Chapter 217: Who Am I

Name: Jane • Brummel • Norman

Gender: Female

Date of birth: September 1, 1994

Country: United Kingdom

Naturally, Chen Xiaolian could still remember the information in those records.

The other name that this Jane Brummel Norman held was…

Miao Yan!

The Exclusive Account of Miao Yan in this world, the female Countess from the UK!

“We took a big circle only to end up going back to her… … …” Chen Xiaolian fell silent.

Truth be told, the thought of having to go deal with this enigmatic woman made Chen Xiaolian’s scalp tingle.

The last time he met Miao Yan, the recording he made using his mobile phone was erased. That left a deep impression on Chen Xiaolian… it was an impression toward the deterring powers of the system!

Although… … if it is Miao Yan, if I am able to discuss things with her, maybe she would be willing to let me take the sword blade?

Well, that idea does sound a little whimsical.

“Let’s give it a shot,” said Chen Xiaolian. His face was serious and he said, “If she is unwilling, we’ll forget about it. Fact is, we are too far apart in the department of strength.”

…

“Bloody Hell!”

Within a dark room, Sasha was seated before a computer as he quickly tapped the keyboard.

The flashing monitors were the only source of light in the dark room. There were three monitors arranged before Sasha.

“Eat shit, fools! You can forget about finding me forever!” Sasha’s eyes glittered with excitement. “Ha ha, these Britons are all fools! In here, I, Sasha am the most powerful! I am the czar!”

A variety of carbonated drinks was placed upon the table beside. There were also pizza leftovers there, causing a foul smell to linger within the room.

After a while, Sasha suddenly stopped tapping the keyboard. He said, "Found it!"

…

“Do we have the address?” Culkin asked Lei Hu, who got into the car.

“Got it,” Lei Hu slowly said. “Sasha broke into the database and found the quest target’s information. We’d better take advantage of this time, Culkin! The next random quest will likely be issued at any given moment. Once the quest is issued, Heaven knows what kind of problems we will encounter. Maybe there will be other game participants to compete against us or maybe the system will spawn out a lot of monsters.”

“We should still have the time for it,” Culkin replied with a heavy tone. “No matter how little time we may have, we should never become impatient.”

Pausing, Culkin then asked, “What is the name of the target?”

“Jane Brummel Norman – this generation’s descendant of the Norman family. She is a young woman who holds the title of Countess.” Lei Hu laughed and said, “Considering the details of the quest that we just went through, the next sacred artefact should probably be in the hands of the Norman family!”

“Very good.” A smile appeared on Culkin’s face. “Now, let’s go find this Countess. Hopefully, she will be able to fulfil our request. Hmm… … be careful with our ‘goods’. I do not want him to die prematurely.

“He needs to help us get more time.”

Lei Hu smiled before turning his back to look at the back.

From the car’s trunk, the faint sounds of sobbing and struggling could be heard…

…

…

“The sky is about to turn bright,” said Lun Tai, looking at the outside sky.

They had driven their car until they reached a street that lay before a classical British-style building.

It was presently close to morning and minor stripes of light were appearing in the distant sky. However, the night was not over yet.

The streets were still.

This place was meant to be sparsely populated, a suburbs area to serve as residential area for the wealthy.

The classic-style manor building was the one Chen Xiaolian had gone to meet Miao Yan.

“What do we do now? Do we just break our way in? Or…” Bei Tai asked.

That was something that Chen Xiaolian had already considered while on the way here. “We’ll just walk in to visit her. She is not an ordinary person. If we are to break our way in or sneak in, it might cause her to feel resentful. If at all possible, try not to take harsh actions. There is no need for us to make an enemy of her.”

Thus, Chen Xiaolian got off the car and moved forward until he was before the gates. He moved to knock on the gates.

It was at that moment that the sound of a car being started rang out from within the estate.

Chen Xiaolian quickly moved backward and sideways.

The gates to the manor slowly opened and a black coloured classic looking car drove out.

Chen Xiaolian ducked to the side behind a tree. Although he was only able to get a glimpse, he saw that the Countess was seated within the back of the car.

The car swiftly moved down the street and toward the intersection.

In the distance, Bei Tai and Lun Tai who were inside the car noticed that as well. Without waiting for Chen Xiaolian to signal to them, Bei Tai moved the car forward to pick him up.

“Follow her!” Chen Xiaolian said. “Strange, why did this aristocrat come out so early in the morning?”

…

The car carrying the Countess moved at a rapid velocity. It appeared to be in a rush to reach a certain destination. The car carrying Chen Xiaolian and his team were pursuing right behind. Chen Xiaolian had wanted to have Bei Tai overtake the car to stop it several times. However, a question popped up into his mind: It’s barely even morning, where is this Countess headed to?

