Chapter 39: Departure

Wei Bai looked at the four people in the carriage and fell into silence.

Immediately, he pulled open the carriage door and asked the driver, “Who are these people?”

“They’re carpooling with you,” the coachman replied without even turning his head.

“If you don’t want to ride, you can get off.”

Upon hearing those words, the corners of Wei Bai’s mouth twitched.

‘Since when did it become such a scam that fifty silver coins only gets me a carpool?’

At the thought of the money he had just paid, Wei Bai felt as if his heart were bleeding.

“It’s nothing, I was just asking.”

Wei Bai pulled his head back into the carriage.

This was a carriage he had waited a long time for.

Due to the influence of banditry in the neighboring territories, almost all carriages were currently at this price.

This gave the coachmen the confidence to be arrogant.

In normal times, these drivers would never dare to charge such a high price while treating their customers with such cold indifference.

If he changed to another carriage, it would likely be the same; he would still have to carpool with others.

With that thought, Wei Bai glanced at the nearby carriages.

Sure enough, through the windows, he could see more than one passenger sitting in each of them.

Aside from these carriages picking up passengers, there were also many freight wagons.

Because of the price hikes at the local Adventurers Association, these freight wagons were forced to stop at the station while their owners searched the area, hoping to find bodyguards traveling the same way.

These belonged to entire merchant caravans, and the carriages of a caravan would never have carpoolers.

There were also many traveling merchants who went to hire public freight wagons.

Naturally, the price was not cheap.

One could tell from their ashen faces that the costs had likely far exceeded their expectations.

Pulling the carriage curtain shut, Wei Bai once again sized up the four people dressed in various outfits who were carpooling with him.

At that moment, they were also sizing him up.

‘Adventurers?’

Although the four of them were dressed differently, they all wore badges from the Adventurers Association on their chests, indicating their status.

This was clearly a complete adventure party: a burly man with a scar on his face carrying a sword and shield, a slender girl with a bow and arrows on her back, and a gloomy-looking young man holding a staff.

After looking at those three, Wei Bai shifted his gaze to the final member, a young girl.

The girl had silver hair and blood-red eyes.

She was cute and playful in appearance, wearing a small black formal dress and carrying a long holy staff on her back.

She was very eye-catching.

However, her figure was somewhat too immature.

For some reason, she was very short.

Seeing her height, a certain figure flashed through Wei Bai’s mind.

He had seen such a short, immature-looking girl before.

But that girl was actually an old monster who had lived for nearly 100 years and was highly skilled in alchemy.

Not long ago, an alchemy creation she had given him had been crushed underfoot by Francis.

However, the girl in front of him was clearly different from Phil.

Her bright, striking hair alone was enough to make her stand out.

Sensing Wei Bai’s gaze, the girl’s blood-red eyes met his.

The moment she saw Wei Bai, her gaze visibly faltered for a second, and then she began to study him thoughtfully.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable being stared at by the girl, Wei Bai looked out the window.

People were coming and going outside as the carriage wove through the crowd.

From time to time, the coachman rang the bell on the carriage, making a clinking sound.

“We’re heading out! I’ll say it one more time: this carriage is going to Earl Kevin’s territory. If that’s not where you’re going, please get off and find another one quickly, otherwise I won’t be giving any refunds,” the coachman said, confirming the destination of each passenger.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you; there’s been bandit trouble in Earl Kevin’s territory recently. If you have concerns, you can get off now, but the fare is non-refundable.”

When Wei Bai heard the destination was Earl Kevin’s territory, his heart stirred, recalling the conversation he had heard from the caravan earlier.

However, he had no objections.

Although the bandit problem in Earl Kevin’s territory was serious, going there was still better than going to the Papal State.

Before preparing to depart, he hadn’t decided where he wanted to go, but for now, the faster he left Carven City, the better.

“It’s fine, Master. You can start the carriage. We are indeed going to Earl Kevin’s territory,” the muscular man replied.

The others remained silent, each occupied with their own thoughts.

“What is your name?” the silver-haired girl asked suddenly, staring at Wei Bai for a moment.

“Hmm?”

Wei Bai was somewhat stunned by the sudden question.

The girl’s voice was very pleasant — crisp, melodious, and sweet, giving one a refreshed feeling.

“Are you asking me?” The moment the question left his mouth, Wei Bai felt incredibly foolish.

Aside from him, the other four people in the carriage clearly knew each other.

Who else could she be asking?

“Yes.”

The girl did not show any sign of find it odd; instead, she replied seriously.

“My name is Francis,” Wei Bai replied.

He couldn’t just casually tell his real name to strangers.

Moreover, the other party was from the Adventurers Association.

If he told them his real name, it would be as easy as flipping a hand for them to check his information.

He had worked at the Adventurers Association, after all.

Although he was retired, his identity and information were all on file.

Out of these concerns, Wei Bai hid his real name and simply adopted the name of a certain unlucky guy.

“Francis, is it? That name doesn’t suit you very well,” the girl said.

She then performed a very proper gesture of etiquette.

Even though Wei Bai had never seen this specific style of etiquette before, he could still feel that it was extremely extraordinary.

“Mr. Francis. It is a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for any offense. My name is Taurani. Please look after me during the journey ahead.”

“Ah… right.”

Wei Bai didn’t know how to respond to such etiquette and could only give a vague reply.

However, the fact that the other party harbored no ill will toward him was a good thing.

At the very least, it would reduce a lot of unnecessary trouble on the road ahead.

After Taurani finished her self-introduction, she stopped paying attention to Wei Bai.

She pulled a dark brown object from her dress pocket and began to chew on it expressionlessly.

