The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 466

Chapter 466: Siberia

 

No one expected Nangong Sanba to have gone through so many incredible things in that short period of time. The goddess of luck had to be on his side, because it just so happened that he only went to challenge the vengeful spirit alone after Hao Ren and the rest came back from the other world. If he had been wounded two days earlier, even the most powerful occult skills on Earth could not have saved him. Nangong Wuyue was still in a different world at that time while Nangong Sanba’s movements required members of his family to lock on the right coordinates.

Regardless of the principle, it was not easy to explain how the demon hunters’ talents worked.

Hearing her brother’s encounter, Nangong Wuyue could not wait but ask, “Is the vengeful spirit still there? When did you fight with it?”

Nangong Sanba exhaled and said, “Yesterday. After the fight, I was wounded, but I was lucky to be able to escape into the wilderness. There, I held up for a night before setting up the needed array for spells and coming over to find you. The vengeful spirit should still be there. For some unknown reason, it looked like the vengeful spirit was trapped in that place.”

Nangong Wuyue suddenly got up. “I’m going!”

She glanced down at Hao Ren, feeling a little embarrassed. “Landlord…”

Hao Ren smiled when he saw the forthright siren suddenly becoming so prudish. He found it interesting, but he did not tease her. “I got it. Since I’m your guardian here, I’ll go with you.”

Nangong Wuyue nodded gratefully while Nangong Sanba glanced at Hao Ren with a strange expression on his face. “This is risky business. Furthermore, it’s my family’s business. You’re not obligated to be involved.”

Hao Ren rolled his eyes and said, “Unfortunately, this is also part of my job.”

The vengeful spirit was not just one of the otherworldlings on Earth, it was also one of the most mysterious, being only second to the siren. And like the siren, Hao Ren did not find any races who corresponded with vengeful spirits in the Plane of Dreams. So, he had been planning from the very beginning, trying to get his hands on a sample to study. He wanted to know exactly what it was. Unfortunately, he never met one before as the thing came and went like a shadow, very much like Raven 12345. It was not like you could simply go out and catch one.

However this time, there was a ready-made sample. Hao Ren had no reason to give up on the opportunity. Not to mention, there was his relationship with the Nangongs. Even without this relationship, he would have still gone just to check it out for himself. If they could wrap things up beautifully, he might earn a one or two-month bonus, or a few cartons of golden apples from Raven 12345.

Nangong Sanba had no clue what was on Hao Ren’s mind. He only found this strange landlord, who was running an unusual creature shelter to be surprisingly big-hearted, even to the point of being irrationally kind. So, he was very curious about what Hao Ren was up to.

His eyes began to dart between Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue, currently the mantis shrimp. He was trying to pick up on some subtle hints that may indicate the goings-on between the two of them. Apparently, he thought a man who could be as big-hearted as that either had some kind of orientation problem, or there was something going on between him and his sister.

The siren maiden flung her brother to the back of the sofa with her tail. The latter facepalmed and mumbled at the back, “I haven’t even said anything yet!”

“It wouldn’t have been my tail whacking you if you had.” Wuyue swung her tail. “Do you want to experience the windmill of your childhood? If you talk crap again, I’m going to let you experience the ‘thrill’ of being spun at maximum speed.”

Nangong Sanba quickly begged for her mercy. Meanwhile, Hao Ren felt hapless and a little hurt. “Am I that unworthy?”

The siren maiden’s expression suddenly looked a little odd. “No, you’re not… Hey! You guys are changing the subject! Now let’s get back to business, alright?”

“There hasn’t been much to do recently.” Vivian clapped her hands as she pushed Hao Ren, who was now impetuous to the side. “The goddess hasn’t given us any new missions. There’s no hurry to explore the Plane of Dreams and matters regarding Y’zaks have also been resolved. We’re free. I’ve had a few encounters with the vengeful spirit before; it’s kind of a strange creature. Given the opportunity, I’d also like to have a look at it again. Sanba, you’ll lead us there, won’t you?”

“All of you are going?” Nangong Sanba looked at them, seemingly a little confused.

Hao Ren counted with his fingers and said, “Me; Vivian, who has experience needs to go; both of you Nangongs; oh, and—Lily, stop shaking me, I know you’re going too, alright?!”

The husky maiden was grabbing on to Hao Ren’s arm and swinging it back and forth. It looked as though she would have torn his arm off if he had not agreed. Her tail whirred like a whirlybird as she had become restless after a few days at home.

As soon as Hao Ren nodded, Lily lunged at him and was about to lick him like a lollipop. Hao Ren was shocked. But fortunately, or rather unfortunately, right when Lily opened her mouth, a small bat slapped her on the face as Vivian pulled her back by the tail. “Show some self-restraint! Even if the whole world knows you’re a husky, don’t forget that you’re in human shape right now!”

“Well, I’m not going to join you guys this time,” Y’zaks as usual, waited for the hoo-ha to stop before he slowly spoke like a big brother. “I want to spend time with my child at home,” said Y’zaks as he patted Y’lisabet’s head dotingly.

Y’lisabet jumped to her feet. “But, I want to go with Uncle Ren…”

“You haven’t done your homework for almost a week!” Y’zaks glared at her. “Don’t forget, you’re a demon-queen-to-be! When we first came to Earth, you promised obedience. If you whine again, I’m going to send you back and let those aunties and uncles school you!”

Y’lisabet compressed her mouth, building up her emotions. She then looked at Hao Ren tearfully and said, “Uncle Ren, if I cry, will you help me?”

Hao Ren shrugged. Y’lisabet turned to Vivian. “Vivian, will you help me?”

Vivian rolled her eyes and said, “This time, your dad’s right.”

Y’lisabet sighed. “Then, I’m not going to cry. You people aren’t that fun.”

Becky looked at Nangong Sanba, then at Hao Ren, and Nangong Wuyue. Suddenly, she raised her hand hesitantly and asked, “Although I don’t understand a thing you guys said… I’m guessing you guys are going on an exploration?”

