The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-54

Chapter 54: The Stone Wall

Angus’s tricks had failed for the first time. He did not expect anybody to break into the chapel, which had been blocked by huge rocks. Usually, nobody could move those heavy rocks away without the help of a crane. Angus’s plan was totally disrupted by the monstrous wolf who appeared out of the blue. He was in too much of a panic to clearly see who actually opened the door of the chapel. In order not to expose himself, he did not turn on his headlamp to look at the door. He was alarmed and quickly moved underground via a secret tunnel the moment Lily moved the first rock. After considering that the secret tunnel could have been discovered as well, he did not stay there but moved towards the exit following a route he memorized.

However, the previously unobstructed tunnel was now blocked by a stone wall.

“You mean this tunnel was unobstructed earlier?” Hao Ren was slightly surprised after listening to Angus’s explanation. “Are you sure you’re remembering it correctly?”

“I’ve been using this tunnel for quite some time, it can’t be wrong.” Angus was too frightened to think straight a moment ago. However, after talking to the ‘ghost’ in the dark fog, he slowly came to his senses. He felt something was off and asked, “Eh, aren’t you the ghost of this castle? How is it that you aren’t clear of the situation underneath?”

“This has nothing to do with you. Just think of me as a visitor from the nearby graveyard, just stopping by this place. Can’t a ghost have some privacy?” Hao Ren simply created an excuse and continued asking, “So, does this mean the castle isn’t haunted at all? You’ve been playing tricks all along?”

“Ah… Yes,” answered Angus and he peeped at the swarming dark fog under the beam of his headlamp. It was the first time he ever saw a ‘real’ ghost in his life. He thought it was quite different from what he had previously imagined and continued to explain, “I really didn’t want to disturb the honored souls underneath. I just borrowed the top part of the ruins. I really meant no harm. People often do this in today’s age. It isn’t wrong to make money from cultural relics. If we think about it from another angle, there could be an opportunity for the castle to be repaired and renovated…”

“You’re really good at creating stories.” Hao Ren thought that the lodge owner had quick wits. He could create big news out of nothing. Hao Ren then turned to Vivian and whispered, “Now what? What to do with this tubby man?”

“So, are you done asking?” After confirming with Hao Ren, Vivian lifted her finger and pointed at Angus. “That’s it.”

A faint, red light split from the dark fog and faded into Angus’s body in a flash. He fell onto the ground without a sound and remained motionless.

Hao Ren immediately jumped and said, “Hey, I was just asking you how to get rid of him not kill—”

“I just stunned him temporarily.” Vivian gave Hao Ren an odd look and said, “What are you thinking about? Did you watch a vampire movie again last night? I told you not to watch those kind of movies too much. They are misleading.”

Hao Ren had nothing to say. He glanced at the chubby owner on the ground and felt it was not suitable to leave him here. He then signaled Lily to come over and said, “Send him up there and put him at a safe place. And keep an eye on those ghost hunters by the way.”

“Okay!” Lily nodded. She picked Angus up lightly and ran out swiftly.

Hao Ren shook his head as he watched Lily run out. He found the whole situation annoying yet funny. “So, this is it? The lodge owner was actually quite creative.”

Although Angus had bamboozled everybody, Hao Ren did not really blame him. It was not a serious crime after all. Additionally, there were other marketing gimmicks from various tourist spots and theme parks. Angus’s idea could not possibly compete with them at all. However, the whole case really left him speechless. The uproarious haunted castle was merely a simple idea created by a lodge owner to attract more customers. Nobody found out about the mystery within. It really shows that life is just a joke.

Of course, Angus’s plan would not have lasted. More and more paranormal enthusiasts came and gathered around the castle. There would have probably been some kind of expert or retired expert and scholar from the TV program “Approach to Science” among them. Sooner or later the lodge owner’s tricks would stop working for them. Hao Ren could tell that the Angus did not plan to stop at all. The haunted castle brought him non-stop customers. On top of that, the trick was not going to be exposed at that particular moment. The TV program kept adding fuel to the flame in order to increase audience’s ratings. How could the lodge owner stop? He just repeated the hauntings every few days.