Looking at the dark brown object the girl was gnawing on, Wei Bai felt curious and quietly watched her as she chewed.

Sensing Wei Bai’s curious gaze, Taurani raised her head expressionlessly, broke off a piece of the dark brown object in her hand, and handed it to Wei Bai.

“Here, do you want a taste?”

“Uh, no thanks.”

Wei Bai stared at the dark brown object in Taurani’s hand.

He could clearly see teeth marks and a bit of residual saliva, which gave him the illusion that he was competing with a child for food.

Seeing that Wei Bai did not take the food, Taurani silently pulled her hand back and continued gnawing expressionlessly.

It was impossible to tell if it tasted good or bad.

“What… is that?”

Wei Bai asked, unable to contain his curiosity as he watched Taurani take bite after bite.

“A Blood Block,” Taurani said calmly.

“Blood?”

When Wei Bai heard the answer, he felt his hair stand on end for a moment.

In the palace, he often heard people talk about an extremely bizarre blood-sucking creature.

They had crimson eyes and specifically appeared in the middle of the night to find lone travelers.

They would catch the travelers off guard, suck them into dry corpses, and then quietly leave.

Because of this, when he was very young, he would be terrified every night, always suspecting that a pair of crimson lights would suddenly light up in the darkness before pouncing on him.

He was very familiar with these rumors and quickly recalled the protagonist of such stories.

“Are you a Vampire?”

Wei Bai asked tentatively.

Although he had matured quite a bit, the stories of Vampires still left a significant psychological shadow on him.

“No,” Taurani replied.

“I am a Blood Demon.”

“What is a Blood Demon?”

Wei Bai had never even heard of this race, but hearing that she wasn’t a Vampire made him relax a little.

“Those bats you people speak of that fly around in the night are Vampires. We are different from them; they can only be considered another branch of our lineage.”

“They can only reproduce through the First Embrace, but for us to turn someone into a Blood Demon, we don’t even need direct contact. We are born from blood itself.”

As Taurani spoke, she raised a finger, and a crimson drop of blood gathered at her fingertip.

“Do you want to feel it?”

“No, there’s no need.”

Hearing this, Wei Bai felt that the crimson drop of blood looked increasingly eerie.

He got a layer of goosebumps and shrank back.

He had initially felt relieved when the silver-haired girl said she wasn’t a Vampire, but now it seemed this girl was only more terrifying than a Vampire.

From the look of it, it was truly lucky that the other party harbored no ill will toward him.

“By the way, since you’re a Blood Demon, does the Adventurers Association even accept you?”

Wei Bai couldn’t help but feel curious.

As a Blood Demon, logically, the Adventurers Association shouldn’t have recruited her.

Why was she able to act with the status of an adventurer?

According to what Francis had said before, the Church, as the core power of the Kingdom Continent, had always been on high alert against long-lived species, guarding against any possible infiltration or control.

Yet the Adventurers Association dared to recruit a long-lived species right under the Church’s nose.

Had the Adventurers Association become powerful enough to contend with the Church and the entire Kingdom Continent?

“They don’t recruit us. I was invited by them,” Taurani replied, her voice still incredibly flat, devoid of any joy, anger, or sorrow.

“What?”

Wei Bai was stunned by the answer.

The Adventurers Association would actually personally invite a long-lived species?

“To be precise, it was your Church that invited me. They have a very troublesome matter that requires our help. However, there is still some time before that matter begins, so I put forward a request to come to the Adventurers Association.”

“For one, it is to understand human customs and local conditions. For another, it is a way to temper myself.”

“I see.”

Wei Bai was surprised by the response.

However, hearing that the other party’s words seemed related to the decisions of the high-level officials of the Church, Wei Bai lost interest.

This place wasn’t far from the Papal State.

The Kingdom of Anda was originally a neighbor of the Papal State, so it was understandable for Taurani to appear here as an adventurer, especially since the headquarters of the Adventurers Association was also located in the Papal State.

However, learning that she was personally invited by the Church made Wei Bai’s attitude slightly more respectful.

Although he disliked the Church, anyone who could be part of a high-level Church decision must have an extraordinary identity.

“What is your party planning to do?”

Wei Bai asked, then looked at the other three.

Sensing Wei Bai’s gaze, the others also stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

They had naturally heard the conversation between Wei Bai and Taurani, but they had no extra reaction to it.

“Us? We’re going to Earl Kevin’s territory to clear out some bandits,” the scar-faced man said, then added, “By the way, my name is Grey. I’m the Berserker of this team.”

“I am Rom,” the gloomy young Mage said.

“Jiu,” the slender girl said, then lowered her head again to fiddle with her longbow.

“Then you are the Healer?” Wei Bai finished and turned back to Taurani.

“Yes.”

Taurani nodded, put away the unfinished Blood Block, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the crumbs off her dress.

Wei Bai hadn’t expected that a Blood Demon, who in legends could suck a person into a dry corpse, would actually exist as the Healer of the team.

Logically, shouldn’t a creature like a Vampire be a filthy, stinking, crazy, and barbaric being?

But the girl in front of him was clearly the exact opposite of the rumors.

Not only did she pay attention to personal hygiene, but her etiquette was also very much in place.

Indeed, rumors were only rumors and couldn’t be fully trusted.

As Wei Bai thought this, an idea popped into his head.

How about he follow this adventure party to see their commission?

While he was at it, he could observe this girl named Taurani.

***

(Sorry, the update is a bit late. I only had time to write at 9:30 PM. I am very sorry. This chapter is 3,500 words. I hope everyone likes it.)