Chapter 064

Chapter 64: A Future Worth Looking Forward To

Foxy soon drifted off to sleep, even though a moment earlier she had been chatting with Yu Sheng, curious and excited about the new place. In almost the blink of an eye, soft and even snores floated up from the bed.

Irene sat by Foxy’s bed, watching the Demon Fox already lost in dreams: “She really crashes fast… already dreaming. Good, it looks calm.”

“She probably hasn’t slept well for a long time,” Yu Sheng lowered his voice and said, “I worried she wouldn’t sleep here, since the place she stayed before didn’t even have a bed.”

Irene stood and tugged the blanket up for Foxy as she said, very professionally: “She must feel safe here. She told me a fox’s instincts are sharp…” The doll had just said half of that when Foxy rolled over in her sleep. In a blur, the Fox Maiden’s tails, which she had tucked away before bed, burst out with a whoomph. Irene happened to be bending over to smooth the blanket when the wall of fluffy tails slapped her full on; she yelped and went flying, hitting the wall along with a framed painting.

“Whoa!” Yu Sheng rushed over, grabbed Irene as she slid down the wall, and set her upright. Miss Doll opened her mouth and let loose a string of colorful words, while Foxy on the bed didn’t wake. The Demon Fox just mumbled, rolled into a comfier pose, picked two tails to hug like pillows, and let the rest wrap her up tight in place of the blanket.

In two seconds she bundled herself into a fluffy fox ball.

“Darn Tail Monster! I #%*& tried to be nice…” Irene hung from Yu Sheng’s arm, still fuming, then threw him a look: “Tell you what, you don’t need to buy her a blanket tomorrow. She clearly does not need one!”

Yu Sheng hurried the grumbling doll out to the hallway and finally sighed, glancing back with a helpless smile: “Looks like she needs time to get used to things… Irene, you okay?”

“Does a bruised ego count as okay?” the doll huffed, scrambling up his arm to his shoulder. “If I still had my old body, no way I’d be taking this. You have no idea how strong I used to be, I… anyway, super strong!”

“Alright, alright, you’re amazing, I believe you,” Yu Sheng said as he carried Irene back to his room.

This time the doll didn’t argue over the halfhearted praise. Yu Sheng felt it was odd, so he looked up and found Irene bowing her head a little, deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about you asking Foxy to help you fight,” Irene said, unusually serious. “Looks like you’ve decided to deal with the Otherworld from now on, right? I don’t mean getting dragged into trouble by accident. I mean you want to go looking for it?”

Yu Sheng stayed quiet, which was as good as a yes.

“Why?” Irene asked, curious. “You already saved Foxy. You don’t really have to go look for more trouble. It’s true that people who have touched the Otherworld often run into it again for life, but you could still work with the Special Affairs Bureau and learn some system skills to avoid it. Lots of people choose that and live steady for years, more steady than Spirit Realm Detectives or Investigators.”

Yu Sheng thought for a moment and looked at her half jokingly: “What if I say it’s because I’m curious? The Otherworld sparks my curiosity, and I want the thrill…”

The little doll instantly mussed his hair: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”

Yu Sheng caught her tiny hands and blurted: “Stop, stop, don’t pull. It’s… partly serious.”

Irene froze with both hands in his hair and stared at him.

“Curiosity is part of it. I’m not joking,” Yu Sheng said, growing solemn. “Remember that night I took you to open one Door after another? Those views behind the Doors, do you remember them?”

“…I remember.”

“So do I. I remember them clearly,” Yu Sheng sat down and spoke slowly. “So many faraway places. We even talked about that glowing peak… Irene, don’t you want to see it? And that city floating in the sky, and those birds gliding over the rift…”

“And the eldest senior brother hanging from the beam.”

“…Right, and the eldest senior brother hanging from the beam,” Yu Sheng said with a laugh and a shake of his head. “Irene, whether those places are some ‘faraway’ or the ‘Otherworld,’ I’m truly drawn to them. Think about it. I opened so many Doors, and I can open them again anytime. Now that I know there’s a vast world outside Boundary City, can I really sit in the Borderland and live a ‘quiet life’ like you said?”

He let out a small breath: “As long as I keep Door Opening, I’ll keep dealing with those sights. And that Door is already open.”

“That does make sense,” Irene hugged his head and, after a serious moment, began combing his hair back into place. “If I were you, my head would be full of reckless ideas. I’d be even more reckless than you.”

She paused, then asked: “What about your other reason?” Yu Sheng didn’t answer right away; he narrowed his eyes.

[Sunlight flowing down an old alley, a red sky, clouds like water. A small seaside town, not big, but familiar and kind.]

“There’s a place I want to find,” Yu Sheng said softly.

The little hands in his hair went still.

“I get the feeling,” Irene bent down and stared at his face, sharp-eyed, “you mean to go somewhere… and not come back, don’t you?”

Yu Sheng opened his eyes and met those scarlet pupils staring straight at him. The doll’s gaze made his heart skip.

“…I just want to find that place, go there, and then come back,” he said.

“Really?” Irene frowned.

“Really,” Yu Sheng nodded. He paused, seemed to think seriously, and repeated, “Really.”

“Seems like… you’re not lying,” Irene tilted her head, choosing to believe him for now, then shook it off. “Whatever. If you lie, I can’t do much. The power to open Doors is in your hands. Enough about that. Since you’ve decided to deal with all that weirdness, how do you want to start? Be a Spirit Realm Detective and take jobs linked to the Otherworld? Or go solo as an Investigator, poking into hidden corners for clues about the Otherworld and the faraway? Or… open a random Door every day and jump through just to tempt fate?”

“Let’s not do the last one,” Yu Sheng waved at once. “I’m not afraid to die, but I’m not that reckless. If I run into something I can’t beat and can’t escape, I’m done for.”

“Good, so you’re not totally crazed,” Irene perked up and nodded. “So that means Spirit Realm Detective or Investigator? First one is taking jobs, steady work but with limits. Second is all about a hard head and guts, free action but lots of ‘surprises.’”

Yu Sheng thought and asked: “What is that ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ girl?”

“Spirit Realm Detective of course. She takes outsourcing from the Special Affairs Bureau, plus she’s a student on a part-time gig,” Irene said with a flick of her hand. “But she also said she has an organization behind her called ‘Fairy Tale’ or something.”

“An organization…” Yu Sheng’s mind started turning. “Do groups like that have to register?”

“…Probably?” Irene scratched her head. “How would I know? I forgot. But mostly, yes. With the Special Affairs Bureau managing the Doors, if you gather a bunch of Otherworld experts with real skills and don’t file for the record, you become a ‘lively yet illegal social group,’ right?”

Miss Doll suddenly froze, then stared at Yu Sheng in confusion: “Wait, are you planning to start an organization? Counting the fox, we only have three people, and the fox doesn’t have an Identification Card. I don’t either. Wow, so in this house you’re the only one who counts as a ‘person’?”

“Looks like it,” Yu Sheng rubbed his nose, only now realizing the problem. “Oh no, where am I supposed to get Foxy an Identification Card…”

“Ask the Special Affairs Bureau next time they reach out,” Irene offered. “They shouldn’t mind doing that small favor.”

“Are they even the right department for that?”

“Asking doesn’t cost money.”

“Fair point.”

Yu Sheng scratched his hair, then suddenly noticed another problem: “Hold on, Irene, are you planning to crash in my room tonight?”

“Of course. My room is way too creepy. So many Doors!”

“You’re creepy enough yourself. Go back to your room!”

“I won’t!”