Blood Queen

Autumn rain descended on C City again this Sunday, the earth's last warmth fading away in the drizzling rain, with icy autumn cold completely covering heaven and earth.

The damp, cool climate meant Golden River Club had very few customers today, and they dispersed early. By not even 10 PM, the first-floor hall was empty, with only a few club employees sitting scattered in corners reading magazines and listening to music.

"Hi, Jiang Yan, Jiang Yao, I'm here!"

The door was pushed open and a girl wearing a girlish Lolita-style dress walked in, her eyes squinting into lines from smiling.

"Miss Su?"

Jiang Yan, who was wiping down wine racks behind the beverage area bar, quickly put down her work and walked over with a smile.

Discovering that the girl who entered was Su Xiaomeng, whom they'd only met a few days ago, Jiang Yao beside her was also startled.

"Look, I just got this yesterday! Pretty, right?"

Su Xiaomeng waved cheerfully in greeting, proudly spinning in place to show off her beautiful, cute dress.

"Such big breasts… is this the legendary D-cup?"

Jiang Yan was baffled, while Jiang Yao beside her had different observation priorities.

Before Su Xiaomeng appeared, Jiang Yao had considered herself second only to Wan Yue in Hyacinth, with bust measurements that dominated all the Hyacinth girls. But now, no one in all of Hyacinth could compare to Su Xiaomeng before them.

A few days ago in that private hospital's underground morgue, Su Xiaomeng wore a professional white coat. Her chest wasn't small, but hadn't reached attention-grabbing levels. Today's outfit immediately gave Jiang Yao a whole new experience.

Looking down at the front of her own dress, Jiang Yao suddenly felt that Su Xiaomeng must have noticed something that day, so today she deliberately came dressed like this for show-off bullying.

"Are you perverted... why are you saying that so loudly?"

Jiang Yan covered half her face and directly turned away, stepping several paces back.

Even though Jiang Yan's bust size paired with her modest, dignified black gauze dress wasn't absolutely at the bottom among current girls, once the topic was brought up explicitly, there was nothing but embarrassment.

"Hehe, Little Yao is very nice too!"

Su Xiaomeng ignored Jiang Yan's embarrassed expression, walked directly to Jiang Yao's side, hugged her arm, and provocatively initiated a collision of assets, causing both to shake dramatically.

"Cough cough... you're here to find Sister Wan, right? She and Brother Zhao are discussing matters in a second-floor private room."

Jiang Yan coughed twice at Su Xiaomeng, her face returning to normal.

"Hehe, we'll chat later!"

Su Xiaomeng waved, lifted her skirt hem, and ran up the spiral staircase.

"What are you looking at? Do you like that kind of dress? There are so many clothes here, enough for you to wear a different outfit every day."

Jiang Yan irritably pulled the still-dazed Jiang Yao, stuffing the cloth in her hands into Jiang Yao's: "Go clean the washbasin in the fruit area."

"No... I mean, her chest, does she get more tired than us?"

Jiang Yao was still somewhat immersed in the earlier earth-moon collision, her face slightly flushed, eyes still staring blankly at her own chest: "I'm a C cup and sometimes feel uncomfortable, but she's carrying that…

"Ouch!"

Jiang Yao rubbed her head, turning to look strangely at Jiang Yan who was clenching her fist with a serious expression: "Sister, why did you hit me?"

"You're becoming more and more... you're not secretly watching some videos, are you? What are you thinking about all day!"

Jiang Yan suppressed her temper, feeling helpless about Jiang Yao's habit of spacing out and being nonsensical: "If you can't learn how to live like a real girl, at least be more modest!"

"As if you know how to live like a girl... haven't you noticed that not many people in the club like talking to you? Really... Now when there's any gossip, Sister Xiao Ping and the others come to me first to share. Do you get that?"

Jiang Yao rubbed the bump on her head, walking away with the cloth indignantly while muttering vengefully.

"I... I feel like I should beat you up to feel better?"

"Fine, but do it properly so I lie down for a week!"

In the corner, the two sisters muttered words only they could hear to each other, pushing and shoving under the amused gazes of other Hyacinth girls in the hall.

An hour later, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao were summoned to a private room on the second floor.

Pushing open the door, the slight acrid smell of secondhand smoke hadn't yet dispersed. Wan Yue was lazily leaning on the sofa doing her nails, Zhao Peng stood to one side looking grave, while Su Xiaomeng had her elbows propped on her thighs, holding her face in silent contemplation.

Seeing the somewhat strange atmosphere, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao stood at the doorway, not daring to enter and greet.

