S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 117

Love Murderer 23 – Bathory

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After Zhao Jue finished speaking, he regained his silence, stood by the window, and looked at Zhan Zhao. The two seemed to be tense, and the atmosphere became heavy.

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao and knew that he was worried. Zhan Zhao had doubted his own life experiences before, causing him to be depressed and tormented for a long time. Because he knew the anguish and pain involved, Zhan Zhao naturally determined that he didn’t want Bai Yutang to experience that too. In this predicament, he was very dissatisfied with Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue stood there coldly, seemingly relieved. Bai Yutang felt that Zhao Jue was actually jealous of Zhan Zhao. The two have almost the same abilities and talents, but Zhao Jue’s situation seems to be a bit more miserable. There are people guarding Zhan Zhao everywhere, and his father’s friends are unwilling to let him face the pressure of fate. In Zhao Jue’s view, this is naturally very unpleasant… After thinking about it, Bai Yutang shook his head. In addition to Zhan Zhao, he also made him resent. They did what their hearts desired, living freely to their twenties, never being troubled by the past, until the appearance of Zhao Jue… However, Zhao Jue’s remark was correct; destiny will come sooner or later, and it is impossible to avoid it.

In fact, at this time, Bai Yutang didn’t have that kind of anxiety in his heart, nor was he thinking much about his life experiences. In comparison, it was the time that Zhao Jue made Zhan Zhao doubt his own life experiences that made Bai Yutang angry. It is conceivable that Zhan Zhao must feel the same way, as last time, he was not so worked up.

Reaching out and pulling Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang said, “Cat, let’s go back, you haven’t finished reading the book yet.”

Zhan Zhao’s eyes widened and he looked at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang smiled, “It’s no big deal. Life experiences, destiny, and the likes are not controllable. It doesn’t matter if we know it, at most, we both popped out of the stone and it didn’t affect us.” (Angel: I’m 90% sure he is referencing how Monkey King from Journey of the West came from the stone.)

Zhan Zhao was slightly shocked, and looked at Bai Yutang. His anger immediately cooled off and he changed back to his docile appearance, a little stunned.

Bai Yutang took his hand, saying to Zhao Jue, “You should go to bed early too. When we finish reading the book, we will ask you more about the case tomorrow morning, then we will leave.” After speaking, he took Zhan Zhao to the door and left the room.

Outside the door, the SCI members who didn’t escape in time hid their cups and looked aside as if they were looking at the wall.

Bai Yutang looked at the crowd and said, “What are you doing? Withdraw after collecting the evidence.”

Everyone hurriedly ran away. Bai Chi carefully returned the little lion to Zhan Zhao, then ran away as well.

After returning to their room, Bai Yutang checked the bed and said, “Cat, get in bed and read, it’s cold outside.”

Zhan Zhao looked up at Bai Yutang and stayed silent.

Bai Yutang looked back at him, smiled slightly, and raised his hands to beckon him, “Come here.”

Zhan Zhao walked over slowly. Bai Yutang stretched his hands out, took the little lion from his hands, and put it on the bed. Then he pulled Zhan Zhao in front of him, bowed his head, and kissed the corner of his mouth.

“Aren’t you angry?” Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang in a low voice, stretching his hand out and touching his collar.

“Why are you angry?” Bai Yutang asked with a smile.

Zhan Zhao sighed lightly, “Thinking about it carefully, there really is nothing to be angry about.”

“We should be happy.” Bai Yutang pinched Zhan Zhao’s ear.

Zhan Zhao looked up at him, “Why are you happy?”

Bai Yutang thought for a while, then said, “If you really want me to say it, we are really lucky. Isn’t being lucky worthy of happiness?

Zhan Zhao’s brows eased slowly, “We are also considered to be of unknown origin… Your heart is quite benevolent.”

“So what?” Bai Yutang shrugged, “I’ve said it before, no matter where we came from, it doesn’t matter if we popped out of the cracks in a stone, it’s not a big deal.”

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang for a long time, then nodded, “You are right, it’s no big deal.”

Seeing that Zhan Zhao wanted to open up, Bai Yutang’s mood improved. Seeing that the collar of his pajamas was slightly open and his white neck was exposed, he suddenly felt itchy. He lowered his head and kissed his neck.

