It was true that Liu Sheng was prejudiced against unusual creatures. But at least, he was right on one front—Hao Ren’s otherworldling buddies simply did not cut it. They were square pegs in a round hole in terms of running a restaurant business. Needless to say, Lily was a dead loss. The Nangong siblings were not that reliable as well. Y’lisabet was a purebred wrecker, whose father was not of much help either. The Nangongs may have been head and shoulders above the rest, but they were still pen pushers. Vivian was the only class act. But unfortunately, she could only cook dishes in the kitchen. Everyone was afraid to let her dip into the cash drawer, lest the Nangongs’ life savings went down the drain…
Anyway, Hao Ren did not expect too much from a bunch of demons running the restaurant, or that it would even make money. He was supportive of the couple in opening the restaurant, because it could keep them occupied. As for the rest of the family, they could come and help since they were idle at home. However, they had their own stuff to do most of the time. Hao Ren at least had to travel to various parts of the worlds, and bring along a few fighters with him at any one time.
As far as the restaurant was concerned, although it was a hell of a busy day for the couple, once they got a foot in the door, and with the help of their children, they should be fine.
But in any case, looking at the hustle and bustle in the restaurant, Hao Ren still could not help but ponder how the small restaurant would be looking up in the future…
The lunch rush was finally over as diners gradually left. Lily and Nangong Wuyue were standing at the doorway thanking the leaving patrons. There was a broad smile on the maidens’ faces. Seven out of ten patrons were neighbours whom they knew personally and Lily had invited. So it was only proper that they did the courteous thing at the door.
Southern Suburbs was such a small place. Today, it had only less than half of its yesteryears’ population. Most of the residents in town knew each other by names. The difficulty part of running a business here was the so-called ‘local community market’. Fortunately, everyone had been accustomed to the environment—everyone bought from everyone, which was the norm.
Lily had already hit her stride for a long time. Now she squatted at the doorway. “Please come again, Lao Zhang! Bring along your shaggy dog yo~~”
Hao Ren rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding me? Bring dogs to the restaurant?”
Vivian rubbed her hands on the apron as she came up from behind. “People are saving the world with the dogs. Why no dog in the restaurant?”
Lily thought for a moment, and became furious. “Battie! Are you talking about me?”
A leaving neighbour offered Nangong Wudi an advice at the doorway, “Your woman really makes a good chef. I will come back next time. But please get the menu right; don’t include dishes that you can’t make in the menu…”
Some even suggested to Hao Ren. “I think you’d better help out in the restaurant. Don’t go out all day. You’re renting out your big house; you really feel safe to leave it like that while you’re away?”
Some offered a piece of advice to Y’zaks. “Daquan… it’s just a small restaurant, does it needs you to be a security guard here?”
When most of the patrons had left, Nangong Sanba took out the cash register. He knew at a glance that it probably not much of a profit today. “Hmm…We have broken even but by not much. Discount notwithstanding, the main thing is most sales are of cheap dishes.”
“Stop talking rubbish! How much is a bunch of old people willing to spend?” Nangong Wuyue rolled her eyes. “Only peanut’s the most sellable dish. Those elderly would just order a plate of peanuts and they could tittle-tattle for hours. I feel that this restaurant is more like an old folks’ club.”
There were few young people in Southern Suburbs. Most people had already moved out and work in the city. Almost two-thirds of the residents were old folks. It was crowded today, but to be honest, most sales were made from the cheap items in menu. Even the leftover braised ribs in the kitchen had gone into Lily’s stomach. But Nangong Wudi did not really mind. “It doesn’t matter how much we earn, after all we’re not here to get rich. We’re just looking for something to do.”
Ayesha nodded too. Hao Ren became at ease, as long as the two of them were happy.
At this time, a long forgotten voice finally sounded in the corner. “Ladies and gentlemen, you all have time now already? We should talk about our problem now. Shall we?”
Hao Ren looked up and was surprised. “Liu Sheng. You two are still here?”
Liu Sheng was holding a piece of cucumber with chopsticks in the air. “Are you not asking us to wait?”
