Chapter 1065: The Slum Inn

Vampires residing in Huntington City mostly engaged in vineyard and winery management or related upstream and downstream industries. The Church was naturally aware of their existence, but as long as they did not consume human blood, the Church tacitly allowed vampires to live among humans in the city.

The vampire mentioned by Mr. Bernhardt was Orland Wilson, a broker who introduced local wineries to out-of-town wine merchants, residing in the eastern part of Huntington City. This Mr. Wilson himself was a Ring-3 Ringed Shushi, 34 years old, proficient in divination, and currently unmarried.

His relationship with Mr. Bernhardt was not particularly close, but due to business reasons, he would visit Mr. Bernhardt's manor every holiday.

"He went to the New World to visit friends in the spring of this year and accidentally acquired a rather troublesome relic—a dagger. The Pantanal Xiewu somehow found out about this and wanted to buy the relic, but Wilson didn't want to sell it, so he came to me, hoping I could take it in for safekeeping," Mr. Bernhardt said.

Not only was he powerful, but Mr. Bernhardt also held the title of Viscount in the Kingdom of Deraerion, so the Pantanal Xiewu would not dare to make a move against a noble with such status.

The carriage soon carried the two of them to Red Wine Alley, which was also the largest red wine trade distribution center in the eastern part of Huntington City.

Mr. Wilson lived alone at No. 20 Red Wine Alley, a three-story small building without an attic. Mr. Bernhardt told Xia De that Mr. Wilson used the first floor as his office and the second floor and above as his living quarters.

The two chatted and laughed as they got off the carriage, but after Mr. Bernhardt knocked on the door, no one came to open it for a long time.

"Could it be that he's not home?"

Xia De asked the vampire Viscount, who was dressed quite formally in a black cashmere overcoat and holding a cane. The latter frowned slightly.

"It was Wilson who took the initiative to invite me here. We agreed to meet at 10:30 this morning."

"It is now 10:31."

Xia De provided the more precise time.

"Could it be that he encountered something sudden and had to go out? Let's go ask the neighbors."

The two questioned the neighbors on both sides, but none of the neighbors had seen Mr. Wilson today. However, a young newspaper boy across from No. 20 told Xia De after he bought a paper that about half an hour ago, a man had entered the house but left very quickly.

The boy did not know the owner of the house, so based on his description, neither Xia De nor Mr. Bernhardt knew who the man who had entered and exited half an hour ago was.

But Mr. Bernhardt felt he had lost face. He had specially invited his old friend Xia De to visit, only to be blocked at the door, which made him feel quite embarrassed.

"Wait a moment."

Standing on the steps of No. 20, Mr. Bernhardt pricked his finger with a fine needle and smeared a drop of blood on the door crack. Soon, the blood seeped into the inside of the door like a living thing.

"I want to see exactly what he went off to do."

The middle-aged Viscount hummed, then half-closed his eyes, as if concentrating on controlling the blood.

Xia De unfolded the newspaper to check the local news, but before he could finish the first page regarding the economic growth announced by the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Deraerion this year, Mr. Bernhardt suddenly said:

"Oh, it seems we've encountered some accidents."

"What happened?"

"To be precise, Wilson might be dead."

Xia De looked at Mr. Bernhardt in surprise.

"Then let's go in and take a look."

He tapped the lock, and with a click, the door lock popped open.

Mr. Bernhardt sighed deeply.

"I didn't anticipate this situation beforehand. I hope this won't delay your business."

"Of course not. If anything, I was just looking for an opportunity to have further contact with the Pantanal Xiewu."

After pushing the door open and entering, Mr. Bernhardt led Xia De directly to the office on the first floor. In that windowless room, blood was splattered all over the walls, and a corpse of a stranger Xia De had never seen before lay on the floor. Judging by the amount of blood, even a vampire would not have survived.

Xia De stood at the door surveying the scene, while Mr. Bernhardt crouched down to examine the body, but suddenly stood up and retreated several steps.

"Careful!"

Blood-dripping vines grew wildly from the corpse. Within seconds, they flooded the entire body like a snake pit. They crawled rapidly toward the two at the door, their squirming movements looking nothing like plants.

"It's the Pantanal Xiewu, those damn bastards!"

Mr. Bernhardt cursed quite ungentlemanly. He signaled Xia De to retreat, then snapped his fingers—

*Snap! *

The blood splattered everywhere exploded in a muffled sound like liquid bombs, and the heat-radiating blood stained the vines, causing eerie blood-red flames to ignite immediately.

