Chapter 40: Hyacinth
August 14, Wednesday.
Evening, Golden River Club.
Wan Yue, dressed elegantly in a formal evening gown, sat at the piano in the lobby on the first floor, playing a soothing melody, the enchanting scent wafting from her once again.
There were not many guests in the lobby today, each of them captivated as if hypnotized, frozen in their respective spots.
A large private room on the second floor had its door wide open. Elvin leaned against the railing of the corridor, savoring wine and the music, while a man and a woman stood expressionless behind him.
Before long, Wan Yue returned to the second floor with a faint smile. The blond young man hurried over to greet her, once again offering a kiss on the hand.
“Mr. Elvin, you flew all the way to China just to travel in S Province? Is there any place in this country you haven’t visited, yet you disappeared in the mountains of D City for several days?”
Wan Yue took a glass of wine from Zhao Peng and smiled at the elegant young European nobleman, her enticing red lips gently forming a series of phrases in German.
“Miss Wan is concerned about my itinerary? It’s a pity you didn’t accept my invitation to join me… Just like sixteen years ago in Europe, I was so eager, while you were so heartless.”
Elvin seemed to have long known that she was secretly watching his every move, toying with his wine glass, his smile growing more mysterious.
“I’m not interested in having any stories with an old man over a hundred years old, even if he is the heir of an old European bloodline family.”
Wan Yue shot him a glance and elegantly turned back towards the private room, her figure swaying with grace and charm.
With a glance, the private room service staff led by Zhao Peng retreated towards the spiral staircase leading to the first-floor lobby.
Once the private room door closed, even the people next to Elvin were blocked from outside, and only then did Wan Yue turn back with a serious expression.
“Elvin, what do you mean? No news from you for ten years, why suddenly come to China now, and with two barons… When did the Engel family start caring about a remote mountain area in China?”
Her gaze was as sharp as a longsword, intimidatingly measuring the face of the blond young man.
“Why? Because I’ve been asleep for the past ten years, and only just woke up to some things.” Elvin shrugged.
“You’ve been promoted to count!?”
Wan Yue paused abruptly while reaching for her cigarette, her eyes filled with shock.
The heir of the Engel family, the most famous bloodline family in the vampire world, was one of the most talented and fast-growing prodigies Wan Yue had ever encountered.
Both of Elvin’s parents were from old European bloodline families. From birth, he was at the rare servant level, with outstanding talents. He was promoted to baron at thirty, a viscount at sixty, and now he was barely over a hundred years old.
Ordinary wandering vampires, even with excellent bloodline genes, rare blood types, and unlimited resources, could be considered geniuses if they were promoted to baron within forty years of receiving their blood invasion, like Wan Yue herself.
This was the common pattern or limit of growth in vampire ranks, at least regarded as truth by the vast majority, including Wan Yue, until the appearance of Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao.
“I’m just a bit luckier than most, Miss Wan. If I’m not mistaken, you’re also nearing viscount status. You received the blood invasion in your twenties, and within just sixty years, you’ve surpassed what most people can achieve…”
Elvin smiled and raised his glass in a toast.
Clinking glasses softly, Wan Yue’s shock had not entirely faded, but her expression had regained calmness: “No need to flatter me to show your upbringing as a noble family. Answer my question, what are you really here for?”
“For the order of the vampire world!”
A stern glint flashed in Elvin’s eyes, as if a lord was about to judge an uprising in his territory, his tone cold: “Since you’re so sensitive to why I went to D City, it seems our goals are the same.”
“You think something has emerged in D City that can challenge your rightful bloodline families?”
Wan Yue remained unflinching, but her heart raced faster; she knew the deep foundations of these old bloodline families in the underground world. Even with official news being tightly packed, three months was enough for some whispers and clues to reach their ears.
The rightful bloodlines had long integrated into normal human society. They concealed themselves, nurturing agents within regular human society, and even participated in the governance and development at various societal levels.
From a country to a city, they maintained a mysterious presence in both worlds—reserved, cautious, secretive—but absolutely not to be underestimated.
They would not actively challenge the ruling authority of normal human society; they preferred to bind together and develop collectively. If something or someone emerged on this planet posing a potential threat to this symbiotic order, it would equate to challenging the interests of all rightful bloodline families.
The last wave of vampires attempting to overthrow this order had been slaughtered to extinction in the Second World War.
Clearly, Wan Yue’s long-standing suspicions about the Tang family in D City and the Engel family’s current attention had converged.
