Old Mulciber said half of what Fearn·Burke said. The two old guys were telling each other stories intentionally or unintentionally.
But the more complete the story is, the more it looks like someone has scripted it in advance.
"You said just now that each of the six families took away a vampire, and they all used it to extend their own lives?" Lin Ze turned his attention back.
"That's not the case. Chivalis·Black is a different kind."
"Don't show off."
"He completely destroyed that vampire." Old Mulciber's tone contained something that couldn't be told whether it was admiration or contempt.
"Among the six families, only the madman Black family did the right thing. He spent three years grinding the vampire into powder, mixed the powder into lime, and sprinkled it into the North Sea."
Lin Ze thought of the box of fangs in Black's old house Chamber of Secrets, the forty-seven teeth pried out from the blood slave's mouth. Chivalis took them home as a souvenir, but completely disposed of the really dangerous things.
This ancestor was indeed crazy and sober enough.
"What about Gaunt family?" Lin Ze asked.
"Gaunt family." Old Mulciber laughed, and there was a sense of fun in that smile.
"Gaunt family's vampire suffered the most misfortune. They used the blood of the vampire to prolong the lives of the clan members. Generation after generation, they squeezed the vampire down to only a layer of skin. Later, the family declined, and the vampire disappeared."
"Missing?"
"Yes, no one knows where it went. Some say it broke free and escaped, while others say it was taken away by an unknown wizard."
Lin Ze will keep this message in mind. If Gaunt family's vampire is still alive, it may have regained its freedom, scattered in a corner, and may stir up trouble again at any time.
"What about the Greengrass Family?"
Old Mulciber did not answer immediately this time.
He picked up the tea cup and took a sip. When he put the cup down, he slowly turned his fingers around the rim of the cup.
"Greengrass Family is very smart." He finally said.
"They didn't keep the vampire in Britain from the beginning, but sent it to Americas. But later, for some reason, Greengrass Family was inexplicably infected with something like Blood Curse. I think it has something to do with their research on vampires."
"How do you know so much?"
"Because I have been looking for them." Old Mulciber's eyes became dark.
"I want to accomplish what my father failed to do back then."
He raised his right hand from the armrest and rolled up his cuff a few inches.
The skin of that arm was gray-white, like a dead person, the nails were a light blue-gray color, and there were a few bulging blood vessels on the back of the hand, but the color was black.
"You..."
"I don't have much time." Old Mulciber put the cuffs back, moving very slowly.
"When my father buried my memories, he left a vampire bloodline in my body as insurance. That thing allowed me to live long enough, but it was also devouring me little by little."
"How long can you last?"
"Maybe three months, maybe half a year, I can't tell." He said in a calm tone.
"You are doing those things secretly, supplying blood to vampires, and cultivating blood slaves, just to find a way to survive? Are you... so afraid of death?" Lin Ze leaned on the back of the chair and tapped his fingers twice on the armrest.
Old Mulciber did not deny it.
"Yes, Mr. Lin, you are in your prime now and you don't understand the psychology of people like us who are about to die."
"I understand."
Lin Ze Stand up.
His tone remained calm, but the very act of standing up caused the temperature in the living room to change.
The flames in the fireplace flickered, as if someone had taken a breath of wind from the side.
"But understanding is understanding. You must have an explanation for taking advantage of me before."
Old Mulciber slowly raised his head.
The Lin Ze he saw was still the young man wearing a dark gray robe. He was thin, with ordinary facial features and no sense of threat.
But Lin Ze's eyes suddenly changed at the next moment, and there was a hint of golden dark light in his pupils.
Old Mulciber's fingers clenched on the armrest.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"It's very simple."
Lin Ze took a step forward.
The robe on his body seemed to be blown by the wind as he walked, and the hem of the robe rose slightly and then fell down.
The candlesticks on the living room wall dimmed by half a degree at that moment, and Old Mulciber's teacup made a soft "ding" sound on the table.
"Give me whatever is left in your hands, including all the vampire clues, research records, and contact lists you have."
"Then you go to Wizengamot with me and explain clearly what you need to say, and explain everything you did before."
Old Mulciber stared at him, something flashed in his cloudy eyes.
"What if I don't agree?"
"Then I'll use another way to make you agree."
Lin Ze raised his right hand.
His fingertips tapped lightly in the air.
A dark golden light spot only the size of a fingernail emerged, like an ember heated to a critical point, burning silently in the air.
The temperature in the living room rose suddenly.
The tassels on the edge of the tapestry automatically floated up a few inches without any wind, and then fell back down. The flames in the fireplace were half shorter, as if they were being suppressed by a hand from above.
Old Mulciber's expression changed.
He has seen a lot of things, he has seen Dark Lord, he has seen Dumbledore, he has seen all kinds of strange dark creatures and indescribable ancient beings.
He had only seen that kind of color on one kind of creature, the kind that was at the top of the food chain in the magical world, the kind that fed on everything, and even the top wizards didn't dare to face it.
"You..." Old Mulciber's voice became hoarse.
"The thing on you... is more dangerous than the one I studied..."
Lin Ze Take back that dark golden light.
"So, Mr. Mulciber, let me ask again. Do you want to cooperate by yourself, or do you want me to help you?"
Old Mulciber lowered his head silently, held the handrails with both hands, and slowly leaned forward.
This posture is ugly, but it fits his fear of death.
"I cooperate."
Old Mulciber raised his head, and there was a layer of light in those cloudy eyes, a kind of eagerness to finally grab a piece of driftwood after being cornered.
"But can you promise me one thing."
"Say."
"If I don't survive this time, bury me in the Grey Mist Manor when I die. Although that place is gloomy, at least it is my home."
Lin Ze looked at him for a while.
"Okay."
Old Mulciber took a long breath and leaned back on the chair, his whole figure drained of all strength.
"In the study on the second floor, everything is in there. There is also a room Chamber of Secrets. The key is in the secret compartment of the bedside table in my bedroom." He said with his eyes closed.
Lin Ze clicked on the badge, and then Barty Crouch Jr. appeared behind Lin Ze.
Lin Ze nodded at him, and the latter turned around silently and went upstairs.
There were only two people left in the living room, and the flames started to dance again in the fireplace.
Old Mulciber closed his eyes, with a hint of relief hanging on the corner of his mouth.
"Mr. Lin."
"Hmm."
"Do you know what I envy you most?"
Lin Ze said nothing.
"You still have a choice." Old Mulciber opened his eyes, and those cloudy gray pupils reflected a long tiredness in the firelight.
Lin Ze looked at him.
There was the sound of Barty Crouch Jr. rummaging around upstairs.
The drizzle hit the glass, making a "pop" sound.