So You're the Fucking Forest Lord, Huh? (Part 1)

Professor Nass smiled kindly and said in a gentle, persuasive tone, "Getting familiar with the Germanic languages first, then learning the Romance languages, is actually much easier. The main thing is the way of thinking. You need to first block out your native language thinking and start thinking in a Germanic language like English that you've mastered..."

The lady sitting next to me listened thoughtfully, as if she really understood how to learn Spanish well.

She met Professor Nass by chance when she was visiting a client in a southwestern province. She knew that the professor was from the UK and spoke fluent Chinese. Although some of his vocabulary and sentence structure sounded a bit old-fashioned, traditional, and "textbook-like," it was quite remarkable for a foreigner to speak to such a level.

Professor Nass told her that he came to China to conduct research on special plants, which he said could provide clean energy for humanity and might be the answer to combating environmental degradation in the future. Although she didn't quite understand many of the terms and principles he used, and was somewhat confused, her rich experience led her to trust her own judgment and believe that what Professor Nass said was true. She sincerely admired his actions and research.

Upon learning that Professor Nass planned to head towards Yang City, which was not far from the city where her company was located, the woman offered him a ride back with her.

On the way, the lady continued to talk with Professor Nass. This British gentleman was not only good-looking and had a great temperament, but he was also humorous and knowledgeable. In addition, his fluent Chinese lowered the communication barrier, and her admiration for Nass had risen from admiration to worship and adoration.

In fact, from a completely objective perspective, disregarding the context and process of their conversation, and analyzing only the content of their conversation, nine out of ten people would find it somewhat unbelievable—the foreigner speaks fluent Chinese, but what kind of nonsense is this? It has no logic or reason whatsoever, and he's clearly trying to fool people.

But inside the car, neither the wealthy and experienced businesswoman nor the middle-aged driver doubted Nass's words. They had no doubts about his identity, background, or his "special plant research" explanation.

So, even after the car entered Yang City, the woman willingly directed the driver to wherever Professor Nass wanted to go, just like his assistant or secretary.

After driving around the Yangcheng City center, the Mercedes pulled over to the side of the road at Professor Nass's direction.

Nass got out of the car, stood by the roadside, frowned as he observed the road for a while, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The woman wanted to get off the bus, but Nass suddenly raised his hand and said to her, "Don't get off!"

The woman hesitated for a moment, but did not get out of the car as instructed. She and the driver stayed in the car and watched through the window as Professor Nass lay down on the road sniffing something. He even climbed over the roadside guardrail and went to the nearby field, where he lay down to observe and seemed to pick a blade of grass and lick it.

"Professor Nass is really going all out for his research!" the driver exclaimed, observing Professor Nass's actions through the rearview mirror.

The woman leaning against the car window, looking out, exclaimed with genuine admiration, "I truly envy Britain for having a scholar like Professor Nass. No, Professor Nass should be a scholar for all of humanity."

Of course, they didn't see that Professor Nass, who was lying prone in the roadside grass, had a straw-like "mouth organ" protruding from his open mouth, spitting out tubes of long, green, viscous substance.

The viscous substance quickly turned into liquid upon contact with the surrounding greenery and then seeped into it.

Professor Nass got up, closed his eyes again, and took a deep sniff of the air, as if there was something around him that attracted him.

After more than ten minutes, Professor Nass got back into the car and asked the driver, "What's that place over there?"

"Over there?" The driver glanced over. "That should be the highway entrance, right?"

Professor Nass took out his phone again, pulled up an electronic map, asked a few questions, and then, instead of a driver taking him on the highway, he asked Nass to drive him back to the city.

Professor Nass said goodbye to the lady and driver in the Mercedes, but half an hour later, he got into another car and drove onto the highway. However, instead of heading to Peng City, where he had asked the driver for directions on the map, he went to Willow City.

Several hours later, they arrived in Willow City in the evening. After parking the car in a relatively secluded area, "Professor Nass" got out of the car and said goodbye to the young man who was driving.

Of course, in the young man's mind, this refined, blond old man was not an English professor who came to China to study special plants, but Uncle William who had come to a foreign land to find his daughter who had married far away, but lost his wallet and passport after getting off the plane. He was giving him a ride out of internationalism to help him find his daughter.

The blond old man, now known as "Uncle William," walks along a secluded path with few pedestrians.

Before long, he circled around the botanical garden at the foot of the mountain and stopped in a deserted, undeveloped area, where he began to observe with a frown.

Just like before in Yangcheng City, he would occasionally close his eyes and take a deep sniff, and sometimes lie down on the ground, using his straw-like mouthparts to spit out green liquid that mixed with the surrounding plants, as if searching for something.

He was not "Uncle William," nor did he have a daughter who married and moved to China. He was not "Professor Nass," nor was he researching any special plants. He wasn't even from England.