“Can we share intelligence, Miss Wan? This will be a righteous action in alignment with the interests of the entire vampire world; some excessive ambitions must be judged!”
Elvin displayed an undeniable, murderous expression, like a lion poised for battle on the battlefield.
“Ha ha~~~ Ha ha ha!”
Wan Yue suddenly laughed, doubling over with amusement, her sensual body swaying under the lights.
After several seconds, perhaps having enjoyed enough laughter, Wan Yue abruptly lit a cigarette, exhaling a puff of smoke, her face sporting a playful expression: “Mr. Elvin, as an heir of an old noble bloodline, you suddenly offer candor to someone like me, a wandering vampire. How much should I trust you?”
“Miss Wan’s abilities, even away from the Alliance of Seekers, are well-regarded in S Province. By the way, I have a gift, which can serve as my sincerity for cooperating with you.”
Elvin smiled, raised his hand, and snapped his fingers. His personal assistant, Emma, retrieved an enlarged photograph from her briefcase and gently placed it before Wan Yue.
In the photo was a young bloodline man who had been shot dead, looking distinctly Chinese.
“Ha ha… Cheng Yuanshan, you died well!”
Trembling, her hand reached for the photograph, staring at it in silence for several minutes, before Wan Yue suddenly stood up, tears streaming down her face.
“The person you have always wanted to hunt down has now been executed by the Engel family. Isn’t this gift and sincerity enough?”
Elvin drank the remaining wine in his glass, smiling at the emotionally unsteady seductive woman before him.
……
……
Time had already passed midnight, yet Zhao Peng had not announced the end of the workday. Everyone, including Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, could only remain in the first-floor lobby.
“Zhao Peng, who is that blond guy?”
Jiang Yao reached the bar and quietly inquired Zhao Peng, who was arranging empty wine glasses, while secretly glancing at a certain luxurious private room on the second floor.
Zhao Peng shot a glance at her curious face, his expression unusually serious: “An old noble vampire from Europe, keep a minimum level of respect… The Engel family is someone Miss Wan got to know while traveling abroad; I estimate his strength might be even greater than hers!”
Hearing this, Jiang Yao gasped!
She could not ascertain the level of Wan Yue, who seemed the type that could kill with a mere glare, and now there appeared someone even more terrifying than her… She couldn’t even imagine how the Dark Arrow squad had dealt with such monsters in the past, and feared that even the entire Armored Squadron might not be able to hold them back.
Jiang Yao suddenly felt a wave of relief, realizing that if she had remained a member of the Dark Arrow squad, facing these increasingly horrifying monsters, she genuinely doubted whether she could survive three years.
The confusion and frustration that had entangled her heart since her blood invasion were now surprisingly replaced with a sense of luck. A person’s life really did seem to rely on where they sat to think? Jiang Yao thought to herself.
However, in the enduring clandestine battle between humans and vampires spanning thousands of years, both sides had long established a form of balance through conflict, each possessing different levels of trump cards, and no one could underestimate the other.
Especially after the Second Industrial Revolution, humans had made tremendous advancements in warfare technology, gradually gaining a complete upper hand over vampires. The abilities they relied upon were likely beyond anything Jiang Yao could imagine.
Recalling the prideful and confident demeanor of the instructor at the Dark Arrow training center, Jiang Yao suddenly felt a mix of insecurity and uncertainty.
“Xiao Yao, go change your clothes.”
Jiang Yan approached and woke the light blonde girl who had been lost in thought.
At that moment, the door to the private room on the second floor opened, and the tall, handsome, blond young man, along with the alluring and charming Wan Yue, emerged. The chatter and actions in the first-floor lobby came to a halt.
Elvin walked gracefully through the lobby, slightly bowing his head politely in acknowledgment of the quietly standing Golden River Club staff, as if he were appreciating some crudely crafted yet still passable dolls.
“Huh?”
As he passed by the deferential Jiang Yan, Elvin’s steps momentarily slowed a beat, his head turning slightly without actually looking back, nor altering his onward path.
This subtle movement appeared extremely inconspicuous to the others in the lobby, but on the second floor, Wan Yue, leaning against the railing with a cold gaze upon the departing blond young man, furrowed her brow slightly.
With Elvin and his entourage gone, the Golden River Club breathed a sigh of relief, especially Jiang Yan.
In that instant, she seemed to feel an overwhelming, primal beastly aura enveloping her, penetrating her marrow, deep into her mind, but it vanished in an instant.
“Jiang Yan, Jiang Yao, Zhao Peng, come to the second floor. The rest can go home.”
