(a)

The topic of the disappearance of the villagers made the atmosphere at the wine table a little heavy.

After drinking this meal, Marisa led Reimu, and the two of them were going to go to the night market again, Nalan Twilight was going to take the unconscious Yanhua back to the Red Devil Pavilion, and Hua Fan still had something to do.

Originally, this group should have dispersed like this, but ......

"Why did you all come along?"

Marisa looked back at the three people behind her and sighed.

"Don't ask me, ask him. Carrying the unconscious Yanhua on his shoulder, Hua Fan who walked at the end of the line with a deflated stomach, said angrily, "I'm just a person in charge of carrying." ”

Nalan Twilight walked in front of her, with her hands behind her back, strutting with her head held high, relaxed and comfortable, living like a slave owner in the old days. Marisa listened to him explain:

"Because...... All of a sudden, I want to go around in a circle, is that good enough?"

"What a!"

Marisa stuck out her tongue, and Reimu beside her turned back and asked:

"So why does this preaching immortal obey that vampire? Isn't this guy critical of anyone he talks to, how did he become so honest?"

"Don't ask me, ask him!" Hua Fan said, comparing Nalan Yu in front of him with a not very friendly look.

"Because she'...... Do you want me?" said Nalan Twilight in this ambiguous tone.

"Do you have a request for you?" Hua Fan glared at him, "You can ask for me!"

"Almost!" Nalan Yu smiled, "Advise me, Cihua Immortal!"

"Yes, yes, more advice, more advice!"

After saying that, Hua Fan hung his head and shook his head, looking quite deflated. Marisa and Reimu in front of them glanced at each other half-incomprehensibly and shrugged their shoulders.

In this way, a group of five people "talked and laughed" and "had a harmonious atmosphere" and walked around the night market in Renzhili for a while, and made a few barbecues. Later, as Marisa, the leader, drifted off the main road and into a deserted path.

Strictly speaking, it should be part of a residential area, but there are still some small shops that are more off-the-beaten-path here. If you accidentally break in during the daytime shopping, there is really a sense of freshness of "another village".

Unfortunately, it's night, most of the doors of the shops are closed, the lights are not very enough, the lights are blind, and you can't see your feet clearly when you walk.

"Who didn't have long eyes to bring us here?" Reimu shouted with a deliberate prolonged voice.

"Hey, hey, hey......"

Marisa, who was walking beside her, laughed a few times and explained:

"I'm not, I usually go down this road, and it's natural to get used to it!"

"I think it's interesting to walk on a trail like this. "It's dark, it's silent, there's not so many pairs of eyes staring at you, it's always like something is going to happen, good, bad, unexpected......"

"You're just a pure annoyance of crowds, aren't you?" Reimu complained.

"No, I still hate light. ”

"Oh, it's Suzuna-an!"

As she walked, Marisa suddenly pointed to a rather modest shop in front of her, and said:

"Why don't we go and get the little bell up and take her for a walk twice?"

"Walk two laps...... Is she your dog?" reimu complained.

"Oh-" Nalan twilight glanced in the direction Marisa was pointing, "Is this the shop that the little girl own......s?" It's not special!"

The old double-opening wooden door, the rustic curtain, and the three-character wooden plaque that new customers can't understand at all. Originally, the façade is small, and there are no windows or anything, most people see this store for the first time, and they are afraid that they can't even figure out what kind of store it is, right?

At least, the name of the store is given a full name, even if it is as earthy as "Suzu's Book House - Book and Video Disc Rental", it is much stronger than the current one.

"Isn't it?" said Marisa, turning back to him, "Don't you feel rustic when you look at it? Actually, her book is quite interesting, as long as you can read it...... Well, when it comes to selling strange things, her store is simply a bookstore version of Xianglintang. ”

"Then again," Nalan Yu waited for her to finish, and suddenly doubted, "Honju Xiaoling, she...... Aren't they closed at night?"

"Huh?"

Hearing him say this, Marisa took a closer look and realized that the door of Suzuna-an's shop was indeed unlocked, but it was hidden, and there was no light in the house.

"Or," Nalan said, "the security environment in the human world is already so good that they don't close their doors at night?"

"Hah!" Reimu pointed at Marisa with her thumb and said disapprerovingly, "With this guy here, Gensokyo will never be able to 'stay closed at night', right?"

"You're so annoying, Reimu!" Marisa gave Reimu a push, and then said with a straight face:

"Seriously, don't you think it's weird?"

