Chapter 355
Chapter 355: Princess Rapunzel Was Totally Shocked
Zheng Zhi’s first day on Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain was so jam-packed it sounded unreal. Yu Sheng wasn’t the only one left stunned; even Irene and Foxy, listening nearby, both went a little blank. Only Luna reacted calmly—mostly because she was usually blank, too.
On the bright side, Yu Sheng figured he didn’t need to worry about this big nephew anymore. The unlucky guy’s high-sensitivity, low-stability constitution was a headache, sure, but maybe it had also maxed out his survival instincts and adaptability. Toss him onto Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain for a single day and he’d already met who-knew-how-many disciples. He’d even wandered all over Cloud Viewing Terrace and looked completely at home. Give him two more days and he could probably serve as Yu Sheng’s tour guide.
But thinking about Zheng Zhi’s “life” here reminded Yu Sheng of something else.
He glanced toward the parcel pickup station not far away and stroked his chin. “Does your little house have water and power?”
“Yeah, and that’s what I found strange,” Zheng Zhi said, scratching his hair. “My house got moved over from the Borderland. By rights, the water and power should’ve been cut off, but everything inside still works. As long as I stay indoors, even the network is still on the Borderland signal…”
Yu Sheng listened with a serious face, but he wasn’t surprised. It was exactly what he’d expected.
The moment the parcel station got moved over along with Wu Tong Road 66, he’d already guessed it would be like this.
“Wu Tong Road 66’s ‘trait’ has spread to this ‘outpost’ too?” Irene muttered under her breath. “What kind of principle is that…”
“Did you check where the water and power are coming from?” Yu Sheng stared into Zheng Zhi’s eyes and asked in all seriousness.
“I checked the electricity a bit. It cuts off at the distribution box leading outside, but the break is weird. The wire doesn’t look cut—it’s more like the end just disappears into somewhere. As for water, the pipes are buried underground, and the ground’s hardened like crazy. I dug twice and couldn’t budge it, and I didn’t dare dig harder… it’s Bureau property. If I break it, they’ll dock my pay.
“As for the mobile phone signal, I have no idea what’s going on. Inside the house I can connect to Boundary City’s network. The moment I step outside, it switches to ‘Stargazer Roaming,’ and I have to connect to the Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain Wi-Fi…”
Yu Sheng nodded lightly and didn’t say anything more.
It seemed that even though Zheng Zhi was still a confused newcomer, he knew to do some basic checking in an unfamiliar place. He’d tried to figure out what was happening to his duty outpost, but obviously, Wu Tong Road 66’s weirdness wasn’t the kind of thing you understood by poking at a breaker box.
“Brother Yu, do you know what’s going on?” Zheng Zhi asked curiously after Yu Sheng stayed quiet for a while.
“Just treat it as Wu Tong Road 66’s ‘trait.’ Your ‘outpost’ has probably been pulled into Wu Tong Road 66’s ‘judgment range’ now. Calling it my house’s ‘security guard booth’ isn’t wrong,” Yu Sheng said, rubbing his chin. “But I can’t explain the exact principle either.”
He paused and looked Zheng Zhi up and down.
Zheng Zhi shifted under the scrutiny. “Brother Yu… what is it?”
“You can’t see Wu Tong Road 66, right?” Yu Sheng asked. “And you can’t open its door either?”
“Uh… if I have to say it, I can kind of sense where the house is. I even feel like I can see a tiny, blurry bit of a shadowspawn, but maybe that’s just my imagination?” Zheng Zhi hesitated, then answered honestly. “As for the door… yeah. I can’t open it. I can’t even touch it.”
Yu Sheng stared at him. “You can actually see a blurry bit of a shadowspawn?”
“Yeah, a little. Just a tiny bit,” Zheng Zhi said awkwardly, scratching his hair. “But I didn’t dare tell Brother Li. I was afraid he’d drag me to Dr. Lin to get my brain sliced…”
“…You should report it to him. That’s the proper procedure. But forget that for now.” Yu Sheng waved a hand, then added casually, “Hold your hand out.”
Zheng Zhi froze, confused, but did as told.
Yu Sheng looked at Luna. “Stab me. Just a small cut, okay?”
Luna lifted her knife and brought it down. She was a lot smoother than last time.
Zheng Zhi jumped on the spot, but before he could ask anything, Yu Sheng reached out his bleeding right hand and clasped Zheng Zhi’s.
Warm blood became an invisible force, slipping through in an instant—seeping, sinking, threading its way in.
A few seconds later, Zheng Zhi’s eyes went wide. He instinctively turned toward Wu Tong Road 66, swayed on his feet, and stumbled back two steps.
“Relax. Deep breaths. It’s normal to feel surprised,” Yu Sheng said with a grin. “With your constitution, you’re probably used to suddenly seeing things that used to be invisible. Now you can touch and enter Wu Tong Road 66.”
