The Record of Unusual Creatures

Dark clouds rolled as thunders roared. Raindrops as big as peas were falling from the sky. That night, the Beinz area was having a thunderstorm—a storm that had been brewing over a night.     

Perhaps Beinz was near the relic site—Dragonspine Ridge, or maybe it was because of the influence from the mysterious Beinz Blood Lake, the weather in the area had always been extreme. Sometimes it was a storm; sometimes it snowed in the summer; and sometimes there were bolts of lightning out of the blue, which resembled weather in the steppe. People in the town were used to them, so once the thunderstorm started, residents began to seal their doors and windows. Then, they stayed indoors. Magic towers across the town had been activated to lessen the effects of the thunderstorm and prevent buildings from getting struck by lightning. It was during this thunderstorm that the head of the Royal Knights, Marshal Ophra came to visit.     

"I hope I'm not bothering you." Ophra was in full armour as always. "I have something I need to talk to you about—the itinerary tomorrow."     

A chilling wind rushed into the king's house through the opened entrance, but not a single drop of rain got blown inside. Ophra stood right at the doorway, but the rain appeared to be circumventing her. The space within a two-metre radius around her was a vacuum devoid of rain. Standing behind Ophra was an ordinary-looking, well-built, elderly man who was probably the marshal's attendant.     

"No, that's okay, please come in." Hao Ren ushered Ophra into the reception hall. He was just thinking about seeing her the next day, but she came to them instead. What a coincidence!     

Lily was lying on the long couch beside the doorway. Awakened by the chilling wind, she jumped to her feet as she saw the visitors and she inadvertently hit the door with her tail. "Urgh, it's freaking cold..."     

Vivian gave the husky a sideways glance while she knitted her scarf. "Are you worthy of your own bloodline? What about the glorious achievement of your ancestors' dominance in the Arctic Circle?"     

Curious about Lily's ears and tail, the elderly man beside Ophra could not help but look at her. However, he did not say a word.     

Hao Ren invited Ophra to the couch. The elderly man followed Ophra and sat down beside her naturally. Hao Ren was a little surprised. He had probably misjudged the elderly man's identity/ He could be an important figure among the Royal Knights, but he just happened to be in plain clothes. But, that did not matter much to Hao Ren. He served the two of them some hot tea. "So, what's up?" he asked.     

Ophra's hand trembled a little without her realising. It was the first time someone had greeted her that way since she became the marshal of the kingdom a few hundred years ago. She could not help but recall a young man, who had talked to her in the same tone of voice; a young, hot-blooded, human chap, wearing elite attire, but squatting on the bench in a bar, chatting her up. "I have something to discusss with you..."     

Ophra shook her head, putting the odd thought aside. Then, she proceeded to say, "Tomorrow, we are going to escort the four ascetics to the Royal City. Considering the special nature of this mission, we need your cooperation. We also need to prevent the heretics from sabotaging us..."     

Hao Ren waved his hand. "Wait a second, I have something to tell you too. And after you hear this, I'm guessing you're gonna change your plans—it's about the cult."     

There was a subtle change in Ophra's expression. She leaned forward slightly and her light body armou made a scraping sound. "Cult?"     

"Yes, cult. They were performing an evil ritual and a human sacrifice. They summoned monsters from another world and they've infiltrated the Royal and Church Knights," Hao Ren divulged everything he knew without fear or favour. He was not afraid of any consequences. "Besides, near the Blood Lake..."     

Spending a long 10 minutes or so without holding anything back, Hao Ren told it all as though it was the right thing to reveal the frightening intel. Ophra was stunned. Not even an epic hero could remain composed when bombarded with such explosive intel. When Hao Ren finally finished, she pressed her hand on the tea table and respectfully said, "What you said is true? Do you have proof?"     

Hao Ren took a sack out and opened it up in front of Ophra. "The stuff inside the bottle is the remains of the cult followers. This is the heraldry of the Royal Knights, and the clothing of a cleric. These daggers were also used in their ceremony. This is a corporate culture brochure and this is a blood sample taken from the altar. This on the other hand, is a tissue sample of a tentacle, which has been confirmed to be identical to the tree bark in the Gnarled Grove. This is Vivian's cooking recipe for... why is this even here?"     

Vivian quickly scurried over and took the recipe away. "No wonder I couldn't locate it. I misplaced it while I was sorting things out last night. "     

Looking at the stuff, Ophra's jaw almost dropped to the floor. "So, it is real..." She then looked at Hao Ren with a strange expression on her face. "That means, you guys were out there investigating yesterday? This is not something ordinary mercenaries would do on their own accord. Even the kingdom's spies couldn't accomplish this."     

Hao Ren spread his hand out and bragged. "Yes, we have been investigating since last night. We've been very interested in the phenomena around Beinz Blood Lake from the beginning. As for the reason of doing so... would you believe me if I tell you that it's my academic passion?"     

"What if I don't buy it?"     

"Then I'll make up another reason."     

"..."     

"I'm not kidding." Hao Ren became serious. "I can tell you for certain that we are not a threat to the Kingdom of Holletta. We sincerely want to solve the problem out of our own free will. And, the intel is solid. But, it's kind of hard to explain why we're doing this. We are being genuine, but it's okay if you question our sincerity. After all, you're the marshal of the kingdom. So, you're welcomed to vet us."     

This was the narrative Hao Ren had decided on, but it was actually not a thoroughly planned one. After all, he had nothing to lose; he was the commissioner of the Empire, who could come and go without a trace.     

Not to mention, his identity in The Plane of Dreams was also fake...     

Just that, he felt sorry for Becky. He glanced at Becky, who was lying near the window with Lily and yawning. The maiden was an authentic citizen of The Plane of Dreams. But, considering the fact that she could only follow him around for the rest of her life, and also the fact that she had already accepted her fate, he could not do anything more.     

Ophra was now even more confused about this unknown mercenary group of Hao Ren's. It was true that she did not visit them just to discuss about next day's itinerary. She had received reports earlier, that a group of mercenaries disppeared from town lthe previous night, so she was keen to investigate what was going on. She believed that she could find out their whereabouts the night before with her special ability. But before she could say anything, this man before her had already confided everything to her like a guilty child.     

No, he was not feeling guilty. He simply did not give a hoot.     

"If this is true, then the Orb must be delivered back to the Royal City as soon as possible," Ophra murmured. "Since the cult has infiltrated us, the Orb isn't safe here. But first, I must make sure that the intel you've provided me is true."     

Hao Ren took out a piece of paper and drew something on it. Then, he said, "Of course. The cavern where the cult performed its ritual is still there. I've drawn a map to the place. You can send your men to scout it out, but be quick. There could still be other cult followers who may want to destroy the evidence."     

Ophra took the map in her hand and read it solemnly before staring at Hao Ren. "Who scouted the cavern last night? We need a guide."     

Hao Ren's brow twitched. "You don't trust me? You think it's a trap?"     

"No." Ophra waved the map in her hand. "Your drawing is simply too ugly to understand."     

"..."     

"Alright, I'll be your guide." Nangong Wuyue got to her feet, volunteering. "I know the way."     

Ophra nodded. She was about to say something, but a loud thunder interrupted her.     

She immediately looked up towards its direction. Hao Ren did not know what to make of her reaction, so he waited. Then, thunderous sound came again from afar.      

It sounded like thunder, but the the tone was much lower and it rolled incessantly. Obviously, thunder did not sound like that.     

Lily's tail puffed up. She poked her head out of the window and saw a light column rising from where Beinz Blood Lake was.The pressing sound of the bell could be heard from the bell tower in Leyton!