The stables were brightly lit tonight; clearly, the soldiers weren't planning to sleep and intended to fight to the death tonight.
Yun Zhe walked to the entrance of the stable. Usha was placed on a haystack, still unconscious. A faint smell of blood still lingered in the stable, but Yun Zhe had regained his composure. He pushed through the crowd, examining the bloodstains on the ground. One was near the entrance, another near a window. Yun Zhe frowned. He went to a corner, took out a bag of white powder he had obtained from a vampire hunter years ago, and began to sprinkle it evenly around the stable before setting it on fire.
He learned this trick from his fellow Aruru people. Although it didn't seem to work. At least he didn't feel anything unusual about it.
At least it gives me peace of mind. Yunzhe comforted himself with this thought.
“I’ve also encountered Aluru camps; they do this around their camps at night,” Lorraine said softly as she walked up to Yun Zhe. Yun Zhe had recovered so quickly and even performed the Aluru ritual. This further increased Lorraine’s positive impression of him.
What are you worried about?
"I'm wondering if this vampire's actions were just a spur-of-the-moment thing, or if it was premeditated," Yun Zhe said, his brows furrowed.
“Premeditated? What do you mean?” Lorraine asked.
“Those bandits, their strength is completely mismatched with the night vision scroll. This kind of high-level scroll, at least the level of Nightfire, is something only someone with that could afford,” Yun Zhe said, looking at Lorraine. “I'm not wrong, am I?”
Lorraine nodded. Although the scroll wasn't expensive, it wasn't something that bandits could possess, and none of them even seemed to know how to use it.
“Then, the vampires attacked us,” Yun Zhe tried to analyze.
"The worst-case scenario is that this vampire has already set his sights on us. What should we do then?" Lorraine said in a low and urgent voice. He looked around, but no one seemed to notice them.
"It's alright, you can continue as usual, I'll handle it," Yun Zhe glanced at Lorraine and replied in a low voice.
"Standard? How can it be the same? Everyone's scared to death. Believe it or not, they'll leave at daybreak tomorrow." Lorraine pointed to the soldiers, some sitting and some standing.
Yun Zhe was taken aback; he hadn't expected this.
Indeed, leaving is the best option, but he was just thinking about how to help the village get through the winter, so why give up like this?
"If, and I mean if, we all leave, and all the villagers here are killed by that vampire, then what will be left of my fiefdom?"
"I didn't even charge them a single copper coin, and they just let that vampire get away with it so easily?" Yun Zhe's voice suddenly rose, his tone quite aggrieved.
Lorraine was also taken aback. From a lord's perspective, Yun Zhe's words made no mistake.
"Do you have a solution?" Lorraine asked.
"I'm still thinking about it," Yun Zhe answered honestly.
Lorraine gave an awkward laugh and sighed.
"I'll go look around tomorrow during the day to see if I can find anything." Yun Zhe wanted to go out now, but he held back.
"Everyone get some rest, I'll take the night watch," Yun Zhe said loudly when he saw many soldiers looking in their direction.
"A lord keeps watch by himself?" The soldiers were baffled by Yun Zhe's actions.
“My lord, I’ll take the first watch. You can go and rest,” Gao said voluntarily.
Some soldiers also came over, and although they didn't speak, their eyes conveyed the same meaning.
Yun Zhe was touched, but still declined their offer.
"You all should rest; I can sleep in the carriage tomorrow morning. But you'll have to ride horses."
Horseback riding? The group exchanged bewildered glances.
"Sir, are we leaving tomorrow?" Everyone became noticeably more excited at this thought.
“Perhaps,” Yun Zhe shook his head, “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll leave this to me to think about. You all should get some rest.” As he spoke, Yun Zhe walked to Wu Sha’s side. Wu Sha had already woken up and looked at Yun Zhe with some fear.
Yun Zhe leaned down and whispered, "Go to sleep, you have to get up early tomorrow."
“I can’t sleep,” Usa whispered.
Yun Zhe looked around, and everyone seemed disappointed by his ambiguous statement. Clearly, everyone wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Yun Zhe didn't know how to explain to these people, nor did he know what reason to give them to stay.
It's difficult. How do you proceed when one person's will differs from that of a group of people?
Yun Zhe scratched his head and fell into deep thought.
In the darkness, a pair of eyes remained fixed on the stable. It wasn't a vampire, nor a survivor of those lousy bandits, but a man in black robes.
He stared intently at the stable. Tonight's attack was just a feint; his target was Yun Zhe, but this plan was thwarted by another vampire.
The shadowy figure muttered something to itself, as if it were talking to someone.
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