With this question in mind, they followed the Countess’ car.

As the car drove onward, it gradually moved away from the city area of London.

By the time Chen Xiaolian made up his mind, they had arrived at a remote spot.

Chen Xiaolian produced a mobile phone to check the GPS.

"Highgate Area?"

He was momentarily stunned.

“Guild Leader, this place looks like a… cemetery.” Bei Tai who was driving suddenly spoke out loudly. “Look up front!”

The Countess’ car had already moved in through a large metal gate and it moved through a quiet road inside. Beside the gate was a signpost, which clearly stated: Highgate Cemetery.

It’s actually a cemetery?

“Follow,” said a frowning Chen Xiaolian.

…

Deep within the cemetery area, there was a piece of open space. It appeared that a funeral was being prepared there.

A grave had been dug out on the ground. A cross-shaped tombstone had also been erected.

There were long chairs and a small wooden table prepared there as well.

Clearly, all of those were preparations for a funeral.

The Countess’ car stopped by the road.

The butler Stewart stepped out and moved to open the car door. He helped the Countess down from the car.

She was wearing a black coloured long dress. She had a solemn expression on her face and her lips were tightly pursed together. A trace of sadness was evident within her eyes.

The driver was clearly a bodyguard. That fact was clear from his body stature and the clothes that he was wearing.

He had a burly and strong appearance and his muscle was so imposing that it caused his suit to stretch in an evident manner. Beneath the suit, the outline of a holster could be made out.

The bodyguard stood by the car and he surveyed the area with narrowed eyes.

“Wait here,” the butler Stewart said in a low voice. Then, he helped the Countess as she slowly walked toward the grave.

Standing before the grave, the Countess appeared increasingly saddened and tears appeared within her eyes.

Slowly, she gently took out a rose. Then, she bent her waist and used one hand to stroke the soil beside the grave before gently tossing the rose into the grave.

“I am sorry, I cannot attend your funeral… your family refused to have me; they said I am not welcomed. That is why I can only come here so early. While there isn’t anyone here, I will bid you farewell.”

The Countess spoke in a very very soft tone, one filled with a trace of sadness. “I… … I have always hated myself. Maybe… maybe all of this is my fault. I have brought harm to a lot, a lot of people… you will be the last, I promise. This tragedy will never happen again. I will not cause any more problems for the innocent; I will not let them die anymore.

“I seemed to have been cursed. I hate this me.

“However, you can be at ease. I am already doing all I can to investigate this matter. Additionally, it seems I might have found something.

“I will definitely find out the truth!

“I swear to you right here and now!

“You… you may rest in peace.”

As the Countess spoke, tears trickled down the side of her eyes. After gently wiping the tears away, she turned around and glanced at the butler Stewart.

She was seemingly in low spirits. At present, it was clear that she was in a weakened state; her body trembled.

The butler was quick to move forward to help her up.

“Stewart, tell me, am I not a harbinger of misfortune?” the Countess said with a very weak voice.

“No, my mistress,” said Stewart, a hint of pain flickered through his eyes. He softly replied, “It’s not your fault.”

“Then why would God make me go through this pain? I have always been faithful to His teachings!”

“No no no, we cannot question God.” Stewart shook his head and said with a profound tone. “My mistress, all these hurdles will come to pass.”

“Will come to pass… … will come to pass…” The Countess suddenly bit her lips and said, “These words, can those words be said to Mr Dawson? To Mr Hampson?  To Schmidt?”

Stewart kept his mouth shut and helped to prop his employer; they moved toward the car step by step.

…

Bei Tai had parked the car some distance away behind a clump of bushes.

Chen Xiaolian observed the distant grave from inside the car.

“What's going on here? Why did she come so early to attend a funeral? But, she is the only one here.”

Chen Xiaolian suddenly took a deep breath and got off the car. Then, he walked at a rapid pace toward the Countess.

"Hey!"

The bodyguard who was standing beside the car caught sight of Chen Xiaolian. He was quick to enter a defensive posture. His one hand pulled his suit aside, allowing him to pull out his gun at any moment. At the same time, he shouted toward Chen Xiaolian, “Who are you? Back off!”

Even as the bodyguard shouted out, Chen Xiaolian had already run forward until he was standing before the Countess.

“It… it’s you?”

Seeing Chen Xiaolian’s appearance, the expression on the Countess’ face changed and shock could be seen in her eyes.

Her expression indicated that she had just seen a ghost.

