558 Chapter 558: Aftermath

…to confirm if she was a vampire…

A lot of the hostages were dead. Nan Gong Zhao Yan explained that Fan Le Lao killed them and sucked their blood in front of her in order to blackmail her for information on the Nan Gong family's secret purification magic.

She gave in eventually, but she refused to tell him of her sister's or family's whereabouts. Apparently, that was where Ji Yan came in. Xu Wu Cheng forced the Nan Gong family's address out of her during the gang-rape. The surviving Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan members attested to that.

The hostages who were still alive looked unharmed, with no trace of physical wounds, but they were clearly traumatized by the affair. Not only were they imprisoned by bloodsucking mages, they were forced to watch as their comrades were killed right before their eyes. It must have been nerve-wracking while waiting for their turn to die.

"You should go back and rest. Good job, everybody."

Teresa Taylor was addressing Kufa, Rossetti and me. She looked proud of what we had achieved tonight. I hoped she wasn't going to announce this to the rest of the school tomorrow. That would be embarrassing.

"I'll see you again, Ji Yan."

Zhao Yan was brushing her sister's hair in a tender manner.

"She'll be all right."

Nan Gong Jiao Shou was clenching his fists, which were shaking violently. However, he clamped down on his temper so that he could present a calm façade to his daughter. He didn't want her to worry unnecessarily. He had to remain strong for his daughter.

"We should leave them alone," Rossetti whispered to me, tugging at my sleeve. She was trying to be sensitive, aware that the Nan Gong family needed the space to mourn…to absorb and digest what had happened. I nodded and turned away.

There wasn't much left to do except to return home. Exhausted, I joined Kufa, Rossetti and Saya on a military vehicle, the hovercraft humming as it began to take off and ferry the weary soldiers back to Flandor City.

*

Instead of heading straight home, I checked on the Nan Gong family instead. I wanted to ensure that Yue Jian and her mother were all right. It would be bad if they were attacked by the enemies while Yue Jian's sisters and father were out there in the vampire base.

"Zhao Yan! Dad!"

Yue Jian had already rushed out the moment she heard the commotion outside the apartment. She was so relieved to see her sister alive that she embraced her, weeping and sobbing. Zhao Yan hugged her back, also teary.

"Zhao Yan! You are all right! You are safe!"

"Yes. I'm sorry for causing you to worry so much."

Zhao Yan patted her sister's back. Yue Jian sniffled and broke apart before looking around. She blinked.

"Ji Yan…where is Ji Yan?"

"Ji Yan is in the hospital right now," Nan Gong Jiao Shou explained. He nodded to his wife, who approached him and hugged him silently. She wiped tears from her eyes. "She has been…mentally traumatized by the experience. The doctors want to look at her. We will visit her again first thing in the morning."

"Is Ji Yan all right?" his wife asked.

"She is still alive, but her mind is a bit…confused right now. You will see what I mean when we visit her tomorrow."

Nan Gong Jiao Shou had a complex expression on his face, but he refused to be drawn to say anything else. His wife nodded.

"All right! We'll bring her something!" Yue Jian smiled brightly. The innocent girl had no idea what her sister had been through. Beside her, Zhao Yan forced a smile. Like her father, she didn't want to worry her mother and sister.

"Yes. I'm sure Ji Yan will like that."

I felt awkard watching the family reunion from afar, so I left. I didn't want to be a third wheel, and the truth was that I was nothing more than an outsider. Peeking on the family affairs of others was just rude.

I hadn't gone very far when Nan Gong Jiao Shou called out to me.

"Richard."

Turning around, I saw the older man striding toward me. I stopped and waited for him to catch up, not at all surprised that he noticed my presence. Having seen him fight vampires before, I knew that he was a skilled mage. I also sensed the blood and violence lingering on his body. Evidently he had been fighting a few vampires before he found his daughters.

He did mention that he participated in the mission to rescue them, after all.

Nan Gong Jiao Shou placed a hand on my shoulder and offered a grateful smile.

"I heard about what you and your friends did tonight. Thank you."

"We didn't do much. Most of the work was done by the Midnight Order and the Federation military."

"They wouldn't have done it without your help. Seriously, thank you for saving Zhao Yan. I also heard that you and your friend were the ones who found Ji Yan and defeated the vampire who tormented her. Took revenge for her. Thank you."

"I wasn't able to save her. And if I were to be honest, the reason why I fought and killed Xu Wu Cheng was more because of personal reasons than because I was taking revenge for Ji Yan."

"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that you saved both of my daughters and even eliminated the bastards who abused them. I still appreciate you risking your life for both of them, nonetheless." He squeezed my shoulder. "I heard about everything from Teresa. I know you might have your own personal reasons, but that does not dilute the outcome and the courage you and your friends displayed…the valor of your actions. As a father, I am grateful that you saved my daughters."

"I didn't do it alone."

