How to Keep a Vampire - Chapter 13

Clearly, Shi Yu had overthought it.

The surrounding noise was chaotic, so Wen Si had no choice but to lean in close to his ear. He was far too close, and as he spoke, a warm current sprayed against Shi Yu’s earlobe.

It felt like the intimate whispering of lovers.

“This is a challenge stage organized by the Blood Hunter Academy,” Wen Si informed him. “The Blood Hunter Academy holds a challenge tournament every year. The defending side consists of students from the academy, while most of those participating in the challenge stage are ordinary humans. Those who excel have the chance to be selected by the Blood Hunter Academy to become reserve blood hunters and undergo training.”

“So, this isn’t a weightlifting competition…” Shi Yu’s eyes flashed, the corners of his eyes curving slightly. “It’s a ‘lifting-people’ competition, then.”

The burly men on the challenge stage if they fought, they could probably just lift people up and beat them.

【The blood hunters really have improved.】

【Blood hunters of the past fell into two categories: those who were pot-bellied and slacking off, and those who constantly chanted about destroying the blood clan—though they did have some strength.】

【It’s better now; they select people directly based on their physique, at least ruling out the beer bellies, and they can also bluff.】

“Everyone, please stay calm. Today is the annual challenge stage.”

From behind the row of burly men, a young man stepped out. His skin was wheat-colored, and his appearance was somewhat intimidating. He carried an air of natural authority, looking like someone not to be trifled with.

The emblem on his clothes marked him as part of the Blood Hunter Academy.

After his opening remarks, the surroundings quieted down consciously.

It seemed he was one of the top figures among the blood hunters.

“In this challenge stage, regardless of identity or strength, anyone who wants to enter the Blood Hunter Academy can come up and give it a try.” The man scanned the crowd below, saying with a cheerful smile, “I won’t hide it from you all—this challenge stage is quite different from previous years.”

This single sentence whetted everyone’s appetite. Shi Yu intuitively felt it had something to do with the Deep Sea Giant. Otherwise, Wen Si wouldn’t need to waste time coming here. There were many ways to impersonate a blood hunter, unless this was some kind of shortcut.

“In the past, winners of the challenge only had a chance to enter the Blood Hunter Academy to study; it didn’t mean they could definitely become blood hunters.”

The man said, “This time it’s different. Any winner who can pass the challenge will directly gain the opportunity to enter the Blood Hunter Academy, exempt from all further assessments, and will join the blood hunters in participating in the upcoming mission.”

Small pebbles falling into a pond stirred up a thousand waves.

The crowd’s reaction became instantly more fervent. Many faces were filled with the excitement of being eager to give it a try this was exactly the effect the blood hunters wanted.

Shi Yu’s gaze dimmed slightly.

For the blood hunters to recruit so flamboyantly, it seemed the mission involving the Mermaid clan was not simple. The blood hunters were short on manpower and had to use this opportunity to quickly recruit some people with good qualifications.

Or perhaps, the mission was dangerous and destined to have casualties, so they were recruiting some scapegoats?

“Exempt from all assessments directly…”

“I’m a bit tempted to go try…”

“If I could become a blood hunter, how cool would that be…”

Shi Yu: “…?”

Shi Yu looked in the direction of the speaker. It was a tall, thin young man who didn’t look old, appearing carefree and thoughtless. One could even hear a bit of hot-blooded, ‘chuunibyou’ flavor in his words.

Cool?

Young man, I’m afraid you have some misunderstanding about what ‘cool’ means.

Wen Si: “This opportunity is different from previous years. Presumably, the strength of the students sent by your academy this time cannot be underestimated, either, right?”

Shi Yu raised his eyebrows with interest. The question he asked was clearly what many people were struggling with just now.

“Haha, this brother is right.” The man wore a smile that, combined with his ferocious face, looked incongruous. “The rewards are generous this time, so naturally, the difficulty is also different.”

Many who were just eager to try instantly lost heart. In previous years, even when the Blood Hunter Academy sent mid-level students, most people failed the challenge.

Let alone challenging the best among the blood hunters.

Shi Yu said helplessly: “And just like that, they’ve lost heart…”

“Don’t worry.” Wen Si looked at him with amusement.

