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Qianye was worried he would have to explain a lot when he went to say his farewells to Zhao Jundu. Quite unexpectedly, the usually headstrong Zhao Jundu didn’t object this time.

Qianye even obtained some secret information about the Zhao clan from him. It turned out that only the descendants who had performed the great sacrificial ceremony could be considered a true core member. They had to leave a wisp of their bloodline aura at the ancestral array, allowing the family to know should some ill fate befall them outside. Additionally, it would allow the clan to find their whereabouts via a secret art.

Qianye’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this secret. He quickly understood how the Zhao clan had found Zhao Weihuang and Yeji’s hiding place. Then, he realized another problem—that ancestral array could record and trace one’s bloodline aura, but what if it had other functions?

Zhao Jundu had only granted Qianye protection as his subordinate. At first, he had no intention of making the latter fight in the Zhao clan’s name despite the clan’s dangerous position on the rankings. Perhaps it wasn’t because of Qianye’s combat strength but because Zhao Jundu had made some guesses—maybe he was worried about something?

He then thought about Duke You’s implicative actions, be it his undisguised praise in public or his mention—intentionally or otherwise—of how Qianye didn’t have the right to inherit the clan lord position. Qianye, who wasn’t quite fond of these complicated human affairs, could only laugh ruefully.

Qianye wiped away the complicated thoughts in his mind as the imperial fleet moved further away. He hopped onto the jeep behind him, started the engine, and began driving toward Blackflow City.

Evernight Continent was fairly calm now that the recent battles had ended, and Qianye enjoyed an uneventful journey on his way back to Blackflow City. Although signs of war could be found everywhere throughout the city, most of the broken defenses had already been repaired, and the city interior was bustling with activity. The crowds everywhere could be attributed to the two hundred thousand people who had stuffed themselves into a city made for half that number.

Located within the Iron Curtain, Blackflow became an important hub during the early phases of the bloody battle as large batches of mercenaries and hunters made this city their frontline supply base. When the organized armies arrived during the later stages, the residents of the surrounding towns and villages had no choice but to flock into the city in search of safe harbor.

Blackflow had gained quite the reputation following Song Zining’s siege defense and expansion battles. In the end, no more dark races were willing to throw their lives away here, and this increased the number of people seeking refuge in Blackflow City. All kinds of traveling merchants were thus attracted to the city, and the market here became even more prosperous.

For some reason, Song Zining refused almost no one—all those willing to pay taxes were allowed into the city. Fortunately, he had made ample preparations and stocked up on a large supply of grains. Otherwise, it would’ve been quite difficult to last through the final leg of the bloody battle.

There were craftsmen working all over the city walls when Qianye arrived. They didn’t just repair and reinforce the walls, but had also raised two cannon platforms big enough to hold stronghold cannons.

All of the original stronghold cannons in Blackflow had been modified by Nangong Xiaoniao, allowing the cannon-fire to cover all sides of the city. Now, with the addition of two such cannons, the city defenses would increase sharply. If that demonkin Viscount Luther were to attack again right now, his army would likely suffer great losses under the barrage of these stronghold cannons.

As Qianye drove into the city, he found that the city guards weren’t sloppy at all. They stopped him according to the rules, despite the Imperial Regular Army insignia on his vehicle, and only let him pass after seeing clearly that it was Qianye in the driver’s seat.

The streets of Blackflow City were clamorous. Song Zining had drawn in dozens of trade companies back then, and as of the moment, the entire city was a dazzling lineup of signs. The number of major trading companies had increased by severalfold. Just on the main street alone, there were half a dozen storefronts that were undergoing renovation and would soon be open for business.

Law and order were well-maintained despite the liveliness. Everyone, be it the unrestrained mercenary hunters or the arrogant aristocratic descendants, would reveal reverent expressions upon seeing the Dark Flame patrols—no one dared clash with them.

This was the fruit of Song Zining’s efforts. The seventh young noble had curbed all unrest with an iron fist during the bloody battle and even beheaded several Nangong family scions. Toward the end, no one dared risk their lives to test his methods out.

Although most human settlements outside had been destroyed, Blackflow could no longer be considered a single city. The empire and Evernight were tied in the bloody battle, but things in the Blackflow Region weren’t the same. Song Zining had won every battle during the initial phase while Qianye rampaged across several dark nation warzones later on. At this point, no one from the Evernight side was willing to come over to this area.

Meanwhile, the greater part of Count Stuka’s territory adjacent to the Blackflow war front had already fallen into Dark Flame’s hands—even the arachne count’s castle had been occupied. They had only three viscount territories left, and each of them was cut off from the other. These territories were only able to hold onto their sovereignty because Dark Flame had been stretched too thin and there wasn’t enough military power to spend on these lands.

Seeing the recruiting posters pinned on each side of the main road, Qianye knew Song Zining’s ambitions hadn’t reached their end. Otherwise, why would he need to recruit so urgently after the war had ended? Dark Flame would have no part in the empire’s next battle as it would take place on the floating landmass. Neither Qianye nor Song Zining had the money to transport the three-divisions worth of Dark Flame soldiers there.

The entire city had more or less turned into a large construction site, but the headquarters was still the same. Qianye turned past a street block and saw the majestic Dark Flame buildings come into view. However, he didn’t head in that direction and instead drove straight home.

There were some changes in the courtyard compared to the last time. The most eye-catching was the appearance of a large tree whose leaves had covered up most of the courtyard, producing an exceptionally tranquil atmosphere.

Nighteye was sitting in the courtyard with a book in her hand and a plate of fruits beside her.

