The Record of Unusual Creatures

This was something he did not expect to see; the confrontation in the Athens Sanctuary had worsened into such a state. The showdown between the radicals and the conservatives, the young and the ancients had deteriorated. He thought that these people would choose a more modest way to negotiate because there were still the Ancients and the large families to keep the situation in check. But these youngsters were so bold to surround the meeting hall.

Sitting inside the meeting hall was the representatives of the large families and the Ancients in the sanctuary.

From where did these wild young unusual creatures get their courage? Were they really just foolhardy?

Hao Ren quickly realized that something was amiss.

Meanwhile, the confrontation in the square was still ongoing.

The members of the “newly-formed families” surrounded the meeting hall. The crowd was like a melting pot of werewolves, vampires, night demons, sorcerers and other strange humanoids. Some people were shouting slogans, some people were pushing the guards, and some people were sneaking around in the crowd; noises were everywhere. These seemingly united groups, however, were not what they seemed. Though the innate hostility had subsided entirely, longstanding grudges still existed. The various races in the square still maintained a subtle hostile stand with each other. Shoving each other, they were divided into different groups.

It was as chaotic as a zoo at feeding time.

“People in the meeting hall should come out to explain the truth! The demon hunters have disappeared! Why are you hiding it from the public?”

“Utterly incompetent! Now is a good time for us to take back the glory of our ancestors. People in the meeting hall would only pass up this opportunity!”

“We need an explanation! We need the truth! The disappearance of the demon hunters is real, why no one has come out to announce the news?”

“Who is afraid of the humans? They are merely the descendants of our slaves, only the cowards will bow to them! We want to retake the world and let humans return to their cages! The age of the gods is coming! We are the ruler of this world!”

The hullabaloo spread across the square, but there were still some clear voices calling out from all over the place. The oppositions sharply criticized the prudent approach of the large families and the ancients, as if they had control over the direction of the world. Nangong Sanba squinted as he scanned the square. Though not as good as others in terms of combat skill, his superb eyesight had spotted those guys roaming in the crowd.

“Someone is inciting the crowd,” Nangong Sanba said in a low voice. “The reaction of the guards in the square is also bizarre.”

Nangong Wuyue looked around. “How strange are they?”

Before Nangong Sanba could say anything, Lily chimed in with her arms crossed. “Those guards are pretending to guard the meeting hall. But look at the faces of those guards at the front, they were unusually calm and composed. They must either be accustomed to the riots, or they’re in cohorts with those troublemakers,” she said.

The analysis of the husky sounded well grounded. Hao Ren could not help but turned his head around and glanced at her “You suddenly have got a pair of piercing eyes, eh?”

“Oh come on, I graduated from Peking University four times, and had been to Old Shanghai! I have seen bigger things!” Lily’s arms akimbo. She waved her fluffy tail proudly as if expecting compliment. She then pointed at her own eyes and said, “By the way, look! I do have a pair of piercing eyes!”

“Looks like the loyalty of those guards of the meeting hall is really questionable,” Hao Ren said. “People in this city have completely changed side.”

“Just change side?” Squinting, Vivian mumbled to herself. “I don’t think it’s that simple.”

While they were mumbling, the troublemakers in the square had started a new round of racket. There was obviously a person whom the leading troublemakers called the ‘head’ in the crowd. Surrounded by a retinue, the new representative came up before the crowd. It was a young man with dark complexion and a strange white light in his eyes. The slogan he chanted was no different from those of others, but his tone and demeanor were incitant, as though he had practiced the lines and gestures numerous times before. Waving his fist and denouncing the people in the meeting hall feverishly, he proclaimed the belief in the eradication of human civilization and revival of the glory days. His voice was heard throughout the square. “We must go out from the sanctuary! We are the master of the world outside! Let humans go back to the cage!”

While the youth shouted, Hao Ren and Vivian were standing a few meters in front of him, staring coldly at the farce.

“Let humans return to the cage! Let humans return to the cage!”

People responded to the chanting of the dark-skinned youth. At first, only certain parts of the crowd shouted, but soon the others around the square joined the ruckus and began to scream feverishly.

“Shame to the sanctuary!”

“Shame to the sanctuary!”

“Destroy the locusts in the meeting hall and destroy Hessiana, the traitor! She is a traitor to our generation!”

