The tall, thin man gave a sheepish chuckle. "You might find this ridiculous, but I'm actually a Demon Hunter. I specialize in driving out ghosts all over the world..."
Demon Hunter!
As soon as he finished speaking, Hao Ren heard a loud clatter beside him. He turned and saw Vivian lifting her head from her plate. The Vampire Girl wiped sauce from her face and asked shakily, "What did you say you did?"
"I knew you'd react like that." The tall, thin man looked more helpless than surprised, as if he had long since grown used to this reaction from his listeners. "When I told other people before, plenty of them reacted even more strongly than you did. But I really am a Demon Hunter—you've seen the movies, right? Like Van Helsing. My work is similar to his, though the way we drive out ghosts is completely different from what you see in the movies."
The tall, thin man spoke at length with a perfectly serious expression. Hao Ren instinctively scooted his butt backward, keeping a little distance from him, while question marks popped into his mind one after another. A Demon Hunter? For real? Is he a genuine superhuman, or just some delusional con man?
If ordinary people had been there, they might have taken the tall, thin man's words as a joke, listened to them as a story, or simply regarded him as a charlatan pretending to possess supernatural abilities. But Hao Ren had to think one step further than ordinary people: he knew that Demon Hunters were a real group!
Of course, he didn't immediately believe the man's one-sided claim and take him for a Demon Hunter. It was more likely that the man was joking. Surely real Demon Hunters didn't make a habit of openly announcing their identities to everyone, did they?
"You don't believe me?" The tall, thin man spread his hands helplessly. "Fair enough. Most people don't. Besides, I'm Chinese. If I claimed to be a lay disciple from Mount Wutai, I might sound more convincing. But I really am a Demon Hunter. Those three words sound rather foreign, but in reality, every country in the world has them. We have a very long history. Our records date back to the origins of the four great civilizations..."
Hao Ren instinctively exchanged a glance with Vivian. This sounded a little too genuine. In most people's minds, "Demon Hunter" was a Western term. Few knew that they had been roaming the world from the very beginning. In China, ancient people had called Demon Hunters immortals or occult practitioners, while other countries had called them wizards or priests. Demon Hunters themselves, however, never used those outside terms. What this man was saying clearly matched the facts—facts ordinary people wouldn't know.
"Um... Mr. Demon Hunter, right?" Lily had finally eaten her fill by then. The werewolf girl had never met a Demon Hunter, but Vivian had told her plenty of terrifying stories about them, so she was feeling a little nervous. "Demon Hunters really exist in the real world?"
At least Lily wasn't completely hopeless. She knew enough to ask indirectly.
"Most people listen to those stories as urban legends or tales from horror novels." The tall, thin man gave another sheepish chuckle. "But I'm the real thing. And honestly, quite a few people still believe in ghosts and monsters. In places you know nothing about, things like exorcising ghosts and banishing demons still happen from time to time. My main job is driving out ghosts. This time, I heard that the old Yuefu'erde Castle was haunted, so I came to investigate."
"Oh, then your work must be highly confidential, right? How can you tell people about it so casually?" Vivian's expression settled down, and she asked in an impassive tone. In her heart, however, she wondered, Why did this 'Demon Hunter' suddenly appear and reveal his identity?
Regardless of whether he was genuine, that high-profile attitude was rather unreasonable. This line of work had always been conducted from the shadows. Most Demon Hunters lived in seclusion, and even those who lived among ordinary people would do their best to conceal their identities. Vivian had never heard of a Demon Hunter like this one, who seized every opportunity to promote himself to strangers. She thought about all the Demon Hunters she had encountered during her long life, and a question kept circling in her mind: Could these people have finally become as cursed as I am, unable to find work in modern times and forced to publicly seek employment?
Hao Ren was thinking more or less the same thing as Vivian, though in a slightly different direction. When did a profession like "Demon Hunter"—one that sounded like it should involve wearing a black robe and hiding in some remote corner where no one could ever find you—become so high-profile? Weren't heroes who saved the world supposed to hide their faces completely? Look at me. I never go around announcing that I'm an enforcer sent down from Heaven... Of course, the main reason I don't say anything is that the organization has rules.
