Chapter 2085: Sir Donald

Holding the cat while standing at the bridgehead of St. George's Stone Bridge, looking up at the falling snow, Xia De truly did not know what to say.

The three addresses given by the coroner were not particularly close to one another. The "Magician Sean" he had already visited was located in the southeast of Moon Bay, while "Sir Donald," whom he was to visit this morning, resided in the northeast.

The vampire "Sir Donald" did not hold a true noble title; the title "Sir" was bestowed in recognition of his social standing and his dual doctorates in political science and history. Thus, he could be addressed as either "Mr." or "Sir." Albei had only given Xia De the work address for Sir Donald: the Moon Bay Institute of Political Science and Economics.

When Xia De met Sir Donald at this most famous local higher education institution, the middle-aged man, who had a small bat icon floating above his head and wore gold-rimmed spectacles, was busy comforting a weeping woman alongside several of his colleagues.

Hearing that someone was looking for him, he temporarily excused himself from his colleagues and stepped out of the office to meet the young man with a dog perched on his shoulder:

"Hello, um... is there something you need?"

Xia De withdrew his gaze from the icon floating above the man's head:

"Yes, Mr. Albei sent me."

Confirming that the corridor was deserted and the only sound was the woman's sobbing from within the office, Xia De briefly explained the situation regarding the prostitute's corpse and the blood being drained.

Like the magician, Sir Donald's first suspicion was that an outsider of their kind had committed the crime without knowing the local rules. Upon hearing that the Five Gods Sect was conducting a sweep of the city for vampires, he furrowed his brows in annoyance:

"This is truly troublesome. Although everyone keeps to themselves on ordinary days, if the Church starts investigating at will, who knows what they might accidentally uncover?"

Seeing Xia De look at him with a strange expression, Sir Donald hurriedly shook his head:

"Don't misunderstand. Aside from purchasing blood on the black market, I haven't done anything illegal. Look, I have a tenured position at this school, my life is comfortable, and the students adore me. All I seek now is a peaceful life and the company of passionate young ladies."

He coughed once:

"Regardless, I am very grateful to you for coming to inform me. I won't be visiting Ptolemy anytime soon, so please convey my thanks to him."

"No problem."

Xia De liked these simple tasks; finding the right place and having a brief conversation was all that was required, without the need for any fighting:

"Would you mind satisfying my curiosity? Why is the lady inside crying?"

He asked, and the bespectacled vampire rubbed his forehead:

"May the gods protect poor Mrs. Connelly. Her husband didn't return home all night, and news just arrived that the man was found dead in a small alley, his head missing—it's the serial killer case currently sweeping the city. Poor Mrs. Connelly only met her husband at twenty-nine, and now, just a year after their marriage, she has become a widow... May the gods protect us all."

Xia De glanced into the room, feeling deep sympathy for the lady:

"Mr. Albei mentioned this to me as well, though it's a pity the police investigation hasn't made any progress yet."

But judging by the dockworker's account from yesterday, these headless serial killings were related to the "Eternal Light."

"I don't think there will be any progress."

Sir Donald said. Since he didn't want to go back inside to comfort the weeping woman, he remained there to satisfy Xia De's curiosity:

"In my view, this isn't a serial killer case at all; it's a legend coming to pass."

He stood with his hands behind his back, no longer looking at the people inside, but instead gazing out the window at the school campus shrouded in falling snow:

"When wealth piles up like mountains and sin flows like a river, Moon Bay will eventually face its destruction. The many strange occurrences in the city lately, to me, are merely these legends manifesting in ways no one expected, and I am quite certain this is only the beginning."

"Sir, I recall you are a doctor of history and economics; how is it that you also study legends and stories?"

"Young man, history and folklore are inseparable."

Sir Donald said with a smile. Seeing that Xia De seemed interested in the topic, he asked:

"You appear to be from the North?"

"Yes, I only recently arrived in Moon Bay. My knowledge of local legends is limited to the Seven Great Families and the dragons."

"Knowing that is quite enough. According to my research and investigations, most of the legends circulating in the Moon Bay area can eventually be traced back to these seven ancient families. What people fail to realize is that the ancestors of the Hawthorne, Belindell, Eddington, Black, Wright, Blue, and Wood families must have encountered some exceptionally powerful existence."

"Why is that?"

