Deal

After absorbing the Vitae of the three Vampires, Ye Ming left the church and went back to Hardy. On the way back, he overheard a conversation between two other Vampires who were also traveling towards the city.

"Have you heard? Marquis Andrew Brujah has put out a bounty of 500 gold coins on a Vampire. Supposedly, the guy killed four of the Marquis' men, including two Barons."

"You came here from Marquis Andrew's territory?"

"Yup. I have that man's face memorized. I heard he ran to Hardy. If I'm lucky enough to see him, I'll definitely report it to the Marquis to earn the reward."

Ye Ming overheard the whole conversation from the back. He thought, 'News sure spreads fast. I've just arrived in Hardy and Marquis Andrew has already caught up to me like a vengeful spirit. I'll have to be careful when I enter the city from now on."

Ye Ming followed the two Vampires into the city. Along the way, he would often hear people discussing the same matter. Some would blow his deeds way out of proportion, saying that he killed as many as a hundred of Marquis Andrew's men.

Ye Ming did not know whether he should cry or laugh at that. After going around the city and confirming that there were no portraits of himself in the city, he felt slightly more at ease. The absence of his portrait meant that the place was still relatively safe for him. As long as he stayed anonymous, he should be able to live here for a period of time. After all, not many people had actually seen him before, and Hardy was a big city, so it would take a lot of luck for them to meet by chance.

Thinking of that, he quickly walked back to the inn where he was staying in. Luck proved to be a very unpredictable thing. When Ye Ming was about to reach the inn, from a long distance away he already recognized a familiar figure leading a group of people into the inn. He was so scared that he immediately hid himself in an alley. From the alley, he poked his head out to investigate.

The person he recognized was none other than the female Vampire who had escaped from the cemetery. Ye Ming broke out in cold sweat. If he had gone back to the inn just a little earlier, the female Vampire would certainly have found him. With over 20 people on her side, it would surely be the end of him.

'I probably can't go back to that inn any more. There's no other choice, I'll have to find another accommodation.' Ye Ming turned around back into the alley. The city of Hardy was huge, and he did not believe that this group of Vampires could turn the city upside down. The city was, after all, a territory of the Malkavian clan. The Brujah clan would have to rein themselves in a little here.

Ye Ming wandered around Hardy aimlessly. He saw a clothing store and picked out a hat for himself. The hat had a wide brim that covered half his face. He felt that should be enough in the way of disguise, so went back to searching for an accommodation in Hardy. At the south side of the city, he found a small, inconspicuous inn in a rather remote corner, which he found ideal.

A slightly chubby female Vampire walked out from behind the counter. Her large blood-red lips took up almost a third of her face. She came up to Ye Ming, puffed up her ample chest, and asked, "Would you like a room, sir?"

A foul odor came out of the woman's mouth, almost suffocating Ye Ming. The corners of Ye Ming's mouth twitched as he leaned back slightly, trying to put some distance between himself and the female Vampire. "Yes, please," he replied.

The female vampire was overjoyed. She moved even closer to Ye Ming and said, "You have good taste. Our inn is the most economical and affordable inn in Hardy. Come this way to register, please."

"Register? I have to register?" Ye Ming asked in surprised.

"Of course. It's Marquis Harland's order. All outsiders must register. You didn't know?"the female Vampire asked with her head turned back.

"I didn't. It's my first time in Hardy, so I had no idea. By the way, do you have Blood Coffins here?" Ye Ming looked around as he followed the female Vampire to the counter.

The female Vampire was obviously displeased at Ye Ming's question, perhaps because the question touched a sore spot. She replied testily, "No, we don't. Didn't you hear me say that we're the most economical and affordable inn in Hardy? If you want to sleep in a Blood Coffin you can go somewhere else."

Ye Ming heard the displeasure in the female Vampire's voice and immediately changed his tone. "I was just asking out of curiosity. No Blood Coffin? That's perfect. Those things are a lot of trouble to open and close. An inn like yours is exactly what I'm looking for."

The female vampire was obviously satisfied with Ye Ming's reply. She happily said, "I knew it, you have good taste, sir. What's your name?"

"Yelena," Ye Ming blurted out without thinking.

"What? Yelena?" the female Vampire was a little surprised to that. "That's a woman's name. Why would you have a woman's name? Seriously."

Ye Ming shrugged indifferently. "In this day and age, what does it matter? There's practically no difference."

"I guess. I even had a female Vampire named Hammer staying here before," she said as she wrote down the name "Yelena" in the register.

"Here's the key. Your room is the second room on the second floor. You can go up yourself." The female Vampire lazily handed Ye Ming the key, then sit her huge butt back on the wooden chair.

Ye Ming took the key and went upstairs without wasting another moment. He just wanted to get away from her as quickly as possible, lest he got poisoned from prolonged exposure to her breath.

On the second floor, he found his room, went in, and locked the door behind him. Only then did Ye Ming relax. He carefully looked around the room, then squatted down to look under the bed. He did not find anything, which slightly disappointed him.

He sat on the bed and activated the {Ancient Blood Refining Technique} to begin his cultivation. A few days later, Ye Ming had used up all the materials he purchased in Hardy, and at the same time, he successfully promoted himself to a Baron.

(ED: I think the author might have made a mistake here and meant to write Viscount because Ye Ming already became a Baron before this.)

Without any cultivation materials left, Ye Ming had no choice but to go out again. He started searching for treasure chests in Hardy. However, he found nothing even after several days of effort, which made him very frustrated. He understood that this kind of thing could not be forced. As long as he remained patient, luck would definitely fall his way.

One day, Ye Ming was wandering around looking for treasure chests as usual when his unsuspecting steps took him to the gate of Marquis Harland Malkavian's castle.

*Ding*

The clear, crisp system notification sounded. Ye Ming saw, in front of the iron gates of the Harland Castle, a treasure chest. It was even a golden one. Ye Ming quickly went to the treasure chest to open it.

[Congratulations, you have obtained a Count Blood Essence and a Count Claw!]

Ye Ming was overjoyed. Having pocketed the materials, he looked up at the imposing Marquis' castle. An idea suddenly crept into his mind -- he would infiltrate this castle.

Surely the Marquis' castle would not be inferior to the Count's castle, right? Based on his prior experience in the Count's castle, Ye Ming was sure there must be even more treasure chests hidden inside. If he could infiltrate the castle, those treasure chests were all his for the taking.

Ye Ming could not help laughing out loud. All he could think about were the treasure chests calling out to him. "Alright, it's decided. I must find a way to get inside."