The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-387

Chapter 387: Taking the Pagans to See God

So far, a lot of clues had been found but, that made the whole thing more and more confusing. One question came after another. Although there were countless speculations that could answer these questions, Hao Ren did not know which was more plausible one.

“According to the message in the cavern, there should have been a group of aliens gathering around when the First Born revives but, I didn’t see any aliens when I bombed the place. What happened to them?”

Nangong Wuyue frowned and said, “Maybe, after 10,000 years later, the aliens reneged, or they forgot about the agreement. After all, 10,000 years is a long time. It’s hard to say which race would keep their word to this extent.”

Hao Ren shook his head and said, “Since those ancient mage-emperors signed this agreement with the aliens, and 3,000 years ago, the Pope also had the courage to declare the aliens’ coming, I think they must have considered this. None of them were fools. If they weren’t sure about the sincerity of the aliens, how could they put their entire planet’s future into the hands of a group of outsiders? I guess something bad happened to the aliens.”

“There’s another possibility,” Vivian said as she passed by. “We woke the eldest son ahead of time… Well, not us, but those little green men. Their spaceship smashed and created a hole under the sacred lake, causing a whirlpool, which indirectly caused the Divine Sarcophagus to be damaged ahead of time. Maybe that’s the reason.”

“But, the rock monsters of Dragonspine Ridge had nothing to do with the Divine Sacrophagus,” said Hao Ren. “They ran strictly according to the timetable left behind 10,000 years ago, and they were already active before the Divine Sacrophagus was destroyed. This means that the exact date of First Born’s revival was around that time. Aliens could not have possibly arrived right on the day stated in the agreement. They must be well-prepared for any accidents. Anyway, if I were those aliens, I would rather come and guard it two months ahead time to avoid any accidents…”

“You’re right… They might be in trouble,” Vivian agreed. She nodded and said, “By the way, what shall we have for lunch?”

Hao Ren paused as Vivian suddenly changed the topic. It took him a few seconds to remember that he had plans that day, and said, “Up to you. I have to meet Raven 12345. I probably won’t come back for lunch.”

Vivian nodded but then, was reminded of one more thing, and said, “There’s no lunch at the goddess’ place.”

Hao Ren’s lips twitched and thought that as the goddess of this universe, the her most impressive legacy was actually “no lunch”. He wondered how she felt about it…

Vivian went to prepare lunch. Nangong Wuyue already understood what Hao Ren was talking about. “I got it. You think that many of the unusual creatures on Earth did not come from Becky’s hometown, and so, many races including the sirens, travelled to Earth at the same time, and the whereabouts of the “allies in the stars” mentioned in the prophecy is a mystery. So, you’re worried that many races in The Plane of Dreams are in trouble, and you want to find the sirens’ home to confirm it?”

“It’s just an assumption for the time being.” Hao Ren nodded and said, “A goal is better than no goal. Try to find clues. After all, you are a siren. You should know some news regarding your own kin… At least, you can talk to them.”

“Actually, after wandering around the world for so many years, I haven’t had any contact with my kin. After going ashore, sirens became elusive. Plus, I have no interest in them as well.” Nangong Wuyue stuck her tongue out, but still nodded and said, “Okay, I do have some clues, I’ll try my best.”

“Please do.” Hao Ren nodded and smiled. Then, he got up, headed for the back door and said, “I’ll go and talk to the four ascetics. After that, I’ll meet Raven 12345. I won’t be back at noon.”

The four ascetics were meditating in the backyard. Four of them sat around a bonfire, which was about to be extinguished. It looked like a scene from Man vs. Wild. Hao Ren walked towards them and found that Lily was also there. The girl held a small book as she squatted next to Big Beardy, asking him questions with a serious face. He found it amusing for a while then, he slapped Lily’s head and asked, “What are you doing?”

Lily looked up at Hao Ren, bared her teeth and said, “Don’t touch my head! I find that you are becoming more and more disrespectful to me, the literary girl…”

Hao Ren was at a lost for words. He could not believe that Lily actually called herself a literary girl bashfully. Then, he saw something on Lily’s little book, a line of shiny words: “Returning to Basics in the Modern City – The Study of Health in the Wilderness”. “What are you doing? Are you interested in studying Sociology?” He asked.

“I want to submit some articles,” said Lily with a serious face. “It’s a hot topic right now. The rich urbanites are so fake. People longed for high-rise buildings when they dug for food in the ravine. Now, they live in high-rise buildings and long for the days they ate wild vegetables. This kind of health article is particularly popular. You just write something about going organic, and then add one or two names of foreign experts. The rate of a thousand words starts from 200 Dollars…”

Hao Ren thought for a moment. Instantly, he stomped and pointed to the bonfire in front of Big Beardy, and said, “But, their health articles don’t educate people on catching wild rabbits in the suburbs!”

“It’s just an appropriate literary exaggeration,” Lily replied with a solemn face. “I’m going to portray Big Beardy as an expert or, as a health specialist or, as an orthodox descendant of Mount Wutai…”

Hao Ren gave her a sideways glance, and said, “Be careful, don’t attract the CCTV reporters again.”

Lily stared at Hao Ren, held her little book and went back to the house. Hao Ren sat down beside Big Beardy and said, “Actually, you guys can go to a place called India. Your behavior won’t be eye-catching there.”

Big Beardy’s face lit up at once and asked, “Do the people there also follow the teachings of the goddess?”

“No, but it’s a magical country. It’s perfect for you to challenge your survival limits.” Hao Ren looked at Big Beardy’s big robe and big sleeves. The more he looked at them, the more he thought these four people could instantly blend in on the Indian streets. “There, people everywhere challenge their limits of survival as you do. They’re also called ascetics, and many of the locals live like this…”

“I’ll think about it,” Big Beardy nodded solemnly and said. “But first, we have to solve the problem of knowledge, and most importantly, the language barrier.”

“Don’t worry, my boss is in charge of this. In two days, you will naturally be able to understand the language and words of the people on Earth,” Hao Ren said and sighed. “You guys are so lucky. Last time I had to lie in a coffin to reconfigure my body in order to understand foreign languages. But now, you guys can just get it automatically.”

At this time, the young female ascetic looked at Hao Ren and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Hao Ren smiled awkwardly and said, “Well…nothing much… Do you carry the scriptures of the Disciples of Glory?”

Big Beardy took out a thick, old book from his robe and said, “Of course, we carry it with us. Are you interested in the teachings of the goddess?”

Hao Ren laughed awkwardly and said, “Not really… If I join another religion, my boss would kill me. I just want to understand the history and culture of the Disciples of Glory, as well as the legends of your world, and anything from 10,000 years ago.”

After a long period of getting along with each other, Hao Ren had a rough idea of their temperament. These devout believers did not force everyone to believe in their goddess like fanatics of other religions. They believed in natural influence and conversion. They preached the creeds of the Disciples of Glory through their words and deeds. They allowed the believers to make their own choices. Therefore, Hao Ren could talk openly about the issue of religious belief with them.

“We all carry the scriptures,” Big Beardy said, handing the book to Hao Ren, “It’s always good to read it. Although we don’t carry other books and records, it’s all in our mind. I can write it down if you want.”

“Don’t bother, this book is enough. I can get more the next time we enter The Plane of Dreams.We have to go there in one month anyway.” Hao Ren then stood up and said, “You guys carry on, I have to report to my boss now…”

As Hao Ren was about to leave, Big Beardy also stood up and said, “We heard that your “boss” is another goddess, correct?”

“Err…” Hao Ren did not know what to say.

“We’ll see her with you,” Big Beardy said solemnly.

This was a little beyond Hao Ren’s expectation.