Just as Hao Ren had guessed it, the castle on the hill was Vivian’s place of hibernation.
Specifically speaking, it was the entrance to her hibernation chamber.
After a rigorous discussion, Hao Ren and Hessiana had revised their plan to remove the seal and enter the shadowy realm. Without wasting time and before the demon hunters caught up with them, they decided to enter the castle before dawn. The shadowy energy at night was intense, and it made seal-removal difficult, but Hessiana still chose to use her Shadowmancy in place of the key. She was not worried because her power only became stronger at night.
Haron’s Castle used to be the property of a human noble. But at last, it fell into the hands of a vampire. The young vampire went bankrupt eventually thanks to Vivian’s bad luck falling on him. But at the very least, when he first took over the castle, he was rich and did lavish renovation work, which was still apparent until today. The entire castle consisted of four massive towers and two main buildings. In between the two rectangular main buildings was a wide connecting corridor. It looked like the Chinese word for “work” from above. There was one tower on each corner, making the entire castle look extremely magnificent.
Half of the structures had collapsed, while the remaining castle was decadent from years of weathering. A stone-built fortress was not supposed to decay so quickly, but the dark forces lingering in the surroundings had accelerated the process. The hundred-year-old stone castle was now as dilapidated as a five-century-old building.
“There are many haunted legends about this castle,” Hessiana said. She had been in this area for a while for intelligence gathering, so she knew many stories about the castle. She related the legends when they entered. “Many daring guys came in and hoped to find some relics or treasures, but only a few made it out alive. Those who were lucky enough to survive told of their encounters with ghosts and other evil forces. But that was only the result of the shadow energy’s influence.”
While speaking, Little Bat twitched her mouth. “Tsk tsk, those people did not know that the seigneur of the castle died in poverty. Even Haron was unable to find a single copper coin in the castle when he left.”
Hao Ren said nothing. He looked up. They were walking through the front half of the main building. The tall Gothic roof had collapsed, leaving only some roof structures hanging in the air. Strips of tattered fabric and cobwebs stretching from the roof structure to the walls on either side made it look extra desolate and creepy. Moonlight shone through the collapsed roof into the vestibule. The moonlight seemed to have undergone some mysterious changes as it shone into the castle. It appeared ashen and cold. The cold was real as Hao Ren could feel it on his skin.
Before entering the castle, the moon had set near the horizon. But after entering the castle, it hung overhead in the night sky. All these were apparently an anomaly.
“Moonlight has never been normal in places at where Lord Vivian is,” Hessiana said casually when she noticed that Hao Ren was staring at the moon. “We should be glad that the moonlight is at least not red. Otherwise, we would have to turn around and run.”
“I could not believe that Vivian is hibernating in such a gorgeous place,” Lily said while still carrying Hasse on her back. “I thought she could only sleep in a cave.”
“She came in when the castle was abandoned for the first time,” Hessiana said. “At the time, the place was already in ruins.”
“Now that makes sense,” Lily said.
“Where is the entrance to the Shadow Fortress?” Hao Ren looked around curiously. He could already feel powerful shadowy energy throughout the castle. But he saw no apparent space crack. Vivian was fully prepared for the hibernation this time. It was not going to be a walk in the park like the cave in Siberia.
“The castle is divided into two parts. The part in the real world facing the light, and the shadowy part is on the other side,” Hessiana said with a smile. “Right ahead, there is a pool in the garden. The reflection in the pond is the entrance.”
Lily muttered, “Again, it is supernatural. I am hopeless in it.”
Before Lily’s voice trailed off, she felt Hasse moved on her back, just slightly. Then the old demon hunter regained his consciousness. When he opened his eyes and saw the witches and Hessiana, Hasse instinctive reached for his weapon. Restrained by some strange energy shackles and unable to use his strength, Hasse was enraged. “You—”
*Klunk!*
“I feel sorry for him.” Lily stuck her tongue out.
Hasse’s sudden rise scared the witches, including Hessiana, out of their wits. But when Lily immediately knocked Hasse out again, they were stunned by the latter, their eyes out on stalks. Madam Marie sighed. “This is probably the most pitiful demon hunter I have ever seen in my life.”
Hao Ren just looked up at the sky and did not know what to say. He wondered how he would explain everything that was happening to Hasse after “pulling him” into this whole thing. Will the senior demon hunter feel undignified and kill himself? Hao Ren wondered.
With Hessiana leading in front, they soon arrived at the garden. They saw the pond that was the passage connecting the two worlds.
Located at the center of the castle’s western side, the entrance was surrounded by a large piece of withered thorns and tangled vines. The pool had a circle of marble edge. But not a single drop water was in the depression in the center of the pool.
Without water, there would be no reflections.
