The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 204

Chapter 204: The Outpost

 

The Beinz Blood Lake was a sacred ground for the Disciples of Glory. All along the lake, there were outposts set up by the Church’s knights. Any adventurer or mercenary group who had gotten the Church’s approval to venture into the area would need to report themselves there before being permitted to operate within the approved parameters. Even though there were many incidents near the lake of late, which resulted in the management of the place being a little messy, this basic rule was pretty much ironclad.

While the Blood Lake was indeed sacred grounds, it was not forbidden grounds. The checks made for approved mercenaries were pretty lax and Hilda managed to get through by identifying herself as part of Hao Ren’s party. The group then went towards the rest area on the elevated platform by the lake.

The facilities in the outpost were pretty bare. The place comprised of two towers and a few long tent-houses. The entire area was about 200 square metres wide. The whole outpost was build upon a rock platform that seemed to be raised by magic. Surrounding it was a number ward guardians. By the looks of things, security seemed to be the least of their worries. The wards could easily hold off most of the monsters that popped out of the forest. If things became pressing enough, there was another powerful garrison, and ward guardians from the island at the centre of the lake for aid.

A portion of the outpost was designated for outsiders. As most of the mercenary groups had already retreated to Leyton, there was plenty of space there. Becky then led Hao Ren to look for the officer in charge and after a simple registration process, they were given permission to stay for a short while. Aside from the rooms however, food and medication had to be supplied by the tenants themselves. The quartermaster would avail some of their stocks for sale, a primary source of income for the church in the Beinz region as adventurers and mercenaries were aplenty.

By the time the group had settled down in their camps, it was night.

After completing the registration process, Becky went about looking for the monks, who would have come into contact with the other mercenaries. When she came back to the tent, she had a rather disappointed look on her face.

Hao Ren and his group were sitting together, discussing their next course of action when Becky showed up. Her dour look caught all of them by surprise. Vivian asked with a concerned look on her face, “What’s wrong? Ill tidings?”

“Seems like striking it big isn’t all that easy.” Becky said as she sat on the chair. “I spoke to some of the folks here, and it seems like a few renowned mercenary groups have already searched the area a week ago. Aside from the western tribal mountains, most of the places have already been investigated, including the depths of the Great Ravine. Six teams went through the place for a good 12 days. You remember Marshal Ophra? She was here to personally monitor the process of the search. Most of the search areas were handled by her own personal elites. There’s no place they didn’t not scour yet.”

The reason Becky had decided to tag along to with Hao Ren to the Beinz region was partly due to the sense of gratitude in receiving such a gift like the “music box”. The honest mercenary simply just did not want to owe anybody favours. Another reason was that she wanted to try her luck at finding the Orb of the holy Synod. Perhaps by chance, if she did find it, her reputation would grow beyond measure.

She never thought that the search would progress to such a level and scale that it left her feeling powerless. Marshal Ophra and her elites, with the help of a large group of well known mercenaries had already combed every nook and cranny within the area. Yet, they had nothing to show for their efforts. Her party consisted of a tank who could not hold in his aggro, three “wizards” who loved melee combat, and a scaredy-cat healer or nanny who did not heal in the middle of combat…

Hao Ren and his group had little interest in the Orb. Becky was the only one who had it in her sights, as such, none present shared her disappointment. Vivian then shared her observation, “If you ask me, based on the reports of the day the Orb went missing, it really seemed like it was teleported away. If that’s the case, wouldn’t the chances of it being in the Beinz region small? It looks like a fool’s errand to search from here.”

“You don’t know much do you?” Becky looked up at Vivian. “The church itself is protected by the sacred bones of the previous popes. If someone used teleportation magic, they would not have been able to get out of the Blood Lake region. Holy energy would lock the Orb within a certain radius. Besides, the spell lock has not been broken before.”

Hao Ren never thought that the Disciples of Glory had such ability under their sleeves. No wonder they believed that the Orb was still within the Beinz region. It seemed like a plausible explanation, especially since some bones of a dead holy man were protecting it…

Something then dawned upon him. Could a catacomb actually exist underneath the small church in the middle of the lake?

