[Reckless, arrogant son of a traitor, a blood hunter seme x cool-headed, restrained, beautiful-but-tragic half-vampire uke]
At the Bloodless Hall, talent is measured by lamps.
When Wei Chen was seven, all twelve lamps lit up. The whole hall was stunned. No one could compare.
Everyone said he was a once-in-a-century blood-hunting prodigy.
But after the disastrous defeat at Chiling, his father, Wei Changqing, was branded a traitor.
When people spoke of Wei Chen again, no one remembered the twelve lamps.
They remembered only one thing: the traitor's son.
Wei Chen became careless, arrogant, and impossible to control.
He swaggered through the Bloodless Hall in a black robe. The elders got headaches when they saw him, and his peers took detours to avoid him.
When teams were assigned for a mission, only the taciturn new disciple, Kaze, came to his side.
"I'm with him."
*
Kaze was half-vampire. On nights of the full moon, bloodlust drove him mad.
To keep from hurting anyone, he locked himself in a stone cave again and again, enduring the Soul-Burning Whip to suppress his urges with pain.
The Bell Tower of the Deep made people relive the day they most wanted to return to.
But Kaze had no such day.
He had no past worth remembering and no moment he wanted to hold on to.
So the bell showed him the future instead:
The blood moon hung high. He had lost his mind, his hands drenched in blood.
Wei Chen lay a few steps away, the Guishuang Blade soaked in a pool of blood.
Then the bell's illusion shattered, and the blood moon and bloodstained ground vanished together.
Wei Chen was still beside him.
Kaze grabbed his sleeve, his voice trembling.
"Senior Brother..."
"Don't let me become that."
Wei Chen held his hand.
"All right. I'll bring you back."
*
On the Night of Returning Lamps, every lamp went out, and the souls of everyone in the city were swept into the sacrificial array.
Standing in the middle of a sea of lights, Kaze used his blood as a guide to call back one by one the countless souls swallowed by the array.
"Come back."
One lamp lit up.
Then a hundred, a thousand, until ten thousand lamps burned in reverse.
The people of the city awoke, but Kaze was devoured by the royal blood in his veins. His eyes turned crimson, and his fangs emerged.
The crowd surged out of the sea of lights. Only Wei Chen walked against it, step by step toward him.
"Kaze."
"Come back."
*
Later, Kaze's half-vampire identity was completely exposed.
So what if he had saved thousands? Every sword in the mountain still pointed at him.
"Vampires are born bloodthirsty. They can't be trusted. They can't be allowed to live."
Wei Chen stood alone in front of Kaze.
"Who has he ever hurt?"
[Reader's Guide]
1. An original Eastern fantasy setting, with episodic mysteries, an ensemble cast, and suspense. Strong plot and romance.
2. Blood hunter x half-vampire, two powerful leads, mutual redemption, happy ending.
3. The main plot includes solving strange realms, faction conflicts, revelations about their pasts, and reopening old cases.
4. The romance is a slow burn that develops alongside the main plot. Important supporting characters each have their own beliefs and character arcs.
5. The world, races, and power system are all original, and will be gradually revealed as the plot unfolds.
Theme: Bloodlines do not determine good or evil. Our choices do.
