The Record of Unusual Creatures

It was nightfall.

In that era, there was no electrical lighting, and only undeveloped wilderness abounded, so there was little light in the world after dark. The aristocratic area and zone near the church were the only places well lit. Once out of the city, people would have to depend on moonlight and starlight for direction.

Hao Ren and Lily left the city with ease after dark. They did it so effortlessly that the patrolling soldiers did not even notice. They hustled along the avenue outside the city for a moment and saw an open space by the roadside. A dead eucalyptus tree was there with light from a nearly full moon shining on its dried branches. A crow was perched on top of the tree, looking at the two people with its black eyes.

Hao Ren and the crow looked at each other for a while before Hao Ren said, “Are you here to lead us?”

The crow was frightened, cawing and fluttering from one branch to another.

Lily scratched her head. “Mr. Landlord, I don’t think this is the one.”

Hao Ren frowned. “Madam Marie said that she would send a crow to lead us. Did she lie to us about that too? If so, she’s only cutting off her nose to spite her face…”

Before Hao Ren’s voice trailed off, he heard the sound of wings flapping behind him, followed by a hoarse voice. It sounded like the caw of a crow. “Caw! Caw! Idiot! Idiot! Where are you looking at? The great Kodo is right here!”

Hao Ren turned around and saw an ugly bird, which was at least twice as large as an ordinary crow, jumping up and down on a haystack not far away. There was a strikingly black feather on the bird’s head. It cried pompously, “Caw! That abominable old woman always makes the great Kodo a travel guide for stupid people like you. Caw, caw!”

“So, you are the crow that will lead us?” Hao Ren was a little dumbstruck.

“Of course, I am! Of course, I am! Have you ever seen a crow more beautiful than the great Kodo?” the huge crow cried and fluttered its wings. “Did you just talk to that thin and pathetic low life? That old woman is a joke! She knows there are crows everywhere in the wilderness yet she still insists on letting Kodo be a travel guide for strangers!”

“Okay, we know you are great,” Hao Ren quickly interrupted so that the ugly bird would shut up. “Now take us to your master. We have an appointment.”

“Kodo knows, Kodo knows. Kodo is smarter than most of you so shut up. Kodo knows what to do.”

The big crow cawed and chattered nonsense continuously. But it still had to obey the witch’s command. It flapped its wings and flew into the air as Hao Ren and Lily ran after it under the night sky.

The crow with a loose screw in its head flew at a high speed. It seemed like it was ignoring the command of its master and trying to shake off the two people behind it. But soon, it found that no matter how fast it flew, the two individuals on the ground just would not fall behind. Lily even had time to collect her favorite exotic stones along the way and make a wreath out of the flowers she had plucked in the wilderness. Had it not been for the serious business at hand, she would have even gone hunting along the way.

The big crow finally gave up the idea of ​​playing tricks on the two.

However, its annoying chatters never stopped for a moment. Perhaps the witch had given the bird something strange when she opened up its mind, so the bird could not control itself. It babbled as it flew, driveling about the harvest, the quirks of the seigneurs, the size of the cities and villages, the weather and the soil, as well as the name of the second egg it laid the previous year. Hao Ren wanted to borrow a stone from Lily to knock the damn bird out of the sky, but he managed to control himself in the end.

As Kodo gabbled and led the way, Hao Ren noticed that the moonlight had gradually dimmed.

They had deviated from the main road, hustling farther into the wilderness. Fog began to gather around them and visibility started to get worse. The thick fog had blocked out the crow in the air. Hao Ren could only depend on its constant gibbering as a guide for direction.

Then, a cemetery appeared amid the dense fog.

A few sections of its surrounding iron railings had fallen and blocked the way ahead. Across the iron railings, tombstones and stone statues were scattered sparsely, while fallen dead tree trunks had damaged the walls of the cemetery, their branches landing on a few gravestones.

The sound of the huge crow flapping its wings rang in the air, and soon, Kodo descended out from the thick fog. It stood on the iron railing and cried in the direction of the cemetery. As it cawed, the fallen fences and tree trunks immediately grew hands and legs before scattering to both sides.

Hao Ren and Lily raised their guard and entered the cemetery after the big crow.

At the center of the cemetery was a long table filled with suspicious food and thick white candles in between cups and plates. The flames from the pale candles burned so quietly in the fog that it seemed like they were still.

A few black high-back chairs were strewn around the long table. Several women in black robes got to their feet, turned around, and stared at Hao Ren as well as Lily. They were full of suspicion and vigilance.