Wan Yue’s cold voice echoed in the empty, dimly lit dome of the lobby.
……
In the private room on the second floor, the smell of smoke lingered, and the ashtray was filled with long cigarette ends. Perhaps this was the first time Jiang Yan had indirectly learned of Wan Yue’s smoking habits over the past one to two hours.
“Are your relatives coming soon again?”
With just a slight twitch of her nostrils, Wan Yue smiled as she sank into the couch and lit what might have been her nth cigarette of the day.
Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao exchanged glances, then nodded in embarrassment.
Wan Yue reached into her handbag, tossing a black package toward Jiang Yan. The latter caught it instinctively, her face a picture of confusion.
“This is the big golden pill; it’s more effective than the small golden pill. But there’s too little, just six pieces in a box. You two can figure out how to divide it.”
As Wan Yue tossed the package, she glanced at the standing Zhao Peng, letting out a small sigh.
Zhao Peng felt a surge of emotions; he knew the big golden pill was a much more precious growth medication compared to the small one, especially for the critical accumulation before breaking through to a higher realm.
Sister Wan had once provided him with quite a bit, but unfortunately, he had remained stuck at the peak of a higher knight level, earning a so-called half-step baron title, and had not made any further progress.
If he could be promoted to baron, he wouldn’t have helplessly watched Wan Yue fatigue herself, carrying all burdens he knew and didn’t know.
However, thinking of the aspect Jiang’s sisters couldn’t see, which might become Wan Yue’s greatest trump card, Zhao Peng suddenly felt at ease.
“Sister Wan, you said that we only work for you, and there are places where money needs to be accounted for. This, along with the two small golden pills given before, and the costs for treating Xiao Yao’s injuries… how much in total?”
Jiang Yan mustered her courage, taking a half-step forward with a serious expression.
“Hmm, good character… Zhao Peng, how much is left in the account for them?” Wan Yue glanced at Zhao Peng with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
“Probably a little less than four hundred thousand.”
Zhao Peng thought for a moment before providing a figure, to which Jiang Yan slightly nodded in agreement; after all, in the last month, she had been taking plenty of hormonal inhibitors and the like.
“Ha ha, you want to calculate costs… Well, if I sold you both, you wouldn’t be able to afford it.”
Wan Yue exhaled a puff of smoke, her playful smile unbroken: “However, this is not a brothel, and I am not a madam, so there’s no need to force you to sell yourselves. If you feel you can take it, then take it; the money can be accounted. If you feel it’s inappropriate, you can return it to me.”
“I just want to know what is happening in this world, and you want to know what is happening with yourselves. Our goals may be consistent.”
Such an elegant and sensual woman saying these words left Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao speechless.
“Thank you, Sister Wan, I understand. Thank you for giving me and Xiao Yao a new life.”
Jiang Yan placed the big golden pill package into her dress pocket, as if finally coming to a realization. She took a deep breath and expressed what she believed had long been anticipated: “The Tang family has a big meatball.”
Wan Yue’s pupils immediately constricted, and the cigarette in her hand trembled slightly.
The private room fell silent.
Minutes later, Wan Yue dropped her cigarette, staring intently into Jiang Yan’s eyes as if trying to verify the truth, her voice low: “You saw it with your own eyes, or was it hearsay…”
“I saw it with my own eyes… I can’t say anything else.”
After finishing, Jiang Yan took Jiang Yao’s hand, slightly bowing, and was about to leave.
Since the night Jiang Yao nearly lost her life, Jiang Yan had contemplated for nearly a month. It was only after encountering that mysterious blond young man, whose terrifying aura had almost taken her breath away, that she made this decision.
She knew that with her and Jiang Yao’s abilities, without a true powerful backer to rely on, merely surviving could exhaust everything, even costing them their lives, let alone touching the truth of their fates.
Whether it was Zhao Peng, who was wholeheartedly loyal to Wan Yue, or Zhou Ping, who admired Wan Yue, both made Jiang Yan sense a certain something worth pursuing. The confusion of life after the blood invasion felt less dim.
This something had previously only existed in the figure of Grandma Jiang from the orphanage.
“Thank you as well; this information is priceless. Starting today, anything I give you, you truly deserve. From today onward, you will be the true sisters of everyone here. Our name is ‘Hyacinth.’”
Wan Yue’s voice sounded from behind as Jiang Yan led the reluctant Jiang Yao down the stairs, their steps steady and graceful.
Hyacinth, forget the sadness of the past, and begin anew with love.
