Nangong stood on the platform of this rural station and took a deep breath of the breeze, which carried a faint scent of dry earth. His face, though hardly handsome, had a distinctly expert-like air, and it wore a cheerful expression. "Can't you feel it? There's a certain smell in the air."
Hao Ren immediately got prickly at the sight of him, feeling that Nangong might really be a ticking time bomb. Is this "Demon Hunter" really that sensitive? Did he sense some sinister wind drifting over from the castle the moment he got off the train?
"I can't smell anything." Vivian sniffed as well. "And shouldn't we still be some distance from Yuefu'erde Castle?"
"The scent of 'those things' can always spread very far." Nangong tidied his windblown hair, looking extremely pleased. "As a Demon Hunter, I'm best at picking up their scent—of course, you definitely can't sense it. It takes training. Anyway, enough chatting. Let's hurry into town and find somewhere to stay. The sun will be setting soon."
With that, Nangong dragged his large trunk toward the slope at the end of the platform. Only after he had gone more than a dozen meters did Lily suddenly open her eyes and shout noisily, "Smell what? Let me smell it! I've got a very sensitive nose!"
"Go back to sleep." Vivian casually smacked Lily on the back. The werewolf girl didn't take offense, merely responding with an "Oh" before lowering her head and instantly falling asleep again, continuing her sleepwalking state without suffering from jet lag.
"I really didn't smell anything." Noticing Hao Ren looking at her, Vivian immediately shook her head vigorously. "The Bloodkin are also very sensitive to the scent of the undead, but I didn't detect anything at all. This place is far too distant from the ruins of Yuefu'erde Castle, and it isn't nighttime yet, when the undead are active. That man who calls himself a Demon Hunter... could he really have some special sensory ability? But he couldn't even see through the identities of Lily and me."
Hao Ren stroked his chin and thought for a moment before reaching a conclusion. "He's probably just showing off."
Vivian: "...The more you say it, the more likely it sounds!"
The small station was right beside Brusar Town. A relatively narrow country road connected the station to the town, but unfortunately, Hao Ren and the others couldn't find a bus, so the four of them had to take a taxi into town. By the time they entered, the sky was almost completely dark. Only the last trace of red light remained on the horizon, hanging there uncertainly, while the streetlamps in town gradually lit up. Looking at the unfamiliar streets of this foreign land, Hao Ren finally felt a little emotional. He was not someone who went out much and had almost no experience traveling far from home or staying overnight elsewhere. Naturally, he had never even left the country. Yet now he stood on a different land eight time zones away from his hometown, surrounded by an unfamiliar environment, unfamiliar people, unfamiliar customs, and unfamiliar writing and language. The last two had at least been solved through advanced technology, but the other awkwardness remained unchanged. He folded his arms and exhaled, missing all the comforts of home—and, incidentally, that wondrous little black cat. I wonder how "Roll" is doing at home. She's probably already run out into the streets and made friends with all the stray cats and dogs by now, right?
Hao Ren, a homebody who almost never traveled far, was somewhat uncomfortable in a foreign country, but Vivian felt nothing of the sort. The vampire girl, who had once traveled around the world several times, had been enthusiastically observing this country that was so unfamiliar to her. From London to this rural town, she had finally figured out a few things. "It doesn't seem as serious as they said on television. There aren't many outsiders. Either the television exaggerated things, or those paranormal enthusiasts and experts haven't arrived yet."
Hao Ren made sure that Nangong was far enough ahead not to hear them, then lowered his head and asked quietly, "How can you tell?"
"By listening to heartbeats and sensing bloodlines. Those are my specialties." Vivian shrugged. "Heartbeats reveal everyone's emotions, while the scent of blood reveals their family ties and foundations. All creatures native to a place share certain factors in their bloodlines. That can't be changed in a short time. I can vaguely sense how many discordant bloodlines there are here, as well as how many restless hearts. Putting those two things together, I can roughly determine how many people came here because of the haunted castle. All of these are skills the Bloodkin must possess to hunt. I don't hurt people, but at least I still have the talent."
