[Hot Night Dream] Absurd things

7,

They were indeed going to the same banquet.Given Josh's physical condition, this still made Marsh a little uneasy.However, Josh urgently stated that he had to go to other places to join other companions first, so they separated early.

It was ideal that Marsh's presence on the street did not stir up a commotion in any of the dark corners around him.But when he took out his pocket watch, he suddenly realized that he was already late for a long time.

When Abner Marsh appeared at the door of the dark and solemn venue with his head held high that day, dozens of pairs of eyes were fixed on him and the box he brought.The black waiter made a "please" gesture with a low eyebrow, but it didn't mean to lighten the burden on his hands.Perhaps there had been no noise here, but Marsh could feel the eerie silence directed at him.He stepped on the red carpet with leather boots stained with forest mud, and there was a deafening echo through the walls of the empty and far-reaching hall.That damned high platform seemed impossible to reach no matter what.

This was the first time he attended a banquet in such an important capacity.While pretending to be swaggering, he had to worry about the nervousness that was about to come out and the sweat filling his palms.He held the big box in his arms in a ridiculous posture, and his stomach made it extremely uncomfortable.After the banquet is over, he will start to make a fitness plan for himself, Marsh decides while carrying the box to the high platform.After he stood still behind the disc-shaped microphone, he heard intermittent whispers coming from certain directions.

An extremely strong sense of embarrassment rose to my heart.Marsh began to look for the familiar faces—they were far outnumbered to the right of the main stage.Jean and Simon sat side by side, and two rows behind them was the lonely Cynthia, who was constantly adjusting the dark red ornaments on her hair.Valerie sat in a corner, glancing now and then at the group of dark figures on the other side of the aisle.There were others, of course, but Marsh couldn't find Josh York anyway.

The worst thing happened, and they weren't all the same after all.

"Everyone," Marsh cleared his throat, and the audience became quieter. "First of all, I apologize for my late arrival. There was a mistake on the way, and if it weren't for the help of a strange compatriot, I wouldn't be able to arrive tomorrow morning."

As he spoke, he squeezed out a sharp look and scanned the crowd on the left.Rows of dining tables were covered with tablecloths as bright red as the carpets, and red candles burned silently in the dark air, illuminating the pale faces on either side of the tables.Marsh swallowed quietly, and he decided to take the risk once.

"But I must relate this unpleasant incident. Someone attacked me on the way here, and killed my horse—and I think there's a good chance they're here now, at this feast."

Marsh listened with satisfaction to the whispers that filled the ballroom.The guests looked at each other, some with anger in their eyes.He needs this kind of atmosphere, and he hopes to use the uneasiness conveyed in the crowd to exchange for prestige for the helpless self.

But a sharp voice interrupted his triumph mercilessly: "What are you worried about, great blood master?"

Raymond Ortega.This insidious and ruthless lackey was sitting in the first row on the left, with a horrible smile on his lips, and complete disdain in his blood-red eyes.

"Damon Julian's not here, you could tell us who did that dirty work."

As if his fingers were ignited by a flame, Marsh's whole body trembled when he heard that name.He clenched his fists and glared at the instigator.However, the other party's words stirred up thousands of waves at once, and the people behind him began to laugh harshly, just like the effect of a well-arranged program in a drama.

"Julian?" Marsh raised his voice, trying to hide the overwhelming fear in his heart. "You mean Damon Julian? His time is past, and I don't care why he was defeated. Don't care if he's sick or hiding out somewhere to do something good. Now I'm the king of blood—quiet me!"

For a moment, silence once again swept the entire banquet hall.

Marsh read the disgust on Raymond's face.He remembered that he had also experienced this feeling of being suppressed by a powerful force.For this reason, he regretted countless times that he gave up his life by the mine and chose to go with Julian.He didn't realize what a horrible thing it was until the power came into his hands when he defeated that disgusting lunatic by a ridiculous accident.

But at the same time, Abner Marsh envied humanity.Not just so that they could live in the sun, never to be bothered by the scarlet hunger, but more so that he could always hope for freedom.The people of the night called "them" can only live forever in the ancient age of drinking blood, killing and going crazy driven by instincts that are no different from animal nature.They are like beasts, there is no right and wrong, good or evil, and all actions can only be directed by the blood master.And this blood-infused crown has been passed on for thousands of years within this terrifying race.

