If you had not seen it with your own eyes, you would not have expected an ancient castle to be in Siberia's most inhospitable area: it was very close to the Arctic Circle, but a family plagued by a vengeful spirit had poured in huge amounts of manpower and material resources to build their sanctuary there.
The shadow of a tall building appeared on the horizon; it was a quirky, black stone fortress with a thick, circular façade and three tall towers as well as a bowl-shaped roof. It was unclear if the owner cleaned it regularly or the castle was shielded by some kind of supernatural power. Not a speckle of white was on the building.
Hao Ren drove closer to the castle, but the closer he got, the more uncomfortable he felt. The magnificent building looked really ominous. Its thick walls and weird roof made it looked like a prison, as though an inexplicable monster was held in a secluded cage in that world of ice and snow. Just by looking at it, one could sense the eeriness emanating.
The people who constructed the castle were either psychologically ill, or helpless in their struggle against an evil spirit. It was hard to imagine who would be willing to live in this eerie place.
When Hao Ren drove near the castle, he found that it was surrounded up by an old iron fence on the ouside, and a layer of low stone wall on the inside. The double walls made the place look like it was not made for humans; more like a prison for something else. The car could not go straight in. Hao Ren slowed down and drove around the iron fence before he found a rusty gate on the other side. He honked and waited for a while before an old servant, clad in a brown coat came out from the low wall to open the gate.
The old servant appeared old and weak. He was almost bald with only a ring of white, curly hair, fluttering in the cold winds of Siberia. He was hunched under a heavy coat as he plodded towards the gate in a quivering manner. He opened the gate slightly before poking his head out, peering cautiously at the weird car outside. "Who's there?" the old servant asked with a heavy, nasal voice.
Nangong Sanba stuck his head out of the window. "It's me!" he said.
The old servant, who was startled looked a little frightened when he saw Nangong Sanba. He could not believe that the demon hunter was still alive. "You're alive?"
Nangong Sanba laughed. "I'm a pro. Pros have nine lives. I've brought some reinforcements. I'll fulfill the contract with Igor, and do what I can until the evil spirit is eventually cast out."
The old servant's lips trembled a little. He looked like he had something to say, but in the end, he remained silent. He opened the gate and realized that something was wrong as the car went past him. The only modes of transportation in the vast snow field were sleighs and snowmobiles, how did the car make its way there?
The old servant looked out in the direction where the Northstar had come from, but found no tyre tracks in the snow.
This never occurred to Hao Ren as he rolled the window down and asked, "Hey, old man, where should I park the car?"
He could not keep his car in his Dimensional Pocket when the outsider was there.
The old servant then snapped out of his shock. He had been staying in the strange old house for decades, and seen enough supernatural phenomena. He just sighed and turned to Hao Ren as he pointed at an open space. "Right there."
Soon after, he witnessed another "supernatural phenomeno": six people came out, one after another, from the tiny Northstar. This included Nangong Sanba, who was carrying a box at least half his height. It contained all of his equipment!
The old servant was startled before he slowly muttered to himself, "Those are real pros."
After everyone disembarked, Hao Ren took the MDT out. He pointed it to his car and pretended to lock it; for a few seconds, the MDT was feeling reluctanct about playing along,but shortly after it sounded two beeps. It then spoke to Hao Ren telepathically, "Can't you give me a heads-up every time you want me to perform a new function?! It's embarrassing and I'm tired of being so many different things!"
Hao Ren did not say a word. He just pressed his chest gently. There was a hidden pocket with Lil Pea curled up inside. It was to remind the little one not to come out. In fact, Lil Pea did not risk being bored inside as there was a small monitor through which she could observe the situation outside—there was a button near his collar, which acted as a hidden camera.
The coat was made in the Petrachelys' onboard factory, and magically redesigned that it almost was not a cloth.
The garden in front of the castle has been abandoned for years, or it was not a garden at all from the beginning as not many types of decorative plant could survice the cold here. Near the stone wall, there was a circle of stone bricks which looked like flower bed where a few weird thorns grew. The place looked like a shoveled graveyard. Hao Ren and the others followed the old servant walked toward the main entrance of the castle. They did not see any other person along the way which gave the illusion that the elderly was the only person in the castle.
"Any other people here?" Becky felt the atmosphere creepy, she had to say something to break the silence.
"Yes, in the house, but not many," the voice of the old servant was low, as if it came from the tomb. "Lord Igor went out early this morning and will probably be back tomorrow. Meanshile, you can rest in the room."
He took them to the front door and pressed the doorbell. The heavy, quaint door opened ajar as an expressionless, middle-aged man wearing a butler's dress appeared in front of Hao Ren.
The old servant introduced the guests to the butler. Nangong came forward and shook hands with the butler who had a zombie look on his face. "I've brought reinforcement."
The middle-aged butler finally said with a stiff smile on his face, "People were scared by the explosions in the basement. It's good to see you still alive."
Then they followed the middle-aged butler deep into the castle. Nangong Sanba casually asked the butler about what had happened after he 'withdrew'--while in fact he was beaten black and blue before fleeing back to the city. "Did the evil spirit came out after that? Where did Igor go?"
"After the explosion, the evil spirit was quiet, the underground gate was again sealed off. We don't know what happened down there, probably the thing has been held back again. Lord Igor thought you had failed so he went out early this morning to visit one of his own hermit friend, hoping to find some soothing incense and herbs. But it seems that isn't necessary now."
Nangong Sanba was dumbfounded, but the high death rate of his profession was an undeniable fact. So he just smiled wryly and said, "Well, we will wait for Igor to come back before we discuss further the next course of action. These people are a lot more powerful than me, if not for our relationship, no one could've persuaded them to come. This is going to be the end of the evil spirit in the castle.
He big-noted Hao Ren and his men in order to gain the trust of the castle owner, but Hao Ren did not mind it as he was busily observing the portraits hanging on both sides of the corridor.
The interior of the castle was not as creepy as it looked outside. Although the ancient stone buildings inevitably feel somewhat cramped, at least the corridors are warm and bright. Under the warm lighting, Hao Ren saw the dramatic portraits hanging on both sides of the corridor. The portraits were in clothes of different times, some standing, some sitting, almost lifelike, and each painting seemed was drawn in different ages.
"These are the ancestor of the Andrea family." Nangong Sanba whispered beside Hao Ren, "Igor who we're going to meet is the current head of the family."
Hao Ren nodded slightly, his eyes continued scanning the portrait of men and women. Each time his eyes swept past the portraits, the deadpan portraits of the ancestors turned a little more lively, their eyes observing the visitors on the corridor. Their glares cold and dead but staring back at anyone who looked at them.
Hao Ren found the eyes in the the portraits were all the same, both the men and women had the same pair of dark brown eyes.
Nangong Wuyue compressed her lips and said, "These are interesting."