Wan Yue glanced at Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao at the door, smiled and gestured for them to enter and sit, while nodding to Zhao Peng beside her: "Zhao Peng, it's already very late. Drive Xiao Meng home."

"No need, I drove here myself. Oh, can I work part-time at Golden River Club in the future? Hehe, the clothes here are so numerous and beautiful!"

Su Xiaomeng quickly stood up waving her hands, then ran to the confused Jiang Yao's side, hugged her arm, then inevitably caused another collision of assets.

Jiang Yao's face reddened as she didn't dare move her body even slightly, still not understanding why Su Xiaomeng would suddenly visit Golden River Club.

"Fine, as long as that perverted grandfather of yours doesn't object, come whenever you want. Sigh, women get old and can't stay up late. Zhao Peng, have them bring up another cup of coffee..."

Wan Yue yawned, looking very tired.

Su Xiaomeng was also an ice-smart girl and immediately understood, quickly bowing farewell.

After Su Xiaomeng left, a few minutes later new coffee was brought to the private room. Only then did Wan Yue's expression darken as she walked slowly around the room, chin in hand.

"You didn't say too much to her the other day, did you?"

Wan Yue turned to look at Jiang Yao, but seeing Jiang Yan's unchanged expression, she shook her head with a smile: "Right, Jiang Yan was there then, so there shouldn't be any problems. Maybe I'm overthinking."

"Sister Wan, why is the Wang Family suddenly so close to us?"

Seeing Wan Yue's expression, Jiang Yan seemed to connect something, also looking thoughtful: "Our small group shouldn't even catch the Wang Family's attention, right?"

"Don't overestimate, but don't underestimate our weight either... Actually, Su Xiaomeng came today mainly to bring bad news. The Earl family in the south, the Liang Family, had an internal rebellion just last week. A veteran Iberian Blood Clan Viscount led some core family members in defecting to become Black Blood Clan. The news reached the Wang Family."

Wan Yue sat back on the sofa with a frown, while Zhao Peng beside her also nodded slightly.

Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao were instantly dumbfounded, their faces showing shock.

"Damn... even a Viscount defected to become Black Blood Clan? Are you kidding..."

In the silence, Jiang Yao finally couldn't help but complain, but was quickly pulled tight by the arm by Jiang Yan, only then covering her mouth with her hand, face red.

"Now our strength is approaching some small orthodox families, and we're close to the Wang Family. Now that such earth-shattering events have occurred domestically, the Wang Family will inevitably be drawn in, and we might even have to contribute."

Wan Yue rubbed her brow, her tone somewhat weary: "I built Hyacinth with my own hands, but no one can guarantee everyone's character is necessarily like Zhao Peng's. Hyacinth was established too recently, our greatest test may not have arrived yet."

"You mean?"

Jiang Yan was first startled, then seemed to think of something, her face gradually growing grave: "Breakthroughs?"

"Mm, you grasp some things very quickly... No matter what reason each person originally became Blood Clan, once they adapt to Blood Clan life and get on track, core problems present themselves. The vast majority of Blood Clan spend their entire lives stuck at Knight or even Attendant level. Even resource-rich major families like the Wang Family are the same."

"Every year, worldwide, events of Knights or Attendants from various families defecting to become Black Blood Clan occur from time to time. Even some veteran Barons aren't exceptions. Look, even a Viscount from the Liang Family defected. Sigh, this is also the root cause why Black Blood Clan can never be completely eliminated."

Wan Yue sighed, stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the city's nightscape with helpless expression.

"Why? Wouldn't living peacefully be good? Why defect to become Black Blood Clan? Just to continue leveling up and becoming more powerful?" Jiang Yao looked completely puzzled.

"Because of lifespan." Jiang Yan muttered lightly, "If you can't continue growing and advancing, you also can't reach the theoretical lifespan limit of your realm.”

"Jiang Yan is absolutely right. Blood Servants can live to seventy or eighty years old, but that's for Upper-tier Blood Servants. If unable to grow, then stagnant Lower-tier Blood Servants only live forty or fifty years, worse than ordinary people. Newly created Blood Servants must first survive immune reactions as well. The older you are, the more easily you die."

"When I was traveling in Europe years ago, I saw a sixty or seventy-year-old wealthy old man who somehow obtained a vial of Blood Clan blood and injected himself, wanting to live a hundred years. The result... haha, blood infection killed him on the spot!"

Wan Yue told such a bloody cold joke, but Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao didn't dare laugh.

"The higher the realm, the more resources and time needed, and the older you get, the slower growth becomes. Don't think Upper-tier Knights' lifespan limit can reach two hundred years - the time window for advancing to Baron only exists before age one hundred. After that, basically forget it.

