The Record of Unusual Creature

It was six in the morning.

Hao Ren hastily washed his face with the cold tap water, to rid him of the grogginess from the ten-hour sleep. After washing up, he went down to the dining hall on the first floor, accompanied by a rather grumpy Vivian. On their tail, was a zombified Lily who had been wide awake since midnight. Now as her naptime draws near, drowsiness overtook her again

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“Mr Landlord, I’m sleeeeeeeeppyyyy…. and hungry too…. I need lunch…. and I need somewhere place to lay my head down….” Lily mumbled, her voice was bereft of any strength. In her current state, she resembled a tired pet dog who refused to leave her master’s side. Though feeling a strong urge to do it, Vivian could not muster the courage to take a jab at Lily. Lily still has her pride, even in such a pathetic state. She would still bite if you likened her to that of a pet dog. Even a metal cuirass would not save you from her jaws.

It should be breakfast, not lunch.” said Hao Ren as he looked out through the window into the gloomy dawn. Though London had had left her smoggy industrial past, she still retained much of the foggy morns, the heavy clouds, and the unpredictable weather. The weather that morning was not looking good. Though the sun was already up by now, it was still rather gloomy outside. There should still be a thick veil of fog or overcast for the next few hours to come.

“Look, over there.” Vivian pulled on Hao Ren’s sleeve out of the blue. She pointed towards a table outside the restaurant. “This Mr Nangong seems to be very punctual. A rare quality amongst those who had dealings with demon hunters. Hmph.”

Vivian had nurtured a dislike for Mr Nangong as he seemed to have some ties with a demon hunter (or have one percent chance of actually being one). While she was not outright hostile towards him, she would find it hard faking a smile for him.

“After watching the news yesterday, I don’t think we need the company of such a dangerous person. ” Hao Ren hesitated. “Yorkford Castle will be swarming with people looking for ghosts, so there shouldn’t be a need for a guide right?”

“Is that so?” Vivian rolled her eyes. “How then are you going from London to Brewshire?”

Hao Ren was taken aback for a moment. He had totally forgotten about that.

By then, Mr Nangong had also noticed the trio and rose to greet them with a friendly smile. Hao Ren realizing that his opportunity to turn tail had passed, reluctantly led Vivian and Lily to greet him.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, you guys are early.” Mr Nangong quipped with a smile. Just then, his attention was diverted to Lily, who was still following them from behind half asleep. “Uh… what’s wrong with her?”

“Still suffering from the jet lag, she’s supposed to be having her afternoon nap.” Hao Ren shrugged. “So, are we leaving now, or should we have something first before we leave?”

Mr Nangong gestured that it was still early and the train was not arriving any time soon. At that, Hao Ren decided to eat up since the hotel provides free breakfast buffet for its customers. Hao Ren why waste the hospitality, so he decided to eat his money’s worth before checking out. During breakfast, Lily was close to falling asleep. Her eyes were almost shut already. Surprisingly, even in a state as such, she still managed to eat.

Seeing that she could barely move, Hao Ren went to get a plate of food for Lily. She somehow finished breakfast with her eyes closed, putting her formidable sense of smell to good use. By the time she’s done, the plate was squeaky clean.

Nangong could only look on in amazement while Hao Ren and Vivian were shaking in their shoes. They were so afraid that the ‘demon hunter’ would find out about Lily’s true identity. But it seemed he was either a fake or an inexperienced newbie as he only gasped in amazement at Lily’s feat, not even suspecting that a ‘demon’ was seated right next to him.

After having their breakfast, Hao Ren went to the reception to complete the check-out procedure and they left lugging their bags. Though they did not have much luggage, it was still the man’s job to lug it. Vivian however, tied them onto Lily’s back without batting an eyelid: the latter did not even flinch when the weight of the bags was suddenly added on her back. She was undoubtedly still asleep! While she was snoozing. And so, the party departed with Lily as their coolie, tailing them in her slumber.

“The only good thing about her is her ungodly strength, it would be a waste to not make her our porter.” Vivian waved her hand as Hao Ren gave her a quizzical look. “Oh don’t you worry, she’s volunteering. Though she’s sleeping now.”

Hao Ren didn’t feel right as he saw Lily lumbering about with their luggage in her sleep. He always had a soft spot for Lily, so he took the luggage instead. “Forget it, I’ll be carrying it. Stop bullying her.”

Lily, in her slumber, was actually still quite aware. “Dann… gyuuu… Mr Landloord… I… am okay…”

Vivian wrinkled her nose in disdain, “Oh you men and your manliness, you lot never changed.”

Hao Ren let out a dry laugh and took a glance at Mr Nangong. The self-proclaimed demon hunter was slender in build and his luggage looked much heavier than those of all three of them combined. It was even bigger than the luggage Lily was carrying when she first met Hao Ren. The rattling sound its wheels made as they rolled on the cement road was deafening. God knows what’s in there!

“What’s in there?” Vivian, being the sly old fox that she is (don’t let her hear you calling her old), quickly put on the charm of a curious young girl as she put forth a seemingly innocent question.

“’Work’ related,” Nangong said as he dragged the luggage along. He somehow looked dignified in his clean white shirt and black slacks. One wouldn’t be faulted for mistaking him for one of those successful entrepreneurs. “I use them to fight evil. All the stuffs in there had taken down at least a hundred foul beasts.”

“A real demon hunter wouldn’t have needed so many tools.” Vivian whispered as she returned to Hao Ren’s side. “They ARE the weapon. Looks like we can relax for a bit.”

Hao Ren preoccupied with another thought, was perplexed. They both were men, but how did Nangong resemble a businessman on a business trip while he himself looked like a total hobo…

With that, both parties, each with schemes of their own, journeyed towards Brewshire. Having someone who knew his way around was indeed a lifesaver. With Nangong’s help, the trios never did not get lost within the labyrinth of streets in London and got on the train heading for Brewshire without much hassle.

The four were silent throughout the journey.

As there were many strangers around them, Hao Ren and Vivian could not discuss anything sensitive and the journey was as dull as it could get. The only thing worth noting was that Lily finally woke up from her ‘nap’ halfway through the ride and squirmed about for a good half of the journey. By the time the train pulled in at Brewshire, she was already sleepy again.

So much for being the most excited one before the trip. Since their arrival in London, she was either sleeping or doing nothing. As expected, she spent the rest of her waking hours strolling around the carriage.

By the time they arrived at Brewshire it was close to late evening. There were not many people at the station, guess not everyone was interested in a ghost hunt in this remote countryside. The announcement over the PA speakers sounded familiar, much like the ones he heard back at home. Hao Ren realized that the station was more remote that he thought it would be.

The train station was rather small with only two train tracks running through it. One of it was even abandoned. The meagre station was bereft of almost everything except the barren plains surrounding it and the few wild scorched vegetation swaying in the wind. Not far from the station was a small town, Brewshire. Its buildings looked so worn and aged that it looked more like a village than a town.

Hao Ren had no idea how the town came to be, or why was it built in the middle of nowhere. This place reminded him of another place, somewhere familiar… oh right, it was Raven12345’s office at Bastard Barrio.

Nangong sniffed the air with a look of mischief on his face. “I smell them.”