Chapter 91 Whose Conspiracy: Butter Beer and Braised Duck
The moment the door opened, a tall woman with thick oil paint on her face stood there. Large areas of indigo, bright yellow and scarlet outlined a flamboyant skull face. Her long red hair was tied into a bun, and it was full of large marigolds.
Rose asked politely, "Are you..."
The visitor looked at her strangely and said, "Don't you recognize me? I'm Ophelia."
"How did you get out?" Ye Wan was surprised.
She sighed, "It's a long story."
It seems that Dracula has been frantically looking for a way to completely resurrect her recently, which has caused the villa's barrier to be incomplete, so Ophelia secretly ran back while he was out.
"The Easter of the Dead is getting closer and closer, and I always feel like there is a task to be completed. This feeling is very strong and makes me very uneasy." She slapped her forehead and said dejectedly.
"Maybe we should go for a walk outside," Rose suggested.
They quickly left the small apartment. There was a fire escape outside the apartment, but it was quite old and made a loud "bang bang" sound when they walked on it.
Ye Wan stood on the metal stairs and looked outside. The outline of the royal capital was dyed with a strange orange in the dusk, as if thousands of flames were burning.
They passed by the evening market, with flower stalls selling golden marigolds on both sides. Because of the wind, many petals were blown onto the street.
The air was filled with the strong smell of barbecue. Countless dolls and skeletons were hung on the colorful walls of the market. The dolls danced in the wind, and many children were walking around asking passers-by for candy.
"I have some here!" Ophelia hurriedly took out a few candies wrapped in the shape of little bats from her pocket. Ye Wan opened the wrapping paper and found bright red pomegranate-flavored candies inside.
Ye Wan took a bite and found it had a strong pomegranate flavor. "This candy is delicious."
"I did this with Dracula. He has a lot of pomegranates in his yard." Ophelia said embarrassedly.
"It seems like you two get along well." Rose said.
A suspicious blush seemed to flash across Ophelia's face: "Oh, he is quite nice."
The three of them returned to the tavern. Ye Wan prepared some butterbeer and boiled it in a pot. He also cooked caramel cream sauce in another pot. The cream had to be whipped until soft little balls formed. Ye Wan liked to burn the caramel a little to enhance the flavor.
Pour beer into the glass and pour cream on it, and a glass of butter beer is ready. Ye Wan put a decorative little pumpkin doll on it and handed it to them.
More diners arrived, and Ye Wan noticed that many of them had skulls painted on their faces. She even couldn't recognize Emma when she came in, after all, the ink on her face was too heavy.
"I'll draw one for you too," Emma said enthusiastically.
"Not for now." Ye Wan quickly waved her hand. She felt that this oil painting was difficult to remove.
The old regiment commander Hans strode in, his face also covered with skull paint, and a flying butterfly was painted on the burned area on the right side.
"This is really cool, Mr. Hans." Ye Wan exclaimed: "What do you want to eat?"
Hans waved his hand. "Oh no, no, no, I still have to continue rehearsing. Remember to come to our Parade of the Dead and Night Tour of the Cemetery!"
After saying that, he left happily.
"What kind of activity is the night tour of the cemetery?" Ye Wan asked.
"It's probably a kind of disco at the grave. I remember seeing many people in extravagant clothes singing and dancing happily beside their relatives' graves." Rose explained.
"This is a bit too joyful." Ye Wan had never experienced this kind of culture and found it difficult to adapt. She was busy throwing the blanched duck feet, duck gizzards, and duck wing tips into the pot, then adding the marinade bag, rock sugar, and soy sauce and letting them simmer slowly.
Soon, the kitchen was filled with a spicy aroma. Ye Wan was stirring with a spoon. Ophelia asked, holding her beer, "Will they go to my grave and dance? I feel very lonely in that place. If someone is willing to decorate it with bright marigolds and roses and dance on my grave, I think I would be very happy."
Ye Wan recalled the desolate poem, "During the Qingming Festival, rain falls heavily, and the pedestrians on the road are almost heartbroken." "I've always thought that ancestor worship is a sad and solemn thing, but perhaps the activities of the Day of the Dead can dispel people's fear of death. If you're willing, I can go with Emma and the others to decorate your grave."
Ophelia smiled and said, "That's great."
The gelatin of the duck feet was gradually cooked out, and the skin and meat of the duck in the pot were translucent. Ye Wan added some heat, and the soup became thicker. Ye Wan took them out and let them cool.
This pot of duck was wrapped in a thick, dark red sauce, with a rich, oily sheen. Emma curiously picked up a piece of the shiny duck neck. Although there was not much meat, the texture was surprisingly firm. After taking a sip of the juice, Emma's nose was sweating from the spiciness.
"This is delicious, but too spicy." She quickly drank a glass of ice-cold beer.
"Leo told me that the sacrificial foods should have a stronger flavor. For example, the bread of the dead is stuffed with cinnamon and orange peel, and the amount of sugar in the frosting should be several times more." Ye Wan said.
