Ji Zhaoming didn't care what these people were thinking at all. The vampires respectfully made way for him, and as Ji Zhaoming walked from the very end, he glanced at Gu Yunzhou.
Even though Gu Yunzhou was wearing a mask, the smile in his eyes almost overflowed when he was first noticed.
Even though Ji Zhaoming had taken several steps forward, he could still feel the intense gaze from behind him.
It's like a silent volcano, nothing unusual most of the time, but once the time comes, the flames that erupt can instantly engulf everyone.
"Your Majesty." Gu He subtly blocked the view behind him and pushed Ji Zhaoming to the head of the table.
This title completely shattered the Blood Hunter's illusions.
The man with the gold Blood Hunter badge stepped forward: "Are you a prince of the vampires?"
Ji Zhaoming only knew that he was the king of the vampires, but he had never asked whether he was a prince. So he just stood there and smiled gently at the other party.
The fact that no vampire refuted it was enough to confirm this identity.
After all, the title of a vampire prince is not something that just any vampire can impersonate.
The Blood Hunters came to seize and kill the Vampire Prince before he awoke, but now that he has awakened, their plan has fallen through. They need a reason to invade.
After a moment of silence, the man in the golden badge said, "We've come here because we heard that Gu Yunzhou disappeared after entering your club. Although he's not well-known in the club, he's still one of our Blood Hunters. I'd like to ask the Blood Prince, where have you hidden Gu Yunzhou?"
Gu He chuckled.
This person clearly came for the King and didn't mention Gu Yunzhou at all. But when he saw the King, he changed his tune.
This is also why vampires dislike humans; they always feel that humans are full of tricks and deceit, and rather than believe their hypocrisy, they would rather wipe them out in one fell swoop.
In the world of vampires, strength is absolute.
The golden badge clearly understood this principle as well; all those who could become vampire princes possessed exceptional abilities, and the person before him was certainly no exception.
After saying this, the golden badge paused to consider his words and then said, "I don't mean to settle accounts, I just ask that you return Gu Yunzhou to us."
Gu He disliked Gu Yunzhou, but he also disliked the group of people in front of him. He spoke without any mercy, saying, "Who do you think you are, daring to ask us for people? Besides, our castle doesn't welcome blood hunters. I want to ask you what your people are up to!"
The man with the golden badge looked at Ji Zhaoming: "It's our problem that we didn't manage our personnel well, but since your people weren't lost, it means they didn't do anything, right?"
He dared to bring up Gu Yunzhou, so he must have already thought of a way out.
Gu He was almost laughing in anger: "Then I won't teach them. What do you plan to do? Search our castle?"
As the two sides grew larger and larger, the golden badge gritted its teeth and instantly looked at Ji Zhaoming.
He had heard that the vampire prince was not fully energized when he first awakened, and that the number of vampire slaves in the castle was limited. He had also not heard of a large number of people disappearing recently. Although he did not have many men, they were all elites. If he struck first, there might still be a chance to escape.
The man with the golden badge smiled warmly, took two steps forward, and said with a laugh, "How could that be?"
As soon as he finished speaking, his hand transformed into a claw and swiftly reached for Ji Zhaoming's neck, a glint of silver light peeking through his fingers.
Gu He roared in fury: "How dare you?!"
"Achoo." Ji Zhaoming sneezed.
The golden badge, already on tenterhooks, trembled in fear upon hearing the voice, slowing its pace.
This slowdown naturally gave Gu He the opportunity to catch up.
Gu He swiftly sliced the man's arm, followed by a flying kick that sent him flying to the very back of the crowd: "You really have a lot of nerve."
Behind him, Gu Yunzhou secretly withdrew his figure, covered his face with his mask, and when he looked up again, his eyes were full of anger.
Ji Zhaoming smiled and said, "I just sneezed, don't panic."
He could also tell that the golden badge had been startled because of that sneeze.
"But," Ji Zhaoming tilted his head and asked innocently, "I'm curious, aren't you afraid that Gu Yunzhou's life will be lost in my hands if you dare to treat me like this?"
69
Chapter 69
He was interested in Ji Zhaoming.
Regardless of whether Gu Yunzhou retains his memories or not, Ji Zhaoming does not want Gu Yunzhou to stay in such an environment.
As for the idea of a lone wolf, Ji Zhaoming was even less inclined to believe it.
Gu Yunzhou may seem aloof, indifferent, and cold to others, but deep down he is warm, not like the scorching summer sun, but like the fireworks of spring, silently illuminating the sky.
This is why Gu Yunzhou, despite being known as a lone wolf, still accepted the mission to kill the vampire prince.
Because no matter what, he would never want someone who shares the same bloodline as him to die at the hands of a vampire.
These people claim they are seeking justice for Gu Yunzhou, but in reality, they are just a group of people who value their lives and want to use this as an excuse to quell their anger. Ji Zhaoming is not a tyrannical person, but he will not allow his own people to suffer.
The man with the golden badge stumbled to his feet and explained, "It's not that I'm not afraid, it's just that since you refuse to hand over Gu Yunzhou, I had no choice but to resort to this inferior method."
Gu He was amused: "Aren't you humans always the best at negotiating? You believe me when I say I won't hand it over? Of course I believe you. If anything happens to the king, I'll make you all pay with your lives."
As he spoke, his tone turned sinister, and he stared at the golden badge through gritted teeth.
Ji Zhaoming shook his head, a mocking smile on his lips. He sat down on the sofa, and the vampires followed suit.
Ji Zhaoming pointed to the seat opposite him: "Sit?"
"Your Majesty," Gu He whispered to Ji Zhaoming, "There's no need to be so polite with this kind of person. I'll just call someone directly—"
He put his hand in front of his neck and made a rustling motion.
