A More Potent Bloodvein

A huff came from Steel Carapace as he landed down in front of a tall old condominium. Lai Mingjie hopped off of him like he was some steed instead of a companion. Not to mention that the demon king was hitting him like a horse while forcing him to fly faster. It was so hard to hold up to General Xu's standard speed.

If he had a choice, he wouldn't accept being left to the disposal of this demon king.

However, Lai Mingjie raced to the elevator and pressed on a button. He didn't even bother about that immortal who was horrified at his sudden disappearance. The demon king received a message from Botangca answering his question: Louyan wasn't there with them. There was a chance that the immortal might secretly bully his friend.

Upon arriving on the floor where Director Cheng lived, Lai Mingjie slowed down. His nose moved as he got a whiff of something familiar. It was a pungent smell, but he could feel his body responding to it. It smelled like Bloodvein, right... but worse. It was like burnt Bloodvein or even decaying heaven fruits. This was the first time he ever had this smell coming out of his home.

Lai Mingjie had a keycard for Director Cheng's door. He rested it against the panel and waited for the lock to click. He then pushed the door and saw Director Cheng seated on the counter next to the kitchen. He was staring at what seemed to be a pill pinched by his fingers. A small bottle was also on the counter, sitting there idly but making sure to emit a rather nasty aura.

The lights in the house had to be manually turned on, but neither of them did it. The only light that shone on Director Cheng's old, wrinkled face was the faint one coming from the outside. Moonlight sure was scarce, but the faint light was enough to lit up the counter.

Lai Mingjie slowly walked towards his friend, eyes fixed on the pill on the table. Instead of letting Director Cheng speak first, he grabbed the bottle and sat on the neighboring stool for the counter. He spun his seat and leaned his back and his elbow on the table. He raised the bottle to his eyes, his nose scrunching at the smell it was producing.

"What is this? Looks troublesome." Lai Mingjie shook the bottle, making three of the pills move. "Where did you get this?"

"It's not drugs. Worry not." Director Cheng chuckled as he didn't even think of taking back the bottle. He only stared back at the pill on his hand. "A peddler was selling it on the streets. He said it was the new Bloodvein—cheaper, more potent, and fast-acting. I only bought a bottle to show you tomorrow...

"It was starting to feel like I'm not strong enough." He chuckled before putting the pill down on the table. "My body could barely keep me from taking it. It was making me thirsty... for blood. I wanted to put it in my mouth and feel the difference. A more potent Bloodvein... would it let us regain our demon blood for a few minutes?"

"Sounds intriguing. Mind if I take it away now?" Lai Mingjie popped the bottle open and took one of the pills. He placed it under his nose, taking in its disgusting scent. Why would Director Cheng want to take this pill if it smelled worse than puke?

"Emodao!" Steel Carapace managed to locate him and saw him chilling with another former demon. He frowned at the scene and walked into the house, ignoring the suspicious gaze of the owner. "What are you holding?"

"Ah, this? Probably evidence." Lai Mingjie had already capped the bottle and tossed it for Steel Carapace to catch. He then popped a pill inside his mouth and swallowed it dry.

"Jie!" Director Cheng's eyes widened to the size of tomatoes. He wasn't aware of the truth behind the brutal killings happening in the city, but he had a feeling that pill would be bringing trouble. Bloodvein was created to be at its minimum effect to the demonkind. Creating something more potent would mean a higher risk of causing damage to them—worse giving the immortals a reason to attack.

However, his idiot of a senior just took the pill like it was some candy. If anything happened to Lai Mingjie, he was scared who would bear the brunt of Xu Rouguang's anger... or how many would.

Steel Carapace caught the bottle, but he could only watch in horror. His job was to make sure Lai Mingjie wouldn't get in trouble. The demon king was already injured by General Qiang when he got there, and right now... right now, he hunching over and gagging like mad. At this very second, he knew he was doomed.

So was Lai Mingjie. He had a feeling that the drug was responsible for turning the demons into berserk creatures. However, he had to know for sure. He had no other choice but to test it out on himself. With a sudden move, he popped the drug in his mouth... and now, his body was reacting violently. He could smell the pungent smell coming from the pill in his mouth... as well as feel the same demon energy that coated that one demon he failed to save.

Like what he saw as well, his body began to burn in high heat. He felt like his skin was being charred while his bones were being deformed, his muscles being torn. He bent down from the stool to hold onto his chest and tried to fight the excruciating pain with his frail body. However, he still fell to the floor as his body had a visible convulsion. He couldn't keep his body flat on the floor; he kept on rolling on the spot.

What's worse was that he couldn't even scream. Blood and drool mixed in his mouth and dripped from the corners. His eyes were dilated as he tossed and turned, watching the horrified looks on Louyan and Steel Carapace's faces. They could call on paramedics, but what if Emodao ran crazy? How many humans would he be able to kill?

Then again, the pill didn't seem to be transforming Lai Mingjie in any way. It was actively destroying his body, and he couldn't even scream for help. His fingers felt like each was splitting in three, with the bone getting exposed to the warm wind in Louyan's home.

Tears watered from the edge of his eyes. His voice was stuck inside his throat. Oh, how Nuwa loved getting him tortured more than once in a lifetime. Why did he always have to live through immense pain every time?

Then again, if it wasn't him, who was he willing to watch go through this?

A bright light came from the side, and a spear-like creature broke through the glass wall overseeing the city. Xu Rouguang morphed into his human form as soon as he got inside the home. Instead of merely using his hands to hold down the morphing demon, the general jumped at Lai Mingjie and used his entire body.

His hands grabbed Lai Mingjie's wrists and pinned them against the floor. He locked their lips together, feeding an immense amount of incredibly dense heaven and earth essence to Lai Mingjie. The essence enveloped the demon king from inside out, vanishing the demon energy while repairing the human body at the same pace it was being destroyed.

"Jie!" Xu Rouguang knew he had cleansed the other person, but Lai Mingjie could only smile a little before fainting. There's only so much pain a human body could take. The general wiped his love's face clean before glaring at Director Cheng.

"General Xu. It's this..." Steel Carapace kneeled next to them and showed him the bottle.

"Pill..." Xu Rouguang murmured as he sat down, taking the bottle from the other immortal. "Carapace, reach out to the battalion commanders, tell them to bring in whoever was caught in possession of these." He lifted his gaze to Director Cheng. "That includes you."