Chapter 42

Regarding whether that "Mr. Nangong" was a demon hunter or a fraudster, or just a passerby with a bit of a delusional mindset (the last possibility being unlikely), Hao Ren and Vivian discussed for quite a while without reaching a conclusion.

Vivian claimed that due to an injury she sustained in the past, she had a special sensitivity to demon hunters. However, she admitted that this ability was unreliable and couldn't be used as solid evidence. As for Lily, it was even less likely that she could help, as she had never seen a demon hunter and was considered less capable than a child in Vivian's eyes. Vivian doubted that Lily would even react if a demon hunter came to the door.

According to Vivian, demon hunters were "half-human, half-monster." They would burst with various superhuman powers during battles, and in some cases, their bodies would even mutate. However, in everyday life, they were indistinguishable from ordinary people, with no special aura or other obvious identifying features (this "secrecy" was one of the demon hunters' key tactics against supernatural beings). In Vivian's view, Mr. Nangong's behavior did not match that of a demon hunter, especially his tendency to initiate conversations and boast about his identity, which was very different from the archenemies she remembered. However, this alone could not rule out the possibility that he was a genuine demon hunter. After all, it had been many years since the vampire girl had seen a demon hunter, and even then, she had only encountered a small fraction of the demon hunter community. Her knowledge was limited, and her memory was hazy. More importantly, she was a jinx—Hao Ren himself wasn't sure if he would be affected by Vivian's bad luck, and he had already had a stroke of bad luck on the first day out by encountering a "real deal."

So Hao Ren was still quite uneasy.

The three of them were in an unfamiliar place, and things weren't getting any better. Although the language barrier was now resolved, the journey had been tiring, and even Lily was too lazy to move. After eating, the three of them returned to their room. Now, Lily was sprawled on the sofa in the living room, flipping through channels on the TV. Although she couldn't understand a word, she was still entertained. Vivian, on the other hand, was doing something very meaningful: she had taken out the cash they had prepared for the trip and was counting it over and over again...

Hao Ren sat vigilantly next to Vivian, trying to stay as close as possible to her and keeping his eyes fixed on her slender, pale hands, afraid that if he wasn't careful, the vampire's jinx would cause the pile of cash to vanish in an instant. He had already realized that Vivian's bad luck was far more than just being "unlucky"—it was like the will of the universe, a passive effect at the level of a law. Touching money with Vivian was a psychological extreme sport.

Vivian counted the money enthusiastically, occasionally sighing, "Wow... this is a once-in-a-lifetime luxury... the feeling of counting money is like this... following the landlord is really a good life... hey, landlord, can you not be so tense?"

"Call me Hao Ren when we're outside," Hao Ren said with a forced smile. "Besides, I have a reason to be tense. I swear to heaven, if I take my eyes off it for a moment, you'll ruin all our funds. And can you show some ambition? I thought you were going to do something important when you emptied my wallet, but you're just counting money?"

"Can you understand the heart of someone who has been poor for thousands of years?" Vivian sighed poetically. "Ah, the last time I counted money so happily was during the Republic of China era, carrying a sack to buy rice and counting silver dollars for half an hour at the grain store... but that wasn't as satisfying as this. After all, those were like waste paper, nothing like the solid pounds. Hey, this stack is done, let me count it again... hey Hao Ren, don't be like that, let me count it again!"

Hao Ren firmly put the money away, keeping it close to his body, and then said earnestly, "My vampire lady, if you really want to count money, we can go to Zimbabwe later and let you count to your heart's content. For now, try to act a bit more normal—earlier we were discussing the demon hunter, but now you seem completely relaxed."

"I've been through a lot, so I don't get nervous over small things," Vivian said, reluctantly looking at where Hao Ren had put his wallet, then turning away with a dismissive look. "Do you know what a real demon hunter should be like?"

Hao Ren was immediately interested, "What kind of person?"

"Well, based on what I know, they like to wear black clothes when they're on the move. In the past, it was hunting gear, later it became tight-fitting suits. Some demon hunters in the East wear martial arts clothing. In any case, they dress as stiffly as possible, but in everyday life, they dress like normal people. They are somewhat gloomy, not very talkative, and very low-key. They always try to hide their identity to avoid drawing our attention and tipping us off. They never reveal their identity to anyone, and sometimes, if ordinary people find out about their activities, they might even kill them to cover their tracks—though this is done by a few extremists, it does highlight the problems within the demon hunter community. Besides being low-key, demon hunters are also very 'ordinary,' extremely good at making their words and actions seem normal. This is another way they hide themselves. When everyone is talking about witches, they talk about witches; when everyone is talking about Napoleon's triumph, they talk about Napoleon; when everyone is discussing atheism and denying the existence of ghosts, they also declare their belief in science. Now you understand, they hide themselves completely. The people you see most on the street are what demon hunters look like, from the inside out, layer upon layer of disguise—so the more I think about it, the less I believe that 'Mr. Nangong' is worth worrying about. How can someone so carefree announce their ghost-hunting business? Even if demon hunters have no business, they wouldn't be so high-profile. It goes against their very survival creed."

Vivian nodded firmly at the end, "So I think we're just being too nervous. I'm nervous about demon hunters, and you're nervous about your first 'mission.' We've probably been fooled by a common ghost-hunting fraudster."

Hao Ren nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that makes sense, but are we just going to completely relax?"

"We still need to be cautious," Vivian shook her head. "He doesn't seem like a real demon hunter, but he's likely involved in that world. He knows the history of demon hunters and talks about 'work' with confidence. I think he might be a subordinate of a real demon hunter. Those cunning guys sometimes do this, so we need to be careful not to let 'Mr. Nangong' notice anything too unusual. Beyond that, he shouldn't pose much of a threat. Our goal is just to find someone, not to fight."

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

At this point, Lily had flipped through the TV channels repeatedly, not understanding what was being shown. The werewolf girl was a bit bored and casually threw the remote to the side, scratching Hao Ren's back with her claws, "Landlord, talk to Raven 12345 and get her to prepare a data terminal for each of us. You might have to entertain people from different places in the future, and it would be awkward if you couldn't understand them."

Hao Ren chuckled, "This silly werewolf is actually using her brain. Just to watch foreign programs, look at the reasons she's coming up with." However, just as he was about to explain the organization's rules to Lily, a word caught his attention from the TV: "...the Joford Castle near Brusar has recently attracted many paranormal enthusiasts..."

Hao Ren immediately perked up and turned to the TV. The program was an interview, with a blonde, blue-eyed foreign woman holding a microphone next to a broadcast van. Behind her was a rugged, rocky wilderness, and in the distance, the ruins of a nearly completely collapsed castle could be seen. Next to the female host stood a short, fat man in a white T-shirt, who was clearly not a TV crew member. He had a full beard, a slight bald spot, and slightly worn clothes, looking like an ordinary local farmer who was being interviewed.

"...What we see now is Joford Castle, which is clearly completely collapsed, and its original scale is no longer visible. Since there is no road, the broadcast van can only stop here. Later, I will walk to the castle to show you its close-up," the female host explained the current situation, then gestured to the short, fat man next to her, "This is Mr. Angus, who first discovered the paranormal events at the ancient castle..."

(Just clicked the Dream Cup... so if anyone has a free vote, please vote. It seems that high V users get a vote every day.)

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