The Small Inn

Nangong stood on the platform of the small country station, taking a deep breath of the slightly dusty breeze. His face, while not handsome, had a distinguished air, and he wore a pleased expression. "Don't you feel it? There's a scent in the air."

Seeing Nangong like this, Hao Ren immediately felt annoyed. He suspected this Nangong might really be a ticking time bomb. Had the "Demon Hunter" thing actually worked? Had he sensed the chilling winds from the castle as soon as they got off the train?

"I don't smell anything," Vivian sniffed, "and aren't we still quite a distance from Yuefu'erde Castle?"

"The scent of 'those things' can travel very far," Nangong adjusted his wind-blown hair, looking very pleased. "As a Demon Hunter, I'm best at tracking their scent – of course, you definitely can't sense it; it requires training. Alright, enough chatter, let's find a place to stay in town quickly. The sun will be setting soon."

With that, Nangong dragged his large suitcase towards the ramp at the end of the platform. After he had walked about ten meters, Lily suddenly opened her eyes and shouted, "Smell what? Smell what? Let me smell! My nose is very sensitive!"

"Go back to sleep," Vivian casually patted Lily on the back. The werewolf girl didn't get angry, just let out a soft "Oh," and lowered her head to fall asleep instantly, continuing her jet-lag-induced dream state.

"I really don't smell anything," Vivian noticed Hao Ren's gaze on her and immediately shook her head vigorously. "Blood Clan members are also very sensitive to the scent of the undead, but I haven't detected anything. It's still too far from the ruins of Yuefu'erde Castle, and it's not even night yet, so it's not the time for the undead to be active. That guy who calls himself a Demon Hunter... could he really have special sensory abilities? But he didn't even recognize the identities of Vivian and me."

Hao Ren rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, coming to a conclusion: "He's probably just showing off."

Vivian: "...Now that you mention it, that's very possible!"

The small station was next to the town of Brusar, with a not-very-wide country road connecting the station and the town. Unfortunately, Hao Ren and his companions couldn't find a bus, so the four of them had to take a taxi to town. By the time they entered the town, it was almost completely dark. The last sliver of red light on the horizon hung there, reluctant to leave. The streetlights in the town gradually lit up. Looking at the unfamiliar streets of this foreign land, Hao Ren finally felt a touch of emotion. He wasn't someone who went out much; he had almost no experience spending nights away from home, let alone traveling abroad. Now, he stood on a different piece of land, eight time zones away from his homeland. Unfamiliar environment, unfamiliar people, unfamiliar living habits, unfamiliar writing and language – the last two were at least solved by high technology, but the other awkward aspects remained unchanged. He crossed his arms and let out a sigh, missing the comfort of home, and also missing that magical little black cat. He wondered how "Gun" was doing at home; it was probably already out on the streets, mingling with the stray cats and dogs by now.

Hao Ren, a homebody who rarely ventured out, was still a bit unaccustomed to being in a foreign land. But Vivian felt no such thing. Having traveled the world several times over, the vampire girl had been enthusiastically observing this country, which was quite unfamiliar to her, from London to this small country town. She had finally observed something: "It doesn't seem as serious as they say on TV. There aren't many outsiders. Either the TV is exaggerating, or those paranormal enthusiasts and scholars haven't arrived yet."

Hao Ren confirmed that Nangong was walking far ahead and couldn't hear their conversation. He lowered his head and asked in a low voice, "How can you tell?"

"By listening to heartbeats and sensing bloodlines; that's my specialty," Vivian shrugged. "Heartbeats reveal everyone's emotions, and the scent of blood reveals their family relationships and origins. All creatures born and raised in a place have the same factors in their bloodline; this isn't something that can be changed in a short time. I can vaguely sense how many bloodlines here have a sense of incongruity, and how many restless hearts there are. Combining the two, I can roughly estimate how many people are here for the haunted castle. All of the above are skills essential for Blood Clan 'hunting.' Although I don't harm people, at least my talents are still there."

Hao Ren felt goosebumps creep up his skin. Looking at Vivian's eyes, he felt as if they were glowing red. The girl spoke in her usual tone, but what she said was truly chilling. This useless vampire finally showed a hint of the aura of a noblewoman of the night – although this aura was only useful for checking local household registrations, and even then, just a cursory check.

He then turned to look at Lily, who was following behind with her eyes closed. This time, it was the idiotic werewolf's turn to falter. She usually boasted about her keen senses, especially her unparalleled sense of smell, but at this crucial moment, she was just dozing off. Her sense of smell was only useful for preventing herself from getting lost.

"In any case, it's a good sign. The fewer extraneous people, the better," Hao Ren nodded. "Raven 12345's mission instructions told us to go to Yuefu'erde Castle. It said that once we reach a certain location, we can naturally sense the 'client,' but she wasn't sure about the client's current state, so it's best not to have too many unrelated people watching."

"Are we going out at night?" Vivian frowned. "I have an advantage when operating at night, and the big dog will become more energetic in the latter half of the night. She counts as a combatant to some extent."

Hao Ren curled his lips, thinking, That's obvious. A brick could knock you, a high-level Blood Clan member, into a daze. Doesn't that count as combat power?

"We'll see tonight. Let's first see how active those paranormal enthusiasts who were drawn here are. At the latest, we'll have to act tomorrow night. The longer we delay, the more people will gather here."

"More people can be good," Vivian thought for a moment. "We can just blend in with them. We can also say we're looking for ghosts. Sometimes, being open and honest is the best disguise."

"What if a headless knight jumps out of the castle in broad daylight and calls me 'Landlord'? What if golden light erupts from me and a line of text pops up saying 'Match successful'? What if the new tenant we meet is a lunatic who loves to stir up trouble and isn't afraid of making things worse? I have to consider my luck – and Raven 12345's ability to trick people. If any of these situations happen, you'll have to find a way to get me out of MI5... Do you have confidence in breaking someone out of prison in Britain?"

Vivian nodded very seriously. "I've done it before – but back then, British prisons still used wooden bars and pits. I beat up over a dozen knights to rescue a sister from the prison; she was captured by a Demon Hunter..."

"Don't bring up things from before 1190."

Vivian: "..."

At this moment, Nangong's voice called out from ahead, interrupting Hao Ren and Vivian's chatter: "Hey, let's rest here for tonight! It's getting late, and we probably won't find any inns if we go further into town."

Hao Ren looked up and realized that he had unknowingly followed Nangong from a distance and arrived at the entrance of a small inn. The inn was a three-story building, not very large. Its exterior was quite clean and new, with white walls and blue tiles, looking quite beautiful. There was a line of English on the neon sign at the entrance. With the help of his translation system, Hao Ren read it as if it were his native language: "Angus's Cabin... Hey, what a coincidence!"

That's right, it was the name of the small inn he had heard on the television yesterday. The innkeeper here should be the uncle who appeared on TV!

Hao Ren and the other two quickly entered the inn behind Nangong. There were two people behind the counter on the first floor. One was a young woman who seemed to be the cashier, and the other was a short, plump, and honest-looking middle-aged man, who was the one who had appeared on TV earlier.

"Yo, welcome to Angus's Cabin!" The plump innkeeper behind the counter greeted them enthusiastically as soon as he saw the guests. Then, he turned to the female attendant next to him and boasted proudly, "See? More foreigners. Now we don't have to worry about business."

Hao Ren was stunned. So, even in Britain, they like to cater to foreigners?