It was deep into the night.
The South Suburbs were utterly silent. Not a single light could be seen in any household, and not even half a cat or dog could be found among the streets and alleys. Apart from the streetlamps that remained lit all night, casting a cold, clear glow, the entire urban district had sunk into the tranquil darkness, as if frozen within the night.
Dark clouds covered the crescent moon. Behind the thick clouds, only a sliver of light leaked through the gaps between them. That half-hidden moonlight seemed tinged with traces of Scarlet Blood as it reluctantly spilled onto the roof of the Hao Family Mansion, giving everything a hazy, illusory quality.
A sudden, disorderly flapping of wings shattered the seemingly eternal, frozen silence of the night. The clouds in the sky seemed to retreat all at once, and bright moonlight suddenly poured down through the gaps. Within that moonlight, a dense swarm of bats spiraled down from high above.
The bats circled twice over the Hao Family Mansion with astonishing order, then flew through an open skylight into the house. The faint moonlight that had entered the corridor through the skylight dimmed at once, sliced into scattered fragments by the swarm. The bats rapidly gathered in the corridor, and in the blink of an eye, they coalesced into an elegant black-haired girl with a slightly cool, distant air.
Vivian had returned from her "walk." She glanced back at the moonlight outside and saw that the moon had once again been covered by clouds. This time, even that thin sliver of light was difficult to find.
The house was silent, which was only natural. It was nearly half past one in the morning. Even Roll, the biggest night owl, and Elizabeth, who disliked sleeping, should