Hao Ren smacked on the forehead. “Oh, I forgot. Come on, everyone. Let’s discuss business.”
Liu Sheng held a rune card in his hand. “Do you mind if I temporarily block out your customers? We need some privacy.”
Hao Ren took the card and gave it to Lily. “Stick it on the front door. No entry for the moment.”
They sat in circle at the table. Hao Ren pointed at the two demon hunters and began introducing them to the Nangong couple. “Let me introduce. This is Liu Sheng, senior demon hunter. This one is Zhao Xi, student to Liu Sheng. They are the heads of the town’s demon hunter organization. But they are friends at the moment.”
A strange look flashed across Nangong Wudi’s face. But seeing the expressions on the faces of other people around him, he became restrained. And Hao Ren also introduced them to the demon hunters. “Nangong Wudi, ex-demon hunter. Ayesha, siren.”
Liu Sheng and Zhao Xi looked at the strange couple. They were not surprised. After all, Raven 12345 had taught them well. Liu Sheng shook his head and smiled. “The membership of your group is getting really… messy.”
“Cut the cackle. Let’s talk about the killing instinct…”
The two demon hunters immediately recounted their story about the vanishing of the killing instinct and the possible same phenomenon happening among the demon hunter community. Everyone fell into deep silence. Hao Ren glanced at the Nangong Wudi. “You have killing instinct?”
“Used to. But it was already very weak from the beginning,” Nangong Wudi said. This was the first time he mentioned about his own killing instinct in front of his otherworldling friends. “Demon hunter is a race deeply influenced by bloodline. We also have a lot of training to strengthen the strength of our bloodline. I was not very strong in the bloodline from the very beginning, and the acquired training I received wasn’t comprehensive … so my killing instinct was not that strong.”
“That’s to say, at least it’s been there, right? But because it’s weak, it’s very easy to be supressed by your mind,” Vivian scratched her chin. “Can you still feel the killing instinct now?”
“It has been absence for a hundred years,” Nangong Wudi said. “It’s like covered a man’s eyes for a hundred years. The ability has completely degenerated. I don’t have any feeling of hostility towards otherworldlings now. But I’m not certain whether it began degenerating in the past one hundred years or has faded as recently as them two.”
Vivian hummed and gently shook her head. “Looks like you can’t be a specimen, because you’re not representative enough. If we can get in contact with White Flame, We would be able to get more information.”
“But what do you think she can tell us?” Hao Ren waved his hand. “I would rather like you to contact Hessiana.”
Vivian’s brows knit together slight. “Hessiana?”
“To put it bluntly, the killing instinct of demon hunters and the inborn hostility between the otherworldlings are the same thing,” Hao Ren nodded. “If this ‘instinct degeneration’ happened on Liu Sheng and Zhao Xi is not an isolated case, then I am afraid that this phenomenon is not limited to demon hunter race. But I heard a Blood Clan once said at the Athens sanctuary that there was also a sign of easing of relationship between the young generations of otherworldlings—this is rather similar to the weakening of killing instinct in various generations of demon hunters.”
“Now the phenomenon had been occurring in the demon hunter community, so you suspect the same is happening in the otherworldling circles?” Vivian frowned and took out her cell. “To be honest… I’m not really keen to call that bitch. She is a real pest.”
Hao Ren also knew about annoying character of Hessiana. But he could only laugh wryly. “We have no choice but to bother you as we really don’t know any other sanctuaries.”
While Vivian was making the call, Liu Sheng asked, “You mentioned White Flame just now… It this White Flame the demon-hunter?”
Hao Ren was startled by the question. But he knew what Liu Sheng meant. “Can there be any other? It is exactly the one white-haired girl who burned people as if they were garbage.”
This time, even Zhao Xi’s poker face was showing a hint of surprise. “You guys even drag her through the mire?”
Hao Ren: “…what do you mean by dragging her through the mire? We’ve only met a few times. She’s not like you two.”
After a while, Vivian put down her cell and looked at Hao Ren. “You guess it right— otherworldlings in the Athens sanctuary are also experiencing disappearance of hostility.”