Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The matter of visiting the North Pole again had been on Hao Ren’s mind for quite a while. It was true that the demon hunter’s civil war was resolved, and the most important ruins of the goddess already had samples collected and scanned by the MDT for further analysis. However, they still left the place in a hurry. By the time things started to calm down on the demon hunter’s front, the problems popped up on the otherworldling’s end. Hao Ren could not even get started on a more thorough exploration of Coldpath before leaving the place in a mad rush. Now that things were quiet on all fronts, going back to continue what he left behind was simply a matter of time.
And now with Zhao Xi’s case in mind, Hao Ren intended to look for White Flame and Hasse to further investigate the matter.
Hao Ren’s suggestion got Vivian and Lily’s backing. The former was due to her sense of responsibility that she needed to pay the place a visit. The latter was probably her husky bloodline is driving her to the north. Hao Ren then looked at the rest in the living room. “Anyone else coming along?”
Y’lisabet immediately rushed towards Hao Ren with all her might, holding a screwdriver at hand. “Uncle Ren I’ll stay at home! I still have so many things to fix….”
That incident with Zhao Xi last night had burnt the entire circuitry of the house, and a few electrical appliances were damaged as a result. Y’lisabet had been out and about fixing things the moment she woke up, and she had been at it, gleefully for almost two hours. The little princess was no longer that brat who took apart everything and breaking them in the process. Perhaps credit should be given to the elite education the demon princess had received. Her learning prowess was superb, and just from the experience she gained over the year, it allowed her to almost fully understand the workings of modern electronics. Y’lisabet was now the professional technician in Hao Ren’s place, and any broken electronics at home would be in her good hands.
“I’ll stay back too.” Y’zaks walked over carrying two flower pots. “Mr. Li from the opposite house has gone for a holiday and he asked me to take care of this two pots of plants. It took me so much effort to get along with the neighbors, so let me see that through.”
Hao Ren then looked at the Nangongs and Nangong Wudi waved off. “The four of us need to stay back and look after the restaurant. We’ll stay out of this for once. Besides, I have already erased my name from the ledger a hundred years back, no point going back there.”
After asking around, Hao Ren realized that this was the first time around that everyone at home at something to do. Only after did Rollie leap happily over to join in the fun, and Lil Pea who was bouncing about to go on a trip with her daddy. Hao Ren thought for a bit and realized that every time he goes out on his missions he would inevitably leave this two behind. Feeling sorry for that, and that going to Coldpath now was not that dangerous, bringing them along was now possible, something like a short trip.
Of course, he had to consider that Coldpath was right smack in the freezing Arctic and if he brought Lil Pea along he would need to keep her warm. The little rascal was a demon hunting fish with extreme vitality, and while she would not be affected by the extreme cold, the little one’s innate ability to start hibernating the moment the temperature got low.
“Take care of Lil Pea and I’ll bring you along.” Hao Ren pulled Rollie aside. “If she is happy, you will have fish jerky and cat cans to eat.”
Rollie tilted her head as she pondered, and managed to form an equation of Lil Pea’s and her own happiness. She immediately grabbed the little mermaid with an expression that she will protect the little one with her life. For a cat, she’s probably the only one to do that…
So the final headcount to the North Pole with Hao Rem was Lily, Vivian, plus the slightly grown Lil Pea and Rollie. So he has an entourage of a cat, dog, a fish and a bat in tow and made Hao Ren felt like he was moving a zoo…
The last time when they left Coldpath, the MDT had already placed a dimensional beacon near Coldfrost Citadel. At the same time, Hao Ren had also left the new demon hunter ruling council a way to get in touch with him. So before they left he had sent Coldfrost Citadel a message and the MDT immediately activated the teleportation matrix and sent the group to the entrance of the massive fortress.
After being transported from the warm abode directly into the freezing Arctic, Rollie immediately let off a few loud “Achoo!” As a cat girl, she was still sensitive to this sort of change in temperature, but the dumb cat’s attention was soon consumed by the massive walls of the Coldfrost Citadel. She strained her neck to look for the top of the ice wall and saw the tip of the wall disappearing into the dark of the night. As a cat, she was probably calculating the difficulty to climb the wall, and that left her disheartened. “Nyaaaa…. This is not climbable!”
