Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 147: China’s Deception

“It’s a human!” With Chu Tianyu by her side, Li Rou wasn’t afraid of this creature that had appeared out of nowhere. It was only when she heard him stand up and speak that she dared to make a definite judgment.
The unexpected visitor almost fell back to the ground upon hearing Li Rou’s words. In his mind, with his noble status, charming smile, and endless allure, any ordinary girl would surely scream in admiration. No matter whether her lover was around or not, they would all be conquered!
Just like now—even if there was a silly boy beside her, she would still be attracted to his thousand-year charm and throw herself into his arms in ecstasy…
But unexpectedly, the result was contrary to expectations. Not only did he fail to attract the pretty girl, but she also stared at him as if he were a monster. Although he knew his way of appearing was a bit unusual, that couldn’t be an excuse for his handsome appearance and boundless charm!
“Could it be that my deep gaze earlier wasn’t effective enough, causing some mistake in conveying my love?” Thinking this, he seemed to suddenly realize something and immediately adjusted his posture, straightening his back and forcing on an even more charming smile. His eyelids twitched slightly, hoping to draw the girl’s attention to his intense and mysterious eyes. At the same time, he said elegantly, “I am Fernand Aemons. You may call me Fernand. May I ask for your name, miss? I wonder if I have the honor of knowing it?”
After saying that, Fernand closed his eyes, looking delighted, ready to wait for the girl to go wild with admiration and throw herself into his arms!
Li Rou’s voice indeed rang out, but it was directed at Chu Tianyu: “Tianyu, do you think this guy’s gone crazy? Why is he bowing and staring like that? Is he trying to show friendliness or anger? And what was all that gibberish he was saying?”
Before Chu Tianyu could respond, Fernand let out a gasp and spoke in pure Mandarin, “Are you Chinese? I wondered why what I heard earlier sounded so strange. Ah, so that’s why I suddenly lost my appeal—turns out this miss didn’t understand a word I said!”

At this point, even Chu Tianyu found it interesting. He hadn’t expected it to be quite amusing. He didn’t explain how he ended up on someone else’s platform in the middle of the night; instead, he became concerned about what others thought. What was even stranger was that he could speak fluent Chinese and had arrived in such a peculiar way. Thinking of this, Chu Tianyu was struck by an idea—he could fly!

Chu Tianyu then said calmly to the man, “Mr. Fernandi, I think I should apologize and tell you that this is a private castle. You’ve intruded without permission, which is a very ungentlemanly act. Moreover, you’ve disturbed me and my loved one from enjoying the night view. If you don’t have a good explanation, I think you’re in trouble!”

Upon hearing Chu Tianyu’s words, Fernandi seemed to notice him for the first time. He tilted his head and examined him carefully before asking indifferently, “What trouble?”

Just as Chu Tianyu was about to speak, Fernandi sneered and said, “Hmph! Do you really think those few kids with sub-saintly power hidden in the shadows can cause me any trouble? It’s ridiculous! Too naive!”

Chu Tianyu had already noticed those skilled individuals with saintly power who had come because of the commotion on the platform. What did “sub-saintly power” mean? Did this kind of power also have levels? During his inspection of the castle during the day, Chu Tianyu had secretly assessed these people’s abilities. Their skills were roughly on par with those of the Shaolin disciple Zhiyu.

“What boldness! I wonder if your confidence will last until the end?” Three figures appeared in the darkness. One of them was a priest dressed in monk’s robes, holding a silver cross in his left hand.

“Oh, God, although I often curse you, you can’t treat your own people like this! I don’t mind a little noise from food, but I’ve been vegetarian for years. You can’t make me break my vow! Otherwise, I’ll curse your mother every time I eat!” Fernandi said in Chinese in a cheeky manner, not forgetting to wink at Li Rou.

Li Rou ignored what he said about food and the vulgar language. She only saw that this man had a disheveled appearance but insisted on acting cool, his speech filled with a tone of lofty mockery. The two bloodstains on his nose still seemed wet, moving up and down with his mouth, making him extremely comical. As soon as he finished speaking, Li Rou couldn’t help but let out a delicate laugh.

That laugh made Fernandi’s face shine with triumph. He shot Li Rou a proud look, but to her, it seemed like his eyelids were acting on their own.

Then he turned and said in French to the masters of those three castles, “Tonight, Grandpa Fer is in a good mood, so I won’t mind your recklessness and rudeness. Get lost now and don’t delay my date with the beautiful lady!”
“God, please punish these sinners before us. Let Your power, like the light of day, be everywhere, covering all things…” Before the priest could finish his spell and the white light in his hand could take shape, Fernando’s voice was heard: “Please stop it. I’ve heard such spells for thousands of years. You never get tired, but my ears can’t take it anymore!”
As the last word left his mouth, his figure appeared instantly in front of the priest, as if he had moved through space. The priest was so shocked that he didn’t even have time to back away before pushing the unfinished light ball at Fernando, who was right there. His two assistants attacked from the left and right, sending out energy waves in the form of light balls toward Fernando at the same time.
Fernando snorted coldly. Just as black mist began to emerge from his body, it seemed to be suppressed by some force, causing the mist to rush back into his body uncontrollably. It felt as though a heavy stone had hit his chest, leaving him suffocating and barely able to breathe. He was too busy dealing with his own transformation to pay attention to the attacks from the three of them. Helplessly, he had to endure them all, which sent him flying. As he flew backward, Chu Tianye and Li Rou heard him utter words of resentment: “Damn, what kind of place is this? How did these kids’ energy reach the level of sacred power so quickly…”
The three priests didn’t give him any chance to catch his breath. The one in the middle continued to chant the great spell, while the other two swung their white energy fists, launching another series of attacks as Fernando’s figure reappeared.
Now Fernando was in an even more desperate situation. He no longer had the leisurely attitude he had shown when interacting with Li Rou. To avoid the priests’ sacred fists, he even resorted to tactics like rolling around like a lazy donkey. Thankfully, he could still use that short-range instant movement he had at the beginning from time to time. Otherwise, he would have collapsed long ago!