Only then did Zheng Zhi realize what had happened. He looked at Yu Sheng, completely at a loss. “Brother Yu… is this okay? The Bureau told me to stay at the station and not get close to Wu Tong Road 66.”
“It’s just ‘visibility permission.’ Besides, even if I lock the door, you still can’t get in.” Yu Sheng laughed at his helpless expression. “The ‘fairy tale’ child group all have this permission. You’re the ‘Hotel’ security guard—if you’re guarding the door, you can’t not even see where the door is.
“Later I’m planning to give Li Lin and Xu Jiali permission too. They’re friends, after all.”
Zheng Zhi went quiet, no one sure what was running through his head, but he looked so moved he was practically on the verge of tears.
Yu Sheng didn’t react much. He just thought for a moment, then said, “Oh, yeah. There’s another use for giving you this permission. While you’re ‘on assignment’ with Wu Tong Road 66, if you need to, you can even go back to Boundary City. Go buy stuff after work, or even go home.”
This time Zheng Zhi was genuinely stunned. “…Huh?”
“The route is: go through Wu Tong Road 66’s door, find the door in the basement that leads to the Valley Transit Hub, then from the transit hub to Fairy Tale Town. There’s a door in the middle of town that leads to the old site of the Fairy Tale Orphanage in Boundary City’s South City District,” Yu Sheng said, rattling it off like a grocery list. “Push the door and you’re back in Boundary City. Same route to return.”
Zheng Zhi listened in a daze. It took him ages to untangle both the route and the fact that, from Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain, you could hop through a few doors and go straight back to Boundary City. His whole face went blank. “…That works too?”
Not just him. Even Irene on Yu Sheng’s shoulder stared with eyes wide open.
Yu Sheng rubbed his chin. “I only just thought of it. Looks like I haven’t even developed ten percent of my ability…”
After settling the whole “permission” thing for Zheng Zhi, Yu Sheng and the others returned to Wu Tong Road 66.
The familiar living room. The familiar TV. The familiar old floorboards and slightly faded wallpaper. And Irene, already on the couch, watching TV like nothing in the world could possibly be her problem.
The moment Yu Sheng stepped inside, that loose, safe feeling of being home rose up all on its own. A delayed exhaustion hit, followed by a wave of relief—and the feeling was oddly new.
When he’d walked among the pavilions and terraces of Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain, when he’d landed on the satellite Nethermoon, when he’d faced those massive Divine Armament Peaks in that desert otherworld, he hadn’t felt much. Only now did he realize how comfortable it was to sink back into Wu Tong Road 66’s old couch.
“Ah,” he muttered as if to himself. “Home really is the best.”
He casually lifted Irene off the middle of the couch, flopped down, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Foxy immediately ran to the bathroom. A moment later, the sound of rushing water came from inside, along with the washing machine’s humming rumble.
“Don’t cram all eight tails in!” Yu Sheng shouted toward the bathroom, craning his neck. “The washing machine can’t handle it! Five tails max each time!”
Foxy’s voice drifted out through the door, light and sing-song. “Yeah, I know~”
“I still think we need to get Foxy a washing machine just for tails,” Yu Sheng grumbled, sprawled across the couch. “Every time she’s done, my clothes come out covered in fur.”
Irene, set on the armrest, turned her head. “…Does this world even have a washing machine specifically for tails?”
“Obviously not. But the other day I found a ‘cat-washing machine’ online, and it wasn’t what I imagined,” Yu Sheng said.
Irene mumbled, “Also, besides that tail she refined into a storage room, can’t she just swap out the rest anytime? Why does she insist on washing them every time?”
Yu Sheng rolled his eyes. “You’re asking me like I’d know.”
Right then, hurried footsteps thundered up from the basement stairs—thump, thump, thump.
Yu Sheng looked up in time to see Princess Rapunzel come charging into the living room like a gust of wind. She practically flew past him, shouting without even turning her head back, “Bro, I’m borrowing the route, and don’t you dare tell Little Red Riding Hood I went out through here!!”
Yu Sheng didn’t even have time to react. His “Wait—” had barely left his mouth when she yanked a door open and sprinted out.
He and Irene just stared at each other in the sudden quiet.
After a long while, Irene finally muttered, “When do you think she’ll come sprinting back?”
“Hard to say,” Yu Sheng said.
“…She didn’t run so fast she fell off Cloud Viewing Terrace, did she?”
“That’s fine. She’s the kind who can tear demons apart in close combat. Rolling down a mountain would probably be nothing but a scrape.”
“I’m worried she’ll land on someone, then get caught as some blond monster invading the sect—and you’ll have to go fish her out.”
Yu Sheng and Irene traded lines like that, calm as ever. Then a loud bang sounded from the entryway, and Princess Rapunzel came charging back like an exploded lion dog.
“Bro-bro-bro… big bro…” The girl who could tear demons apart was clearly in a state of total shock. “Out there, out there, what—what is goin—”
Yu Sheng grinned. “Surprised? Shocked?”
“What is happening?!”