambiguous answer.

 

“It’s quite strange, if that’s the case, why not just become a vampire?” Jiang Yao mumbled.

 

“Alright, Xiao Yao, go take out the ribs from the kitchen fridge to defrost, I’m about to prepare the soup base.”

 

Afraid that Jiang Yao would keep asking and touch on some taboos, Jiang Yan interrupted her curiosity and fell into deep thought herself.

 

Jiang Yao’s lone fight that night, although she eventually received support from Zhao Peng and Zhou Ping and others, the fact that a mid-level Servant could kill a Knight and a Servant from the Black Blood Clan alone was shocking in itself.

 

Jiang Yan had a hunch that Wan Yue and Huang Gu’s understanding of her and Jiang Yao’s background wasn’t as vague as imagined. From the beginning, Wan Yue and Huang Gu had noticed the special qualities of herself and Xiao Yao.

 

Wan Yue was extremely interested in the Tang family in D City, and even had Huang Gu stationed there many years ago, and the questions about herself and Xiao Yao were among them.

 

Two kinds of questioning of the truth seemed to have merged together since the day they met Huang Gu.

 

…

 

…

 

The preparation for hot pot is extremely time-consuming. When the spicy and fragrant soup base and steam began to roll and spread in the cool living room, the three hungry girls finally couldn’t wait to extend their chopsticks.

 

Three girls, but with the appetite of six adult men, the three were eating heartily, even reducing their chatting frequency.

 

Vampires’ powerful digestive ability allows most energy and nutrients to be retained in the body, then compressed into the microscopic world through a special blood energy protein conversion mechanism.

 

Zhou Ping and Jiang Yan were still chewing slowly, while Jiang Yao was eating with her cheeks puffed out like a hamster again. The spicy hot pot base made her little face flushed red, and even the high-powered air conditioner couldn’t stop the continuous sweat on her forehead.

 

A hot pot lunch directly lasted until after 14:00 before barely ending. Jiang Yao squatted on the floor wiping the scattered oil stains, while Jiang Yan and Zhou Ping dealt with the mountain of bowls, plates, and dishes.

 

A vibration came from the pocket of her denim shorts. Jiang Yao took it out and saw it was a voice communication request, with the name displayed as “Lawless Desperado”.

 

Uh, is it Zhong Jing?

 

Jiang Yao tilted her head to look towards the kitchen, frowned slightly, but still walked towards the bedroom and turned on the speakerphone mode.

 

“Are you online? Hurry up, let’s team up for a few games, I’ve called some experts too!”

 

Zhong Jing’s voice sounded, seeming relaxed and excited.

 

“You’re really bored… Are you trying to hit on me?”

 

Jiang Yao threw the phone on the bed and lay down in a starfish position, pouting while playing with her golden ponytail.

 

“Cough… Don’t joke, it’ll choke people!”

 

A light cough came from the phone, probably because he spit out whatever he was drinking.

 

“You’ve acted twice in front of my sister and me, is it interesting!?”

 

Probably due to her personal experiences, Jiang Yao was the type with a resentment towards the rich and handsome, although many times she knew that this mentality was mostly her subconscious working, thinking “why isn’t it me who’s rich and handsome”.

 

When Zhong Jing appeared as “one of us”, Jiang Yao didn’t have any particular feeling, but when Zhong Jing took a teasing attitude, it directly made the young girl remove Zhong Jing from the “one of us” category and put him in the “outsider” category.

 

Extremely rejecting strangers or outsiders, while being extremely trusting and dependent on close people, was Jiang Yao’s inferiority complex personality caused by her physical defects since childhood.

 

“Hit on you? Please, we’re not even creatures from the same dimension, okay?”

 

From the phone, Zhong Jing’s voice, naturally carrying a unique unruliness, sounded again: “I just feel that you’re the first vampire I’ve met around my master who still keeps herself alive with human flavor. As for the others, let’s not talk about it, those who know understand, including your sister.”

 

The unrestrained and casual teasing also carried a hint of hidden flattery. Jiang Yao found it more pleasing to hear, and her expression softened a bit.

 

“Hurry up, I’ll send you the room number soon, we’re just one short! If we don’t win a game today, I’m not going to live this day!”

 

Zhong Jing’s gamer otaku punk vibe was so strong it almost overflowed from the phone screen, nearly making the light golden-haired girl laugh out loud.

 

“Alright, coming right away! I’ll wash my hands and be there! Save the mid lane for me!”

 

Jiang Yao jumped off the bed, immediately turned on the computer, then rushed out of the bedroom barefoot without even wearing slippers. She returned in a flurry tens of seconds later, curling up entirely in the computer chair, clicking on the game icon on the desktop, and finally putting on the headset.

 

“Xiao Yao, have you finished wiping the living room floor? Go wash some fruit…”

 

Jiang Yan, still wearing kitchen rubber gloves, walked into the second bedroom and saw Jiang Yao killing fiercely in front of the computer.

 

“Quick, bottom lane, kill that Annie! Hey hey hey, why are you running back!”

 

The girl with the headset on her head couldn’t hear Jiang Yan’s words at all.

 

After standing and watching for over ten seconds, Jiang Yan could only leave with a cold face.

 

…

 

…

 

At dusk, at the international airport of C City, S Province, Wan Yue, in a black dress, stood in the pickup area accompanied by Zhao Peng.

