This NPC really has a problem

At the end of the year, the weather was cold and the vegetation withered, and a path was exposed in the forest that was covered with weeds most of the year. Because of the cover of the branches on the top, there was not much snow on the path, guiding travelers to the forest. deep.

In the depths of the forest, there is an ancient castle made of black bricks and stones. The building has sharp edges and corners, and the sharp and high roof is almost at the same level as the blackened treetops.Many cold-resistant plants are planted in the garden outside the castle, the most of which are shrubs with dark green leaves, and the branches and leaves are covered with a layer of white snow.The outermost part is a hollow iron wall that surrounds the garden. Dead vines are like dead snakes entangled with the thorns and rose patterns on the wall, and the iron arrows above are shining coldly.

The windows of the old castle looked like they hadn't been opened for a long time. The rectangular windows were closed tightly, the glass was dim, and the closures were rusted.It is undoubtedly a big project to clean these windows. It just so happens that the man who was cleaning the windows on the first floor outside at this time was very patient.

The man was wearing a black tuxedo butler uniform, straight trousers, shiny leather shoes, and neatly combed short black hair.At his feet is a small bucket of baking soda and water paste, which he uses to remove rust from windows.Apply these pastes to the rusted area for a few minutes, and then scrub with a brush dampened with water, which can easily remove the rust.

It was five o'clock in the morning, and it had been an hour since Steward Lu got up.He spent two hours cleaning the ground floor of the castle, then put on his white gloves and headed to the castle's kitchen.

The kitchen is located in an unobtrusive corner on the first floor. Before Steward Lu opened the door, he heard the girl whimpering.

He opened the door very calmly.

Behind the door was a girl who was tied up, with a towel stuffed in her mouth so that she could only make indistinct whimpers.There were obvious red marks on the girl's exposed wrists and ankles, which were left after struggling.But the quality of the rope was very good, and the person who tied her was equally skilled. The girl struggled all night without breaking free.

Her eyes were dark blue and black, and she was obviously exhausted physically and mentally after a night of fright and struggle.The moment she saw Steward Lu, she struggled violently again, her pupils constricted, the whites of her eyes were bloodshot, and tears rolled down her eyes.

Steward Lu walked towards the console under the girl's terrified gaze.

He picked at the knife holder for a moment, then took down a sharp fruit knife.

"Woooooo-"

The girl's eyes widened in horror, and she squirmed back, but bumped into the cold wall all at once.

The man with the knife approached slowly.

The face of the knife reflected the girl's frightened eyes.

The moment Steward Lu raised his hand, the girl made a conscious effort to recognize her and closed her eyes tightly.

I saw the hand raised and the knife fell——

"Leave early, don't stay too long." Steward Lu turned around and put the fruit knife back into the knife holder with a calm voice.

The girl trembled uncontrollably. She opened her eyes and looked at the broken rope in disbelief.

"You, you..." She actually stuttered, unable to utter a single word after that.

Butler Lu turned back and asked her, "Is there anything else?"

The girl shook her head desperately, got up from the ground and ran out the door ignoring her weak and stiff hands and feet.

When she was about to run out, she mustered up the courage to turn around and asked, "Please, may I ask, do you know where the boy I was with is now?"

Butler Lu replied, "The garden."

The girl's eyes sparkled with joy.

Butler Lu added: "I buried it."

The girl was stunned.

She asked blankly: "...buried?"

Butler Lu nodded: "He was dead when I got up."

He didn't go into details. For example, the corpse he got in the morning was only a skeleton. Mrs. Tulum licked the blood that was not wiped clean from the corner of her mouth, and closed the bedroom door with Mr. Tulum's arm.

Even if she didn't know this, the girl was on the verge of collapse at this time, and the idea of ​​wanting to live supported her to escape from the castle, and ran out of the forest along the path when she came.

When they came, they thought they had a shelter at night, but they didn't know that someone would sleep forever in the cold underground with resentment.

Steward Lu sighed, found a few shriveled tomatoes and planned to make a simple breakfast for himself.

A busy and boring day for a conscientious and conscientious castle butler begins with letting go of the master's food.

There are few visitors to such a remote castle, and the few guests are always brutally murdered by the master.Butler Lu can put one and count as one, but his ability is limited. Within a few days after he came here, there were three more skeletons underground in the garden.

After the sun came out, only Steward Lu was left in the castle who was still panting.

If you look closely, it is a miracle that he can breathe.

Steward Lu stretched out his hand to caress his chest, and could hardly feel the beating of his heart.He knew that his heart was still beating weakly compared with the master's family, but it was so subtle that it was hard to detect.

In short, it does not look like a living heart.

Butler Lu thought, the dance became lighter and lighter.

He didn't know why he came here. When he came, he had a bloody knife in his hand, and in front of him was a venomous woman. The woman cursed him with a stern voice, cursing him to become a monster like them.