“It’s not really an exploration.” Hao Ren waved his hand. “We’ve got some business to attend to… a local defense matter.”

“Can I tag along?” Becky showed an eager face. She then made a sword-drawing gesture and wielded her right hand in the air. “Look, my skills are becoming rusty!”

Hao Ren frowned. “What are you going to do there? It’s not like you’ll get paid.”

The only driving force in Becky’s life was money, Hao Ren thought. However, the mercenary was now volunteering hersef. It made him feel like the sun was rising from the west.

Becky smirked as she scratched her head. “Look, I’m a mercenary, I’m not going to stay home, it bores me to death!”

Hao Ren knew that the mercenary part of Becky’s blood was slowly fermenting after doing nothing at home for so long. Probably, that led the maiden to feel that her skills were becoming rusty. Hence, he agreed to let her go along. Nangong Sanba was amazed as he watched these people so casually volunteered to go hunting for the vengeful spirit. “Do you guys think this is a game? I’ve had a few encounters with that vengeful spirit. It’s a powerful variety, the kind that even experienced demon hunters would find hard to deal with. You guys would rather go looking for trouble than having a peaceful life at home?”

Hao Ren sighed in my heart. Peaceful my foot! After all his recent experiences, hunting the vengeful spirit in Siberia seems like a vacation already.

The next day, they arrived on the desolate frozen plains of Siberia.

Hao Ren had thought of taking the opportunity to request a reimbursement for a few plane tickets from Raven 12345; that, along with a few hundred thousand bucks for operation funding. But before he could do so, the MDT remonstrated: since a global teleportation machine and transportation had already been given to him, it was too much to ask for reimbursement under such circumstances. The goddess may have gotten mad if he did it, so Hao Ren had no choice but to let it go.

They used the MDT to teleport themselves across the border into Siberia. Although they were not funded, truth be told, it was much faster than taking the plane.

As the light from the teleportation faded, they recovered from their short-term dizziness. Nangong Sanba eyeballed Hao Ren and asked, “It seems that you really have a lot of secret gadgets, eh?”

Hao Ren tossed the MDT in his hand and thought to himself, Oh, come on, this thing’s more like a brick…

Nangong Wuyue nudged her brother and told him quietly, “Let’s not ask too many questions.”

“That’s okay. I’ll tell him everything as soon as he decides to move in.” Hao Ren smiled as he pulled his coat closer to his body—not that he needed the winter wear, but it allowed him to blend in with the – 30°C environment. “Now, let’s go and find out where that vengeful spirit is hiding.”

Chapter 467: Spirit of Vengeance

 

Siberia, one of the coldest regions in the world, where a large population of humanity exists. When talking about Siberia, many people inadvertently think of a dull, monotonous wasteland. But, it is an extremely vast area. Aside from ​​snow and gelisols, there is also a large area of tundra filled with mountains, cold vegetation, and icy swamps. Tens of millions of people live in this cold and snow-covered wilderness. Most of them are clustered in the few milder and more temperate towns in Siberia, while other areas are sparsely populated.

Unfortunately, Hao Ren and the others were not there to enjoy the life and culture of this fighter nation. They were actually in the most desolate, most inaccessible place in Siberia, just next to the Arctic Circle where humans were a rare species.

Before their departure, they had prepared thick coats. Although most of them were not afraid of the cold, the coats would at least help them to blend in. Looking at the desolate wilderness and the snow, which was vaguely visible in the the end of the horizon, Vivian instinctively pulled her clothes closer to herself. “I remember being here in the Arctic Circle…”

“Why were you here?” Hao Ren glanced at her. “If we rewind time and look a few years back, I’m afraid you probably didn’t see a single human in Siberia, did you?”

“My memory fails me.” Vivian scratched her head. “It’s not that you don’t already know. But for the most part, it’s probably because I was poor.”

Everyone was speechless.

At this time, Hao Ren felt something wriggling on his collar. Lil Pea poked her head out, holding on to the furry collar of his coat tightly. She watched excitedly at the vast world outside. “Big… Big… So big!”

She was struggling for words to describe what she saw. All she knew was “big”. It seemed that the little one still had a long way to go.

Hao Ren quickly put his hands around the collar to prevent Lil Pea from falling out. At – 30 °C, if the little one fell out, the warm water fish would become a piece of frozen fish in no time. In fact, he did not want to bring Lil Pea with him in the first place. After all, they were going to an icy cold place, and Lil Pea was a child, who would hibernate in freezing temperatures. At sub-zero temperatures, she would be frozen, but he just could not stand her nagging.

Nangong Sanba mentioned that the vengeful spirit was entrenched in the ancient house of a reclusive elite family. The house of the family, whom he called a “parvenu” was still hidden deeper in the snowy steppe. After the MDT teleported them to a wide-off-the-mark location in Siberia, there were still a long way from their destination. Hao Ren looked around, and it was definitely not a place for sightseeing. He reached into his Dimensional Pocket and said, “We’ll drive there.”

Nangong Sanba was a little startled when he saw Hao Ren yanking out a vehicle out of nowhere. But then he calmed down quickly. Meanwhile, Wuyue came up to him and giggled. “You seem to be more composed, eh? Not surprised anymore?”

Nangong Sanba hemmed and said, “Who doesn’t have a secret weapon? On top of that, he’s someone who runs a shelter. I’m used to it, so to tell you the truth, even if he pulls out a spaceship from his pocket now, I won’t be at all surprised.”

Hao Ren glanced at him. “Are you sure?”

Nangong Sanba was appalled. “Do you really have one?”

Hao Ren was not very worried about revealing too much high-tech stuff in front of this outsider. He was at the very least experienced at this point. He had been met with bigger trouble before, so this little thing did not worry him. He just needed to ensure that he complied with the administration’s system, or else he would be grilled by the goddess.

Nangong Sanba was not taking Hao Ren seriously; he was just acting surprised. He turned to look at the vehicle Hao Ren yanked out of “nowhere”, and said, “Do you think this will work with all the snow in Siberia?”

