The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-84

Chapter 84: The Abandoned Houses

A wondrous life with a wondrous journey. Hao Ren felt his encounters with all kinds of wonders from the real world to The Plane of Dreams, had never followed a normal narrative.

He was riding a giant black wolf, which was as tall as a human, racing across the mysterious grassland. They were under the night sky of two brightly lit moons and an unfamiliar, beautiful galaxy, heading towards a horizon not of Earth. The night breeze blew into his face just as fast as he moved and the open landscape, which was covered in exotic vegetation blurred below him. Sandwiched between the strange sky and the exotic landscape, was a traveler from another world, riding a wolf in style. He had never felt so awesome until that very moment.

It would have be even more awesome if he was not in his pyjamas…

The night wind was freezing cold. Hao Ren would have been frozen to death if not for his enhanced body. He was not Superman but the low temperature was not a big deal. He grabbed his pyjamas close to his skin with one hand and held onto the tough guard hair on the back of the wolf with another. He then called aloud, “How big is the steppe?”

“It’s big, very big!” The voice of the alpha wolf was equally loud and sonorous. “I don’t how humans measure distance but the pack and I once ran across it for seven days and seven nights. Yet, we did not reach the edge! I heard there are humans beyond the steppe but they hardly come here.”

“This world… I mean, what have you learned about the human world?” The mention of ‘human world’ struck a chord with Hao Ren. The idea that human civilization existed on The Plane of Dreams was incredible. He was eager to find out what these humans were like. “Have you ever been there? Do you know the way?”

“Nope, it’s too dangerous to go there.” The alpha wolf slowed down, presumably to ease conversation. “Humans are cunning. They kill and eat everything. Even an earthworm is not spared. Going there is suicide. Speaking of which, why are you asking about that? Aren’t you a human yourself?”

“Well, I came from the other side,” Hao Ren made a story up. “The world’s a big place!”

The alpha wolf did not utter a word. It seemed like it had taken Hao Ren’s word as it was. on the other hand, Han Ren was emotional: as intelligent as these beasts were, they lacked the craftiness of humans. Conspiracy and deception had never crossed the alpha’s mind. It was not cautious enough of Hao Ren, the one who walked on two legs; where he came from; and where he was going to sort out things. If he had to describe it, ‘a hungry belly has no ears, questions asked are meant to be forgotten’ would be an apt description.

These strange beasts were forthright and spontaneous; after recognizing the fact that they were no match for Hao Ren and he was not going to be their dinner, they quickly buried the hatchet. They even allowed themselves to be ridden. Though the alpha wolf did not look particularly pleased and was possibly fearful of Hao Ren’s iron fist, it was pragmatic—‘stay clear of trouble’ and ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ were its tenets.

While it sounded cowardly, none was more disgraceful than Lily, the werewolf maiden. So, Hao Ren was cool with how the alpha was. He even felt that it was cute, in a sense.

As they were just a few minutes away from the houses, something crossed Hao Ren’s mind. “Sometime back, I ran into a pack of wolves here. I wonder if they were your wolves?”

“You were here?” The alpha wolf was surprised. “I’ve never seen you. Alhough we live nearby, you’re the only human we’ve ever seen for the last 35 days and nights.”

The wolves had a vague concept of time. They had a rough idea of how humans kept track of time which was to break it down into years, months and so on. However, they felt it was a difficult concept to grasp. Hence, they resorted to the day-and-night method to keep track of time. Since there was no practice of agriculture or concept of history, as long as they could anticipate the coming of winter, their crude method of time-keeping was good enough for their needs.

“You guys have never seen me?” As the wolves were very forthright, Hao Ren believed that they would not lie to him. “So, there were others?”

“There are a few wolf packs going around. Their territories are bordering ours. Some borders are rather ambiguous so some kids may inevitably wander cross the line.” The alpha wolf was displeased. “Those morons are incapable of talking, much less thinking. That’s the reason they’re weaker and only fit to be our vassal packs—albeit insubordinate.”

The alpha wolf shook its head as it said, “Those morons would trespass and find food in our territory when they’re hungry. Growling is the only means to communicate with them. It’s weird that although we’re both wolves yet, they’re so stupid.”

Hao Ren listened quietly as he kept everything he had heard to himself.

There were still many unsolved mysteries in The Plane of Dreams but at least for now, he knew the existence of two types of wolves—one that talked and was as intelligent as humans while the other was essentially a wild wolf—they were identical in appearance.

But why? Hao Ren found that it was not the result of normal evolution. Then again, this was The Plane of Dreams, a strange space, where things probably did not exist as per the normal sense of the world.

Furthermore, traces of human activities were found in the steppe and a large human world allegedly existed beyond the horizon (the alpha wolf called them as ‘human packs’). How many more mysteries were out there?

As promised, the alpha wolf delivered Hao Ren to the man-made shacks.

“You’ve arrived. Now, I shall leave with my pack.” Once Hao Ren got off its back, the alpha wolf stretched its body and said, “This was my first time carrying such a heavy load. I’d make you carry me the same distance if only I had defeated you.”

“Thank you for the ride.” Hao Ren rubbed his hair as he found the alpha wolf interesting. “I’ll be hanging around here for a while. We may meet again. If you need anything, I’ll be happy to help.”

The alpha wolf was a real opportunist; it nodded and immediately pointed at the poor kids which were still bleeding in their mouths. “My men have lost their teeth. They won’t be able to eat and will starve to death. But as the leader of the pack, I won’t abandon them. Instead, I’ll send a few wolves out to look for something which they can eat. Can you please help us on this?”

Hao Ren did not expect to witness it go straight to the point so quickly. His forehead broke out in sweat as he reached for the MDT. “Hey buddy. Fix their broken teeth, would you?”

“Sorry buddy, I am just a PDA, not Doraemon!”

“I know a veterinary…” Hao Ren turned to the alpha wolf as he wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead. “…who would be more than willing to attend to your problem. If only I could bring her in… I mean bring her over here. I’ll make sure she fixes the broken teeth of your wolves.”

“I’ll take your word for it, human.” The alpha wolf nodded. “But humans aren’t known for keeping their word so, I have no high hopes for you. Goodbye, I hope we won’t have to lock horns with each other the next time we meet.”

The alpha and its pack left right after it finished its last sentence. They ran quickly and disappeared into the grassland.

“Open enemies are better than false friends. I think I’ve met one at last,” Hao Ren mumbled to himself.

The MDT was surprised. “Whoa, I didn’t know you could be so philosophical?”

Hao Ren yanked the MDT out and hung it from his pocket to dry in the wind. Ignoring its statement, he walked straight towards the little house.

It was the place where the nomads once lived but, it puzzled Hao Ren. As far as he knew, nomads did not usually build permanent structures. They followed the water as well as grass and only built tents. It seemed that the nomads in the plane had a different way of living. They had their unique ways of dealing with their day-to-day problems.

Just as Hao Ren placed his hand on the door, all of a sudden, a strong gust of wind blew throughout the steppe.