Such a human who dares to attack the king deserves to be torn apart by five horses.
Admittedly, the vampires were initially brought together because of the identity of the vampire prince and the unique power of the prince. However, with each generation of unions, the bloodline within the prince's body has gradually faded. Among them, there have been several ordinary vampires with powerful energy, such as Gu He. Before Ji Zhaoming awakened, the vampires always regarded Gu He as the standard.
Only vampire princes can be called kings, but this does not mean that vampires must submit to a particular vampire prince. In the early days, vampire princes would fight each other for territory and vampires. There was even a vampire who imprisoned a vampire prince in order to control his own vampires.
Might makes right; this is the belief of the vampires.
But this was before Ji Zhaoming appeared.
Gu He didn't understand why it had to be Ji Zhaoming. After becoming the leader of the vampires, he discovered the sleeping Ji Zhaoming in this castle. The bloodline of a vampire prince naturally has a deterrent effect on ordinary vampires, but that doesn't mean that a sleeping vampire prince can deter Gu He, whose abilities are already far beyond those of ordinary vampires.
If it were any other prince, they would have either killed this vampire prince outright, or, like the vampires of the past, imprisoned him in a basement for easier handling.
Moreover, as Gu He got closer to Ji Zhaoming, he could feel the stronger the bloodline of Prince Ji Zhaoming. If he had never seen this person before and there was no record of such a person in the books about princes, Gu He would have suspected that this was a vampire prince from long ago.
The bloodline of the vampire prince is so diluted that it's practically nonexistent now.
This was his greatest enemy, and Gu He was acutely aware of this.
Instead of killing or imprisoning him, he sent people to clean the second floor and gave Ji Zhaoming a high-quality coffin that he had looted as a bed.
—If Ji Zhaoming is destined to be an enemy, then he is willing to submit.
In this vampire clan that reveres strength, Ji Zhaoming is the only exception. If other vampires are unwilling, Gu He is willing to become the blood-drinking blade in his hand.
It seems that Ji Zhaoming didn't have this intention.
These blood hunters probably thought of this as well, which is why they dared to act so recklessly. The newly awakened vampire prince could not control his vampires very well. If even one or two people with ulterior motives caused trouble, they would have a chance to escape.
Gu He couldn't help but admire the sheer volume of these human treasures; historically, there had indeed been several vampire princes who died in this manner.
Unfortunately, Ji Zhaoming was not one of those vampire princes, and Gu He was not a person with ill intentions, so these plans were destined to fail.
But those who have such thoughts are unforgivable.
Gu He lowered his voice and said, "I promise I won't let other blood hunters know."
Gu He's power is greater than that of ordinary vampires in the past. In fact, from the very beginning of his birth, many vampires believed that he would replace the vampire prince in history and become the new king.
Since Gu He has said so, he must be able to do it.
Ji Zhaoming placed his hands on his knees, looking incredibly obedient. Compared to Gu He, who stood unrestrainedly beside him, he seemed more like a puppet king.
Ji Zhaoming said softly, "No need."
Although he didn't understand its meaning, Gu He still took two steps back, but kept looking at the golden badge, afraid that the golden badge would do the same thing again.
One mistake can be excused, but if it happens two or three times, where will he put his face?
Ji Zhaoming looked up, a smile playing on his lips, and glanced at the golden badge. He asked, "Why aren't you sitting? Are you afraid?"
The man with the golden badge coughed a few times.
Gu He's kick was incredibly powerful; he felt as if his internal organs had shifted. Yet Gu He kept staring intently at him, as if if he shook his head, Gu He's heavy punch would come down again.
The man with the golden badge managed a weak smile: "No."
He limped to the sofa, and the Blood Hunters behind him looked at each other before deciding to follow.
“King of the Vampires,” the golden badge said, “you may simply say what you have to say.”
Gu He scoffed, "Oh? I thought you humans didn't know this principle."
Because the vampires and blood hunters had switched positions, he glanced over and immediately noticed that Gu Yunzhou was not among them. He put his hand behind his back and made a gesture to the vampire behind him, who immediately understood and retreated.
He didn't do it discreetly, so the gold badge naturally saw it.
Not understanding what Gu He was trying to do, his breathing gradually became heavier.
This is exactly the effect Ji Zhaoming wanted.
Since they dared to venture so brazenly into vampire territory, they must be made to bleed profusely before they can return.
Aside from Gu Yunzhou, the blood of ordinary blood hunters didn't interest him, and he had no intention of actually killing anyone. Since he was already here, he might as well bleed himself dry before leaving.
Ji Zhaoming said, "Then let me make this a long story. You can have Gu Yunzhou, but you have to exchange him for something."
There aren't many things that would interest vampires, the golden badge said, "We will not provide blood for blood hunters."
Ji Zhaoming covered his nose and glanced at the blood on the ground with disgust: "Oh, I don't want this stuff either, it stinks."
This wasn't Ji Zhaoming trying to provoke them on purpose. If Gu Yunzhou's blood was the sweetest and most delicious freshly baked cake, then the human blood in front of them tasted like a rat that had been dead for many years in a damp and cold underground passage.
The fact that he's even sitting here to negotiate is already a sign of tolerance.
Thinking of this, Ji Zhaoming instructed, "Give him a piece of paper or a towel and wipe him down."
The towel was quickly handed to the man with the gold badge. He looked at the towel in his hand, and after a moment's thought, he understood its meaning. His face immediately changed color.
However, he didn't want to negotiate with his mouth covered in blood, so after wiping it off, he asked, "So what do you want?"
Ji Zhaoming glanced at him and said, "Then I'll take your storage ring."
"Are you crazy?" the golden badge blurted out.