"Yeah. Convey my thanks to your friends too." Nan Gong Jiao Shou nodded and smiled. "One day, I'll thank all of you properly."

"I will. And I'm sure my friends will say the same thing as me. We did what anyone else would have done in our place. Also, as I said, we all have our own personal reasons for taking down the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan." I glanced up at the night sky, where the full moon continued to shine. "Their attack on Saint Teresa Academy will never be forgiven. No mercy shall be given to our enemies."

"What are you, a crusader now?" Nan Gong Jiao Shou laughed. And then he smiled. "Well, you should rest. You have fought long and hard today, and fought very well too. I will see you and your friends tomorrow then."

I nodded, and then turned to leave. I hoped Adrian and Melina wouldn't get too worried.

*

The rest of the days flew by quickly. True to his word, Nan Gong Jiao Shou invited me, Rossetti and Kufa over for dinner, treating us in return for helping him save his daughters. Out of politeness, the three of us accepted without any hesitation. And also because we were concerned about the sisters.

The professor invited us to their old home for dinner one day. With the Crimson Blood Demonic Night Clan gone, there was no longer any danger and they could move back to their old house without any worries. They were grateful to Teresa Taylor for the arrangements, and I was sure Nan Gong Jiao Shou found some way to express his thanks to his old friend, but obviously I wasn't a busybody who pried into the details.

Zhao Yan and Yue Jian were present, along with their mother, but Ji Yan was conspicuously absent.

She was still receiving mental treatment and wouldn't be out of the hospital for a very, very long time. I wantd to ask for more details, but seeing the strained expression on Mrs. Nan Gong, I didn't dare to. Kufa and Rossetti were sensitive enough to avoid the topic as well.

Even without the Nan Gong family telling us anything, we could roughly figure out what had happened to Ji Yan. The healing mages and doctors did not know how to hear her mind. They had completely eradicated all traces of physical injuries after medical treatment, removing all visible scars from existence. However, Ji Yan would never be the same again. Her mind had been completely broken and she was psychologically damaged. She wasn't the only mage to have suffered from such mental trauma, and from past experiences of other patients, the chances of them ever recovring were extremely low.

As with the other cases, time was the only method for her to heal, but the doctors wouldn't dare give an estimate. It could be six months. It could also be six years…or longer. It was possible that she would never recover and kill herself eventually. It was unfortunate, but that was the end that many people faced after such a traumatic ordeal.

Nobody dared to be optimistic.

So we focused instead on the present.

"You are a great cook, Mrs. Nan Gong." Rossetti was smiling as she chewed on something that the triplets' mother had cooked. She had prepared steamboat, and was boiling a huge pot of soup that had a little bit of everything.

"My, thank you!" Mrs. Nan Gong giggled, flattered. She glanced at me and Rossetti, who were seated together, and then at Zhao Yan, who remained indifferent. She must be wondering what my relationship with Rossetti was, but her eyes were also drawn to Kufa, who was on the other side of Rossetti.

This better not be some cliché situation where she tried to set me up with Zhao Yan or something. She wasn't interested in me at all. I wouldn't go as far as to say that her type was an abusive vampire bishounen who mentally manipulated her into falling for him through weird simulated high school scenarios, but I was aware I wasn't her type either.

Even so, I put on a show of concern.

"How are you doing, Zhao Yan? Have you fully recovered?"

"Yes." Zhao Yan smiled and nodded. "There are no strange aftereffects and the drugs have been purged from my system. Admittedly, I was tired after the first few days following the ordeal, but after resting for a bit, I was able to fully recover my strength."

"Zhao Yan slept for three days straight!" Yue Jian said eagerly, provoking a laugh from the rest of us.

"I couldn't help it!" Zhao Yan protested, her cheeks red. "Not after all that had happened!"

"I'm glad to see you are all right, though." I smiled. Rossetti nodded in agreement.

"That's right! That Fan Le Lao was quite the horrible fella!"

"At least the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan has been totally annihilated now," Kufa remarked before putting a slice of meat in his mouth. He grinned grimly. "We have one less enemy to worry about."

That was true, but something continued to bother me. Lin Xuan Chi had gone missing shortly after the whole affair. I had told Teresa Taylor about him, as well as the authorities in charge. They had launched an investigation and were searching for him even now, refusing to take my warnings lightly. They had learned a valuable lesson after having dismissed my reports the first time.

I could only hope they caught him soon. The guy was bad news.

Pushing up my newly procured glasses, I sighed before placing a piece of quail egg in my mouth and chewing contentedly. Glancing out of the window, I stared into the night sky and wondered about Kufa's statement. He was right. We had one less enemy to worry about now.

However, the Dark Church was still out there plotting and planning. Even with one of their allies destroyed, I had no doubt that their schemes would continue unimpeded. I could only wonder what they intended to do next.

I could only hope I would be able to stop them the next time they showed up again.