The Record of Unusual Creatures

Ever since Lily moved into the family, Hao Ren would have to replace the fittings and furniture in the house every now and then. But on the other hand, she had almost gotten her carpentry skill down to a fine art after having done that many repair jobs. After all, how could she afford to buy a new set of furniture with the miserable income she got from working as a freelance veterinarian cum mediocre writer every time she broke one? When Hao Ren promptly reminded her about her latest blunder, the husky maiden only looked up. Her eyes were on stalks when she saw her landlord's face print on the steel-constructed, burglary-proof door. It seemed damn realistic. But that was not the only thing. Below the face print was a half handprint that seemed to abstractly express the tragic struggle and haplessness of her landlord when the massive door slammed in his face. Her ears drooped down in the instance of realizing that she had yet another repair job.     

Unlike the other carpenters, the husky did not require any tools for the job. She held the door panel and knocked it barehanded. Her magic force would smoothen all the bulges and dents on the surface, including Hao Ren's face print. Even the remaining part with ornamental patterns had turned into a polished, mirror-like surface. This had happened many times before. Now with every single exquisite pattern gone, Hao Ren did not rule out the possibility that the other places in the house had also met with the same fate.     

Lorissa followed Hao Ren into the "Pope's Palace." It was unlike what she had imagined. She first saw a large living room with strange furnishings, several doors, and an upward staircase, which likely led to the other rooms and second floor. On a low cabinet on the other side of the living room, a square and flat device showed the vivid image of a smiling woman. She was holding a colorful bag and saying, "This is our recommended cat food for cats two years of age and above..."     

On the coffee table at the center of the living room, the cat girl was sitting on the table, staring at the screen with concentration. Saliva was dripping from her mouth onto the floor. But as soon as the dumb cat discovered that Hao Ren had come back, she immediately turned and came down from the table. Scurrying up to Hao Ren, the dumb cat pulled him by the arm and said, "Big Boss Cat, I want that, I want that, please buy me that now!"     

The dumb cat pointed at the cat food commercial on the TV and her eyes were gleaming with light.     

"Go away. You just bought many cans. Did you eat those?" Hao Ren pushed the dumb cat's claws away. "I have said it many times—don't squat on the coffee table while watching TV!"     

Vivian, who was in the kitchen, heard the commotion in the living hall. She poked out behind the door. "You are, Hao Ren! Is this Lorissa?"     

"Hello everyone," Lolissa greeted as she looked at those guys in the living room. She bowed as a sign of respect with a smile. With the flick of her hand, Lorissa drew a rune in the air to lift her magic spell, and she was restored to her original appearance of long white hair and long elven ears. "Hao Ren said that it is best to put on a disguise while outside to avoid unnecessary attention. But it should not be a problem while inside here, I guess?"     

As soon as her voice trailed off, Lorissa saw Nangong Wuyue staggering down the stairs in an octopus form. Every tentacle had a rag, which Nangong Wuyue used to clean the stair railing and steps. Sparing two arms, she waved at Lorrisa. "It doesn't matter how you look in the house. No one looks like a human here."     

Y'zaks looked up from the newspaper and said, "I do maintain a human form at home."     

"You are the least qualified to claim this. You still look like an alien while in human form." Hao Ren said casually. He then looked for the little demon girl. "Y'zaks, where is your daughter?"     

"She is fixing my tricycle in the backyard," Y'zaks smirked. He could not care less if Hao Ren was mocking him just now. He had been used to it anyway. "Why?" he asked back.     

"Let the Y'lisabet learn some form-shifting skill from Lorrisa since she here these few days. It would save Y'lisabet the trouble of having to wear contact lenses and hat, and tuck her tail every time she goes out." Hao Ren took off his jacket, threw it to Rollie, and walked to the sofa. "You should change your ride. Having to drag a cartload of electrical stuff around every day makes me feel sad for the trishaw. Rollie! I was asking you to hang up my jacket, not sleep on it!"     

"Isn't it the same to learn from me? I am prepared to teach her soon." Y'zaks forced a smile.     

"You? Forget it. I have not seen her learning anything else except Demonic Flame from you. And please look in the mirror, do you think your form-shifting skill good enough?" Hao Ren rolled his eyes.      

Y'zaks thought for a moment and could not help but admit it.     

