A/N: My dear readers from Romania, please do not be angry with me if I do not name places or something like that and continue to use my imagination. I do not know Romania, and I include only the one or the other to this topic in connection with Romania, or rather Wallachia and Moldavia, which I have found as a layman and understand myself. To this topic gives it very much scientific, which I would like to leave out here however. Because then it would not be a fantasy story anymore. Thank you for your understanding, love you.

The two days in this small but also very beautiful peaceful place have passed quickly. Or rather one and a half days. Because our private guide, arrived half a day earlier. She, like Zhan a historian originally from China like us, has lived in Romania for 25 years and has made it her mission to find out more about vampires and werewolves, like Zhan.

She already worked with Zhan and immediately agreed when Zhan asked her if she would help him again. Because she has contacts that Zhan doesn't have. She knows all the remote little villages where people still believe very strongly in vampires and werewolves.

But before it really started, she took us to Dracula's castle. Yes well, it was not really his castle, rather just a castle that resembled the description. But it was still totally interesting and beautiful.

She told me, that she was recently in a small village, where the staking of the dead is still done, so that they don't wake up as undead, get out of their graves and visit their relatives. However, the vampires there are generally not called vampires, but strigoi. Which is translated as ghost.

According to the historian, the name vampires was first created by Bram Stoker's book, Dracula. And vampires is translated to mean winged creatures. Back then through Bram Stoker's book, Dracula, there was also a rumor that he could turn into a bat. According to rumors, Bram Stoker took a term from his country of origin, Ireland, to name the bloodsuckers.

It was also interesting that many things related to vampires could be explained scientifically quite simple. Because often simple rot signs were wrongly interpreted. So Lee, the historian, told me that whenever people at that time could not explain why a dead person had blood in his mouth, was bloated or the skin peeled off and a new skin was visible underneath, that these had to be vampires.

Among other things, they are also mentioned in the context as a sure sign that someone was a vampire, with words like shroud eater, in the sense of after eating. Or smacking in the grave, which people claim to have heard. As well as the continued growth of nails and hair. But all this can be explained scientifically even simply. Like the blood around the mouth and the bloated bodies.

What I should also mention is that Lee explained that often corpses have also been falsely called vampires when the canines were longer. So fangs. But this is just as easily explained. Because when the skin dries up, the teeth become more prominent. And the canines are often pointed.

Oh yes, I should perhaps mention that there are people who drink blood. They like it or they suffer from anemia. Among them there are actually also some who drink blood because they believe it would help them.

So yes, I've learned quite a lot since Zhan and I have been traveling with Lee. And I was really amazed at how many stories there really are. Of course there are those famous stories like Count Dracula. Or the vampire of Venice. But stories like I heard in the last 8 days from mostly older people in smaller remote villages, I did not know and sounded like scary novels.

Whereby I think that much of what they told can also be explained scientifically. Other however rather not. Because with some stories I recognized also things, which I experienced myself.

But besides all the myths and legends that have been told to us, we have also found many old books. Mostly they are owned by private people who pass these books from one generation to the next.

Then there are those who found handwritten books while cleaning up at the homes of deceased relatives. They were stored in basements or attics.

An old woman we met in a very remote little village invited us to her home to show us her collection. She strongly believes that vampires exist and has been collecting all kinds of things about them all her life.

So we entered her house, a small house that looked very old and dilapidated, and she took us into her super creepy basement. She has skulls lying there on a shelf that really looked like they were from vampires. She said that these skulls were from her dead relatives who became vampires. Well, I saved myself from explaining to her that there is nothing but ashes left from a killed vampire.

She showed us her immense book collection. Many books still handwritten. Diaries from the 16th, 17th and 18th century of alleged vampire hunters. So well preserved, as if they were only a few years old. She had stored several pointed canines in a canning jar. She had all sorts of weapons at home that were said to be used to chase or kill vampires.

For me it was very spooky and I just hoped she wouldn't see that I was a vampire and want to try out her weapons on me. Fortunately, she didn't notice.

Unfortunately, Zhan and Lee didn't find any useful books to help us with the legend of the white wolf and the vampire. But the old lady had a tip for us. She sent us to another village, the village where she was born and raised. And there we were supposed to meet with a man who might be able to help us.

So we went to this village the following day and rang the man's doorbell. For 50 euros he let us into his house and showed us the most blatant werewolf collection I could have imagined.

Again it went down into a dark creepy basement. And there were books stacked partially from floor to ceiling, just about werewolves. He has a skull of which he is 100% sure is from a werewolf. Again, we saved the fact that when a werewolf dies, it reverts to its human form.

This man had several firearms in his basement and matching cartridges of pure silver. His books, just like the old woman's, were very old and partly handwritten. There were also diaries there. And one was very interesting indeed.

