Translator: Mukyuu
Editor: Mikyuu
The Gloom City’s atmosphere was more serious than the Thirteen Co-City’s, especially on such a dark night. Wang Xiaoming could feel the chill coming from the streets even though he sat in a carriage.
Woodrace and Singh sat opposite him.
They were both middle-aged men. One had a square face and looked conservative and serious; the other wore gold-rimmed glasses and appeared scholarly and sophisticated.
Wang Xiaoming watched them and couldn’t help remembering his homeroom teacher and guidance counselor from middle school. One of them was always the good guy and the other always the bad guy.
“It’s your first time here in the Kindred Realm. Is there anything you’re not used to?” As if sensing his restraint, Singh started a conversation.
Wang Xiaoming’s slightly bent waist instantly straightened and he answered, “Everything’s good.”
“No need to be nervous,” Singh comforted with a smile. “We just want to invite you over as our guest. That hotel is really too shabby and not suitable at all to host our human friend.”
Wang Xiaoming knew very well that they invited him only because of Baal, but he still felt warmth flow through him. Fake gentlemen had more friends than real villains because they knew what people wanted and would never shame nor embarrass anyone.
“Actually, I think it would have been better if I waited for him at the hotel.” Wang Xiaoming still felt worried.
“Please don’t worry,” Singh replied. “Prilli will take care of everything. Edward will reunite with you very soon. That place falls within the Torredo territory and we don’t know if they’ll send more people. You’re not safe there.”
Wang Xiaoming considered Baal’s temper and couldn’t help but fear for Prilli’s safety as the only one who had been left behind.
Singh continued, “If you’re worried for Edward, then you really don’t need to. A Kindred who could defeat Daniel would never lose to Yanuk.”
Wang Xiaoming thought he should give them some hints and tried to do so subtly. “Ba-but I feel bad leaving Prilli behind by himself,” he finished saying. He realized that transition had been too awkward and hurried to say, “What I mean is that Edward has a pretty bad temper. I’m afraid he…”
“Relax, Prilli will take care of it.” Singh’s smile remained unfazed.
Wang Xiaoming opened his mouth and wondered whether he should give a stronger hint.
Woodrace suddenly announced, “We’re here.”
Wang Xiaoming followed his gaze and looked out.
Under the dark and lightless night sky, a giant cross stood tall and proud on the rooftop. It reflected light from the nearby streetlamps and glinted coldly.
The carriage stopped.
The footman came up and respectfully opened the door to the carriage.
Singh and Woodrace stepped out of the vehicle one after the other and Wang Xiaoming came out last.
Wang Xiaoming’s feet hit the ground and he looked up at the cross again, suddenly feeling his heartbeat speed up.
The cross was clearly firmly nailed in place, but he still thought it might topple at moment and collapse on him, binding his body and soul together.
“Yes, it’s different from the crosses in the mortal world.” Singh realized that Wang Xiaoming kept looking at the cross and thought it was out of curiosity. So he explained, “I think Edward must have told you that crosses in the Kindred Realm are reverse crosses.”
After he explained, Wang Xiaoming realized that the top half of the cross was longer than the bottom half.
“Alright, let’s talk about this inside. It’s really too cold here and not suitable for humans to stay long term.” Singh made an inviting gesture.
The building capable of supporting such a giant cross would clearly not be a small one.
It was a three story mansion, with identical left right structures and a two meter tall arched door in the middle.
There was a white path in front of the mansion that emerged from the leftmost side of the house and kept going until the right side. It was like a little white scarf that completely encircled the entire mansion.
“This is our home. Hopefully it won’t disappoint you too much,” Singh said as he pushed open the arched door.
The door was heavy but when it opened, it didn’t make the creaking sounds that Wang Xiaoming had imagined.
When the door opened a sliver, Wang Xiaoming could clearly see that it was dark inside. However, when the gap widened to about 20 centimeters, the candelabras and candles inside the sconces automatically lit up.
The warm glow lit the path under their feet and guided them forward.
To the other Elders of the Kindred, this kind of mansion could only be described as minimalist. But to Wang Xiaoming, a poor person who had never lived in a room larger than 50 square meters, even the word “luxurious” seemed too pale an adjective for this mansion. Especially when the living room was about three hundred square meters but only held three sofas that surrounded a coffee table in the middle.
“I’m not good at decorating.” Singh shrugged and took out a silver bell from underneath the coffee table. He rang it and continued, “All of my tastes have been concentrated on my tongue.”
Wang Xiaoming’s smile was a bit unnatural because the guy’s tongue made him involuntarily think of teeth.
They seated themselves on the sofa. Very quickly, a Kindred butler dressed similarly to Mario walked out from a door on the other side of the living room. He carried three trays single-handedly, each layered on top of another. Wang Xiaoming was astonished to find that though the trays themselves were flat, the trays’ covers were curved. It must have been hard to keep them balanced when they were stacked on top of each other, but the butler did so calmly and steadily. He even held three cups in his other hand and a bottle of wine under his armpit.