Hao Ren glared at him. “You’re looking down on it because of its small displacement, isn’t it? Let me tell you, although it looks tiny from the outside , it’s really big inside.”

Before Nangong Sanba could say anything more, he was already being shoved into the car. When he got inside, he was shocked by the spacious cabin. With just a glance, he knew there was something off about the interior. But some sort of sensory confusion made him unsure of where the anomaly began and where it ended. He could only vaguely feel that he had just passed through a distorted space, which was probably the car door.

Hao Ren slid into the car, and placed the MDT into the card slot next to the driver’s seat. Then, he drove into the distant white world.

The small Northstar galloped across the frozen wilderness of Siberia. Despite the rough terrain with virtually no actual road present, the car moved like it was running across a track. This would have become another unsolved mystery if people had spotted it. Inside the car, Lil Pea was lying on Hao Ren’s shoulder, looking through the window at the scenery outside. She made loud exclamations from time to time, “Wow! It’s snow!

“Wow! It’s rock!

“Wow! It’s food!”

The last one was because she saw a few dead trees zooming past.

As the car entered the snowy land, the scenery became even more monotonous. The undulating wilderness was devoid of vegetation, only static, white snow, which had been accumulating since time immemorial. Faint images of mountains and shadow of the woods could be seen in the distance. Aside from that, it was just white. The were already in the Arctic Circle, and they were still travelling north. To be honest, it was unimaginable that there would anyone rich who would like to live in this ghostly place. But the reclusive elite, whom Nangong Sanba called the “parvenu was indeed living in this desolate place.

“Igor’s family is a very special group of people. They’ve been extraordinarily wealthy since a long time ago. Despite experiencing many social changes, conflicts and turmoils in the world, they stayed as wealthy as ever,” Nangong Sanba began to tell the story of the reclusive elites they were visiting, and he finally stopped calling them “parvenus”. “They have properties all over Europe, but their families are very low-key and remain mostly anonymous. People say that they’re blessed by gods to enjoy their massive wealth from generation to generation, but I think it’s under the curse of the vengeful spirit: they’re so wealthy that even the October Revolution wasn’t able to shake their foundation. However, each one of them has been afflicted by catastrophes outside of human disasters: all kinds of supernatural deaths, sickness, madness, accidents, suicides, and even disappearances in their own bedrooms. For years, they’ve been looking to witchcraft and the dark world for help—exorcists, priests, and even Chinese mediums. But luck has never been on their side. They’ve never been able to find a real expert, though I was one of the most professional ones they’ve ever got. If I had known earlier what exactly troubled the family, I would have been better prepared. Unfortunately, before vengeful spirit appeared, I only knew about what kind of stuff they provoked.”

“How could such a wealthy family live in this place?” Lily curiously asked. “Most parts of Siberia have been places of exile for prisoners a few hundred years ago, especially where we are now. It’s close to the Arctic Circle and far from the bustling world of humanity. It’s extremely costly for any human to settle down here.”

Hao Ren glanced at Lily in surprise. “Why are you suddenly so serious? And you sound pretty learned.”

Lily grinned, looking at Hao Ren. “I’m the one with the highest qualifications here, don’t you know? I just don’t show it off because I’m lazy.”

Vivian pushed Lily away and said, “Save it! You were just blessed by your homtown in the Arctic Cirle.”

Nangong Sanba smiled. “Like I said, Igor’s family are reclusive elites. Even though they are ordinary people, they are unfortunate to be exposed to the world of otherworldlings, and naturally, they have been greatly affected by them. Withdrawing from the crowd, weird behaviors, unidentified wealth, genetic diseases that Science has failed to explain, seeking help from witchcraft and taboo knowledge—these are all things most likely experienced by families who cross paths with otherworldlings. The family we’re going to meet moved to this area 300 years ago, and they’ve amassed great wealth at the same time. The ‘evil spirit’ that’s been haunting them for generations appeared at that same moment too.”

Hao Ren asked, “What did they do 300 years ago?”

“Summoned the dead.” Nangong Sanba shrugged. “I didn’t ask them for the details. In the beginning, I thought it was just another evil spirits intrusion and I went ahead without investigating much. Never did I expect I to be nearly KOed by the vengeful spirit.”

Soon, the ancient house which was being invaded by the vengeful spirit appeared ahead of them.

Chapter 468: The Strange Castle

 

If you had not seen it with your own eyes, you would not have expected an ancient castle to be in Siberia’s most inhospitable area: it was very close to the Arctic Circle, but a family plagued by a vengeful spirit had poured in huge amounts of manpower and material resources to build their sanctuary there.

…

The shadow of a tall building appeared on the horizon; it was a quirky, black stone fortress with a thick, circular façade and three tall towers as well as a bowl-shaped roof. It was unclear if the owner cleaned it regularly or the castle was shielded by some kind of supernatural power. Not a speckle of white was on the building.

Hao Ren drove closer to the castle, but the closer he got, the more uncomfortable he felt. The magnificent building looked really ominous. Its thick walls and weird roof made it looked like a prison, as though an inexplicable monster was held in a secluded cage in that world of ice and snow. Just by looking at it, one could sense the eeriness emanating.

The people who constructed the castle were either psychologically ill, or helpless in their struggle against an evil spirit. It was hard to imagine who would be willing to live in this eerie place.

When Hao Ren drove near the castle, he found that it was surrounded up by an old iron fence on the ouside, and a layer of low stone wall on the inside. The double walls made the place look like it was not made for humans; more like a prison for something else. The car could not go straight in. Hao Ren slowed down and drove around the iron fence before he found a rusty gate on the other side. He honked and waited for a while before an old servant, clad in a brown coat came out from the low wall to open the gate.

The old servant appeared old and weak. He was almost bald with only a ring of white, curly hair, fluttering in the cold winds of Siberia. He was hunched under a heavy coat as he plodded towards the gate in a quivering manner. He opened the gate slightly before poking his head out, peering cautiously at the weird car outside. “Who’s there?” the old servant asked with a heavy, nasal voice.