This is very dangerous.Especially when the Bloodlord is a bloodthirsty lunatic.

"I rescued you from his dark rule," said Marsh, ignoring the disgusting connotation in his own words, and the nameless karmic fire in his heart made him braver, "I told you what is Kindness, what is mercy, and today I am here to end the hatred of humans against us. Two races that have been fighting for centuries can begin to coexist peacefully, and the era of blood fear is coming to an end. Is there any problem?"

Unexpectedly, this remark caused a burst of embarrassment.

It was Raymond who took the lead: "Look at you, Abner Marsh, you are trying to lead your people to make way for their servants. No master has ever done such absurd things." He smiled sinisterly "Or, are you starting to sympathize with our food?"

"They're not slaves, and they're not food," growled Marsh. "Remember that stupid Billy Tipton? He turned into a monster—could take your guts out at any moment. Yes, those werewolves, they used to be what you call 'food'. Humans can indeed transform, but it's more likely that they are monsters themselves."

These words instantly caused a turbulent sea, and the entire banquet hall was submerged in looking at each other and talking loudly.Even Julian's lackeys, who had picked him up earlier, couldn't sit still, and someone wanted to hear more details.The indifferent and arrogant expression on Lei Meng's face became very strange at this moment.

"You are lying, Abner Marsh. You are a master without authority, and your words are full of doubts." Someone complained loudly, and someone responded immediately.But the blood lord, who has no prestige, also has actual power, so they are all firmly pressed on the seat, dancing and shouting, somehow reminding Marsh of a grasshopper in a puddle.

How many people would believe such absurd things?The blood lord exhaled a puff of air from his nose, bent down and pried open the box at his feet with his bare hands.Inside were wine bottles neatly piled up, and the liquid in the bottles was charred black under the dim candlelight.He raised his hand, and three or four waiters in red vests immediately stepped forward, took out the wine bottles from the box, and began to pour the dark liquid into every empty glass on the long table.

"Our race is under threat, and I can vouch for that." Marsh straightened the folds of his chest, pacing up and down the raised platform. "I say this not only because of the group of hunters, we are facing more serious survival problems. This is not a fact that can be changed whether you believe me or not."

From the corner of his eye, he saw that most of the people on the left were observing the liquid in front of them with suspicious eyes, while a few were sipping the wine in small sips.And his followers sitting on the right have already drank the liquid in the cup.

"So long we have avoided the sun by day, and then we have also avoided werewolves at night. Now, we have discovered that humans can easily kill us-in any gesture. What caused all this, we should Think about it." He went on with his speech, amazed that he, who has always had a bad memory, managed to write off the script so perfectly. "We wanted an equal right to live, and then we ruined it with our own hands. I've dealt with quite a few humans, and I didn't even have time to stop myself when they died at my hands—yes, the Scarlet Thirst isn't us No, it's the worst curse ever. We could have satisfied it with the least amount of sacrifice, but look at what you've done, why did the Crimson Fear arise? It's not that some of us picked the wrong enemy."

Abner Marsh glared at Raymond Ortega, whose glass was half empty.The hall was surprisingly quiet. Since Julian's anger last time, there has never been such a suffocating atmosphere in this dark banquet.

"My enemy has never been Julian. Naturally, your enemy should not be me, let alone human beings. If possible, I am willing not to use the power of the vampire master, and let it disappear in my hands, but I only have the only one. One request: Please use this potion to replace human blood when the blood hunger strikes. Several human friends and I have spent years developing it, which can completely counteract the effects of the blood hunger. Just With enough cooperation from all, we can end the Crimson Fear today."

No one spoke for a long time.Abner Marsh clutched the piping on his sleeve anxiously, not sure if his words had any effect, though he could see that the potion did.Julian's reign is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, but the fact that no one is trying to kill him here today seems to indicate that they don't hate the new master so much.Perhaps he should give his lost countrymen some time to adjust?Marsh crossed his arms and faced the complicated faces in the audience.He still hadn't found Josh York.Not everywhere.

He caught a glimpse of Valerie slowly opening her mouth as if she had finally mustered up her courage, and immediately cast a supportive look.However, fear and despair were reflected in those beautiful violet pupils.She covered her mouth, and the others were also shocked.

