Chapter 468 (1/2)

If you had not seen it with your own eyes, you would not have expected an ancient castle to be in Siberia’s most inhospitable area: it was very close to the Arctic Circle, but a family plagued by a vengeful spirit had poured in huge amounts of manpower and material resources to build their sanctuary there.

…

The shadow of a tall building appeared on the horizon; it was a quirky, black stone fortress with a thick, circular façade and three tall towers as well as a bowl-shaped roof. It was unclear if the owner cleaned it regularly or the castle was shielded by some kind of supernatural power. Not a speckle of white was on the building.

Hao Ren drove closer to the castle, but the closer he got, the more uncomfortable he felt. The magnificent building looked really ominous. Its thick walls and weird roof made it looked like a prison, as though an inexplicable monster was held in a secluded cage in that world of ice and snow. Just by looking at it, one could sense the eeriness emanating.

The people who constructed the castle were either psychologically ill, or helpless in their struggle against an evil spirit. It was hard to imagine who would be willing to live in this eerie place.

When Hao Ren drove near the castle, he found that it was surrounded up by an old iron fence on the ouside, and a layer of low stone wall on the inside. The double walls made the place look like it was not made for humans; more like a prison for something else. The car could not go straight in. Hao Ren slowed down and drove around the iron fence before he found a rusty gate on the other side. He honked and waited for a while before an old servant, clad in a brown coat came out from the low wall to open the gate.

The old servant appeared old and weak. He was almost bald with only a ring of white, curly hair, fluttering in the cold winds of Siberia. He was hunched under a heavy coat as he plodded towards the gate in a quivering manner. He opened the gate slightly before poking his head out, peering cautiously at the weird car outside. “Who’s there?” the old servant asked with a heavy, nasal voice.

Nangong Sanba stuck his head out of the window. “It’s me!” he said.

The old servant, who was startled looked a little frightened when he saw Nangong Sanba. He could not believe that the demon hunter was still alive. “You’re alive?”

Nangong Sanba laughed. “I’m a pro. Pros have nine lives. I’ve brought some reinforcements. I’ll fulfill the contract with Igor, and do what I can until the evil spirit is eventually cast out.”

The old servant’s lips trembled a little. He looked like he had something to say, but in the end, he remained silent. He opened the gate and realized that something was wrong as the car went past him. The only modes of transportation in the vast snow field were sleighs and snowmobiles, how did the car make its way there?

The old servant looked out in the direction where the Northstar had come from, but found no tyre tracks in the snow.

This never occurred to Hao Ren as he rolled the window down and asked, “Hey, old man, where should I park the car?”

He could not keep his car in his Dimensional Pocket when the outsider was there.

The old servant then snapped out of his shock. He had been staying in the strange old house for decades, and seen enough supernatural phenomena. He just sighed and turned to Hao Ren as he pointed at an open space. “Right there.”

Soon after, he witnessed another “supernatural phenomeno”: six people came out, one after another, from the tiny Northstar. This included Nangong Sanba, who was carrying a box at least half his height. It contained all of his equipment!

The old servant was startled before he slowly muttered to himself, “Those are real pros.”

After everyone disembarked, Hao Ren took the MDT out. He pointed it to his car and pretended to lock it; for a few seconds, the MDT was feeling reluctanct about playing along,but shortly after it sounded two beeps. It then spoke to Hao Ren telepathically, “Can’t you give me a heads-up every time you want me to perform a new function?! It’s embarrassing and I’m tired of being so many different things!”