The Record of Unusual Creatures

The void left behind by the vanishing spaceship had caused a massive implosion. Hundreds of metres down at the bottom of the lake, the implosion was so great that it almost created large scale tremors, which could even be felt up on the surface. But, the little green people and the spaceship were gone, so there was nothing Hao Ren had to worry about. He was at most adding another mystery to the many mysteries already surrounding in the Blood Lake.     

Nangong Wuyue was in front, using herself as a shield against the impact of the implosion. Because of that, she was now swimming like a crab. Hao Ren felt a little sorry seeing the siren maiden who was swimming upside down. It was almost as if she was about to meet her maker soon. "Are you okay?"     

Nangong Wuyue's body was appearing oblique, but she still continued leading the group. She acted tough. "I'm alright! Just a little dizzy! Don't underestimate a siren's survivability under water..."     

Vivian looked at her, also feeling sorry. "...But, you're upside down..."     

Nangong Wuyue tried to correct her posture, but failed. She swayed her head a bit and said, "Sometimes you just get to look at things from a different angle..."     

Lil Pea was tailing Nangong Wuyue happily, imitating her upside down posture. Hao Ren quickly grabbed her by the tail, pulling her back as he said, "Behave yourself! That posture is bad luck!"     

Nangong Wuyue had to maintain her siren form to keep herself balanced after the implosion—not that she could really balance herself. Suddenly, she turned her head around and looked at her tail, beginning to wonder again. "...Do you think I have fish bones?"     

Cold sweat flowed down Hao Ren's back even though he was in water. "How long are you going to harp on this question?"     

The four ascetics, who had been waiting on the shore approached them as they emerged from the water. They still looked as sombre as ever. Hao Ren thought they would still look the same even if the world was coming to an end, as long as the end of the world was not a notion by their goddess. Big Beardy came up to him and said, "Have the green creatures left?"     

"Don't call them green creatures, they're people too. They're Kerbalians. We're just a lump of meat in the eyes of aliens without any physical form," Hao Ren said, sounding like an activist of equal rights. He forgot that he had been calling Kabala, "the little green man". "The spaceship is gone but it's created quite a noise. Things got a little out of control, but don't worry, there wasn't any other problem aside from the noise."     

One of the female ascetics asked, "Did you see any visions at the bottom of the lake?"     

"None that I can recall," Lily said thoughtlessly. She was playing with a couple of black stones in her hands, which she had taken from the bottom of the lake. "What visions were we supposed to see, by the way?"     

The four ascetics shook their heads in unison, almost to say that everything was just fine. Hao Ren looked up, realising that the sky was already completely dark. Based on his memory, Hao Ren could tell the direction of the outpost from the shore. He went in that direction, telling them, "We've got to go now. The noise may have alerted the holy army and we'll have helluva time explaining ourselves if we're spotted hanging around here."     

So, they moved toward the outpost. On the way, Vivian slid the silent ascetics a glance. She said, "Masters, we know our circumstances. We don't belong to this world, but we're not here to cause trouble. If somehow we end up being interrogated, especially by the church, I hope you can put in a few good words for us. And, also act as our witness in matters of the Orb of the Holy Synod."     

Big Beardy paced as he spoke in his cold voice, "Don't worry. As clerics, we'll keep our promise. As far as the holy orb is concerned, although we shouldn't lie, we know what to say depending on the situation. After all, we've gained your favour during our stay in the Surface World. It's now time to return the favour."     

Despite always looking sombre, Big Beardy and company were pretty easy to deal with. They had an almost astounding degree of flexibility in their moral compass under the premise of things being a "mission". In order to guard and bring back the Orb, they could surrender, become prisoners, kill, do everything, which was beneath a clergy, collude with unbelievers, and even resort to deceit and lies. It was safe to say that they would do anything except surrender the sacred object of the goddess. Such was the special ascetics of the Disciples of Glory; they were determined and specific in their actions. Their "sacred mission" was their sole purpose in life.     

Amiable people, but extremely paranoid.     

Having spent three days with Big Beardy and company, Hao Ren was too afraid to say that he had figured out eccentric weirdoes, who were constantly meditating. But, he had more or less learned about their modus operandi and knew how to deal with them. So, he and Vivian had no problems with the four ascetics being their guarantors; it did not go against their code of ethics anyway.     

Becky looked up, gazing at the starry sky. Her heart was heavy. She was finally home, but it was a little bit different from what she used to imagine. The happy-go-lucky mercenary was having her down moment. But, she quickly shoved the depressing thought behind her and became a happy bunny again. "Oh yeah, I've got to claim my reward back home! Master Big Beardy, I'll tag along when you return the Orb. I'll be an elite when they see me. I wonder who'll be presenting the reward. I hope it's Marshal Ophra. That is if she hasn't left the west already... hahaha..."     

There were goosebumps on her skin when Vivian heard they way Becky laughed. She hugged herself and scurried towards Hao Ren. "Why am I so sensitive to such laughter?"     

Hao Ren rolled his eyes. "Hessiana—"     

Those goosebump-inducing moments suddenly flashed across her mind. Vivian turned and glared at Becky. "Don't laugh like that. I have an allergy!"     

"Even if you're made a knight and given a manor, what use would they have?" Nangong Wuyue gave Becky a glance. "You can only stay for 15 days tops. The big mansion practically belongs to your servants, not you."     

"You don't have to remind me about that!" Becky almost jumped. It was like someone had stepped on her tail. "I only need to enjoy it while it lasts."     

Anyway, they were no ordinary people; they did not slow down their pace one bit despite constantly talking. Soon, they arrived at the lakeside outpost. Just as the silhoutte of the outpost was in sight, Y'zaks suddenly exclaimed in a soft voice, "Halt! Something's wrong!"     

Hao Ren looked ahead, and noticed the problem too: the outpost looked dark from afar. There was not one bit of light; natural light from the stars as well as the two moons shone on the outpost and it seemed empty. Upon careful observation, Hao Ren noticed that much of the structure on the outpost had been damaged. He had a particularly deep impression of the few pointed towers at the corner of the outpost, but now, only a few columns were left standing.     

Becky could not exactly see the condition of the outpost. She was surprised that it was dark. "It looks empty. Isn't the lakeside outpost supposed to have guards?"     

Lily sniffed around. Her ears stood upright and her tail puffed up. "I smell blood, but it's almost gone. It should be from a few days ago."     

"The outpost was attacked?" Big Beardy and company were finally feeling unsettled. They lunged towards the structure. "Hurry up, let's check it out!"     

Hao Ren followed suit and went up to the higher ground on the side of the lake. More details were in sight: the wooden wall of the outpost had basically collapsed, the magic barrier outside the wall was also gone, almost two-thirds of the outer wall was crushed into pieces as if some giant creature had stepped on it and debris was strewn all over the place. He followed Big Beardy inside and it was the same level of destruction within the structure: broken walls and fragments of solid wood were everywhere. Some of the debris were buried in the ground as if they had been stomped.     

It looked like the outpost had been ransacked by a giant.     

Hao Ren immediately thought of the rock monsters he once battled. Was the line of defense in Leyton breached after they left two months ago? Did the rock monsters penetrate the inner line of the sacred lake?     

However, the situation at the sacred lake seemed normal. The little isle in the centre of the lake was still brightly lit—he was dead sure about it because he had let Lil Pea swim over and take a peek.     

Big Beardy walked around the outpost, after which he said in a sombre voice, "What happened? Have the pagans attacked the sacred grounds?"