With Liu Ru's guidance, Mu Nianbing had already mapped out Liu Xian's usual route home.
From his experience, he knew one thing for certain—vampires never act recklessly. Every target they hunted was carefully chosen after long observation.
That meant Nie Dong, the vampire in question, would likely have been stalking Liu Xian for several nights, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Now, the only question was whether Nie Dong had already marked her as his next victim.
Judging by the timing, Mu Nianbing suspected the vampire was still in the early stages of stalking—but even so, there was no harm in preparing ahead.
After parting ways with Liu Ru, Mu Nianbing immediately sent a message to Lingling, asking her to pull surveillance footage covering Liu Xian's route between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Not long after, Lingling sent over several clips.
Mu Nianbing spent nearly an hour reviewing them at double speed before something caught his attention.
A woman in the footage—clearly Liu Xian—appeared to walk her normal route home. Everything seemed ordinary... until the previous night's footage.
There, near a blind spot in the camera's view, a faint black shadow flickered across the frame.
A lesser hunter might have dismissed it.
But Mu Nianbing wasn't a normal hunter. He possessed a shadow-type magic tool, and he recognized that aura instantly.
Ninety percent chance that's a Shadow spell… and only dark creatures like vampires use it.
Vampires were essentially undead, born of darkness and intimately familiar with shadow-based abilities.
"If that shadow was Nie Dong," he muttered, a faint smile touching his lips, "then it means Liu Xian's already on his list."
Perfect. That meant he'd arrived just in time.
If Nie Dong had appeared last night, there was a high chance he'd show himself again tonight.
After replaying the clip a few more times and locking in the exact alley, Mu Nianbing grabbed his gear and headed out.
A few minutes later, he arrived at the old street shown in the footage.
The buildings on both sides were weathered, their walls cracked and pale under the dull evening glow.
Between two of them was a narrow alley—the very spot where Nie Dong had appeared.
A complete surveillance blind zone.
Nie Dong might have only recently become a vampire, but he wasn't stupid.
These creatures liked to think of themselves as superior beings, yet they scurried through the shadows like rats, too afraid to confront real power.
Mu Nianbing glanced up. Both buildings stood over ten meters tall.
With a vampire's limited perception range, there was no way Nie Dong would sense him from the rooftop.
Perfect position.
As night descended, the narrow street grew quiet. Only a few flickering streetlights illuminated the cracked pavement.
Mu Nianbing stood on the rooftop edge, sipping from a can of Coke as he casually browsed his phone.
His Spatial Sense, though only at Intermediate Level Two, easily covered a thirty-meter radius—enough to detect even the faintest movement below.
Minutes later, a slender woman appeared at the far end of the street, dressed in a black office suit and holding her bag tightly.
"Liu Xian," he whispered, setting the can aside and straightening up.
Below, Liu Xian glanced nervously over her shoulder. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone—or something—was following her.
Each time she turned, there was nothing but darkness. The unease pressed on her chest like cold fingers, urging her to quicken her steps.
From above, Mu Nianbing's eyes tracked her carefully. The street was empty—until he saw it.
A sliver of shadow detached itself from the darkness in the alley below.
The shadow stretched and thickened, slowly taking the shape of a man. His pale skin gleamed faintly in the dim light, his eyes burning red with hunger.
Nie Dong grinned, his fangs glinting.
"Three days since I last tasted blood… I wonder how this one's will taste," he muttered, running a clawed finger along the brick wall, leaving deep gouges behind.
If his superiors hadn't restricted him, he would have already been hunting nightly.
He took a step forward, preparing to pounce and that's when a wave of freezing power crashed down from above.
The street exploded in a blizzard of frost. In the blink of an eye, Nie Dong and both buildings beside him were completely encased in shimmering blue ice.
The vampire never even had time to scream.
From head to toe, he was frozen solid—an unblinking ice sculpture locked in mid-lunge.
Liu Xian gasped, stumbling backward as a gust of icy air swept over her. The street ahead was now a crystalline world, glimmering beneath the streetlights.
Her breath turned white. She hugged herself against the sudden chill.
"Uh… maybe I overdid it a little," Mu Nianbing said sheepishly from above.
He'd poured enough energy into that Ice spell to make sure the vampire was absolutely immobilized—unfortunately, the surrounding buildings had paid the price.
Thankfully, no one lived in those two structures anymore, or they'd be experiencing what it felt like to live in the southernmost tundra.
With a swift motion, Mu Nianbing leapt off the rooftop. Using his Magic Meteorite Boots, he landed softly on the ice, then stepped out from the shadows.
Liu Xian's eyes widened in shock. The man seemed to appear out of nowhere, his aura calm yet powerful.
"Don't be afraid," Mu Nianbing said gently, offering a reassuring smile. "I'm a Hunter Mage. I came to protect you."
"H-Hunter Mage?" Liu Xian stammered, visibly relieved. She glanced toward the frozen alley. "Was… was that thing the one following me?"
A flicker of approval crossed Mu Nianbing's eyes. She was sharp.
"Yes. That's my target—Nie Dong, a vampire. They hunt young, beautiful women like you."
He spoke plainly. There was no need to sugarcoat things.
"V-Vampire?" she whispered, her face paling.
The word alone was enough to make her tremble. The thought of what might've happened if he hadn't arrived made her stomach twist.
"Wait here. I'll handle the rest," Mu Nianbing said, already turning toward the ice statue.
What Huo Tuo wanted was the vampire's Blood Fangs, not the corpse. Still, Mu Nianbing couldn't just hand them over so easily.
Vampire parts were valuable—and dangerous. Bringing them directly to the Pearl Tower might attract unwanted attention.
After all, vampires were tolerated in the Magic City only because certain high-ranking officials preferred to look the other way.
Even though Nie Dong was a low-level vampire, he was still one of them.
That meant Huo Tuo likely wanted this done quietly.
Mu Nianbing smirked.
Then I'll make sure to collect my bonus properly.
Raising his hand, he used Telekinesis to lift the frozen vampire from the ground.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, a crystalline Ice Cage formed around the statue, sealing Nie Dong securely inside.
The hunt was complete.
...
Author's Note:
Versatile Mage: Heir of the Frozen Throne — Part 1 is now fully completed and available on my Patreon!
🔥 I also have a Additional 18+ fanfics now available for readers who enjoy exclusive mature stories. 😉
1.Dragon Ball: Oolong's Sex Adventure
2. Elements of Lust – ATLA & Korra Mixed Smut
3. Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
4. The Naive Me Who Became Someone's Everyday Secret
5. High School DxD: Rias Gremory, the Phenex Bride
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