Chapter 45

Nangong stood on the platform of this small rural station, taking a deep breath of the breeze that carried the scent of dry earth. His face, though not handsome, had a certain air of a wise man, and it wore a pleasant expression: "Can't you feel it? There's a certain smell in the air."

Hao Ren, seeing Nangong's demeanor, immediately felt uneasy, thinking that this Nangong might really be a ticking time bomb: Is this "demon hunter" really that sensitive? Did he feel the chill from the castle as soon as he got off the train?

"I don't smell anything," Vivianna sniffed, "and we should still be quite far from the Jofurde Castle, right?"

"The aura of 'those things' can spread very far," Nangong combed his wind-tousled hair, looking very pleased. "As a demon hunter, I'm best at detecting their scent—of course, you wouldn't be able to sense it; it requires training. Let's not waste time. We need to find a place to stay in town quickly; the sun will set soon."

With that, Nangong dragged his large suitcase toward the slope at the end of the platform. After he had walked a dozen meters, Lily suddenly opened her eyes and shouted, "What smell? Let me smell it; my nose is very sensitive!"

"Go back to sleep," Vivianna patted Lily's back, and the werewolf girl didn't get angry, just muttered an "oh" and lowered her head, falling back into her jet-lagged state.

"I really don't smell anything," Vivianna noticed Hao Ren's gaze on her and shook her head vigorously. "Vampires are very sensitive to the aura of the undead, but I don't detect anything. We're too far from the Jofurde Castle ruins, and it's not even night yet, which isn't when the undead are active. Is this self-proclaimed demon hunter really that special? But he didn't even figure out who Vivianna and I are."

Hao Ren stroked his chin, thinking, and came to a conclusion: "He's probably just showing off."

Vivianna: "...You might be right!"

The small station was next to the town of Bruscal, connected by a narrow rural road. Unfortunately, Hao Ren and his group couldn't find a bus, so they had to take a taxi to town. By the time they arrived, it was almost completely dark, with only a faint red glow lingering on the horizon. The streetlights in town gradually lit up. Hao Ren looked at the unfamiliar streets of this foreign land and felt a bit nostalgic. He rarely traveled, and he had never stayed overnight away from home, let alone traveled abroad. Now he was standing on a piece of land eight time zones away from his homeland, surrounded by unfamiliar environments, people, customs, and languages—though the last two were solved by high technology, the other discomforts remained. He hugged his arms and sighed, missing the comfort of home and the magical little black cat: "I wonder how 'Roll' is doing at home. He's probably already running around the streets with the stray cats and dogs."

Hao Ren, who rarely traveled, was still a bit uncomfortable in this foreign land, but Vivianna didn't feel the same way. The vampire girl, who had traveled the world many times, was excitedly observing this unfamiliar country, from London to this rural town. She finally noticed something: "It doesn't seem as bad as the TV said. There aren't many outsiders. Either the TV exaggerated, or the paranormal enthusiasts and experts haven't arrived yet."

Hao Ren, confirming that Nangong was far enough ahead to not hear, leaned down and whispered, "How did you figure that out?"

"By listening to heartbeats and sensing bloodlines, my specialty," Vivianna shrugged. "Heartbeats reveal emotions, and the taste of blood reveals family ties and origins. Each place has a unique factor in the blood of its native inhabitants, which can't be changed in a short time. I can vaguely sense how many people here have a sense of dissonance in their bloodlines and how many have restless hearts. Combining these, I can roughly estimate how many people are here for the haunted castle. These are essential skills for vampires when 'hunting,' though I don't hurt people, I still have the talent."

Hao Ren felt goosebumps all over his body, and he looked at Vivianna's eyes, which seemed to glow red: The girl spoke in her usual tone, but the content was truly unsettling. This lazy vampire finally showed a bit of the aura of a noble lady of the night—though it was just to check the local population, and not very thoroughly.

He turned to look at Lily, who was following behind with her eyes closed: This time, the clumsy werewolf was the one who dropped the ball. She usually boasted about her keen senses, especially her sense of smell, but now she was just dozing off, and her sense of smell was only useful to prevent her from getting lost.

"Anyway, it's a good sign. The fewer bystanders, the better," Hao Ren nodded. "Raven 12345's mission instructions said we should go to Jofurde Castle, and we'll naturally be able to sense the 'client' when we reach a certain point. But she's not sure about the current state of the 'client,' so it's best not to have too many irrelevant people around."

"Should we leave at night?" Vivianna frowned. "I have an advantage at night, and the big dog will be more energetic in the early morning, so she can be a bit of a fighting force."

Hao Ren rolled his eyes, thinking, A brick can knock you out, a high-level vampire, and that's not considered a fighting force?

"We'll see how things go tonight. First, we'll observe how active the paranormal enthusiasts are. At the latest, we'll act tomorrow night. The longer we wait, the more people will gather here."

"Having more people can also be beneficial," Vivianna thought. "We could blend in with them and say we're here to find ghosts. Sometimes being open and direct is the best disguise."

"What if a headless knight jumps out of the castle and calls me landlord in front of everyone? What if a message pops up on me saying the match is successful? What if the new tenant we meet is a lunatic who just wants to cause trouble? I have to consider my luck—and Raven 12345's tendency to mess with people. If any of these things happen, you'll have to figure out how to get me out of MI5. Are you confident in breaking me out of a British prison?"

Vivianna nodded seriously, "I've done it before—though back then, British prisons used wooden bars and underground cells. I knocked out a dozen knights to save a girl in the prison; she was captured by demon hunters..."

"Let's not talk about things before 1190."

Vivianna: "..."

At that moment, Nangong's voice came from ahead, interrupting Hao Ren and Vivianna's conversation: "Hey, let's stay here for the night! It's getting late, and we probably won't find any more inns if we go further into town."

Hao Ren looked up and realized that he had been following Nangong and had unknowingly arrived at a small inn. The inn was a three-story building, not very large but quite neat and new, with white walls and blue tiles. The neon sign at the entrance read "Angus's Cottage..." Hao Ren, thanks to the translation system, read it as easily as his native language: "Angus's Cottage... Hey, what a coincidence!"

Indeed, it was the same inn he had heard about on TV yesterday, and the innkeeper should be the same man who appeared on TV!

Hao Ren and the others quickly followed Nangong into the inn. Behind the counter on the first floor were two people: a young woman who seemed to be the cashier, and a short, plump, and seemingly honest middle-aged man, who was the one who had appeared on TV.

"Welcome to Angus's Cottage!" The plump innkeeper greeted them enthusiastically, then turned to the young woman with pride, "See, more foreigners. No need to worry about business now."

Hao Ren was taken aback: Even in Britain, they cater to foreigners?