"Blood flames. The vines summoned by the Ring-Ringed Shushi of the Pantanal Xiewu are mostly extremely afraid of fire," Mr. Bernhardt explained. Only after the vines were gradually burned away by the blood-colored flames did he and Xia De approach the corpse again.

The vines emerging from the corpse had greatly reduced its integrity. Xia De did not want to use any adjectives to describe the body, as it would severely affect his appetite and sleep quality for the next while.

However, when Xia De and Mr. Bernhardt tried to flip the corpse over, both of them froze simultaneously.

"Hmm?"

Xia De had heard a voice in his ear, while Mr. Bernhardt had realized something.

"A fake corpse?"

It was Xia De who said it first, and Mr. Bernhardt nodded immediately.

"Indeed, it's a fake. Truly remarkable; this is the 'Blood-Colored False Body' unique to our race. Except for our own kind, very few people can see through this kind of substitute body at a glance."

"If he was truly proficient in divination, perhaps he really could have sensed this threat in advance."

Xia De nodded, and right in front of him, Mr. Bernhardt unreservedly dipped his finger into the blood and put it into his mouth.

The middle-aged vampire gentleman narrowed his eyes slightly, wiped his finger clean, and stood up.

"Detective, let's leave here first. Wilson was indeed attacked. The Pantanal Xiewu killed him and stole the relic. However, he left me a message in his own blood. He is hiding now; let's go see him so we can at least know what happened."

"Alright."

Xia De nodded.

"It's best that this gentleman didn't die, but the Xiewu's methods are truly vicious."

"How much sanity can people who seek power from sub-spatial evil things have? Besides, they were originally just a group of natives from the Great Swamp... I don't mean to look down on country folk... you understand what I mean."

Mr. Bernhardt put on his gloves, and Xia De asked again:

"Where is Mr. Wilson hiding? Is it far from here? If it's convenient, we could have lunch together; I even brought some red wine for you."

Mr. Bernhardt smiled.

"Not far, the Blood Rose Inn in the city. He is hiding there; it is absolutely safe."

The Blood Rose Inn was located near the Huntington City train station, but it was not on the main road; it was hidden in a small alley. After passing a low wall covered with wanted posters, walking through clothes drying in the alley, and crossing a muddy patch of ground, they finally saw the inn deep in the alley.

If the "Pink Rose Tavern" Xia De had visited in Coldwater Port was the kind of place you knew at a glance provided illegal services, then the "Blood Rose Inn" hidden deep in the alley of Huntington City was the kind of place you knew at a glance was absolutely legitimate.

It was a wooden and brick structure, not very large, with even a chicken coop and a pigsty on the side of the first floor. Rude men were shouting loudly in the tavern using slang, and the peeling wall plaster showed how long its history was. It used old-fashioned double-opening wooden doors, rare in this era, as the main entrance, and the interior decor was as shabby as if it had returned to the era of forty or fifty years ago.

Even if this inn operated at least one illegal business, it probably wouldn't be this shabby.

But fortunately, the tables and chairs were clean, and the tavern on the first floor provided decent service. The interior of the tavern was filled with the smell of fermenting food and alcohol, and because it was too shabby, there were no gas lamps, only very old hanging kerosene lamps. Strange decorations like anchors and rusted swords were hung haphazardly on the walls. This was an inn in the slums, serving the poor who had no money.

Fearing to disturb Mr. Wilson, who was probably still in a state of panic, Mr. Bernhardt asked Xia De to wait on the first floor while he went upstairs alone to find his clansman staying in Room 302.

So, Xia De, clutching his newspaper, asked the old bartender for a glass of rye beer and sat at a slightly quieter table against the wall, unfolding the newspaper under the dim kerosene lamp to continue reading the news he hadn't finished earlier.

That kerosene lamp's shade probably needed a good scrubbing.

Mr. Bernhardt hurried up the stairs, the creaking sound making him worry whether the stairs would collapse immediately. Under a landscape oil painting that looked like an abstract doodle in the corner of the second floor, he brushed past a middle-aged man with extremely short hair, where only fuzzy stubble could be seen.

The latter had extremely dark skin, double eyelids that were severely pronounced, and was wrapped in an uncommon brown old-fashioned robe often worn by people in desert regions.

Mr. Bernhardt just felt this person was very strange, but they merely brushed past each other. And the man wrapped in the brown old robe, holding his own notebook with slightly curled corners, walked toward the first floor. ===== CHAPTER 1066 =====

Mr. Bernhard just felt that this person was very strange, but it was just a passing by. And the man wrapped in an old brown robe walked towards the first floor with his notebook whose corners were slightly curled.