“So, what’s your next plan?” Lily asked without much reservation. “I’ll let you know… We aren’t interested in the Orb… I think we’ve made it clear that we’re only interested in the Blood Lake itself.”

“You’re still on about that?” Becky looked at Hao Ren and the others, perplexed. After ruffling her hair for a bit, she went, “Well, that’s that then. I too agreed to just be your guide to the area, and after we reach the Blood Lake, we’d go about our own stuff. We are an ad-hoc group anyway. I’ll be heading towards the island tomorrow, to check for any clues. If you guys are interested do feel free to tag along, if not…then just do what you need to do. We should let each other know before any of us leave, at least we part on good terms.”

It was true that Hao Ren and his squad were in a temporary group with Becky. This was made clear before they departed. Becky had come along as a guide and she had since completed their agreement.

Lily’s ears drooped. “Oh… I don’t like farewells…. Makes me sad…”

Becky was much more open about it, being the seasoned mercenary she was. “Heh, well we’ll be doing our own stuff for tomorrow. It’s not like any of us are leaving for good. Besides, you lot will be in Holetta for a while, right? We’ll definitely have other chances to work together.”

As she said that, she was aware that it was the end of their partnership. The group had no interest in the Orb and she cheerfully waved her hand. “I’ll be going back to my room. I’m staying at the house at the far east side. We’ll talk again tomorrow if there’s anything else. I’ll be around before noon.”

After Becky left, the room was quiet for a moment. Hao Ren and his party actually liked the lass. She was honest, cheerful and straightforward. Even though she was a little bit greedy, her heart was at the right place, a reliable partner to have when you were out and about. But alas, their partnership was only temporary, and she was an “outsider”, so they would have needed to say their farewells sooner or later.

Now that Becky had left, they could discuss their plans in earnest.

“I plan to look around the centre of the lake tonight,” Hao Ren said as he eyed the party. “Silent ops, bypassing the guards.”

“Why do we still need to do things so secretly?” Lily could not figure things out. “You said you weren’t interested in the Orb. If you want to look for it, we can just go along with Becky.”

“I have no interest in the Orb, but I am curious about what actually happened in the church in the middle of the lake. Since some of the stuff I’ll be doing is beyond the comprehension of this world, it’s better if we keep to the shadows.”

As Hao Ren explained, he put his treasured pot on the table and called the MDT as he opened the lid. “Get out, time to work.”

“Shhhhhhh, your precious daughter is still asleep,” the MDT rang out in his head. “If you want to pull me out right now…”

Hao Ren took a peek into the pot and found Lil Pea sound asleep at the bottom. She had curled up by the MDT and she was hugging it tightly. The scene almost looked like the carps in those Chinese New Year decorations….

“Oh…if that’s the case, just soak in there for a while longer. We’ll only move out later at night.”

Hao Ren just left the MDT where it was and looked up towards Hilda, who was seated at a corner.

“Right… There’s some time left before late night, tell us your story. You’ve been looking at us for a good while now, I’m sure you have plenty of questions, no?”

“Seems what you said earlier in the day were half-truths.” Hilda came to know this group of strangers about half a day ago, and from their actions now, she could tell that they were had not been totally honest with her. “So…the lady who left, she is not part of your group?”

Chapter 205: Hilda’s Background

 

Upon listening to Hilda’s question, Hao Ren smiled and answered, “You mean Becky? She’s considered our partner, but just a partner in ‘this world’. She isn’t really familiar with us or our background, so it was inconvenient for us to tell you something directly when we met in the afternoon.

As he spoke, he stood up, reached out to Hilda in a friendly manner and said, “Let me reintroduce myself. I’m Hao Ren, an inspector from the Space Administration, responsible for all kinds of unusual time-traveling cases.”

As usual, Hilda clumsily grabbed Hao Ren’s wrist and shook it. She then asked curiously, “Space Administration? What’s that? Is it the name of your research organization?”