Hao Ren cast a questioning look at Hessiana. He knew that since Little Bat had brought them here, there must be more to the pond than met the eyes. Sure enough, Hessiana was not surprised at all when she saw the pool. She stepped forward, bit her finger, and dripped her blood into the dry pool.
Hessiana then stepped back and looked up at the gray-white moon. “Without the key, I can only harness the power of moonlight. Lord Vivian, if you can hear me, wish me good luck.”
After that, she took strode forward and circled the pool slowly while chanting some ancient spells.
The incredible thing happened.
The dry pool suddenly glinted. An invisible force seemed to have bound the gray-white moonlight into a beam and directed it to the bottom of the pool. The light seemed to be materializing into liquid. As Hessiana slowly circled the pool, the light rapidly accumulated and materialized into liquid, eventually becoming as real as real water.
As Hessiana ground to a halt, she returned to her starting position, a full circle around the pool. The “moonlight water” had filled up the pool to the maximum and leveled with the pool’s edge. It was as still as a mirror.
Hao Ren now saw a clear reflection in the mirror-like water surface, it was the reflection of the towers and castle. But in reality, those towers and castle had mostly collapsed.
Apparently, the water did not reflect the real world. At least, it was not the reflection of the world in that space and time.
“The shadowy passage is open. The other dimension is right on the other side of the pool.” Hessiana wiped the sweat on her forehead. “Because I did not open it with normal procedure, I am not sure what the situation on the other side is. If we are lucky, we will not bump into those soulless guards. But if Bain has activated the Shadowy Fortress’ defense with the key, then be ready for a brutal fight. I need some time to gain control of the soulless guards after I enter the shadowy realm.”
“This is all expected,” Hao Ren said. “What should we do now?”
“Simple. Just follow me.”
Hessiana stood on the edge of the pool while she spoke.
Then she fell straight into the ‘water.’
There was no splash or sound of water. Hessiana seemed to have dissolved. She disappeared into the reflection, silently, without a trace.
Hao Ren and Lily exchanged a look before he stepped forward and followed Hessiana’s actions precisely—he fell straight into the water.
Hao Ren had also successfully passed through the ‘boundary.’
“You all go in first!” Lily bared her fangs at the witches. “Just to prevent you all from running away!”
The witches had no choice but to follow Lily’s instructions. They fell into the pool one after another.
It was now Lily’s turn. She came to the edge of the pool, staring at the still moonlight water and wrinkling her nose.
“I hate water.”
She then shut her eyes and jumped.
Just as Hao Ren had guessed it, the castle on the hill was Vivian’s place of hibernation.
Specifically speaking, it was the entrance to her hibernation chamber.
After a rigorous discussion, Hao Ren and Hessiana had revised their plan to remove the seal and enter the shadowy realm. Without wasting time and before the demon hunters caught up with them, they decided to enter the castle before dawn. The shadowy energy at night was intense, and it made seal-removal difficult, but Hessiana still chose to use her Shadowmancy in place of the key. She was not worried because her power only became stronger at night.
Haron’s Castle used to be the property of a human noble. But at last, it fell into the hands of a vampire. The young vampire went bankrupt eventually thanks to Vivian’s bad luck falling on him. But at the very least, when he first took over the castle, he was rich and did lavish renovation work, which was still apparent until today. The entire castle consisted of four massive towers and two main buildings. In between the two rectangular main buildings was a wide connecting corridor. It looked like the Chinese word for “work” from above. There was one tower on each corner, making the entire castle look extremely magnificent.
Half of the structures had collapsed, while the remaining castle was decadent from years of weathering. A stone-built fortress was not supposed to decay so quickly, but the dark forces lingering in the surroundings had accelerated the process. The hundred-year-old stone castle was now as dilapidated as a five-century-old building.
“There are many haunted legends about this castle,” Hessiana said. She had been in this area for a while for intelligence gathering, so she knew many stories about the castle. She related the legends when they entered. “Many daring guys came in and hoped to find some relics or treasures, but only a few made it out alive. Those who were lucky enough to survive told of their encounters with ghosts and other evil forces. But that was only the result of the shadow energy’s influence.”
While speaking, Little Bat twitched her mouth. “Tsk tsk, those people did not know that the seigneur of the castle died in poverty. Even Haron was unable to find a single copper coin in the castle when he left.”
Hao Ren said nothing. He looked up. They were walking through the front half of the main building. The tall Gothic roof had collapsed, leaving only some roof structures hanging in the air. Strips of tattered fabric and cobwebs stretching from the roof structure to the walls on either side made it look extra desolate and creepy. Moonlight shone through the collapsed roof into the vestibule. The moonlight seemed to have undergone some mysterious changes as it shone into the castle. It appeared ashen and cold. The cold was real as Hao Ren could feel it on his skin.
Before entering the castle, the moon had set near the horizon. But after entering the castle, it hung overhead in the night sky. All these were apparently an anomaly.