His name is Joel, or rather, for those who truly know his identity, Joel is the accurate code name. As for his "real name," he stopped using it after he became a "Bloodline."

Those who knew him called him "the old Earl," "Earl Joel," or "the Forest Lord."

Within the "Red Rose," he has always been one of the highest-ranking Bloodline.

Yes, he is Joel, who has reached his limit and has to seek other pure-blooded Bloodline as "blood sources". Guo Tianxiang was the "blood source" he was "raising". John Cavendish was ordered by him to go to China to find the missing Guo Tianxiang.

Unexpectedly, John, who was sent there, also went missing shortly afterward. Moreover, the "Holy Blood" that Guo Tianxiang left with John was devoured. It was obvious that there was a very powerful and terrifying being here, and both Guo Tianxiang and John were very likely to have fallen into the hands of the other party.

Based on his usual behavior, he certainly wouldn't dare to take the risk.

But for Count Joel, now forced by his current limits, staying in Slovakia would also mean certain death. He might even have to become a "blood source" for other "Red Rose" members before he could self-destruct, thus engaging in the so-called "pure-blood internal circulation."

Joel had thought about his fate countless times. He once thought he would accept the "pure-blood internal circulation" method and become the blood source for the other old comrades. After all, he was able to live so long and not die until now because many "predecessors" sacrificed their blood when they reached their stage limits and could not obtain qualified "blood sources" to break through.

But when the moment actually came and he felt death approaching, he still couldn't fully accept everything. In the end, he was afraid and backed down.

He wanted to fight one last time to survive.

So he decided to go to China alone. The great danger also meant a great opportunity; perhaps he could find a way to obtain qualified "blood" on his own.

After all, in his view, he was much stronger and more experienced than Guo Tianxiang and John.

Of course, his idea was met with unanimous opposition from the other members of "Red Rose"—they were all afraid that he would die out there.

For Bloodline like John who hasn't undergone many phases of transformation, even if he dies outside, the loss is negligible. But Joel is different. He is a pureblood Bloodline who has undergone multiple phases of transformation and is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the "pureblood internal circulation." If he dies outside, it would be an almost unbearable loss for all the remaining "Red Rose" Bloodline.

So, in order to come to China this time, Joel even got into a fight with his two old buddies.

Fortunately, he was a senior figure who rarely took action and possessed a host of unseen and cunning methods. In addition, he had already laid out his plans and gained the upper hand, so he didn't have to exert too much effort to make his two old buddies back down.

Everyone is intelligent; when the costs outweigh the gains and the risks are disproportionate to the benefits, everyone will naturally make the "right choice."

Like John before him, Joel infiltrated through the southwestern border and then used his expertise in hypnosis to move between cities, relying on other humans for cover.

Whether it's him, John, Guo Tianxiang, or other Bloodline of the "Red Rose," although their specific abilities may differ, they all basically possess the ability to interfere with and influence the thinking, cognition, and sensory judgment of ordinary people—what is commonly known as "hypnotic ability."

Even with this ability, he remained extremely cautious and prudent. For example, when he moved from Yang City to Liu City, he specifically changed the hypnosis subject and the car.

Although he was far away in Slovakia, the two small porcelain knives he gave Guo Tianxiang and John contained a portion of his "Holy Blood," or rather, "prosthetic tissue fluid," which could help them fight against other "Bloodline" and "Blood Beast."

Normally, he can't use these "prosthetic tissue fluids" for precise positioning, but when they are consumed, he can have some faint perception as he gets closer to his destination, and can find the exact location where the "prosthetic tissue fluids" disappear, as if the tissue fluids leave a mark in the void when they disappear.

This ability comes from a special "blood plant" he consumed in his early years, but he has always claimed in "Red Rose" that he condensed it himself and named it "Holy Blood". Otherwise, his persona as a pure-blooded orthodox individual would not hold water.

Of course, everyone actually knows what's really going on. Almost all the members of the current "Red Rose" have drunk the blood of "Blood Plants" and "Blood Beast," but they keep it a secret.

Besides the "prosthetic tissue fluid" in the small porcelain knife, Joel had also secretly tampered with Guo Tianxiang and John. If they drank blood and underwent a phased transformation, it would produce a very strong special mark. After closing the distance to a certain point, he could determine the location where the two underwent a phased transformation.

He also noticed John's transformation twice in a short period of time, realizing that there might be great opportunities amidst the dangers of this country and this land.

If even someone at John's level can achieve two stages of transformation, then he should have it even easier.

Whether it's joining a new organization or hunting other targets, he has far more resources than John.

Moreover, his target was actually John himself.

After finding the location in Yang City where the "prosthetic tissue fluid" inside the small porcelain knife in John's hand disappeared, he was able to determine through special means that at the moment the incident occurred, John was sitting in some kind of high-speed moving enclosed space, with the smells of metal, leather, and gasoline—definitely a car.