Hao Ren was a little embarrassed. He thought of telling Hilda about their background to surprise her. However, he forgot about the cultural differences. It seemed that empiricism really killed. He laughed awkwardly and explained, “Actually, I’m the same as you. I’m not from this world. But unlike you, I’m not trapped here accidentally. I’m here for a purpose, to deal with people like you who have accidentally lost their way. And, the so-called Space Administration is…”

Hao Ren tried to explain the Space Administration and the concept of the Macro World to her as simply and clearly as possible. The more Hilda knew, the more surprised she was. When Hao Ren was finished talking, she could not help but stand up and exclaim, “For real?”

Vivian had her hands outstretched, and said, “There’s no need for us to lie to you.”

Hilda was a little confused. Although she had just gone through a time-travel event, she totally did not expect there to be such a department responsible for time-traveling. She looked at Hao Ren, bewildered. Obviously, she was in doubt. She was not quick to believe Hao Ren no matter how well he explained things. Of course, Hao Ren knew that the credibility of his words was very limited. He was just doing what the job manual said: when facing a concerned party, identification and follow-up requirements should be identified as soon as conditions were appropriate to ensure that follow-ups were conducted with the knowledge of both parties. And, it was up to the client to believe it or not. It was just a part of the workflow.

“So, that’s the situation.” After Hao Ren disclosed his identity, he sat down opposite Hilda and continued to explain, “You probably won’t believe me right away, but you just need to know this: we’re not enemies, neither relatives nor friends, so we don’t need to make up such a big lie to cheat you. We’re here to carry out a task. We met you by accident, however once we get back, we’ll take you to the administration’s office, where there are professional equipment to send you home… Well, if my boss isn’t bluffing, the office should be well-equipped.”

Hilda was still confused, but at least, she knew it was not the time to look into details. At that moment, it was better to cooperate with these strangers, who were somewhat trustworthy than be suspicious. She nodded and said, “I still don’t know what you’re talking about, but I would like to believe in your kindness. As long as you can send me back, I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

“There’s nothing much to do. It’s my job,” Hao Ren said and waved his hand. “But, if there’s something you need to do… You can open up and tell me how you got here. At least, I’ll know how to write this report.”

Hilda hesitated but, she soon realised that there was no need to keep the secret here. Nobody in this world knew her. Thinking of it, Hilda slowly took off her hood, revealing dazzling blonde, wavy hair and two pointy long ears. “I’m Hilda Vader, from a world called Aerym. I am its queen.”

Hao Ren was so surprised to see her pointy ears that he was not listening carefully when she mentioned her identity. ” An elf? Uh… What did you say again, a queen?” Hao Ren asked.

Hilda looked suspiciously at Hao Ren and asked, “The inspector of the Space Administration seems to be a big shot. Do you really have to get so excited over this? You jumped so high just now.”

Hao Ren immediately sat back down in embarrassment. He thought to himself, not everybody could have accepted her being so frank. He touched the tip of his nose and explained awkwardly, “Ehem, the elf is quite rare. We are divided into different districts. The place I’m in charge of really has no elves…”

He was really embarrassed to admit that he was just an ignorant apprentice…

Soon, Hilda was mobbed by the rest of them. Lily asked eagerly, “Wait a minute, you just said you’re the queen! Really? Really?”

“I don’t need a fake queen identity in this world,” said Hilda, a tiny radian forming in the corners of her mouth. “Especially when this identity can’t even bring me a piece of food.”

Lily thought to herself for a bit. Then, all of a sudden, she lifted her tail and said, “You’re a big shot!”

Vivian impatiently pushed Lily away and said, “Stop wagging your tail. Your fur keeps shedding.”

Hao Ren allowed them to quiet down and looked at Hilda with apologetically. He said, “Hope you don’t mind. They’re always like this, peevish in the presence of strangers. Now, tell me about yourself. How did you get here?”

Hilda glanced at Hao Ren. She slowly lowered her eyes and explained, “I was sent here because of a teleportation portal accident. Our planet is on the verge of exhaustion, so we built a huge space-time accelerator to find a new home for our species to survive. However, something went wrong after the device started.”