Nangong Sanba stuck his head out of the window. “It’s me!” he said.

The old servant, who was startled looked a little frightened when he saw Nangong Sanba. He could not believe that the demon hunter was still alive. “You’re alive?”

Nangong Sanba laughed. “I’m a pro. Pros have nine lives. I’ve brought some reinforcements. I’ll fulfill the contract with Igor, and do what I can until the evil spirit is eventually cast out.”

The old servant’s lips trembled a little. He looked like he had something to say, but in the end, he remained silent. He opened the gate and realized that something was wrong as the car went past him. The only modes of transportation in the vast snow field were sleighs and snowmobiles, how did the car make its way there?

The old servant looked out in the direction where the Northstar had come from, but found no tyre tracks in the snow.

This never occurred to Hao Ren as he rolled the window down and asked, “Hey, old man, where should I park the car?”

He could not keep his car in his Dimensional Pocket when the outsider was there.

The old servant then snapped out of his shock. He had been staying in the strange old house for decades, and seen enough supernatural phenomena. He just sighed and turned to Hao Ren as he pointed at an open space. “Right there.”

Soon after, he witnessed another “supernatural phenomeno”: six people came out, one after another, from the tiny Northstar. This included Nangong Sanba, who was carrying a box at least half his height. It contained all of his equipment!

The old servant was startled before he slowly muttered to himself, “Those are real pros.”

After everyone disembarked, Hao Ren took the MDT out. He pointed it to his car and pretended to lock it; for a few seconds, the MDT was feeling reluctanct about playing along,but shortly after it sounded two beeps. It then spoke to Hao Ren telepathically, “Can’t you give me a heads-up every time you want me to perform a new function?! It’s embarrassing and I’m tired of being so many different things!”

Hao Ren did not say a word. He just pressed his chest gently. There was a hidden pocket with Lil Pea curled up inside. It was to remind the little one not to come out. In fact, Lil Pea did not risk being bored inside as there was a small monitor through which she could observe the situation outside—there was a button near his collar, which acted as a hidden camera.

The coat was made in the Petrachelys’ onboard factory. It was magically redesigned in a way that it was almost not made from cloth.

The garden in front of the castle had been abandoned for years. Perhaps, it was not even a garden at all from the beginning, because not many types of decorative plants could survice the cold there. Near the stone wall, there was a circle of stone bricks, which seemingly surrounded a flower bed where a few weird thorns grew. The place basically looked like a shoveled graveyard. Hao Ren and the others followed the old servant and walked towards the main entrance of the castle. They did not see any other person along the way, giving the illusion that the elderly man was the only person in the castle.

“Is there any other people here?” Becky found the atmosphere creepy, and felt like she had to say something to break the silence.

“Yes, in the house, but not many,” the voice of the old servant was low. It sounded like it came from the very depths of a tomb. “Lord Igor went out early this morning, and will probably be back tomorrow. Meanwhile, you can rest in the room.”

He took them to the front door and pressed the doorbell. The heavy, quaint door opened ajar as an expressionless, middle-aged man wearing a butler’s apparel appeared before Hao Ren.

The old servant introduced the guests to the butler. Nangong Sanba came forward and shook hands with the butler, who looked like a zombie. “I’ve brought reinforcements.”

The middle-aged butler finally spoke with a stiff smile on his face, “People were scared by the explosions in the basement. It’s good to see you still alive.”

Then, they followed the middle-aged butler deep into the castle. Nangong Sanba casually asked the butler about what had happened after he “withdrew”—while in actuality, he was beaten black and blue before fleeing back into the city. “Did the evil spirit come out after that? Where did Igor go?”

“After the explosion, the evil spirit became quiet and the underground gate was sealed off once again. We don’t know what happened down there. The thing has probably been held back again. Lord Igor thought you had failed, so he went out early this morning to visit one of his own hermit friends, hoping to find some soothing incense and herbs. However, it seems that isn’t necessary now.”

Nangong Sanba was dumbfounded, but the high death rate in his profession was an undeniable fact. Hence, he just smiled wryly and said, “Well, we will wait for Igor to come back before we further discuss the next course of action. These people are a lot more powerful than I am. If not for our relationship, no one could’ve persuaded them to come. This is going to be the end of the evil spirit in the castle.

He big-noted Hao Ren and his gang in order to gain the trust of the castle owner. In any case, Hao Ren did not mind it as he was busy observing the portraits hanging on both sides of the corridor walls.

The interior of the castle was not as creepy as the outside. Although the ancient stone buildings inevitably felt somewhat cramped, the corridors were at least warm and bright. Under the warm lighting, Hao Ren saw the dramatic portraits on his right and left. The portraits were of people from different times: some were standing, while some were sitting. They looked almost lifelike and each painting seemed to have been drawn in different ages.

“These are the ancestor of the Andrea Family,” Nangong Sanba whispered next to Hao Ren. “Igor, the one we’re going to meet is the current head of the family.”

Hao Ren nodded slightly. His eyes continued scanning the portrait of men and women. Each time his eyes swept past the portraits, the deadpanned portraits of the family’s ancestors came to life even more, their eyes observing the visitors in the corridor. Their glares were cold and dead, staring back at anyone who looked at them.

Hao Ren found the eyes in the portraits all the same; both the men and women had the same pair of dark brown eyes.

Nangong Wuyue pursed her lips and said, “These look interesting.”

Chapter 469: The Portraits and the Mad Girl

 

Andrea Family, the “parvenus” who Nangong Sanba talked about had been rooted in the land of snow for 300 years. They were wealthy and had a long history. They had incredible properties and ancient foundations in Europe. However, few people in the world knew of their existence: for more than 300 years, this family had always followed strict admonitions handed down from ancient times—not getting involved with the outside world, not attempting to escape the snowland, not attracting the attention of others. Their ancestors and every patriarch were convinced that those were the only ways to keep the family’s wealth, and of course, their lives.