Zhan Zhao didn’t care at first, but then he found that Bai Yutang had wrapped his arms around his waist and had begun to gnaw at his shoulder and collarbone. Reaching out and patting him, he said, “Don’t make trouble, I’m still reading.”

“Just a moment.” Bai Yutang gently lifted Zhan Zhao with both hands, putting him on the bed and pressing himself against him.

On the side, the little lion watched the two on the bed. Because of the weight of the two pressing on the bed, the little lion rolled over and could not stand, rolling to the hands of the two.

The two clasped their finger together and kissed on the bed. The little lion tilted his head back to look at the two of them, then nudged them with his head as if he wanted to get between the two. As Zhan Zhao stretched his hand out and pushed him away, Bai Yutang stuffed his hand into the gap of Zhan Zhao’s pajamas, and slowly touching him…

The little lion was pushed aside and he couldn’t fight it, so he leaned on the pillow, opened his eyes wide, and watched the two of them affectionately.

……

The two of them stayed together for a long time, and it could be regarded as them comforting each other. They felt a lot more comfortable and the frustration in their hearts disappeared.

Bai Yutang put Zhao Zhao’s clothes on for him, covered him with the blanket, and grabbed the book, putting it in his hand so that he could continue reading it. Walking over to the window. He saw that Zhao Hu and the others had packed the evidence that they had collected. Gongsun had also gone back to the car, while Luo Tian and Bai Chi waited in the villa with Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao.

Before getting into the car, Ma Han looked up. He saw Bai Yutang standing behind the railing of the second-floor balcony watching them, and he waved his hand, “Captain, we’re leaving.”

Bai Yutang nodded, watched the car drive away, then roughly surveyed the surrounding area. Bai Yutang had previously discovered that this villa is not just in a remote location. This time, he discovered that the area is surrounded by surveillance cameras, and that there are also some mysterious black-clothed bodyguards outside, guarding the villa very tightly; that’s why Zhao Jue said it’s safe here… However, since there are such tight security measures, how did that person get in? Also, if he walked in due to security negligence, why didn’t anyone stop him when he fled? This was unusual, and there was probably only one explanation – the security guards knew that man and let him in.

Bai Yutang sighed softly, thought about the way the man looked and what had just happened, and shook his head; it all felt like a dream.

After closing the glass door, carefully closing the lock and closing the curtains, Bai Yutang walked over to the bed, got under the blanket, and leaned against Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao glanced at him. The little lion on the bed moved to lay between the two of them, He chose a comfortable angle and fell asleep on the pillow. Bai Yutang stretched his hand out to pinch its ears, and the little lion chuffed a few times before falling asleep.

“Cat, it’s so cute.” Bai Yutang turned over, staring at the little lion, “Ask Zhao Jue tomorrow.”

Zhan Zhao turned to look at Bai Yutang, and muttered in a low voice, “He’ll refuse.”

Bai Yutang smiled, “I don’t think that’s necessarily true. If he refused to give it to you, he would not show it to you.”

“He was mad at me.” Zhan Zhao turned a page in dissatisfaction.

Bai Yutang smiled and touched the little lion’s tail, “How is the book?”

Bai Yutang knows well that Zhan Zhao doesn’t read a book by turning page by page. Normally, it takes time for a normal person to turn through a book page by page, but Zhan Zhao can read a book and memorize it all… he has non-human intelligence and memory.

“Well, I’m almost finished reading it.” Zhan Zhao sighed, “Xiao Bai, our case this time is indeed very strange.”

“Is it related to that family?” Bai Yutang asked.

“En.” Zhan Zhao nodded, “This family is actually quite prominent, but because its existence and family history are too bloody and evil, it has been obliterated by history, so we can’t see it in general literature. This book seems to have been listed as a banned book, as it later went out of print.”

Bai Yutang put his hand on the little lion’s head, “What family is it?”

“This family is the Bathory Family.” Zhan Zhao said, “It is very old and has existed for centuries. Their ancestors were the most prominent nobles in Hungary before they were finally wiped out.”

“What did the family do?” Bai Yutang was a little puzzled.

“Um… It is said that this family are descendants of the devil.” Zhan Zhao touched his chin, “On the European continent, there were many people who believed that human beings could live forever through some kind of power.”

“Just like the ancient Chinese emperor’s pill of immortality?” Bai Yutang asked amusedly.