“You… … how could you be here?” asked the Countess. She looked at Chen Xiaolian and spoke with a fearful tone, “You… … you…”

“Do not misunderstand,” said Chen Xiaolian as he spread his arms. He continued, “I have no intentions of offending you. I am also not stalking you. Truth be told, I had come to visit you. However, it just so happened that you were going out. Thus, I followed you here.”

The expression on the Countess’ face suddenly turned extremely peculiar.

She regarded Chen Xiaolian with that expression on her face for a good ten seconds. Then… she gently opened her mouth and spoke in a seemingly constrained voice, “Then, may I ask what is it that you wanted to visit me for?”

“There are indeed some things.” Chen Xiaolian gave a wry smile and said, “Mm… are we going to be discussing it here?”

He pointed to the surrounding desolate cemetery.

An intense emotion of eagerness abruptly appeared within the Countess’ eyes!

This eagerness resembled two clumps of flames.

She looked at their surroundings and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Stewart?"

“Yes, my mistress,” the butler answered in a deep voice.

"I think I need to talk to this gentleman alone."

"Very well." The butler thought about it before pointing to a nearby area within the cemetery. “There is a shed there, Mistress. Perhaps you can rest there. "

…

It was a simplistic shed that was probably used as a resting spot for those assigned to dig the graves and other caretakers.

Chen Xiaolian and the Countess stood together inside the shed.

Although places to sit were prepared inside, it was clear that the Countess had no intention of sitting down.

There was no one else around.

The Countess stared at Chen Xiaolian and slowly said, “You… … just who are you?”

Chen Xiaolian: “Er… … ehh?”

In an instant, Chen Xiaolian suddenly realized his mistake!

During his most recent meeting with Miao Yan, when they were saying farewell, Miao Yan had said something.

“I would like to ask you to stay as far away as possible from my Exclusive Account… about our meeting tonight, I will completely delete the memories that this Exclusive Account have about you from the moment you met her…”

That was to say…

If Miao Yan had deleted the memories of this Exclusive Account …

This Countess before him probably… … do not recognize him at all!

Miao Yan’s words must surely mean that she would delete the all the memories regarding him from this Countess’ mind, even the earliest ones. The time when they met in the hotel within Tokyo, Japan; and their most recent meeting in London a few days ago – all of these memories would be deleted!

Chen Xiaolian’s face sank and he stared at the Countess. He asked, “You… … you don’t recognize me?”

The Countess’ expression became even more peculiar and she stared back at Chen Xiaolian. She answered, “I do not recognize you… … but I know you!”

That was an even stranger answer!

…

The Countess looked at Chen Xiaolian with a very peculiar expression.

Next, she opened her handbag and pulled out a few pieces of paper from inside it.

Those pieces of paper were very strange.

Each of them was a sketch drawn using pencil. However… each of them formed only one part of the face.

One would form the nose, another the eyes, the mouth, the ear, the forehead…

The Countess stood before Chen Xiaolian and pieced those pieces of paper together.

In the end, a person’s face was formed…

One glance was all it took for Chen Xiaolian to identify the face.

That… was him!

…

“I have always had this strange feeling. I would always suffer from short-term memory loss. This feeling had plagued me for many years and I had also encountered many strange incidents. All those incidents could not be explained through logic.”

The Countess stared at Chen Xiaolian and said, “I do not recognize you at all. However… I found these in my own house!”

Chen Xiaolian: “… … …”

“These sketches… with one glance, I can recognize who drew them… and the one who drew them was me! I can recognize my own style of drawing!

“But what I find surprising, is that I clearly do not recall drawing these things!

“No matter how I think about it, there is only one explanation I can think of!”

The Countess stared at Chen Xiaolian, her emotions spiralling out of control.

She grabbed Chen Xiaolian’s sleeves and her body trembled. She appeared to be feeling fearful, shocked and excited. Moreover, there also seemed to be a slight trace of… imploringness!

“The only explanation is: I know you before! Then, I knew that I might lose those memories! Thus, I drew out your face, split it apart, and hid them away. Behind each of them is a simple secret sign that only I would know of, directing me to the next piece.

“Finally, I gathered up these few pieces of paper to form your face!

“Because…

“I knew that I would lose my memories! Thus, I had purposely drawn those drawings to remind my future self!”

The Countess’ hand that was gripping onto Chen Xiaolian’s arm tightened and her voice became somewhat sharp.

“Just who are you?! Why would I draw your face? How did we know each other before this? And also… … I… who am I?

“WHO AM I?!!!

“Why would I lose those memories?!

“Just, just what is happening to me?!!!”

…

…