Chapter 86: The Carriage in the Heavy Rain

On the street, inside a café.

"Sorry to have kept you two waiting."

The waiter brings a cup of coffee and a cup of tea, then turns to attend to other patrons.

The tea is what Yu Lin ordered, and the coffee naturally belongs to the man opposite.

After taking a light sip, he says:

"What business do you have with me?"

The man adds two sugar cubes to his coffee and smiles:

"I just saw you; your skill is impressive, but such skill isn't something an ordinary person can acquire through training."

"It's truly too fast."

"I suppose you've also received the Lord's Blessing? Or perhaps you studied Qi cultivation in the East?"

"Hmm?" Yu Lin raises an eyebrow.

"Putting me aside, you as well?"

"Of course." The man nods, raises a finger, inserts it into the coffee, and immediately the vapor emanating from the coffee dissipates at a visible speed, the liquid coffee gradually solidifying.

Until it becomes a solid ice block.

Yu Lin watches, raises an eyebrow and says, "Frozen?"

The man shakes his head; the next moment, the frozen coffee melts back into liquid, restoring its original steaming heat:

"It's heat absorption; I can draw heat from objects or the air, store it, and release it when needed."

"It only requires a small price."

He says this while removing his left Glove, revealing a palm half withered and half swollen and red,

"used to store heat, without pain."

"Seventeen years ago, when I returned from the Church, I unexpectedly discovered I possessed this ability."

"So I call it the Lord's Blessing; then, which kind are you?"

Yu Lin looks, understanding.

It turns out to be Heavenly Authority.

It should be the Third‑Sequence No. 05 Heavenly Authority—Scorching Cold.

He nods, "Both."

"Is that all you're looking for me for?"

"... Both." The man is silent for a moment, then shakes his head, "No."

"I want to invite you to join my team."

"Recently I took a contract to go to a village and eliminate two Vampires; the bounty is generous."

"I originally just went out to the market to buy some goods and wander a bit, and seeing you act was an unexpected event."

"Moreover, your kindness toward believers and girls shows noble character, so I came to invite you."

Dealing with Vampires?

Yu Lin thinks, "Sure, I'm Yu Lin, what's your name?"

The man, seeing his straightforward acceptance, smiles a few degrees brighter:

"I am Firo de Leon, Yu Lin; just call me Feiluo."

I guessed wrong; I thought he was Van Helsing.

"Hmm, noted," Yu Lin nods, takes a sip of tea, and asks:

"Then, when does it start?"

Feiluo replies, "In four days."

"I have a friend returning the day after tomorrow; he's a specialist at handling Vampires."

Yu Lin asks again, "What's his name? I'd like to greet him in advance."

"Yabolahan·Fan·Haisen, a doctor from the Netherlands and a Catholic."

Boom—

A deafening thunderclap tears the night sky, a torrential downpour pours, instantly shrouding London in darkness.

It also washes the muddy country roads into a vast swamp.

A pitch‑black carriage crawls slowly through the rain, its wheels crushing puddles and splashing turbid water. The black horse pulling it is drenched, its mane clinging to its skin, yet it steps steadily as if indifferent to the storm.

Inside the carriage, candlelight flickers, illuminating two silhouettes.

"Mr. Dracula," a bespectacled man flips through a ledger, his voice respectful:

"The Gold Coins and Silver Coins you brought, preliminarily estimated, could purchase seventy‑three properties, with about £1,300 remaining."

He pauses, looks up at the opposite side, and says, "If you wish, I'll begin handling it for you after I return."

Boom!

Another lightning bolt slashes the sky, its ghastly white light streaming through the carriage window, illuminating the side face of the man on the right—

Fulade sanshi Degula.

He sits quietly there, his pallid fingers lightly resting on the window frame, his gaze piercing the rain to stare at the nearby inn washed by the rain.

The lightning's glow highlights his deep features— a high nose bridge, thin lips, and eyes as dark as night.

His visage is handsome yet slightly pallid, as if he's long avoided sunlight, bearing a morbid elegance.

Rain slides down the window, casting moving shadows across his face.

"No need to rush, Jonathan," Dracula finally speaks, his voice low and resonant, like aged red wine:

"Compared to this."

I'd rather know, how much pay do you want?

He withdrew his gaze from the inn and landed on the face of the man before him—Jonathan Hark.

A lawyer, now also Dracula's property manager.

In formal settings or to show respect, one addresses him by his surname; in private or to show intimacy, one uses his given name.

The surname comes after, the given name comes before.

Jonathan closed the notebook in his hand and said humbly:

"In London, a good lawyer earns between one hundred and five hundred pounds a year; I consider myself not a top lawyer, so paying me two hundred pounds a year would be sufficient."

"No no no." Dracula shook his head, gave a slight smile: "In my eyes, you are the best lawyer."

"So, I will pay you five hundred pounds a year."

"Go back and draft a contract."

"Besides."

"This is a personal gift from me, representing our friendship; do not refuse, it is my heartfelt intention."

"You know, Christ and his close friend, that warrior who dared to snatch Christ's corpse, their meeting also began because of a silver coin."

As he spoke, he took out a silver coin from his pocket.

A silver coin from his country, from that time, of considerable value.

Jonathan's words of refusal rose to his lips, but hearing this, he could only swallow them, take the silver coin, and solemnly put it into his pocket:

"Thank you very much, I really like it, and I will keep it forever."

"As long as you like it." Dracula then turned his gaze to the inn outside the window, and after a long while, spoke in a soft voice:

"As long as you do not betray me."

Because of the heavy rain outside, Jonathan didn't hear clearly and instinctively asked:

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, go wait a while at that inn over there, the rain is too heavy."

"Yes."