The recipes expanded. Hao Ren could already figure out what the little mermaid would eat--everything of bamboo and wooden fibre.
Seeing the little mermaid liking cardboard like how she ate chopstick, Hao Ron had pulled some pieces of wood from the basement, cut them into smaller chunks, cleaned them and fed them to Lil Pea. And this little mermaid laid floating in the water with her bloated stomach skyward, burping and murmuring to herself while she swam. She was into everything bamboo and wood--chopstick, wood, paper, books. She could have gnawed the TV cabinet if not for her overly tiny mouth. The waft of 'food' in the house was making Lil Pea drooling all the time, Hao Ren had to guard his table--the little mermaid would likely start gnawing the ridge of the table legs.
A bat reported back from patrolling. Vivian and the bat was having a special 'chat session' near the table. She wrapped the bat up with blood fog and carefully analysed it as it was suspended in the fog. The bat slowly faded like ink on a paper and before long a shadow was all that was left. Nangong Wuyue looked on and was captivated by the amazing magic. She asked curiously, "I knew you share senses with the bat, so why would you still need them to come back and report in person?"
"There're many things which coudn't rely on shared senses alone. Also there's a limit to how much energy I'd share out at any one time, details could be overlooked." The analysis was completed. Vivian merged the shadow back to her. "By breaking up the bat's memory and retracing its track, sometimes important clues could be uncovered."
"So what have you got?" asked Hao Ren.
"This bat flew as far as the northern suburb. Do you remember the warehouse we battled the Ebbens which was burned down by Big Bluey with his lightning storm? I've found traces of sorcery nearby."
Hao Ren was stunned. "Sorcery? Demon hunters were practicing sorcery?"
"They practice everything," Vivian nodded. "or to put it another way, most superstitious things like exorcism, witchcraft, totem worship and healing prayer are linked to demon hunters. And these practices were taught to the human long time ago for self-defense against the-other-kinds. These skills don't require magic nor will power but merely utilizing materials in nature. So ordinary human could master them and it was extremely popular during the ancient times. A few thousand years ago, tribal shamans had been using slow poison and incense burning to protect their people at night and it worked. But as time goes by, most unusual creatures had been hunted down by demon hunters; the remnants devolved, lost their strength or completely became human or beasts. So sorcery which human once used as protection became redundant. The mastery of these skills had become less and less as each generation past until it became more like a farce. But the real demon hunters still retain and practise the real sorcery and magic till this day."
Y'zaks offered his comment as he listened on. "It seems these so-called demon hunters had done something noble."
"There's no absolutely good guy nor bad guy." Vivian shrugged. "To the human, they're good guys. But to other creatures, they're the bad one."
"Maybe I am from a different world, I've no prejudice against any races in this world." said Y'zaks as he scratched his bald head. "To me, they're all the-other-kinds, but I'm particularly annoyed by these obstinate demon hunters."
"That means the demon hunters had sniffed something." Hao Ren rubbed and smacked his chin.
"Hadn't the scene been cleaned up and no trace of supernatural power left? How did they found out about it?"
"Though signs of supernatural power could be cleaned up, the fact that a place as large as the warehouse was struck and burned down by lightning was already unnatural in itself." Vivian's mouth twitched slightly. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened there. I'm more curious about how they traced it back to us here--Southern Suburb and Northern Suburb are far across the town. What have we missed?"
While the discussion was going on, Lily who was lying on the couch watching the idiot box protested. "Could you please stopping talking about this annoying topic at night? I'm watching TV here."
Vivian shot her a scornful glance. "We're facing a trouble and yet you act like as though it doesn't concern you. Can't you go to your room?"
"It's livelier here than back at my room." Lily was still lying on the couch. She grumbled. "Argh... it's so annoying..."
"C'mon, stop it." Hao Ren knocked Lily's head using his knuckle. "We're in a discussion."
Hao Ren wouldn't have allowed his tenants to make a noise in his living hall. But he knew he was raising a husky, so he was very accommodative towards Lily. Every time when Lily showed her temper, he'd just give her a slap on the wrist. Lily hadn't realised how much patience she had been shown; she kept praising Hao Ren for his big heart as her good impression of him kept ballooning.
A sudden splosh was heard--Lil Pea had jumped out of the pot. She pulled Hao Ren's arm and made some gestures as if saying she was feeling drowsy. Hao Ren looked up the clock and noticed it was ten something, he yawned as he was feeling a little tired too. "I'll hit the sack now. Probably the demon hunters won't show up tonight."
"Okay." Vivian smiled at him. "Get some rest. I'll be on vigil tonight."
Hao Ren nodded before carrying Lil Pea back into his room. Suddenly Lil Pea cried and pointed to the direction of the tea table. Before Hao Ren could figure out what, Nangong Wuyue was already hustling after them with a pot in her hand. "Bring along her mom."
"Could you please stop mentioning her mom?"
Nangong Wuyue's smile was mischievous. Hao Ren's face was as sour as vinegar but she totally ignored it. "Fill the pot half-full and let Lil Pea sleep in there so she won't clinging to you again tonight. You don't want to sleep with your shirt on like last night, right?"
Hao Ren felt a little relieved knowing that the little mermaid would be happy to sleep in the pot. The thought of cuddling her in one hand while having the pot in another while he slept unnerved him.
He held his daughter back into the room and spent half a day thinking whether he should place her on the writing table away from his bed : he didn't want his face bathed in water mid-sleep when Lil Pea turned in her sleep. As he put the pot down, he found it ridiculous that after spending twenty five of his bachelor's years, he suddenly got a daughter--a mermaid daughter! What a life!
"You have to sleep like everybody else and don't be clingy." Hao Ren rested his arms on the writing table and his chin on his arms while Lil Pea doing the same but in her pot. They were staring at each other. He didn't care if she didn't get it, he kept telling her, "Don't simply get out. If there's a situation, alert us. Also don't get on the floor or you'll be stepped on."
"Hmm...ahh..." The little mermaid reached her hand out to touch his nose as she let out a sound. She then turned and swam before curling herself up in sleeping position at the bottom of the pot as though she had understood him.
Hao Ren stared at the little mermaid sleeping at the bottom of the pot. He was hesitated whether to put the lid on. He was worried what if she sneaked out at night and loitered around the house and got stepped on? But the thought of her waking up and found herself trapped in a closed pot made him uncomfortable. He let it unlidded.
He also placed the MDT on the edge of the pot: so that it could keep an eye on the baby. After all, this thing would never sleep.
Outside, the night was dark. Pitch-dark.
The moon was creeping up in the sky and sneaking back down very slowly. There wasn't a sign of pedestrians on the streets as the cold air in the late autumn night was inhospitable. There were only occasional dog's barks at the far side of the town, purportedly it was the mean by which the strays conveying messages across town.
Suddenly, three loud and pressing barks of a dog shattered the quietness of the night.