Chapter 1 A Sentimental Journey

There’s nothing quite like revisiting an old haunt to stir up emotions, and for a vampire who has lived for over two thousand years, most of whose experiences have faded with time, such a return carries an even greater significance.

Looking at this vaguely familiar street, Hesper recalled clearer memories, as if she had returned to two thousand years ago, to the days when she had just awakened as a “person.” That was probably the happiest time of her life: a little bat forgotten for many years had cultivated into an entity, and then rediscovered her "mother." The mythical age had not completely ended, and various kinds of heteromorphs could still openly move about in the world. Her life was simple and happy. At that time, Vivian had not driven her away yet. Hesper happily followed behind her "mother" every day, running around. Although life was difficult, there was really nothing to worry about, no need to worry about demon hunter searches, no need to worry about fighting with other heteromorphs, no need to engage in intrigue with other families. The only thing she needed to worry about every day... was probably only three meals a day.

Although three meals a day were indeed a big problem: even with great wealth, Vivian would find it difficult to exchange it for food in time...

Hao Ren and his party arrived in front of the stone wall that bore the childhood memories of the little bat spirit. The stone wall was engraved with childish patterns: a group of fat and abstract big rats, some crooked trees, and a large table full of fruits and pastries. The images of those foods were really difficult to distinguish. If it weren't for the table below, which could barely be seen, Hao Ren couldn't associate it with catering.

Lily looked at the paintings on the stone wall, then at Hesper, with a subtle expression on her face, her eyes darting back and forth between the two, until the latter felt goosebumps all over her body. Lily couldn't help but open her mouth, "Speaking of which, you were so innocent when you were a kid?"

Hesper had an awkward look on her face, and she unnaturally turned her head away. "Who doesn't have a childhood—even those who cultivate into entities have a childhood, okay!"

"But your painting is weird enough," Lily looked at the little bat spirit's childhood artwork and commented, "Why did you draw a bunch of big rats..."

Hesper's face flushed red. "I... I clearly painted horses!"

Hao Ren slapped his forehead. "I see, it's actually a horse... I thought it was a rat at first too."

The little bat spirit put her hands on her hips and glared angrily. "You two bastards, are you done yet! I don't believe you two could have painted better than me when you were kids!"

Unexpectedly discovering that this mischievous child also had such innocent and childlike side, Hao Ren felt an unusual sense of pleasure in his heart, as if he had successfully grasped the handle of this guy. Therefore, facing the little bat spirit's harsh words, he had no intention of arguing with her at all. Just when the group was full of emotion about Hesper's childhood masterpiece, a slightly childish voice suddenly came from behind Hao Ren: "Who are you people?"

Hao Ren turned his head and was immediately stunned: a Hesper who looked a little smaller than the current little bat spirit was standing in front of him.

The little girl was wearing a coarse white dress, without shoes on her feet, and a head of soft, long hair scattered behind her head. Her appearance was exactly the same as Vivian and Hesper, but even more immature. She held a crooked little branch in one hand and half a pancake in the other, just looking straight at Hao Ren and his party, who were commenting on her "masterpiece," her big eyes full of curiosity and a hint of vigilance.

Almost instantly, Hao Ren realized who this little girl standing in front of him was: the childhood version of Hesper!

Lily also guessed the origin of this little girl, but her way of thinking was obviously different from normal people: she poked Hesper's arm and asked in a low voice, "Hey, didn't you say that you were pretty big after you cultivated into an entity? How could you be so small?"

Hesper was stunned for a moment when she saw her childhood version. Lily's voice woke her up, and she curled her lips. "Nonsense, it's been two thousand years, I have to grow a little bit, right? And I was that big (pointed to the childhood version of herself not far away) when I first became human, so how could that not be considered small compared to human cubs?"

Lily looked up and down at the little Hesper not far away, and had to admit that the little bat spirit was right: although the little girl looked more immature than Hesper, she looked like she was thirteen or fourteen years old. If she was really that big when she first cultivated into an entity, then she was indeed big enough...

At least bigger than her husky spirit when she first transformed into a human.

The two spirits who had cultivated into entities discussed it in a strange field, and then reached an even stranger consensus.

Hao Ren didn't know what was worth discussing about "being very big after cultivating into an entity." He just observed the childhood version of Hesper, who could basically be confirmed, with great interest. After the vigilance on the latter's face became more and more obvious, he opened his mouth gently: "Is your name Hesper?"

The little Hesper took a bite of the half-pancake in her right hand, chewing and nodding: "Yes, who are you?"

"We are Vivian's friends," Hao Ren also opened his mouth, but although he tried to make his expression amiable, his poker face, which had been damaged by poisonous blood and lost its expression, was still so stiff, "We heard that she recently moved here..."