“En.” Zhan Zhao turned the last page of the book. Shaking his head, he put the book down, and laid down. Covering himself with the blanket, he turned to face Bai Yutang, “Well… the enthusiasm for immortality in ancient Europe is hard to imagine, especially in those who have power. They are mainly divided into two periods. The earlier period had a fascination with ancient alchemy, similar to our country, with people wanting to achieve immortality using medicine or some kind of magical natural force.”

Bai Yutang nodded and stretched his hand out to pull the blanket up over Zhan Zhao. Zhan Zhao pulled the little lion, who had already started snoring, into his arms. The little lion rubbed against Zhan Zhao’s chest and continued to sleep.

“There is another kind, which was popular in the later period, that is the power of the devil, which is similar to magic.” Zhan Zhao said, “In the Middle Ages, most of the obsession with vampires came from people believing that they could attain immortality from drinking human blood.”

“Isn’t that a disease?” Bai Yutang frowned slightly.

“En, it is a very rare hematoporphyria. Patients with severe porphyria will force themselves to drink blood, which can relieve them mentally. Porphyria patients are easily burnt by the sun, their face and fingers become deformed, their gums will erode, and their teeth will grow… just like the vampire in the novel.” (Angel: Porphyria is a type of blood disorder that is sometimes referred to as vampire disease.)

“En.” Bai Yutang nodded, “Did the Bathory family have porphyria?”

“The protagonist of this book, a legendary figure from the Bathory family, Count Bathory, should be a patient of this disease.” Zhan Zhao roughly explained the count’s situation to Bai Yutang, “It is said that Count Bathory was young and handsome, has participated in the war and provided meritorious services, and is of noble origin. He was respected by many people and had countless wealth. He was very afraid of getting old, so he was obsessed with the vampire legends that were popular among the nobles at that time. He once tried to drink animal blood, and felt that he did not reject it… until one day, after running a high fever, he suddenly had an inexplicable psychological change. He began to desperately desire drinking blood, specifically human blood, and then experienced the strange changes of porphyria in his body.”

Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows, “With the medical level of that time, they must have thought he was a vampire.”

“Count Bathory was hesitant at first, but he later discovered the ancient secret of his family.” Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, “Countess Bathory of Hungary, have you heard of this name?”

“Oh…” Bai Yutang suddenly remembered, “I think it sounds familiar. Is she one of the three famous vampires with the same fame as Count Dracula, who tortured and killed five or six hundred young girls in her castle, then bathed in their blood just for the sake of maintaining her youth?”

Zhan Zhao nodded, “That’s right, and it is said that there is another person who helped Count Bathory with his blood-drinking addiction.”

“Who?” Bai Yutang became more curious.

“Back then, the countess killed those girls with four of her servants. Later, the countess was imprisoned for life, and three of her servants were killed… The last one ran away, and one of the descendants of the escaped servant happened to be the count’s gardener.” Zhan Zhao said, “The count found the gardener based on his surname and the secret records left from that year. The gardener told him about the legends on the art of not-aging using human blood.”

“So he started killing?” Bai Yutang frowned, “Hadn’t anyone noticed it?”

“Well, naturally, it was noticed in the beginning,” Zhan Zhao said, “because at that time, vampires were feared by people, and the church resolutely resisted them. Once they caught one, they would be burned.”

“So he started to kill people secretly?” Bai Yutang asked.

“En.” Zhan Zhao nodded, “There was a dense forest behind the Bathory family’s manor. After taking the blood of the kidnapped person, he threw the body into the forest. After he finished drinking blood, he felt extremely satisfied, so he decided that his family was a vampire family. For generations, the family saw drinking blood as a need for survival.”

Bai Yutang frowned slightly, “That’s really perverted, what happened later? The count got a strange disease, didn’t he die early?”

“It’s very strange.” Zhan Zhao said, “The count did not die, but lived to be in his fifties and still looked as young as he did in his twenties. It was precisely because of this characteristic that caused the people around him at that time to have suspicions, and those suspicions later uncovered his crime.”

“Huh?” Bai Yutang widened his eyes, “Why is that?”

Zhan Zhao shook his head, “No one has figured it out yet.”

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

At least we know that Zhan Zhao chooses Bai Yutang over the little lion XD

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: June 9/10, 2021