The Record of Unusual Creature

Vivian had reconnected with all her summoned bats. While most of them arrived at their respective destinations, only a few managed to find their targets. These old friends, whom Vivian had no contact with since a hundred years ago would not have stayed in one place for too long. Finding these hermits was not going to be easy. In the past, Vivian would not have cared; for the last thousand years, she seldom made an effort to contact the other-kind; those she met, she met by chance. But now, she had a headache: as an ancient vampire, she understood no more about the other-kind than the demon hunters, and that made her feel useless.

In any case, she managed to contact a few and obtain useful intel. However, news of the Countess of the Crimson Moon resurfacing and contacting the ancient ones quickly spread among the other-kind. She knew her actions were bound to arouse suspicion, but she had no choice. “The Most Ancient Vampire” was a title too heavy to bear; even if she was not fighting with anyone, speculation could abound because of the epithet. But heck, screw it. If they wanted to take a cheap shot at her, so be it.

As far as she was concerned, she only cared about whether the vegetable soup was done. She tried not to keep those voracious creatures at the dining table waiting. Strangely, for some unknown reason, she felt like this was the best moment in her life, much better than the tumultuous and violent life during the mythological times.

“Here you go!” Vivian summoned two swarms of bats to serve the steamy soup and fresh-out-of-the-pot Lil Pea on the table. The listless voracious creatures all bounced up like kangaroos. Hao Ren affably pulled out a chair for Vivian and said, “We’ve been waiting for you.”

Lily was always the first one out of the gate when it came to eating. Before the pot even landed on the table, she already helped herself to it, filling up her bowl to the brink. “Haha, early bird gets the worm…”

Such was life, better than fruitless labour during the Mythological Era.

The moment Lily gulped down a spoonful, she frowned. “Something’s not right, Battie. You haven’t just forgotten about seasoning, a lot more’s missing.”

In disbelief, Hao Ren said, “How could it be? Vivian has never screwed up—”

Before he could finish his word, water splashed out from one of the pots and a small thing emerged from it—it was Lil Pea. She had chopped green onions as well as other vegetables hanging all over her, and two cooked parsley leaves in her hands. Her face was reddish and she smelled like vegetable soup…

Vivian blushed when she finally realised her mistake: while she was in the kitchen multitasking, she had unknowingly added salt and green onions into the wrong pot. And the little one did not say a thing; did Lil Pea not find it weird with all the vegetables floating around her?

“I’m so sorry, I was distracted.” Vivian waved her hand in embarrassment. Meanwhile, Hao Ren was holding a spoon in front of Lil Pea, wondering about the soup. “Is this even edible?”

Lil Pea was a good girl, she removed the vegetable pieces that hung over her head and put it into the spoon. She then added a complementary handful of water. She shoved the spoon of soup towards Hao Ren and said indistinctly, “Eat… eat…” Although she only ate bamboo and wood, she knew the ingredients in the pot were edible.

Hao Ren put the spoon of soup back into the pot; no matter how strong his will power was, he was not going to drink that soup.

“I was just contacting an old friend. As we chatted I got distracted.” Vivian smiled in embarrassment. It was a stupid mistake especially for a god-level cook like her. She wanted to distract Hao Ren’s attention away from her blunder, so she said, “Most of them have moved. But I still managed to reach seven of them who care less about shifting places.”

Hearing that, Hao Ren shifted his attention away from Lil Pea and the soup. He was obviously into the Day of Return stuff. “So, what have you got?”

Tidying up her hair, Vivian said, “Firstly, news of the Day of Return has spread among the other-kind, even the small-fry. A few reputable families of the Blood Clan have become active in Northern Europe. They were planning to unearth some relics in the Arctic but rumour has it that demon hunters pinged them, so the plan was scrapped. Meanwhile, others are seeking for help outside—help outside of their own race. This is something new.”

The other-kind was a secluded and stuffy community. As blunt as it may sound, it was a fact. Most families of the other-kind were backwards, but they had an almost insecure, arrogant attitude. They would not seek help even from others within their own race, much less from the outside.

That was what Vivian told Hao Ren before.

But somehow, the excitement of the Day of Return had loosened the stubbornness of these creatures that they were willing to put aside their family and racial prejudice in favour of cooperation. They even seeked help from outside their own race.

Hao Ren smirked, then said, “That sounds like big news. However, the way I see it, their alliance won’t work. Their deep-rooted, mutual repulsion will work against them, not to mention the demon hunters are gonna make sure that the alliance of these dangerous elements fails.”

“That’s right. That’s why the actual alliance hasn’t existed yet. There are just a couple of families trying to rope in their seniors; for instance, those from the Mythological and Post-Mythological Eras, who are still alive. These old ones have lived in solitude for far too long. They don’t care about race, and they’re certainly interested in the Day of Return, so they’ll most likely come back. Those whom I’ve contacted have all more or less been sweet-talked to. Two of the old, not-so-smart ones have decided for a come back. Tsk… they were swayed by their juniors just like that. Apparently their principles have gone to the dogs.”

Suddenly, Lily, the husky hit the table and said, “Hey, mind your words! Are you insinuating that I have something to do with this?”

Hao Ren grabbed a half-eaten bun and quickly stuffed it into Lily’s mouth. “Just shut up and eat. Don’t you know when not to become too sensitive?”

He then turned back to Vivian. “So, according to what you’ve just said, they must’ve also talked you into it. After all, you’re o… I mean, you have years of experience.”

Hao Ren almost said the word “old” by slip of the tongue. But looking at Vivian’s face, which was ever young and pretty, he choked. The age stuff was a really confusing thing when it came to the other-kind; could you believe that this maiden had thrown hundreds of men into the moat during the battle of Troy? Could you believe that this same maiden was only 18 years old 13,000 years ago? And could you believe that after 13,000 years, she was still 18 years old?

Vivian giggled at Hao Ren. For some unknown reason, age was not a taboo for her. She even liked the idea of self-deprecation. “Yeah, an old thing like me might be their target. Unfortunately, they’ll have a problem finding out where I live, or maybe, they already know from the beginning that I won’t be joining their ranks.”

In the meantime, Lily was still trying to swallow the bun. “Or possibility number three: they know you’re suffering from dementia due to prolonged malnutrition. They think you’ve forgetten your own name and even your kung fu skills, thus making you totally hopeless.”

Hao Ren had no choice but to stuff another bun into Lily’s mouth.

“Any more specific intel on the Day of Return?” Hao Ren asked while he quietly glanced at Becky, who was also munching on a bun. She was playing with Lil Pea using a chopstick and staring blankly at the chopstick after Lil Pea gnawed it. It appeared that he would not have her attention anytime soon. Hao Ren then continued, “Especially intel on the ‘door’.”

Based on Hao Ren’s thinking, the crux of the Day of Return probably lay within objects like the “door”, or some other natural phenomena. If he could find the loophole, which the other-kind had used to travel through to Earth, he would not only solve Becky’s problem, it was also going to be a commendable achievement for an inspector like him. Therefore, he was pretty into it.

“I tell you what”—Vivian nodded—”one of the Blood Clan families has found an important piece of relic; the location: the Greek peninsula. That’s why they’re talking a local ancient one into helping them solve the relic’s puzzle. And guess what, my source of intel is none other than this ancient one in question. If you’re free, why don’t we go to Greece?”