Chapter 1 About That "Mr. Nangong"

Whether that "Mr. Nangong" was a demon hunter or a charlatan, or just a chuunibyou (adolescent with delusions of grandeur) with a screw loose (the last possibility being unlikely), Hao Ren and Vivian had been discussing it for quite a while without reaching a conclusion.

Vivian claimed that she had a special sensitivity to demon hunters due to being injured by them in the past, but she herself admitted that this talent was unreliable and couldn't be used as solid evidence. As for Lily, there was no need to even consider her opinion. That idiot had never even seen a demon hunter before. In Vivian's eyes, she was worse than a child and probably wouldn't even react if a demon hunter came knocking at their door.

According to Vivian, demon hunters were "half-human, half-monster." During battles, they would unleash powers beyond human capabilities, and in some cases, their bodies would even mutate. However, in normal times, they were just like ordinary people, with no special aura or other detectable information (this "secrecy" was one of the demon hunters' trump cards against the supernatural). In Vivian's opinion, "Mr. Nangong's" words and actions didn't seem like those of a demon hunter, especially his habit of actively striking up conversations and showing off his identity. This was very different from the enemies she remembered. However, this alone couldn't rule out the possibility that he was the "real deal." After all, the vampire girl hadn't seen a demon hunter in many years, and even when she had, it was only a small fraction of the larger group. Her understanding was limited, her memories were hazy, and more importantly, she was a jinx—even Hao Ren wasn't sure if he would be affected by Vivian's bad luck, and they might have the good fortune of running into the "real deal" on their first day out.

So, Hao Ren was still quite uneasy.

The three of them had nothing else to do in this unfamiliar place. Although the language barrier was now solved, they were all exhausted from the journey. Even Lily was too lazy to move, so they went back to their rooms after dinner. Lily was now sprawled on the sofa in the living room, switching channels and watching TV. Even though she couldn't understand a word, she seemed to be enjoying it. Vivian, on the other hand, was doing something very meaningful: she had taken out all the cash she had prepared for the trip and was counting it over and over again…

Hao Ren sat next to Vivian with extreme vigilance, trying to stay as close as possible and keeping his eyes glued to Vivian's slender, pale hands, afraid that the vampire's jinx aura would suddenly kick in and all that money would disappear in an instant. He now realized that Vivian's bad luck with money was far from simple "bad luck." It was practically the will of the universe, a passive effect at the level of universal law. Letting Vivian touch money was a psychological extreme sport.

Vivian was counting the money with great interest, sighing every now and then, "Oh… this is a rare moment of luxury in my life… so this is what it feels like to count money… following the landlord really does bring good fortune… hey, landlord, don't be so nervous, okay?"

"I told you to just call me Hao Ren when we're outside," Hao Ren said with a forced smile as he looked at Vivian. "Besides, I have a reason to be nervous. I swear, if I don't watch you for even a moment, you'll squander all our expenses. And can you have a little ambition? I thought you were going to do something important when I took all the money out of my wallet, but you're just counting it for fun?"

"Can you understand the scarred heart of someone who's been poor for thousands of years?" Vivian sighed poetically. "Ah, the last time I felt this good counting money was back in the Republic of China, carrying sacks to buy rice and counting silver certificates at the grain store for half an hour… but even that didn't feel as good as this time. After all, those things were like waste paper, not as solid as British pounds. Hehe, this stack is finished, let me count it again… Hey, Hao Ren, don't do that, let me count it again!"

Hao Ren resolutely put the money away, securing it close to his body, and then said earnestly, "My blood clan princess, if you really want to count money, we can go to Zimbabwe after a while and let you count to your heart's content. For now, just try to be a little more responsible and do something normal—we were just discussing the demon hunter, how come you're not nervous at all anymore?"

"I've been through a lot, how long am I supposed to be nervous about such a small matter?" Vivian looked longingly at the place where Hao Ren had put his wallet, then turned her head away dismissively. "Do you know what a real demon hunter should be like?"

