Chapter 121: The Missing Nikola

The taxi stopped again not far from the castle. As promised, Ye Feng paid the driver triple the usual amount and then left quickly.
“Sir, are you heading to the airport again? If you need me, I can wait here—this time at regular price!” The middle-aged driver rolled down the window, stuck his head out, and called to Ye Feng.
“Then please wait a moment. Give me ten minutes!” Ye Feng turned and gave him a slight nod.
“No problem!” The middle-aged driver agreed readily. He took out a pack of Mayfair from his jacket pocket, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, bit the end, took a deep drag, and exhaled a wisp of smoke through the window.
This time, Ye Feng didn’t knock but pushed the door open forcefully. After entering the castle, he tried to close the door behind him, but the lock was broken and wouldn’t shut.
A few curious onlookers nearby watched in shock as they saw Ye Feng rudely storm into the castle and even fail to close the door afterward.
Standing at the entrance, Ye Feng was stunned by the sight of the two vampires lying on the ground and the blood-stained carpet. The woman’s head and body were separated—even vampires with strong regenerative abilities could never survive such injuries. The middle-aged man who had greeted him had a large hole in his chest. Ye Feng stepped forward quickly, turned his body over, and tried to determine the cause of death.
The wound in his left chest shocked Ye Feng. “Where’s his heart?”
He searched around but found no trace of the heart. Only a mess of blood and flesh on the floor caught his eye. Then he realized the heart must have been crushed by hand. The wound on the woman’s neck wasn’t caused by a sharp weapon either—it had been torn off.
At the same time, Ye Feng noticed another detail: the sapphire ring on Edward’s hand was gone, and there wasn’t even a wallet in his pockets. The woman didn’t have any jewelry either. The entire room seemed to have been ransacked by thieves.
“Damn it! Such cruel methods… Would Dracula kill his own butler? Who is that masked man? What is he looking for?” Ye Feng frowned, unable to figure anything out.
Seeing no more clues around, he left the scene quickly.
Once in the taxi, he called Long Tian.

“Dracula isn’t at home. Some guy killed Dracula’s butler and a maid right in front of me. I’ve lost his trail. He must be one of the two people who appeared in the valley that day, wearing the same robe and mask.” Ye Feng helplessly informed Long Tian and the others about this.
“You mean Dracula isn’t one of them?” Long Tian’s voice sounded somewhat surprised on the other end of the phone.
“I don’t know!” Ye Feng shook his head helplessly.
“Or do those men in black robes want to kill strangers who come into contact with you, as well as those you try to get in touch with?” Long Tian had an idea. “Think about it—when we met Butterfly, she was killed soon after. When we went to the Ghost Market, everyone there was slaughtered. Now you go after Dracula, and his butler and maid are killed too…”
“Can you help me find the phone number at Nikola’s castle?” Ye Feng narrowed his eyes slightly. “If what you guess is true, Nikola is probably already dead. Also, protect the people around you these next few days. Contact me immediately if anything happens. If it’s really my fault, it might affect you too.”
“Don’t worry. With so many experts in City H now, they’ll be fine!” Long Tian reassured him. “I should have his number recorded somewhere. I’ll send it to you.”
Not long after hanging up, Long Tian sent a text message. Ye Feng dialed the number.
The phone rang for a long time before a woman picked it up. Her voice sounded extremely anxious. “Hello, um… may I ask…”
“I’m looking for Nikola. Have him answer the phone!” Ye Feng said coldly.
“Lord Count… he… he’s missing…” The woman’s voice trembled.
“What? Missing?” Ye Feng frowned. Though he still didn’t know if Nikola was alive, this seemed to further prove that anything bad happened to strangers he approached on his own. “What exactly happened? Calm down first and explain clearly. Maybe I can help.”
“This morning… a Chinese guest came… He left not long after. We went to Lord Count’s room to tidy up the tea set… and found him missing… We searched the entire castle but couldn’t find him anywhere… He must have been taken away by that Chinese man…” The maid said intermittently, sobbing.

“I’m that Chinese man. Nikola wasn’t kidnapped by me, but it’s possible he was killed because of me. Try to keep his bedroom as it is for now; I need to examine the scene. If he’s still alive, I’ll help you find him.” After saying that, Ye Feng hung up the phone. It seemed Long Tian’s guess had become reality.

Ye Feng called Long Tian again, his tone somewhat helpless. “Nikola is missing. It’s very likely he’s already been killed.”

“In other words, that man in black must be targeting you?” Long Tian confirmed the accuracy of his earlier guess.

“That’s probably right. He’s killed almost everyone I’ve tried to contact. I don’t know what his purpose is…” Ye Feng paused for a moment. “Killing Hu Die, kidnapping Nikola, killing Dracula’s butler, and stealing everything from them… It seems like they’re searching for something, and that thing must be related to me.”

“If they know that thing is related to you, why not come after you directly?” Long Tian raised his question.

“I don’t know why they don’t bother me directly. Their act of looting the Ghost Market is rather strange. Could it be they don’t even know what they really want…” Ye Feng analyzed.

“When will you be back?” Long Tian felt uneasy.

“I’ll go to Nikola’s place first to see if I can find any clues. I’ll be back after that. Hang up for now! If anything happens, wait until I get back!” After hanging up, Ye Feng held his phone in his hand for a while, then crushed it and threw it out of the window.

…

In a dark small room, three men in black were whispering about something.

“He knows quite a bit…” one of the men said in a low voice.

“It doesn’t matter. They won’t suspect us,” said a lazy voice.

“I still think taking Long Yue and the others as hostages is the most direct approach,” the third man said, looking at the other two.

“That would only expose our identities. Don’t forget Ye Feng has strong backing. We can only get rid of him through others. Let’s watch the show first. Dracula will soon come after him… If he loses, Dracula will kill him. Then I’ll step in to save him, make him relax his guard, and steal what we want… Then kill him through someone else!” The lazy voice let out a arrogant laugh.