The First Vampire

Fallen Eagle City.

Count Uman’s study, currently occupied by another man.

He sat in the count’s exclusive seat, engrossed in reading documents, appearing to be the new master of this place.

With a creak, the door opened, and Count’s lover, Penny, walked in.

The man lifted his head from an abundance of documents, and it was none other than Mr. Ji.

“All set?” Mr. Ji looked at Penny and smiled gently.

“Yes.” Penny nodded, walking behind Mr. Ji and started massaging his shoulders, “The key assets of the chamber of commerce have mostly been transferred, and the key personnel will also withdraw tonight.”

Mr. Ji enjoyed Penny’s massage, comfortably closed his eyes, and reminded, “Don’t transfer too many personnel, it may draw attention.”

“Yes. I only notified a few stewards and some managers with potential in the city, and they are now under strict control and will not have any contact with the outside world.”

“Good.” Mr. Ji smiled with satisfaction, “You don’t want to take one last look at this castle? After this, you can only remember it.”

Penny scoffed, “What’s there to reminisce about such a simple and shabby place? I’ve endured the stinginess of the Uman Clan for too long!”

“Haha, what about Lion Roar Castle in Winterfell City?”

“Too monotonous, and no taste as well.”

Mr. Ji laughed and asked again: “What about the Phoenix Palace?”

“Phoenix Palace is  bearable” Penny forced out a response.

Mr. Ji chuckled at the boundless ambition of his sister.

He pointed to a document on the desk and said, “Get someone to wrap this up and send it to Ice Rock City as my wedding gift to Viscount Angler.”

“Okay.” Penny nodded and was immediately surprised, “If I remember correctly, Viscount Angler’s wedding should be tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. Late is late, better than not having one. We can’t let it seem that our St. Sean family doesn’t understand etiquette.”

“All right.” Penny picked up the document on the desk and glanced at it, then laughed, “You’re not afraid to completely enrage Viscount Angler by sending such a gift?”

Mr. Ji also laughed: “No, after tomorrow, he will thank me.”

“Ha, that’s true. I’ll arrange for someone to send this grand gift to Ice Rock City right now.”

“By the way,” Mr. Ji called to Penny, who was about to leave, and asked, “Isn’t Viscount Angler’s sister in Fallen Eagle City anymore?”

“No, she hurriedly rushed to Ice Rock City immediately after receiving the news of Viscount Angler’s wedding. However, with such urgency, she probably won’t make it in time to attend the wedding.”

“Hmm, she is still useful to us. Have you arranged for someone to follow her?”

“Of course.” Penny nodded, then left the study room with a smile.

Just as she stepped out, the butler hurriedly approached and reported, “Madam, Sir Walra, the knight, has just returned.”

“Walra?” Penny frowned, “Wasn’t he at the Ben Liu River frontline? What is he doing back here at this time?”

“Sir Walra was seriously injured in the fight and was sent back here for treatment by Count Uman,” the butler replied.

“Okay, I see.” Penny responded casually.

As ‘mother’ of Knight Walra, she didn’t even bother to inquire about Walra’s injuries, and it seemed that she had no plans to visit him.

At the gate of the castle, Knight Walra, with the aid of his attendant, had difficulty getting off the horse-drawn carriage.

“Knight Walra? Is that really you? What happened to you?”

Just a few steps away, Knight Walra heard a shout behind him.

As he turned around, he saw a fat man running towards him.

Walra recognized him as Oliver, a steward from the Tulip Chamber of Commerce.

Panting, Oliver ran to Walra’s side and greeted him with exaggerated concern: “Knight, you’re injured? Oh, this is terrible! Allow me to escort you back to your room to rest.”

With that, the fat merchant approached Walra, placing his hand on his shoulder and wrapping his own chunky arm around Walra’s waist.

Despite Oliver’s overly enthusiastic aid, Walra made no move to stop him.

Even though he wasn’t familiar with this steward from the Tulip Chamber of Commerce, he knew that Oliver’s brother was in Ice Rock City and had already been turned against their cause by Colin.

Therefore, Walra thought Oliver must have been sent by Colin to make contact with him.

“Mr. Oliver, you are too kind.”

After a few polite remarks, Walra signaled his entourage to leave, and with Oliver’s assistance, he walked into the castle.

Once inside the room and the door was closed, Walra sat on the edge of the bed, preparing to probe whether Oliver was really sent by Colin.

But before he could speak, Oliver took the initiative and said: “Knight Walra, I fear something big is about to happen at Fallen Eagle City!”

Walra became visibly alert, unprepared for such a statement from the other party. But seeing Oliver’s anxious eyes, he patiently asked, “What did you find out?”

Oliver hurriedly lowered his voice, saying, “Knight, after you and the Count left on campaign, Lady Penny started surreptitiously moving the Tulip Chamber of Commerce assets. And not only that, all the stewards including myself have been under strict surveillance!

Just now, Lady Penny summoned us and declared we must evacuate Fallen Eagle City tonight! Moreover, we’re not allowed to go home or inform anyone about this!

Therefore, I suspect, something big is about to happen here!”

Walra frowned, also sensing something amiss. After a moment’s thought, he asked again, “What unusual activities did Penny undertake during this period?”

Oliver nodded furiously, lowering his voice even more, “Knight, as you should be aware, Lady Penny started overseeing the renovation of Fallen Eagle City since earlier this year, right?

Most building materials used for the renovation were procured through the Tulip Chamber of Commerce. However, I noticed something exceedingly strange in the procurement prices of these materials!”

“What’s strange?”

“There’s a material, labeled as blue stone gravel, but the price is five copper coins per pound!”

Seeing Walra’s blank face, Oliver quickly explained: “Knight, that’s over thirty times the normal price of blue stone gravel!”

Walra finally understood. His first reaction was, was somebody using this opportunity to make money?

However, he quickly dismissed this guess. If it was for money, it wouldn’t be so obvious  only raising the price of blue stone gravel, and only so steeply at that, it could be seen through straight away.

“What do you think is going on?” asked Walra humbly.

Rubbing his hands nervously, Oliver said in a small voice, “I suspect it’s not even blue stone gravel at all!”

“Then what is it?”

Oliver’s voice trembled a bit, “I’ve been to the construction site and I saw all the laborer’s palms were pitch black. Hence, I suspect what is being used to fill the gaps between the rocks, isn’t blue stone gravel, but

Coal stone!”

“Coal stone?” Walra furrowed his brows even more, “Isn’t coal used for fueling fires and forging weapons? Why would so much coal be bought to renovate Fallen Eagle City ”

At this, he suddenly froze.

Because, a terrifying thought flashed across his mind like lightning, causing him to shudder involuntarily.