Lorissa looked on with curiosity at the interaction of this family. She was all smiles all the time. Unlike the cold smile when she was in Holletta, her smile this time seemed to be full of warmth. Lily noticed this after she finished fixing the door. As always, the husky maiden did not mince her words. "What are you smiling at?"     

"Nothing, just feeling good." Lorissa blinked. "I thought I would be brought to a heavily guarded church or palace at first. Never in my imagination that a pope was living in such a lively place. It is beyond words and much better than what I have thought."     

"There is something you don't know about our landlord." Lily twitched her mouth. "He is just dawdling over his job as a pope. I have never seen him playing by the rules. He even slipped the Bible under the table leg. If this place is as heavy-guarded as you have thought, I would not have stayed here because I have been used to free and easy life. Mr. Landlord, I am hungry! Battie, I am hungry!"     

Lorissa looked at Lily, wide-eyed. She could not fathom how Lily could switch topic so readily. But had Lorissa known about the nature of the husky breed, she would have a different opinion. For Lily, nothing was more important than eating. Her circadian rhythms of hunger and appetite were like clockwork.     

"Come into the kitchen to fill your bowl!" Vivian poked her head out behind the kitchen door again. "Don't be lazy."     

Lily's ears flicked and stood erect. She ran into the kitchen. "Arf Arf! Here I come! I will do it right away."     

"Vivian has been taking care of our meals. You have to try out her cooking." Hao Ren smiled and invited Lorissa to the table. "She has brought out her best recipe."     

Vivian smiled as she served a plate of Kung Pao chicken dish on the table. "I have many more recipes up my sleeve. If I cook all of them, there will not be enough space to put them all in this hall. With all the 10,000-year-worth of recipes that humans have invented, it would be more than enough to feed Lily for three years with just the lost recipes alone."     

Lily took a large bowl of rice, sat down at the table, and looked up. "Why use me as a yardstick?"     

"Because you are not a picky eater. Not everyone can eat Egyptian roasted beetles like you," Vivian said while glancing at the husky maiden sideways. She suddenly saw the bowl of rice in Lily's hands. "You should have at least helped bring more dishes out from the kitchen."     

"You can't really count on her," Hao Ren said with laughter. He then got to his feet. "Let me help."     

As soon as he got up, tentacles were crawling out from the kitchen carrying a plate on each of them. Nangong Wuyue was heard saying, "Mr. Landlord, you don't have to. I have taken care of them."     

Goosebumps were all over Hao Ren's skin. "Holy moly, Wuyue, can you please not do that at mealtime? It thought it was Cthulhu!"     

Everyone enjoyed the meal. With 10,000 years of cooking experience under Vivian's belt, she was the god of cookery. It was the best meal in Lorissa's entire life. She could not even find anything close from the memory that she inherited from the elven queen, less so the ones that she had eaten before.     

After dinner, it was TV time where the monsters in the house would scramble to take control of the TV. Inevitably, a tiff broke out as usual. They were not really into the TV programs per se but more about the fun of wrestling for it. It was more or less the same principle of Hao Ren fighting for the last piece of potato chips during his childhood. Anyway, the leading players in the fight for the TV right were always between Lily and Rollie, and if not, Y'lisabet and Lil Pea. A gang of three impish kids and one idiosyncratic butthead was a perfect recipe for havoc. Hao Ren knew their puerile nature. So, he would rather went to aside, enjoying some quiet time in the corner of the house when things got noisy in the living room.     

After a while, Lorissa came up to him when he asked, "It is noisy, isn't it?"     

"No, I think it is lively," Lorissa replied, shaking her head. "It is just that nothing is like what I have imagined."     

"Then you have to get used to it." Hao Ren shrugged. "You can't always compare us with your imagination."     

"I was born in a world where religious beliefs reigned supreme. My memory—the one I inherited from my original—enshrines the solemnity of the church and the sacredness of the priesthood. It is not easy to change."     

"I can understand that," Hao Ren said as he leaned back in his chair with a smile, looking at the scuffle between Rollie and Y'lisabet for the TV remote. Meanwhile, Lil Pea was scurrying among them, adding to the chaos. "You won't find any other pope's palace looking like mine. I have many colleagues in this universe, and they are popes in their respective civilization spheres, regardless of the level of their enthusiasm. Anyway, can you tell me about your past? During the Magic Empire Era, how did the church of the goddess of creation work? How did you usually communicate with the goddess?"