Chapter 164: Stories from the Past
As Vivian cooked in the kitchen, Hao Ren took the opportunity to inquire about the glorious ancient kingdom.
Perhaps it was his sixth sense. Or perhaps, it was a deliberate plan by Raven 12345 to arouse his interest in something. Either way, he felt that all the other information regarding The Day of Return was not significant except one—the glorious ancient kingdom but, it seemed that the other kinds were not aware of it yet.
Regrettably, the knowledge of the two Ebben elders about the ancient Glorious Imperium was limited to vague accounts from the sirens and their own wild guesses.
“Our tribe believes that the ancient Glorious Imperium is the Mount Olympus of today and other supernatural remnants.” Bluphlei, the more talkative of the two elders, was enthusiastic. He explained, “We’ve studied many ancient classics and exchanged views with the satyrs. We’re of the opinion that only the wonderful holy land built by the ancient unusual creatures’ befits the name ‘Glorious Imperium’. People are speculating that it’s in some forbidden place on Earth, such as the demon hunters’ territory but this theory lacks proof.”
Hao Ren stared into Bluphlei’s eyes, contemplating to sway the topic towards The Plane of Dreams without being too obvious. Then, he digressed. “What do you think about the origins of the unusual creatures?”
Bluphlei was surprised as he looked at Hao Ren. “I heard you’re a sorcerer. I didn’t know that you would be interested in this too.”
Cough, cough.
Hao Ren did not expect Casar and Ewen to tell their elders about him. So, he played along. “Could the origin of the unusual creatures have something to do with this ancient Glorious Imperium?”
“Er…I think this should be left to the human biologists,” Bluphlei smiled as he spread his hands out. “…if they can still remain calm and accept the existence of unusual creatures.”
Hao Ren nodded slightly. He knew these elders of Ebben did not have a clue about the origin of unusual creatures in The Plane of Dreams. Probably, most living beings in this world did not know about The Plane of Dreams. He would probably have to look for the answer himself.
Meanwhile, Lily got back from the market right when the conversation finished. She finally found the opportunity to chime in. She came up to the two elders, her head still tilted to one side. “Sir, may I ask you something?”
Blushedt looked gently at the junior, who allegedly had a loose screw in her head. Although Lily was not the child of his family, he had a warm feeling towards her. “You may, sweetie.”
“Is it true that a husky branch doesn’t exist in the werewolf race?”
The two elders were dumbstruck. They exchanged looks with each other as if they had come to a consensus: It was just as Casar said, this girl had a loose screw in her head!
While Vivian was busy in the kitchen, everyone else discreetly talked about unusual creatures, demon hunters, history and even issues of the day. Even Nangong Wuyue showed interest and joined the conversation. Listening to the two werewolf elders talking about the history of werewolves, albeit a little over-blown, was an eye-opener for Hao Ren. Lily, the uncategorizable ‘freak’, was listening attentively. Bluphlei talked about the legendary Fenrir and Anubis—a distant relative of the werewolf though he had never seen himself as one. Werewolves had always considered Anubis their mutated relative. Blushedt was rather enthusiastic about the period between hundreds to a thousand years ago when the unusual creatures were still active. It was the Dark Age during which obscurantism was till prevalent in Europe. Superstition and peculiar folklore were widespread just as much in the old, rocky castles as in the crowded slums. Vampires and werewolves were the last kind of unusual creatures to occupy the villages and cities until demon hunters as well as the church pursued them vehemently.
The recounts by the two werewolf elders revealed the hidden times on this planet. The end of the mythological period of the unusual creatures began a few thousand years ago and officially ended 1000 years ago during which, human religions experienced major turmoil. But, the end did not mean extinction. The unusual creatures were still in a tug of war with demon hunters and the church for hundreds of years thereafter. The resistance was open from the beginning and it slowly went underground. Various stories and myths then started to emerge. People had not seen these powerful creatures in person ever since the last generation of vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, witches, monsters and gremlins were wiped out. They could only read about them in manuscripts and printed literature. In reality, the real end of the unusual creatures was the beginning of the invention of steam engines.
The unusual creatures, who were a shadow of their former selves lingered on for a few hundred years more after the demise of the Mythological Era, before they eventually receded from the stage of world history.
Blushedt remembered the history so well that he could narrate it backwards. He told the story to Lily with passion before concluding it with a sigh. He then reverted back to silence.
Hao Ren had never heard Vivian recount these things in such detail. But, he could not blame her because her memory sucked!
Perhaps, not all werewolves were as friendly as the two elders. Every time Vivian talked about werewolves, she would swear by their barbarianism. It made Hao Ren perceive that perhaps, most werewolves were not as well-mannered and intelligent. Nevertheless, he was relieved that the Ebbens had sent someone like the elders to visit the Countess of the Crimson Moon. They were the best candidates for the job and true to their title.
Back in the kitchen, Vivian had prepared a feast for all of them.
The two elders of the Ebben Family looked on dumbfounded. They had never seen anything like this vampire. The Countess of the Crimson Moon, who traversed between the kitchen and living room, busily cooking and arranging the table like a pro as if she had been doing nothing for the past 1000 years but practice cooking. Before the two elders could snap out of their wonderment, a table full of sumptuous but not extravagant dishes were served. Of course, she did not forget the essential ingredient: half of the dishes were of garlic. The elders’ jaws dropped to the ground.
The both of them were nothing less than impressed. They exclaimed in unison, “Countess of the Crimson Moon, you’re super-duper!”
“You may leave after the meal.” Vivian was blunt when dealing with the werewolves. “This place is a shelter of refuge and seclusion . You’re welcome to visit us but don’t stay too long.”
“Ahem…” Hao Ren pretended to clear his throat as the atmosphere suddenly turned awkward. He looked at the two werewolf elders apologetically. “Vivian’s always been blunt. You’re always welcome if you decide to say…”
The two werewolves had been living for more than 1000 years; wisdom came with age. They could instantly read his mind: Hao Ren was being fake. Bluphlei laughed as he said, “No, you’re welcome. But, what if we really decide to say?”
Busted, Hao Ren quickly pointed at the food on the table using his chopsticks. “Please, eat, eat…”
Lil Pea smelled the waft of food. She jumped out of her pot and onto the table and began gnawing on the chopsticks…
This little mermaid had been a good girl the whole time. She poked her head out occasionally and stared while they were having their conversation. She never made any noise or bothered them. It was like she knew that the adults were in discussion. She only pulled Hao Ren’s clothes sometimes in a sort of playful way. Hao Ren was very pleased with her. In his mind, he decided to bring her a truck load of bamboo from Yunnan. Again, the elders’ jaws dropped to the ground—it had already happened several times—when they saw the little mermaid chewing on the chopsticks. “We’ve never seen sirens eat this thing…”
They still thought Lil Pea was a siren. Well, after all there had not been a real mermaid on Earth.
“Mutant. She’s a mutant…” Hao Ren smiled slyly as he tried to cook up a cover. There would be trouble if he were to explain things.
While everyone was happily enjoying the meal, a series of knocks on the door could be heard.
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