chapter 9

On the way back, Ning Qiuyan looked over his shoulder several times to make sure that group of thugs wasn’t following him.

The underground plaza was on his usual route to work. After what had happened that night, he didn’t know whether he should call the police, or at least try to leave work together with his colleagues.

When he got home, there was a new email on his phone.

After reading the email, Ning Qiuyan quickly opened the window and looked down.

The residential building where his family lived was very old.

Like most neighborhoods in Wutong City from that era, many French plane trees had been planted here. The space between buildings was wide, and the central concrete ground, soaked and damp from melted snow, was crowded with parked cars.

It was the early hours; everything was silent. Not even the neighborhood’s stray cats were in sight.

There was also no one standing downstairs.

Ning Qiuyan closed the window, shutting out the cold wind, and reread the contents of the email.

Lu23121873: [For your safety, please do not go to work at N° anymore.]

The email had been sent one minute before he got home, as if the sender knew exactly what had just happened and made the request directly and clearly.

Ning Qiuyan’s expression was tense. He sat cross-legged on the sofa and typed quickly: [Were those people in the plaza tonight your people?]

After sending the message, Ning Qiuyan stared at the screen, his heart beating a little faster.

No wonder it was such a coincidence that several pedestrians appeared at just that moment.

Not earlier, not later-right when he was entangled by the thugs.

But he waited a full two minutes, and the email account that had contacted him did not send any further messages.

Guessing the other party probably wouldn’t reply, Ning Qiuyan suddenly felt a bit foolish, and an uncomfortable sense of unease arose.

It was as if there were eyes all around him.

Watching his every move-was he safe, or in danger?

They were deep black eyes, pupils reflecting a faint, elusive red, the corners slightly upturned, looking down at him from above.

It felt as though he was wrapped in an impenetrable emotion.

Ning Qiuyan’s heart thudded in waves.

He was bewitched, unable to stop himself from thinking about Guan Heng’s face, recalling Guan Heng’s pale lips and the fingers loosely holding the glass.

His body felt as if scorched by fire.

Even his chest was burning.

Ning Qiuyan hugged his knees tightly, burying his head.

A moment later, after most of his thoughts had settled, he let out a gentle breath.

He had to stop his mind from going wild like this.

He thought.

He couldn’t go on like this.

*

The tone of the email was very polite, the request not at all forceful.

Ning Qiuyan regarded it as just a suggestion.

Moreover, he couldn’t confirm that the people who had appeared in the plaza that night were from Du Island. At the very least, he continued going to work at N° as usual and never received another email from Du Island.

He never saw those pedestrians again, nor did he see that group of thugs.

Sometimes, Ning Qiuyan would walk along quiet paths at night, stop in place, and look back, only to find the road behind him empty.

The weather grew colder and colder.

There were fewer and fewer people in the underground plaza at dawn, and even the street singers hadn’t appeared for several days. N° had fewer customers, and closing time came earlier and earlier.

Most nights, Ning Qiuyan stayed at home, searching for part-time jobs suitable for him, and that allowed a few days off each week.

The results were disappointing.

Half a month later, Du Island sent a second batch of ingredients and recipes, making it even less necessary for Ning Qiuyan to go out.

After that, everything in his life settled down.

He never received any more messages from Du Island.

The days grew shorter, the nights longer.

This winter came very late, yet felt far too long.

A week before his second trip to Du Island, Su Jianzhou called him.

“You shouldn’t donate blood anymore.”

Su Jianzhou’s tone was distinctly serious. It was the first time Ning Qiuyan had ever heard him speak like this.

And the first thing he brought up was the blood donation.

“What’s wrong?” Ning Qiuyan was puzzled.

As a regular blood donor, he was very conscious of his role. For the past half month, he had been eating according to Dr. Ling’s recipes and taking plenty of supplements.

His physical condition was even better than before he started donating blood, and his complexion had improved a lot.

Donating blood didn’t seem to have much effect on him.

Su Jianzhou seemed to be somewhere quiet, his voice echoing slightly.

“I have a classmate who works in the city’s forensic department,” he said. “A few days ago, they received two victims’ bodies.”

Victims?

Ning Qiuyan was taken aback. “I haven’t been paying attention to the news these days.”

Su Jianzhou sounded a bit anxious: “It’s not about whether you saw the news or not… You know, because the victims’ circumstances were too bizarre, the media wasn’t allowed to report it at all.”

He paused, then lowered his voice to Ning Qiuyan: “The deceased were a man and a woman. The man’s head and neck were almost completely severed, the head only remaining attached because of a strip of skin and tissue on one side of the neck. The woman’s neck had torn, gaping wounds, initially determined to be caused by human teeth. Both died from massive blood loss.”

Su Jianzhou said the police had already collected saliva that might have remained in the wounds for DNA analysis, but because the deaths were so horrific and strange, public reporting was not allowed.

Exactly because the methods were so brutal, the police and forensic staff-being human too-couldn’t help but discuss the case privately.