Hao Ren immediately became interested. "What should they be like?"

"Well, based on what I remember, they like to wear black clothes when they're on the move. In the past, it was hunting gear, later it was tight-fitting suits. Demon hunters in the East also wear kung fu outfits. Basically, the more rigid the better, but at other times, they dress like normal people. Also, they're a bit gloomy, not very talkative, and very low-key. They always try to hide their identities, afraid of attracting our attention and alerting the enemy. They would never reveal their identities to others. Sometimes, if ordinary people found out about their movements, they would even kill them to silence them—although that's the behavior of a few extremists, it says a lot about the demon hunter community. Besides being low-key, demon hunters also have a characteristic of being 'ordinary,' very, very ordinary. They're very good at making their words and actions like those of an ordinary person. This is also a method of hiding themselves. When people around them are talking about witches, they also talk about witches. When people are talking about Napoleon's victory, they also talk about Napoleon. When people are talking about atheism and denying the existence of ghosts and gods, they also declare that they believe in science. Do you understand now? That's how they completely hide themselves. The most common person you see on the street is what a demon hunter is like, inside and out, layer upon layer of disguise—so the more I think about it, the less I think that 'Mr. Nangong' is worth being wary of. Who would be so casual and announce their ghost-hunting business to people? Even if demon hunters have no business, they wouldn't be so high-profile. This is completely contrary to their creed for survival."

At the end, Vivian nodded vigorously. "So, I think we're just being too nervous. I'm nervous about the demon hunters, and you're nervous because it's your first time 'on a mission.' We're probably just being fooled by a common ghost-hunting con artist."

Hao Ren nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, yeah, that makes sense, but are we just going to completely relax?"

"We should still be vigilant," Vivian said, shaking her head. "He doesn't seem like a genuine demon hunter, but he's probably been in contact with that world. He knows the history of demon hunters and speaks eloquently about some of the 'work.' So, I guess he might be a minion of some real demon hunter. Those cunning guys occasionally do that kind of thing. So, we have to be careful not to let that 'Mr. Nangong' notice anything too unusual. Other than that, he shouldn't be a threat. Anyway, our purpose is just to find someone, not to fight."

Hao Ren nodded, and the discussion about "Mr. Nangong" came to an end.

At this moment, Lily had changed the TV channels over and over again and couldn't understand what was being shown. The werewolf girl seemed a little bored. She threw the remote control aside and scratched Hao Ren's back with her claws. "Landlord, why don't you talk to Raven 12345 and ask her to prepare a data terminal for each of us? You might have to receive people from somewhere in the future, and there might be foreigners. It would be embarrassing if we couldn't understand them."

Hao Ren chuckled. This idiot werewolf was actually using her brain. Just to watch a foreign program, she came up with such a reasonable excuse. But just as he was about to explain the organization's structure to Lily, a word that he was very concerned about suddenly came from the TV next to him: "...Yoford Castle, located near Brússal, has recently attracted many paranormal enthusiasts..."

Hao Ren immediately perked up his ears and turned his face, seeing that an interview program was being broadcast on TV. A blonde, blue-eyed foreign woman was holding a microphone and standing next to a broadcast van, and the background behind her was a desolate wilderness of broken stones. In the distance, they could see a nearly completely collapsed ruin. Next to the female host stood a short, fat uncle in a white t-shirt. The latter was clearly not a TV station worker. He had a full beard, was slightly balding, and his clothes were a bit old, looking like an ordinary local farmer who was being interviewed.

"...What we are seeing now is Yoford Castle. Obviously, it has completely collapsed and we can no longer see its original scale. Because there is no road here, the broadcast van can only stop here. Later, I will walk to the castle so that everyone can see it up close," the female host introduced the current situation, then gestured to the short, fat uncle next to her. "This is Mr. Angus, who first discovered the paranormal events in the castle..."

(Casually clicked on the Dream Cup… so everyone, if you have any free tickets, please vote for it. It seems that high-level VIPs have tickets every day.)