He was able to determine that John's two subsequent transformations were roughly within Peng City, but the exact locations would require further investigation.

However, he did not immediately enter Peng City, but instead turned around and went to Liu City, the place where Guo Tianxiang the small porcelain knife.

Because this place is the Qidian of all the changes, and it is also the place that John will definitely investigate after entering the country— John can use the small porcelain knife in his hand to sense and determine the location where the liquid inside Guo Tianxiang's small porcelain knife disappeared.

Perhaps the changes that befell John also began from this place.

Joel lay on the ground for a while, trying every possible method, and was basically able to confirm that the "prosthetic tissue fluid" inside his small porcelain knife had played a lethal role, inhibiting the "Bloodline's " regeneration.

But strangely, he didn't sense any transformation in Guo Tianxiang. In other words, either the injured Bloodline escaped, or Guo Tianxiang didn't drink blood after killing that Bloodline. The former was unlikely, and the latter was also unlikely.

Joel, however, considered another possibility: the target of the "prosthetic tissue fluid" that had been used to injure him by the small porcelain knife was not any other "Bloodline" or "Blood Beast," but rather Guo Tianxiang himself.

But why?

He couldn't have committed suicide, could he?

Having found no other clues, Joel was about to leave when he suddenly noticed a rock not far away that seemed to be moving.

The noise was so faint that an ordinary person would never have noticed it, but his hearing was far superior to that of an average person, and he keenly caught it.

He stood listening for a while, then, feeling something was off, went over and lifted the stone.

The moment he lifted the lid, he saw dozens of large black ants burrowing into the ground, which was riddled with holes. He was startled and instinctively took a half step back.

He wasn't afraid of insects, including ants, but these ants gave him a very peculiar feeling, making him instinctively feel a little uneasy.

However, he didn't think about it too much. First, all the ants had burrowed into the ground and run away. Second, he didn't sense the aura of the "Blood Beast" from those ants; no matter how strange they were, they were just ordinary ants. Third, his attention was drawn to a few blurry engravings on the stone.

Those scratches form several letters; the first four can be vaguely identified as "help".

The last one should be: J.

The marks were crooked and twisted, as if they had been scratched out with a fingernail, making it impossible to determine the handwriting precisely. But instinctively, Joel believed that John had left them.

First, it's an English word; second, the "J" —John's name starts with J, and so does his name. This could be John identifying himself, or he could be asking for help—because John certainly knows that if he comes looking for this place, he can definitely find it too.

Joel's expression was serious, but he was also somewhat excited. He bent down and carefully examined the rock and its surroundings, even using a twig to dig up the ant nest.

The ant nest was very deep, and he didn't find a single ant. Clearly, there was another world underground, but he did see a restaurant receipt half-buried in the ant nest.

The words on it are barely legible, and there are many holes that look like they've been eaten away by insects, so it's obvious that this receipt has been here for quite some time.

Fortunately, the date and restaurant name were still there. Judging from the time, it was March 16th, one day before the "prosthetic tissue fluid" in the small porcelain knife in John's hand disappeared.

He checked the location of that restaurant on his phone; it was located in Liu City.

Joel couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. Neither he nor John needed to eat normally, so there was no need for them to go to a restaurant. Even if they did go for some reason, they wouldn't be able to pay the bill and keep the receipt. They had plenty of ways to "eat for free" without leaving a trace.

Or perhaps this receipt wasn't left by John, and its appearance here, with the date being so coincidental, is just a coincidence?

Or perhaps John went to that restaurant for some particular reason, and even paid the bill?

While agonizing over this dilemma, George's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot. He abruptly bent down and slammed his forehead against the stone engraved with "help J".

One blow after another, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and he gritted his teeth and groaned with each impact.

Soon after, Joel lay on the ground, his head mangled and bloody, panting heavily, while his wounds slowly healed.

Strangely, after Joel rammed his head against the rock, his face transformed into that of a handsome, blond young man in his early twenties with rosy lips and white teeth.

After a long while, Joel got up from the ground, shook his blond hair, and after some gray powder dissipated, his forehead had returned to normal, without any bloodstains. His face also aged again, returning to the appearance of "Professor Nass".

Realizing he didn't have much time left, and despite still having many questions, Joel finally decided to go to the restaurant.

When he found the restaurant, it was already past 7 p. m., the busiest time of day.

He didn't go over immediately, but observed the area for a long time. The restaurant looked very upscale, mainly serving Western food, and it was doing very well. The people coming in and out were all dressed very elegantly.

He tried many methods but failed to detect any trace of "Bloodline," "blood descendants," or "Blood Beast" in or around the restaurant. However, he still felt uneasy and apprehensive. The more he didn't know where the danger was or where his opponent was, the more panicked he became.

