Chapter 88: The Welcome Party for a Friend Leaving the Hospital

After returning home, Lin Xiao called to inform Michael’s and Lucas’s families. Upon learning about the welcome party being held for their sons, both families were overjoyed and promised to arrive that evening without fail.

Sheriff Hope, feeling the crowd wasn’t lively enough, simply invited Nick and Eddie along as well. After all, they had played a significant role in the rescue operation, even if their attempt at bravado had fallen a bit flat.

To prepare for the party that night, the whole family set out together to shop in town.

Once there, while the others busied themselves in the supermarket, Lin Xiao made an excuse to buy some personal items and slipped back to the town’s jewelry store. He spent his last five hundred dollars on a silver necklace.

He chose a silver necklace because, after defeating Damont the previous night, he had been rewarded with a nine-star ordinary-level miniature canister, which had yielded two items: three lower-grade elemental crystals and a rare extraordinary material—

[Vampire Earl’s Blood Crystal: Ordinary-level material, formed from the essence of a vampire earl’s blood. Can be used for forging equipment or enchanting; Effect: Increases HP by 50 points, HP recovery by 5%.]

This blood crystal was an exceptionally valuable material, boosting HP and recovery—just what he needed. With some source energy still on hand, he could easily forge another necklace.

After purchasing the silver necklace, Lin Xiao returned to the car, summoned the system interface, and began crafting.

Now that he’d reached level 8, he could equip level 8 necklaces and craft higher-tier jewelry. He browsed through his options and confirmed his choice—a necklace that required two lower-grade elemental crystals, its effect among the best at the ordinary level.

Crafting equipment was now second nature to him. He first bought three doses of magical dissolvent, then placed the blood crystal, two elemental crystals, and the silver necklace into the forging furnace and clicked confirm. The process required 20 source energy points.

He breathed a sigh of relief—so last time, the high cost had been due to using mid-grade elemental crystals. Now, crafting ordinary equipment was back to its usual price.

He clicked confirm. A flash of light—and a silver necklace appeared on the interface:

A heart-shaped crystal, red as a ruby, set in a silver frame and strung on a silver chain, dazzling with breathtaking hues even more radiant than a ruby.

He withdrew the necklace from the interface, and a scarlet light flashed; in his palm now lay the newly crafted necklace:

Earl of Crimson Blood

Equipment Type: Accessory
Equipment Slot: Necklace
Required Level: 8
Quality: Ordinary
Weight: 0.5kg
Magic Defense: +15
Special Effect: HP +50 points, HP Recovery +5%

As Lin Xiao put on the Earl of Crimson Blood, a strange heat surged from within, coursing through his body. He could feel his blood racing, an exhilarating rush flooding his veins.

After a while, the sensation subsided, leaving him feeling refreshed. The 300CC of blood he had lost last night to Dustin was steadily being replenished. Before long, he would be back to normal.

Suddenly remembering the seven dog-creature corpses still in his inventory, he decided to dismantle them and see if the extracted blood-and-flesh essence could help further restore his vitality.

Without hesitation, he spent 7 source energy points to break down the seven corpses, yielding seven portions of blood essence and magicka essence.

He took out a piece of blood essence—a bead-like drop of blood appeared in his palm. He swallowed it, smacked his lips—hmm, not much of a sensation.

He tried two more in quick succession; this time, he felt his vitality improve, though still not fully restored.

Annoyed, Lin Xiao took the remaining four, tossed them all into his mouth, and finally felt a robust surge of blood energy. The deficit in his body was being replenished at last.

His vitality now surged like a tide; even donating a thousand CCs of blood wouldn’t be an issue. This blood-and-flesh essence was the ultimate restorative, leagues beyond any blood tonic one could buy.

Indeed, anything produced by the two-headed dog was a treasure.

With the necklace crafted and the dog corpses dealt with, Lin Xiao hurried back to the supermarket. Joey and the others stood waiting by the roadside, bags in hand, showing no impatience—they knew he had his own business to attend to.

They drove back to the neighborhood but didn’t go home. Instead, they parked by the lake and moved all the party supplies onto the yacht, getting ready for the night’s festivities.

They even had lunch on the yacht. A round table was set on the deck, and the family sat together, enjoying the scenery and the feast in tranquil contentment.

By afternoon, Michael, Lucas, and Dustin arrived first. The three boys were thrilled by the yacht, charging about in excitement.

Joey and Sheriff Hope stayed in the kitchen, preparing ingredients and smiling at the boys’ antics. Lin Xiao climbed to the top of the yacht, spread out a blanket, slipped into swim trunks, and basked in the sun.

He had been fighting continuously of late, and last night’s battle with Lestat had left him thoroughly drained, a heavy burden weighing on his mind. Now, at last, he could relax.

Later that afternoon, the parents of all three families arrived, along with Nick and Eddie.

As the yacht wasn’t large enough, they set up three tables on the shore, laid out grills, and enjoyed barbecue and beer as they chatted.

Sheriff Hope led Michael’s and Lucas’s fathers, along with Nick and Eddie, on a tour of the yacht, chatting about making time for a fishing trip and discussing the fish species of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi.

Joey played hostess to Mrs. Wheeler, Mrs. Matara, and Mrs. Fox, who all gazed in envy at the yacht and asked how they’d come by it.

Joey was stumped—she couldn’t exactly say, “Jonathan earned it as a reward for exorcising a demon.” That would sound utterly ridiculous.

“I won it in a lottery. It was the grand prize when I bought a ticket in town,” she said.

From atop the yacht, Lin Xiao caught every word and called out loudly to clear up the ladies’ doubts, rescuing Joey from awkwardness.

“You really do have the best luck,” Mrs. Wheeler, Michael’s mother, sighed. Her family had once been the most well-off among the group, but now the Byers family had far surpassed them.

“By the way, where’s your daughter Nancy? I haven’t seen her around.”

Joey quickly changed the subject, not wanting to discuss it further and risk exposing herself.

“She’s at Barbara’s house doing homework—exam season is coming up. By the way, I hear Jonathan is doing very well at school lately and is quite popular with the girls,” Mrs. Matara, Dustin’s mother, teased, no doubt relaying some gossip from her son.

She had no idea her own child had been turned into a vampire and taken Blade as his mentor.

“Really? I didn’t know that. I thought he’d never have any girls after him,” Joey laughed, and the others joined in.

Watching the three families chatting and laughing together, Lin Xiao pondered. Now all three boys had become extraordinary beings—what would their families think if they ever learned the truth?

He could only hope that day would not come too soon.