Hilda stopped explaining here. Even if she had continued to tell them more details, they could not understand it. After all, it was the problem of another world.

Hao Ren nodded, but suddenly thought of a question: Is Hilda really from a different world? Is it possible that she actually came from another planet?

He had been to outer space and another planet, and now, the way he looked at the problem was much wider than he before. He remembered what he read in the manual: Many “time-travelers” mistakenly judged themselves to be in a different world because of insufficient knowledge or limited means of self-identification. In many cases, they just came to another planet in the universe because teleportation within a universe was much easier than teleportation between different worlds. Therefore, this kind of misjudgment had accounted for the vast majority.

“I know what you mean.” After listening to Hao Ren’s question, Hilda took out a delicate little disc from her clothes as if she had expected this and explained, “This is a device that can detect background radiation. Our astrologer believes that space background radiations and the underlying structure of matter are the ‘standard codes’ for determining a cosmic identity. I doubted at first on whether I was being teleported to a different planet in the same universe. Our teleportation portal would be considered a success in another sense if I was. But after a simple observation, I found… Although it’s hard to believe, I think I should be in another universe. I wondered why the basic physical laws of this universe were about the same as my hometown’s, but the significant difference in the background radiation made me realise that I really am in the Otherworld.”

“There are a group of astrologers who have been insisting on the theory of the Otherworld, but I never supported them at the Royal Conference. And, now when I think about it… If I go back, the first thing I have to do is get them to the Royal Astrology Tower,” said Hilda as she laughed wryly.

At this time, the MDT’s voice was suddenly heard behind Hao Ren. “The identification code of the world is more than just background radiation, but you really are from a different world. I just checked your profile, you have obvious traces of time-travelling residue.”

Hao Ren turned his head to have a look. He found the MDT floating two metres away from him. However, it still failed to get rid of Lil Pea: the little mermaid was sitting on the MDT with her little hands clutching the two edges of the “frisbee”. When she saw Hao Ren turn around, the little girl flapped her tail happily. But, she just would not let go!

The MDT sighed and said, “I’ve made a lot of effort, but your daughter seems to think that I’m a mount. You should correct her…”

“She’s not heavy, just carry her,” Hao Ren said and shrugged as if it was none of his business. “You’re in my pocket all day but I don’t complain about it.”

The MDT was about to go on a rampage, but before it could jump, Hao Ren had already turned his head to look at Hilda and said, “Okay, I have basically understood your situation. It seems you really have teleported to a different world by accident. When we are done here, we will take you back. Don’t worry, everything will be fast.”

“If you really have a way, please be sure do it as soon as possible.” Hilda stood up and bowed to Hao Ren without hesitation. “Before I left, our entire country was already in a state of extremes, and the explosion of the teleportation device has likely pushed my people to a psychological tipping point. Now they have no resources, no hope, no queen. I must go back before the situation gets worse!”

Hao Ren did not expect Hilda, who was a queen to bow to him. This was the first time he faced such a situation. He quickly jumped up from the chair and rushed to help Hilda up. “Okay, okay, I’ll do it as quick as I can. Don’t be like this, I can’t accept it…”

After Hao Ren and Vivian soothed Hilda, she calmed down. Then, she sat in a chair in the corner of the room and remained silent. At that point, she did not care about anything other than going home. When she was not talking about her hometown, she was just sitting there like a puppet.

The MDT was in a discussion with them while it carried Lil Pea. “This is a rare situation. The technical difficulty of time-travelling can be higher than you think. She could have been teleported to The Plane of Dreams by a low-level teleportation device… I feel that there is a lot to investigate in this matter.”

“That will have to wait until we go back.” Hao Ren nodded,. “Now, we have to figure out how to get to the middle of the lake later at night…”

Chapter 206: The Chapel in the Heart of the Lake

 

There was a small island in the heart of the Beinz Blood Lake, and it was the only island on the lake. Due to its special location, the island was regarded as a holy place in the Holy Land. The Disciples of Glory believed it to be the goddess’ resting place in this world, so they built a magnificent chapel on the island to be her palace of this world.

