The Record of Unusual Creatures

The valley after the pine forest originally had no name. In the untouched snowfield, the range of human activities was significantly limited. Only the most experienced hunter would dare to leave the small cabin in the pine forest. No adventurer was brave enough to pass through the entire jungle dominated by wolves and brown bears just to name a valley devoid of life. So Hao Ren simply named it the Valley of Death.

A stretch of diseased woods bordered the pine forest and valley. The dried and twisted plants seemed to remind rash adventurers not to get close to the place. After the woods was an open valley, which was not massive. Roughly triangular, two low and bare stone mountains flanked the valley on both sides. They gradually closed in and joined in the distance. So, crossing the pine forest was the only shortcut to the valley. The valley was lifeless, and there was no vegetation there. The barren landform extended from the rocky mountains on both sides to the valley below. It was all covered in thick snow. Black boulders and dead tree trunks peeked out from under the snow sporadically. In the snowy environment, dead trees remained unrotten longer than those in other places.

Hao Ren stood at the edge of the diseased forest and tried to find something that could be familiar, but he saw nothing except a land of death.

Would Vivian sleep in such an isolated place of death at all? Hao Ren asked himself.

From the intelligence that the wolves provided and the bizarre ecological environment of the place, the possibility was indeed quite high.

The husky maiden was gasping next to Hao Ren. There was a little nervousness on her face. “There’s this feeling like a great adventure is about to begin. I’ve never done such a thing before. I’m a little nervous.”

It seemed that Lily was strong when she met something weak, and weak when she saw something strong. It had been in her nature ever since half a century ago.

“There should be an energy field in the valley that continuously weakens life, or some kind of curse. It’s okay if you don’t understand. Just relax.” Hao Ren looked at the husky who was feeling intimidated. “That thing can only harm ordinary animals. It has no effect on you and me, especially you. You have a tenacious vitality.”

“Is that so?” Lily looked at Hao Ren in amazement. “You are impressive! You know so many things!”

“I know a lot more.” Hao Ren smiled and took the lead. “Come with me. Pay attention to the smell around you.”

The snow made a squeaky sound under their feet with the occasional cracking of twigs as they stepped on them. Apart from their footsteps and the sound of their breathing, the vast valley was almost completely silent. Not the slightest breeze was present despite the clear weather. Hao Ren stomped forward, feeling like he was walking in a static white world. Everything between heaven and earth felt so vast and empty.

Lily, who was on her first adventure, followed Hao Ren nervously from behind. The young “werewolf” maiden perked her ears, listening for any subtle sounds while continuously snuffling, much like a search dog.

Hao Ren stopped before a skeleton, which likely belonged to a large herbivore. The snow had buried most of it. The exposed parts were fragile and decaying. In frigid weather where scavenging organisms were lacking, it could take many years for a corpse to become such clean bones. But how long had the victim been lying there? Half a century?

Hao Ren bent down to examine the condition of the bones, trying to find out the creature’s cause of death. Lily mumbled next to Hao Ren, “Haven’t animals been too afraid to enter this valley, how could it die here?”

“Those with a sound mind would not have entered this place. But it’s been so many years, there are bound to be some accidents. Don’t you think so?” Hao Ren said, twitching his mouth. “Maybe an enemy chased it, and it had nowhere to go except to flee into this valley. Maybe it was starving and coming for food. Maybe it was simply insane. As soon as it entered the valley, it lost its way and could never get out again.”

“How did it die?” Lily curiously watched as Hao Ren examined the skeleton, finding that this man seemed like a professional in his field. The maiden could only identify a bone by its taste, and she was at a total loss when it came to examinations of a higher order.

Hao Ren got to his feet. “There are traces of black rot on the bones, which look like poisoning. Some distortions have formed due to high temperature. I suspect it was a blood boiling phenomenon. Put this on around your neck. It can protect you.”

While he spoke, Hao Ren fished a life-support collar from his Dimensional Pocket and handed it to Lily. The gadget was initially used in harsh environments such as space, but its protective functions could come in handy, especially to Lily who lacked experience.

Lily took the collar and put it on under Hao Ren’s instruction. It snuggled nicely around her neck. “Where do you get so many strange gadgets? What is a blood boiling phenomenon, by the way?”

