Chapter 61 A Shrunken Vivian

Vivian shuddered as the voice rang out from outside the shop door. Without another word, she dissolved into a swarm of tiny bats. Several hundred of the creatures flew around haphazardly like headless flies, desperately seeking a place to hide. Some burrowed into the corners of the walls, others squeezed through the door cracks, while a bunch flew behind the counter into who-knew-what-dynasty's spice box. Hao Ren was still trying to figure out what was happening when Vivian had already disappeared into every nook and cranny of the room. Then the glass door of the antique shop was pushed open roughly, and a short girl happily ran in.

Hao Ren was instantly stunned when he saw her. The girl's appearance was almost identical to Vivian's. Even the details around her eyes and eyebrows were like they'd been cast from the same mold. Calling them twins wouldn't even begin to explain it. The only differences were that this girl was shorter than Vivian, her hair was shorter as well, and she wore a bright, cheerful expression that Vivian didn't usually show.

This was pretty much a shrunken version of Vivian—scaled down by ten percent, with a side of crazy.

Everyone in the room was stunned except for Hesperides, who maintained her lifeless, stiff smile. Lily jumped up and shouted, "So Vivian has a little sister?"

"Who are you people?" The shrunken Vivian frowned as she looked around. "Where's Mistress Vivian? I could've sworn I felt her nearby… Did she run off and hide again?"

"This is Haesanna," Hesperides said, gesturing to the somewhat neurotic girl as she introduced her to Hao Ren. "Just call Vivian out. She won't leave until she sees you."

So the group had no choice but to gather Vivian's bats from every corner of the room. Some were pried from the corners of the walls, others were poured out of jars. Lily, with her keen nose, was the fastest, grabbing at least a hundred bats from various nooks and crannies. Finally, Hao Ren felt something moving in his clothes and pulled a few more bats out of his sleeves and pockets. Heaven knows how Vivian had managed to squeeze into such places. After everyone had gathered the swarm of bats, they coaxed and herded them back together. Lily waved a broom around, shouting, "Come out already, big bat! Or I'll swat you!"

The bats reluctantly wriggled and reformed into Vivian's shape. She gave Haesanna an awkward smile. "Long time no see."

"Mistress Vivian, I've missed you so much!" Haesanna leapt into Vivian's arms. Hao Ren would swear on Raven 12345 that he heard a clear crack of bone on bone. Luckily, Vivian's constitution was extraordinary, or her chest would have been flattened by that impact. Nangong Wuyue couldn't help but ask, "Vivian, aren't you going to introduce us? Is this your sister?"

Vivian was in the middle of prying Haesanna off of her. She had only gotten halfway when Nangong Wuyue interrupted, and all her efforts were for naught. She could only twist the shrunken version of herself's ears and try to push her away. "Get off, get off. This isn't a place for acting crazy… This is exactly why I didn't want to come see you, got it? I'm really going to get mad if you don't leave me alone…"

Haesanna finally reluctantly released Vivian, sighing regretfully. "Oh… I was just starting to feel a little bit like I was home."

Then she turned to Hao Ren and the others, curiously sizing up the strangers who seemed to be on good terms with Vivian. Her expression quickly became serious and proper as she politely gave a slight bow. "Pleased to meet you. I am the clan leader of the Haesanna family, Haesanna Ancestera. Since you are here… it seems Mistress Vivian and Elder Hesperides both trust you. I won't bother with formalities, and I hope you enjoy your stay in this fortress."

Her complete change in demeanor left Hao Ren dumbfounded, but he quickly recovered. "Oh, well, nice to meet you too… I'm a friend of Vivian's. You can call me Hao Ren. As for race… human, or a human wizard, according to you guys. These people beside me are…"

Hao Ren introduced everyone around him. He had given Becky the identity of a human wizard as well—it seemed to be a useful identity. After a moment, Haesanna curiously looked at Nangong Wuyue, who claimed to be a "land-based siren," and inquired about some of the legends surrounding sirens. Hao Ren took this opportunity to quickly grab Vivian and ask, "Who is this exactly? Your sister? She seems to have the same last name as you."

