Chapter Eight: Time to Take Action

Xiao Wenzi hid within the rockery, cultivating in isolation, oblivious to the rumors swirling outside and the growing hatred Wang Sheng harbored for him. Time slipped by, and dusk gradually enveloped the world. In this realm devoid of computers, televisions, and other forms of entertainment, nightfall meant darkness reigned everywhere save for a few rooms lit by candlelight.

The Wang family fared better than most; lanterns and candle stands illuminated patches of the estate. Yet, as the hours wore on and with no diversions to occupy them, the servants and maids extinguished their lamps and retired early. Even the inner quarters, where the master of the house resided, soon sank into pitch darkness.

“It’s about time to act,” Xiao Wenzi murmured to himself.

After a day of cultivation, the demon energy he’d spent had been restored, though his progress was scant. He soared from the rockery toward the distant chambers, well aware that without the help of Stone Spirit Sap, relying solely on absorbing the ambient spiritual energy would mean months before he could hope to break through to the mid-stage of the first tier of Demonic Aura. Ordinary mosquitoes lived barely one or two months; even if he possessed nine lives to stack upon one another, his total lifespan would not exceed two years.

Xiao Wenzi understood with painful clarity that he had no time to leisurely cultivate by drawing in the world's spiritual power. Thus, preying upon the Wang family was not a matter of choice, but of desperation for resources. He had no alternative but to exchange blood for cultivation materials.

He soon realized, with a delighted start, that his perception had improved markedly since the previous night—perhaps a benefit of practicing the Blood Spirit Technique. Now, the spiderwebs that had been nearly invisible yesterday and the distant, slumbering people in their rooms were all revealed with crisp clarity by his infrared scan.

Elated, Xiao Wenzi’s determination to collect blood drops and exchange them for cultivation resources grew ever stronger. He deftly avoided the webs and made his way toward the courtyard ahead.

This courtyard, situated near the sleeping quarters of the master and his family, was home to the Wang household’s maids. They were not afforded the luxury of private chambers, usually sharing rooms in groups of three or five. The season was stiflingly hot, and to avoid being bothered by mosquitoes, the maids would fumigate their rooms with mugwort during the day, then tightly seal their doors and windows at night. Clad only in their undergarments and stomach wraps, they would fan each other until drowsiness overtook them.

Xiao Wenzi alighted on a windowsill, having circled the room without finding a suitable entryway. Left with no other option, he resolved to try slicing through the window paper with his forelegs—otherwise, even if he could sense the maids’ blood, he couldn’t get close enough to feed.

Raising his slender forelegs, he channeled the Blood Spirit Technique, gathering demon energy into his limbs, and jabbed forcefully at the window paper. With a soft tear, the paper yielded easily. He pried open a gap just large enough for his flight and slipped inside.

Before him lay a communal sleeping platform, upon which several young women slumbered deeply. Clad only in their thin underclothes and wraps, the scene was intimate and alluring. Yet Xiao Wenzi had no mind for idle fantasies. He flew straight to one maid’s wrist and, aiming for a vein, bit down gently.

Her soft skin was swiftly pierced, and the faint taste of blood filled his mouth. Xiao Wenzi was pleased to discover that, after breaking through to the initial stage of Demonic Aura with the Blood Spirit Technique, his mouthparts had lengthened. Though still not quite as adept as those of a natural-born female mosquito, it was much easier than before to puncture skin and reach a vein.

These maids bore him no ill will, and he had seen firsthand the miserable state Wang Sheng was left in after a feeding. Knowing his bite would cause them intense itching and swollen lumps, Xiao Wenzi took care not to target any major veins, nor to drain too much blood from any one girl.

Perhaps exhausted from a day’s labor, the young maid merely murmured in her sleep, scratched at the bite a few times, and rolled over to continue sleeping.

After quietly feeding from the four or five maids in the room and exchanging their blood for eight or nine system coins, Xiao Wenzi slipped away and flew toward another chamber.

“Ah, it’s them. Looks like my chance for revenge has arrived.”

Using the same method to open the window, he entered and found that two of the maids inside were Qiao Yu and Ling Xiang. Earlier that day, these two had tried to smoke him out with mugwort. Now it was their turn for a little payback; he bit them lightly on the face.

“So itchy… must be a mosquito,” Qiao Yu mumbled in the dark, scratching at her cheek. But as servants, they were well used to mosquito bites at night. Though the itching was uncomfortable, they soon drifted back to sleep, making no effort to light a lamp and search for the culprit.

With the aid of the Blood Spirit Technique and his growing demon energy, Xiao Wenzi made his way through all the maids’ quarters, amassing several dozen system coins.

Emerging from the last maid’s window, he cast a distant glance at the rooms where the master and his wives slept, then turned toward the outer courtyards. His choice to target the servants’ quarters first was not out of mercy for the master and his concubines, but prudence. The more precious their blood, the more troublesome it would be if they awoke, unable to bear the itching, and roused the whole household to search for the source. It was best to tend to them last and slip away before they could mount a response.

With his breakthrough in the Blood Spirit Technique, not only had Xiao Wenzi’s perception sharpened, but his stamina had also grown. It was now a simple matter to flit from courtyard to courtyard.

Arriving at a room where the household menservants slept, he tore open the window paper with his forelegs and slipped inside.

“Ugh, what a stench… Never mind, I’ll endure it for the Stone Spirit Sap.”

Seven or eight men sprawled across a communal bed. Given the heat and their hard labor, the air inside was thick and pungent—far less pleasant than the maids’ quarters. Xiao Wenzi was no lover of the sweaty musk of men, and he had to stifle his nausea. Nevertheless, for the sake of cultivation resources, he did not hesitate. Landing on one of the men, he pierced the skin and began to feed.

The Wang family owned vast fields and enterprises; the menservants worked even harder than the maids and were accustomed to mosquito bites at night. Thus, as Xiao Wenzi took a few sips from each, none stirred from their deep slumber.

As time passed, Xiao Wenzi accumulated another several dozen system coins and returned to the inner chambers.

The master of the Wang family had eight wives but few children—only one son, Wang Sheng, and four or five daughters. The eldest had already married out, while the youngest had just learned to walk.

Slipping through the window, Xiao Wenzi saw a mother and her young daughter sleeping on the bed. After a moment’s hesitation, he spread his wings and quietly left the room. Blood was important, but he could not bring himself to prey on a child barely two years old. As for her mother, she could consider herself fortunate to have escaped by virtue of her daughter’s presence.