The Record of Unusual Creatures

“Something powerful?” Hao Ren was taken aback by the IDT’s announcement, which seemingly came out of nowhere. “What do you mean?”

The IDT leaped around on Hao Ren’s shoulders and explained, “It could be a fragment of a soul or a mental imprint, I can’t tell for sure. But it seems to be intertwined with Zhao Xi’s soul. It’s so powerful that the lady can’t gain control of her own body.”

Hao Ren’s first thought was that it was the result of Godslayer whispering into the demon hunter’s ears. “Is it a mental imprint of the Godslayer?!”

“No, they don’t feel the same. Besides, this thing in Zhao Xi’s soul feels more… advanced. I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

Hao Ren never imagined that the IDT, a highly advanced piece of technology, would find itself under-equipped. On the other hand, Liu Sheng could not help but interrupt their exchange, “What are you talking about? Is Zhao Xi a host to some evil spirit?”

“Hard to tell. It doesn’t look like soul detachment, but more like there’s an external force suppressing her soul.” Hao Ren waved in confusion. “Do you know if she came into contact with anything strange in the Netherrealm Clock Tower?”

Liu Sheng considered it for a moment, then shook his head slowly. “…I’m not sure. I was in the infirmary when she was caught. When she was brought back to us, she was already in this state. I’ve asked around, but they tell me that when Zhao Xi was in the tower, she was also wandering around the upper floors like the rest of the people trapped inside.”

Liu Sheng’s intel was not helpful, so Hao Ren turned his focus back on Zhao Xi. He poked the IDT, which was still on his shoulder, and asked, “Do you think you can strip off the invading soul from her body?”

The IDT thought about it. “It’ll be very difficult since I can’t even tell exactly what it is. I just know that there are two different intertwining entities in Zhao Xi’s mental world. However, if we put her in the medical pod and perform a mental reconstruction operation on her… we might be able to make the other entity inside her reveal itself. Then, we will be in a better position to decide what to do next.”

“Would you be willing to come to my place with Zhao Xi?” Hao Ren turned to Liu Sheng and asked. “I have equipment back there, perhaps they’ll be helpful to Zhao Xi.”

Liu Sheng was never one to beat around the bush. He nodded in assent. “That will be greatly appreciated.”

Hao Ren helped Zhao Xi up and got the IDT to teleport them back to his house in the Southern Suburbs. They were gone in a blinding flash of white light.

They appeared in the living room to see Lily lounging on the sofa, reading a magazine. When the werehusky saw Hao Ren with two other people, she leaped up eagerly. “Ah! Do we have guests?”

Liu Sheng was still feeling a little dizzy from the teleportation. He took a while to recognize the excited werehusky in front of him before he smiled awkwardly. “Umm, hello there, it’s been a while. I’m sorry to interrupt…”

Just then, Vivian came out of the kitchen with a covered plate. She was surprised to see Hao Ren and the two demon hunters. “Is that why you went out? Were you looking for them?”

Hao Ren pointed at Zhao Xi, who was standing awkwardly like a zombie. “There’s been a bit of a situation. I need to use the underground medical facilities. You’re okay with having demon hunters over, right?”

“All are welcomed,” Vivian replied easily. She set down the plate on the dining table and wiped her hands on her apron. “Liu Sheng, right? Have a seat. I’m making two more dishes, then we’re all set. Can you take spicy food?”

Liu Sheng could barely keep calm at the sight of the werehusky. Vivian’s welcoming gesture unsettled him even more—the atmosphere did not sit right with him. Putting aside the history between demon hunters and Otherworldlings, he knew who these people were. That was the Fourteenth Elder, cooking in the kitchen; the First Elder was reading a magazine on the sofa; sitting opposite her, reading the People’s Daily¹, was the Demon King—the one who had an army of 10,000 serving him. Liu Sheng felt like he was a nameless civilian being thrust into the Great Hall of the People², and that sent shivers all over his body…

Lily, being the dim one, did not realize this. She looked away from her magazine and turned at Liu Sheng. “Ya know, we’ve fought each other before. You’re not bad…”

Liu Sheng’s lips twitched as he watched the werehusky in silence, having trouble deciding if he should address her as an elder or a werewolf. In those few short seconds, Lily had already shifted her attention to Zhao Xi. She curiously studied the female demon hunter, who was being supported by Hao Ren at the elbow. “What’s up with her?”

