Chapter 48

Chapter 48

The news of the Pureblood young prince’s awakening spread like wildfire across the Central Continent.

Vampire castles everywhere held celebratory feasts, while human kingdoms hosted grand festivities. It was no exaggeration to say the entire realm rejoiced. Even in the most remote fishing village, if one were to stop a passerby and ask about the most significant event of the moment, they would know the answer.

Meanwhile, at the center of all this attention, Luo Ci was undergoing a baptism in the sacred grounds of the vampires.

"Look at those eyes—such a delicate pink hue! I've never seen anything like it. Truly extraordinary!"

"We don't yet know what kind of talents the little one possesses, but his abilities must be exceptionally pure."

The silver-haired, crimson-eyed Elders excitedly discussed among themselves. As the eldest and most senior among them, the colossal skeletal necromancer—Vampire Elder Violet—carefully lifted the infant from the Blood Pool.

After the baptism, the snow-white, curly-haired child nestled in Violet's arms, gazing at them with watery, pale pink eyes.

The Blood Pool baptism was a traditional rite of passage for Purebloods.

The Blood Pool served as both the birthplace of Purebloods and the eternal resting place chosen by ancient vampires. It was imbued with profound magical energy, jointly guarded by the vampire clans, and ordinarily, only Purebloods were permitted to enter.

After their slumber, Pureblood infants were brought to the Blood Pool for baptism, receiving ancestral blessings to purify the magical power within them.

The purer and stronger the magical power, the lighter the color of their pupils—a sign of unadulterated purity.

Lower-ranking vampires, even after transformation, retained black pupils, with only a faint hint of red visible under sunlight. Higher-ranking vampires, on the other hand, possessed deep garnet-colored eyes.

Only Purebloods had crimson eyes, and pale pink irises were even rarer.

After three centuries of anticipation and another hundred years of waiting, they were finally rewarded with this delightful surprise.

The baptism confirmed the child's pure and formidable magical talent—his curly snow-white hair and pale pink eyes were proof.

"Eep!" Luo Ci tilted his head, glancing at the Blood Pool he had just emerged from. The liquid inside flowed like fine wine.

Though he didn’t understand its purpose, he felt sleepier after the soak.

Nestling against Violet’s chest, he let out a tiny, contented yawn. His round, watery eyes drifted to the enormous skeleton looming behind Violet—a towering figure several stories tall, swathed in a majestic cloak and exuding an aura of dread. Yet now, its bony fingers clutched a tiny rattle, gently swaying it back and forth.

"Swish... swish..." The rattle emitted a rhythmic, soothing sound.

If not for the skeleton’s inability to vocalize, it might have even hummed a lullaby. The child blinked drowsily, his eyelids growing heavier by the second.

The Elders, noticing this, instinctively lowered their voices, switching to mental transmission as they watched the little one’s soft, round face.

Emerging from the sacred grounds, high-ranking vampires waiting outside made deep obeisance and spoke respectfully, "My lord, emissaries from various kingdoms have sent gifts—Beikante, Airuiliya, Taipuer, and others..."

Tilise transmitted her words magically: "Inconsequential affairs. They can wait."

The high-ranking vampire immediately fell silent, understanding the unspoken command.

...

After awakening from their slumber, Pureblood infants grew rapidly, reaching the physical equivalent of a human child aged four or five within half a year.

During this time, Luo Ci was guided through babbling his first words and progressing from crawling to toddling steps. His short legs often gave out, sending him tumbling onto his bottom more times than he could count. Along the way, he memorized the faces of all the Elders—partly because mistaking one would earn him two firm kisses, though getting it right also meant being smothered in affection...

Especially by Auntie Tilise, who drowned him in kisses the moment she saw him, leaving lipstick marks even on his tiny toes.

Though the little one understood this was their way of showing love, each kiss still left him dazed.

"Does the little one recognize me?" A Tilise-like puppet approached, picking him up from the carpet with a smile.

Luo Ci nearly called out "Auntie Tilise," but a faint whiff of cornflower made him pause. He scrutinized the figure suspiciously before declaring, "Uncle Felatumo!"

The doll collapsed as if its strings had been cut. Puppeteer Felatumo emerged from the shadows, grinning. "Well done, little one! But next time, call me 'Brother Felatumo'."

"Nine hundred years old and still brazen enough to demand being called 'brother'," the real Tilise scoffed, kicking the puppet aside and snatching the child to plant kisses on his cheeks.

Soon, two more lipstick marks adorned Luo Ci’s snow-white, dumpling-like cheeks. Felatumo snapped his fingers, summoning a blood servant in a tailcoat, who presented an ornate box. From it, Felatumo retrieved a blood-red gemstone necklace and fastened it around the child’s neck.

