The Record of Unusual Creatures

When Hao Ren arrived at the gate on the west side of the Palace of the Golden Roses, the Kant Family carriage had already been waiting there for a long time.

A coachman and two attendants appeared before him, while Count Willie stood in front of the carriage. The well-known young aristocrat was a kind and courteous man. He had been waiting for about half an hour, but he did not mind at all. He was talking with a palace guard and smiling. Such an approachable attitude was rare among the aristocrats.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I met Grand Duke Loen. He seemed curious about me and asked me lots of questions,” Hao Ren explained.

“It’s ok. It’s worth waiting for a great warrior from ancient times,” Willie said and smiled gently. “Please get in. The Kant Estate is just outside the city, and we shall get there at noon.

The gorgeous carriage slowly left the Palace of the Golden Roses and gradually disappeared at the end of the King’s Avenue. After the carriage left, the two guards standing at the palace gate exchanged a glance.

The guard who had just talked to Willie nodded to his companion and said, “Inform the Grand Duke that the guardian has left with Count Willie. They will meet others at the Kant Estate outside the city.”

The carriage traveled smoothly and rapidly along the central avenue of White City, and the scenery on both sides of the road flashed by. White houses flashed by one after another. All the buildings are almost identical in color. The clean color brings splendor and grandeur to the whole city, but when you look closely, it is inevitably tiresome. Willie was sitting in the car, too. The count, who had just turned thirty, was proud of the capital of his country. He happily introduced the scenery to Hao Ren along the way. They left the King’s Avenue, passed through the tulip field, roared past Knight Street and Blacksmith Street, and passed through the triple gates of White City. Soon, they arrived at the Kant Estate in the suburbs.

Although the Kant Estate was in the Hohenberg, it was well managed.

The estate was surrounded by shade and stood on the edge of a vibrant forest. A small river ran through the middle of the estate. There was also a hydraulic mill on the north side of the estate and a horse farm on the south. Hao Ren could only see some dim shadows of the gorgeous buildings hidden in the shade of the forest and could not tell the size of the estate and the extent of its construction from the outside.

The carriage went straight into the gate, skirted around the woods, and stopped in front of a magnificent mansion.

A stooped old servant came forward to greet them. Willie stepped out of the carriage and offered his hand to Hao Ren. This is not necessary, but it can be regarded as the host’s most respected etiquette to the guests. “Mr. Guardian, welcome to Kant Estate. My adviser and some scholars coming from other family estates are waiting for you.”

Hohenberg was far from the White City, and Hao Ren arrived in this city yesterday. Therefore, those scholars should have been teleported here directly. Teleportation was still the fastest mode of transportation of the kingdom, but it was also very expensive and only available to the upper classes. Several scholars used teleportation in order to meet with the ancient guardian, and this showed the importance they attached to this meeting

Hao Ren got out of the carriage with a calm expression and stepped into the mansion.

He met the ‘experts and scholars’ in the main hall of the manor house.

There was a long table in the luxurious hall and a dozen people were sitting there. At one end of the long table, an old man in a black robe was sitting there, with a beard hanging almost to his chest. The old man looked at least seventy or eighty years old, but he was hale and hearty. Judging from the ruby ring on his hand and the golden runes on his black robe, he should be an experienced spellcaster. Sitting next to the old man were two middle-aged men in scholar robes. They looked gentle and elegant. Farther up the table were obviously lower-ranking men, probably their assistants.

Hao Ren raised his eyebrows after entering the room. He looked around and found that every wall was painted with beautiful and fine murals. Most of the murals depicted the scenes of knights fighting bravely, as well as the scenes of glory descending from the sky and warriors coming back to life after being blessed by the Goddess.

Willie noticed it, smiled proudly and explained, “The Kants have been in the army for generations. The best soldiers of the kingdom were coming from us. Most of these murals depict the stories of my ancestors. Of course, half is true, half is legendary. We believe that the warriors of the Hohenberg are protected by the Goddess of Creation. Whenever we die bravely in battle, we will be immediately summoned by the Goddess, and then come back to life in another world.”

Hao Ren nodded and said, “A family full of glory.”

“It’s probably nothing compared to you,” Willie joked. When Hao Ren sat down, he ordered his servant to serve tea and began to introduce, “This is my adviser, Scholar Lamore, a highly respected wizard and scholar of the Kant Family. This is Mr. Handel, who specializes in ancient history, and this is…”

Hao Ren nodded as he listened, and finally, Willie introduced him to everyone even though everyone already knew who he was. “This is Hao Ren, the ‘ancient guardian’ I mentioned. He came from a thousand years ago. During the war, he guarded the Cassouin Grand Temple until the last moment. After a thousand years of sleep, he was awakened by Princess Veronica.”

Hao Ren took a sip of the black tea, glanced over the people in front of him and said, “Let’s go straight to the point. I heard that you know a Wolfwalker wandering in the mountains of the north? And this Wolfwalker is very similar to the person I described?”

Lamore, the old man in the black robe took out several pieces of paper, and the top one is Hao Ren’s notice for missing Husky. He let go of the papers, and the papers floated smoothly to Hao Ren. “The legend of the Wolfwalker is very old, only the people of the Hohenberg know these stories. And only those of us who are fascinated by ancient knowledge can tell it in its entirety. You probably can’t find it out from others. We found some old records from the family territories, from which we have drawn something, you can have a look.”

Hao Ren spread out the papers and found that the last two sheets were the information provided by the Kant Family. It was a blurred picture on one of the papers.

It was a portrait of a girl with wolf ears standing on the top of the mountain and looking down. Although it was not clear enough, Hao Ren could faintly discern Lily’s silhouette.

“This is the only portrait we have found. The Wolfwalker was last seen 200 years ago. A wizard apprentice who got lost in the mountains was lucky enough to record the hermit’s appearance. But it’s been 800 years since your time, so you may not recognize it.”

Hao Ren smiled, put the information aside and said, “It’s valuable. So can you find the Wolfwalker now?”

“It depends on how much more detailed information you can give us. Wolfwalkers don’t communicate with outsiders, including us. We can only confirm that she still lives in seclusion in the vicinity Hohenberg and White Sand Valley, but it’s still difficult to find her whereabouts. Maybe you can answer some of our questions to make it easier for us to find them.”

Hao Ren smiled and said, “Just ask.”

“So, first of all,” said Lamore, sitting up straight, “is this Wolfwalker one of the guardians of the Cassouin Grand Temple? Is she a warrior of the Theocracy like you?”

Hao Ren raised an eyebrow and asked, “Does it have anything to do with the whereabouts of the Wolfwalker?”

“Yes. We can narrow down our search based on the answer.”

“No.” Hao Ren shook his head. “She’s not a guardian of the Cassouin Grand Temple.”

Several scholars immediately exchanged glances after hearing the answer, and eventually, everyone nodded.

Hao Ren noticed a glint in Lamore’s eyes. He seemed a little pleased with the answer.