“Moonlight has never been normal in places at where Lord Vivian is,” Hessiana said casually when she noticed that Hao Ren was staring at the moon. “We should be glad that the moonlight is at least not red. Otherwise, we would have to turn around and run.”
“I could not believe that Vivian is hibernating in such a gorgeous place,” Lily said while still carrying Hasse on her back. “I thought she could only sleep in a cave.”
“She came in when the castle was abandoned for the first time,” Hessiana said. “At the time, the place was already in ruins.”
“Now that makes sense,” Lily said.
“Where is the entrance to the Shadow Fortress?” Hao Ren looked around curiously. He could already feel powerful shadowy energy throughout the castle. But he saw no apparent space crack. Vivian was fully prepared for the hibernation this time. It was not going to be a walk in the park like the cave in Siberia.
“The castle is divided into two parts. The part in the real world facing the light, and the shadowy part is on the other side,” Hessiana said with a smile. “Right ahead, there is a pool in the garden. The reflection in the pond is the entrance.”
Lily muttered, “Again, it is supernatural. I am hopeless in it.”
Before Lily’s voice trailed off, she felt Hasse moved on her back, just slightly. Then the old demon hunter regained his consciousness. When he opened his eyes and saw the witches and Hessiana, Hasse instinctive reached for his weapon. Restrained by some strange energy shackles and unable to use his strength, Hasse was enraged. “You—”
*Klunk!*
“I feel sorry for him.” Lily stuck her tongue out.
Hasse’s sudden rise scared the witches, including Hessiana, out of their wits. But when Lily immediately knocked Hasse out again, they were stunned by the latter, their eyes out on stalks. Madam Marie sighed. “This is probably the most pitiful demon hunter I have ever seen in my life.”
Hao Ren just looked up at the sky and did not know what to say. He wondered how he would explain everything that was happening to Hasse after “pulling him” into this whole thing. Will the senior demon hunter feel undignified and kill himself? Hao Ren wondered.
With Hessiana leading in front, they soon arrived at the garden. They saw the pond that was the passage connecting the two worlds.
Located at the center of the castle’s western side, the entrance was surrounded by a large piece of withered thorns and tangled vines. The pool had a circle of marble edge. But not a single drop water was in the depression in the center of the pool.
Without water, there would be no reflections.
Hao Ren cast a questioning look at Hessiana. He knew that since Little Bat had brought them here, there must be more to the pond than met the eyes. Sure enough, Hessiana was not surprised at all when she saw the pool. She stepped forward, bit her finger, and dripped her blood into the dry pool.
Hessiana then stepped back and looked up at the gray-white moon. “Without the key, I can only harness the power of moonlight. Lord Vivian, if you can hear me, wish me good luck.”
After that, she took strode forward and circled the pool slowly while chanting some ancient spells.
The incredible thing happened.
The dry pool suddenly glinted. An invisible force seemed to have bound the gray-white moonlight into a beam and directed it to the bottom of the pool. The light seemed to be materializing into liquid. As Hessiana slowly circled the pool, the light rapidly accumulated and materialized into liquid, eventually becoming as real as real water.
As Hessiana ground to a halt, she returned to her starting position, a full circle around the pool. The “moonlight water” had filled up the pool to the maximum and leveled with the pool’s edge. It was as still as a mirror.
Hao Ren now saw a clear reflection in the mirror-like water surface, it was the reflection of the towers and castle. But in reality, those towers and castle had mostly collapsed.
Apparently, the water did not reflect the real world. At least, it was not the reflection of the world in that space and time.
“The shadowy passage is open. The other dimension is right on the other side of the pool.” Hessiana wiped the sweat on her forehead. “Because I did not open it with normal procedure, I am not sure what the situation on the other side is. If we are lucky, we will not bump into those soulless guards. But if Bain has activated the Shadowy Fortress’ defense with the key, then be ready for a brutal fight. I need some time to gain control of the soulless guards after I enter the shadowy realm.”
“This is all expected,” Hao Ren said. “What should we do now?”
“Simple. Just follow me.”
Hessiana stood on the edge of the pool while she spoke.
Then she fell straight into the ‘water.’
There was no splash or sound of water. Hessiana seemed to have dissolved. She disappeared into the reflection, silently, without a trace.
Hao Ren and Lily exchanged a look before he stepped forward and followed Hessiana’s actions precisely—he fell straight into the water.
Hao Ren had also successfully passed through the ‘boundary.’
“You all go in first!” Lily bared her fangs at the witches. “Just to prevent you all from running away!”
The witches had no choice but to follow Lily’s instructions. They fell into the pool one after another.
It was now Lily’s turn. She came to the edge of the pool, staring at the still moonlight water and wrinkling her nose.
“I hate water.”
She then shut her eyes and jumped.
