557 Chapter 557: Family Reunion (2/2)
”In any event, you have our gratitude.” Nan Gong Jiao Shou sighed. ”We still haven't thanked you for saving us from the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan the other time.”
”Huh? What was that about?” Zhao Yan was confused. Her father briefly explained to her what happened the last time I visited their house. How they ended up being chased by vampires and we had gone on a wild car ride. Zhao Yan nodded and turned back to me. ”So that all happened. Thank you. Really. You have been helping my family so much.”
”Heh…” Rossetti was still smiling, but I could feel a chill when she glanced at me. ”You really are close to the Nan Gong family, huh, Richard?”
”Not as close as most people,” I muttered.
”I need to inform your mother and Yue Jian that you two are fine.” He retrieved his smartphone, but grimaced when he saw that he didn't have a signal in this place. Well, unless he had specialized equipment like Kufa, he wouldn't be getting any reception.
”What do we tell them about Ji Yan?” Zhao Yan asked softly. Nan Gong Jiao Shou winced.
”The truth. We can't tell them anything other than the truth.”
The two of them fell into a somber silence. It was common knowledge that most people did not simply recover from psychological trauma. They said time was the best cure, but the vast majority of people whose minds had been broken would never be mentally restored ever again.
Psychological damage might not be visible, but they were very real. Not that cyber-bullies or idiots cared. They thought that because emotional abuse did not show up physically, they could insult and verbally abuse others all they wanted, and it was the other party who should ”toughen up” or ”don't let 'mere' words affect them.” what idiots. You wouldn't tell someone who was getting beaten up to ignore the punches. Just because you couldn't see the injuries didn't mean there was no damage being dealt. The effects were still as real as if the person was being physically beaten up. And they were often more lasting and unhealable.
”Speaking of the truth,” the medic began somewhat uncertainly. ”I will need to send Nan Gong Ji Yan to a more specialized medical facility or hospital to run more tests, but a preliminary diagnosis shows that she has been turned into a vampire.”
”What?!”
”No way…!”
Both Nan Gong Jiao Shou and Zhao Yan spun around, horrified. The professor in particular clenched his fists.
”That vampire bastard…what the fuck was he trying to do to my daughter?!”
A lot of things. I didn't say that, though. I also didn't tell the father-daughter pair that Ji Yan had brought this upon herself.
”Please calm down. Like I said, I have yet to fully confirm this…we still need to run more tests. But I feel I should inform you beforehand so that you will be more prepared.”
Teresa Taylor turned to me, her shoulders sagging.
”We should have listened to you,” she said, her voice full of regret. Evidently, she remembered me telling her and her teachers what happened back in school, when Xu Wu Cheng began blackmailing Ji Yan. ”You were right about everything.”
I took no pleasure in the fact and couldn't bring myself to gloat. Sighing bitterly, I glanced at the night sky, the full moon seeming to mock us as it shone down on the ruins of the castle.
At that second, I felt as if I was forgetting something.
*
While there was a commotion that continued raging inside the castle that formerly served as the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan's base, Lin Xuan Chi silently watched from a distance. Dawn was about to break, but it wouldn't be due for a few more minutes.
That was fine. Lin Xuan Chi could sense someone creeping under the cover of darkness. Without turning around, he smirked.
”Fred Franklin, huh?”
”Are you sure about this Lin Xuan Chi?””
”…do you even need to ask?” Lin Xuan Chi scoffed. ”I'll get my revenge on the Tang Sect…no matter the cost.”
”That's not what I mean. If you want your revenge, why did you betray the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan?”
”Because they killed my parents?” Lin Xuan Chi smiled grimly as he turned toward the handsome ex-noble who shared the same bloodline as the current Sword Saint. ”Of course I want them dead. And besides…they're useless. They're too weak to destroy the Tang Sect for me. That's why I'm leaving them and casting my lot with you instead.”
”A wise choice.” Fred Franklin grinned, his figure still hidden in the shadows. ”The Dark Church will welcome you with wide arms. But why bother with this whole convoluted scheme regarding the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan when you were going to leave them in the first place?”
”Because in the original manhua, the author forced me to work for those hateful vampires just so I can pull off some stupid plot twist, even though my motivations for doing so made no logical sense.”
”Uh…okay. Don't worry. The Dark Church will teach you how to scheme much better than some amateur shoujo manhua author.”
”I look forward to it.”
Nodding, Lin Xuan Chi turned around with a smile, his perfect teeth flashing in the darkness.
”Then let's go…Senior Fred.”