Lil Pea also popped her head out from Rollie’s collar, the little mermaid yelped happily in the cold wind before squirming about. “Big Haus! Biiig Hauusss!”
“Stop moving about.” Rollie carefully buttoned the collar of her shirt to stop the cold air from getting in. “If you don’t behave I’ll lose my fish jerky!”
“Say, why did you let a cat take care of that fish of a daughter of yours?” Vivian gave Hao Ren a curious glance. “Is this some sort of prank?”
Hao Ren grinned. “That’s because a cat’s body temperature is higher than humans, so Rollie is warmer than me. This is the Arctic so you know, Lil Pea will enjoy Rollie’s company more.”
Vivian pondered for a moment before her face turned pale. “How do you know that Rollie is warm?”
Hao Ren facepalmed. “Where did your mind wandered off to? This something every cat owner will know!”
Vivian turned aside rather awkwardly. “Oh… That’s because Lily’s howling the other time left a rather deep impression…”
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“…”
As Hao Ren and Vivian continued their banter, the massive gatefold of the citadel creaked open. Under the drive of powerful magic, the heavy ice wall rose, and a troupe of demon hunters clad in black appeared from the gate to welcome their guests.
“Back in the days I was fighting tooth and nail against them, and now when I come over, they need to organize a welcoming committee.” Vivian mumbled under her breath. “Should have known that we were family, so what were we fighting for then? It is partly their fault I was broke for so many years.”
Lily also chimed in. “You and bringing up the past, heck, you even killed me before, did I even said anything about it?”
As they bantered the small demon hunter entourage had arrived before them. The one leading the welcoming party was someone familiar, Claude, the previous personal attendant of the First Sage, and the chief herald of the sages.
Claude immediately gave a bow as he came before Hao Ren and the rest and greeted them warmly. “I’m really pleased to meet you all again so soon. The Elders have already received word and they ordered me to receive you all.”
Lily puffed her chest and took two steps forward, her bushy tail wagging about like she’s an alpha wolf. (although her tail was indeed big). “Good, good, your former lord is here to visit!”
Hao Ren let out a dry cough. “Ahem, does anyone even call themselves that?”
Lily’s ears shuddered. “Then.. former master?”
“…”
“…”
Neither Hao Ren or Claude could muster a reply.
“Just ignore them both.” Vivian shrugged as she waved towards Claude. “Lead the way. We’ll explain as we go.”
Compared to last time, the Coldfrost Citadel looked much more livelier. The heavily militarized citadel had demon hunters clad in black walking all over, and even from outside they could hear sounds of warriors training and the clashing of weapons. “Seems like the place got even more livelier after the battle.” Vivian quipped.
“The last time when you came the holy sanctuary was in a chaotic state of war, every capable warrior was fighting within the Coldpath dimension, and only a third of the garrison remained at Coldfrost Citadel. Now that Coldpath needs rebuilding, and many of the hab blocks have been destroyed, the surviving elders and a part of the foot soldiers had to move to Coldfrost Citadel, and that really made the place look very packed.
“…Most of them are temporarily out of Coldpath, huh… That’s good at least,” Hao Ren muttered to himself.
“Pardon me?” Claude did not manage to catch it.
“Nothing.” Hao Ren waved Claude off. “Say, you guys don’t need to defend the Netherrealm Clock Tower anymore? I remember White Flame said that a personal guard like you is sworn to never leave Coldpath right?”
“The sages are no more, and the guards being disbanded is just natural” Claude shrugged. “Now the demon hunters are being led by the Council of Elders, and us former attendants had been reassigned to the council and battlegroups. I’ve joined the Council of Elders and is now the chief secretary. I have the knowledge passed down attendants ten generations back, and this knowledge can be put to good use in my current role.”
Lily immediately had to brag as well. “Yep yep! I have a whole load of ancient knowledge in my head too!”
No one paid her any attention.
“We are looking for the top guys.” Hao Ren went straight to the point. “Call Gregowen and Hasse, we have important things to discuss.”