Chapter 41 (1/2)

The man smiled shyly. “It may sound absurd but actually, I’m a demon hunter…”

Demon hunter!

Hao Ren heard a sudden noise in his ears. He turned around and saw that Lily had stopped eating. Whereas, the vampire maiden was wiping away the sauce stain on her face before saying in a quivering voice, “What did you just say?”

“I knew it. Exactly the response I had expected.” There was a sense of helplessness in the man. “Your reaction isn’t a surprise to me. I had it worse when I told people about myself previously. I mean it when I say I’m a demon hunter. Have you ever watched the movie Van Helsing? What I do is more or less the same as depicted in the movie. Just that, we hunt demons in a totally different way.”

The tall man sounded dead serious as he talked about himself. Hao Ren slid his butt backwards on his chair to try to keep a distance from the man. He had too many questions in his mind. “The man’s a demon hunter? Is he real or just some charlatan?”

People would have laughed if off but not Hao Ren; he had deeper thoughts than them. He knew demon hunters existed.

At the same time, he did not take the man’s word at face value as the man could have been joking. He figured no demon hunter in their right mind would advertise their presence like this dude did.

“So, you’re not going to believe me, are you?” The man helplessly spread his hands out. “I can’t blame you though. Look, being a Chinese, it would have been more convincing if I claimed to be a lay monk from Mount Wutai. But I’m not claiming to be anything more than I am. Also, the term ‘demon hunter’ may sound westernized but in reality, it’s extra-cultural. We’ve been in existence since the emergence of the four great, ancient civilizations…”

Hao Ren and Vivian looked at each other. They both felt that there was some truth in the man’s words. Demon hunters were thought to be from the west. People did not know that they had been roaming the surface of the earth since time immemorial. In ancient China, they were known as Taoists; in other parts of the world, they were called sorcerers or priests. However, true demon hunters would never identify themselves as such. Yet, what this man said was very close to the truth—a truth that most would not acknowledge.

“Mr. Demon hunter?” Lily had finally turned her focus away from her plate. She had never seen a real demon hunter but had heard a lot of horrific stories about them so, she was nervous. “Demon hunters are real?”

At last, Lily wised-up. She was slick with her tongue.

“People in general regard demon hunters as an urban legend or character from horror stories.” The man smiled slyly. “But they are as real as they get. And there are still many people who believe in the existence of paranormal entities hence, the practice of exorcism in some places. Rightly, my job is to drive out demons. That explains my presence here. I’m here to investigate the paranormal events in Yorkford.”

“In that sense, your job is supposed to be confidential. I can’t fathom, how could you be so conspicuous in your approach?” Vivian posed her question in a composed manner. She had suspected there was something behind this man’s haste in revealing his identity.

It did not matter whether the man was genuine or not. The fact was, his high-profile presence had already defied all logic. People of such profession would have preferred to lay low. Announcing one’s self in such a conspicuously was never the way normal demon hunters behaved. Had he become jobless just like her and had to advertise himself to get hired?