The mottled façade of the castle was the witness to all the ups and downs the family had been experiencing. The elegant and luxurious interior of the castle displayed their wealth and history. The castle had undergone many renovations and modernization over hundreds of years, but without changing the most important parts of the framework. It was clear that every generation in the family knew what was hidden beneath their own castle: they were afraid to disturb the beast in this cage.

Later that day, Hao Ren saw some of the servants in the castle as they busily prepared dinner, which somehow added life to the castle building. He wondered where the servants came from: such a lonely and remote place, not to mention mysterious, gloomy, and reclusive; he could imagine that they did not casually recruit people to work here.

Since Nangong Sanba knew a thing or two about the situation there, he naturally played the tour guide role. “Most of the servants in the castle are from a line of servants as well. The Andrea Family uses their wealth to feed these people so that their offspring receives professional education as a servant. And, they also recruit outsiders at a high price, but even so, they still lose people every few years—some have died of accidents and some who couldn’t stand the atmosphere fled. However, in any case, the rich always have their own solutions.”

Hao Ren and the others were now staying on the third floor of the VIP area. Their gorgeous room was covered with thick velvet carpet and palace-style decorations. The firewood crackled in the fire, in addition to all the primary furniture and appliances. However, this luxurious and comfortable room did not make them feel at ease. From the moment they entered the castle, Hao Ren had an uncomfortable feeling coming from under his feet. He asked several others and found that this was not an illusion.

Vivian had several encounters with the vengeful spirit before. She could generally make out the situation there. “The vengeful spirit must be underground, but it hasn’t fully entered the material world. And to be honest… I have a weird feeling about this building.”

Hao Ren glanced at Vivian. “Yeah, it’s weird. The house looks like a prison from the outside.”

Vivian shook her head, opened the window, and looked out at the dark atrium. The two wings of the building had two rows of low-rise houses, which extended out to form a cage-like structure behind the castle. She looked at the gloomy and overcast weather outside thoughtfully. “I mean something else… I feel that I’ve seen this place before.”

“I don’t know if you’ve really seen it before, but I’m freezing.” Becky jumped around with her arms around herself, then she slammed the window closed. “It’s freaking cold here! Are you freaking out of your mind?”

Lily was lying down in front of the fireplace, staring at the flames in a daze. She threw a spiteful look at Becky when she heard her. “Oh, come on. At this temperature? I find it just right!”

Vivian chimed in, “It’s like fish to water, eh? After all, this is the Arctic Circle, the place of your ancestors. I bet you could make 80, pulling a sleigh behind you.”

Night fell, but the place was close to the Arctic Circle, so the polar day and night phenomena affected the day-to-day life here. The sun gradually set right above the horizon, but stayed there. It stubbornly shone its weak light upon the earth. The polar night sunlight did not give much light to the castle, instead it caused the castle to look even more gloomy, because of its angle.

After dinner in the room, Hao Ren decided to take a stroll ouside in the hallway.

Outside the room was a straight hallway laid with dark red carpet with many portrait paintings on both sides. The portraits here were no longer full-body images, but avatars framed in oval frames. These lifeless figures looked weird in the warm light. While walking, Hao Ren whispered to himself: he could not understand the pervenu who hung these portraits along the hallway. Was it because the parvenu was mentally too tough or something? As if the gloomy hallway was not enough, he also hung two rows of his ancestors’zombie faces there as well. To make matters worse, the parvenu decided to place a pair of dim lights on both sides of each portrait. Anyone who had a weak bladder and needed to make trips to the loo outside at night would literally just pee out of fear.

Outside the castle, the temperature was tens of degrees below zero, but inside the castle, it was still warm and pleasant. Wearing an unlined garment as he strolled across the hallway, Hao Ren suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He was counting the portraits of the Andrea ancestors, from the youngest generation—that was the father of current head of family, Igor—to those of the Bolshevik period, the Alexander period, and Catherine period. Under the cold glances of the portraits in the oval frames, Hao Ren had unknowingly reached the end of the hallway.

In front of him was a weird portrait, which hung on the wall at the end of the hallway.

Unlike the oval frames on either side of the hallway, this portrait was a full-body portrait of a woman in a black dress, standing in a dark red, rose background. However, the woman’s face was shrouded behind a black veil.

The names and years of all the Andrea ancestral portraits were displayed in a uniform format, but the weird portrait of the female only had one simple word: ведьма (witch).

This strange thing immediately aroused Hao Ren’s interest. He began to study the portraits and texts on both sides. Finally, he established that the one hanging on the left, an old man with a white beard was the earliest ancestor of the Andreas, while the woman, whose face was shrouded was not a member of the Andrea Family.

She did not even have a name. However, this nameless woman who was simply called a “witch” was hung in the foremost prominent position of all.

Right when Hao Ren was about to go and ask the others to come check it out, he suddenly heard a burst of noise.

The sound seemed to come from some room on the upper floor of the castle. Despite the thick walls, he could still heard it clearly. It sounded like someone was crying and wailing. This was accompnied by the shattering sound of glass and dishes, as well as furniture tipping over. And there were voices of people breathing, dissuading, and screaming. This disturbance continued for a few minutes before it died down. Finally, Hao Ren faintly heard the sound of the heavy iron gate shutting. Then, no noises were heard again.

Hao Ren suddenly felt a stranger next him. He instinctively turned around and was almost scared to death: a white figure, who appeared out of nowhere was standing behind him like a wandering soul!

When he looked closely, he realized that it was not a wandering soul, but a young, skinny girl in a white dress. The girl seemed to be seriously ill. Her face was pale, and her steps were staggered. Her body rocked involuntarily from left to right and back to front as she stood there. She shrunk her shoulders and looked at Hao Ren for a while before suddenly lifted the hair in front of her face, exposing a weird smile. “Did you hear the sound upstairs?”

Hao Ren patted his chest, his heart pumping fast as cold sweat trickled down his spine; despite his warfare experience in alien worlds, he could not help but be frightened upon seeing that. What he saw now was totally different. His experience seemed to be of no help in such circumstances. He looked at the strange girl curiously and asked, “You are?”