The fog in the cemetery slowly dispersed, and by then, Hao Ren could see the faces of every person before him. The witches were fascinating and charming, some were young and beautiful, while some seemed to be ordinary peasant women. But their outer appearances did not matter to Hao Ren. He knew well that during the Mythological Era, a witch’s primary duty as a servant of her otherworldling god was to serve her master and please his or her guests. Their most fundamental ability was their ever-shifting face. Every adult witch had at least a dozen faces. Sometimes, the witch would even forget her original face. So it was useless to identify a witch by her face.

Nevertheless, Hao Ren figured that at least these witches would not change their appearances so soon during his “visit”.

Therefore, Hao Ren quickly identified Madam Marie from among the witches. Madam Marie stood in front of the chair at the end of the long table. She was wearing a simple black robe with copper ornaments hanging from her chest. The big crow, Kodo was sitting on her shoulder and tearing up a piece of bloody raw meat with great relish.

“Very good. You’ve come as promised,” said Madam Marie, lifting her chin with a blank expression. “Mysterious wizard and mysterious werewolf lady, these are trying times. I hope you do not mind the shabby meeting place.”

“You can call me Hao Ren.” Hao Ren did not bother to feign a Western-style name. He used his real name, which the locals would find exotic. “This werewolf is named Lily.”

“Hao Ren? What a strange-sounding name.” Madam Marie pronounced it clumsily. She had taken it as a pseudonym. Wizards were not as sophisticated as the witches when it came to camouflage, but the use of simple face-changing and fake names were still common. “Foreign wizard, I hope you understand our caution. In this day and age, it is a considerable risk to receive a stranger. So I hope you can prove yourself as a wizard.”

“I totally understand. Trusting people too easily in this day and age will only bring great danger to one’s self.” Hao Ren smiled. With the wave of his hand, swords and weapons of various shapes and sizes emerged from the ripples in the air. The cold light of metal filled the air. Hao Ren surely did not know the tricks of a wizard, but he had more than one trick up his sleeve as an inspector. It was difficult to differentiate; all the more so with the messy schools of wizards on Earth, where the otherworldling gods used trial and error to produce magic apprentices.

The way Hao Ren proved his identity surprised the witches. There was a commotion, and Madam Marie’s expression changed slightly. She thought that his “weapon-making” magic was indeed one of the tricks of the wizards.

At least it was not of the demon hunters; that was certain.

Lily stepped forward with great enthusiasm. “Do I need to prove myself too? Take a look at my ears and fangs—they’re all real!”

Several witches closest to her instinctively stepped back, and a young woman bowed awkwardly as a sign of respect. “Your identity as a werewolf is plain to see, there is no need to prove it. We can sense your strong scent.”

Lily was delighted.

Hao Ren’s eyebrows twitched, realizing that although the Mythological Era was over and the human magic practitioners were free from slavery and independent, purebred otherworldlings still posed a strong deterrence to them. Lily was no werewolf, but she had an exceptionally similar menacing power and the scent of a werewolf. For the half-human witches, it was impossible to distinguish the subtle difference.

It seemed that bringing Lily along had its advantages.

“So, you’ve brought news of the demon hunters?”

After confirming Hao Ren’s identity, Madam Marie quickly got down to business.

Hao Ren did not answer immediately but found an empty chair and sat down at the long table. He saw a mysterious man in a black robe. His face was hidden under the hood. Judging from the person’s build, Hao Ren knew it was likely a man—the one Gray Rat had mentioned before.

The hooded wizard nodded at Hao Ren as a sign of respect, and Hao Ren returned the gesture. Only then did he respond to Madam Marie’s question. “First of all, I would like to know about the arrested witch.”

Madam Marie became downcast. “As I’ve said before, that is a—”

“A ruse to fool the people?” Hao Ren looked up and shot the witch a glance. “That has to be one important flimflam since you’ve invested so much effort and gone to great lengths to lay a bunch of runes around the place of execution.”

There was a surprised expression on the middle-aged witch’s face. “You’ve gone and investigated those things too?”

“How would I deal with sneaky fellows like the lot of you if I am not cautious and careful?” Hao Ren spread out his hands. “I think we should be more open and honest with each other. The demon hunters are still wandering around, and the human church is very influential. Do we not have enough enemies that we still have to be suspicious of each other?”

Madam Marie’s face still appeared gloomy, and she did not say a word. A young witch behind her finally got to her feet. “You should understand why we are so cautious, wizard. It is because we have to save someone important. She is a representative of a formidable force. We hope to get protection from this force through her.”

Hao Ren could not care less who the witch they were going to save was. He was more interested to know if there were any old castles nearby. But to warm up to the group of witches, he had to continue the conversation and even consider helping them save the witch. “Oh? Who is it?”

“She is Hessiana, a powerful Blood Mage.”

“What?”