“The boiling of blood; this friend of mine is an expert in manipulating blood. When she’s asleep, she could have released her power subconsciously so the creatures that came near her sleeping place may have died when their blood boiled in their veins. But fret not, this collar will protect you from blood boiling.”

Lily almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the first part of the sentence. But the second part gave her assurance. She calmed down and snuffled, turning around in a certain direction.

“What’s going on?” Hao Ren asked.

“Smell… I smell something.” Lily pointed at the valley. “It wafted out from that place.”

“Let’s check it out! Maybe that’s the place we’re looking for.”

Lily’s sense of smell did not let him down. They had found a clue. Hao Ren moved in the direction that Lily pointed to and saw a recessed entrance in the valley wall; the scent was leaking out from there.

Hao Ren looked around and found that the hollowed space in front was a naturally-formed cave. It was inconspicuous. Not only was it hidden under the huge rocks, but it was also covered by the mountain wall’s shadow. Had it not been for Lily, Hao Ren would have needed to scale the entire mountain before he could find the hole.

He stood at the entrance and took a peek inside. The cave was dark, and a faint stream of air blew out from the inside. It was a little colder than the snow and ice on the outside, and Hao Ren could not help but shiver.

“Is your friend sleeping in this place?” Lily asked as she poked her head inside. “Whoa, this place is hell. Why didn’t she find a better place? Even the kennels in our village are better than this.”

“She’s been in a tough situation all this while.” It was also the first time Hao Ren had come to see Vivian’s place of hibernation. He was just as curious as the husky was, so he entered the cave. Lily hesitated for three seconds before her curiosity overcame her nervousness, and she tailed Hao Ren.

The front section of the cave was extremely narrow. Hao Ren had to squeeze himself through. But after those initial few meters of tight passage, the cave opened up before him. It eventually became a cave of over 10 m across. But that was it; they came to a dead end.

Hao Ren blinked, and his eyes quickly adapted to the dark. The cave was spacious, and the ground was flat, but he could not see any traces of excavation. There were icicles, which had taken many years to form, hanging from the roof. The incoming snowflakes had coated the front half of the cave with slippery ice. Other than that, there was no other way in or out. It was all clear at a glance.

“Hello, is anybody here?”

Lily called out while Hao Ren carefully observed their surroundings. The savage husky continued, “Wake up! Wake up! Your friend is here! Don’t sleep anymore. Oh, by the way, what is your friend’s name, Hao Ren?”

Hao Ren was startled by the sudden noise that the husky created. He quickly signaled at Lily with his hand. “Her name is Vivian. Please stop calling her. The ‘sleep’ that I mean isn’t the kind that you understand. You won’t be able to wake her up this way!”

“Oh, then how did she sleep?” Lily asked as she snuffled. “Where is she sleeping? I’ve clearly detected her scent, but I can’t find her.”

“Perhaps this is the way she keeps herself from being disturbed.” Hao Ren frowned while he looked around. His mind was working quickly.

It seemed that Vivian was still not awake. Nevertheless, Lily had been able to smell her scent. This only meant one thing: the seal on the place had begun to lose its effectiveness. Perhaps Vivian’s hibernation was coming to an end. He had two options; either find Vivian and wake her up or sit and wait for Vivian to rise from her hibernation naturally. The second option may have sounded like a more straightforward method, but it was not a good idea. He had no clue how long Vivian was going to sleep. Vivian waking up “soon” could take a few years relative to her half-a-century-long hibernation.

Suddenly, something strange in the corner of the cave attracted Hao Ren’s eyes.

It was a dark red mark.

“What is that?” Lily had also noticed the imprints.

“Letta runes, symbols with magic.” Hao Ren was completely convinced this time that he was truly looking at Vivian’s seal. He even recognized the handwriting and became excited. “She left this behind… She left this behind!”

“Magic? Cool!” Lily exclaimed. “What are these symbols for?”

“If I’m not wrong, Vivian’s using these symbols to protect herself during her hibernation. It might be a fool-proof seal from the Countess of the Crimson Moon, but I can crack it with a snap of my fingers.”

Hao Ren’s immunity to magic was a perfect antidote to Vivian’s blood magic.

He then placed his hand directly on the blood runes, which contained powerful magic.