Before long, a few people emerged from the crowd.

Presumably, there were those who had the courage to challenge.

A few people boarded the challenge stage aggressively, except for the one at the very end, who seemed particularly guilty among the group of burly men.

The challenger at the very end was the chuunibyou youth who had just said blood hunters were cool. With the aura of the people in front of him who were holding their heads high and chests out, this youth seemed even more out of place.

Even though his legs were shaking when he stepped onto the stage and he nearly tripped on the steps, he still came up.

“He’s actually quite interesting,” Shi Yu commented.

Wen Si looked at Shi Yu, saying gloomily: “It’s also possible he’s just there to make up the numbers.”

Shi Yu: “…”

“Alright, our warriors for this year have arrived.”

The man held a gun in his hand, and Shi Yu frowned.

This is the anesthetic gun used by blood hunters a thousand years ago to capture the blood clan. If hit by a bullet, a low-level blood clan member will quickly faint.

Lan Yin said angrily: Are they okay? Bringing out the initial weapons to show off.

Shi Yu: “They probably won’t die.”

The gun was taken out of its case; it was a symbol of the Blood Hunter Academy, reminding other humans of the contributions blood hunters had made in the past.

Accompanied by a gunshot, the man’s expression grew serious: “The challenge begins

The row of muscular men who first caught Shi Yu’s attention were probably peripheral characters meant to add to the atmosphere. The group that actually sparred with the challengers was another set of people.

The first round was combat.

Without any tools, hand-to-hand combat was the most primitive contest.

As soon as the people from the Blood Hunter Academy stepped onto the stage, they neatly took off their uniform short-sleeved shirts, all going bare-chested together.

Shi Yu: “…?”

To be honest, Shi Yu really didn’t understand.

Although that’s the case, don’t pollute baby’s eyes!

Although these people had decent physiques, Lan Yin still felt they were polluting Shi Yu’s eyes.

In just over ten minutes, Shi Yu felt completely out of touch with the times.

However, there was no shortage of gossiping women among the onlookers. Seeing the powerful musculature of the top blood hunters, they immediately began to murmur and chatter excitedly.

There were even men watching until their faces were flushed red.

Shi Yu: “…”

Wow, it seems I understand a little more.

Why wouldn’t this count as satisfying popular preferences?

He felt the hand grasping his slender white wrist increase in strength.

Shi Yu looked up in confusion and heard Wen Si ask with a faint, enigmatic smile: “Is it good to look at?”

The people from the Blood Clan Academy all had fairly decent features, and paired with their long-trained physiques, they were indeed eye-catching.

But Shi Yu felt no sense of amazement.

He couldn’t help but think of last night.

Under the skin he touched, there were resilient muscles. Although Wen Si’s waist and abdomen were covered by the blanket, Shi Yu guessed they weren’t bad either.

And Wen Si’s skin was white—in short, it looked better than the ones on the stage.

Shi Yu’s taste was the best.

He didn’t answer directly, but rather mischievously said: “If you also took off your shirt, you would definitely look even better.”

“Is that so.”

Wen Si’s pitch-black pupils looked at him, hiding a smile within them. “This is private, it cannot be widely exhibited.”

Shi Yu wanted to praise him. Wen Si was really smart in one sentence, he had responded to his flirting with deep meaning, and without a trace, he had spoken of the blood hunters on the stage as a ‘wide exhibition.’

Yes, exhibition pieces are given to the masses.

Private and exclusive that is the only ‘exclusive.’

While they were talking, the fight on the challenge stage began. The few people who got on stage had gathered enough momentum and attacked the few people from the Blood Clan Academy.

Those who had the courage to walk up all had at least some strength.

Flesh colliding with flesh, fist meeting fist.

“Nice”

Cheers rang out one after another from the crowd.

However, the reality was quite bleak.

After only a few rounds, a few people couldn’t hold on and were beaten to the ground. The first one to fall was the youth whose legs were shaking earlier.

His face had a fiery red patch; presumably, the opponent didn’t hold back, and before long, he would be black and blue.

Soon, the last person was also pressed onto the challenge stage with his arm twisted.