Of course, such a holy place was usually heavily guarded. A circle of the Disciples of Glory’s most powerful knights were stationed at the outer rim of the small island. It was almost impossible to walk into the area right under their noses. Even Vivian probably could not hide from these church knights with her supernatural nocturnal abilities. However, Hao Ren had another plan.

There was a dent on the shore of the Blood Lake, which made for a great shelter from sight. Hao Ren led his own gang of tenants and sneaked up to the poin. Then he took out the MDT and said, “You, fly to the church first, then send us in after you’ve made sure there’s no one inside. Be careful, don’t let anyone find out.”

“What if I’m beaten down?”

“You can rest assured that I will apply for a new MDT from Raven 12345,” Hao Ren said.

“What the heck!”

Hao Ren rolled his eyes. He glanced at the MDT and said, “Because I firmly believe that you won’t be beaten down. Hurry up, stop dawdling.”

The MDT shook its body in the air provocatively, afterwhich it unwillingly turned off its lights and flew rapidly towards the small island under the shadow of night.

According to the information they received earlier, although the small island on the lake was heavily armed, the central chapel was unmanned. The chapel was almost always sealed as a forbidden place. It was only opened two times a year; once when the annual tour of the Orb arrived, the door would be opened to welcome the Orb, and another time when it left. Since Pope Anthony III released a new interpretation of the Holy Scriptures hundreds of years ago, the chapel had banned the majority of people from entering. Only certain situations allowed certain people to enter the chapel: when the Orb arrived, four of the nameless monks entered the front room of the chapel together as the guardians of the Orb of the Holy Synod and they could stay there for four days; the Pope of the Disciples of Glory could use divine power to determine his own date of death, and they delivered the position to his successor one month before his death. He would then spent the last one month of his life in the chapel; there was also a special friar who always wore a robe, no one knew his identity and his name, and this friar could enter through the back door of the chapel during the full moon of every significant month. He was responsible for hygiene and other chores. Other than these individuals, even the King of Holletta was also not allowed to visit the chapel.

The extremely strict practice of the Disciples of Glory in terms of religious regulations gave Hao Ren the opportunity to take advantage of them instead. The Orb of the Holy Synod was not in the chapel at the moment, the Pope was not going to die anytime soon, and it was not a full moon night. Therefore, there would be no one in the chapel.

While waiting for the MDT’s signal, Vivian could not help but look at Lily and ask, “Do you really have to dress up like this?”

Lily was covered in black clothes from head to toe. She was even wearing a black mask, which only revealed her eyes. She looked like Superwoman, ready to break into the Forbidden City. When she heard Vivian’s words, she tossed her head at once and said, “Hmph, you don’t understand. This is called professionalism. How do I carry out covert action without wearing a night coat?”

Vivian pointed to Lily’s silvery, polished tail and ears. “You can hide those things first.”

Lily continued to fling her head and replied, “No, this is part of a werewolf’s pride.”

Hao Ren felt the biggest variable of their investigation that night was the husky, whose brain was often not on a normal track. But, it did not really matter. If there was any emergency, he could throw Lily out. The canine’s huge movements would be a very good distraction.

“Why do we have to bring Lil Pea along?” Vivian asked as she looked at the little mermaid hanging onto Hao Ren’s arm. “And you even left her kettle in the room.”

“I was worried,” said Hao Ren while he poked at the baby fish who was sticking to his arm like an armband. “Without the ‘toy’, the little mermaid will scare easily. You saw her gnawing at the table in the house. I can’t let this little mermaid out of my sight. That Hilda seems like she’s losing her soul. I don’t believe she can help us take care of Lil Pea.”

At this exact moment, there was a slight gust of wind in the night sky. The MDT appeared in a ghostly dim light. “There’s no one in the chapel. It’s quiet all around. Let’s go.”

Their shadows twisted, and the next moment they were teleported into the chapel located in the small island on the lake.