Nighteye looked up with a smile as Qianye sat down at the table. “You’re back?”

“Yes, I’m home.”

Nighteye laughed. “It’s good to have you back, I’ll make dinner.”

Qianye replied hurriedly, “It’s better I do it!”

Nighteye glared fiercely at Qianye and snorted. However, she still followed Qianye into the kitchen in the end.

This vampire lady was shockingly untalented in the kitchen. Even with the same ingredients and methods, the things she made were simply… “different”. Qianye had already given up teaching her since no amount of practice seemed effective. He would just do it himself as long as he had the time.

Qianye asked while sorting out the ingredients, “Why is there a new tree in the courtyard?”

Qianye had developed a certain suspicion toward leaves due to Song Zining’s increasing proficiency with the Three Thousand Flying Leaves Art. He would always feel numerous eyes lurking among the branches.

Nighteye replied nonchalantly, “Young Noble Song Zining asked someone to bring it over, saying it would help block out the sun and clean the air. So, I just had someone plant it in the courtyard.

Qianye was surprised. “Zining sent it over?”

“Yes, what of it?”

Qianye asked in alarm, “Did you feel anything off these days?”

Nighteye gave it serious thought but shook her head afterward. “No.”

“Then, did you feel like someone’s staring at you in the dark when you go out?”

This time, Nighteye said with a nod, “Yes.”

Qianye clenched his teeth and roared furiously, “It looks like this brat is looking for a beating!”

Nighteye seemed puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

Qianye felt something wasn’t quite right, so he asked in greater detail, “Who’s peeking at you?”

Nighteye replied without much thought, “Nangong Xiaoniao”. [1]

“Ah? It’s her?” This answer surprised Qianye.

“Yes, she’s come over to peek at me several times, but I didn’t pay her any attention. One night, she even snuck into my room.”

“This…” Qianye didn’t know what to say. Nangong Xiaoniao was a genius in origin arrays but more or less a klutz in other matters.

“I don’t know what she wanted, either. I paid her no attention and only watched in silence. But…” Nighteye couldn’t help but chuckle, “… she actually wanted to climb in through the small ventilation window. She managed to squeeze half her body in, but became stuck midway.”

At this point, Qianye recalled Nangong Xiaoniao’s massive chest. Climbing through the hatchway was indeed going to be difficult with such a figure.

“Then?” Qianye asked curiously.

Nighteye looked at Qianye with a spurious smile and said, “Of course, I had to help her down. It was quite a difficult endeavor. She even popped three buttons in the process.”

Qianye felt an alarming premonition in his head. Why was it exactly three buttons?

But Qianye had experienced numerous crises throughout this life. His expression didn’t change in the least as he inquired, “Oh, what then?”

“Nothing. She wouldn’t say anything no matter what I asked. Her face was so red that even I wanted to take a bite at her!”

This was indeed Nangong Xiaoniao’s temperament. Thinking about her distress at that moment, it was already quite fortunate that she didn’t pass out.

At first, Qianye thought this topic would end here—he knew Nangong Xiaoniao couldn’t cause a big fuss. With her temperament, she would only be bullied after landing in Nighteye’s hands.

As for what Nighteye did after that—whether she had taught the girl a lesson or let her go—Qianye neither cared nor wanted to know. Almost all the higher-ups in Dark Flame knew of Nangong Xiaoniao’s crush on Qianye, and the less such matters were mentioned the better.

But Nighteye hadn’t finished yet. “That window was really too small and her skin was accidentally scratched when I was helping her down. Come to think of it, the smell of her blood is somewhat unusual.”

Qianye couldn’t help but feel anxious. He touched Nighteye’s black hair and asked, “Are you feeling any thirst?”

Nighteye glared at him and said in a resentful tone, “Do you think I’m one of those with impure blood? Those who’ve awakened a primogenitor bloodline will never feel any thirst. Apart from during important ceremonies, we don’t drink any blood, either. Blood without origin power is useless no matter how much we drink, and the taste isn’t good, either.”

Qianye sighed in relief. Although he had come to know some of these things from the inheritance of the River of Blood, he was still somewhat worried about Nighteye. He only felt relieved after hearing her say all of this in person.

It wasn’t impossible even if Nighteye did need to drink blood—there was no lack of bandits and robbers on the Evernight Continent as well as captives and death-row prisoners.

However, as Qianye saw it, those powerful creatures like mutant beasts, werewolves, and arachne were able to provide a greater amount of essence blood compared to humans. Moreover, their blood contained more high-quality origin power.

It was just that intelligent races all possessed a certain thing called belief. It had taken root in the heart since youth and practically become a part of one’s life. Qianye had mentioned indirectly that he could find a way to procure some essence blood from werewolves, arachne, or powerful beasts.

To his surprise, Nighteye reacted fiercely and almost fell out with Qianye. To her, being tainted by werewolf blood was like a great humiliation. Seeing Nighteye’s reaction, Qianye made the wise decision of avoiding this matter. Later on, he left to take part in the war.

Now that they had reunited, he recalled how Nighteye hadn’t absorbed essence blood for quite a while. Qianye was still a bit worried even though she felt no thirst for fresh blood. The dark races had their own methods of cultivation, but plundering was the fastest way to make progress—this was especially true for the vampires and arachne. Comparatively, the demonkin resembled humans in that cultivation was more important than hunting.

Qianye asked her several questions and only felt relieved after confirming that she would be alright for the time being.

At this moment, Nighteye said, “That Nangong Xiaoniao is a bit strange, you have to be careful.”