บท 36: Different

While most of the people returned to the square after the fight was over, the rest of the group of tax collectors fled the village as quickly as they could.

They were very curious about the young man who fought against Tao Jian. Some people were brave not to go too far and could see part of the fight even from a distance.

Everyone had several thoughts in mind, but nobody thought it was bad what happened. Tao Jain's group was brutal and mistreated the population, so everyone was happy that he died and could only thank the young man who fought bravely.

The elder who was like a village leader went towards Nero, still wounded and being helped by other citizens. He tried to plead with Tao Jian before but ended up getting hurt and was taken away by others.

Now he wanted to personally thank Nero not only for having stopped Tao Jian but also for saving Qiao Mei and Qiao Kun, who were very dear people in the village. But as he went towards the center of the square, not him, but everyone saw the young hero drinking the blood that dripped from Tao Jian's torn head.

It was to be expected that everyone hated someone like Tao Jian because he was really a terrible person. But there is a big difference in killing someone badly and taking his head off to drink blood.

The scene that they could only describe as dreadful caused everyone to run back to their homes in great fear. That time there were not even a few brave people willing to stay out of the house after seeing the devil himself.

The village leader who could not understand what was happening was quickly taken away by his helpers, who almost fainted by fear. It didn't take a full minute for the square to be empty except for Nero's group and Qiao Mei.

Qiao Mei wanted to run to hug Nero when Tao Jian fell. She went through a lot of suffering today, but thanks to Nero, she and her father were safe, and she couldn't wait to show all her willingness to thank Nero.

But she also stopped when she saw that strange scene. Qiao Mei's mind became a mess as she couldn't process what she was seeing. She had a mental image of Nero being the classic knight in shining armor, but now another image has come into conflict with that one. The devil one. And the two images fought in her mind trying to overcome the other.

As much as she wanted to keep going towards him, she was afraid. Qiao Mei was very confused and did not know what to do, so she tried to ask Nero, hoping that he would clear things up.

"Nero... Drink... Blood?"

The situation was not much different for Xun Lan, who was also standing facing Nero without knowing what to think. She knew he was brutal because she remembered well that he killed so many people in the Dai Family for a non-human, but she was still scared to see him drinking blood.

Xun Lan was already in love with Nero on a level that she found impossible to love another person more, but that didn't stop her from being scared, which made her rethink if he was more peculiar than she thought.

While the girls were having mixed thoughts, Zhu Tai just thought that Nero was too strange to live in society, and Xiong Zhelan feared that others distrust Nero as a human.

But Nero was feeling very well. He lost control over his instincts, but in those few seconds, he felt excellent. That feeling of crushing his enemy was so addictive, and Nero thought it was the right way for a vampire to live.

After Sarah took him out of the trance, Nero saw the girls' confused looks, but that didn't take the sinister smile off his face.

Nero did not think for a moment that he would be sorry if someone disapproved of his actions. He couldn't deny that he had favorable feelings for Xun Lan and Qiao Mei, but he didn't care what they thought of him. Only Sarah's opinion was important, and that would hardly change.

Sarah was happy when she saw that Nero was not upset by the girls' reaction. She couldn't deny that she felt threatened by other women while she didn't have a physical body to keep her man, so if he didn't care what they thought, it was a good thing.

But she couldn't help being also a little upset. She saw Nero as her man, and when other people judged him, it sounded very wrong to her. She got angry and had to comment to Nero, the only one who could hear her.

"Stupid girls! So what if you drink blood? They don't know how diabolically wonderful you are!"

Nero knew it was wrong to expose himself like that in front of humans, but he knew it was his true nature, and he couldn't be more grateful for Sarah understood and like that wild side of him. But a small part of him can't help thinking if Qiao Mei would sleep with him knowing about his true nature.

Xiong Zhelan saw that Nero was walking towards them calmly as if nothing had happened and would not say anything, so he had to say something to reduce the tension.

"Ahem! Nero lost a lot of blood in the fight, so he must be a little confused. Please, let's go back to the inn."

The girls were very confused but didn't know if they wanted to investigate Nero. After Xiong Zhelan spoke, everyone agreed and headed for the inn. Nero couldn't help but give Xiong Zhelan a nod. At least someone didn't think of him as a monster.

____________________________

*Thud*

"..."

After the sound of the inn's door slamming against the wall, silence filled the ambiance.

It was amazing how fast the news goes. It was not more than five minutes since the fight was over, and the whole village already knew that the young man who defeated the terrible Tao Jian was scarier than anyone.

The people didn't even care if he was from the Black Sword Sect or not and just talked about him drinking blood from a severed head. Everyone was very scared, and those at the inn did not know if it was better to run home or serve them as if nothing had happened.

