Wen Zhuhei was stunning to say the least. His features had opened up, although they were a bit delicate compared to Chen Shujin's. Also, Wen Zhuhei wasn't as tall as Chen Shujin's 193 centimeter figure, but from what Chen Shujin saw, Wen Zhuhei was around 185 centimeters or a bit taller. He even had a few piercings...

(Wen Zhuhei, 18 years old, half-blood vampire)

Wen Zhuhei smiled brightly as he ran towards Chen Shujin.

Without realizing, Chen Shujin had already opened his arm, as if he already knew what Wen Zhuhei was coming for. Chen Shujin didn't notice the very light smile on his face but Wen Zhuhei, who saw this, also rushed into his arms and embraced him.

At this moment, Wen Zhuhei didn't care how ambiguous his actions were. It had been five years since he had saw Chen Shujin face to face. As these five years passed, the feelings in his heart only grew and grew.

[Male lead's love percentage is at 84%.]

Chen Xueyi stared at the scene questionably but he didn't say anything. Then, his eyes shifted at a tree near where he was.

Chen Shujin could feel Wen Zhuhei's suffocating grip on himself and his own heart was racing. Wen Zhuhei really became handsome over the years. Although Chen Shujin knew that Wen Zhuhei was definitely handsome, he didn't know just how handsome he really was.

Chen Shujin tapped Wen Zhuhei before he gently pulled away. As he raised his brow, he questioned, "You didn't tell me that you were going to come back..."

Wen Zhuhei pulled away regretfully and with a smile on his face, he answered, "I wanted to surprise you. Hongxue told me that you would be coming a bit late so I was waiting for you."

Wen Zhuhei stood by Chen Shujin's side. It had been a while since he saw Chen Shujin and the man appeared even more daunting than before. And in Wen Zhuhei's eyes, he seemed even more handsome. Wen Zhuhei knew that Chen Shujin was handsome in his own way, more mature yet also cold. Chen Xueyi was also handsome but he leaned towards the looks of a person who seemed more mischievous.

In a way, he was. Chen Xueyi was more serious in the face of Chen Shujin.

"Let's go back in. Since you've come back, then it must mean that the academy has decided you have done everything to their liking. Also, it means that you were able to get everyone's approval." As Chen Shujin announced this, he began walking with Wen Zhuhei next to him.

Chen Xueyi, walking behind them, could feel something very odd about the aura drifting from them as he backed away a couple of steps. He debated whether or not he should just slip away as he knew that they wouldn't notice him. After a few thoughts passing by, he finally looked back at them and secretly slipped away.

Wen Zhuhei walked by Chen Shujin's side and kept trying to rein in his heart that felt like it was going to hop out of his chest at any moment. Now that he was an adult in the human's world, his thoughts were even more self-provoking. After all, in the vampire's law, 16 was the age where a vampire was fully matured as they grew faster than humans did.

Wen Zhuhei followed as Chen Shujin walked into his bedroom and he paused for a second before he also followed in afterwards.

Chen Shujin led Wen Zhuhei into his bedroom before he reached into his drawers and pushed a button inside on the bottom of the drawer.

Wen Zhuhei watched as a large door shifted opened on the wall beside Chen Shujin's bed.

Chen Shujin pointed back at Wen Zhuhei. "Come, follow me. Now that you've returned, it should be the right time for you to pick an artifact for yourself."

Hearing this, Wen Zhuhei nodded his head as he realized what Chen Shujin was trying to tell him. For most of the noble vampires of the pure-blood vampires, they would be able to choose a vampiric artifact, but most were handed from their lineage or families.

Vampiric artifacts had different roles, some may give you powers, others can directly be used as a weapon. To put it in human words, vampiric artifacts were often infused with magic powers as they would say. But only vampires were able to use these artifacts, and while some humans could use it, their bodies wouldn't be able to handle its powers. If a human can use it, often times it led to an earlier death for them.

Chen Shujin walked inside the hidden room that was now opened with Wen Zhuhei behind him. As they walked inside, the doors behind them closed. A dim light was showing as Wen Zhuehi saw a few delicately designed boxes and some more inside.

There were also weapons inside, put up on the walls.

Chen Shujin turned back to Wen Zhuhei. "Pick whatever catches your eyes, usually it would be what you need most. After you pick your artifact, it will reveals its powers to you."

Wen Zhuhei turned to Chen Shujin with a question on his mind. "Then what is your artifact?"

Hearing this question, Chen Shujin smirked a bit as he replied, "I don't have one. In a way, if you don't need one, the artifacts will not respond to you. Even if you spend a whole lifetime trying to pick an artifact, if you don't need one, you may not be able to use it effectively. The artifacts that other families pass down are usually those that respond to their lineage or blood."

Hearing this, Wen Zhuhei nodded his head to show that he understood. Although he had learnt this at the academy, it was still not as effective as having Chen Shujin tell everything personally to him. This way, he would also want to memorize it more.

But Wen Zhuhei hesitated for a second. After all, although he had gotten use to his identity, he still couldn't get use to being in front of Chen Shujin like this.

Chen Shujin watched as Wen Zhuhei hesitated for that moment. Hmm, it really seemed like Wen Zhuhei was definitely a bit different compared to him. All these years passed yet the boy still carried his slight nervousness in front of him. He didn't do anything as Wen Zhuhei stopped for that second.