Wang Xiaoming stared perplexedly as the butler approached them, calmly set the trays down, and then opened the wine and started to pour without any expression.
Singh said with a laugh, “This is my butler, Louis. He detests doing things in the middle of the night, so he always wears a foul expression.”
Louis took out a little paper envelope from his pocket and then a little wine stopper from there. He stoppered the bottle with it and then said with a bow, “Lord Singh, I refute what you just said with utmost sincerity.”
Singh replied, “That would be my honor.”
Louis gave him a professional smile and then elegantly vanished in the direction from which he had come.
“He’s an adorable and charming person,” Singh told Wang Xiaoming. “I believe you’ll have a grand time with him.”
Wang Xiaoming pointed at his own nose in surprise. “Me and him?”
“Yes. If you find anything in the mansion not to your liking, please say so. I may have mediocre skills when it comes to decorating, but I know many masters in the field.” Singh patted the arm of the sofa and continued, “You should like the decorations in your own home.”
“Home?” Wang Xiaoming was even more surprised.
“Yes.” Singh had made a circle and finally decided to pull the topic of the conversation back on track. “Here, I first need to apologize to you because I did a quick investigation into what happened after you two arrived in the Kindred Realm without your approval. It was such a short time and I couldn’t find out more, but what I do know is enough to help me figure out some things.”
Wang Xiaoming tensed up and instinctively tried to find Baal.
“Please don’t be nervous.” Singh tried very hard to make his smile warmer than warm, friendlier than friendly and continued, “Since I have invited you here, that means we will never become enemies.”
Woodrace lifted the silver cover in front of him and the fragrance of the steak instantly wafted out.
“Well done?” He frowned and then glared unhappily at Singh. “When do you plan on firing the butler?”
“I plan on having him trouble Edward and this human friend.” Singh gave a small smile and said to Wang Xiaoming, “Relax, the butler has a lot of problems but his cooking skills are not among them.”
As he smelled that delicious fragrance, Wang Xiaoming realized he was also hungry. He also lifted the cover and the fragrance drifted out as he had expected.
“I think it’s a great idea to talk while eating.” Singh took out a napkin from his pocket, tied it around his neck, and then picked up his knife and fork. “Thank you Lord Cain for this blessing,” he chanted softly before using his knife.
But Woodrace had already started digging in.
Wang Xiaoming hesitated for a while before slowly letting go of his reservations and eating. The steak in his mouth was delicious and soft and quickly melted on his tongue. He enjoyed the meal so much that his eyes closed.
“Have some wine.” Singh wiped his lips and picked up his wine glass, clinking it against Wang Xiaoming’s.
Wang Xiaoming rushed to pick up his own glass and took a small sip.
The red wine tasted a bit sour and he frowned subconsciously.
“Looks like you’re not a fan of red wine.” Singh had kept an eye on him and teased, “You’ll lose out on quite a lot of fun because of that.”
Wang Xiaoming replied, “I prefer Sprite.”
“Oh, that kind of carbonated drink is really not good for human health.” Singh winked at him. “After you’ve stayed here for a while, you’ll gradually fall in love with red wine. I have quite the collection in my cellar and a lot of the youngsters crave it. But I refuse to give it to them because I like watching them not being able to scratch that itch.”
Wang Xiaoming laughed along.
“Of course, you can use that as a present. That way, you’ll quickly become a popular new Kindred. You may even become a celebrity like Daniel.”
Wang Xiaoming’s hand holding the knife paused for a second and the blade of the knife touched the plate and made a clinking sound. “You said, new Kindred?” Could he have already seen through their plans?
Singh tapped lightly against the bottom of his wine glass and answered with a smile, “I told you, I’ve done a simple investigation into you two. Edward is a sixth generation McAvery, but his powers are greater than Daniel’s, who is a fourth generation.”
Woodrace’s sharp gaze landed on Wang Xiaoming.
Wang Xiaoming’s hand that held the knife was already sweating copiously.
“We don’t know what the hidden reasons are, or what happened, but it’s clearly a good thing. At least this proves that though God has forsaken us Kindreds, we’re not stagnating and miracles can still happen to us,” Singh said and sipped lightly from his raised cup. “Though we haven’t seen Edward, we can sense his proud soul from others’ descriptions. Why would a proud and powerful Kindred participate in the Sacrificial Night of Fresh Blood? We were confused at the beginning until… we met you. He cares about you but he didn’t turn you into a Kindred. There could only be one reason. He wants to give you the best. The Sacrificial Night of Fresh Blood involves Lord Cain’s blood. As long as you have it, you can become a second generation Kindred.”
