A Better Man

The brave cultivator, now under Xue Yang's spell, nodded in a daze.

"Come in," he murmured.

Outraged shouts erupted from the others.

"What are you doing?!"

"Traitor!"

But their cries were futile.

Xue Yang's command was clear and compelling.

He walked into the building confidently before briefly turning his head.

"Eliminate the rest," he ordered the enchanted cultivator.

With a hollow voice, the cultivator responded.

"I will end them."

With a smile, Xue Yang turned back around and walked deeper into the building.

As he walked, sounds of the cultivators clashing with their former comrade echoed through the empty halls before soon after ceasing altogether.

Now, the only sign of life echoing in the empty hallways were Xue Yang's footsteps.

He closed his eyes and spread his senses across the entirety of the building's interior, searching for signs of life.

'Where are you hiding, little mouse?'

"Found you!" He exclaimed with a smile and calmly sauntered towards his new target.

He walked into a large room belonging to the city lord's son, Li Bao.

In the centre of the room was an open trap door with a staircase that led deep underground.

As he walked into the room, the stench of blood assaulted his nostrils, and new signs of life could be felt.

They were faint and near death, but Xue Yang could feel they weren't in immediate danger and were unlikely to die soon.

"Li Bao, Oh Li Bao. Just what have you done?" He asked himself rhetorically, gritting his teeth to calm himself.

He didn't know who was down there yet, but Xue Yang knew he wouldn't like what he saw.

Xue Yang began his descent down the stairs. 

The path was dark. Not a single torch or light source lit the way.

Despite this, he could see clear as day.

Soon after, Xue Yang reached the bottom of the stairs and was greeted by a short hallway, at the end of which was a shut old reinforced wooden door.

He opened the door with ease, revealing what was inside.

His eyes at first travelled to the side, where he could see a table with various bloody tools scattered on top of a white rag stained with fresh and dried blood.

There were hammers, pliers, nails and other tools and items that one might use for painful and barbaric torture.

Then, he looked directly in front of him.

Standing there, with their back to Xue Yang, was a man with loose, long black hair.

He was wearing white robes that, just like the rag on which the tools rested, were covered in blood, old and new.

In his right hand was a black whip that also showed the same signs.

He then looked past the man and at the wall they were facing.

There, he saw two people who were chained up against the wall. 

Signs of beating and torture were clear as day.

Their faces were bruised and bloody to the point that it would be hard to identify them.

But Xue Yang, with his superior senses, recognised them as the Li couple, Li Qiang and Li Hua.

They were the parents of Li Qing, the girl who had helped Xue Yang in multiple ways, even going as far as preparing his current robes for him as a gift.

They looked dehydrated and malnourished, having lost a lot of weight due to the awful circumstances they found themselves in.

Seeing this horrid sight, Xue Yang barely contained his wrath.

The only thing that kept him from keeling over the edge of sanity and tearing Li Bao apart right then was that Li Qing wasn't there.

"Tell me where your daughter is, and I promise this will stop." Li Bao said in a frustrated tone.

"She won't be able to find a better man than me." 

His voice was so slimy that even Xue Yang felt disgusted as soon as he heard it.

"..."

The Li couple did not respond, causing Li Bao to scowl in anger as his eyes twinkled with a hint of madness.

He lifted his right arm high into the air, preparing to strike the couple with his whip, but before he could swing it, he felt a hard and firm grip on his wrist.

"Who dares to touch me!" He questioned with a hint of disdain and turned towards whoever grabbed him, only to be greeted by Xue Yang's handsome smiling face.

Even though Xue Yang was smiling, to Li Bao, it looked terrifying.

It was as if a giant tiger was smiling at a weak, defenceless bunny moments before devouring it.

"So you're Li Bao." He said in a chilling voice.

"Who are you?" Li Bao scowled.

"A better man."

"What?" He asked, confused at the reply, unaware that Xue Yang had heard what he just told the Li couple.

With that question, Xue Yang squeezed Li Bao's wrist, his fingers digging into his skin as his bones started to crack before they completely shattered.

"AHHHH!" He screamed in pain, dropping the whip onto the ground.

Xue Yang let go of his wrist and allowed Li Bao to back away slightly.

He held onto his crushed wrist as his arm flopped like a fish.

"Do you know who I am? Wait until my father hears about this!"

Raising his eyebrows and covering his mouth with his hand, he asked.

"Your father?"

Feeling confident and despite the pain, Li Bao grinned.

"Ha! Scared already? If you kneel and beg for your life, I might spare you and let you live the rest of your pathetic life as my dog."

"..."

"HA HA HA HA!" Xue Yang erupted into laughter, dumbfounding Li Bao.

He removed a tear from his eye while smiling happily, but his expression instantly became serious afterwards.

"You talk too much."

With that, he kicked Li Bao on the left side of his body, causing him to cough up a bit of blood instantly and fly to the side of the room, breaking some ribs in the process.

He was still conscious after the extreme damage he took but in intense and agonising pain.

Xue Yang looked at where he landed.

"You're lucky that your life doesn't belong to me. Otherwise, we'd have some fun in this playroom of yours."

He walked towards Li Bao and stood over him, and with a sinister smile, he said, "So just wait here like a good dog."

Then, he stomped on one of his legs and broke it so he wouldn't even think of trying to run away.

Even though he had nowhere to run, Xue Yang wanted to crush his spirits completely.

Xue Yang then turned his attention to the Li couple.

He walked towards them.

As he approached them, they sensed his nearing presence.

Their weak and damaged bodies, shaking from fear.

"It's okay, I'm here to help you." Xue Yang said in a warm and friendly tone.

With a swift motion, he broke the chains and caught the pair in his strong arms before gently sitting them up against the wall.

The couple looked at Xue Yang, but thanks to their damage, they could barely tell who was in front of them.

"Ugh Ang?" Li Qiang asked, unable to pronounce Xue Yang's name due to the lack of teeth.

Xue Yang smiled and nodded, "That's right, Uncle Li."

"I'm here to help you. I can make sure nothing like this ever happens to you. All you need to do is take my hand."

"So, will the two of you take my hand? I doubt Li Qing would be happy to see you like this."

Unable to lift their hands, the couple nods their heads slightly.

Xue Yang smiled and opened a wound on his wrist before gently opening their mouths and feeding them a large amount of his blood.

He fed them significantly more blood than all the ghouls and the village kid combined.

Once he was done, he snapped both their necks with his power to control blood, completing the vampiric transformation.

Now, all he could do was wait for them to awaken.

He closed his eyes, and with his mind, he called to him three nearby ghouls.

Then he looked over at Li Bao, who, in the end, passed out from the pain.

Looking down at him, Xue Yang scoffed.

"Pathetic."