A New World (6)
Turning around, Jiu Yin smiled coldly. These thugs were nothing more than members of a simple street gang. Their kind preyed on the weak and unwary, looking for easy victims to rob in the darker corners of the city.
The two men pulled out crude shivs, their blades catching the faint moonlight. They grinned wickedly, eyes gleaming with cruel confidence.
“What’s this?” the leader sneered. “The broken Yin boy? Smile all you like. You won’t gain any sympathy from us!”
“No,” Jiu Yin replied with a low, amused chuckle. “I am simply excited to taste what humans in this world are like.”
The leader’s smirk faltered for a brief moment. He quickly recovered, quipping, “What crazy pill did you take, brat?”
Just as the man turned his head to laugh with his companion, Jiu Yin surged forward like a predator unleashed. His fangs lengthened slightly. Razor-sharp claws extended from his fingertips. Even after two feedings, he knew his current strength was still vulnerable against armed opponents. He would need to be precise and swift.
The would-be thief panicked, fumbling desperately with his shiv. “You son of a—” he cursed under his breath.
Before the man could properly raise his weapon, Jiu Yin closed the distance in a blur. His clawed hand slashed across the leader’s throat in a clean, vicious arc. Hot blood sprayed across the alley wall. Without pausing, Jiu Yin raced past the collapsing man and leaped onto his slightly chubby companion. Using his momentum, he planted both feet squarely into the man’s chest and flipped backward. The thug’s shiv clattered to the ground as he toppled hard onto the cold cobblestones.
The chubby man made sputtering, wheezing shrieks as he struggled to catch his breath. Jiu Yin gave him no chance to recover or scream for help. With a smirk, he grabbed a fistful of greasy hair, yanked the man’s head back at a sharp angle, and sank his fangs into his exposed neck.
Warm blood spilled into his mouth. It tasted fine enough, but he was quickly dissatisfied. Compared to the rich, potent essence of the dire bear, this was barely worth the effort. Slightly greasy and thin. The quality of a person’s blood truly reflected the food they consumed.
He spat the blood onto the ground in distaste. “Filthy lards like this should have drunk the skinny one,” he sneered.
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As he stood over the two corpses, Jiu Yin paused for a moment. Humans were so incredibly weak. In this world, ordinary people were little more than prey. Even the cultivators from his host’s memories could perform immense feats of power. They could shatter boulders with a single strike, manipulate elements, or fly through the sky on swords. It was not exactly the same as the blood magic he had wielded in his previous life, but the potential was there.
He had a lot to consider. With no other Sanguinari present in this world, he had no allies and no rivals of his own kind. In his previous life he had been only a minor Sanguinari, far from the level of a true Blood Lord. Here, he had the chance to rise much higher if he played his cards carefully. He needed to secure his place in this new world, build strength quietly, and decide whether to remain hidden or eventually carve out his own domain.
Quickly searching their pockets, he found a small purse of copper coins. The two shivs were crude but would be useful until he could acquire proper weapons. Using the blades, he carefully scarred and mutilated both bodies in ways that would suggest a violent turf war between rival gangs when the city guards eventually discovered them. No one needed to suspect a beast that tore out throats.
Wiping the blood from his lips with the back of his hand, Jiu Yin slipped out of the alley and moved quickly back toward the main street. He kept to the shadows as he made his way toward his family’s small compound on the outer edge of the Yin clan’s land holdings.
As he quietly opened the gate, an unsettling feeling washed over him again. Since inhabiting this body, a strange, protective urge had taken root in his chest. The desire to provide for and safeguard his new family. Many centuries ago, before he fully embraced the path of the Sanguinari, he might have felt something similar. But that part of him had been buried so deeply that the emotion now felt foreign and almost disturbing. Yet he did not reject it. This body was his now, and he would honor its lingering debts.
Avoiding his family, he entered his room through the window like a shadow. He quickly stripped off his blood-stained and dirt-covered clothes and drew a bath. Steam rose from the wooden tub, carrying the faint herbal scent his mother always added to the water. He scrubbed away the dirt, grime, and dried blood from the day’s violence, watching the water turn dark.
Once clean, he stood before the small cracked mirror. The reflection staring back at him showed clear progress. His previously frail frame was beginning to fill out. Lean muscle definition was starting to show along his arms, shoulders, and chest. His previously non-existent pecs now had the first hints of solid definition. These physical improvements pleased him. He planned to accelerate the changes over the next few days through basic physical exercises in addition to his Qi circulation to fully absorb the dire bear essence.
After the warm bath, he dressed in clean robes. He decided it was best to reassure his family that he had returned safely. The mask of the dutiful son needed to stay firmly in place.