Chapter 48: The Castle
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The moon was a ghostly, silver disc, hanging in the lonely sky. The desolate wilderness was devoid of any human signs. The only sound heard was the flapping of Vivian’s wings. The bat-winged vampire maiden swept through the air in the night sky. As the moonlight shone on Vivian, she turned into a moving, blurry shadow. Her vampire aura was completely hidden under the guise of the moonlight. As she was not sure whether the paranormal events in the castle had attracted real demon hunters, she had to remain on high alert and she used the power of the moonlight to camouflage.
Hanging under Vivian’s body, Hao Ren was agitated. "Actually I wanted to say no to flying. At least give me some time―"
"Be sensible," Vivian was heard saying from above.
"... to work up to it. I’m acrophobic. My heart can’t take it!"
"Well, you just have to overcome it!" Vivian lowered her head to take a look at Hao Ren. Unapologetically, she said, "Enjoy the ride. Not everyone has the privilege to fly with the Blood Clan. You know, humans are simply heavy and troublesome."
Hao Ren felt awkward being carried like that by the maiden. But on the bright side, no one saw it and it was a new experience for him, he thought. Initially, he was nervous. He was unsure whether the vampire maiden could handle his weight or not. If she lost her grip on him, he doubted the bioenhancement given by Raven 12345 earlier could help him land in one piece. However, Vivian was no mortal. In terms of brute force, she was not comparable to Lily but, she could carry an adult and fly for dozens of kilometers at the same time. No sweat.
They were flying high up in the night sky but Hao Ren could clearly see the terrain under the moonlight. A tiny, silvery shadow was moving fast on the ground. It was Lily. She had transformed into a werewolf. Her silver, long hair and canine tail could be clearly seen. She was running on her four limbs to keep up with their pace.
Amazingly, the werewolf maiden was running while sleeping. As if she was in autopilot mode, she could track the vampire’s flight path solely based on her olfactory senses. Even Vivian could not hold back her admiration for the werewolf’s unusual ability. Lily could have very well become one of the top brass in the werewolf world solely based on this special talent if not for her happy-go-lucky attitude.
The trio arrived at Yorkford Castle in their unusual way. They mostly avoided the main road. Vivian even sent a bat to trail Angus’ car. Nangong and the like had no idea they were being followed—he did not even bother to peek out from behind the car’s window.
"There it is, the Yorkford Castle," Vivian broke the silence from above after a long flight. Hao Ren looked ahead and saw what was left of the castle. It was a pile of ruins but judging from the size of it, he could tell the castle had its glory days. "We’ll land there."
Vivian landed right where she intended. Hao Ren could not wait to stretch to lessen the numbness in his arms. Although it was still summer, the cold, night wind at a high altitude was not very forgiving. He could have been frozen to death if he had stayed up there a little longer. As he gave himself a little massage on his arms, a white shadow flitted past with great speed, kicking up a cloud of dust in his face.
The shadow stopped only after it crashed into a large rock, which was a few meters high several hundred meters ahead...
A loud bang ensued. The rock was crushed into thousands of pieces instantly and someone was heard moaning in pain. Hao Ren ran towards the voice and found Lily, the werewolf maiden lying there. She was completely covered in dust from head to toe. She finally awakened, albeit not naturally.
Vivian was dumbfounded. "Now, that pighead could moonlight as a jackhammer in a quarry!"
As Lily got up from the ground, one of her ears drooped lifelessly, possibly due to the impact. She shook off the dust and stone chips from her head and body. She seemed to be okay. She grabbed and swung Hao Ren’s arm while she boasted, "Look Landlord, didn’t I keep up with you guys? The winged-vampire isn’t that fast after all!"
Vivian tossed her hair and said, "Yeah, get real! The last time I checked, I was carrying a man. Why don’t you do the same and we’ll see who goes faster next time?"
"Shh, that’s enough," Hao Ren chided and put the argument to rest. There was a moving light coming towards them but it was still far away at the bottom of a hill. Without haste, he hurried Vivian and Lily. "We have to move now. We just attracted attention thanks to you, Lily—your great impact."
The trio left the messy ‘landing site’ and moved behind a mound. The mound, which was closer to the castle offered a better view of the ruins.
The Yorkford Castle was situated on high ground but its location was not exactly strategic for a defensive position. The surrounding terrain was almost flat. The castle itself had mostly collapsed, leaving behind a large pile of grey stones. It appeared to be sitting on a rectangular-shaped foundation but other than that, the castle was mostly unrecognizable and lifeless.
There was a small group of lights nearby. A few tents and large vehicles could clearly be seen under the moonlight. The shadows of humans flashed around as they passed in front of the lights. Those people were most likely paranormal enthusiasts.
There were more than a handful of them but not as many as Hao Ren had thought. Ghost enthusiasts who went to great lengths like camping out in the wild at night to seek paranormal entities were still of the minority.
Obviously, he was confusing ghostbusting and a temple fair.
"Nangong has arrived," Vivian pointed to a distant moving pair of lights. It became clearer as it came nearer. It was the off-road vehicle of Angus, the lodge’s owner. Nangong was sitting in the rear and he was seriously looking like a ghostbuster.
"Oh, wait." Hao Ren sensed that something was not right. He rubbed his eyes before casting his sight over to the distant darkness. "Vivian, how’s your eyesight at night?"
"Pretty good for a typical nocturnal creature." Vivian nodded.
"Can you see that there are three dead trees in that direction? And under one of them is one... Errr... two large rocks."
"Yup, as clear as day," Vivian replied impetuously but quickly came to a realization after what Hao Ren had said. "Wait a minute, you mean you can actually see that?"
Hao Ren rubbed his eyes again. He did not realize he was having an unusual vision throughout the journey. Despite the darkness and the not-so-helpful moonlight, he could still see things as clear as day. The dead trees he had seen were at least two or three kilometers away yet, he could see each and every branch on them.
"This is...this is what Raven 12345 was talking about?" Hao Ren suddenly understood what Raven 12345 told him before he departed. "Bioenhancement will be activated under the right circumstances. Is this what she was talking about?"
Hao Ren was in seventh heaven. Luck was not on his side up to that point and he finally felt he had something to cheer about.
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