Chapter 134 The Hunter and the Hunted

Actually, it wasn't Hao Ren's fault that he misremembered the girl's name – it was mainly because the name Bai Huo was just too unique, so unique that Hao Ren would unconsciously change his tone whenever he called it out. He and Vivian never expected to meet Bai Huo at this time and in this place, so they were both particularly surprised when they saw the girl appearing in the flames. Vivian quickly recalled the information she had heard before: "The demon hunter rumored to be active around the Ancartero territory recently is you?"

"Strictly speaking, it's 'we'," Bai Huo walked out of a ball of silver-white holy fire. Although she was holding a silver-white short sword in her hand, she didn't reveal much fighting spirit. This young demon hunter was born without an innate hostility towards the supernatural, and she hadn't had time to cultivate hatred for them in long battles. After she, Hao Ren, and Vivian acted together a few times due to various coincidences, there wasn't much animosity left. "Me and my mentor, and several senior demon hunters. Oh, don't be nervous, I'm the only one who came out now, they are all in town."

Pierre had completely stopped talking at this point. He stared wide-eyed as a young woman walked out of the flames, and she even seemed to be acquainted with "two" vampires. In just one day, he had seen more supernatural races than he had in the past few years, which made the spirit detective feel like he could die right there and be satisfied. Hao Ren glanced at Pierre, then looked up at Bai Huo: "So how long have you been eavesdropping?"

"From when you started talking about the golden disc. Originally, I shouldn't have been discovered so easily, but I thought since I was here, it would be good to show myself and say hello," Bai Huo smiled, and the holy silver short sword in her hand slid in a beautiful arc before she tucked it under her clothes. "Looks like we are investigating the same thing."

Vivian was a little speechless at this special demon hunter: "You really are... I don't know if I should say you are confident or just a fearless newborn calf. You're actually a demon hunter who proactively jumps out to greet the supernatural, and you're too familiar with us. Your mentor would be scared to death if he knew."

"Don't you guys talk to me nicely too?" Bai Huo smiled easily. "We had long expected that the supernatural would also send people to investigate what happened here, but we didn't expect anyone to come until now, and it turned out to be you guys. Even the Eldest Vivian Ancestor has come."

Vivian shook her head helplessly: "They are arguing in the sanctuary, and no one is willing to take the lead, so I, the elder, have to come out and clean up their mess. Now that you have taken the initiative to come out, I don't think it's just to say hello, right... Let's talk about what happened to the Ancartero family?"

A glimmer of light flashed in Bai Huo's eyes. She nodded almost imperceptibly, indicating that she did want to exchange information, then she glanced at Pierre beside her: "But it's best not to let this human be present for what we're going to talk about, right?"

Pierre looked at the three demons, and his face turned pale in an instant. Beads of sweat as big as beans immediately popped out. Hao Ren, Vivian, and Bai Huo all said in unison: "We didn't say we were going to kill you to silence you!"

Pierre clutched his chest and gasped twice. He almost had a heart attack again from those three shouting just now.

"I sincerely advise you to stop here," Hao Ren put his hand on Pierre's shoulder. "This matter has gone far beyond the things you used to deal with. Before, you were at most picking up scrap iron in a residential area, but now you're running to a military base to steal a couple of nuclear bombs. It's not the same concept at all."

Pierre was like a scavenger on the beach. Before this, he stood on the edge of the dark world, picking up scraps and fragments from ancient times that occasionally floated up from that dark abyss. The little bit of mysterious knowledge contained within was enough for him to live a good life, but this time, a Cthulhu-level thing floated out of the sea. One of his feet was already stuck in that dark, terrifying quagmire without him knowing it. Hao Ren really didn't want to see the spirit detective who had provided so much information accidentally die in the friction between the supernatural and the demon hunters.

The spirit detective was still a little hesitant about Hao Ren's advice. He did smell danger, but his thirst for knowledge made him reluctant to give up. He muttered almost as a final struggle: "I don't want anything, I just want to see the legendary sun disc, even if it's just to look at the patterns on it – this will be the highest level of mystery I can come into contact with as a human, and I will be worthy of my ancestors."

"Do you know who will be coming here in a few days?" Vivian glanced at Pierre indifferently.

"Ah?"

"Those 'gods' who once fought for the sun disc," Vivian's tone carried a faint threat, "They and their descendants are now preparing to fight again in this place. Are you planning to sneak up and take a look while they are fighting?"