However, the situation changed when the priest in the middle finally completed the magic spell. A bright white light surged around, and even Chu Tianyu could feel powerful energy fluctuations surrounding the platform. Yet this sacred power had no effect on Chu Tianyu and Li Rou, but it made Fernando struggle greatly, making it impossible for him to move. As a result, he took another two punches and finally couldn’t hold back the blood, spitting it out. It was heart-wrenching to watch, and he cursed God over and over in his mind! At the same time, he regretted it deeply—why fly here when there were so many other places to fly? It was his own greed that led him to feel a strong sense of familiarity at every castle, prompting him to fly over to take a look. But as soon as he reached the center, his strength seemed to be restrained by some force, leaving him unable to control himself and causing him to revert to human form and fall down… Falling down was one thing; he thought he could just rest after being tired from flying. But instead, he not only embarrassed himself in front of a beautiful lady but also had his strength suppressed for some reason, allowing those idiots to chase and beat him—utterly humiliating. If word got out, how could he continue living in the Blood Realm or courting noble ladies and young ladies? Oh, and with all this chaos, he wondered if his hair was messy. Sigh, why did those kids keep fighting endlessly? Those three priests attacking him together had no idea that the guy they were beating desperately still had such despicable thoughts. Seeing that they hadn’t subdued him after so long, they redoubled their efforts, casting spells and making gestures even more frequently! Chu Tianyu had been frowning nearby, deep in thought, as if trying to grasp some inspiration, as if the clue to solving the kidnapping crisis plaguing them was right before his eyes. Just then, Fernando’s agonized scream woke Chu Tianyu up, and at the same time, it seemed to enlighten him—he slapped his hands together, realizing the key to the problem. Just as he was about to shout to stop them, Ouyang Ziyi’s voice suddenly rang out: “Stop all of you!”

Those priests clearly knew that the young lady who had arrived was the new owner of Castle Isher. Upon hearing her voice, they all stopped attacking simultaneously, though they remained ready to strike at any moment and subtly blocked Fernando’s movement, preventing him from threatening Ouyang Ziyi again. Even Chu Tianyu, who was standing nearby, nodded in approval of their actions.

By now, Fernando had long forgotten the embarrassment he had just suffered. He stared intently at Ouyang Ziyi, his heart pounding wildly. Clearly, Ouyang Ziyi’s temperament and appearance better matched his aesthetic preferences than Li Rou’s, prompting him to praise God in his heart, saying, “Oh, you damn Almighty Lord! Though you mean nothing to me, I still must praise you for bringing me to this castle, making me realize that all these thousands of years of my love were completely in vain!”

With these thoughts, Fernando covered his head with both hands, adjusted his dusty, torn black suit, and bowed deeply to Ouyang Ziyi, asking, “Esteemed lady, may I kiss your delicate hand?”

As soon as he spoke, the priests responded with the holy energy balls they had prepared earlier…

…

In the end, at Chu Tianyu’s instruction, Fernando, covered in dust and smelling of smoke, was finally treated as a proper guest and invited to sit in the castle’s reception hall. Once inside, he seemed to be in his element, full of joy. Although the strange holy energy restricted his abilities, given his status, it was impossible for anyone to pose a real threat to him—just as those priests whose powers suddenly rose to the level of holy energy couldn’t overcome him even when he fought back!

Some said they were naturally connected to the ancient castle. Though this claim hadn’t been proven, Fernando now felt a deep affection for the castle, as if even the cool breeze drifting through the empty rooms resonated with his blood…

“Mr. Fernando, would you like some wine? I’m sorry, but we don’t offer human blood here yet!” After everyone sat down, Chu Tianyu suddenly said with a smile.

Fernandi calmly shrugged and said, “You know my identity? Heh, I knew this castle was full of oddities. Not to mention the many experts in sacred power lurking around, even the sacred power emanating from this entire castle fills me with fear and trepidation!”
Though he said that, his expression showed not the slightest trace of fear!
Chu Tianyu still maintained a smile and said, “I also know that you, noble Mr. Fernandi, are the highest-ranking being among the vampires. This amount of sacred power is really nothing to you!”
Fernandi, who had been indifferent until now, finally became curious after hearing Chu Tianyu’s words. He looked at Chu Tianyu and asked doubtfully, “How… how did you know?”
“Guessing, plus a bit of deception!” Chu Tianyu thought to himself, but his face showed an enigmatic smile as he said, “You yourself should be aware of this, Mr. Fernandi. Am I wrong?”
Fernandi nodded in agreement with Chu Tianyu’s words, as if acknowledging them, but he didn’t understand how Chu Tianyu knew.
Before he could figure it out, Chu Tianyu suddenly rushed to ask, “This time, Mr. Fernandi, what brings you to our castle? Is it for someone in particular?”
“Hmm, I’m following the scent of a fellow vampire… Huh? Why do you ask?” Fernandi asked warily after realizing what was happening.
Chu Tianyu didn’t answer his question but instead spoke in an unusually friendly tone, “Dear and noble Mr. Fernandi, you must have been to China before, right? Your fluent Chinese reminds me of the monkey wine from my hometown…”