TRAIL OF THINGS

"A FLOWER THAT BLOOMED WHEN END TAKES PLACE,"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Cheung Qi inquired.

"You heard me," Hei Bao shot back. He took up the glass on the table and drank the entire bottle of wine, then poured another but left it on the table. He then turned to look at Cheung Qi, who was perplexed.

"What? Don't tell me... Haven't you felt it already?" Cheung Qi asked, leaving Hei Bao puzzled.

"What?" Hei Bao inquired.

"Didn't you feel it the first time you met him?" Cheung Qi asked back. Hei Bao was surprised. He responded after a brief pause;

"How did you know?" Hei Bao asked, his brow furrowed.

"I just know," Cheung Qi said after a brief pause. He then took the glass from the table.

"When you two first met, I felt like you two were fated mates," Cheung Qi said before taking a sip.

Hei Bao simply stares at him blankly.

"You know what I despise the most," Hei Bao replied, picking up the glass and taking a sip.

"Yeah, you despised weak humans, but I don't think Lianhua was one of them," Cheung Qi said before taking a sip. He stood up after setting the glass down on the table. Hei Bao stopped him as he was about to leave after he had fixed his clothes.

"Wait," Hei Bao requested. Cheung Qi came to a halt beside Hei Bao and looked at him.

"Where are you going?" Hei Bao inquired, his voice firm.

"I'm going there to take a look," Cheung Qi said, about to take a step forward when Hei Bao called him again.

"You're not going to the village, are you?" Hei Bao inquired.

"Can't you pretend I'm not? You always say what's on your mind.. Aiyaa," Cheung Qi joked.

"Are you going there like that?" Hei Bao inquired.

"What? What's wrong with my clothes? They're not even dirty," Cheung Qi exclaimed as he examined his attire.

"I'm not talking about your clothes, Qi," Hei Bao stated sternly, turning his gaze away from Cheung Qi. He then took a sip of his wine, set the glass down on the table, and stood up. He walked past Cheung Qi and came to a halt near the door.

"Fix yourself," Hei Bao said, ignoring Cheung Qi. He was the first to open the door and leave, leaving Cheung Qi alone in the room.

He began to stride towards the stairs after closing the door behind him, his left hand on his pocket. The music's booming sound rang in his pointy ears once more. Hei Bao can't help but crunch his nose as he walks on the stairs.

'This is insane. Even in a crowded place like this, I can smell the lingering scent he left,' he thought.

He kept walking until he arrived at the parking lot. He was about to open his car door when he heard a shuffling just a few meters away. He looked to his left, where he had heard the sound. He was about to take a step forward to take a look when his phone abruptly rang in a silent garage. He didn't take his gaze away from the road and fished his phone from his right side pocket. The ringing sound resumed, but Hei Bao remained silent.

He finally lifted his phone and looked at it after a minute. He finally answered the phone when he saw Gou Feng's name on the screen. He opens his car door, gets in, and then closes it behind him.

"My Lord, I have something important to report," Gou Feng said, his voice heavy and hurried.

"Speak," Hei Bao replied, looking at his watch.

7pm.

He started the engine after placing the phone in front of the steering wheel. He started the car and drove out of the parking lot, continuing until he reached the highway.

On the other side, Gou Feng said,

"The Village was surrounded by vampires."

"WhAT?" Hei Bao was perplexed.

He grips the steering wheel and accelerates the car as fast as he can. He was on his way home when he realized he had no idea where he was going. He just knew he had to get somewhere.

"My Lord, I believe there is something wrong with this Village," Gou Feng says.

"Just get to the point," Hei Bao said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"These humans are extremely fortunate to be able to sleep despite being surrounded by vampires," Gou Feng paused.

"What's more strange is that they are surrounded by vampires, but these vampires are dead, My Lord," Gou Feng said, making Hei Bao furrow his brows.

"What do you mean, a'Feng?" Hei Bao inquired once more.

