Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 896: Bonds of the Immortals (8)

After being tortured by Karen Yishel, Jin Wucheng was left barely alive. Lying on the ground, he only had a foolish smile at the corner of his lips. For him now, he probably couldn't even comprehend what pain was.

It was impossible to uncover the truth... Even though the enraged vampire knew this, she couldn't suppress the killing intent in her heart. The only thing that kept her somewhat rational was the desire to know the truth.

"Miss Karen, why did you initially think that we... killed Mr. Tu?" Elizabeth finally asked.

Karen Yishel took a deep breath and said, "I’ve been away from the castle for three years. I missed several hunting days, you know that, right?"

Elizabeth nodded and said, "We thought you had fallen out with Mr. Tu..."

"It was just a spat." Karen Yishel gave a bitter smile. "But looking back now, if we hadn’t been so serious about it, if I hadn’t left, he wouldn’t have..."

She shook her head, speaking bitterly, "I came back because I received a message from Jin Wucheng, saying that he... was dead. I hurried back, and all I found was a dried-up corpse. It was him... I could tell. It really was him. At that moment, I wanted to destroy everything, but my desire for revenge told me I couldn’t let his killer go unpunished."

"Wait... you said it was Uncle Jin... Jin Wucheng who told you?" Zhong Luoyue was startled, as if she had noticed something.

Karen Yishel gave the newborn a cold look and said icily, "You think I didn’t consider that possibility? But you know, Tu Shenyi was my first embrace. I knew better than anyone how strong he was. Even if he didn’t fight back, Jin Wucheng wouldn’t have been able to kill him."

"What about weapons? Bombs, maybe... they couldn’t kill him head-on, but what about a sneak attack?" Zhong Luoyue frowned. "From what Jin Wucheng just said, it seems he may have used some underhanded method."Karen Yishel sighed. "I considered all the possibilities you’re thinking of, but Jin Wucheng was the first one I ruled out. He was suffering from terminal liver cancer, and only survived thanks to the blood-based medicine Tu Shenyi created. Jin Wucheng was waiting for a chance—a chance for Tu Shenyi to turn him into a vampire. Tu Shenyi was his lifeline; he wouldn’t destroy that himself."

"In that case, it seems..." Zhong Luoyue nodded. "But what he just said didn’t sound like a lie. Too bad in his current state, he won’t last much longer, and he won’t regain consciousness... Will the truth be lost forever?"

"I... I might be able to help." Elizabeth timidly spoke up at this moment.

Karen Yishel was startled and suddenly grabbed Elizabeth's arm. "Mental sensing... You can now invade memories?"

"I... I don’t know," Elizabeth stammered. "I couldn’t before, but after surviving this hunting frenzy, it feels like... my powers have changed. I feel like I can do it."

As she spoke, Elizabeth glanced instinctively at Luo Qiu, who was watching the scene, thinking: Could it be because I drank Luo Qiu’s blood?

"If you can do it!" Karen Yishel tightened her grip on Elizabeth’s arm. "You... try it!"

Elizabeth nodded, then approached Jin Wucheng, knelt beside him, and placed her palm on his forehead, slowly closing her eyes.

Zhong Luoyue and Karen Yishel watched nervously... Luo Qiu also took a few steps closer, observing Elizabeth.

Her ability seemed no longer limited to mental sensing but had evolved to full telepathy—invading another’s consciousness.

"It seems possible... I did it!" Elizabeth exclaimed in surprise and quickly said, "I can show you his memories. Hold my hand!"

Without hesitation, Karen Yishel grabbed Elizabeth’s wrist, and after a moment's hesitation, Zhong Luoyue gently took Elizabeth’s hand as well.

"Can I use your shoulder?" Luo Qiu stepped forward.

Elizabeth nodded, and Luo Qiu, after receiving permission, placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, I’ll take you into his consciousness now. Please relax. Luo Qiu... your consciousness is too strong, I... I..."

"Oh... it's fine now."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

It was a strange experience, like her body was becoming infinitely light until she finally drifted away from herself.

As her eyes closed, many things flashed before Zhong Luoyue’s mind... reflections of memories deeply embedded in her subconscious.

The mental world was complex and mysterious, and under Elizabeth’s power, the strands of their consciousness were like tangled ropes, constantly intertwining with one another.

