Chapter 56: Going Home
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
Foxy stood in the heart of the tangled forest, her gaze set firmly on a piece of land pockmarked with holes and trenches, all torn apart by countless attempts at digging. She had told them, in no uncertain terms, that she had buried her parents here, deep beneath this forest floor. Despite all the chaos around them, she was certain that the resting place of her mother and father still remained.
Without another word, Foxy began to dig.
Fueled by the strength of her fox spirit, she moved with astonishing speed. Even using her bare hands, the dark, earthy soil flew out of the pit in steady, determined scoops. Hunger and exhaustion didn’t seem to slow her down at all. Her movements were quick and purposeful, as if guided by a quiet, unshakeable certainty.
Yu Sheng and Irene stood not too far behind, watching her silently. Farther off stood Li Lin and his two companions, observing the scene with an uneasy understanding dawning upon them. They might not have known the whole story, but something in Foxy’s fierce resolve told them all they needed to know.
Irene, perched on Yu Sheng’s shoulder, glanced at Foxy’s frantic digging and whispered, “Hey… maybe we should come back another time. We’ve stayed here for so long, and that ‘Hunger’ creature could return. We don’t want to fight it twice.”
Foxy paused only long enough to look up from the pit. “It won’t be back. I can feel it,” she said quietly. “I know when it shows up, and it won’t come now. I’ve been here for many years. There’s nothing in this hole. It must be… somewhere close by.”
With that, she climbed out of the freshly dug pit, stood still for a moment in the barren clearing, and then moved a short distance away to start again. She sunk her hands into the soil once more, determined to find what she had lost.
Irene opened her mouth to argue further, but Yu Sheng gently patted her arm. “Let her dig,” he said softly. “If she doesn’t find them, she’ll never really leave this place behind, even if she walks away.”
Irene’s voice whispered through Yu Sheng’s mind. “I’m not worried about what she’ll find. I’m worried she won’t find anything.”
“I know,” Yu Sheng replied silently.
“Then why—?”
“Because I believe she’ll find them.”
Irene fell quiet for a moment, considering his faith. “But you’ve seen it too—back when ‘Hunger’ had her, her mind almost slipped away completely. She could hardly think straight. And after what we saw in that dream-like world…”
Yu Sheng shook his head firmly, making it clear he wouldn’t waver.
Then he took a step closer to the pit where Foxy was working. “Need any help?” he asked gently.
Foxy shook her head, quick and stubborn, still scraping at the dirt with her fingers. “No. I’ll do it. It’s here. I saw the cloth I buried before. It’s just a bit deeper.”
Yu Sheng nodded, respecting her wishes, and stepped back. “Alright. I’ll be right here,” he said, then moved aside with Irene, positioning themselves so that they couldn’t see the bottom of the hole. If Foxy needed privacy, he would give it to her.
Time slipped by slowly. Yu Sheng didn’t know how long he stood there, but it felt as though each second stretched into an hour. He wanted to check on Foxy, to peer down into the pit, but his feet remained rooted in place. Irene, perched on his shoulder, tensed as well, both of them feeling the weight of Foxy’s search.
In a quiet attempt to calm Irene, Yu Sheng spoke up. “When we get home, I’ll fix you first,” he said lightly, his tone easing into a gentle tease.
“Yeah?” Irene responded, sounding distracted.
“But I might be out of clay. Maybe I’ll use flour or something. You don’t mind, right?”
Irene, barely paying attention, answered, “I don’t mind.”
“What about two pieces of lotus root?” Yu Sheng asked, pretending to be completely serious.
“Lotus root?” Irene repeated vaguely. “I don’t mind.”
“Are you sure?” Yu Sheng pressed, sounding mischievous. “I said lotus root. Two pieces, you know.”
“I don’t… Wait!” Irene suddenly realized what he was saying. “No! I mind!” She tried to glare down at him, though it was hard to look fierce at her size.
Just then, they both noticed that the sound of digging had stopped. The silence fell heavily over them, and Irene blinked, alarmed. “Oh no! The ground might have collapsed underneath her!”
Yu Sheng didn’t waste a moment. He raced to the edge of the pit, heart pounding.
He saw Foxy at the bottom. She was curled up gently, folding her body in a quiet embrace. Two of her bushy tails were clutched in her arms, and the rest were wrapped around her like a warm blanket. On either side of her were two neat sets of bones.
They must have belonged to her parents.
Foxy lay nestled between them, breathing softly, like a small cub finally at rest beside its mother. Yu Sheng felt the tension leave his body and let out a long breath, kneeling on the gravelly ground at the rim of the pit. Irene let out a sigh as well, her tiny shoulders relaxing as she settled on Yu Sheng’s head.
Several minutes passed before Foxy stirred. She rose slowly, her eyes lingering on the bones at her side. Then she glanced up at Yu Sheng, a small, calm smile appearing on her face.
Yu Sheng met her gaze and asked gently, “Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” Foxy replied with a nod, her voice steady now. “Let’s go.”
Before climbing out, she bent down and carefully broke off a single, sharp, canine-like tooth from each skeleton. She held these two teeth as if they were precious treasures. Then, clutching them tightly in her hand, she climbed out of the hole.