"What's weird?" Reimu asked.

"Because I'm ...... Belch...... I always go to other people's houses to 'fetch' things, so my thoughts may not be the same as yours. Marisa said, "I think there's only one poss......ibility, late at night, a store with lights off and no door locked."

As she spoke, Marisa stopped, and the four others who were with her stood still.

The place where these people stopped was right at the door of Suzuna-an. Inside the dark door, there seemed to be something very evil hidden.

"No," Marisa screwed up the steps to the front of the store, "I need to go in and have a look." ”

(b)

It was pitch black and there was no light. As soon as she entered the room, Marisa pulled out a miniature gossip stove and released a magical light with minimal firepower, lighting up the entire library as if she were holding a high-powered flashlight.

"Bell, are you there?" she shouted as she stood in the doorway.

No one answered.

"As you say......"

Nalan Yu casually took out a book from the bookshelf on the side, looked at it twice, and put it back again.

"Her book is quite interesting, maybe I should ask her for a membership card or something. ”

"Now isn't the time to do something like this?"

Hua Fan glanced at him, shook his head, and then carried Yan Hua on his back, walked inside, and came to the place where Xiao Ling usually reads, that is, where the counter of this store is located.

"Two bowls of unfinished noodles and an oil lamp that went out. She looked at the things on the desk and whispered, "It seems that she left in a hurry." ”

"The noodle soup is still hot, as is the oil lamp. Reimu, who was following her, reached out and touched it a few times, saying, "They should have just left here not long ago." ”

"And there's no sign of a fight, you see!"

Marisa came to Reimu's side, flashed her light, and pointed to the stack of books stacked on the edge of her desk, and said:

"I didn't even dump the books that were piled up. ”

"In other words," Nalan Twilight, who was standing at the end, speculated, "there used to be two people here, and one of them should be Suzu." Another person's relationship with her is so good that he can knock on her door after the store closes and rub a bowl of noodles, do you have any impression of such a person?"

"Count one," Marisa counted with her fingers, "hers, and my hair at the same time, Kazuhiko Fujii, count one." And then...... Reimu and I are half each, which is three. ”

She stretched out three fingers, turned back to Nalan and said:

"There are only three such people who can die. ”

"It's clear that she's not a big friend. Nalan Yu pouted and nodded, "Speaking of which, there is one more thing, haven't you all noticed?"

"What's the matter?"

"The smell here ......"

"Huh?"

Everyone turned around and looked at Nalan Twilight in surprise, but saw him sniff hard, sniff a few times, and squint his eyes and said:

"Do you remember the main culprit of the mutation some time ago, Radu III?"

"How could you forget!" Reimu frowned as soon as she heard the name, "Thanks to him, my family's shrine has been completely destroyed, and there is not a single tile left. ”

"What would you think if I told you I smelled him here?"

"I'll think you're hallucinating, let's kill him with our own hands, have you forgotten?"

"That's true," Nalantwi nodded, "but I did smell him." You can't smell it, but I can, so you should trust me...... Reimu, what did you do after I passed out?"

"I'll rest on the spot for a while, and then I'll carry you to the Eternal Pavilion!"

"What about the corpse? What did you do with the corpse of Radu III?"

"What to do?" I asked Kazuhiko to watch it and wait until the next morning......

"That's the problem!" Nalan snapped his fingers, interrupting Reimu, "You have a very wrong understanding of vampires' life force. ”

"Radu III is a fifth-generation vampire, weaker than Remilia, far weaker than me, far stronger than most vampires. When he reaches his position, he will not simply die because his body is destroyed. ”

"'Hundred-legged worm, die but not stiff', you know? Either you burn him to ashes with sunlight, or you suck his blood dry, and there are only two ways to kill the high vampire once and for all. ”

"Now, tell me," Nalan said word by word, staring into Reimu's eyes, "Have you ever seen his body burned to ashes in the sunlight?"

"I ......" Reimu avoided his gaze and said very unconfidently, "I returned to the shrine the next day and found that there was indeed a small handful of gray ......"

"Have you ever seen every drop of his blood turn to ashes, Reimu, see with your own eyes. ”

"No ......"

"That's right, that makes sense, the disappearance of the villagers, and everything related to it. Nalan Yu said with a solemn expression, "Tell me, where is that Fujii Kazuhiko's home, if our speed is fast enough, Xiaoling still has hope of survival......