Whether it was Karen Yishel’s, Elizabeth’s, or even Zhong Luoyue’s most vivid memories, they were all laid bare before Luo Qiu's ‘eyes.’

However, none of them could glean anything about Luo Qiu from this twisted consciousness.

Suddenly, the consciousness coalesced into form, and they found themselves in a dimly lit basement... all of them looked at Luo Qiu with varied expressions.

Luo Qiu... Luo Qiu was examining the surroundings, pretending to study them seriously.

Karen Yishel frowned, realizing that the others had seen her memories without her consent.

Elizabeth was flustered, while Zhong Luoyue felt dizzy.

Her spirit was still too weak, and the transition of consciousness was something her mind wasn’t yet prepared for. But faintly, she sensed something was amiss, like someone had taken up residence in her mind.

"I-I’m sorry... This is my first time doing this," Elizabeth quickly apologized, realizing what had happened. "I didn’t know this would occur..."

"What is this place?" Karen Yishel asked directly.

"This is a scene from Jin Wucheng’s memory," Elizabeth explained. "His memories are too chaotic right now, so I could only find the ones with the strongest emotional reactions."

"It sounds like something..." Zhong Luoyue pointed toward a stone door ahead. "Have we been here before?"

It was the same place where she and Luo Qiu had found Elizabeth—a cell filled with terrifying claw marks.

The sound was one of screams... coming from behind that stone door.

"That's his voice!" Karen Yishel rushed toward the giant stone door without thinking, but her body was instantly thrown back, unable to break through.

"Miss Karen, it's useless," Elizabeth quickly said. "This is just a memory of Jin Wucheng. Even the voice we're hearing is part of that memory. Unless he opens the door, we have no idea what's happening inside."

"He should be coming soon," Luo Qiu suddenly said. "The voice is getting louder, which means he's getting closer."

Indeed, the painful cries gradually intensified. In Karen Yishel's anxious wait, a figure finally appeared in the darkness.

It was Jin Wucheng.

He held a lantern cautiously as he approached the area. Every step was careful, and his face showed fear. Finally, he reached the stone prison door and forcefully opened it.

The lantern's light revealed a man with disheveled hair shackled to the wall.

His fangs were exposed, his face gaunt, his body emaciated, with deep sunken eyes and pale, bloodless skin. He was struggling madly.

"Is that... Mr. Tu?" Elizabeth instinctively covered her mouth.

Karen Yishel gritted her teeth and nodded, clenching her fists tightly, her whole body trembling as her fangs faintly appeared.

Jin Wucheng stood outside the door for a long time before suddenly pushing it open and stepping inside. As he entered, the surrounding environment quickly changed, allowing Luo Qiu and the others to finally walk into the stone chamber.

Jin Wucheng slowly approached the shackled Tu Shenyi.

"You... are very hungry, aren't you?" Jin Wucheng suddenly said in a low voice. "You must be starving!"

In a swift motion, he rolled up his sleeve, exposing his arm, and placed it in front of Tu Shenyi. "Bite me! Go ahead, bite me! I'll let you drink my blood... Bite me! Bite!"

Tu Shenyi suddenly stopped struggling, slightly opened his mouth, revealing his fangs, and inched toward Jin Wucheng's wrist.

Jin Wucheng's eyes began to burn with excitement... even impatience.

Finally, Tu Shenyi opened his mouth wide, and his sharp fangs grazed Jin Wucheng's wrist. But his lips twitched, hesitating to bite down.

"Bite me... Hurry! Bite down! Bite!!" Jin Wucheng shouted angrily. "What kind of vampire are you if you can't even bite? Worthless!!!!"

"Get out!!!"

Suddenly, Tu Shenyi let out a terrifying roar, causing Jin Wucheng to stumble back in fear, falling to the ground.

Jin Wucheng reluctantly got back up and pointed angrily, "I’ve served you for over a decade, like a dog... yet you still refuse to save me? All it takes is a bite—how can it be so difficult? Tu Shenyi!! I’ve had enough!! Do you even know the pain I go through during my attacks? Do you know the humiliation and helplessness I feel, relying on your medicine to survive every time?! Tu Shenyi, why are you so selfish?!"

"Get out... Get out!!!"

"You forced me... You forced me!!!!"

