The Treasure-Chest Hunting Vampire - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Thievery in the Count’s Castle

Ye Ming continued living in the city of Benguela while hiding his identity. Thanks to his exploration and investigation during this period of time, he now had a clear grasp of the city. He had committed to memory the locations of the castles of the Marquis and various Counts.

The Marquis’ castle was situated in the centermost part of Benguela, while the four Counts’ castles were distributed in each cardinal direction, corresponding to the four city districts under their jurisdiction.

Ye Ming had used his delivery tasks as an opportunity to scout out each of the castles, making note of things like places that had a high amount of traffic, or spots where he would not be easily detected, or the suitable time of day for his operation. He had even drawn a simple map of the city.

Currently, Ye Ming was cleaning the store. It was almost dusk. The boss was sitting behind the counter doing the accounts. He was not actually the owner of this place, but only the manager in charge. The real owner was a Vampire. As a mere employee, the boss had to make sure that the accounts were impeccable.

Both of them were busy with their own work when someone walked into the trading house.

Ye Ming could tell with a single glance that the customer was a Vampire. After the customer came in, he went around the store to check out the merchandise. Being as perceptive as Ye Ming was, he quickly went up to the customer and asked with a smile, “How can I help you, my lord?”

The boss also stood up from behind the counter and asked respectfully, “Anything in particular you’re looking for, my lord?”

“Countess Sophie wants a piece of porcelain to decorate her room. Do you have any?”

“Porcelain? Why, of course,” replied the boss respectfully. He came out from behind the counter and spoke to Ye Ming, “Bring the lord a cup of tea, Yelina.”

Having worked here for a period of time now, Ye Ming knew what the boss meant by “tea”. He quickly put down the broom in his hand and ran to the kitchen at the back, where he took out a glass bottle from the cabinet and poured some of the red liquid inside into a cup. He went back out with the cup and said politely, “Have some tea, my lord.”

Upon detecting the fragrance emanating from the cup, the Vampire gave it a good sniff, seemingly intoxicated with the smell. “It’s not that fresh, but I’m very happy with the quality of your service.” He took the cup from Ye Ming and drank it all in one go. “Ah, a woman’s blood! Not yet thirty, but unfortunately not a virgin.”

The Vampire handed the cup back to Ye Ming, then turned to the boss and said, “Let me see what kind of porcelain you have. Ordinary ones won’t do. Countess Sophie is very picky.”

“Of course. How can we sell the Countess anything but the best? Come this way, please,” invited the boss. He led the Vampire to the storerooms at the back.

He opened the door to a storeroom on the second floor and all three of them walked in.

“They’re all here. Take your time to choose. If you see anything you like, I’ll have my employee deliver it to Count Sophie’s castle for you.”

The Vampire paced back and forth before the shelves, carefully inspecting the porcelains on them. He pointed to an ugly-looking porcelain and said, “I can tell right away this one is of very common quality.”

“This pattern on this one is too flashy; it’s not compatible with the Countess’ low-profile style. This one is too colorful and is similarly unsuitable. The shape of this one is too brazen. This one has no soul…”

This Vampire proceeded to critique almost the entire collection in the storeroom. The boss was at the end of his wits. He had no idea what the customer wanted.

Ye Ming stood there impatiently, picking his ears. He moved his gaze to the window. Although it was dark outside, it was still a better sight than the fussy Vampire who could not stop picking faults with the merchandise.

Finally, the customer stopped before the last shelf and picked up a gold-rimmed plate. “This one should do. It’ll look quite tasteful decorating the drawing room.”

The boss breathed a sigh of relief. At least there was one piece of porcelain that the guy was satisfied with. He quickly said to Ye Ming, “Wrap it up for him, Yelina, then follow him back to Countess Sophie’s castle to deliver the product. Be careful, don’t break it along the way.”

“Yes, boss. Don’t worry, I’ll be extra careful.”

As he said that, Ye Ming took the plate from the Vampire’s hand and carefully wrapped it up with oilpaper. He even padded the inside with a few strips of cloth to serve as cushion.

Ye Ming followed the Vampire all the way to the southern district of the city where Countess Sophie’s ancient castle was located. Along the way, Ye Ming made sure to pay attention to the terrain. He secretly memorized every passageway and courtyard he went through.

The Vampire brought Ye Ming into the castle and to the drawing room. Ye Ming carefully unwrapped the porcelain and placed it on a shelf according to the Vampire’s instruction.

The Vampire expressed his satisfaction and tipped Ye Ming a gold coin, which Ye Ming gladly accepted. With his work done, he excused himself, exited the drawing room, and returned along the way he came.

Ye Ming took his time walking out of the ancient castle. When he encountered some guards who looked him over suspiciously, he even smiled back at them and moved aside for them to pass. After the guards had walked past him with suspicious eyes, Ye Ming suddenly turned and leapt into a dark corner of the castle, then activated {Stealth}. He did not want to miss this rare opportunity. There were bound to be treasure chests in Countess Sophie’s castle waiting for him to discover.

He returned all the way back to the drawing room. Instead of stopping there, he went straight to the second floor of the ancient castle. Earlier in the drawing room, he did not trigger any system notification, so he did not feel that there was a need to bother with the place anymore.

Upon reaching the second floor, right after he made a turn at the top of the stairs, he heard the system notification and, at the same time, saw the treasure chest. It was a silver treasure chest containing some low-level ingredients. He put them away. Suddenly, he heard the panting sound of a woman. Following the sound, Ye Ming came to a door that was not fully closed. Through the gap, he saw a naked woman sitting on a man’s body.

Ye Ming did not stay to peep; he quietly left soon after. After all, he did not come here for the purpose of watching a romantic action movie. He pushed open the door to another room and discovered that it was a study. Then, he received a system notification:

*Ding* [Congratulations, you have discovered a treasure chest!]

Ye Ming searched the place and finally found the treasure chest hidden behind a cabinet. It was a golden treasure chest which contained some low-level ingredients and a vial of Viscount Blood Essence.

Putting away the loot, Ye Ming exited the room and continued his mission to search the rest of the ancient castle. When he passed by the previous room, he inadvertently peeked inside. The two people in the room had now shifted to a 69 position.

Ye Ming shook his head and left them alone. He searched almost every corner of the ancient castle and found another silver treasure chest by the fountain.

Feeling that he had stayed long enough, Ye Ming quietly left Countess Sophie’s castle without anyone being the wiser.