"What's there to keep secret?" The tall, thin man looked thoroughly unconcerned. "It's not some shameful profession. These days, even people who read palms, analyze names, and tell fortunes have their own websites. Why shouldn't Demon Hunters be allowed to talk about their work?"
Hao Ren and Vivian quickly exchanged glances, considering how they should act to look like two "ordinary people." They soon reached an understanding and put on the expression of interested yet skeptical listeners merely enjoying a good story. Vivian wore a polite but slightly distant smile. "So are you planning to destroy the Vengeful spirit in the old castle?"
The moment the tall, thin man saw Vivian's expression, half his enthusiasm vanished. Still, he kept smiling. "I'll have to wait until I see the situation tomorrow before deciding. I know you don't believe what I'm saying, and I'm not trying to make you believe me. But we could travel together. When are you leaving? If it's tomorrow, we'll be going the same way. I know the route well. There's a train that leaves in the morning and arrives in the evening."
Hao Ren was just about to say that he had only arrived in England today and needed a day to recover from jet lag when Vivian spoke up on her own. "Sure. They say meeting someone is fate. We don't know the way, so sorry for the trouble, sir. May I ask your surname?"
"My surname is Nangong, the compound surname Nangong." The tall, thin man stood up. "As for my given name... Well, for work-related reasons, I'd rather not reveal it. You can just call me Nangong. How about this? I'll wait for you here in the restaurant at six-thirty tomorrow morning, and we'll go together. But I'll only wait fifteen minutes. Any later, and we'll miss the train."
Hao Ren was just about to mention that there was a girl in their group who suffered from jet lag so badly that she might not be able to get up in the morning, but Vivian once again nodded and agreed on her own. "All right, Mr. Nangong. See you at six-thirty tomorrow morning. Oh, I'm sorry. We got so caught up talking that I forgot to introduce us. My name is Vivian, and this beside me is..."
Hao Ren stared blankly at Vivian as she chatted with a "Demon Hunter" as though nothing were wrong. It wasn't until Mr. Nangong had left that he finally got a chance to speak. "Um, aren't you worried that he really is a Demon Hunter?"
"He doesn't seem like one. Demon Hunters aren't like this." Vivian only dropped back into her chair after Nangong disappeared through the restaurant entrance, then let out a small breath. "Besides, to be honest, we really are short a guide. Our destination is the same as Nangong's, so there's a good chance we'll run into him again after reaching Yuefu'erde. Rather than meeting him unexpectedly and being caught off guard, we might as well travel together, get a rough idea of what he's up to, and then find an opportunity to split up. That way, we'll still have the initiative. Of course, this is assuming he really is a Demon Hunter. If he's merely an ordinary ghost-exorcising con man... then it'll be easy. Ordinary people aren't much of a threat, so we can just let him guide us."
Vivian's analysis was logical and well-founded. Hao Ren had to admit that the Vampire Girl thought farther ahead than he did. Still, he had one question he really wanted answered. "Vivian, is there any way to determine whether someone is a Demon Hunter? They're different from ordinary people, so they should have some identifying characteristics, right? What about that Nangong just now? Aside from his behavioral 'style,' can you tell what he really is?"
Vivian frowned and gazed absently in a certain direction. "It's genuinely difficult to tell. The most dangerous thing about Demon Hunters is that they can hide among ordinary people until they use their abilities. Back then, my kin were often wiped out because Demon Hunters had infiltrated the Blood Slaves they kept. I'm a high-ranking Bloodkin, so I can analyze his identity through his blood, but I need blood to do that. It's difficult. Very difficult."
After another stretch of silence, Vivian seemed to feel embarrassed that she couldn't be of any help, so she said uncertainly, "But if I had to say... I think I really did sense something different from him. I fought Demon Hunters back then and injured my right hand. After that, I gained a strange ability. My right hand heats up whenever a Demon Hunter is nearby. I feel..."
"Don't just feel it. Your hand fell into the soup."
"Whoa!"
Before you continue