The sacred lake island remained quiet, and the church knights stationed around the island were not aware that their holy place had been invaded by outsiders. However, there was something they were not clear about. Although the chapel in the middle of the lake was unguarded, the chapel itself was protected. Every corner of the chapel was covered with defenses and alarms left by the past popes. Unless it was a licensed visitor or a high-rank member of the church, who shut down the chapel’s defenses covertly, any reckless intruder would be ruthlessly attacked by countless divine defenses.

This was reason why the Disciple of Glory trustingly left their most forbidden place in an “unattended” state.

But that night, when they broke into the chapel, all the defenses and alarms were quiet as if they were asleep.

The bright, double moonlights shone through the small chapel’s high and narrow stained glass window, making the scene inside the chapel clearly visible. They quickly snapped out of the short vertigo from their teleportation and observed everything there curiously.

Like the chapels in other places, the antechapel was minimally furnished. There were no benches or cushions for people to rest on. Although the chapel looked magnificent, the antechapel was very simple. The most luxurious part was at the end of the antechapel, where there was a small altar, which symbolized the place the goddess set foot on. It was made out of the most expensive shining crystals and placed on a huge, black obsidian slate. The small altar was also furnished with a variety of exquisite instruments, which symbolized the goddess’ authority. These furnishings made it look like a throne.

Not far from the small altar, Hao Ren noticed that a part of the ground was sunken.

“This should be where the Orb of the Holy Synod is placed,” Vivian said as she neared the sunken ground. She bent down and touched the fractured surface, which was a smooth as a razor. “It’s said that there was a raised platform here, but it looks as if it had been moved along with the Orb. Also, part of the floor is gone.”

Lily cleverly looked around and observed her surroundings. Suddenly, she gazed up and said, “Ah, and also part of the ceiling!”

Along the direction of Lily’s fingers, they noticed that a circular area of the antechapel’s ceiling was neatly dug out, and it corresponded to the sunken floor below.

Vivian nodded and said, “It was indeed done via teleportation, but a very primitive and brutal one. There’s no specified teleportation target instead, they teleported everything directly within a certain range.” While she spoke, she moved a few metres away, inspecting the concave area of the floor and ceiling. She then said, “It should be a spheroid space bubble with a radius of five or six metres, not spherical.”

“Is it man-made or natural?” Hao Ren was very concerned about this.

“Don’t know, it happened two months ago. Even if there were man-made magic fluctuations, they would have already dissipated by now.” Vivian shook her head, looked around and continued to speak, “It looks like they’ve still retained the condition from the day the Orb went missing. They probably want to preserve the scene.”

Lily squatted down and habitually sniffed the ground. However, she shook her head in bewilderment and said, “It’s weird, just the smell of cloth. There doesn’t seem to—”

Nangong Wuyue kindly reminded her. “You’re still wearing your mask…”

“…Oh.”

Hao Ren then approached the magnificent altar. His attention was drawn to the mural behind the it.

It was the same, strange kind of mural he saw in the mountain people’s chapel. The strange colours of black and red intertwined, accompanied by a mysterious radiance.

It seemed that all churches of the Disciples of Glory were decorated with such a thing. But, what did it mean?

Hao Ren stared at the mural for a moment. He would feel the black and red bands move slowly, but whenever he focused on the colours that seemed to flutter, they went back to how they were. Or maybe, they actually never moved. He did not understand why such stuff with an unknown significance was placed in the chapel. This should be the area they place an icon of the goddess or other religious totems.

Plus, he also vaguely remembered the kind of mural he saw in the mountain people’s chapel, and this one did not look exactly the same as that one.

Chapter 207: What Lil Pea is Best At

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

Vivian noticed Hao Ren observing the mural. She came up to it as well and asked, “It looks very strange, right?”

“What the heck is this painting?” Hao Ren knew that Vivian had inquired about information on the church when they were in Lamberg Town so, he turned to ask her.

Vivian shrugged and answered, “In their mind, this is the goddess.”