Hao Ren felt goosebumps rising all over him. Looking into Vivian's eyes, he almost imagined that they were glowing red. The girl was speaking in her usual casual tone, but the content was genuinely frightening. This useless vampire had finally shown a little of the bearing belonging to a noble lady of the night—though all she had done with that bearing was check the local population registry, and even that was only a rough field survey.
He turned to look at Lily, who was following them with her eyes closed. This time, it's the idiot werewolf who's letting us down. She always brags about her sharp senses, especially her unparalleled sense of smell, but at this crucial moment all she does is doze off. Her nose's only use is apparently making sure she doesn't lose track of us.
"Anyway, it's a good sign. The fewer unrelated people, the better." Hao Ren nodded. "The mission instructions Raven 12345 gave me said we should go to Yuefu'erde Castle. Apparently, once we reach a certain location, we'll naturally sense the 'client' and they'll sense us too. But she wasn't sure what state the 'client' is currently in, so it's best not to have too many unrelated people watching nearby."
"Should we set out at night?" Vivian frowned. "I have an advantage when moving around at night, and Big Dog will perk up in the second half of the night. She can at least count as some fighting power."
Hao Ren curled his lip and thought, That goes without saying. A single brick can knock an advanced member of the Bloodkin senseless. How could that not count as fighting power?
"We'll see how things look tonight. First, let's see how capable those paranormal enthusiasts who were drawn here are. We have to act by tomorrow night at the latest. The longer we wait, the more people will gather here."
"Having more people around has its advantages too." Vivian thought for a moment. "We could simply blend in with them and say we're here looking for ghosts as well. Sometimes, being open and aboveboard is the best disguise."
"What if a headless knight suddenly jumps out of the castle in front of everyone, hugs me, and calls me Landlord? What if golden light bursts from my body and a line of text pops out saying 'Pairing successful'? What if the new tenant we meet is a lunatic, and we end up making trouble when we already have enough trouble, or making things worse when we should be watching the fire from afar? I have to take my luck into account—as well as Raven 12345's talent for setting traps. If any one of those things happens, you'll have to find a way to get me out of MI5... Do you have confidence in breaking into a British prison?"
Vivian nodded solemnly. "I've broken into one before—but back then, British prisons still used wooden fences and underground pits. I knocked down more than a dozen knights and went into the cells to rescue a sister. She'd been captured by Demon Hunters..."
"Don't bring up anything from before 1190."
Vivian: "..."
At that moment, Nangong's voice suddenly came from ahead, interrupting Hao Ren and Vivian's idle chatter. "Hey, let's stay here tonight! It's getting late. If we go farther into town, we probably won't find any inns."
Hao Ren looked up and realized that, without noticing, he had followed far behind Nangong all the way to the entrance of a small inn. The inn was a three-story building. It was not large, but its exterior was neat and fresh-looking, with white walls and blue tiles that made it quite attractive. An English sign in neon hung above the entrance. Thanks to the convenience of the translation system, Hao Ren read it as easily as his native language. "Angus's Cabin... Hey, what a coincidence!"
That was right—the name of the little inn they had heard about on television the previous day. The innkeeper here was probably the same middle-aged man who had appeared on the program!
Hao Ren, Vivian, and Lily hurried into the inn behind Nangong. There were two people behind the counter on the first floor. One was a young woman who appeared to be the cashier, while the other was a short, stout, honest-looking middle-aged man. He was the very same person who had appeared on television earlier.
"Well, welcome to Angus's Cabin!" The chubby owner greeted them warmly the moment he saw the guests. Then he turned to the female attendant beside him and boasted smugly, "Look, more foreigners. Now we don't have to worry about business."
Hao Ren froze. So even in Britain, people liked showing off foreign guests?
Before you continue