“Hessiana is a traitor to our generation!”

Vivian came up to the dark-skinned youth quietly and stared dead into his eyes with a blank expression.

The dark-skinned youth danced and yelled, face raging with fury and intense sorrow. But, this made no sense to Vivian. Vivian looked at him silently.

One was an impassioned family representative, and the other was the most ancient vampire with a poker face. The surrounding crowd finally noticed the strange atmosphere. The dark-skinned young man shouted a few slogans, but it was becoming more awkward. Finally, he could not stand the strange confrontation and stared back at Vivian and yelled at her, “What are you looking at?”

“Looking at you jumping and screaming here,” Vivian said, shrugging her shoulders. “You really don’t know why the councilors are forbidding you to declare war with humans?”

The dark-skinned youth first felt insulted, then the expression on his face changed. He raised his voice and said, “We don’t want those idiots to lead us! They cover up the news! They are up to no good! Their… Wait a minute! You and Hessiana are…”

Slap! Vivian gave the dark-skinned youth a blow on his face. Everyone quieted down suddenly.

The dark-skinned youth was rooted to the spot, looking at Vivian with a glum face. He did not see that coming. He had thought about the suppression of the large families, the confrontation with the city guards, and a fierce and deadly battle, but he never thought that he would be slapped in the face. After a while, the young man finally came to his senses, his face suddenly twisted, and the white light in his eyes rose. “You—”

Without giving him a chance to speak, Vivian gave him another slap on his face. Slap!

The crowd finally had a grasp of what was happening. People tried to stop Vivian. At this time, a few seniors among the city guards had recognized the living ancestor of all otherworldlings: Vivian. Those languid guards suddenly fell over backward to drive the violent and reckless troublemakers out.

Vivian did not care about what was happening in the surroundings. She shot an electric arc to stop the dark-skinned youth from fighting back and followed by another slap in his face. *Slap!*

For several times, the dark-skinned youth tried to fight back. But he was only a spokesperson who was good at acting and speaking; night demon was not a good fighter. Even if Vivian were to become sickly, that kid would not stand a chance. Soon, slapping sound became the only sound heard in the square. Vivian did not need to change her technique; using electric arc and shadowmancy, she kept the kid in restraint while slapping him continuously.

As the sound of slapping reverberated in the air, and the dark-skinned youth finally broke down. His furious passion had all turned into slaps in the face. He even cried out in a classic line unwittingly, “Even my father has never slapped me!”

After yet another slap, Vivian said, “But I slapped your father!”

*Slap!*

“I also slapped your father’s father!”

*Slap!*

“I have slapped all your ancestors! Other than the werewolves and demon hunters, the ones I slapped the most were night demons like you!”

*Slap! Slap!*

The loud and crisp slaps went on for a long while until everyone in the square, including the city guards and troublemakers, was all rooted to the spot.

Vivian stopped, shrugging her shoulder. “You are the first rude kid I’ve ever seen in a long time. Do all youngsters nowadays have no respect for their elders?”

“It’s game over?” Watching on the sidelines all this while, Hao Ren finally stepped forward. “I didn’t expect you to be so protective of Hessiana.”

Vivian arched her brows and said, “Nonsense! As mischievous as she is, chiding her is only part of the family business and personal pleasure. But if outsiders do that, that’s interference!”

At this time, the night demon finally came to his senses. Quaking in his boot, he said, “You-You are the Countess of the Crimson Moon…”

“Now you know,” Vivian said with her arms akimbo. “I slapped you for your own good! Don’t you know the consequences of being a hired gun? I know someone else is behind all this. Now, get out of my sight!”

Most of the troublemakers were at a loss now. Some of them had seen several animations playing on their faces. But very quickly, the crowd dispersed.

As the crowd dispersed, Hesperides came up to Vivian and said, “The guy you just slapped is a native of Australia, the descendant of the Finkel night-demon family.”

There was an awkward look on Vivian’s face. “I just accidentally lied to him.”

Hao Ren was puzzled. “What have you lied to him?”

Vivian rubbed her hands and said, “I didn’t slap his father.”

Everyone was dumbfounded.

“Forget it, that’s not important,” Vivian said. She then turned and walked toward the meeting hall. “The crowd was just a bunch of clowns, I’d like to meet the mastermind inside!”