I meet a vampire tree

After the time of one incense stick burning Lok finally came to call upon Bai Hua. He was still in his loincloth and now he gradually remembered that this was the attire he was supposed to put on for the ritual. And as he was inspecting himself he finally took notice of the string of bones around his ankle. He couldn't look more barbaric than this! A loincloth and a string of bones to boot!

The previous owner of the body wasn't wearing any accessories on him when he died. But he didn't mind it very much.

"I look like I'll be hunting a boar anytime soon in this outfit," he mumbled.

"Young Lord, did you say something? Let's move to the ritual ground. It's time."

Reluctantly Bai Hua got up from his bed and sighed inwardly. He may be new to this body but he had already decided to live this life and he has the previous owner's memories to guide him through this mess.

They leave the room and walked till the ritual ground came in sight.

"Young Lord, I don't know what happened earlier but you were not yourself. But you've regained your normal composure. Please don't leave again like that without telling me. If anything happens to you I will never be able to forgive myself. Your mother entrusted me with your care and I have never been this careless in my duties. Ah, I thought I would die when I saw the Lord waiting at the threshold when I carried you back. His eyes were gleaming like a devil!"

Lok chattered away full of self-blame and suffering like it was him who actually died and was sharing his dying moments to Bai Hua. Bai Hua couldn't help but smirk at this.

Finally, they reached the entrance of the ritual ground where in the middle there was a sacred grove of the shamans. They were greeted by the servants of the shamans and Lok was told to wait outside.

Bai Hua entered the ground following the servants and when they reached the entrance of the sacred grove they asked him to wait and left him standing there.

"You have come in time, Bai Hua?" said a musical voice and a shaman appeared before him. He has never met a shaman or even seen one. What shocked him was that the voice was heard in his mind, but what shocked him most was when the shaman removed her hood he saw one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen in this or in his previous life. He could not help but stare at the shaman.

The shaman was indifferent to his gaze and said, "Follow me."

They went to the thicker part of the grove and inside it, there was a small clearing with a white tree in the middle. But the whiteness of the tree was not what held his attention but the ground below it. It was redder than a sea of poppies.

"So he has arrived," said another voice that was more musical than before, and this was also heard inside his mind. The shamans were either trying to freak him out or intimidate him, he thought.

"You needn't panic but follow my directions. I will meet you once the first step is over."

"The moment you stepped into our grove your spiritual power has been drained by our trees. Right now you are nothing more than a normal mortal. Step into the circle of the red floor and sit under the tree. You need to offer your blood as a sacrifice to appease our grove and the Holy Tree."

What Holy Tree? What kind of sick tree drinks human blood? No wonder the ground is red here. They have vampire trees in this world! Oh, heck!