Chapter 145

Chapter 145

Before, Shen Wang never felt Xiao Hei and Gu Dongting were similar at all, in fact, quite the opposite.

If not for that night's mistake, Shen Wang would never have linked these two people together.

After that night, Shen Wang was in a state of turmoil for a while.

But upon reflection, Shen Wang realized that he had placed the same trust in Xiao Hei Ge and Gu Dongting.

For instance, he could comfortably lose consciousness in front of Gu Dongting, or sleep soundly in Xiao Hei Ge's presence… The most important thing was that, even though his memories of that night were hazy, he still remembered Gu Dongting's face.

Was it an alteration of feelings in his subconscious, or a hallucination from being drunk?

Unable to discern this, Shen Wang found himself unable to face Gu Dongting.

Until he smelled that faint, unusual scent again, and suddenly, all the overlooked details surged to the forefront.

Why wasn't Xiao Hei Ge's name mentioned in the original text?

Why was Xiao Hei Ge so powerful, yet unheard of in the metaphysical world?

Why didn’t even Gu Dongting know about Xiao Hei Ge's existence?

Why… had they never appeared together?

The doubts in Shen Wang's heart tangled into a mess, but being abroad and busy with competitions, he had no chance to seek answers, only suppressing his doubts.

And when faced with Xiao Hei Ge's advances, the softness in his heart made him unusually inclined to evade.

Until tonight...

Seeing the deeply concealed desire in the golden-haired vampire, the anger that surged in his heart surprised even himself.

What was he so angry about?

If it were another friend being coveted, he might also get angry, but never this furious...

After a few rounds of drinks, Shen Wang, gazing at Gu Dongting's flawless profile, inexplicably thought of that night.

It was also a group of people drinking merrily, while he and Gu Dongting hid in a corner, toasting each other in quiet.

The scene was so similar that a thought suddenly popped into Shen Wang’s mind: What would happen if that night repeated itself?

Even he didn't know what answer he was hoping for.

Perhaps he was too tense, as he heard the rapid beating of his heart, pounding so hard it made his head spin.

When Gu Dongting scooped him up in his arms, Shen Wang’s regret peaked: What was he thinking?

Burying his face in Gu Dongting's chest, Shen Wang self-hypnotized: They can't see, they can't see…

Laid on the bed, Shen Wang finally relaxed slightly, and it was then that he smelled that familiar, faint unusual scent.

For a moment, Shen Wang’s mind went blank. He pulled Gu Dongting, who was about to leave, closer, burying his face in his neck, inhaling deeply, carefully savoring the scent.

Sure enough, he smelled it, the faint sweet fragrance hidden beneath the scent of the clothes.

Just like what he had smelled initially.

At that moment, all his questions were answered, the clues in his mind connected like pearls strung on a fine thread.

Gu Dongting did not stay long, leaving soon after.

Shen Wang was left alone in the room, his mind blank for a long while, before taking a deep breath.

The unusual scent disappeared again, as if nothing had happened.

The night was tranquil, and Shen Wang lay on the bed like a dead man, motionless, with his eyes wide open, staring straight at the ceiling, not moving at all.

In his memories, sometimes it was Xiao Hei Ge, and at other times, Gu Dongting.

But which one was Xiao Hei Ge? And which one was Gu Dongting?

He could no longer distinguish between them.

After an indeterminate time, unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer, Shen Wang leapt up from the bed and picked up the clothes and mask he had worn during the museum heist.

Leaving the cramped room, the suffocating pressure eased somewhat. Shen Wang took a deep breath, but instead of feeling refreshed, his mood darkened even further.

Shen Wang had investigated the participants from other countries and knew that after the uproar at the vampire stronghold, some left overnight, while others stayed at the rest area.

After the museum theft, these participants became major suspects. Those from stronger countries could stay at the rest area.

The participants from smaller countries had already been taken away for investigation.

Following the information from Yulanda, Shen Wang stealthily made his way to the castle where the dozen or so participants were detained, which turned out to be an extremely lavish one.

"Damn these rich people," Shen Wang muttered sourly, not even bothering to conceal his presence as he boldly knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Someone opened the door impatiently. "Can't it wait until tomorrow…?"

The person stopped mid-sentence, startled speechless at the sight of Shen Wang in his bizarre attire and mask at the door.

Shen Wang politely began, "Hello, could you return those participants to me, please?"

The young vampire quickly regained his composure, his eyes turning a fierce red and fangs protruding: "Who are you to negotiate with the noble vampires?"

Shen Wang replied helplessly, "I really didn't want to resort to violence, honestly."

As he spoke, he punched the young vampire in the face, breaking off the two fangs meant for sucking blood. The pain made the vampire wail incessantly.

The noise was so grating that Shen Wang rubbed his ears and gave him another punch: "Your voice is unbearable, can you be quiet?"

The young vampire soon fell silent, powerless, collapsing limply to the side.

In just a short while, the other vampires in the house heard the commotion and quickly surrounded him: "Human, who allowed you to cause trouble here?!"

Shen Wang looked around; there were over a dozen vampires present. Plenty in number, but unfortunately, none particularly strong.

It was clear that the vampires left behind were of the middle to lower tier, probably because the high-level vampires had their own separate castles.

Like the golden-haired vampire coveting Gu Dongting.

Lost in thought for a moment, the vampires swiftly attacked, their fingers elongating grotesquely, and emitting a series of raspy, unpleasant screams. Shen Wang clicked his tongue and with a loud 'thump,' punched the loudest one.

