Early in the morning, as the sun rose and the dark forces weakened, the rampaging crowd began to regain their senses and gradually dispersed. The mayor wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief. But it was clear that the matter was far from over. Two days later, a provincial investigation team arrived in S City, and a week after that, a group of officials led by the mayor and the chief prosecutor of S City were replaced. As soon as the acting mayor took office, he announced the formation of a joint special task force by the city’s Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate to investigate the collusion between John Young and David Warren with criminal elements and their crimes. The barely alive Deputy Mayor Young was dragged out for a first and then a second trial, and under heavy pressure from higher authorities, the Public Security Bureau took only two days to capture the “Blue-eyed Wolf” David Warren. Half a month later, a citywide public trial was held: John Young and David Warren were sentenced to death and executed immediately, while other related personnel received sentences ranging from death to ten years in prison. After the trial, John Young and David Warren were taken straight to the execution ground, and a volley of gunfire ended their evil lives. The next day, the acting mayor drove to Shengli, and two days later, the provincial deputy governor in charge of discipline inspection flew to the central government. The central leadership said, “The people of S City have a strong sense of justice. Good!”

However, everyone was puzzled: all the details of the crimes had been uncovered, but who had hypnotized the entire TV station and broadcast that footage?

John Young and David Warren were awakened by a bucket of water. As they opened their eyes, they saw two people standing in front of them, a man and a woman. David Warren cried out in shock, “You, aren’t you the eldest daughter of the Yan family?” Grace Young let out a sinister laugh, drew the dagger she had prepared, and slowly walked over; Edward Lewis turned and left the room.

From inside came the constant screams of two men and the hoarse shouts of Grace Young, making Edward Lewis shake his head. Grace Young insisted on killing them herself, so he had to use illusion magic to confuse the executioners and bring the two to this abandoned house in the suburbs. More than an hour passed before the sounds inside gradually subsided. Edward Lewis went in to find two piles of mangled flesh on the ground, and Grace Young crouched to the side, sobbing uncontrollably. He pulled Grace Young up and led her out, casually casting a Five Thunder Heavenly Fire spell. Five bolts of heavenly thunder mixed with a stream of divine fire crashed down from the sky, reducing the house to a burning ruin.

Chapter Ten

With the S City affair settled, Edward Lewis took Grace Young back to Xi’an. He didn’t go home, but went straight to a villa in the Qinling Mountains. Grace Young knew the time had come for her to pay the “price,” so before Edward Lewis could speak, she asked directly, “Go ahead, what’s my price?” “It’s like this!” Edward Lewis infused a trace of dark power into his voice, making it sound as if it came from the depths of hell, and then bared his fangs at Grace Young’s terrified gaze. He had been in a foul mood these past two days, and without realizing it, the dark power had taken effect, intensifying his negative emotions, which was why he maliciously tried to scare Grace Young.

When Edward Lewis pulled his teeth from Grace Young’s artery, he noticed a silver necklace on her neck. “What’s this?” Grace Young lay weakly on the ground, massive blood loss leaving her limp. “This is what they were looking for.” Edward Lewis pulled the chain from her collar, revealing a heart-shaped pendant. He pressed his thumb lightly on the pendant, and with a crisp “clink,” it popped open to reveal a tiny axe, only the size of a peanut—so this was it? He took out the “axe,” and underneath was a sticker photo of Grace Young’s family of four. Seeing the beaming faces of her deceased family, and thinking of her recent ordeals, Grace Young was overwhelmed with grief, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Feeling a pang of sympathy, Edward Lewis comforted her, “Don’t cry. I don’t like the taste of human blood. Don’t worry, I won’t keep drinking your blood. What you need to do is simple: pretend to be my girlfriend—just for my mom’s sake. As for everything else, as long as you don’t betray me, I don’t care.” He didn’t turn Grace Young into a vampire; Grace Young was merely his “blood slave,” a practice that existed among vampires. They would keep some humans, help them solve certain problems, and in return, the humans would lose their freedom and offer their blood to the vampires. Edward Lewis didn’t need Grace Young’s blood; he just wanted her to pretend to be his girlfriend. Besides, “blood slaves” couldn’t betray their masters, so for him, it was a once-and-for-all solution—no more worries about finding a “girlfriend.” Still, he felt somewhat guilty about not being entirely aboveboard with Grace Young this time.