Chapter 78: The Deal Between Yu Xian and Marcus
Roche cleaved open the villa's front gate with a single slash and smashed apart the decorative wall behind it with a kick. Then he strode toward the main building, oozing waves of murderous intent.
Yu Xian appeared out of thin air in front of the entrance. After taking one look at Roche, he frowned. "A vampire?"
Roche suppressed his fury and issued a warning. "You mongrel, I'm warning you. From now on, stay away from Lady Nora—"
Before he could finish, however, Yu Xian cut him off. "Under Huaxia law, a supernatural being who forcibly breaks into a private residence and threatens the homeowner faces a minimum sentence of one hundred years' imprisonment. At worst..."
He paused briefly before coldly saying, "Execution."
Roche's eyes widened. "You little bas—"
Yu Xian produced his Qilin credentials and cut him off once more. "I am an official member of the Wickedness Purging Squad under Qilin's banner. Following the laws of this nation, I am now issuing you a formal warning. Kneel on the ground, place your hands above your head, and surrender immediately. Otherwise, I am authorized to execute you on the spot. Do not say later that you were not warned."
Yu Xian's gaze toward Roche was exceptionally cold. Nora had spoken to him about Roche before. She had made it clear that she disliked the way Roche tried to interfere in every aspect of her life. Moreover, Roche's attitude toward her mother had always been terrible. When Nora was younger, he had frequently obstructed her mother's attempts to visit her.
Yu Xian had never met Roche in person. But now that Roche had conveniently delivered himself right into his lap by committing a crime right in front of him, Yu Xian had already decided that Roche would spend the next century behind bars.
Originally, Roche had intended only to beat Yu Xian up, warn him to stay away from Nora, and call it a day. But Yu Xian's remarks enraged him so much that he nearly exploded on the spot. At this point, he didn't want to think about anything else. He just wanted Yu Xian dead. "You mongrel, stop bluffing. No one can save you tonight."
The blood sword in his hand suddenly shattered into a gale of crimson needles. He was going to make Yu Xian suffer and vent every last trace of the fury burning in his chest.
To Roche, the outcome of the fight was clear. Yu Xian had been a vampire for less than two months. Roche would force Yu Xian into a desperate retreat before ultimately carving him into pieces. How can a mere half-breed even stand against me? I am an elite member of the Blood Race who has lived for more than two centuries!
Yet when he unleashed the blood needles, he realized that Yu Xian's expression hadn't changed in the slightest. Then his vision blurred, and he saw Yu Xian standing right in front of him.
Yu Xian raised a hand and casually slapped off half of Roche's head. Fortunately for Roche, a vampire's tremendous vitality kept him alive. He crashed to the ground, the remaining half of his face frozen in disbelief. It hadn't even been two months since he turned into a vampire. How on earth could he be this strong already?
Yu Xian looked down at Roche, his voice calm, but the contempt in his eyes unmistakable. "Half-breed? Who the fuck are you calling a half-breed? Remember this in your next life. Don't mess with me."
A spatial bubble appeared in Yu Xian's hand. The space within was wildly distorted, as though it possessed the power to grind everything into nothingness.
That slap had been an impulsive act. Due to it, Roche's blood was splattered all over the ground. Great. Now I have to clean this up.
When people were pushed to their limits, there was almost nothing they couldn't accomplish, except maths. On a sudden whim, Yu Xian had combined a spatial bubble with Spatial Vortex, creating a perfect combo for disposing of corpses without leaving behind a single drop of blood. Once he shredded Roche into paste, he could simply teleport the remains into a river outside Silver City and let the fish enjoy the feast.
Roche looked at him. "You—"
However, before he could say another word, his consciousness went dark. Marcus, Nora's father, took control of his body. The remaining half of Roche's face tilted upward as the spatial bubble descended toward him. "Yu Xian, please wait. I am Nora's father."
Yu Xian halted the bubble in the air and looked at him. "Duke Marcus, are you trying to shield a criminal? In Huaxia, knowingly protecting an offender makes you an accessory to the crime, and you will be penalized just the same."
Marcus replied calmly, "Roche has indeed committed a crime and should bear the consequences. However, he is my descendant. Tell me, what price must I pay to earn the forgiveness of the victim?"
In truth, Yu Xian had never regarded Roche as a serious threat. Whether the man lived or died made little difference to him. At the rate he was growing, he suspected that even the progenitor of the Blood Race would seem insignificant to him within a year.
A faint smile appeared on Yu Xian's face. "So, you're saying that any request I make will be granted?"
"As long as you are willing to forgive Roche for what he has done."
After all, the matter could be as serious or as trivial as Yu Xian wanted it to be. If he chose not to pursue it, then Roche technically hadn't committed a crime at all.
A bold thought flashed through Yu Xian's mind. Old man, I want Nora!
But in the end, he was still a pure and innocent seventeen-year-old boy. After a brief hesitation, he said, "I want blood arts. Can you provide them, Duke Marcus?"
Marcus pondered for a moment before nodding. "I can give you three of them."
Yu Xian immediately fell back on instinct and began bargaining. "Not enough. I want five."
Marcus agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Deal!"
Yu Xian suddenly felt that he had sold himself short. Unfortunately, the deal had already been made.
Controlling Roche's body, Marcus rose to his feet, absentmindedly dusted himself off, and looked at Yu Xian. "I'll have Nora deliver the blood arts to you. In that case, we shall part ways here."
Yu Xian nodded and watched him leave. Security cameras covered every corner of the villa. If Marcus dared to renege on the agreement, Yu Xian could march straight to his doorstep the next day and show Roche exactly how violent Huaxia's law-enforcement agencies could be.
Only after Roche had completely disappeared did Yu Xian finally walk over to the entrance. Looking at the gate that had been split in two and the decorative wall reduced to rubble, he felt so heartbroken he could barely breathe. "My gate! My wall!"
I haven't even lived here for a month, but my gate and wall are gone. I need to redirect this pain!
Yu Xian pulled out his phone and called the property manager in the middle of the night, making sure the poor man experienced a little of his suffering as well. He also instructed him to send a repair crew over first thing the next day to replace the gate. As for the decorative wall, Yu Xian planned to commission a custom design that suited his tastes and deal with it later.
The next morning, workers arrived bright and early to repair the gate. Staring at the gates, cleanly cleaved in two, the workers whispered among themselves, quietly debating just how terrifyingly powerful the culprit must be.
When Yu Xian listened to them gradually elevate Roche into the realm of an immortal sword saint, his lips twitched. He very much wanted to tell them that Roche was merely a minor Serpent-rank nobody.
Of course, Serpent-rank supernatural beings were considered the backbone of most organizations. Eagle-rank individuals were elites among elites, while Tiger-rank experts occupied the upper echelons of power.
Advancement among supernatural beings was generally a slow process. Most spent years, if not decades, improving themselves step by step. A freak like Yu Xian, who had reached Serpent-rank in less than two months, was extraordinarily rare.
More importantly, he had never consumed a Forbidden Fruit and had no irreversible side effects to deal with. The side effects of a Forbidden Fruit could never be removed. That was common knowledge among supernatural beings.
It was why, although a Forbidden Fruit could allow someone to rise to greatness overnight, many supernatural beings had little interest in them and would never actively seek them out. Cultivators, immortals, mages, and practitioners of similar paths were especially wary of Forbidden Fruits and avoided them whenever possible. Generally, only those with exceptionally poor aptitude would consider using one to defy fate and change their destiny.