Anyway, it would have been exposed sooner or later. You see, wasn’t it finally exposed?

“A trick?” Vivian turned around discreetly and curiously examined the stone wall in front of her. “The unusual scenes people have been seeing may be some kind of deceptive trick. However, there really is something under the castle.”

Hao Ren remembered his task at once. The stone wall in front of them was also still a mystery. “The dumpy boss man probably wasn’t lying. The stone wall appeared out of the blue but where did it come from?”

“It didn’t fall from the top.” Vivian pointed at the marks on the stone wall and continued to elaborate, “Look at the scratches. It probably slid down from the top corner not long ago. This is a well designed structure. It enables the stone wall to slide down and block the tunnel when needed.”

Just when Hao Ren was about to say something, he heard footsteps coming from behind. He turned and saw Lily running towards them. Lily saw Hao Ren and reported immediately. “I’ve sent the lodge owner up there. And those ghost hunters have already departed as well.”

“They’ve gone?” Vivian was surprised. However, she quickly realized something and said, “Of course, the ‘paranormal phenomenon’ has ended. They probably couldn’t find anything suspicious after roaming around the castle. After all, they aren’t professional demon hunters. They are just a group of amateurs.”

“Did you just dump the tubby owner in the middle of the wilderness?” asked Hao Ren while he looked at the silly, werewolf girl. “There aren’t any wild animals out there, are there?”

“Don’t worry. He was about to wake up when I left him. I saw an old man taking down his tent so, I threw him into the back of the old man’s car. He should be on his way back to town along with the tent,” answered Lily. She had turned back into a werewolf. She was wagging her tail vigorously. “Don’t worry, Landlord. Nobody saw me. I’m as speedy as the wind. But the bat’s spell didn’t really work. The boss man just slept for a few minutes.”

“It’s better than how you swing bricks. Also, I purposely suppressed my magic so that wouldn’t sleep too long. If not, he could easily sleep forever. Do you know how difficult it is to control magic precisely?” defended Vivian.

Hao Ren looked at Lily’s tail and was not sure if she was really as speedy as the wind. However, her tail did cause the dust to swirl in the air.

“Will Angus spread any nonsense after going back?” muttered Hao Ren worriedly. Vivian derided him while she examined the stone wall. She said, “Stop fussing. Whatever he says has nothing to do with us. The worst thing he could do is create another rumor of a haunting. Plus, he didn’t see our faces… Erm, I found something.”

Hao Ren stopped thinking about the lodge owner at once. He moved closer to Vivian and asked, “What is it?”

“Here.” Vivian pointed at the upper half of the stone wall and said, “Do you see the letters and symbols?”

Hao Ren squinted for a while and said, “So, those are letters? I can hardly see their edges. Eh no, how come they don’t look like English? They look a little like Egyptian…”

“They are neither Egyptian nor English. They are not from a human language.” Vivian narrowed her eyes. Red lights were glittering her eyes. “These are Letta Runes used previously by demon hunters and the Church. It came from an ancient family of demon hunters in the early days. It later became a crucial means for the secret forces in the Church to fight against the unusual clan. An important feature of the Letta Runes was that common people were able use them. However, as humans got stronger day by day, the runes lost their importance as well. I haven’t seen Letta Runes for more than 200 years.”

Hao Ren swallowed nervously and asked, “This… what’s it for?”

Hao Ren was aware of the castle’s eeriness. He also knew that there were real ghosts underneath. Therefore, he was sure that the runes and stone wall did not suddenly appear for decoration purposes. They had to be something significant.

“It’s used to repress demons, evil beings, ghosts and indestructible ‘evil objects’ with unholy power.” Vivian pointed at a few lines of runes which had already been corroded by time. She then read, “This door obstructs the root of all evil. It stops evil forces from penetrating. The moment the door drops, all guards will move out.”