"Really unpleasant to the ears, can't you consider the listener's feelings?"

The vampire's nose broke from the impact, his face showing fear: "How are you unaffected by our sonic attack?!"

"Oh, I am," Shen Wang touched his mask and sighed, "Didn't your awful sound just distort my face? Too bad you can't see it."

The vampires: "..."

Soon, they realized that not only were their sonic attacks ineffective, but their wolf-rivaling hard nails and prized teeth were completely useless against Shen Wang.

Like an adult unfazed by a child's water gun, Shen Wang didn't need any weapons; his bare fists were enough to leave the vampires wailing in pain.

Teeth broken off scattered on the ground, the vampires, stripped of any resistance, could only widen their eyes in a futile attempt to intimidate Shen Wang: "This land belongs to the vampires!"

"With just one command, thousands of vampires in this city will overwhelm you!"

Shen Wang nonchalantly replied, "Didn't several of your strongholds in this city get uprooted? You still have that many left?"

Shocked, the vampire stared at Shen Wang: "You, you're the one who's been attacking the vampires behind the scenes!"

"…So much nonsense." Not wanting to listen to any more blabber, Shen Wang casually tore off the clothes of the vampire next to him, balled them up, and stuffed them in his mouth.

Manual silencing.

After all of this last night, he looked at these vampires and finally did what he had always wanted to do.

One by one, the vampires were stripped bare, their mouths forcibly opened to check their teeth, and their bodies thoroughly searched. The vampires, never having faced such humiliation, were so furious they nearly passed out.

Shen Wang then stood up, understanding: "So that's how it is."

He had thought so; how could there be such unscientific creatures as vampires in this world?

As he expected, it turned out they were practitioners who had strayed onto a wicked path.

These errant practitioners had their life forces nearly destroyed. Though they seemed alive, they were more like half-dead, surviving only on the blood of the living.

Their growth of fangs and nails was akin to the jiangshi of Huaxia lore.

Undecayed in death, thus a jiangshi.

But real jiangshi are thoroughly dead, whereas these vampire-like beings still retained a breath of life; hence, unlike jiangshi who are impervious to weapons, they were not.

They were just a group of crippled easy targets, deceived and weakened.

Losing his interest in research, Shen Wang left these low-level vampire-like beings outside and entered the castle.

The decor of this castle was much more understated and spacious than the one in Buniel, with various corners of the rooms occupied by young, attractive ordinary humans, both men and women.

They were unclothed, yet their expressions were eerily calm, so calm it was unsettling.

As Shen Wang stepped into the room, all eyes simultaneously turned to him, giving him goosebumps.

Shen Wang stepped back, closed his eyes briefly, then proceeded to walk in.

He casually asked the person standing at the door: "Why aren't you wearing any clothes?"

The young boy, who appeared quite young, immediately replied: "To provide the freshest blood for the vampire lord at any time."

His expression was excited, filled with admiration.

Shen Wang: "…You're doing this voluntarily?"

The boy answered again: "It's our honor to offer our blood and bodies to the noble vampire lord."

…Damn it, those twisted blood clan freaks.

Shaking his head, Shen Wang asked for directions to the basement and quickly left that eerie place without delay.

Behind him, the young men and women, indoctrinated with such beliefs, stood still, erect like candles burning bright, sacrificing their precious youth for the blood clan.

In this foreign land, Shen Wang felt powerless to help them and could only walk away as fast as possible.

Reaching the basement entrance, Shen Wang found it guarded. Unfortunately for the guard, who was no match for him, Shen Wang quickly subdued him and released the people from the dungeon.

The first to emerge was a Black man, looking somewhat familiar to Shen Wang, who had difficulty distinguishing foreign faces.

The man didn't ask any trivial questions like 'Who are you?', just said a simple "Thank you."

Soon, everyone from the dungeon had come out, and Shen Wang kindly advised them, "If you can return to your country, do it as soon as possible."

Someone replied with a worried frown, "We're just afraid that going back to our countries might bring trouble to our families and nations."

"Those damned blood clans, so vindictive and petty-minded."

"No worries," Shen Wang said nonchalantly, waving his hand, "They'll soon have bigger problems and won't bother with you."

"When the werewolves start uniting and fighting for power, the blood clan will likely be too busy with their own issues."

The leader nodded thoughtfully: "I understand."

The group quickly dispersed, and before leaving, Shen Wang took one last look at the castle and sent a message to Yulanda.

After a stroll and dealing with a few blood clans, Shen Wang felt much better. However, the moment he returned to his residence and thought of Xiao Hei and Gu Dongting, he felt troubled again.

He couldn't sleep at all.

The next day, Shen Wang was listless and gloomy, while Gu Dongting was as calm and indifferent as ever, only showing slight concern when looking at Shen Wang: "Did you not sleep well last night? Still hungover?"

Shen Wang: "……"

Shen Wang averted his gaze, suddenly at a loss for words.

At that moment, Bai Fuchun broke the silence: "Wow, there's been another museum theft! This time it's relics from South America!"

"And that pyramid apex that was brought back is gone too!"

"Incredible, damn, how could they even move that."

Shen Wang instinctively looked at Gu Dongting, meeting his gaze: "Was it you?"

"It wasn't me."

"Then who was it?" Shen Wang and Gu Dongting were puzzled.