"I hope this fetches a good price at the Day of the Dead parade."
When the tavern closed at around ten o'clock in the evening, Rose followed Ophelia out first: "I want to send her back to the villa to prevent Dracula from going crazy again."
Youan hadn't returned home today, so Ye Wan had to prepare to give Emma a ride alone. Although Emma said that they could meet the Guards just a few steps down the street, Ye Wan insisted on giving her a ride, and Pancake even put his arm around her shoulder.
Emma was very touched.
The two walked in a narrow alley. There was only a pub run by Ye Wan's family in this alley. The other shops had closed early, so under the dim street lights, the alley was indeed quiet.
"Actually, I've walked this road many times, but the rumors about vampires have become more and more bizarre recently... I don't know why they chose Miss Catherine. She is a very friendly person." Emma said.
They reached the sign at the alley's entrance. The sign trembled and said, "To the left is Honey Alley, and to the right... there is deadly danger."
Ye Wan and Emma looked at each other in shock: "What happened to it today?"
Emma said uneasily, "Oh, although these old road signs are not accurate, why don't we go back? I can stay in the attic of the tavern tonight."
An autumn breeze blew by, and Ye Wan felt the hairs on her arms stand up. She touched her arms and said, "Then let's go back..."
Before he could finish his words, a scream came from the other end of the alley, and the two looked at each other.
Neither of the two people here has any weapons. If there really is some deadly danger at the other end of the alley, running over there would be a waste of life.
Finally, they all turned around and ran into the tavern. Fortunately, Emma was carrying a communicator similar to a mobile phone, and she immediately called the Night's Watch.
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Ye Wan was startled. Emma even threw a frying pan at the door. The person outside the door quickly reacted and caught the handle of the pan, then frowned and said:
"What are you doing?"
It was Youan who came back, and Ye Wan and Emma quickly told him what happened.
He came back on a broom and had never entered the alley. He drew his sword and walked towards the alley. Ye Wan hurriedly followed him.
The night was so thick that it could not be dissolved, with only a few gas street lamps casting a dim glow. When I reached the entrance of the alley, the road sign was still trembling, and a cold and ominous atmosphere emerged.
"Wait... do you smell anything?" Ye Wan asked.
In addition to the smell of oil smoke in the alley, there was also a strong smell of blood with a sweet smell of rust.
"It's right there." Ye Wan said, and she subconsciously held Youan's arm tightly.
After turning a corner at the entrance of the alley, Ye Wan saw a woman curled up in the shadow of the alley. She was lying on her side and her face could not be seen clearly. The hem of her velvet red dress was like a broken fishtail. Ye Wan could see that blood was constantly flowing from her white neck, and there were many rose petals scattered on the ground.
“Oh my God,” she said.
At this moment, the sound of huge wings flapping the air came from afar, and several strong lights suddenly shot down from the sky, illuminating the alley. Ye Wan looked up and saw a huge monster flying down from the sky. It had a body as strong as a lion, gorgeous and beautiful golden hair, and its head was like an eagle, covered with colorful feathers.
When it flew down from the sky, it was as fast as a meteor, bringing up a gust of wind that messed up Ye Wan's hair.
A night watchman swiftly jumped down from the griffin's back and shone his lantern over there. "It's exactly the same as last time."
Several staff members from the rehabilitation center came over with a stretcher and carried the woman away.
The night watchman looked at Ye Wan: "It's you again."
"What do you mean it's us again? This incident happened in Honey Lane and I live here. It's normal for me to encounter this." Ye Wan said.
She had already heard that the annoying night watchman hiding in the black robe must be Red!
The atmosphere was so tense that it was about to freeze, but Pancake suddenly became extremely curious about the huge griffin. It sneaked down Ye Wan's trouser legs, ran towards the griffin, and looked up at it.
In front of the huge griffin, the muffin was just a small moving ball of wool. It raised its nose, sniffed the griffin's paw, which was bigger than itself, and wanted to touch it.
The griffin snorted loudly in impatience, and a strong airflow rushed out of its nose, causing the pancake to squeak and roll backwards several times like a ball of fur, until it rolled to Ye Wan's feet.
Ye Wan was still arguing with Red. He looked down and saw Pancake lying there dizzy. He exclaimed and took Pancake away.
You An had already explored the crime scene and took Ye Wan home: "Let's go back first."
Red jumped up and down behind him: "I'll find you guys to write a statement later."
Emma was still waiting in the tavern. When she saw them come back, she asked, "How's the situation?"
"It looks like this matter will spread all over the city tomorrow." You An sighed: "If I have to say, those traces must have been made by vampires."
"But if Fiona isn't lying, I have reason to believe that someone wants to recreate the war between humans and vampires a hundred years ago and profit from it."
"I think I'll go look for Fiona now," he said.
"No need, we're here." It was Fiona who spoke. She came in from the side door and brought a few people with her.
"We have registered all the vampires in the city. This incident was not done by us, and we also want to find out who caused the disturbance," she said.
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