The Vampire Clan Palace was built in a corner of Puze County.
It was a place that few people in all of Puze County would approach, and in contrast, this place was solemn and quiet, unlike the rest of Puze County.
When Chloe followed Xavier here, she looked up and saw the sharp white roof and the stained glass windows.
So this was the place where the deity worshipped by the Vampire Royal Family for generations resided.
It looked rather... dilapidated.
At least that's how Chloe saw it.
She muttered, "Doesn't seem like this deity is very fancy."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xavier pinched her lips shut and calmly said, "Disrespecting the deity deserves punishment."
Chloe's mouth was pinched into a duck's beak, and she felt annoyed.
But after thinking it over, she decided she should still show some respect to the deity, so she restrained herself, at least not showing any aggression towards Xavier in front of the deity.
She broke free from Xavier's grip and slowly walked inside, step by step.
In the solemn main hall, incense swirled, and a shrine could be seen enshrined in the center.
The deity's face was indiscernible, but one could vaguely infer from its shape that the deity was a humanoid figure sitting cross-legged on the altar.
Crafted from pure gold, a beam of sunlight from outside fell on the deity, tracing a beautiful golden line on its body.
Though the face was obscured, for some reason, Chloe still felt a sense of unfamiliar emotion welling up from the depths of her heart.
It was a feeling of respect and fear towards the unknown powerful entity.
The Vampires' deity statue... was quite interesting indeed.
Behind her, Daniel said softly, "This is the Vampires' deity, but why do I feel... afraid?"
Qin Huaibei glanced at him and calmly said, "Deity statues are like that."
After a pause, he lowered his voice and said:
"Any massive deity statue placed on an altar will inevitably give people a sense of oppression."
"Is that so?" Daniel scratched his head. "In the past, our tribe erected a statue of the Wolf King for worship, but when I went to see it, I didn't feel any reverence at all."
"I felt like slapping the Wolf King's head off."
Qin Huaibei: "..."
He calmly said, "Please don't project personal grievances onto the deity statue."
Daniel snorted, not caring.
Overhearing their conversation, Chloe also became interested and asked, "So what's your grudge against the Wolf King? Have you hated him since childhood?"
"I have many grievances," Daniel started counting on his fingers.
Before Chloe could hear more, Xavier called out her name from the front.
Reluctantly, Chloe had to run back to Xavier's side. "What is it?"
Xavier didn't say a word, but kicked a cushion over, pushing Chloe onto it.
In the blink of an eye, Chloe found herself kneeling on the cushion.
Before she could turn her head and speak, Xavier also knelt on the cushion, his expression solemn.
Seeing this, Chloe dared not speak.
She swallowed and, following Xavier's example, knelt upright and proper.
The chattering youngsters behind them also wisely stopped talking.
After watching for a while, Katherine gestured for Qin Huaibei and Daniel to quietly leave.
After the outsiders left, the golden deity statue gradually emanated a faint glow, which gradually grew brighter over time.
Chloe widened her eyes—
How did it start glowing? This was so miraculous?
Could it be that the Vampires' deities were really...
Before Chloe could ponder further, Xavier's voice came from beside her, "Lower your head."
Chloe instinctively obeyed.
With her head bowed, all Chloe could see were her own clothes, a blade of grass here and there, and the broken cushion.
Immediately after, she felt a gentle breeze sweep around her.
The wind was extremely soft, ruffling Chloe's hair, and she vaguely felt her cheeks itch.
Chloe wanted to raise her head and look.
But this must have violated some rule, and before she could lift her head, Xavier slapped it down.
The deadbeat father used a bit too much force, and Chloe was slammed to the floor, her forehead striking the ground hard.
Chloe: "..."
Clearly, this accident was also unexpected for Xavier, but after glancing at Chloe and then at the deity statue, he actually said in an approving tone, "Well done."
Chloe: "..."
Die, die, die! That deadbeat father should just die!
Her forehead was really hurting!
Xavier murmured incantations beside her, while Chloe clasped her hands together, pressing the backs of her hands against her forehead to prevent her fragile forehead from being injured again.
As time passed, Chloe started to feel drowsy.
In the end, she did fall asleep.
And she had a dream.
Oddly, Chloe clearly knew she was in a dream, but everything in the dream felt so real.
She saw herself in a white void and after walking a few steps, Chloe saw a massive deity statue.
The deity's eyes were slightly lowered, looking merciful, but its face was extremely ferocious.
Earlier in the palace, Chloe hadn't had a chance to closely examine the deity's appearance before being made to kneel.
Now in the dream, however, she could see it clearly.
Aside from its relatively well-formed features, the rest of the deity's body was extremely crude.
Its face resembled melted ice cream on the ground, while its body looked like a cluster of sea urchins.
In short, it was extremely grotesque.
This was the deity worshipped by the Vampires for generations?
Surely it couldn't be this sloppy and ugly?
Seeming to sense Chloe's thoughts, the deity slowly opened its eyes.
Its golden pupils stared directly at Chloe, and then it took a step forward.
Chloe stood still, feeling not the slightest fear, and simply watched the deity's movements.
She wanted to see what this stone... no, golden person would do.
After about a few minutes, the deity moved in front of Chloe. It bent down, and Chloe heard the sound of stone grinding against stone, dull and grating.
The deity extended a finger, pointing it at Chloe's heart.
In the next moment, the deity's fingertip emitted a golden glow, and Chloe felt a dull pain in her chest.
She frowned and took a step back, displeased. "What are you doing?"
The deity ignored her and continued burning Chloe's heart.
Chloe soon found herself unable to move.
Then, she felt a surge of excruciating pain, as if an axe was violently hacking down her body and heart from above.
Chloe curled up in agony, yet unable to struggle as she was trapped in a dream.
In the next moment of unconsciousness, she saw the statue withdrawing its hand from her chest.
In its grip... was a thrashing, venomous snake.