Marsh was confused at first, until he slowly lowered his head as if sensing something.He saw a dark mark spreading across his chest, and then felt the severe pain spread along with it.He staggered a few steps, held onto the microphone, his ears finally recalled the gunshot he heard a few seconds ago.

Terrible exclamations and roars filled the entire hall, and then more gunshots, and the flames pierced the black curtain like fine pinholes.Marsh smelled blood, his eyes turned white, and he wanted to say something to stop his compatriots from fighting the intruding hunters, but he choked on his own blood.He knew that there was a silver bullet embedded in his chest, and soon two more hit his leg and stomach respectively, which hurt like being punched twice.But compared to this, what is more painful to him is that his efforts just now, and all the achievements of these years are being burned.

Sudden grief and a need to survive prompted Marsh to spread his legs and start running upstairs.Holding on to the handle, he struggled to move his bulky body, behind him were the hunter's yelling and the vampire's sharp roar.Not this time, he thought.Bloody hunger and thirst don't come to your door at this time.He doesn't want to hurt a single human being.

He found that he was indeed an incompetent blood master.When his own people were attacked, he ran for his life in a hurry, and instead prayed for the members of the foreign race.If it's another blood master, if it's Damon Julian... damn it.

Marsh wanted to slap himself.He climbed the last step and nearly fell on the carpet on the second floor.The name of that demon still made him feel chills all over his body, and he almost felt sick.He was dying, and the fact that the owner of the name was still alive gave him the motivation to live longer.He recklessly rushed into a private room with the door ajar, temporarily forgetting that it was impossible for other people to be present in the banquet hall during the blood race gathering.

An oil lamp was lit in the private room, and the warm yellow flame lit up half the room.The windows leading to the street were wide open, and the curtains were hidden in the darkness, stretching out into the night sky like two ghostly withered claws.

Everything in the private room has been moved, and the two tables have been put together in the center.There was a person standing by the table, with half of his body lying on the table, obviously concentrating on the paper materials that covered the entire table.

"Dunn, it won't work. I don't think the problem can be solved in this way..." Josh York frowned and turned around, his tone full of complaints and regrets.But when he saw Marsh, the expression on his face relaxed a lot.

"Oh," he said, "Abuner, are you here?" His beautiful gray eyes reflected a strange color, "I thought you wouldn't show up tonight. Wait a minute, are you hurt?"

However, Marsh's full attention at the moment fell on the tabletop that was blocked by the opponent's body just now.There was a gun there—he could see it clearly now—with its silvery intricate pattern of vines and crosses, a danger signal to keep any of Them at arm's length, the mark It is one of the natural enemies of "them".

Josh York clearly has a quick head.He immediately noticed Marsh's abnormality, followed those two horrified gazes, and then turned back to Marsh.The light has exposed everything.

It was too late and then quickly, the two of them rushed to the gun on the table at the same time.Marsh should have a stronger physique, but he was dragged down by the gunshot wound. When he came back to his senses, the gun was already in York's hand, and there was a "click" reloading sound like a joke.The two people in the room separated at both ends of the long table and began to circle the table.

"I thought you were..." Their voices matched as perfectly as any episode during that brief trip.When they chatted, it was never necessary for Marsh to make things too clear for Josh to understand.vice versa.

"Looks like we were all wrong." Josh's eyes instantly became sharp and icy, the same eyes that had shown Marsh a few hours ago.It's just that Marsh didn't realize at the time how pure the look of a vampire hunter was.

"Put down the gun, Josh." Marsh felt dizzy, he had lost too much blood, and the hunter across the table could clearly see, "I don't have the strength to fight you."

He gestured with his eyes while trying to get around the window, but Josh's slender body stayed in front of the window frame.

"I once thought of you as my colleague. It's really an impermanent world." York squeezed out a beautiful smile, but it looked a little scary in the dim light, "Abner, we don't need to fight. The bullet penetrates you My brain is just a matter of seconds. Of course, I don't want it to end like this between us."

Marsh was distraught.He didn’t know what to say to make Josh understand his position.Then he thought of what Josh had said, and it was that attitude that made him recognize him as his own family.

"Josh, you said you didn't like humans," Marsh said, "and, coincidentally, I don't like 'them,' either."