Though the necklace looked heavy, it was surprisingly light. The dazzling crimson gem encased a shimmering blood butterfly, its wings seemingly alive as it floated within the amber prison. This blood gem, excavated from the depths of the Dark Forest’s decaying church, contained a blood curse that would protect its wearer in times of danger—a defense even the most renowned Archmage couldn’t breach.

Luo Ci adored shiny things and couldn’t help fidgeting with the necklace, rewarding Felatumo with a beaming smile. "Thank you, Uncle Felatumo! I love it!"

Tilise conceded with reluctance, "This gift is actually useful. Still, it can’t compare to the Bloodbriar Earrings I gave him."

The Bloodbriar Earrings were legendary artifacts wrought by the Holy Temple a millennium ago. Though devoid of overt enchantments, they were among the few items capable of altering one’s appearance. Simply wearing them allowed the user to take on another’s visage. In her youth, Tilise had delighted in using them to foment discord.

"Giving the earrings to the little one—aren’t you just hoping he’ll follow in your footsteps and sow chaos everywhere?" Felatumo teased.

Tilise arched a brow. "What’s wrong with that? He’s at just the age to be playing and exploring."

Luo Ci looked from one to the other, waving his tiny hands. "I love both Auntie Tilise’s and Uncle Felatumo’s gifts..."

But the dispute only intensified, with both adults insisting their gift was the child’s favorite.

As tempers neared the boiling point, Luo Ci hurried off on his short legs to fetch reinforcements. Eyes tightly closed, he dashed forward—only to run headlong into someone and land hard on his bottom.

He hadn’t meant to cry, but the sudden sting brought tears to his pink, round eyes, which now glistened with impending tears.

The colossal skeleton he’d bumped into fretfully scooped up the whimpering babe. Violet said, "Here, let me hold him."

"What’s got our little one in such a hurry?"

Luo Ci burrowed into Violet’s arms, pointing with a tiny finger. "Auntie Tilise and Uncle Felatumo are fighting..."

"Don’t worry. Go play in your room—I’ll handle it." Though Violet’s expression was habitually severe, he modulated his voice as much as possible.

"Mm-hmm." Luo Ci nodded obediently.

Violet handed the child over to the giant skeleton and an attendant retinue of blood servants, who escorted him to his room.

The little one placed his small hand in the skeleton’s massive bony palm—his fist barely the size of a single finger.

Glancing back every few steps, he saw Violet still standing there, waving affectionately.

With a patter of tiny feet, Luo Ci was led back to his bedroom, the blood servants following closely, tense with worry that the young prince might take another tumble.

His bedroom was vast, furnished more lavishly than a human king’s chambers. The carpet was woven from the fur of a glacier woolly mammoth, while the cabinets were crafted from gold and rare ores, their edges studded with scintillating diamonds. Strangely, though, the room had very few light sources—just a couple of golden candlesticks and some glowing lantern grass.

He toddled over to his crib and dragged out a small golden chest, its surface etched with intricate spells. The moment it was disturbed, a plaintive murmur emerged, and an ashen-hued imp the size of a palm materialized.

"State—the—pass—word—"

The imp’s fingers gleamed sharply, clutching a menacing trident imbued with terrifying Dark Magic. One wrong answer, and the intruder would be dissolved instantly.

Luo Ci puffed his cheeks, pouting as he flicked the imp away. "I’m your master."

The imp staggered, hopping mad. "Password—incorrect."

But the dark magic brewing in the trident solidified.

He sniffed intently and caught a familiar scent.

"Hurry and open the treasure box," Luo Ci urged.

The little demon detected a faint rose fragrance—the scent of Luo Ci's signature bath elixir—while the powerful magical essence unintentionally lured countless dark creatures.

He recognized his little master.

But the little master had previously said the password was wrong and the box couldn't be opened... The little demon rubbed his head, aggrieved, and reluctantly unwound himself from the treasure box to open it.

Luo Ci sat cross-legged on the carpet, counting the treasures stored inside. The elders had given the Young Prince so many things lately—shimmering magic pearls, priceless glass skulls, ancient undead infused with necrotic elements, a soul-snatching demon flute, crystalline clams that produced Chimera-attracting mucus, and dream jelly jars that granted sweet dreams with just a whiff... Each of these uniquely shaped treasures would become coveted treasures if released to the outside world, yet now they were all part of his collection.

With so many treasures cramming the bedroom, Violet used alchemy to create this bottomless treasure box to store the Young Prince's prized possessions.

The little demon was also specially crafted by Violet to guard the box.

