Huang Xiaotao gave her orders: "Those checking the hospitals, also look into any strange cases of blood-sucking illnesses."
"Wait! I want to visit the orphanages in Nanjiang City myself," I added.
"Song Yang, what new discovery do you have now?" Huang Xiaotao asked, clearly puzzled why I insisted on going to orphanages.
"It's just a hunch. If no one else can be spared, I'll go alone—but I'll need you to give me an official case document," I said.
"I'll come with you!" Huang Xiaotao volunteered. Then she sent everyone else off to their own investigations.
Wang Dali and I hopped into Huang Xiaotao's car. She checked the GPS and said, "The nearest orphanage is the Ci'ai Welfare Home. Let's start there."
"Alright! But I'm going to take a quick nap first—I'm exhausted," I said, reclining the passenger seat and soon drifting off.
Before long, Huang Xiaotao shook me awake. "Wake up, we're here."
Outside the window stood a white building covered in green vines. The sign on the gate read "Ci'ai Welfare Home." I yawned—just a short nap made me feel a little more refreshed.
…
Huang Xiaotao handed me a wet wipe to freshen up. "Thanks," I said.
Wiping my face, I remarked, "Being a cop must be tough—you barely get any sleep. How do you keep your skin looking so good?"
Huang Xiaotao opened the glove compartment to reveal a stash of sheet masks. "Whenever I do get sleep, I plaster my face with hydrating masks."
"No way! Imported masks too? You spend like a billionaire! What does your family do?" I was stunned by the expensive skincare products.
She grinned mischievously. "That's classified! Now, let's get to work. Dali…"
From the backseat came loud snoring. We turned to see Wang Dali fast asleep. Huang Xiaotao tried to wake him, but I waved it off. "Forget it, the two of us will go check things out. Who knows if we'll find anything?"
We entered the orphanage and asked the staff if they'd ever taken in a child with pale skin, no body hair, and a fear of sunlight.
The staff led us to the infirmary and pulled out a thick medical record book. After searching, they confirmed no such child had been admitted. We thanked them and left.
Huang Xiaotao looked puzzled. "Why exactly did you want to check the orphanages?"
"Can't say yet. There are only a few orphanages in Nanjiang City. Once I've checked them all, I'll explain," I said.
"And if we find nothing?" she asked.
"I'll treat you to dinner," I promised.
Huang Xiaotao smirked. "You? A poor student treating me?"
"It'd be my honor to treat a beautiful cop," I replied with a sly smile.
We went on to visit three more orphanages. Having Huang Xiaotao's car made it easy; without it, Wang Dali and I would have wasted the entire day just traveling.
No luck in any of them.
At lunchtime, Huang Xiaotao parked outside a fast-food joint and ordered two sets. Suddenly, Wang Dali shot up. "I want fried chicken wings and a large Coke with ice!"
Huang Xiaotao gave him a glare. "How do you always wake up when it's time to eat?"
Wang Dali grinned. "My biological clock's just like that. No matter how late I sleep, I'm always up by meal time. Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Sounds like a pig's life!" Huang Xiaotao rolled her eyes and ordered an extra set.
After eating, Huang Xiaotao checked the GPS again. "Only one orphanage left in Nanjiang City. If we don't find anything there, dinner's on you."
"Deal," I nodded.
"But don't think a street stall will cut it—you better prepare your wallet for a splurge," she teased.
Over an hour later, we arrived at the last orphanage—Sacred Heart Orphanage. It was set in a quiet area, with a church-like building standing tall amid a white birch forest. A white cross crowned its spire.
"That looks like a church," Wang Dali said.
"This orphanage was donated by the local Christian community, hence the design," Huang Xiaotao explained.
We pushed open the gate. The yard was silent; fallen birch leaves scattered on the path.
Inside the gatehouse sat an elderly woman knitting. Upon seeing us, she asked who we were looking for. Huang Xiaotao explained, and the woman suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I think I remember that child!"
I exchanged a glance with Huang Xiaotao—we might be on the right track.
The woman told us the child was adopted twenty years ago at age seven. Because of his strange appearance—pale skin, fear of sunlight—and lack of body hair, there was heated debate among nuns, priests, and the orphanage director. Some said he must be the devil's child and should be abandoned.
But the kind-hearted director opposed this, saying even the devil's child could be redeemed by God's light, so they took him in.
The boy rarely ate anything—no milk, meat, or peanuts. He was always undernourished and once fainted from malnutrition. When the nuns gave him a nutrition shot, it almost killed him. He broke out in painful blisters, rolling on the floor in agony, terrifying everyone.
There was an eerie aura about him. Once, the woman found all the chickens dead in the coop. Thinking a weasel was to blame, she was shocked to find the boy crouching there, mouth dripping with blood and his eyes glowing eerily. She was scared out of her wits!
Because of that, the boy was locked up for three days, but he was naturally withdrawn and didn't mind the isolation. He even preferred the dark confinement.
He once bit a nun on the neck, nearly killing her. The staff had had enough and threatened to strike if the director didn't get rid of him. Some even claimed he was a descendant of Cain and should be destroyed by sunlight.
The director was firm, saying the boy was pitiable and wouldn't survive a day outside. He also cited the biblical warning that killing Cain's descendants would bring sevenfold retribution.
The director took the boy to the atonement room, teaching him all day with the Bible. A merciful man, the director was regarded as a saint by everyone.
The boy was eventually "reformed," never biting anyone again, though staff kept him distant from other children.
When he turned eighteen, he escaped and was never heard from again. For the orphanage staff, that nightmare was finally over.
After hearing this, I was certain: this was our suspect.
"What's his name? Do you have any detailed info?" Huang Xiaotao asked urgently.
"I don't know. I'll take you to meet the director," the woman replied.
"Thanks, that'd be great!" Huang Xiaotao said.
On the way, Wang Dali asked curiously, "What do you mean by 'descendant of Cain'?"
"Cain is a figure in the Bible, and the legendary progenitor of vampires. Later vampire counts and queens all trace back to Cain's lineage," I explained.