"Well done, Abner. You seem to be dying, but you are still trying to prove to me that we are all the same." Josh stood by the window frame, and the outline of the figure in the dark began to move, "If you meet Is it Michael Dunn, or is it Karl Faren?"

There was the sound of leather boots hitting the marble steps outside the door, and at least three people were running up to the second floor.

"You're lucky, my friend." York seemed to have made up his mind suddenly, and spoke quickly, "Go down through the window and turn right. At the end of the second alley there is a ladder leading to the ground."

But he still holds the gun.The footsteps outside the door became more and more noisy, Marsh didn't care to think more or doubt the other party's motives, he recklessly pushed Josh York aside, turned over and jumped out of the window.For a split second he heard himself say thank you, but the wind swallowed it up.

8,

The gun in Josh York's hand followed Marsh's trajectory.He watched the night creature land lumberingly on the ground, causing a fleeing passerby to drop what he was holding.

Never before has a member of "them" been so unassuming or quick in their actions.Josh saw Marsh hastily apologized to the stranger who was sitting on the ground, and after helping to pick up the things on the ground, he clutched the wound on his body and disappeared at the edge of the window frame.

—It is even more impossible to be so warm-hearted.

It's no wonder that he was recognized as a junior hunter. Josh sighed, lowered his arm, and was surprised that his finger on the trigger had lost all feeling.He heard the door being slammed open behind him, and the gunshots in the hall on the first floor were still coming and going, but much more sparsely than before.

"York," it was Shaggy Michael's voice, "you let him go."

Josh turned around, and he saw his angry captain, Jonathan Jeffers, and two other colleagues.

"I'm sorry, Dunn." Josh deliberately exposed his previously injured left arm, and he didn't show it to anyone when he gathered on the second floor of the banquet hall. "It's very strong."

"But you're not weak." Michael looked dissatisfiedly at the cloth strip on his arm, snorted, and went straight to the window to look around. "Besides, we've wounded it, mortally."

Josh was restless, as worried as ever that Shaggy Michael was blaming his theory again, which he regretted more than punishing him.Jeffers stepped forward quickly to check his injuries, then frowned.Josh knew the team doctor could see that the injury was the work of a werewolf, which meant he was lying, and Michael would soon know.

But this time Jeffers only applied medicine to his wound, put on new medical gauze, and didn't say another word.

With his back to them, Michael looked out the window, his hands gradually clenched into fists on the windowsill. "Josh York, you let the Bloodlord go."

When he said this, his tone seemed to be stating a fact that everyone had known since childhood, but it turned into a grand and fierce roar when it reached Josh's ears. "Is that so?" Josh whispered, meeting Michael's smoldering eyes.

"Even if you lose ten lives, you can't get back our plan for so long. Do you know what you should do?" The strong hunter leader gritted his teeth and grabbed Josh by the collar, but was pushed away by the team doctor.

"Michael, you need to calm down." Jonathan Jeffers' monocle reflected the light of the oil lamp, "he has a fever." After repeating several times, seeing that Michael was still insistent, he suddenly raised his voice: "Damn it , Michael Dunne, he's running a fever!"

Josh didn't hear the latter words. He only remembered being told that his physical condition was not optimistic, that's all.

Then there is darkness.Boundless quarrels and darkness.

9,

Abner Marsh was awakened by the loud clatter of boots on the iron stairs.

He got up from a pile of old clothes in a dizzy state, the blurry picture in front of his eyes flickered twice, and gradually recovered his normal vision.He soon saw Josh York standing on the ground three or four steps away from him, holding an oil lamp in his hand, with half of his face hidden under the hood of the poncho.The latter put the brown paper bag and oil lamp in his hand on the low wooden table, and then sat down on the only intact chair in the entire basement.Just a meter away from Marsh's cot.

They sat face to face for about 2 minutes.

"You're fully healed," said the basement master first. "I'm so happy for you, Abner." He said with a gentle smile, but somehow Marsh saw that there was a mixture of With a wave of tension.

"You're better too, it's incredible." Marsh pointed to his left forearm, where the bandage should have been wrapped.

Josh rolled up his sleeves, the wound was still there, but it had been closed together, and there were faint signs of scabbing. "My friend, you have been asleep for almost a week." He smiled wryly, "I couldn't wake you up when I came yesterday, but your wounds are healing, so I know you are still alive."

