Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 685 7: The Land Beyond

Chunming City, "Useless" Tavern.

Sun Hang was still sitting in his usual spot, while opposite him was Candle Dragon, who had just gotten off a plane.

Candle Dragon picked up the wine glass and took a gentle sip, "Ah... that familiar taste, it truly brings back memories."

"Aren't you attending the celebration banquet in Tianfu City?" Sun Hang asked.

"Did you forget I sacrificed my vacation to help you all?" Candle Dragon smiled warmly, "Now that the crisis in Tianfu City is resolved, of course, I have to come back to enjoy what little vacation I have left... As for you, calling me over so urgently, is there something you need?"

"If I told you Pei Zongjun is dead, would you believe me?" Sun Hang said calmly.

The smile on Candle Dragon's face instantly froze, and a stifling cold aura burst from him, attracting the gaze of all the other patrons in the tavern—it was midsummer, and the air conditioning panel in the tavern showed a temperature of 22 degrees, yet around Candle Dragon, whether it was the tables, chairs, floors, or bookshelves, they were all covered by a thin layer of frost.

Some timid customers quietly got up and crept around Sun Hang and Candle Dragon's table towards the tavern's entrance. Meanwhile, more customers watched them excitedly, as if afraid to miss the show that would follow.

Candle Dragon stared at Sun Hang for a full twenty seconds, then suddenly stood up and said, "This is not the place to talk, follow me."

The frost vanished instantly, and the temperature in the tavern began to rise again.

Candle Dragon turned and headed straight for the tavern door, scaring some customers who intended to slip away into scrambling back to their seats.

"Sorry, boss, for causing some trouble." Candle Dragon spoke to the owner behind the bar as he passed by, "Put all today's losses on my tab, including whatever these patrons have ordered... Do I still have enough money in my account?"

"Enough." The bar owner glanced at him, then looked back down at a book he was holding, seemingly oblivious to the abnormal occurrences in the tavern earlier, "You didn't break anything, no need to compensate, just pay for you two's drinks."

"Let me cover everyone's bill as an apology for the fright." After saying this, Candle Dragon glanced back at Sun Hang, then pushed open the door and left without looking back.

Sun Hang immediately followed.

Candle Dragon silently weaved through the bustling streets, standing out with his heavy coat and hat among the crowds of people in shorts and sleeves. Fortunately, Chunming City was big enough and its population diverse enough, that people were used to all sorts of "eccentrics," and Candle Dragon, with his off-season attire, wasn't too surprising—at most, the occasional passerby cast a few more curious glances his way.

Candle Dragon led Sun Hang across three blocks to an old residential area with less commercial atmosphere and fewer pedestrians.

"This is a safehouse for a Hunter affiliated with Dubhe Tower." Candle Dragon said to Sun Hang while unlocking the door with an ancient brass key, "The confidentiality here is top-notch... In the future, don't say things like that in public, whether true or false, the consequences are unmanageable for us."

The two of them entered the old house, and after Candle Dragon relocked the door and checked all the windows, drawing the curtains, he quickly walked to a sofa in the shadowy corner and sat down.

"Sit." Candle Dragon pointed to another sofa opposite him.

A dim light from the ceiling illuminated that sofa.

"Why do I feel like this looks like an interrogation setup?" Sun Hang said, though he still sat down across from Candle Dragon.

"Then I'll turn off the light." Candle Dragon reached beside the sofa, and with a "click," the light over Sun Hang disappeared, plunging the room into darkness.

Sun Hang's nostrils flared slightly, and in the darkness, he caught the distinct musty scent of old wood typical of old houses.

It was a smell that unconsciously brought comfort, and combined with the dark surroundings, sitting on a soft and cozy sofa could easily relax someone, allowing their guard to drop.

Yet at this moment, Candle Dragon opposite him was sitting bolt upright, every muscle tense, as if ready to leap forward and tear Sun Hang to pieces at the slightest wrong word.

"Mr. Pei... how did he die?"

"Do you just believe whatever I say?" Sun Hang was slightly confused, "Not even confirming the truth of the news first?"

"If someone else told me, I wouldn't believe it. But from you, I do." Candle Dragon said with absolute seriousness, "Moreover, your tone just now was entirely different from when you joke around, I believe what you said is true."

"Alright... so if I told you Pei Zongjun died a long time ago, would you believe it?"

Candle Dragon took a deep breath and sank into several minutes of silence.

Minutes later, Candle Dragon slowly nodded in the shadows, "I believe it."

"Why?"

"Mr. Pei hasn't appeared in public for a long time, and though it's publicly stated that old age requires life support, to my knowledge, Mr. Pei was already a senior figure in Dubhe Tower a hundred and fifty years ago... With the current technology in Xiazhou Federation, without using any anomalous items, even the best life support equipment would be hard-pressed to keep an ordinary human body alive for so long." Candle Dragon said slowly, "What I want to know is, if Mr. Pei died long ago, where have the holographic images we've seen recently come from? Were they synthesized later with software, or recorded by Mr. Pei before his passing?"