"Mommy is not home," Little Hesper interrupted crisply before Hao Ren could finish speaking, "You can go back now."

After saying that, she seemed to end the conversation unilaterally, and began to seriously gnaw on the small half of the pancake, waving the crooked little branch in her other hand, as if urging the uninvited guests in front of her to leave quickly so that she could continue painting on the wall.

At this time, Hesper finally couldn't hold back, and she walked up from behind: "Then... where did Vivian-daren go?"

Little Hesper's attention was all on Hao Ren and the one-eyed Hao Ren just now. At this time, she seemed to see Hesper for the first time. The little girl's expression was stunned. At first, she probably thought she saw Vivian, and a slight hint of surprise appeared on her face, but she soon realized that something was wrong, and began to be a little wary and curious: "Who are you?"

"My name is Hesper..." Hesper almost blurted out her name, but fortunately, she stopped at the last moment, and after a turn of her mind, she immediately took a new name for herself, "My name is Hesperia! I'm your sister!"

"Sister?" Little Hesper frowned, seeming a little unsure about this suddenly appearing sister, "Why do I have a sister? I don't know you..."

As soon as Hesper saw an opportunity, she immediately began to fool her: "Of course you don't know me, because you hadn't been thrown out yet when I cultivated into an entity—you turned into a little bat, right? Me too! Vivian-daren also lost a bat before you, that one was me! If you don't believe me, look, I can still transform bat wings, look, look, are these wings exactly the same as yours..."

As Hesper spoke, she opened her bat wings. This scene immediately frightened the passers-by who happened to be looking this way. Hesper immediately turned her head and glared at them, and those ordinary people ran away with their tails between their legs.

It probably won't be long before there will be some new rumors about gods in this area.

Little Hesper looked blankly at the large Hesper opening her bat wings, nodding dizzy: "It seems so..."

Hesper made a conclusion: "So I am your sister."

"It seems so."

As Hesper said before, her brain wasn't very good when she first cultivated into an entity, and the little girl couldn't handle a little situation that happened casually.

Lily quietly poked Hao Ren's arm: "Landlord, Landlord, the little bat doesn't hold back at all when she fools herself."

"Nonsense, she's just targeting her own people—this is one hundred percent pure natural 'own people'."

Although the two lowered their voices, Hesper was standing so close, and she was a bat spirit who was born to rely on hearing for food, so of course she heard everything clearly, and the veins on her forehead popped out: "If you two don't speak, no one will treat you as dumb!"

Little Hesper looked confused: "??"

The little girl doesn't have a translation plugin in her brain, and Hao Ren and Lily were muttering in Chinese...

"Sister, are you here to find Mommy?" At this time, little Hesper had been completely successfully fooled by herself (there is no logical problem with this sentence, right), so she put down most of her vigilance and took the initiative to speak.

"Yes," Hesper looked at her childhood self, "Where did she go?"

"She went out and told me to wait for her at home," Little Hesper looked up, saying and handing the half-pancake in her hand to Hesper, "Sister, here's a pancake for you, it's delicious! Mommy made it!"

Hesper took the pancake in a daze, her expression slowly stiffening.

After a moment, her nose twitched a few times, and she actually cried like that.

Hao Ren originally wanted to ask the little girl when Vivian would be back, but when he turned his head, he saw Hesper's performance, and was immediately startled: "Hey, what's wrong with you?!"

Hesper held the half-pancake and wiped away her tears with her arms: "Vivian-daren told me to wait for her at home, but she never came back. I waited for many years, until the Visigoths broke into Rome and I didn't wait for her to come home... I thought she didn't want me anymore..."

Hao Ren, Lily, and Hao Ren looked at each other, a little at a loss because of this sudden change. Hao Ren didn't know what to do the most, after all, he wasn't familiar with Hao Ren at all. Lily was used to bickering with the little bat spirit, but didn't know how to comfort her. In the end, Hao Ren couldn't help but press on the little bat spirit's hair: "Okay, okay, it's okay, she didn't not want you, didn't she find you later?"

Hesper pushed away Hao Ren's hand: "Don't treat me like a child—of course I know what's going on, Vivian-daren often forgets some things, I'm just unlucky... just suddenly forgotten by her. I'm fine, it's just that I suddenly remembered when I saw this cake... At that time, she made me a lot of pancakes when she went out, saying that she would come back before I finished eating them... I didn't dare to eat the last pancake, I kept putting it away, and in the end, it turned to ashes..."

Hao Ren hesitated for a moment, then put his hand on the little bat spirit's head again.

This time, Hesper didn't slap his hand away.