Most of the people chose not to do anything that could offend the devil and tried to continue their lives normally, praying for him to leave the village soon. But they couldn't help but freeze in fear when Nero's group entered the doors.

That silence created an even more frightening mood. Nero could hear several hearts beating fast, and he couldn't help feeling that fear was somehow tasty.

Qiao Mei looked at her frightened father with a pleading look. Both did not know how to act since they were saved by Nero and did not want to appear ungrateful even though they were terrified of him.

But Qiao Kun was a very decent man and would not judge Nero without knowing him well. Then he got up with difficulty as he was still injured and went towards Nero.

"You saved my family, and I will never be able to pay that debt even with all the gratitude I have. I have no money or anything of value with me; otherwise, I could at least give you something."

Nero didn't fight for them wanting gratitude or anything like that, so he just nodded to Qiao Kun and headed towards the bedroom. But when he was near the corridor, he stopped, scaring everyone in the hall. Then he spoke without turning around in a tone that everyone could hear.

"Do you regret it?"

"..."

Nobody understood what Nero was talking about except for one person. But Qiao Mei didn't know how to respond or didn't want to, so silence was the answer. Nero went to the bedroom, and everyone was able to breathe again.

After Nero left, Xiong Zhelan's group choose a table together with Qiao Mei and her father. And since the mood has gotten so much better without Nero, Qiao Kun started talking.

"Thanks for the help, Elder Xiong. I don't know what would have happened to us without your help."

Xiong Zhelan understood the situation very well, and he did not blame ordinary people for fearing Nero. But he didn't think the same way, and he didn't like people treating Nero like that just because he was different from what was considered normal or correct.

Tao Jian brutalized the people for no reason and had corrupt and disgusting means of torturing innocent people for pleasure. He would have done unimaginable things with Qiao Mei if Nero hadn't fought for her, so Xiong Zhelan didn't care about Nero's means and didn't care if he liked to drink the blood of his enemies.

It didn't change the fact that he protected people innocent without wanting any kind of reward. And Xiong Zhelan couldn't keep quiet while Qiao Kun thanked him for doing nothing.

"Nero saved you and your daughter. I would not have meddled in that matter because even though I don't like Tao Jian, he is under the Duke's orders, and I am only an Elder of the external court."

"I could have asked him not to hurt innocents, but knowing the way he acts would not surprise me if he waited for me to go out to come back and get your daughter. Not only did Nero choose to fight for you, but he also freed the world from a terrible man who can no longer hurt anyone."

Xiong Zhelan's words not only touched Qiao Kun but everyone in the hall. Everyone was paying close attention to their conversation, and Xiong Zhelan did not softly speak when he defended Nero.

Qiao Kun didn't even know what to say because he was sorry. Not only did he want to run away when Nero was fighting, but he also gave him the same strange look that would give to someone who was not welcome.

Qiao Mei also felt guilty. She had her first time with Nero, and he saved her family in a situation that no one could help. She was very grateful to him, but fear was a barrier that prevented her from thinking straight.

People not only in Sunflower Village, but most of the Xu Dynasty had straightforward thoughts about "the different." "If it is strange, it is bad and evil, then keep your distance."

Humans have been afraid of everything for a long time, and so they are taught since childhood that they can only trust what is considered typical and right. So it was not Qiao Mei's fault to think that Nero was "evil" because she was grown like that, and so were her parents.

"..."

After Xiong Zhelan spoke, no one else dared to make a single sound. Everyone was trying to understand Nero's attitude and not be afraid, but no one would be able to change their minds so quickly. It was easy to think badly about someone who looked good, but it was hard to think well of someone different.

Xun Lan had her head down because her case was even worse than these people who only met Nero for a day. She fell in love with him at first sight, and they had been together for a few days.

She thought Nero was a prince charming even though he was sometimes very mysterious and different. But being peculiar was quite different from drinking blood. So much as she tried to get back to having the same thoughts she had about him before, it was still challenging.

Some things cannot be changed, and most people would always think that Nero was some kind of corrupt and evil cultivator even if he did the right things. Xiong Zhelan did not like that situation, but it could be worse if they started to suspect that he was not human.

People were very racist and intolerant. Xiong Zhelan was a person who believed that everyone could be good or bad depending on the actions and not how different they were. But he knew that the others did not care about seeing things from another point of view. They only knew how to judge wrongly.

This side of the world was a dark and lonely place for different people. So Xiong Zhelan wanted to take Nero to his sister. She was a person who could give Nero a place where he could show his true nature without being feared and avoided by anyone.