The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-153

Chapter 153: In the Dark of Night

The recipes expanded. Hao Ren could already figure out what the little mermaid would eat—everything of bamboo and wooden fibre.

Seeing that the little mermaid loved the cardboard as much as chopsticks, Hao Ron pulled some pieces of wood from the basement, cut them into smaller chunks, cleaned them and fed them to Lil Pea. The little mermaid lay floating in the water with her bloated stomach skyward, burping and murmuring to herself while she swam. She was into everything bamboo and wood—chopsticks, wood, paper and books. She could have gnawed on the TV cabinet if not for her overly tiny mouth. The waft of ‘food’ in the house made Lil Pea drool all the time. Hao Ren had to guard his table—the little mermaid would likely start gnawing on the ridge of the table legs.

A bat reported back from its round of patrol. Vivian and the bat had a special ‘chat session’ near the table. She surrounded the bat with Blood Fog and carefully analyzed it as it was suspended in the fog. The bat slowly faded like ink on a paper and before long a shadow was all that was left. Nangong Wuyue looked on and was captivated by the amazing magic. She asked curiously, “I knew you share senses with the bats so, why do you still need them to come back and report in person?”

“There are many things which I can’t rely on shared senses alone. Also, there’s a limit to how much energy I can share out at any one time. Some details could be overlooked.” Finally, the analysis was completed. Vivian merged the shadow back into her. “By breaking up the bat’s memory and retracing its track, sometimes important clues can be uncovered.”

“So, what have you got?” asked Hao Ren.

“This bat flew as far as the Northern suburbs. Do you remember the warehouse, where we battled the Ebbens? The one that was burned down by Big Bluey with his lightning storm? I’ve found traces of sorcery nearby.”

Hao Ren was stunned. “Sorcery? Demon hunters were practicing sorcery?”

“They practice everything.” Vivian nodded. “Or, to put it another way, most superstitious things like exorcisms, witchcraft, totem worship and healing prayers are linked to demon hunters. And, these practices were taught to the humans a long time ago for self-defence against the other kinds. These skills don’t require magic or willpower. They merely utilize materials in nature so, ordinary humans could master them, and they were extremely popular during the ancient times. A few thousand years ago, tribal shamans used slow poison and incense burning to protect their people at night and those things worked. However, as time went by, most of the unusual creatures had been hunted down by demon hunters; the remnants either devolved, lost their strength or, completely became human or beasts. So sorcery, which human once used as protection became redundant. The mastery of these skills became less and less as each generation past until it became more like a farce. But, the genuine demon hunters still retain and practice real sorcery and magic till this day.”

Y’zaks offered his comment as he listened on. “It seems, these so-called demon hunters did something noble.”

“There’s no absolute good guy or bad guy.” Vivian shrugged. “To the humans, they’re good guys. But to other creatures, they’re the bad ones.”

“Maybe because, I’m from a different world. I have no prejudice against any of the races in this world,” said Y’zaks as he scratched his bald head. “To me, they’re all the other kind but, I’m particularly annoyed by these obstinate demon hunters.”

“That means, the demon hunters have sniffed something out.” Hao Ren rubbed his chin and smacked it.

“Wasn’t the scene cleaned up with no trace of supernatural power left? How did they find out about it?”

“Although signs of supernatural power can be cleaned up, the fact that a place as large as the warehouse was struck and burned down by lightning was unnatural in itself.” Vivian’s mouth twitched slightly. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened there. I’m more curious about how they traced it back to us here—the Southern Suburbs and Northern Suburbs are far apart across the town. What have we missed?”

While the discussion was going on, Lily, who was lying on the couch watching the idiot box protested. “Can you please stop talking about this annoying topic at night? I’m watching TV here.”

Vivian shot her a scornful glance. “We’re facing trouble yet, you act like it doesn’t concern you. Can’t you go to your room?”

“It’s livelier here than back in my room.” Lily was still lying on the couch. She grumbled, “Argh…it’s so annoying…”

“C’mon, stop it.” Hao Ren knocked Lily’s head with his knuckle. “We’re in a discussion.”

Hao Ren would not have allowed his tenants to make noise in his living room. However, he knew he was raising a husky so, he was very accommodative towards Lily. Every time Lily showed her temper, he would just give her a slap on the wrist. Lily did not realize how much patience she had been shown; she kept praising Hao Ren for his big heart as her good impression of him conitnued ballooning.

A sudden splosh was heard—Lil Pea had jumped out of the pot. She pulled Hao Ren’s arm and made some gestures as though saying that she was feeling drowsy. Hao Ren looked up at the clock and noticed it was already past ten. He yawned because he was feeling a little tired too. “I’ll hit the sack now. The demon hunters probably won’t show up tonight.”

“Okay.” Vivian smiled at him. “Get some rest. I’ll be on vigil tonight.”

Hao Ren nodded before he carried Lil Pea back into his room. Suddenly, Lil Pea cried and pointed towards the direction of the tea table. Before Hao Ren could figure it out, Nangong Wuyue was already hustling after them with a pot in her hand. “Bring her mom along.”

“Can you please stop mentioning her mom?”

Nangong Wuyue’s smile was mischievous. Hao Ren’s face was as sour as vinegar but, she totally ignored it. “Fill the pot half-full and let Lil Pea sleep in there so that she won’t cling to you again tonight. You don’t want to sleep with your shirt on like last night, do you?”

Hao Ren felt a little relieved knowing that the little mermaid would be happy to sleep in the pot. The thought of cuddling her in one hand while having the pot in another as he slept, unnerved him.

He carried his daughter back into the room and spent half the time thinking whether he should place her on the writing table away from his bed: he did not want his face bathed in water mid-sleep should Lil Pea turn in her sleep. As he put the pot down, he found it ridiculous that after spending 25 of his bachelor years, he suddenly got a daughter—a mermaid daughter! What a life!

“You have to sleep like everybody else and not be clingy.” Hao Ren rested his arms on the writing table and his chin on his arms. Lil Pea did the same but, in her pot. They were staring at each other. He did not care if she did not get it. He just kept telling her, “Don’t simply get out. If there’s a situation, alert us. Also, don’t get on the floor or you’ll be stepped on.”

“Hmm…ahh…” The little mermaid reached her hand out to touch his nose as she made a sound. She then turned around and swam away before curling herself up in a sleeping position at the bottom of the pot. It was as though she had understood him.

Hao Ren stared at the little mermaid, who was sleeping at the bottom of the pot. He was hesitant on whether to put the lid on as he was worried. What if she sneaked out at night, loitered around the house and got stepped on? But, the thought of her waking up and finding herself trapped in a closed pot made him uncomfortable. He left it without the lid.

He also placed the MDT at the edge of the pot so that it could keep an eye on the baby. After all, this thing would never sleep.

Outside, the night was dark. Pitch dark.

The moon crept up in the sky and sneaked back down very slowly. There were no signs of pedestrians on the streets as the cold air in the late autumn night was inhospitable. There was only the occasional barking of dogs at the far side of the town. It was apparently the means by which the strays conveyed messages across town.

Suddenly, three loud and pressing barks of a dog shattered the quietness of the night.