"It's alright, if nothing happens, don't force yourself. It merely means that there is no way an artifact will be able to enhance your power." Chen Shujin helped Wen Zhuhei calm his frozen state.

Wen Zhuhei sighed in relief at that. But, inside, he was a bit hurt. Chen Shujin talked to him like he was still that thirteen year old boy he had first brought back to the house. While Chen Shujin was really 5,000 years old, that was only mentally. All vampires stopped aging at twenty, especially if you were born a vampire. They would stopped aging physically, only aging mentally.

"I understand, I'm just a bit worried." Wen Zhuhei replied in turn. Suddenly, he felt Chen Shujin move closer to him and stood behind him.

"Come here for a second." Chen Shujin stood behind Wen Zhuhei before his pale large hand covered Wen Zhuhei's eyes.

Wen Zhuhei took a sharp breath with Chen Shujin's actions. If he didn't know Chen Shujin, he would've thought that Chen Shujin was really trying to mean something else with this action.

"Take deep breaths and relax. Clear your head and don't think of anything else. If there is an artifact meant for you, you will be pulled towards it automatically." Chen Shujin knew that Wen Zhuhei couldn't see his expression, hence, he slightly grinned as he said this and leaned down to whisper right next to Wen Zhuhei's ear.

Wen Zhuhei's hands shook as he felt hot air pass by his neck and ear, his body freezing as he could feel warmth traveling to his cheeks.

Then, calming himself, he began to do as Chen Shujin had said, One breath, then two, Wen Zhuhei cleared away all thoughts as his eyes were now closed.

Soon, Chen Shujin took away his hand and watched Wen Zhuhei from the side. Not long after, he could see something starting to light up in a box.

Wen Zhuhei opened his eyes at last, and he began walking deeper into the room. As he walked deeper and deeper into the room, he knew that Chen Shujin was also following just in case.

Wen Zhuhei's eyes swept all over the boxes until his eyes landed on a small, plain white box. Without even hesitating, he reached for the box and opened it, revealing a black ring. His brows knitted, but he didn't stop as he grabbed the ring and slipped it onto his middle finger. At that moment, his eyes glossed over as he found out what his artifact was.

Chen Shujin, who stood behind Wen Zhuhei knew that he was taking in his power at the moment and didn't interrupt. He silently stood, waiting for Wen Zhuhei to finish.

Wen Zhuhei's eyes finally returned to normal as he looked back at Chen Shujin and said, "I think that should be everything, right?"

Chen Shujin nodded his head as he then began taking Wen Zhuhei out, snapping as the doors soon opened back up. "Follow me for a moment."

Wen Zhuhei nodded his head as Chen Shujin began leading him out of the bedroom and into a separate room that needed to be opened with a password. Wen Zhuhei saw that Chen Shujin wasn't saying anything so he didn't, merely walking into the room that had a desk and plentiful of papers and books.

"Remember to keep the purpose of your artifact a secret, even from your closest person. Many vampires don't have artifacts as half-blood are often viewed as lower-beings compared to the noble vampires who are pure-blood." Saying this, Chen Shujin made Wen Zhuhei sit down as he began to grab some books and set it before him.

Wen Zhuhei nodded his head at Chen Shujin's words, then sat in confusion as Chen Shujin began bringing some books over. "What are all of these?"

Chen Shujin raised his brow at that, "Books. I'm still trying to raise you as my successor, if you remember. You should have learnt some things at the academy but I'm sure they skipped out some important information. Read through all of that and then tell me what you think."

Wen Zhuhei looked at the books in wonder as he grabbed one, reading it quickly and searching for the important facts that he should be looking at.

Chen Shujin didn't say anything as he waited for Wen Zhuhei to finish. Pretty soon, he was able to see some changes on Wen Zhuhei's face. The book wasn't thick so he should be done soon. The book was a trace of the vampires and the humans long war against one another.

After all, many countries liked to sugarcoat their actions, especially after wars just to turn themselves into saints compared to other countries. The vampires didn't have anything to hide though, they told the truth, spoke the truth, and didn't try to hide their actions.

Seeing that Wen Zhuhei had set down the book back onto the table, Chen Shujin finally smiled as he asked, "So, what do you think?"

Hearing this, Wen Zhuhei bit down his lips as he finally replied, "I think that both sides are not clean. While the humans have done horrible things to the vampires, the vampires have done the same things back. Maybe the vampires are better, for we have walked the land longer than the humans have. But, during this war, we have also killed and killed."

Seeing that Chen Shujin was still staring at him, Wen Zhuhei stopped and concluded his answer. "But the truth is, no matter how we try to hide it, the vampires are lethal too. Once provoked, we will stop at no end to return the damage ten times. Though we do not initiate anything on our accord, it does not mean that we simply let it go. That is why when the humans first tried to take away a vampire and experiment on him, all those humans were killed.

Chen Shujin closed his eyes at this. "You're right. To the humans, new things in their eyes are something to test on, to take samples and try to find the secrets behind it when sometimes there are none. The war started because they took away one of the noble's young child and experimented on him, killing him in the process."

Wen Zhuhei didn't know what to say, because he had always heard about how the humans loved to experiment on new things, treating anything a bit strange inhumanely at times.

"But, the way you are thinking about this matter is not wrong"

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