"So some Knights in their eighties or nineties who feel stuck will inevitably take crooked paths... As for Knights over a hundred years old, they're even more likely to break jars and gamble on that last thread of hope.

"This is anxiety and restlessness from the genetic level, becoming more obvious with age. Blood Clan unable to overcome this inner demon have a high probability of walking the Black Blood Clan path. Content orıginally comes from novel_fіre.net

"Later, somehow, probably starting in the 11th century, they began developing their own philosophy, breaking through bottlenecks by devouring the same species through blood feeding. So Black Blood Clan's constant pursuit of faith-based divine bloodline peaks are just a bunch of beasts controlled by inner demons."

Speaking, Wan Yue looked back at Zhao Peng and sighed deeply.

Zhao Peng was a confidant who had followed Wan Yue for thirty years, also one of the few who left Hermit Alliance with Wan Yue. Now nearly seventy years old, stuck at Upper-tier Knight peak with no further progress possible.

That final ethereal barrier was like an insurmountable chasm blocking Zhao Peng's path forward. Whether it would become Zhao Peng's future inner demon was unknown, but it was a deep regret and worry in Wan Yue's heart.

Probably understanding Wan Yue's expression, Zhao Peng also smiled bitterly and shook his head, but his eyes were unusually determined.

Gazing at the prosperous city in the dark night, Wan Yue's voice gradually lowered: "Zhao Peng, if besides Black Blood Clan, there were other choices to continue growing, would you be willing to try?"

Zhao Peng was startled, thought for a few seconds, then nodded resolutely.

"See, this is obsession, and very likely will also become your inner demon." Wan Yue smiled bitterly and shook her head. "Blood Clan like Hermit Alliance's Elder Chu who have completely seen through everything are ultimately few."

"Sister Wan... I..." Zhao Peng's face reddened, but after a few seconds, he still hung his head dejectedly, answering in a low voice after a long pause: "I will not betray Sister Wan and Hyacinth!"

"Hehe, you still have twenty years. Who says you have no hope? Fool... your delay until now may not be due to poor aptitude. Maybe you've shouldered too much and it divided your focus. Now that Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao have risen and can do more, you also have more time to hone yourself."

Wan Yue walked to Zhao Peng, lightly pressing his shoulder in comfort.

"Now in Hyacinth, most Attendant-level members are under fifty years old, with theoretical lifespan limits of one hundred fifty years, but only twenty years remain until their final growth time window. Time always passes in a flash. In another ten years, I don't know if they'll become anxious...

"However, though the Blood Clan world is extremely unfriendly to women, we Blood Clan women have a very low probability of becoming Black Blood Clan because we have another path to choose: marriage and childbirth.

"Pregnancy greatly damages growth foundation. Not only causing strength regression but even risking death. But Blood Clan women who have given birth seem to have unloaded some genetic burden, rarely becoming Black Blood Clan. This is also why most Hyacinth members are female. I don't want to personally execute these defected children someday."

Speaking to this point, Wan Yue's gaze involuntarily began sizing up Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, her lips carrying a trace of mockery.

"Sister Wan, did Elder Jin send Su Xiaomeng to Golden River Club just to notify us of bad news?"

"Uh... I feel my own growth is quite fast, no... no inner demons."

Jiang Yao swallowed, her face flushing as she waved her hands repeatedly.

Jiang Yan wasn't as flustered as Jiang Yao, instead more puzzled: "Could it be that Little Yao and I have been exposed? They have ideas?"

"Don't know, everything is still very unclear. You two are certainly monstrous, but the truth behind the monstrosity might be the greatest benefit."

Wan Yue's expression was somewhat unnatural, but her tone very calm: "Theoretically, hiding you two in the Wang Family would be safest, but now, I don't dare trust anyone. Of course, I'm also selfish and hope you stay in Hyacinth.

"Hehe, Old Jin and I have a good private relationship. By relying on him, I've also grabbed the Wang Family's coattails and gained many benefits. But his status in the Wang Family can only be considered the most peripheral relative, managing all Wang Family affairs in C City.

"This time Old Jin's granddaughter came to establish contact with us, simply wanting to use this relationship to have Hyacinth do some real work for the Wang Family in the future... These coattails aren't free to grab. It's good to enjoy shade under a big tree, but you have to pay for the tea, right?"

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, facing the brilliantly lit city, Wan Yue slowly spread her arms, stretching her graceful, sexy body as if wanting to squeeze all psychological burdens from her body and release them to the outside world.