“… Their goddess looks like this?!”

“It’s abstract art, I think.” Vivian frowned and looked at the strange, grotesque picture. “Honestly, I also think they painted the goddess a little too ugly. Aren’t they afraid if the goddess sees herself being painted like this, she’ll flare up and destroy the world once again?”

Dumbfounded, Hao Ren looked at the “goddess”, painted in thick black and red pigment as well as phosphor powder at random. He was completely confused, wondering what the people of the Disciples of Glory were thinking. He wondered what the consequences would be if the followers of Raven 12345 were to draw her a portrait like this. They would probably be struck by lightning more than hundreds of times. At the same time, he admired the painters of the Disciples of Glory: It was a skill to draw such irregular things. It was a tough job for her followers to worship such an abstract goddess.

Vivian looked at the mural for a while and turned her eyes. She said, “You carry on, it’s so ugly that it’s giving me a headache.”

Who would not have a headache when looking at something like this? Hao Ren had also lost interest. He returned to the centre of the chapel and found that Lily had taken off her mask. She was now lying on the ground and sniffing around. Y’zaks drew some green runes in the air and examined the remnants of the nearby energy using a demonic method. Nangong Wuyue created a water ball in the air to let Lil Pea swim in it. Although this had nothing to do with the task, it was the most creative course of action. Who else had the leisure to come up with this trick?

However, there seemed to be no evidence in the chapel. Hao Ren had expected to find the energy fluctuations left behind by the teleportation portal unfortunately, there was nothing there. There was only one big pit, and an abstract picture of the goddess, which gave them a headache.

When Lil Pea saw Hao Ren pass by, she immediately jumped onto Hao Ren’s arm and continued hanging onto it like an armband. Hao Ren looked outside through a long, narrow window at the lower part of the church (it was a rectangular hole, not sure what it was for, but one could look outside through the hole). He replayed the scene of the Orb’s disappearance, as described by the noble knight, who was responsible for guarding the Orb that night.

There was an earthquake and a strange beam of light in the sky. The lake boiled and peculiar planktonic bioluminescence emerged across the lake.

Hao Ren decided to go to the bottom of the lake.

The Disciples of Glory had not sent anyone to search the bottom of the Blood Lake yet. On one hand, the lake was sacred and the holy remains of previous popes were said to be buried beneath the lake, so no one dared to extend their search to the bottom of the lake. On the other hand, the water of the Beinz Blood Lake was really odd. Ordinary people, even a highly skilled church knight, would quickly go unconscious and be infected with strange diseases after soaking in this water. The situation would get worse in line with the depth of the dive. Therefore, no one had checked the bottom of the lake so far.

Nevertheless, Hao Ren still decided to dive into the lake. He instinctively felt this to be a blind area of significant suspicion.

They could not go out through the front door because it was heavily guarded. Therefore, they were teleported directly back to the shore of the lake. Hao Ren revealed his idea to them, and Nangong Wuyue muttered, “You sure you want to go to the bottom? The lake water isn’t normal. What if there really are any infectious diseases in it?”

“Can’t you control the water? You can also cure all diseases,” Hao Ren said as he looked at Nangong Wuyue. “You’ve also purposely tested it. Isn’t the water of this Blood Lake nothing special to you?”

“I’ve heard that the deeper the Blood Lake, the more prominent its peculiar powers are in the water. The bottom of the lake is a restricted area, where no one has successfully set foot on,” Nangong Wuyue said, feeling a little bit insecure. “In case I start losing scales, you’ll have to take care of it.”

“Don’t worry. There is a real goddess behind me,” Hao Ren said, and he swung his arm. At the very moment he waved his arm, he felt something dropped from it. Something shiny jumped off his arm and then, he heard a splashing sound from the lake not far away.

Lil Pea had jumped off again!

Hao Ren had been bringing the little fellow out for several times, now she finally dropped her guard and began to be curious about everything. This time, the little kid saw such a big lake in front of her (although it was red), she immediately forgot about the panic-inducing scene where she was almost washed away by the river. She cheerfully jumped into the lake the moment Hao Ren swung his arm!