After observing for a while, around 8 o'clock, when there were far fewer customers, Joel entered the restaurant.

He went directly to the restaurant manager, introduced himself as William from England, and William he was in China looking for his missing son. He then showed the receipt, indicating that his son seemed to have eaten at this restaurant when he went missing, and he wanted to see the restaurant's security footage.

His fluent Chinese, good looks, appropriate attire, and strong "persuasiveness" convinced the manager to believe him instantly and take him to the office to view the surveillance footage.

March 16th was exactly three months ago, and the surveillance footage from that time is still saved. The manager helped me open the surveillance video from March 16th and traced back a little from the checkout time on the receipt to pinpoint the exact time.

Joel quickly found John on the surveillance video. Although the video quality was a bit low, he could still confirm that the blond man sitting in a corner of the hall, occasionally drinking water and not touching the food on the table, was John Cavendish, who had been sent by the "Red Rose" to find Guo Tianxiang.

Joel fast-forwarded through the video and quickly saw that around 8:30 p. m. on March 16, a cute little girl in a white princess dress walked over, said something to John, and he immediately got up, paid the bill, and then followed her out of the restaurant, bowing and scraping.

What's going on?

Who is that little girl?

Are they China's "Bloodline"?

John took the little girl to the place where Guo Tianxiang disappeared?

Does he want to betray "Red Rose"?

Joel was somewhat shocked. He watched the video several times, and then he noticed something strange: he could see the little girl leading John out of the restaurant, but he couldn't see where the little girl entered the restaurant and appeared in front of John. Was it a blind spot in the surveillance footage, or did she enter through the back door?

After making an excuse to transfer the video to his phone, Joel was about to ask if the restaurant had any other hidden doors when he suddenly noticed that on the live feed screen, from the lobby's perspective, a girl in a white princess dress was standing in the middle, looking up at the monitor, seemingly making eye contact with him through the screen.

He paused for a moment, then quickly turned and walked towards the lobby. But when he got there, the spot where the little girl had been standing was empty. He hurriedly asked a nearby waiter, "Where's the little girl who was just standing there?"

The waiter paused for a moment, then asked, "What little girl?"

"It's that little girl in the white dress," Joel said. The little girl's clothes and demeanor seemed out of place in the restaurant; she was very conspicuous, and he didn't believe that the people around her hadn't noticed her.

"No, there isn't." The waiter was still a little confused, looking around in bewilderment. He really didn't see any little girl.

Joel deduced that he wasn't lying, and then asked the other diners nearby, who also said they hadn't seen any little girl.

He immediately went back to his office and asked the manager who had been standing next to him, "Did you see a little girl in the lobby on the security camera footage just now?"

The manager paused for a moment, then said, "I wasn't looking at the security camera. What little girl?"

The two then pulled up the surveillance video they had just recorded, only to be shocked to find that there was indeed no little girl looking up at the monitor in the lobby; that spot was completely empty.

What happened?

Even though Joel rarely sweats, a bead of cold sweat still appeared on his forehead, trickling down his temple.

He was indeed starting to panic.

Joel didn't ask any more questions about the restaurant's secret door. After saying goodbye to the manager, he walked straight out of the restaurant.

But as soon as he stepped outside, he heard a woman's voice speaking in heavily accented London English: "You want to explore the secrets of life? Simple effort won't yield answers; you need to make a choice and see what price you're willing to pay..."

These words made his heart skip a beat. He looked up sharply and followed the sound to its source, only to find that it was a huge screen above a shopping mall across the street, playing an advertisement for Ping An Life Insurance. A dignified-looking woman was speaking while pointing to her left.

For an ordinary person, at this distance and in such a noisy environment, it would be difficult to hear the advertisement on the big screen clearly, but Joel's hearing was different; he heard it perfectly.

This passage resonated with him because he had said something similar to John.

He once said to John about the question of "immortality," "You want to find the secret of immortality? Mere effort won't yield the answer; you need to make a choice and see what price you're willing to pay."

Of course, he wasn't really answering John's question; he was just trying to get John to become his confidant within "Red Rose" and stand on his side.

But why would they put that phrase in an advertisement? Even though "immortality" has been changed to "life," it still doesn't quite fit with a life insurance ad! Besides, why would an outdoor advertisement in China use English without any subtitles?

Is this meant for him?

Or... am I hallucinating?

Joel, who frequently hypnotizes and influences others' minds and cognition, immediately thought that he was hallucinating and misinterpreting external sounds and images.

His muscles tensed subconsciously as he carefully sensed his own condition and the surrounding environment, trying to find evidence that he had been hypnotized and to find a way to "wake himself up".

For a moment, this "Count" of the "Red Rose," a vampire known as the "Bloodline of the Forest Lord," was so nervous that he stood frozen in place, not daring to move an inch.