Hao Ren explained the situation briefly to everyone in the living room and brought Zhao Xi to the basement. The IDT had already remotely set a pod on standby mode for him. Hao Ren then put Zhao Xi inside and initiated the auto mental reconstruction procedure. The pod’s cover slowly slid over Zhao Xi, and the waiting began.

Liu Sheng had followed Hao Ren down to the basement out of curiosity. He was surprised by all the things he found in there, but as a man who had survived an actual war, he took everything in stride. Nevertheless, the silvery-white metal “coffins” troubled him. “Can this cure soul detachment?”

“As I’ve said earlier, it’s not soul detachment,” Hao Ren corrected the demon hunter. “Besides, it’s hard to tell if her condition is curable right now. I’m trying to make the foreign entity in Zhao Xi’s mental world show itself. Once we figure out what it is, we can think about our next move.”

“How long will that take?” Liu Sheng looked anxiously at the numbers on the pod, which were constantly refreshing. He didn’t understand them at all.

“You see this timer here? Once it beeps, it’s done, and the pod will open up. Since the scan is not targeted, the whole procedure will take around half an hour. I’ve activated the thermostat… Umm, sorry, I meant the monitoring system. When the procedure’s completed, I’ll be notified,” Hao Ren explained as he made for the stairs. “Let’s wait upstairs while the pod’s working. Have dinner. Try out Vivian’s cooking.”

“Not everyone gets to enjoy this service. You should be honored.” Vivian threw an exalted glance at Liu Sheng. “In the last 10,000 years, I’ve only ever cooked for the people in this house.”

Liu Sheng quickly adjusted his demeanor, preparing himself for this monumental dining experience. Lily, however, interrupted with a quiet mumble, “Quit the crap. You probably couldn’t afford to buy groceries before this.”

Vivian put her arms on her hips. “You dog!”

Lily swiftly tried to redeem herself. “Of course, I think Battie’s dishes are amazing! She’s an extraordinary chef! A classy chef!”

Liu Sheng observed the exchange between the bat and the dog in quiet bafflement. He did not expect their daily interaction to be that way. Hao Ren noticed his bewilderment and patted him on the shoulder. “Get used to it. This is how two of your demon hunter elders behave on a daily basis.”

Liu Sheng had a sudden ill premonition of the future of the demon hunters…

When he arrived at the dining room to see Vivian remove all the covers from the dishes, he was treated with another astounding sight.

There were more than a dozen dishes on the wide dining table. Even though they were not fancy dishes, they looked like they could compete with even the best restaurants outside. Besides, when Vivian uncovered each dish, the food underneath practically glowed—as in actually glow! Each dish glowed with a divine burst of color. Once Vivian removed all the covers, the dining table looked like the heavenly clouds that hovered over South Heaven Gate³…

Liu Sheng could almost hear sacred music playing in the background.

Hao Ren led his big family to the dining table, which was now basking in holy light. Hao Ren sat on one end, while the rest of them split evenly to both sides. It felt like the Last Supper⁴, or the feast hosted by the Jade Emperor, which was then ruined by the Monkey King…

Both were not particularly pleasant associations. Liu Sheng thought that he should just accept the meal in the spirit it was given.

In any case, under the illumination of the holy light, anyone sitting at the table would have looked like some character out of a myth. Lily was the exception—she crouched on her chair as per her usual habit. To put it nicely, she looked like a dog deity, one who graduated from the South Heaven Gate’s bodyguard training program…

Liu Sheng was confused by the grandeur of the meal. “You… Do you always eat like this? Do you perform enchantments even in cooking?”

Vivian replied as she took her seat, “The dishes are not, but the kitchenware is enchanted.”

“You enchanted the kitchenware?!”

“Ultimate Divine Protection, Ultimate Holy Blessing, Ultimate Divine Charity, Ultimate Holy Light, Ultimate Preservation Technique,” Hao Ren said with a sigh. “I can go on and on if you’re interest… Lily, sit properly! Rollie, don’t go under the table! Lil’ Pea, get out of the soup! Eat properly, all of you!”