In it the author wrote that once he was in a forest in Wallachia and there he met a white wolf, which was accompanied by a vampire. The author of the diary roughly translated wrote: "Today I was in the forest and wanted to hunt, the family is hungry. It was already late when I wanted to return without prey. I was almost out of the forest when I heard something. I hid and saw a huge white wolf. And this wolf was accompanied by a vampire. I know exactly it was one, because they both noticed me. The vampire grabbed me and showed me his teeth. Bloodshot red eyes stared at me hatefully. But when the white wolf growled, the vampire let go of me and I escaped."

I don't think he escaped. But rather that they let him go. The wolf probably threatened or admonished the vampire with the growl.

Zhan took pictures of the pages of that diary and then we left. That night we slept in the car because it was too far to the next place with a hotel.

We were in the middle of nowhere in nature. Night fell around us and seemed eerie. Especially as a summer thunderstorm rolled in. I couldn't really sleep and kept staring out into the darkness. Sometimes I imagined I could see the red glow of eyes. But since Zhan was very quiet, it was probably just my imagination.

The next morning, as the sun rose, our journey continued. We drove to another village where there was another collector who seemed to know everything about vampires and werewolves.

While Zhan and Lee interviewed the man, I looked around his room full of collectibles. Fortunately, this time it wasn't a creepy basement, but a room on the first floor. One book in particular caught my eye. Probably because it had a blood red cover, while the others were plain black or brown.

I took the book and leafed through it. I could not read a word. But the pictures inside were really amazing. Pictures of werewolves and vampires, next to handwritten notes. I showed it to Lee and she eagerly flipped through it as well. She read a few passages, or rather translated them, and Zhan took pictures of the entries. Unfortunately, nothing about the white wolf and the vampire either.

Somehow, the whole time I was looking at some of these pictures, I kept thinking of Victor Frankenstein. I don't know why, maybe because I watched the movie I am Frankenstein, on Netflix, together with Zhan just a few weeks before, and the memoirs in the book were so similar. Or because this book seemed rather scientific, with all the cut open bodies of wolves and vampires.

Makes me wonder if they really cut open vampires and werewolves to find out what their insides look like? Because how else would they know and be able to record it? No wonder werewolves and vampires live in hiding when people do this to them!

After 12 days we still had not made any progress in our search. And slowly but surely I realized why Zhan spent years in Romania. Not only because it is a beautiful country, but because there is so much to discover. We keep getting new hints and tips that take us further into the country.

On day 15 of our search, we took a two day break. We rented two rooms in a hotel and relaxed a bit there. Well, I relaxed and Zhan went over everything they had so far with Lee. They transferred pictures and conversation notes to the laptop and talked about the next destinations of our trip.

While I was relaxing, I also talked on the phone with my brother, who told me that he and Cheng are very happy together and do a lot of together. The two of them have postponed the move for now. Now they are also waiting in the USA until Grandpa Xiao gives the all-clear.

I talked to the twins almost every day to find out how Yizhan is doing. He is doing well. But they say he often looks for Zhan and me and makes noise outside our bedroom. He has also kept the twins awake several times at night by rampaging around the room.

Of course, we also talked to Grandpa Xiao. We call him every 2 to 3 days. Just yesterday he told us that they killed two black wolves and three vampires when they came near the farm. According to Grandpa Xiao, the situation is getting worse and worse and by now the authorities have noticed that something is going on in the woods.

This was not new to us. But what is new is that other authorities besides the homicide squad are now investigating. Despite the surveillance of the woods, people have been disappearing again and again. And just a few days ago, more bloodless corpses were reported again. This time it wasn't even specified how many bodies there were.

I called Homicide and explained to them that Zhan and I were withdrawing from the case because of the great danger involved. They didn't object. Apparently, even they realized by now that it was too dangerous. I also told them that we were busy with investigations abroad, while my local representative in Beijing had taken over my other cases. I wanted to make sure they wouldn't show up at the office with a new case. Ray and Binyun already have enough to do with the cases that are there.

Today, our journey continued. We hope every time we find a new book that we will finally get closer to the truth about the legend, or more information about it. So far we have had no luck. But that doesn't mean that out there in beautiful Romania the truth isn't to be found somewhere.

Zhan continues to hope that maybe he can find the white she-wolf. He is convinced that she is still alive. But also that she may not live much longer. Therefore, he is all the more anxious to find her.

Finally for today I can say, even if we are on the road a lot and Zhan often hangs with his nose in old books, our relationship does not come too short. On the contrary. We always try to make the best of the time we have. And so we continue to get closer and closer. And soon we will mate. I am already looking forward to this day! Well then, see you next time and then hopefully with better news!