"By the time I returned here with my group, My Lord, they were already lying everywhere. Once we saw the scene, we immediately checked if what we thought was true, they are indeed dead My Lord. We discovered that their blood was still fresh and some were still oozing from their flesh, implying that a battle occurred while we were yet to arrive, My Lord," Gou Feng said.

"Have you discovered anything?" Hei Bao inquired, finally accelerating the car to normal speed.

"That's even stranger, My Lord, because we haven't found anything else besides these vampires already swimming in their own blood," Gou Feng responded.

"A'Feng, there's something wrong here," a voice in the background said on the other side. Huan Zhen was the name.

"Have you found anything?" Gou Feng inquired of the individual.

"Yeah. This Village is really strange. When we were checking the houses, people inside were sleeping soundly. I don't understand. A battle between vampires and humans just happened; how can they sleep so comfortably?" another voice, Shen Jiu, appeared.

"The dead humans we just reported to Our Lord are all missing; perhaps they've awakened from the dead and are making their way to the vampire clan," Huan Zhen's voice said again in the background.

"This is all so fucking messed up. Haaah," sighed Shen Jiu.

"We wouldn't have a problem right now if we just killed those humans who were bitten earlier," Huan Zhen says.

"Why did you let them go in the first place?" Shen Jiu inquired. Hei Bao furrowed his brows.

"I'm not sure why I did that either," Gou Feng responded, as Hei Bao was taken aback. Huan Zhen and Shen Jiu could only sigh.

"Who are you talking to, and have you noticed that you've been holding your phone upside down?" Huan Zhen inquired. Gou Feng simply ignored him.

"My Lord—" Gou Feng began.

"I heard everything. Let's talk later. I have something to do. Finish everything in there and go home," Hei Bao said before hanging up the phone.

On the other hand…

"Why didn't you tell us you were talking to Our Lord? Gaah... I'm fucked," Huan Zhen grumbled to Gou Feng.

"He doesn't like being interrupted when he's talking, and I'm dead," Shen Jiu said.

"Oh right, why did you let those people go in the first place? You know they're already dangerous. They're no longer humans, Feng. Why did you let them go?" Shen Jiu inquired.

"I told you I didn't know," Gou Feng replied.

"Stop asking and get back to work; we need to finish this by midnight," Gou Feng said sternly as he began to walk away.

"But we can't bury all of them in a few hours," Huan Zhen grumbled again to Gou Feng.

"Right," Shen Jiu said. Gou Feng came to a halt and returned his gaze to the two.

"Who said we were going to bury them?" Gou Feng asked, a devious smile on his face.

"What?" Huan Zhen inquired, puzzled.

"What do you mean by that?" Shen Jiu inquired as well.

"Vampires only vanish when they are burned; we can't just leave them lying in here and wait for the sun to rise, can we?" Gou Feng said, his devious smile on his face.

"You mean—" Huan Zhen began.

"Are we going to burn them ourselves?" Shen Jiu finished Huan Zhen's sentence.

"Yes, so get to work, before these humans wake up from their sleep," Gou Feng said as he resumed his walk, leaving the two at the Village's entrance.

"Vampire blood stinks, urgh," Huan Zhen exclaimed.

"Then go tell Our Lord," Shen Jiu replied, walking away, leaving Huan Zhen alone in the entrance.

"I'm just kidding," Huan Zhen murmured as he followed the others inside.

Hei Bao arrived at his destination. He stood in front of the building he had just left.

'On what floor is he staying?' Hei Bao reflected.

He entered the building and went to the lobby to inquire because he didn't know what floor or room Lianhua was staying in. A foul odor infiltrated his nose as he got closer to the reception area. He despised this scent the most. He walked over to the man in the reception area, slightly crunching his nose.

'How come they're also here?' 'Hei Bao was perplexed.

"Do you know a person named—?" Hei Bao inquired, but was interrupted by a sudden voice from behind him.

"Mr. Bao?" Lianhua inquired.

Hei Bao hurriedly looked at Lianhua, who was dressed formally and carrying three paper bags in both hands. Hei Bao took a step away from the reception area and towards Lianhua.

To be continued.