Xia De asked curiously, and the vampire, hands behind his back, said with satisfaction:

"See, you haven't realized it either. How could mortal regimes and mortal power persist for a millennium without changing hands? Yet, in the records of Moon Bay, long before Karsinrik and Delarion even existed, these seven surnames were already influencing everything in the region. From ancient times to the present, civilization has changed, the world situation has shifted, and lifestyles have evolved. Knights on horseback have become soldiers with firearms, and farmers who once scratched a living from the soil now work in city factories. Even lovers know to avoid using gas lamps to prevent their spouses from discovering that the gas company's bill differs from the previous month's. Yet, the Seven Great Families have ruled everything in Moon Bay forever. Is that reasonable?"

Xia De suddenly realized:

"That's true. Even with family succession, it's impossible for it to last so long, especially with seven different surnames all enduring for so long. There's such a thing... does the Church know?"

"The records of the Orthodox Church must be more complete than what I've seen, so they should know as well. I assume there exists some peculiar blessing that ensures the Seven Great Families always have descendants and that those descendants always rule Moon Bay. If this is the truth, even if the Church knows, they likely wouldn't interfere, as it doesn't threaten civilization or stability."

He recounted his hypothesis, and Xia De nodded, saying with genuine admiration:

"That sounds truly miraculous. If I were to investigate this myself, I fear it would take me several months to discover this point."

What he found curious was that Miss Belindell hadn't mentioned this either:

"However, stories of 'powerful beings bestowing power upon mortals and their descendants' are more likely to appear in fairy tales than in reality."

Sir Donald was very satisfied with Xia De's reaction:

"The Seven Great Families themselves have lost a vast amount of history and data; whether they are aware of the source of their family power is hard to say. It's a pity this research cannot be made public; otherwise, I might have been able to secure a seat in the City Council... or be murdered in a washroom by an unknown assassin."

Xia De laughed along. Since he had nothing to do before noon and Sir Donald seemed quite talkative, he asked:

"Would you mind if I asked if you have any research regarding Moon Bay and dragons that cannot be made public?"

"You've truly asked the right person."

The vampire said proudly, but added:

"But my research hasn't been recognized by anyone; it's merely my personal interest."

"That's fine; I can treat them as modern legends."

Thus, Sir Donald took Xia De to his private office, invited him to sit, and prepared tea before discussing the research results he had never had the opportunity to publish:

"Moon Bay is a very suitable place for research. Since the early Sixth Era, it has been a densely populated and developed region. Because civilization has continued uninterrupted on this land, there are more legends and stories here than anywhere else."

He took a book from his drawer and handed it to Xia De. The title was *Ancient Harbor: A Study of Folklore in the Moon Bay Region*.

"Even from a layman's perspective, one can see that this city has many magical aspects. The stories circulating in the city go without saying, and there are numerous tales about 'Moon-Worshipping Werewolves,' 'Millennial Ancient Trees,' 'Man-Eating Swamps,' and 'Howling Manor' in the hills, forests, and marshes outside the city. And 'dragons,' those legendary creatures, are always inextricably linked to the stories of Moon Bay. If you delve into the roots of many stories, they can all be traced back to dragons."

He took a sip of tea:

"Mr. Watson, the legend you just mentioned—that the ancestors of the Seven Great Families encountered an ancient dragon in Moon Bay and subsequently gained the power and wealth to rule the city—is, in my view, the source of all the legends in Moon Bay. If you investigate starting from this source and gather the local legends, it's not hard to find that 'the dragon will return and destroy Moon Bay' is the meaning expressed by many legends, though the phrasing varies."

Xia De thought for a moment:

"So, the ancestors of the Seven Great Families gained blessings and wealth, and the price was that their descendants and the city would face disaster?"

"That's just a guess, but if you look at it that way, isn't it fair?"

Sir Donald said, then stood up and took some black-and-white photographs from his safe to show Xia De:

"I have participated in the excavation of many ancient ruins in the local area. Sensitive information and items were, of course, taken by the Church, but I kept some photographs. For example, these—although I cannot read these ancient dragon runes, the general meaning mentions trade, power, and sacrifice."

The ancient dragon runes carved in the stone on the yellowed photograph did indeed exist, but when Xia De translated them, the meaning was completely different from what Sir Donald had described—

【The god who devoured the great dragon was defeated at Moon Bay, (illegible) imprinted on the bay, (large section illegible) searching.】