The girl did not know the person in front of her, but judging from his attire, he was probably not one of the servants in the castle.

The young girl did not seem to hear Hao Ren’s question as she just listened to the movements upstairs. On top of that, there was a weird smile on her face. “That’s my brother.” She giggled. “He’s the last male in the Andrea Family. If he can’t survive past this year, this prison is going to collapse!”

She then suddenly looked up at Hao Ren. “You’re all here to cast out the spirit?”

“Sort of.” Hao Ren was having goosebumps as he was being stared down by her white eyes. But, he also realized that the girl could be mentally unsound, so he wanted to leave quickly.

“Another group of conmen…” The young girl giggled. “Well, well, take all the money. After all, it’s a curse… The witch will not spare us, and she will not spare you lot either… Take all the money away!”

Hao Ren ears stood at attention. “Who is the witch?”

However, at this moment, the girl’s mental illness suddenly took over. She no longer took questions from Hao Ren. Instead, she muttered as she walked away, with only intermittent words coming out of her mouth. “The money should have gone just like the way it came… Endless of money, endless of deaths … The prison’s going to collapse, it’s going to collapse, it’s going to collapse…”

Chapter 470: The Mysterious, Vengeful Spirit

 

“The prison’s going to collapse, it’s going to collapse, it’s going to collapse…”

The indistinctive and rhythmic murmurs waned. Watching the girl, who seemed to be mentally unsound drifting away and disappearing at the end of the hallway, Hao Ren felt that there was some secret hidden in the castle.

A gust of cold wind came out of nowhere and Hao Ren instinctively pulled his clothes closer to himself. But suddenly, he realized that there were no windows in the hallway, which was located in the deepest part of the castle.

He turned his head, trying to find where the cold wind had come from, but he only saw the full-body portrait of a woman hanging on the wall facing the hallway. This quirky portrait, marked as “witch” stood there quietly with her face covered with black gauze. Hao Ren felt her eyes penetrating the black gauze, and they seemed to be curiously looking at the strangers, who had suddenly come into the castle.

A sound came from a distance. It appeared that the unfortunate young man, who was mentally ill had begun to smash things in the house again. He heard two sharp dog barks from the direction of the castle garden, but the barking soon turned into a fearful whimper. The darkness underneath the castle was slowly creeping. It probably realized that strangers had broken into its cage, but it could have also been aware of the power they possessed. Hence, it crouched as if waiting for something.

Hao Ren scratched his chin, thinking that it was interesting. Then, he drifted back to his room.

Lily was sitting in front of the fireplace, dozing off. Nangong Sanba was checking out his tools while others were nowhere to be seen. They had probably returned to their respective rooms. Lily was awakened as Hao Ren came back in. She ran over and greeted him with joy. “You’re back, Landlord!”

“Haven’t you slept yet?” Hao Ren bumped her on the head and walked over to Nangong Sanba. “I just met someone outside…”

He told him about the mad girl, and Nangong Sanba nodded as he said, “That’s Anna, Igor’s daughter. The voice you heard was Akim, Anna’s younger brother. Both of them are the youngest generation in the Andrea Family. If the evil spirit can’t be eradicated, I’m afraid that both of them will be the last and final generation of the family.”

Hao Ren sat down in the nearest high-backed chair, picked Lil Pea out from his bosom and let the little one play on the nearby table. He then poured himself a glass of water. “They’re not normal?”

“Well, it’s a ‘genetic disease’ that runs in the Andrea Family,” said Nangong Sanba as he frowned. “Each generation is exceptionally healthy at birth, but they would contract the illness after the age of six. Madness, schizophrenia, delusions, swinging between being extremely smart and extremely dumb, they somehow end up gaining knowledge, which for the most part can’t be found in books. But at the same time, they’ll also somehow produce memories that don’t seem to belong to this world, which aggravates their condition. The madness will last until the age of 18. On their eighteenth birthdays, the evil spirits seemingly leave their bodies, leaving only a ‘genius’ full of quirky knowledge. This is why every head of family is talented, but not many of them survived after the age of 18; serious madness killed them. Some unlucky children even completely lost their souls in utter madness as if their bodies were possessed by something else… I suspect that vengeful spirit is possessing the bodies of the Andrea Family members. It could be looking for ways to escape the place, while the incident that happened to my home back then was probably the result of a successful escape by the vengeful spirit.”

Nangong Sanba clenched his fist tightly as he said, “I hope I can exterminate this monster this time.”

Hao Ren had seen magic and technology of other worlds. He had also witnessed all kinds of incredible space and cosmic visions. However, these mysterious incidents on the earth still excited him, because he knew that the root causes of these supernatural phenomena on Earth also came from the Plane of Dreams. The impact of these supernatural phenomena on ordinary people was naturally one of the symptoms of the intrusion of the Plane of Dreams into the real world.

Nangong Sanba had stayed in the castle for a long time before, so he was familiar with the situation of the Andrea Family. He sighed when he mentioned the two individuals who were devastated by the evil spirit. “They’re actually very nice, young people. Akim’s polite and he likes music, while Anna likes to paint. Anna’s condition is more stable than Akim. She often walks out and I’ve spoken to her several times. She can clearly remember her experiences when she was mentally out of control: she related that her mind was stuffed with a large amount of obscure ancient knowledge, and all the evil deeds for the past 300 years hidden deep inside this castle. The vengeful spirit saw everything that’s ever happened in this castle, and it stuffed all it into her memory. Anna seemed to be very disgusted with her family, always cursing her ancestors, whose portraits are hung on the wall. Akim rarely ventures out, but he’ll go to the atrium occasionally. There’s no way he can leave the castle.”

A thought suddenly crossed Hao Ren’s mind. He asked, “Anna knows everything about the Andrea Family? Everything that’s ever happened over the past 300 years? What about the origin of the vengeful spirit?”

