Mu Shaoqing's face turned slightly pale, and he let out a cold laugh. "As expected of someone raised by the Ancestor, I underestimated you!"
The next second, Mu Shaoqing grabbed You Rong's neck, flashed, and took him outside the car. He held him up high, and as You Rong struggled in pain, he slowly pulled out the silver dagger that had been plunged into his chest.
Once the silver dagger was removed, the wound inflicted on a vampire's body would indeed take time to heal. Fresh blood gushed out, but for Mu Shaoqing, it was clearly not a fatal blow.
With a clang, the dagger fell to the ground. Mu Shaoqing sneered, "What a shame... this stab went wide, it didn't hit my heart."
You Rong gritted his teeth, his face turning red from lack of air, and glared fiercely at Mu Shaoqing.
Mu Shaoqing snorted, "Hmph! Considering you little wolf cub is quite useful, I won't kill you for now!"
You Rong struggled with all his might, but the strength difference between vampires and werewolves was indeed immense. Especially since he wasn't an adult yet and couldn't reveal his true form, the comparison was even more lopsided.
You Rong was frantic.
Mu Shaoqing had gone to great lengths to capture him, undoubtedly to use him against Lin Qinghe!
Seeing You Rong captured, Zhang Yi shouted urgently, "Mu Shaoqing! You traitor to the vampires! Release the young master at once!"
Zhang Yi desperately wanted to rush forward to save You Rong, as did the other vampires. However, the snake clan was too numerous and relentless in their entanglement, preventing them from breaking free to rescue You Rong.
Mu Shaoqing ignored Zhang Yi's command, turned to Du Qingfeng, and said, "The person is caught. Don't get bogged down in fighting, let's go."
Du Qingfeng replied, "Alright! You take him and go first, I'll stay behind with the other snake clan members to cover the retreat."
Mu Shaoqing nodded, and with You Rong, he flashed and disappeared from the spot. Not long after, Du Qingfeng also began to slowly retreat with the snake clan.
After Zhang Yi killed the last snake clan member, Du Qingfeng and Mu Shaoqing, who was holding You Rong, had vanished without a trace. He frantically said to his subordinates, "Quick! Search! Notify the Elder Council to come out. We must find the young master as soon as possible!"
"Yes!"
Zhang Yi was extremely anxious. If the young master was captured, the Ancestor would surely be even more upset than him. He didn't know what the Ancestor would do, but the capture of the young master was a major incident, and he dared not conceal it.
Zhang Yi immediately decided to inform Lin Qinghe without delay.
---
Lin Qinghe, along with Chu Tianhao and a group of vampires, had just arrived in district A. She instructed all vampires to search for Mu Shaoqing separately. Before long, the dispersed vampires returned, having captured two or three异种 (yi zhong - abnormal/mutant) vampires, but there was still no trace of Mu Shaoqing.
Just as Lin Qinghe felt something was amiss, her phone rang. Seeing it was Zhang Yi calling, her heart sank. She quickly answered the phone.
"Hello? Zhang Yi, why are you calling me now? Did something happen to You Rong?"
Zhang Yi's voice was urgent on the other end, "Yes, Ancestor. On the way back just now, Mu Shaoqing appeared and captured the young master!"
"How could Mu Shaoqing have captured You Rong? What about you? Didn't I tell you and the other vampires to stay with him?"
"This... Mu Shaoqing didn't come alone. He colluded with the snake clan. Their leader even appeared. The snake clan was too numerous, and we were all entangled, unable to break free, which resulted in the young master being captured by Mu Shaoqing... Ancestor, I'm sorry, it's my fault. I will definitely find the young master as soon as possible!"
Lin Qinghe narrowed her eyes, her gaze suddenly turning cold. After a moment, she said, "Alright, tell the vampires to keep searching. I'll head back now."
"Yes, Ancestor."
Hanging up the phone, Lin Qinghe's expression was grim. She was angry, but not overly worried about You Rong. Mu Shaoqing chose to capture You Rong because he intended to use him to threaten her. You Rong's usefulness hadn't been fully exploited yet, so Mu Shaoqing wouldn't kill him. Lin Qinghe was quite certain of this.
Seeing Lin Qinghe's displeased expression after she put down the phone, Chu Tianhao quickly came over and asked, "Ancestor, what happened? Could something have happened to the young master?"
Chu Tianhao never imagined his guess would be so accurate.
Lin Qinghe nodded and said, "That's right. Mu Shaoqing isn't here at all. Just now, he colluded with the snake clan and captured You Rong halfway on his way back!"
"What! Mu Shaoqing isn't here at all? Then what we investigated before..."
"It was a false lead deliberately set by Mu Shaoqing to capture You Rong."
Hearing this, Chu Tianhao looked remorseful, "Ancestor, I'm sorry. The capture of the young master is all my fault. If I had investigated more thoroughly, Mu Shaoqing wouldn't have had the chance to capture the young master."
"Mu Shaoqing's intention was to capture You Rong to threaten me. If this tactic doesn't work, he'll think of other ways."
"Then... what do we do now?"
"Let's go back first."
"Okay, Ancestor."
Lin Qinghe, along with Chu Tianhao and the others, rushed back to the Elder Council. Upon their return, Zhang Yi saw Lin Qinghe and immediately knelt before her, filled with remorse. "Ancestor, I'm sorry... You clearly ordered me to take good care of the young master, but I failed to do so, leading to his capture. And we still haven't found any news about the young master."
Lin Qinghe frowned, "Have we sent people to investigate the snake clan's territory?"
"We have, but they seem to have relocated. Not only is there no news of Mu Shaoqing, but there's also no trace of the snake clan."
Lin Qinghe let out a cold snort. "Mu Shaoqing really came fully prepared." Lin Qinghe reached out to help Zhang Yi up. "You don't need to kneel. It's not your fault. I was also careless. I didn't expect Mu Shaoqing to be able to collude with the beast races."
Although Lin Qinghe didn't blame him, Zhang Yi still felt very guilty.
Over the years, he had witnessed firsthand how Lin Qinghe treated You Rong. He fully understood how important You Rong was to Lin Qinghe.
"Ancestor, don't worry. No matter what it takes, I will definitely bring the young master back!"
Lin Qinghe nodded, "Yes, you all go out and search. Notify me immediately if you have any news."
Chu Tianhao and Zhang Yi responded in unison, "Yes, Ancestor."
After Chu Tianhao and Zhang Yi left, Lin Qinghe walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, her eyes narrowed, a thoughtful expression on her delicate face.
She knew exactly what Mu Shaoqing was planning.
The day the vampire Ancestor was born into the world every ten thousand years, their power weakened. This day was in two days, coinciding with You Rong's coming-of-age birthday. Mu Shaoqing intended to use this opportunity to devour her power.
But there was one thing Mu Shaoqing didn't know...
Lin Qinghe's eyes flickered. Although the method was a bit risky, perhaps this was a good way to start increasing the progress bar!