“OMG!” Hao Ren cried out. He rushed to the lake, only to see little flashes of bioluminescent activity appearing and disappearing across the lake’s surface under the moonlight. The little mermaid was nowhere to be seen.

Vivian was also anxious. “Quickly, get her out!”

Without anyone’s instruction, Nangong Wuyue jumped directly into the water. She transformed into her siren form the moment she entered the water. Then, she froze her clothes into a ball of ice and threw it ashore. She slapped her golden red tail and dived into the water. They waited anxiously by the shore for a while. Finally, they saw a pale red water ball floating out from the lake. Lil Pea was swimming merrily around the water in the water ball. The little kid seemed like she wanted to swim out of the water ball, but Nangong Wuyue controlled the flow so that the she could only swim around the center of it.

Nangong Wuyue emerged from the lake. She threw the little kid to Hao Ren and said, “Watch your daughter! Don’t let her get into trouble again.”

Hao Ren quickly hugged the little mermaid. The little mermaid wriggled restlessly in Hao Ren’s arms afterwhich, she spat out some water. She did not seem to like the salty water of the Blood Lake but other than that, there was nothing wrong.

Lil Pea looked just fine. Hao Ren nodded blankly and said, “It seems that the lake isn’t really a problem, at least for Lil Pea, it’s no problem…”

Nangong Wuyue jumped out of the water. Because she had to put on clothes when she transformed back into her human form, she remained in her siren form and staggered towards Hao Ren. She said, “Why does the kid like to look for trouble that will kill her? She has been asking for trouble since she was born.”

Hao Ren recalled things and found that it was really so: Lil Pea was hatched in boiling water, and the first thing she did after that was jump into a burning gas stove. She was interested in the kitchen knives and she liked to jump onto the ground out of nowhere when they were walking in the house to give them a fright. Finally, she even teased the cat very often—being a fish.

He immediately held Lil Pea tight and dared not let go. He should not have recalled his memory, as he discovered that this kid was constantly looking for trouble all the way!

At this time, Lil Pea lifted her head from Hao Ren’s arms and saw Nangong Wuyue in her siren form. The little kid was stunned instantly.

There were a lot of thoughts going on in her tiny, little brain. In the end, she got completely confused and jabbered loudly.

Hao Ren was startled by the sudden loud noise from the little kid and asked, “What is the kid saying?”

Nangong Wuyue was testing the water, preparing to let them go in. When she heard the noise, she touched Lil Pea’s forehead. The moment their minds were connected, she instantly jumped up and yelled, “What’s wrong with this kid’s brain?!”

This made Hao Ren even more curious. “What exactly did she say?”

Nangong Wuyue’s tail was flapping hard on the shore, and her face was all red. She put her hands on her waist and shouted at Lil Pea, “I am not your grandmother! I’m not your father’s mistress either. I can’t give birth to a pot! You won’t have a lid on your head when you grow up! Your father doesn’t have a flame under his body when he’s sleeping because he’s not a pot! The reason your mother doesn’t talk is because she’s made of iron! The reason why I don’t usually have a long tail is not because I don’t eat enough chopsticks! Your father not having a long tail is not because he’s conflicted with your mother! The pipes aren’t the gateway to your grandma’s house! There are three circles of violet gold patterns on my tail, but that has nothing to do with you. I’m a siren and you’re a mermaid! I can also transform into a shrimp, can you?”

Suddenly, all were silent. Hao Ren could have never expected there to be so many confusing yet, subtly connected questions in Lil Pea’s tiny brain. Even Y’zaks, who was always quiet asked, “What’s wrong with this kid’s brain?”

Lil Pea was bombarded by Wuyue’s lessons, and she was instantly frightened. However, soon, she jabbering in confusion even more. This time, Nangong Wuyue just ignored her. And Hao Ren, who was still confused could only hold on to his fish girl and comfort her. It took quite some time to calm her down.

The little kid basically ruined their task, which was supposed to be a very serious thing.