“Perhaps she knows, but no one can ever find out from her,” said Nangong Sanba while waving his hand. “Her mind’s screwed up. At the same time, the vengeful spirit seems to be deliberately concealing this part of the information. When recalling those memories, Anna will become madder. I tried several times, but failed to gain any insight.”

“Anna mentioned a ‘witch’,” said Hao Ren as he remembered the portrait he saw at the end of the hallway. “There’s a painting in the hallway outside of a young woman with her face covered in a veil. She was also described as witch…. Who is she?”

“She told you about it?” Nangong Sanba was somewhat surprised. “Hmm, it seems that Anna’s condition isn’t very good today. I’ve also noticed that there was such a witch in the Andrea Family’s history, but I haven’t been able to find out her past. She appeared in the beginning when the Andrea Family began to amass their fortune, but subsequent genealogical records have kept mum about the witch. She’s only known to be very special to the family—someone who was feared. There’s a library in the castle, where the oldest manuscript there mentions the witch in reverence. It attributes ‘everything’ the Andrea Family has to the witch. I suspect that this ‘everything’ isn’t just about wealth, but also includes ‘the curse of evil spirit’s possession.”

Hao Ren frowned as he bit his nails. He knew that the “witch” existed in Earth’s history—the ignorant and dark era when the Church as well as its people were obsessed with persecuting witches and punishing scorcerers. They did so to divert their fear of the Black Death and other natural or man-made disasters. This ferventness was not just driven by the demon hunters, and blind following of the people, but it also contained the shadow of witchcraft. Humans who had acquired special abilities and forbidden knowledge from the unusual creatures, or had contact with certain things from the Plane of Dreams were called scorcerers and witches. However, 1,700 years ago in the extreme north of Siberia, was there a witch?

“Hey, let’s just stick with the topic of the vengeful spirit for now,” said Hao Ren, scratching his head. He thought that as terrible as the witch was, she must have been dead by now. The biggest problem now lay beneath the castle—the vengeful spirit. “How powerful is that thing?” he asked.

Hao Ren was quite relaxed as he asked the question. After all, he had just returned from a battlefield in an alien world. He had seen enough that he thought a pretentious thing like this would not pose much of a threat.

However, just as his voice trailed off, he heard Vivian’s voice from the outside. “Don’t underestimate the vengeful spirit.”

A buzzing noise was heard beside him as the window opened on its own. A swarm of bats covered in snow flew in from the outside and crashed down onto the floor. They tried to regroup and transformed back into human form, but there were still a few of them who could not do so as they were frozen and lying on the floor. Vivian smiled sheepishly at Hao Ren. “I went out to study the structure of the castle.”

“What did you find?” Hao Ren asked. “Anything special about the vengeful spirit?”

“The castle’s obviously designed by an expert. Although its construction materials are just ordinary, the special pattern makes it possible to form a seal that can suppress spiritual creatures. There’s a distorted spatial resonance underneath the castle, something powerful must be locked inside,” said Vivian as she picked up the few frozen bats from the floor and tossed them into the fire. She patted Lily on the shoulder and said, “Doggie, please help us to flip the bats. Landlord, you may look down on the vengeful spirits, but they’re not ordinary evil spirits. In fact, they’re also not wraiths. Strictly speaking, they’re kind of like a high-powered body of energy. They have their own will. There are strong and weak vengeful spirits, but without exception, they are difficult to deal with. Their mysterious nature makes it hard to understand, even for the demon hunters. There hasn’t been a recorded ‘kill’ of a vengeful spirit by the demon hunters, because the demon hunters haven’t figured out a way to kill them. So, the usual view is that after a vengeful spirit is defeated, it’ll be sent into exile, back to where it came from, instead of being killed. In addition, vengeful spirits aren’t afraid of physical attacks. They’re amorphous, unfettered, and have no signs indicating that they can be weakened or wounded. They have no physical vulnerability.”

Vivian continued as she suddenly shook her head, “Their combat strength doesn’t lie in brute force, it lies in their obscurity. Your weapon may be 100 times more powerful than them, but your knowledge of them is the biggest obstacle in dealing with them.”

Hao Ren listened to Vivian’s analysis and he could not help but fall into deep thought. Lily, who was next to him flipped the bats that were being grilled in the fire with a plier, all the while drooling. “Oh bat, when can I eat you?”

Vivian stepped forward and picked the bats up out of the fire and merged them back into her body. “All you know is eating! I just want to defrost them—this place is freaking cold!”

Chapter 471: Igor

 

In this land next to the Arctic Circle, the sun did not bring much warmth, especially to the Andrea Family’s icy castle. The boring, black building relied on charcoal and boilers, which provided limited warmth to its occupants. The cold Siberian wind blew into the room through cracks in the window and Becky, who had just washed her face felt annoyed. “Who opened the window again?”

Lily squatted in front of the window with a naive and clean smile on her face. Vivian glanced at the husky, and said, “The husky’s here early in the morning to enjoy her ancestors’ blessings, eh? That’s such a dumb smile.”

Lily stood up and snorted. “I don’t care what you say. It’s good to have some cool air; it makes one adapt quickly to the climate at least, unlike you. You were frozen into an ice cube yesterday.”

Vivian had her arms on her hips. “Just three of them were frozen! And they didn’t crash. Didn’t I finally glide into the house successfully?”

“Don’t ask me to grill them again the next time they freeze. It was so unbecoming of you to tell me I couldn’t eat them after doing all the grilling. You were wasting my time.”

As always, Lily and Vivian were going at it hammer and tongs again, but the movement outside the castle had quickly shifted their attention. Something was approaching the castle from a distance. Upon careful observation, it appeared to be three sled teams. The sleds were sturdy and beautiful. They were covered in thick, brown bear fur and decorated with shiny copper antlers as well as side metal panels. Many groups of strong sled dogs were pulling the sleds and yes, they were Siberian huskies—three groups of them.

Despite snowmobiles being easier to use, there were still people using sledges as a means of transportation in the snowland. A few traditional ethnic groups still preferred this ancient mode of transport. The sled teams undoubtedly belonged to the castle owner, Igor. So, it seemed that the castle owner had returned from seeing his old friend.