He had made a pact with Luo Ci—only Luo Ci could open this treasure chest.

It was no exaggeration to say that the wealth inside this little box surpassed what even the most renowned human Archmage could accumulate in a lifetime.

"Exi," Luo Ci fiddled with the treasure box, his chubby little hands picking up the ancient undead. He enthusiastically slid onto it a petal skirt he had made that afternoon, resting his chin on his hands and smiling. "Do you like it? Dance for me!"

Exi was a white-bearded little old man who had once been an infamous lich in the ancient lands.

He had once spread a plague that wiped out an entire kingdom, a horror even the noblest exorcists couldn't cure. The terror he brought was called "Night of Terror," which had filled Exi with smug pride. He had once sneaked into the castle's nursery, only to be discovered by the blood servants. The kind-hearted Young Prince let him go, but the elders cursed him, stripping him of most of his magic. Now reduced to a child's plaything and forced into a garish petal skirt, he raged and stomped in fury, spewing profanities under his breath.

"Ah... you don't like it?" Luo Ci cupped his chin in his hands, a little dejected.

Exi always wore a grimy black robe—he had thought Exi would be happy to change outfits.

Reading the child's thoughts, Exi stomped even harder in frustration.

"*#&##*&##&*"

Luo Ci's round face was the picture of innocence. He hadn't even mastered vampire tongue well, let alone the lich's muddled mix of curses and dialect.

He didn't understand, but the little bats hanging from the ceiling did.

Exi looked up to see a dozen pairs of crimson eyes glaring down at him in unison. Like shadows swooping from the rafters, they dove toward him, scaring the blustering lich into trembling and hiding inside the child's hood, no longer daring to stomp.

"Eek..." Luo Ci reacted swiftly, catching one of the furious, fluffy little creatures mid-dive.

This little black puffball was round and plump, like an inky puffball, with blood-red eyes that glowed ominously in the light and tiny wings sprouting from its back.

It was a wonder how such small wings could support its rotund body.

Luo Ci cupped the black puffball in his hands, pressing his cheek against it—so soft and cozy. Curious, he asked, "Little Coal Ball?"

"...Squeak."

The little Coal Balls were too aggrieved to protest.

They were familiars.

Lesser vampires tasked with assisting their masters, they had been assigned by the elders to secretly protect the Young Prince.

It would be a deadly mistake to underestimate them just because they were small, round, and bat-like—their hooked claws naturally carried cursed venom.

Thieves who wandered the night, disturbing bats resting in graveyards, would provoke a swarm attack. A single scratch from their claws could blind a man, and even the lightest graze would soon fester into suppurating wounds, untreatable even by the temple's holy water.

So when caught by the Young Prince, the little bats froze like stone statues, terrified of accidentally harming him.

Luo Ci cheerfully lifted the little Coal Ball, rubbing cheeks with it before trying to dress it in a petal outfit.

The Coal Ball's crimson eyes darted around, pitifully wanting to flee but not daring to move.

Luckily, a blood servant called deferentially from outside the door: "Young Prince, it's time for your meal."

The chubby little hand loosened its grip, and the round puffball flapped its wings furiously, flying back to the ceiling.

Luo Ci tiptoed to pull open the door.

A crowd of blood servants waited outside. Violet took the child's soft little hand: "Today's afternoon tea is set in the Green Lace Garden. The carriage ride will take about twenty-five minutes."

Luo Ci, his snow-white curls bouncing, peeked through the rose window at the sky—an inky black night, with only a couple of clouds veiling the pale half-moon.

Afternoon tea...at midnight?

Something felt off, yet somehow it made perfect sense.

The blood servants had already prepared the carriage outside the castle—another opulently decorated one, with even the footrest padded in the finest plush silk.

The horses pulling it were unusually tall, their shapes peculiar from afar. Up close, they revealed themselves as four bone horses with pitch-black bones.

Dark shadows pooled beneath their empty sockets, and their vertebrae and hip bones clicked rhythmically as they moved.

Luo Ci stretched out a small hand, and the bone horses meekly bowed their heads, nuzzling his soft palm.

Watching the affectionate display, Violet mused, "It seems our Young Prince has quite the allure for dark creatures. The bone horses have never been this friendly with anyone before."

Bone horses, a type of dark creature, were essentially cursed skeletons condemned to unlife. Unfeeling and relentless, they were undead beings known to haunt the Western Marshes, startling travelers.

They often emerged the moment the sun dipped below the horizon, heralded by a ghostly whinny as wind and sand swirled around them. Their phantom hooves would trample unsuspecting travelers, while splashes of marsh mud blinded the terrified travelers. Those who didn't escape swiftly faced merciless trampling.