"No… it's complicated," Vivian said, her expression extremely strange. "Do you remember when I told you that the bats I summon turn into living, independent beings once they break free from my mental control, as long as they find a way to replenish their energy, they will never disappear?"

Hao Ren's expression turned subtle. "So this amazing woman is…"

"Sometimes I forget things, you know?" Vivian said, covering her face as if she couldn't bear to remember. "I released a bat once and completely forgot about it. I didn't remember it for a thousand years—and when I finally found her, I discovered that she had cultivated into a spirit. This is her." She pointed to Haesanna. "She might have been malnourished and lacked proper care when she was young. She's a little off in the head, and she's even more crazy when she's around me. I've been avoiding her all these years. Of course, it's not just avoiding her, sometimes I really do just forget…"

Hao Ren couldn't help but be amazed by Vivian. She had taken the concept of "forgetfulness" to a whole new level. And for a bat that fell off of her to become a spirit and the clan leader of a vampire family, everything that touched Vivian seemed to become powerful, except for Vivian herself, who was just unlucky.

At this point, the other vampire who had split off from Vivian and cultivated into a spirit had finished exchanging pleasantries with Nangong Wuyue. She looked strangely at the group. "Mistress Vivian has actually started making friends… and I don't recognize any of them. I feel like I've been abandoned?"

Vivian quickly nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, you have been abandoned."

Haesanna: "…"

Lily couldn't help but poke Vivian's arm. "Don't be like that, she's still flesh that fell off of you."

"… That makes me want to bite you a little."

Hao Ren realized that although Vivian wandered around the world (truly roughing it), she actually had her own base of operations in another sense. If Vivian wanted to find someone to support her, Haesanna and the vampire family behind her would definitely rush to treat her like an ancestor, so he was a little curious. "Vivian, does this mean you're not actually homeless… Why didn't you settle down here in Athens like they did?"

"I don't like this noisy environment. Multiple families crowded into one city, constantly worrying about vampire hunter attacks and endlessly scheming against each other. There are always people looking for trouble, and whether they're friends or enemies, they're all annoying," Vivian sighed. "And I'm unlucky no matter who I'm with. Sometimes I can drag the people who help me into bankruptcy, so I might as well just wander around alone."

Hao Ren was shocked. He thought that Vivian's curse was not just a debuff, but an area-of-effect ability. Back when she was trading spices between Egypt and Rome, she had bankrupted several vampire compatriots and killed off two entire Egyptian dynasties (regardless of whether she actually killed them, that's how it could be counted). He suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. "Wait, how come I haven't gone bankrupt yet? And my income has actually gone up since signing a contract with the new boss?"

Vivian rolled her eyes at Hao Ren. "You have a strong background and high resistance, and I'm not a god of misfortune who curses everyone I see. Renting a house isn't enough to bankrupt someone. But it would be hard to say if your power was bigger… My luck is very weird."

Hao Ren thought that he would have to seriously study Vivian's luck problem if he had the chance. He thought it might be an active skill! In the future, if he didn't like someone, he wouldn't even need to take action. He could just send Vivian over to bum a few meals and it would probably be twice as effective…

Haesanna felt a little unhappy that Vivian was busy talking to other people, so she grabbed the latter's arm and pulled her closer. "Mistress Vivian, are you here on business? Or are you just here to see me? Oh dear, I'm so embarrassed…"

"I heard you found some ruins," Vivian said bluntly. "I came for the ruins."

Haesanna immediately looked disappointed. "Oh, the ruins… Since you've asked, then there's definitely no problem, but the Lucas family… that's a little tricky."

Vivian raised an eyebrow. "Are they as stubborn as they used to be?"

"They have a new clan leader. It's the old clan leader's brother, and he's even more ridiculous than the original," Haesanna said with disdain. "Extremely stubborn, non-violent non-cooperation, violent non-cooperation, just non-cooperation in general."

It seemed it wouldn't be so easy to get to the ruins.

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