The strong sled dogs had traveled a long distance, now gasping as they pulled up to the snowy border. They seemed reluctant to move again. The servants in the castle had already been informed and they rushed out to meet their master. Hao Ren just walked over to the window, stood there and looked out at the beautiful traditional sleds. He could not help but praise them, “Oh, those are beautiful sleds.”

Lily also glanced at the lasso and leash in front of the sleds. “Wow, sleds!”

Hao Ren looked at Lily, finding her bizarre. He had a vague feeling that the husky’s focal point was somewhat different than his.

Vivian bawdily poked Lily on the elbow and pointed her chin at the groups of huskies outside the castle. “Look, it’s your dear friends. Don’t you want to go out and say hello?”

Without saying anything, Lily pushed the window open to let out a loud “woof”. She immediately caused a ruckus outside as the Siberian Huskies ran excitedly before they lined up neatly in three formations. They barked incessantly at the castle as if they were shouting slogans.

Lily closed the window and looked provocatively at the stunned Vivian. “I’m telling you, it’s hard to find things with wings here, but huskies are a dime a dozen. Would you believe me, if I said I could climb up to the roof tonight, and call out 200 huskies with just one ‘woof’?”

Lily walked out proudly, leaving Vivian and Hao Ren speechless as they looked at each other. After a long while, Vivian said, “I can’t communicate with her.”

The first thing the middle-aged butler with the zombie face did was tell Igor about their guests. Igor was very surprised to hear that the demon hunter was not only alive, but he had also brought a large group of reinforcements. He immediately hosted a reception in the living room on the second floor of the castle.

Hao Ren had not eaten yet. Upon hearing about the castle owner’s invitation, he quickly went to the party.

Igor was a middle-aged man, less than 50 years old. He had a short, sturdy body, sparse hair on his head and pale skin, but a big red nose, which made him look a bit funny. However, beneath the comical face lay a depressed look. His depression made him look far older than his actual age. Igor was sensitive and cynical like an old man and even Hao Ren could see that the evil spirit in the castle had greatly accelerated Igor’s aging process.

“I’m glad to see you again, alive, my friend,” Igor pasted a smile on his face and greeted Nangong Sanba. He was wearing a thick fur coat, but the thick coat did not seem to protect him from the “cold air” in the castle. He was trembling slightly, and his voice was so low and faint like his tongue had froze. “I heard a horrible explosion that night. The light in the clock tower continued to shine until the next day. Then, I sent someone down to look for you, but we only found some blood and a locked iron gate. I thought you’d been consumed by the evil spirit.”

Nangong Sanba’s true nature was well-known by Hao Ren and others, but in front of outsiders, he was still an expert in exorcism. Therefore, his face was serious and his manner appeared like someone with authority. “I fought with the evil spirit and was certain that I had weakened its power. But, I have to say that the information you provided wasn’t complete. The first sealing attempt has failed, so I have to find someone stronger who carries a mysterious power of the east, powerful enough to expel the spirit beneath the castle.”

Hao Ren and Lily were busy gobbling up the food on their plates. Only then did they look up and greet Igor with a smile. He secretly nudged Nangong Wuyue’s arm and said, “Your brother is quite a snob, eh?”

“Orthodox demon hunters always stick to themselves and they never bother to solicit for business. They don’t even want people to know about their existence. So, my half-baked-demon-hunter brother has become the most famous exorcist of all, because he’s the only one advertising himself.

The living room now served as a dining room. Food on the long, gorgeous table was almost overflowing, but Igor apparently had no appetite. He chatted with Nangong Sanba for a moment and quickly turned to the real subject, asking about evil spirits, curses, and exorcisms.

The poor old man had been bothered by the dark forces of this castle since birth. His mental illness had ravaged his entire youth, and the terrible nightmares still occupied his mind in the present. He constantly heard murmurs from the depths of the ground, whispering bizarre information about the vengeful spirit. They were voices of his father and grandparents, and even of his ancestors from 300 years ago. He knew that this seemingly unassuming people from the east were his only hope: Nangong Sanba was the first real help among the countless exorcists, priests, and monks he had sought. At least, Nangong Sanba could summon a fireball out of thin air, and he had also temporarily suppressed his nightmares using just runes.

These achievements surpassed all of the conmen Igor had ever met.

Igor kept asking questions about witchcraft, while Nangong Sanba continued to blow Hao Ren’s trumpet. The door of the living room was suddenly pushed away as a thin, white figure wandered in.

It was Anna, the mentally abnormal girl with long, curly flax-colored hair. She walked into the living room. Her eyes swept past Hao Ren and finally landed on Igor. “Dad, you’re back,” Anna said.

When Igor saw his daughter, his expression took a slight change. His face looked a little unpleasant, but it was more of a worried look. He introduced her to their guests apologetically. “I’m sorry, this is my daughter, Anna. She usually doesn’t have contact with outsiders.”

Then, he looked at Anna and asked if she was feeling better. After getting a positive reply, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. He allowed the girl to sit down and dine together with the guests.

Anna slowly sat down next to Hao Ren. She was so thin that it seemed like she was not capable of any quick motions. She picked up the spoon and sounded as if she was murmuring to herself, “Why don’t we get Akim to join us?”

Igor’s face was gloomy. “Someone will send him his meal. When his health gets better, he’ll be able to join us.”

Anna ate her food quietly. However, Hao Ren could feel the girl’s eyes scanning him and making him feel uneasy. Just as he was about to ask her about it, Anna suddenly turned and looked at him. “You can’t kill that thing.”

“Huh?” Hao Ren felt a little funny.

Anna’s dark brown eyes shone with an inexplicable light. She looked at Hao Ren, but her eyes’ focus were farther away. “The strength of Tannagost has been sublimated by its people. Every Tannaean has become transcendent. You can’t turn the high energy of the polymerized form around. You can only continue to increase its gap, and sooner or later, you will usher in the catastrophe.”

Hao Ren was flabbergasted. “What?”