Irene, curious, looked at the teeth. “You’re only taking those?” she asked, puzzled. “What about the rest of the bones?”
Foxy shook her head. “Just the teeth. It’s enough. My parents said it’s the fox way. When the teeth return home, it means the family is home.” Her voice grew gentle as she said this, her eyes distant with memory.
“Then that’s all that matters,” Yu Sheng agreed. He raised his hand, stretching it into the empty air, intending to open the door that would lead them back to the real world. Just as he was about to pull on the invisible seam that would bring them home, Foxy tugged on his sleeve.
“Wait, Benefactor,” she said softly. “There’s something else…”
Yu Sheng’s eyes widened a little, then he smacked his forehead. “Oh! I almost forgot.” He turned to Irene and Foxy. “You two wait here.”
Without explaining, Yu Sheng pulled open another invisible door and stepped through it. Li Lin and the others, standing off to the side, watched with confusion. The gap in the air vanished as soon as Yu Sheng was gone.
He was quick, though. Barely ten seconds passed before the door reappeared in the exact same place, and Yu Sheng re-emerged holding Irene and a slightly torn plastic bag.
It was the food—instant noodles, biscuits, and canned porridge—from the ruined temple where they had encountered Hunger’s shadows. Some of it had gone bad, spoiled by the creatures, but whatever was still sealed and safe to eat remained in the bag.
“Some of it’s spoiled,” Yu Sheng said, “but I saved what I could.” He offered the bag to Foxy.
Foxy took it with both hands and carefully counted each item inside, once, then twice, making sure all her precious food was still there. At last, a big, genuine smile brightened her face, as if all the pieces of her long-lost home had been found.
“Alright then, let’s really go home now,” Yu Sheng said, returning her smile. This time, he reached out and pulled the air again, opening a door to Wutong Road. The shimmering outline revealed a familiar living room beyond, warm and welcoming. “Li Lin, all of you, come on. Let’s head back together.”
Li Lin hesitated for only a second before nodding. “Oh… sure!” he said, hurrying forward with Little Red Riding Hood close behind. Xu Jiali followed, her gaze flicking nervously between Yu Sheng and the mysterious doorway. She couldn’t help feeling uncertain. Stepping into strange dimensions so easily was nothing like what she knew as normal. Still, she took two quick steps and joined them, deciding it was too late to turn back now.
As they passed through the door, the icy wind and eerie quiet of Hunger Valley disappeared in an instant. Instead, warmth wrapped around them, and the soft glow of lamplight comforted their tired eyes. Yu Sheng took a deep breath, savoring the familiar smell of home. Somehow, this space really did feel like home—an odd, secret shelter.
Foxy’s eyes went wide with surprise. After years in the desolate valley, she had forgotten what a proper house looked like. She stared at the intact ceiling, the bright lights, and the steady walls. Everything felt strange and unsettling, yet oddly safe. Unsure where to sit, she slowly lowered herself to the floor near the food she had carried back, her eyes darting around as if this place might vanish if she looked away.
Li Lin, Xu Jiali, and Little Red Riding Hood were no less astonished. Through the window, they saw the familiar Old City District, and yes, that was Wutong Road outside. But none of them could pinpoint exactly which building this was. Nothing made perfect sense.
They felt it, too—the subtle sense that this home was not entirely normal. A quiet hush, an air of hidden powers, lingered in the corners like a secret. None of them dared to bring out scanning devices or tools. After what they’d seen in the valley, after witnessing Yu Sheng’s abilities and the way he had subdued Hunger, none of them wanted to provoke him. It would be foolish to show any threat now.
At last, Li Lin found his voice. “Is this… your home?” he asked, his tone careful and polite.
“Yeah,” Yu Sheng answered simply. “Make yourselves comfortable. I’ll get you some water. Sorry, I didn’t exactly expect company, so there’s not much here.”
“No, that’s quite alright,” Li Lin said, feeling more uneasy the kinder Yu Sheng seemed. Everything about this situation was unsettling. Yu Sheng’s friendly manner and his impossible powers didn’t match. It left Li Lin’s mind spinning.
Struggling to appear casual, Li Lin added, “So… we’re still in Boundary City, right?”
“Of course,” Yu Sheng said, nodding toward the window. “We’re right on Wutong Road. It’s the same place you were watching earlier, remember?”
Li Lin felt a drop of sweat trickle down his spine. “Yes, about that… don’t misunderstand. We just didn’t have the full picture—”
“No problem,” Yu Sheng cut in cheerfully, waving away the worry as if it were nothing. “I get it. Actually, I was trying to find all of you. But it turned out to be trickier than I expected.”
Both Li Lin and Xu Jiali blinked in surprise. “Huh?” they said together.
Little Red Riding Hood, catching on quickly, pointed at Li Lin and Xu Jiali. “He’s looking for you both, right?” she asked, as if trying to clarify her own place in this odd gathering. “I’m just a temp hire…”
Yu Sheng shook his head. “No, not just them. I mean all of you,” he said seriously. “I need people with your kind of experience—real professionals.”