Become a monster that must devour the flesh of the living to stay alive.

The Tulun family has completely become creatures without breathing, without heartbeat, and unable to live under the sun—maybe they can no longer be called creatures.Steward Lu's transformation has not been completed yet, but he can feel that his body is changing every day.

He began to hate the sun, his breathing and heartbeat became weaker and weaker, his skin became pale and bloodless, and when he saw living people, he wanted to suck their blood.And the worst thing for him is that he almost forgot the past before he came to the castle.

Butler Lu felt that he was not the butler in the old castle. Occasionally, he could remember the heavy snow outside the window, the warm fire beside him, and the book with unknown content spread out on his lap.His memory seemed to be divided into two halves, half of which were these incomplete fragments.

The other half is the memory of Steward Lu.

The ancestors of "Steward Lu" have always been the housekeeper of the Tulun family. After his father passed away, he took over his father's job and served the daily life of the Tulun family.

But he was not willing to be a servant forever, to be ordered by his master, and to spend his whole life humbly and humbly.He was deeply jealous of the wealth the Tulum family had, and he wanted it.

"Steward Lu" tried every means to get his master to sign a contract. After the death of the Tulun couple, he would temporarily manage all the property of the Tulun family until the only daughter of the Tulun couple came of age.

"Steward Lu" originally only planned to kill the Tulun couple and make Ms. Tulun his puppet, but gradually he was not satisfied with only having temporary management rights. He wanted the property of the Tulun family to belong to him completely. .

This is not difficult. The Tulun family has no relatives or close friends. As long as the three members of their family are dead, it is very easy for "Steward Lu" to forge a will.

After winter comes, Tulum Castle, which lives deep in the forest, is almost unvisited. One night, "Steward Lu" showed the dagger hidden behind his back. He was almost successful, but he did not expect that Mrs. Tulum There is a strange key in his hand.

Mrs. Tulun's ancestors were slightly involved in witchcraft. With that bit of witchcraft background and keys, Mrs. Tulun allowed their family to continue to exist in the world in the form of living dead, and cursed Steward Lu to become like them.

The Tulun family, who had just been transformed into the living dead, was still very weak and had to rely on the flesh and blood of the living to maintain their vitality.Butler Lu was evenly matched with them, and a delicate balance was temporarily reached in the castle.

……

The heavy snow stopped a few days ago, and now there will be occasional light snow, but the duration will not exceed two hours.Today is a sunny day, and the sun rose not long after Steward Lu finished his breakfast.The sunlight poured into the room from the open window, and when it hit Steward Lu, Steward Lu felt a slight burning sensation on his skin.

Butler Lu finally went to close the window.

Although he can't do activities outdoors, butler Lu still has a lot to do in the castle.The "Steward Lu" in his memory neglected the cleaning work of the castle in order to steal the wealth of the master's family. Now he has to make up for the cleaning work that he missed before.

Butler Lu cleaned for many days in a row, but the castle was too big. With only himself as a labor force, the progress of cleaning the castle was very slow.

Butler Lu recalled the places that hadn't been cleaned, and found that he could finish cleaning today by speeding up.

After washing the dishes, Steward Lu went to the grocery room to get a series of tools such as brooms, mops, and rags.He cleaned it from top to bottom, and the places that haven't been cleaned are all concentrated on the first floor of the castle.

Steward Lu was always concentrating on his work. He spent the entire day cleaning up, and he didn't even go to lunch—there was not much food left in the castle, and there were almost no fresh vegetables.It's just that what Steward Lu needs now is not conventional food, his sense of taste seems to be deteriorating, and the food of ordinary people is as bland as white water to him.

What he needs is the flesh and blood of the living.

He won't die if he doesn't eat, but just like the Tulun family strengthened themselves by devouring the living, he will slowly weaken if he doesn't eat for a long time.

If you are weak, then you are weak, Steward Lu thought self-destructively, anyway, he was also...

Butler Lu was stunned.

Didn't he come here before?

Steward Lu thought for a long time but couldn't remember what the second half of the sentence was. It probably had something to do with his forgotten past.Steward Lu found a blank notebook and wrote down the things he still remembered about the past, such as heavy snow, fire, and books.

He had a premonition that he was about to become Steward Lu completely, and those fragments of memory would leave his mind without leaving anything. He had to record something to prevent his past from disappearing just like that.

Butler Lu wrote the last word.

Picture.

Steward Lu frowned slightly, and really couldn't remember the meaning of this inexplicably written word.

At this time, the gate of the castle was knocked suddenly, and Steward Lu was so shocked that he almost dropped his pen.

"Hello, is there anyone inside? We are travelers passing by and want to spend the night here."

An inexplicably familiar girl's voice sounded outside the castle.

The heart, which was gradually weakening and getting colder, seemed to be beating heavily suddenly.