Chapter 1052: Father Gascoigne
Old Qin had taken down the first boss and was feeling quite pleased with himself.
After lighting the lantern, he returned to the Hunter’s Dream, used the Blood Echoes he’d collected to level up, and then continued exploring.
At first, Old Qin thought *Bloodborne* was different from *Dark Souls*, with fewer NPC storylines. But after looking around more carefully, he realized that wasn’t the case.
In *Dark Souls*, when players first arrive at Firelink Shrine, they encounter a variety of NPCs—like the Crestfallen Warrior, Ludleth, the Fire Keeper, and so on—and as the story progresses, more NPCs show up.
But after playing for a while, Old Qin noticed that the Hunter’s Dream in *Bloodborne* didn’t seem to gain any new NPCs. It was just Gehrman in his wheelchair and the Doll.
However, after playing a bit longer, Old Qin discovered that NPC storylines did exist—they were just handled differently from *Dark Souls*.
*Bloodborne* didn’t have a Crestfallen Warrior, but in a way, every villager in Yharnam was one. Whenever he knocked on a door, the resident inside would respond, but their words were always dripping with sarcasm and mockery.
Some suspected Old Qin was a despicable outsider trying to trick them; others cursed him for being a useless hunter who had left all the residents in danger. Not a single kind word came out of their mouths…
At one point, an old woman would snap at him when he knocked, then ask if there was a safe place she could take shelter. Old Qin didn’t know how to answer and just said he didn’t know. But the next time he came back, she’d ask again: “Have you found a safe place to take shelter now?”
Old Qin answered, “The Hunter’s Dream.” The old woman then mocked him, saying he was talking in his sleep, deliberately deceiving her, and that the despicable outsider had a truly rotten heart.
Clearly, that wasn’t the right answer. In the story, the Hunter’s Dream was a place that existed only in a hunter’s dreams—these NPCs didn’t know about it and couldn’t go there.
That meant there should be a real shelter somewhere in *Bloodborne*’s world where some NPCs could take refuge, but Old Qin hadn’t progressed the story far enough to find it yet.
Even though he was mocked everywhere he went, Old Qin did encounter a few kind-hearted NPCs.
For instance, one NPC very helpfully provided him with a lot of information, telling him that if he wanted to find the Paleblood, he should check the church. He also gave Old Qin a Flamesprayer, a sidearm that seemed quite useful.
At another window, a little girl anxiously begged Old Qin to help her find her missing parents.
“My daddy went out hunting and never came back. Mommy went to find him, but she’s gone too… I’m all alone, and I’m scared…”
“Thank you! My mommy has a ruby brooch on her chest. If you see her, please give her this music box. If daddy forgets us, play this music box for him, and he’ll remember.”
The description of the small music box read: “Plays a song sung by a little girl’s parents. Inside the lid is a small piece of paper with two names visible: Viola and Gascoigne.”
Old Qin didn’t think much of it and continued exploring.
After a lot of effort taking down two werewolves with very high damage, Old Qin muttered to himself as he walked toward a distant graveyard.
“These werewolves seem to have some new moves. When I was fighting it just now, it… WTF?!”
Before he could finish his sentence, Old Qin felt something off about the atmosphere ahead.
He had been running, but as he approached the edge of the graveyard, he automatically slowed to a walk, and his attention was involuntarily drawn to a figure in the distance.
Old Qin’s heart sank. This was a boss encounter! And he had absolutely no mental preparation for it!
The tall hunter was hunched over, chopping at something with a large axe, raising it and bringing it down again and again. Blood splattered everywhere; bones cracked and tendons snapped.
Old Qin felt the figure looked familiar. He squinted. “What?! Isn’t that the big brother who helped me?”
“How does this game have a betrayal plot too?! Big brother, snap out of it! We were just fighting side by side—don’t you remember?”
But the old hunter seemed to have lost all reason, continuing to raise and lower his axe. Old Qin could vaguely make out the corpse of a werewolf beneath him, but it wasn’t one of the large ones—its limbs and body still roughly retained a human shape.
Clearly, this werewolf had only recently transformed.
“Whoa, big brother, are you… sick? Look, you’ve already chopped that corpse to pieces. That’s enough, don’t you think? How about you come with me and take on the next boss instead?” Old Qin muttered.
Then he saw the hunter slowly straighten up and say in a very low voice, “Beasts all over the shop… You’ll be one of them, sooner or later…”
The hunter turned his face, revealing an extremely ferocious expression.
“Help! Spare me! Let me go!”
Old Qin turned to run. No way—he had seen how this big brother had taken down the Cleric Beast earlier. The guy was a beast himself!
Having to fight him one-on-one now? Was that a joke?
But the entrance was already sealed off by a white fog gate. The hunter brother rolled forward, his right hand swinging the large axe in an upward arc that left a trail of fire, slashing viciously!
Old Qin nearly pissed himself. He quickly dodged to the left, the axe grazing his clothes.
Just as Old Qin thought he was safe, he heard a *bang*, and a spray of quicksilver bullets hit him right in the face.
“He uses a gun too? F*ck!”
Old Qin reluctantly accepted that he had to go toe-to-toe with this powerhouse. Then he caught a glimpse of the boss’s name.
“Father Gascoigne? Why does that name sound familiar?”
“Oh, right! That little music box! So the little girl’s daddy is you!”
“But, big brother, can you please stop?!”
Old Qin fumbled to pull out the music box and played it. Father Gascoigne immediately clutched his head, falling into a confused state for at least two to three seconds.
Old Qin had hoped the priest would regain his senses, but it was useless. Once the confusion wore off, Father Gascoigne charged at him again, axe swinging!
“It’s over. This big brother is too far gone with the beastly scourge. The music box didn’t work! Looks like, story-wise, I have no choice but to take him down.”
Old Qin had to weave around various tombstones, trying to outmaneuver Father Gascoigne. He had to admit, this guy’s aggression was overwhelming, and he had a gun too. Even though Old Qin had brought a full twenty vials of blood, they were draining fast.
At first, Old Qin struggled, but once he realized this guy was easy to parry with the gun, the fight became much more manageable.
The two of them traded shots—bang for bang—while Old Qin used tombstones and trees as cover.
“Is this a f*cking FPS game?!” Old Qin couldn’t help but complain.