Bone horses ran faster than the winds of the Western Marshes. Fierce and untamable, they were notoriously hard to tame and had never been known to willingly approach anyone.

Pure-blood gifts often began manifesting in childhood—like Violet's fondness for collecting skeletal specimens, Tilise's collection of countless mirrors, or Ya Pan's youthful fascination with potion-making in the herb garden...

So Violet deduced that the Young Prince's talent might be related to creatures.

Luo Ci was helped into the carriage, and the blood servants shut the door as the vehicle set off smoothly and swiftly.

His short legs dangled on the seat as he peered out the window, watching the plants whiz by outside.

"Young Prince hasn't left the castle much, but you'll gradually be able to explore the surroundings," Violet said gently, straightening the child's clothes. "See the plants outside? That's the Green Lace Maze."

Luo Ci exclaimed, "Auntie Tilise takes care of it!"

"Correct."

Though Luo Ci hadn't ventured out much, the servants had shown him a map of Haisen Castle, drawn with magical ink on parchment.

The castle was enormous, roughly the size of a small kingdom.

To the north lay the Dark Forest, said to house many dark creatures. While dark forests dotted the ancient lands, this one's inhabitants were particularly formidable, warding off all who might enter. The west was bordered by a thousand-meter cliff, the east guarded by the Monster Army, leaving only the south accessible to intruders.

So Tilise cast a mirror magic spell, transforming the southern approach into a maze. Those who trespassed would be lost—body and soul—forever within its twists. Gradually, no more brave souls dared to seek out Haisen Castle.

Violet cradled the little one in his arms, feeling the softness of the small body and overflowing with joy. He pointed out the window in a certain direction: "Do you know what’s over there, little one?"

Luo Ci blinked and said, "The Dark Forest."

"Yep, that’s somewhere you shouldn’t go, kiddo. It's too dangerous for a young one."

Even Violet said it was dangerous—that got the kid curious: "Why?"

"That's the Dusk Giant Wolf's den..." Violet trailed off as the carriage stopped—they had arrived.

The Grand Glen Garden covered acres and acres, planted with all sorts of weird flowers and plants, though roses dominated. Under the meticulous care of the blood servants, the roses never died, always in full bloom all year round, their fragrant pistils emitting a faint, dusky sweetness even in the dead of night.

The carriage stopped at a small pavilion in the center of the garden. The pavilion was a classic Gothic structure, ornate and old-fashioned, where the elders had long been waiting.

"Let's have afternoon tea first. The ancient tales can wait for later," Tilise said as she helped Luo Ci down from the carriage.

Luo Ci rubbed his cheek where he had been smooched too roughly, catching a whiff of a delightful sweetness that made him lick his lips without thinking.

Inside the pavilion sat a luxurious round table crafted from crystal.

Blood servants were serving delectable pastries one by one, while the high-ranking vampires elegantly poured fresh blood into small teacups, handing them to the elders.

Luo Ci cocked his head, puzzled. He had never quite understood what those sweet-smelling red liquids were—was it tea or wine?

But... he had never seen the adults eat anything else. Could they really stay full on just wine?

Slowly, he started piecing things together, resting his cheeks in his hands as he pondered.

The blood servants were placing the little one's favorite treats on the table.

Recently, rumors had quietly spread that the Young Prince had taken a liking to Plasma Fruit. The blood servants in charge of gardening competed to cultivate sweeter, softer Plasma Fruit, and the castle even hired specialized chefs to develop desserts using them.

In just a few months, crispy baked Plasma Fruit cookies, fluffy Plasma Fruit brûlée with oozing fruit pulp, and jiggly Plasma Fruit custard had all won over the Young Prince.

For the elders, watching the little one eat had become even more satisfying than sipping fresh blood.

Luo Ci was still mulling things over slowly. There seemed to be many suspicious clues—things he hadn't paid much attention to at first but had gradually begun to notice. For instance, the castle's reversed day-night schedule, the pitch-black umbrellas used when visiting sacred grounds, even his milk pudding and snacks were all a deep red...

The gazes of the elders in the pavilion lingered on the little one in Tilise's arms. The child, like a snow-white curly-haired kitten, cupped his soft, chubby cheeks in his tiny hands, lost in thought—adorable enough to make them want to snatch him up and smooch his cheeks silly.

Felatumo scooped a spoonful of milk pudding and brought it to the little one's lips. The child licked his mouth and instinctively opened up to swallow it.

Felatumo couldn't resist planting a loud kiss on the little one's forehead. "So well-behaved."

Luo Ci smacked his lips and lifted his innocent little face.

Hmm...

Something wasn’t quite adding up, was it?