538 Chapter 538: Unwelcome Guests (1/2)
”I'm glad you're safe and sound,” Nan Gong Jiao Shou said with a chuckle as he watched me wolf down a piece of chicken. He had heard me describe several of the fierce battles I had been in, after I told him, his wife and Yue Jian how I witnessed Zhao Yan being abducted by Fan Le Lao, unable to fight past Xu Wu Cheng and his cordon of elite vampires to pursue the both of them. ”Last night must be really terrifying.”
”Yeah,” I mumbled, my mouth full of food. I swallowed and nodded. ”The vampires were pretty strong, but fortunately Headmistress Taylor showed up, killed most of them and drove them out of the school. She wanted to hunt them down, but…as you know, most of the students needed medical help.”
”Ah…I see. Of course. Teresa Taylor was always one to prioritize her students over everything else. Still, as expected of the legendary White Witch. I see she's as formidable as ever. She hasn't gotten any weaker despite her age.”
”Yeah, if anything, she has gotten much stronger. I'm sure she'll rescue all the missing students the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan abducted.”
”It'll be good if that happens,” Mrs. Nan Gong agreed, twiddling her fingers anxiously. ”I really hope both Zhao Yan and Ji Yan are safe.”
Hah! Ji Yan was a traitor and she didn't deserved to be rescued at all. In fact, the moment Teresa Taylor found her, she would most likely execute her on the spot for betraying the school to the Crimson Blood Demonic Night Clan. And rightly so. The bitch sacrificed so many of her schoolmates and teachers just to preserve her pathetic life.
I didn't say that out loud, of course. Instead, I snuck a peek around the table Yue Jian nodded at her mother's words, clasping her hands. I noticed she hadn't touched the food much. It was clear that she didn't have any appetite at all. Probably too worried about the fate of her missing sisters. She put on a strained smile when I glanced in her direction, probably grateful that I had brought some news. Any information was better than nothing.
Feeling bad for taking advantage of their hospitality (and eating all the food that Yue Jian didn't touch), I offered to help out with the dishes after we finished our meal. Mrs. Nan Gong protested, but I insisted and won out, particularly because it seemed that Yue Jian was out of it and almost dropped a fragile plate.
”Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
I could tell that Yue Jian's mother wasn't referring only to me washing the dishes. She was also expressing her gratitude to me for bringing the news of Zhao Yan and assuaging their worries. I nodded as I splashed the plates with water and scrubbed them with a dishsponge.
”I hope Headmistress Taylor, the military and the mercenaries rescue Zhao Yan and the others.”
”Yes…”
There was nothing. At least not yet.
”Have a seat.”
Nan Gong Jiao Shou nodded to me and gestured toward an open space on the sofa. I was about to sit down when a wailing noise pierced the air. A red light attached to the ceiling flashed brightly, streams of crimson washing the interior of the house. Nan Gong Jiao Shou immediately leaped to his feet.
”Someone has tripped the security alarm?”
Wow…that was some pretty advanced security system that you had installed in the house…who the hell installed a red, wailing siren? Clearly Nan Gong Jiao Shou and his family were no ordinary people. I might be mistaken, but I was pretty sure that even rich people didn't have flashing lights. Sophisticated burglar alarms, yeah, but a red siren?
Nan Gong Jiao Shou strode over the window, which was now closed, and glanced outside. I followed suit and spotted a huge group of hooded figures clustering outside in the courtyard.
”There are a lot of people approaching the house.” Nan Gong Jiao Shou swallowed and then turned to his wife and daughter. ”We have to leave immediately.”
”Yes!”
The two of them nodded. Evidently it wasn't wise to stick around when you had a bunch of suspicious-looking dudes in hoods showin up at the front of your residence in large numbers. I felt a premonition in the form of a chill trickling down my spine.
This mana…these guys were from the Crimson Blood Demonic Night Clan, or at least practiced similar blood magic!
The Nan Gong family didn't notice or recognized the aura of blood magic. Under Nan Gong Jiao Shou's directions, Yue Jian and her mother didn't hesitate, already departing through the front door. Nan Gong Jiao Shou grabbed his coat and car keys. Meanwhile, I bowed gratefully to him.
”Thank you for not telling them to pack their luggage before leaving.”
Nan Gong Jiao Shou stared at me, baffled. ”Why would I do that? Those intruders are right on our doorstep. We don't have time to pack any luggage.”
”EXACTLY!” I shouted, startling him.
”Uh…?”
”Sorry. Never mind.”
It was my fault for assuming that Nan Gong Jiao Shou was a badly written manhua character who would be killed off so that the female main characters could do the whole tragic orphans trope later in the story.
”As long as you don't do something nonsensical that can be construed as an excuse for showing how the heroine grabs the MacGuffins before running.”
”What are MacGuffins? Why would Yue Jian grab burgers before escaping?”
”No, no. MacGuffins. A kind of plot device that exists in the form of an object to move the plot forward even though there's no logic to it, just so the story can go on. Anyway, let's not waste time arguing. They're closing in on us.”
Nan Gong Jiao Shou nodded as he glanced outside the window, noting how close the trespassers were to the house.