"I was worried this morning that you were gone," he added.The ending sound echoed in the empty basement for a while before disappearing.They began to meditate again.

After a while Marsh felt that he should speak first.But his stomach once again expressed emotion before him.

"I'm sorry." There was a tired smile on the corner of the blood master's mouth, as if he was recovering from a serious illness, "Is the toasted raisin bread on the table for me?"

Josh's eyes widened in surprise, and then he realized that "they" had as much sense of smell as they did of sight. "Of course." He handed the brown paper packet to Marsh, and they both gave a little shudder when their fingers touched.Marsh felt that Josh's fingers were still as cold as ice, and Josh couldn't help jumping in his heart for this bold touch.

"Thank goodness you didn't bring the cans today." Marsh laughed twice, and he was relieved to hear the sweet chuckle from his friend across the way.

The bread had just been baked, and the light rain outside did not affect its taste.Without regard for etiquette, Marsh began to stuff the poor dough ball into his mouth, as if it were some rare delicacy.Josh kept looking at him with curious eyes, and he didn't realize that he was tilting his head until the whole kraft paper package was rolled up by those big hands.

"We should talk."

Finally one of them said it.Some of them would say that, Marsh had thought early on.

A vampire hunter tells about his past.Not a single word of his life experience and inner feelings that he had confided to Marsh before was false.He mentioned that when he was a child, he was besieged by some bad boys and got lost in a mine, but it was one of "them" who rescued him in the end.Marsh gave a cry, remembering that he had saved a child in this way many years ago.The two compared the details and found that they matched completely.

"Since then, I don't like humans very much." Josh sighed softly, "It may be strange to say that, after all, I am also a human being. But after seeing those...horrible situations, I do Better not be born a man. In other words, be born a beast."

"Contrary to you, I like humans." Marsh said honestly, "I just don't like seeing them either drained of blood or turned into monsters. Who gets to decide that, Crimson Hunger It ruined us, and it ruined you. That's why I never blamed those werewolves."

Then Marsh finished telling his story, and Josh listened attentively, occasionally asking questions.It had been a long, long time since anyone had wanted to listen to Marsh tell a story like this.

"That bad guy I mentioned was called Damon Julian." So he decided to share the rest, "You can't imagine what he did. He is the most vicious and crazy I have ever seen I don't like most of my kind—I sometimes call them 'them' because of him. There isn't a second that the guys aren't trying to kill me."

"Then how did you defeat Julian?" Josh asked intently.

"I didn't actually want to be a master." Marsh shrugged. "To be honest, I lived alone for hundreds of years before I met him. But I still say 'good things' behind their backs. One day my words somehow got to Julian's ears, and he vowed to 'discipline his restless followers', and we ended up in During the fight he was pierced through the chest by the falling chandelier and pinned to the ground, so I pulled the curtains up."

After a pause for a few seconds, a sly look appeared on Marsh's face: "Sunshine is the weapon that kills us. If that Billy Tipton hadn't intervened, Julian would be dead now."

"But it's dead now." Josh was referring to Billy.

"Yes, we killed it together."

"Dammon Julian is hiding in the dark and can't do anything alone. As long as he doesn't find another crazy human to work for him, his lackeys can't pose a threat to me..." Josh propped his chin with his right hand, saying to speak for themselves.He seemed to be thinking, and after an unknown period of time, he changed his tone and spoke slowly.

"You want to end the scarlet scare, don't you?" he asked, and Marsh nodded.

"I think we need to work together. Nothing has ever been more ridiculous than this, Abner, but we have to work together. I'll help you find Damon Julian, and you end the Crimson Fear." Josh said cheerfully Saying that, the previous haze seemed to disappear without a trace, "But promise me, don't go back to the shadows alone again."

His eyes have never been so clear and gentle as at this moment, like the reflection of Marsh's not so gentle face on the lake in spring.

"There are scarier things everywhere under the sun. I don't want to lose a friend who made me believe there is hope in the dark."

"Damn it, of course I promise," Marsh said. "It's a long way to go, but we can make it, can't we? Together."

"We're on the same road."

TheEnd. Pay attention to the latest chapters of this article - please search for "Mozhua Novel Reader" on Baidu or log in to mozhua8.com to download the latest version