Jin Wucheng pulled out a shiny silver gun from his coat and fired madly at Tu Shenyi, emptying his clip into the vampire's body. But Tu Shenyi’s powerful regenerative abilities kept him alive even after Jin Wucheng’s bullets ran out.

After venting his rage, Jin Wucheng left the place, seething with hatred.

Karen Yishel remained silent throughout, not moving an inch, but the hatred in her eyes had reached a terrifying level.

...

Jin Wucheng returned day after day, each time hoping Tu Shenyi would give him new life. But each day, he was met with disappointment.

One day, while in his room, Jin Wucheng was looking at an old photo when suddenly, he collapsed in pain—his cancer had flared up.

In agony, he destroyed everything in the room. Eventually, he had no choice but to retrieve a syringe and a vial from a drawer, injecting the medicine into himself.

But madness had already crept into his eyes.

He couldn’t kill Tu Shenyi with bullets or blades, but there were other ways to kill a vampire. After all, they weren’t truly immortal.

Under the cover of night, Jin Wucheng severed Tu Shenyi’s limbs with a sharp blade and quietly took him out of the stone chamber.

Tu Shenyi was placed in a steel cage, set atop the highest tower of the castle’s west wing... where he witnessed the first rays of sunlight.

Oddly, the moment was silent—not because Jin Wucheng had gone deaf, but because Tu Shenyi had said nothing.

He was unusually calm, even as the rising sunlight began to burn his body. He simply stared quietly at the sunrise.

Smoke began to rise from his body, and finally, Tu Shenyi looked toward Jin Wucheng. "I haven't seen a sunrise in a long time... It’s beautiful, as it always has been, both then and now."

Jin Wucheng, now deep in his obsession and madness, sneered. "Too bad the woman you love isn't here... You'll take this romance with you into oblivion!"

Tu Shenyi continued looking at Jin Wucheng, then softly said, "Actually, you’ve already become a vampire."

Jin Wucheng gripped the cage tightly, eyes wide with madness. "I’ll give you one last chance... If you turn me, I’ll let you go. I’ll still serve you like a dog!!"

"Do you know whose blood I first drank?" Tu Shenyi said calmly.

"That has nothing to do with me!"

Tu Shenyi gazed at the rising sun. "It was a little girl. She had gotten separated from her parents, and fate brought her to me. I once..."

"Don’t tell me these useless stories! You just don’t want to save me! You never wanted to!!" Jin Wucheng cursed, kicking the cage over and over in a fit of madness. "You think I can’t save myself without you?! Look at this!! This is your secret!! And now, it's in my hands!"

Jin Wucheng pulled out an old notebook from his coat, grinning maliciously. "I know the secret of ‘Worry-Free’!"

Tu Shenyi seemed not to hear him, muttering softly to himself, "Sweet... rich, or thick, like milk and honey. Sometimes delicate, sometimes spicy, like strong liquor. Not bitter, but with a slight burn in the throat, warm... I once..."

"Regretted it."

Tu Shenyi's body suddenly burst into flames as Jin Wucheng watched in silence.

...

Later that night, a woman arrived, forcefully opening the castle’s large doors and rushing into its depths.

All she saw was a black coffin, with Jin Wucheng standing alone in the room.

The woman gazed at the body in the coffin, a tear falling from her eye. In a voice that trembled, as if it were barely holding together, she softly asked, "Who did this?"

"I don’t know... I was knocked out, and then..."

Jin Wucheng lowered his head in agony, clutching his skull and squatting down, "How could this happen... How could this happen... Tu Shenyi, you promised to save me, why... why didn’t you!! You lied to me!!! You’re not dead, right?!"

Jin Wucheng screamed madly at the black coffin.

"Enough!!" The woman swung her hand, violently knocking Jin Wucheng aside, sending him crashing into the wall, where he spat up blood from the impact.

"He promised to save me... He promised..." he murmured, lost and broken.

"Clues... any clues, think!" The woman, desperate for something to calm her down, now exposed her fangs in grief.

She collapsed beside the black coffin, staring blankly.

Jin Wucheng slowly stood up, stumbling step by step, until he reached the woman. He pulled out a notebook from his coat, "Miss Karen, I found this in the master's room, but the last few pages seem to have been torn out."

She took the notebook, flipping through it quickly. The last few pages were indeed missing. "True Blood... Who could it be..."