Before getting on stage, those few had been heroic and high-spirited; Shi Yu thought they had plenty of confidence and certainty.

The result was… a feint?

Very boring.

“Sigh” Shi Yu sighed.

Wen Si watched Shi Yu’s face crinkle and asked him: “Why the sigh?”

Shi Yu didn’t hide it, bluntly saying: “They are too weak.”

The originally noisy crowd slowly quieted down when all the challengers were beaten to the ground, with only an occasional person muttering in a low voice.

Therefore, Shi Yu’s voice, which hadn’t been lowered, spread very quickly among the people around him.

“He dares to say that? Look at this kid.”

“His face is quite pretty, but that’s all he has. He doesn’t look at his own weight, probably doesn’t even have a single abdominal muscle, and here he is criticizing others…”

Several bearded men looked at him a few times, their viscous gazes full of mockery.

“There’s going to be a good show.”

Shi Yu: “…”

He actually did have abdominal muscles.

Yes, six of them.

Abdominal muscles aren’t just something you can have by exercising; it also depends on one’s personal constitution. Some people, even if they exercise seriously, don’t necessarily have one.

He wasn’t brainless.

Criticizing others on someone else’s turf meant getting beaten, but Shi Yu was just going with the flow.

This challenge stage’s winners would directly become blood hunters; it must be for the mission of suppressing the Deep Sea Giant. When Di You requested it, he also needed Wen Si to disguise his identity and act with the blood hunters.

To join without anyone noticing, the best way was to take advantage of this opportunity and enter the team openly as a winner.

Wen Si hadn’t gone up just now; he was waiting for the right moment.

Now, it was the best moment.

He might as well act as a backdrop and give it a push.

The man on the stage stood out again. His face darkened, and he still called out to him: “Little brother.”

A blood hunter taking the initiative to call a blood clan member ‘brother’ their predecessors would probably be so angry they’d spit blood, Shi Yu thought internally.

But Shi Yu answered without hesitation: “Yes”

Why waste a cheap opportunity?

“Listening to the meaning of what you said just now, can you say it again?” the man threatened.

“If you didn’t hear it clearly, I would be very happy to say it again for you.” Shi Yu examined the blood hunters standing on the stage, finally resting his gaze on the man, his chin raised with a smile.

“You… are all too weak.”

Wen Si couldn’t help but chuckle lightly, watching him with great pleasure.

Conversely, the man on the challenge stage clearly wasn’t in a good mood, the corners of his mouth stiffening.

What he had just said everyone could hear it was him giving Shi Yu a chance; as long as the young man didn’t speak or offered an apology, the matter could be swept aside.

Now, this matter could no longer be swept aside.

“You’re joking.” The man’s face hung low, his expression gloomy. “Judging by what the little brother means, you think you have the strength and want to come up and spar with the students in our academy.”

The onlookers all thought Shi Yu was going to act shamelessly or would end up just like the previous challengers.

After all, Shi Yu’s frame didn’t look like he could get on stage; the provocation was probably just moving his lips.

“Of course not.” Shi Yu’s eyes curved. The hand that wasn’t being held raised a finger, pointing at himself sincerely: “I’m also very weak.”

He was just a human right now; no one knew he was the former blood clan duke, so Shi Yu could do whatever he wanted.

Just let Wen Si handle the bottom line.

The man: “…”

Shi Yu used ‘also.’ While acknowledging that the Blood Hunter Academy were weaklings, he also affectionately integrated himself into the collective; he didn’t feel ashamed, but rather proud.

Whatever the creature, they were probably gossiping spectators who loved watching a good show.

This time, they were stunned.

But other than being quick-witted, Shi Yu didn’t seem to be wrong; he was courageous in self-reflection and frankly acknowledged his current physical frailty.

“Hey.” As if wanting to comfort the man, Shi Yu comforted: “It’s okay, don’t be discouraged. Although I’m weak, it doesn’t prevent someone else from being strong.”

While speaking, the wrist Wen Si was holding moved. In a corner others couldn’t see, the fingers of that hand lightly tapped the back of Wen Si’s hand, as if to remind him.

Get ready, get ready it’s your time to appear.