 

The flight was originally scheduled for this afternoon, but a certain private jet from Munich, Germany to C City, S Province, China was delayed due to refueling in Dubai, Middle East, causing it to land in C City International Airport only at dusk.

 

A group of large, sturdy European men walked out of the passage, attracting the attention of many greeters. At the front was a young man over 190 cm tall.

 

Lion-like golden brown hair, deep lake blue eyes, a handsome face with distinct angles, a proportionate and strong build, steady and dashing steps, made some Chinese girls unable to take their eyes off him, with not a few secretly taking out their phones to take pictures.

 

“Miss Amelia, I’m sorry for the delay, I’ve kept you waiting.”

 

Under everyone’s gaze, the German youth walked directly to Wan Yue’s side and gently raised his arm.

 

After glancing slightly at the people behind the blonde youth, Wan Yue smiled and placed her hand on his, naturally accepting his hand kiss.

 

Not to mention the noble image and temperament of the blonde youth, Wan Yue in her black gauze dress, coupled with her svelte figure and beautifully cold face, made this ancient and elegant etiquette even more beautiful and magnificent.

 

Especially the youth’s fluent and standard Chinese, which made people doubt, caused the surrounding passengers to turn and look. Several Chinese girls nearby who couldn’t bear to leave and were still peeking secretly almost screamed with envy.

 

“Mr. Engel, just call me Wan Yue. Amelia was just a name I used when studying in Munich a long time ago.”

 

Wan Yue smiled and made a gesture to Zhao Peng behind her, who quickly left towards the parking lot.

 

“Then please call me Erwin, Wan Yue… Oh, let me introduce, this is Miss Emma, my personal assistant. This is Mr. Luca, my personal lawyer.”

 

Following Erwin’s soft introduction, a man and a woman walked to the sides of the blonde youth, nodding politely but coldly to Wan Yue.

 

The woman called Emma looked slightly older than Wan Yue, while the man called Luca was a typical middle-aged man with a big belly.

 

As her gaze swept over the two, a flash of astonishment passed through Wan Yue’s eyes, but her surface remained unchanged.

 

“The hotel has been booked, or we can go to my place first, or does Mr. Erwin have his own arrangements?”

 

Wan Yue smiled and started walking out with a slight twist of her waist.

 

“Mr. Erwin, there are monitoring devices on both sides of the exit…”

 

Lawyer Luca stepped forward and whispered a string of German in Erwin’s ear.

 

“Hmm, this is one of the few countries on this planet that still maintains a high level of vigilance and hostility towards us… It’s been like this for over 2,000 years. They call this… they call it inheritance.”

 

Erwin chuckled lightly, unperturbed.

 

…

 

…

 

Dinner was still the leftover hot pot ingredients from lunch, showing how exaggerated the amount of food Zhou Ping bought in the morning must have been.

 

However, while Jiang Yan and Zhou Ping were eating in the living room, Jiang Yao kept putting off joining them with “I’ll be there soon” and continued her endless computer gaming.

 

It wasn’t until after 21:00, when Zhou Ping had already left, that Jiang Yao finally walked into the living room, rubbing her face and shoulders.

 

“Ah… It’s all cleared away! I haven’t eaten yet!”

 

Jiang Yao blurted out when she saw the empty dining table.

 

Jiang Yan sat expressionlessly on the sofa watching TV, ignoring her.

 

Jiang Yao’s body shrank slightly, and she walked along the wall corner into the kitchen alone. After a while, she returned to the living room holding a large bowl, filled with previously blanched ingredients that had now congealed into an indistinguishable mass.

 

“Did you go crazy with gaming today?”

 

Jiang Yan turned her head, smiling at the girl who was burying her head in leftover food, without the expected emotion.

 

“It was okay, mainly I met a few experts…”

 

Jiang Yao mumbled vaguely, while reaching for the cola on the tea table, “Brother, oh no, sister, you should relax too, play some games, watch some anime or something. Don’t be like those people in the club, looking young but acting like old people. Living like that is too boring.”

 

“I don’t know how, and I didn’t have the chance before in the military.”

 

Jiang Yan shook her head, her hand on the remote control starting to flip through channels, intending to watch some news programs she liked.

 

“…This morning, witnessed by multiple media outlets and relevant city government leaders, Mrs. Jiang Chunhua, the retired old director of the W District Children’s Orphanage, donated all of her martyr’s pension of over 6 million yuan to the orphanage…”

 

“…Both martyrs were children who grew up in the orphanage and were outstanding young people raised by Mrs. Jiang Chunhua herself. According to the martyrs’ wishes, this money should have belonged to Mrs. Jiang Chunhua personally, to repay her for 15 years of nurturing. But Mrs. Jiang Chunhua selflessly donated it all, hoping to help more abandoned children…”

 

“The martyrs have rested in peace, their young lives have been frozen in time, but their love for the country, the people, society, and their loved ones will never fade…”

 

In the evening news, in front of the familiar gate, a beautiful female reporter talked eloquently to the camera. Not far behind her, an old lady with white hair stood silently in front of the crowded crowd, looking so lonely, while everyone around her was smiling.

 

Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao both stopped their movements at the same time, staring blankly at the TV screen, silent.