The Record of Unusual Creatures

The old man smiled happily, feeling consoled and hopeful, and not at all despondent. Hao Ren and the rest in the group could not understand his reaction. Vivian stared into the eyes of the old man to check if he was still sane. “You … Do you really understand their situation? Yes, they are still speaking the old language, and perhaps even remember most of the written words, but those are pretty much it. They have no history, no culture, no traditions. The heart of your civilization is dead … Forgive me for being frank, but these people are only living oblivious lives in this wasteland.”

Vivian did not hold back as she said those words. She had seen the rise and fall of many kingdoms and civilizations, and right now she was only offering her thoughts as a neutral observer. Nevertheless, the old man did not seem convinced. He listened quietly as Vivian finished speaking. His white, sparse hair fluttered in the gentle breeze. “You know, I thought it could be worse.”

He shifted his attention back towards the ignorant mass down below.

“I once expected myself to manage a group of children, few of them older than 10, and most between three to nine years old. They only basic survival skills,. The older children could take care of themselves and read and write, while the younger ones had just only learned to eat without supervision. My orders were to lead these children to rebuild our civilization. It was a seemingly impossible burden, but I accepted it gracefully. These people .. At least they are better than children.”

“They have rigid mindsets. Their community is in disarray. After hundreds of years of twisting and bending the rules of their society, their inaccurate worldview has become part of their identity.” Vivian shook her head slightly. “These grown people are even worse than the children …”

“But they survived.” The old man interrupted Vivian without holding back. “Even without someone to guide them, the children had survived, and even expanded their society to create four kingdoms! Four kingdoms! They have already done the unimaginable, what else can I ask for?”

Just then, the people down below had begun to notice the group above them. Someone courageous had looked up to find Hao Ren and his group far above the outer ring of the Furnace of the Ancestors. Someone else yelled in surprise, and then the others looked up as well. Those who had witnessed the power of the “Ice Witch” and the “Fire Witch” began to make a racket, telling everyone what they had seen. People began to chant the words, “Arbiter of Fire and Ice”. Having just experienced the “miracle” that was the reactivation of the Furnace of the Ancestors, the people thought they were seeing the Gods themselves. They quickly fell on their knees again and praised the end of the Cold. There were people who were skeptical before, but now that the Furnace of the Ancestors was working again and the “Electric Fairies” had come to life, this miracle had shattered all doubts – in this society, reigned by ignorance and unenlightenment, those who controlled the power generator controlled their world.

“Landlord …” Lily was taken aback by what was happening down below. She had been pleased to show off her fiery claws back the, but the reverence shown by the people was beyond her expectation. As a loyal pet, her first reaction was to hide behind Hao Ren.

Hao Ren, however, frowned and pushed Lily and Vivian to the front. “Step forward, we need you for this situation.”

Vivian understood him. She was experienced in this. It was not the first time for her to be worshipped by humans like a God. She took a step forward, a freezing whirlwind surrounding her. The easy smile on her face was replaced by a regal and cold expression that commanded respect and fear, as would be expected from a true “Ice Witch”. Beside, Lily tried to do the same. The werehusky had it in her – in fact, all were huskies were talented in pretending to look serious. If you don’t believe it, you can try to find one and observe it. You will find that when they were not talking, their eyes looked particularly solemn …

“Be silent.” Vivian uttered those two words succinctly, and the commotion below died down immediately.

“What do you plan to do next, having seen this?” Hao Ren took the opportunity to ask the old man beside him.

The old man lowered his head and looked at his manuscript that Lily had put down on the floor, and sounded a little sad when he finally replied. “I was supposed to pass down this knowledge to them, but I won’t be alive for much longer. I don’t know how long you plan to stay here, and whether you are willing to help … But, if possible, I hope to pass this knowledge to them, even if they could understand some of it, so that our civilization continues to live in them. Please, give the manuscript to them …”

The old man breathed in heavily then, looking even more rickety than he did when he first emerged from his hibernation pod. Even without using any device, Hao Ren could tell that the old man was very close to the end of his life. It was sheer determination that supported him to this very moment. When he was done with taking care of the manuscript, his death would be nigh.

“No.” Hao Ren shook his head slowly.

The old man stared wide-eyed at him. Even the Nangong siblings could not hide their surprise.

“You should give it to them yourselves. That is your job.” Hao Ren reached out to the spatial crack beside him and produced a golden fruit. After some hesitation, he cut a slice out of it and offered it to the old man. “Eat this.”

Nangong Wuyue could not help but gasped when he saw the golden fruit. “Ah – you still have one more?”

“There was an extra. Lily had claimed it.” Hao Ren took a quick glance at the werehusky posing beside Vivian. “Don’t remind her, she’d probably forgotten about this.”

Despite having her back to the group, Lily suddenly felt a cold, nauseous sensation. The instinct to protect her own food made her feel threatened. She mistook the sensation to have come from the freezing air around Vivian. “You, bat, stand further away from me, it’s freezing!”

The old man saw how the rest of the group studied the fruit with great interest, and asked curiously, “What is this?”

Hao Ren extended the golden fruit slice to him. “Just eat it. You’re dying anyway, would you have minded if I say this is actually poisoned?”

The old man smiled at his words, and then stuffed the fruit happily into his mouth. “I don’t understand you people.”

The moment he swallowed the fruit, Nangong Wuyue and Hao Ren watched the old man closely to look for changes, since this was the first time they saw a normal human being eat a golden apple. The effects of the fruit were immediate – the old man’s face transformed quickly; his spine straightened; all the age accumulated in his flesh and bones were wiped out instantly; his face was in a healthy blush once again; his breathing turned steady; the wrinkles were disappearing. It was like time had rewound in him!

The physical “rewinding” did not went on for long. Once the power of the golden apple reached its end, the old man was still old. His hair was white, and there were still some wrinkles on his face left. However, his entire being was radiating with the energy of life. It was obvious that something in him had changed. Hao Ren asked in his mind to the IDT, “That’s it?”

“That’s it. These are the results.”

“I thought he would revert back to his younger body.” Nangong Wuyue flicked her tail. “There’s also the chance of the effects being too powerful that he just winked into non-existence.”

The old man could feel that his body had transformed in some way. In fact, nothing he had seen and heard ever since he awakened was as shocking and confusing as this. “What, what the …”

“You were mistakenly locked away for 800 years.” Hao Ren put his hand on the old man’s shoulder. “This is compensation for your lost time. Now you have enough time to fulfil your purpose.”

The old man blinked. He finally understood the unbelievable change in his body. “Who are you people?!”

“There will be time to explain to you later.” Vivian suddenly looked back at the group and said. “The important thing now is what should I say – Hao Ren, help me a bit here, I’ve kept them under control for five minutes, but they’re going to riot anytime now if I don’t say something quick.”

There was already a little commotion in the crowd below. They watched the Witches of Fire and Ice respectfully, but the lack of any divine message so far was slowly eating away their patience. Hao Ren pulled the old man towards the edge of their vantage point and whispered to him, “You need a way to insert yourself into their society, and have their respect and confidence. We’re going to give you that chance.”

After that, he raised the old man’s hand up high.

“Citizens of the Four Kingdoms, the Cold is gone forever! Your ancestor has returned from the land of the dead. As attested by the Gods of Fire and Ice, he will lead you all to a new era!”

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