Ning Qiuyan hesitated: “Does this have anything to do with me?”

“I don’t know, maybe it doesn’t. I haven’t seen the victims’ photos,” Su Jianzhou said. “But both of these victims had previously donated blood at the hospital.”
The news was shocking, and Ning Qiuyan felt a trace of fear.

Su Jianzhou realized he was scared and said, “I’m not trying to frighten you, nor do I think Guan Heng and the others will do anything to you. Why don’t you come stay at my place for a few days? Don’t go anywhere else, just wait for this to blow over.”

Su Jianzhou was quite busy. After a few more reminders, he hurriedly hung up the phone.

Ning Qiuyan touched his own neck, recalling those two tiny wounds.

He had looked in the mirror a few days ago; those two wounds had completely healed, disappearing without a trace, just like the cut on his palm.

He had almost forgotten about it.

Now, it came back to his mind.

He logged back into the “Unsolved Mysteries” forum he had visited that day.

Perhaps because there were so few active users, the post Ning Qiuyan had made was bumped to the homepage, already with over a hundred replies.

He clicked in, and the first thing he saw was the photo he had taken and his description of the problem.

Under the light, his neck looked very pale, and the two small holes were captured clearly.

Some said the photo was photoshopped, but soon others used technical verification to refute that. Everyone had their own opinions, much like what Ning Qiuyan had found through search engines.

But soon, someone offered an unbelievable suggestion.

23rd reply: [I think… could it be a Vampire bite?]

This reply thread had many responses.

The forum was unmanaged, with an old-fashioned UI design that was hard on the eyes.

Ning Qiuyan clicked through them one by one.

[Yeah, it really does look like it! You guys have all seen Vampire movies, right? It’s pretty much like this.]

[Heh, Vampire, Dracula?]

[Maybe it was a bat bite? OP, which city are you in? Check if there are bats or snakes at home. I suggest you see a doctor, don’t get infected.]

[Upstairs, a bat? Are you serious?]

[Actually, I’ve heard Vampires and bats are basically the same thing.]

[Do Vampires really exist? Why haven’t they come out and destroyed the world yet?]

[This is Unsolved Mysteries, not horror fiction. Obviously, the wounds were made by the OP with something, just trying to get attention and replies.]

[+1, how long has it been since this forum had an interesting post? OP is a newly registered account.]

The thread gradually went off-topic, and most of the later replies discussed technically how Ning Qiuyan’s wounds might have been caused.

Ning Qiuyan exited the forum and returned to the search engine.

This time, he typed three words: Vampire.

The search results popped up.

Ning Qiuyan’s eyelids twitched.

Vampire, English: Vampire, a supernatural creature. Legend has it they survive by drinking human blood, rise from their graves after death, fear sunlight, have no body temperature, no heartbeat, stiff limbs, long fangs, and look no different from the deceased-a demon from hell.

Below this entry were links to some film and television works, some of which Ning Qiuyan had seen, so he didn’t click in.

Further down were some entry images.

Aside from movie materials, most of the Vampires in the pictures had dark circles under their eyes and pale skin, some with visible veins on their faces, some with bat wings on their backs, long and curled nails, but all looked ferocious.

These images were often drenched in blood, accompanied by desperate human struggles, eerie and terrifying.

The bite marks were bloody and mangled; only a few showed clear tooth marks.

Looking through them, only the pale skin and fear of sunlight had any possible connection to Guan Heng; nothing else matched.

Or rather, for Ning Qiuyan, who had only met Guan Heng formally once, aside from these two points, he had no basis for judgment.

Guan Heng’s pale skin was due to a blood disease.

Guan Heng’s house kept the curtains drawn during the day-was that just a lifestyle habit?

Ning Qiuyan didn’t know.

At least, the people he had met like Uncle Kang and Dr. Ling all appeared during the day and had normal body temperatures.

But then, what about the marks on his neck and the vanished wound on his hand?

Du Island was too mysterious.

Just like Guan Heng.

Ning Qiuyan knew nothing.

The question Su Jianzhou raised was what he needed to consider now. A day later, Su Jianzhou called again-there was a third corpse with similar circumstances found in Wutong.

The next morning, Su Jianzhou drove over to pick up Ning Qiuyan.

Fog filled the air.

It snowed again that night.

The whole city was damp and cold.

Sitting in the car, the moment his eyes were stung by the daylight outside the window, Ning Qiuyan suddenly felt that all the information he had looked up online was too unrealistic.

This was the real world.

He sent an email to the people on Du Island, explaining what had happened in Wutong and that he couldn’t go to Du Island for the time being. At the end, he added that if Mr. Guan needed, he was willing to cooperate with local blood collection.

In fact, pausing his plan to go to Du Island made Ning Qiuyan secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Those dreams he had, those inexplicable feelings he had for Guan Heng, all made him feel addicted and ashamed.

He wanted to stop, but they only grew stronger.

He was at a loss.

The worst part was-

On Friday morning, Ning Qiuyan received a call from Guan Heng himself.