As the saying goes, old ginger is spicier, Hao Ren's persuasion couldn't compare to Vivian's little threat at all: Pierre was stunned by the news of colliding with mythology. After struggling for a while, the spirit detective finally sighed, realizing that this was really not a place he could set foot in, packed up his things, and left the room.

"Okay, irrelevant people have left the stage," Vivian nodded slightly to Bai Huo. "What exactly happened to the Ancartero family?"

"Why do you think we demon hunters would know?" Bai Huo asked back. "You should know more about supernatural families."

"To be honest, the supernatural are now suspecting that the demon hunters did it," Hao Ren didn't hide anything, because he didn't need to worry. "The Ancartero family has been out of contact with the outside world for a month, and a month ago was exactly when you were active in this area. That family is responsible for guarding an ancient seal, and now the monster in the seal has run out and is wreaking havoc everywhere. All kinds of clues are unfavorable to you."

"Demon hunters who were active here a month ago..." After hearing Hao Ren's words, Bai Huo revealed a serious expression. "That wasn't us. My mentor and I only came to this place three days ago, and we came here precisely to investigate the three 'elders' and sixteen 'masters' who lost contact here a month ago, as well as a large number of senior demon hunters who disappeared with them."

Hao Ren wasn't very clear about what the concepts of "elder" and "master" were in the demon hunters, nor did he know how large the team Bai Huo was talking about was, but Vivian's eyes widened all of a sudden: "What did you say? So many demon hunters disappeared in this place!?"

Bai Huo's expression was very serious: "Yes. It is said that this is the first time since the end of the Mythological Era that such a large number of elite demon hunters have been lost at the same time. You suspect that we attacked the Ancartero family? In fact, almost everyone on our side believes that the Ancartero lured those elders and masters."

As soon as he heard that this was the first time since the end of the Mythological Era that there had been such a great loss, Hao Ren finally realized that the matter was more serious than he had expected. He widened his eyes: "Then do you know about the Shadows of Chaos..."

"We know," Bai Huo nodded. "The demon hunter organization is not as ignorant as you think. We have more historical data than the supernatural. We know the legend of the Shadows of Chaos, and we also know the threat of those shadows, and we also know that the Ancartero family is guarding this seal. It is precisely because of this that the demon hunter organization tries not to attack the Ancartero. That is a secluded family that does not compete with the world, and we have hardly had any conflicts with them. If it weren't for the innate hostility, the demon hunters would not be willing to make enemies with this kind of people – we are not crazy."

"Oh, this is a bit like the attitude towards the sirens," Hao Ren nodded suddenly. "But your attitude has made the Ancartero family quite suspicious in the supernatural circle. They all thought that this family was colluding with the demon hunters."

"It may not be wrong to say that," Bai Huo spread her hands with a smile. "Although there is no formal official contact, but... after all, we have maintained mutual restraint for so many years, and there will be some subtle tacit understanding between the two sides. But this incident is really too weird."

"By the way, this incident," Hao Ren suddenly thought of the most critical question, "What were that large group of demon hunters doing when they suddenly ran to the Ancartero family's territory a month ago? It can't really be to fight, the two sides don't have any hatred, right?"

"Just like I said just now, the Ancartero family has very limited contact with demon hunters, so there are occasional personnel contacts. But the matter a month ago was full of weirdness," Bai Huo said frankly, and the answer was shocking, "A month ago, a demon hunter warband led by the elder 'Amtulla' suddenly gathered and went to the Ancartero family's territory. Their actions did not notify the council, which shocked everyone, and then they disappeared. Later, we found a letter left by Amtulla at the gathering place of this warband. The letter mentioned that three elders suddenly received some kind of enlightenment from their bloodline. They said they had discovered a major secret behind the innate hostility, and this secret was hidden in the Ancartero family. They also said that they had received an invitation from the Ancartero family's patriarch at the same time, and that patriarch had also received the same 'enlightenment'. So, without notifying the council, the three elders brought a whole warband to this place, and then... it's the incident you know. We were ordered to come and investigate the whereabouts of Elder Amtulla, but found that the Ancartero territory had been sealed off by some strange force. Now it seems that you haven't found a way to enter the mystic realm either."

After listening to Bai Huo's words, Hao Ren had only one thought in his mind:

Damn, it seems like another big deal!

(Asking for a monthly ticket if you have nothing else to do!)