Chapter 64

Chapter 64: A Future Worth Looking Forward To

Foxy fell into a deep sleep fast.

A moment earlier she’d been chatting with Yu Sheng, curious and excited, like the new environment was too thrilling for rest. Then, in the blink of an eye, soft, even snoring floated from the bed.

Irene sat beside her, watching the demon fox drift into dreams.

“She really falls asleep instantly. She’s already dreaming. Mm. Not bad. It’s a peaceful dream.”

“She probably hasn’t had a good sleep in a long time.” Yu Sheng lowered his voice without thinking. “At first I was worried she wouldn’t be able to sleep here, since everything changed so suddenly. The place she stayed before didn’t even have a bed.”

Irene climbed onto the mattress and leaned in, fussing with Foxy’s blanket like a professional caretaker. “She probably feels safe here. She told me fox instincts are really accurate—”

She didn’t get to finish.

Foxy rolled over in her sleep. Yu Sheng’s vision blurred for a split second—

Poof.

The tails she’d tucked away burst out in a sudden explosion. Irene yelped, “Mom!” and got blasted point-blank. She went flying, slammed into the wall with her canvas and frame, and stuck there for a heartbeat before sliding down.

Yu Sheng swore and sprinted over, catching her as she slipped. Irene opened her mouth and immediately launched into a stream of profanity.

Foxy didn’t wake. She only mumbled a couple of muddled sounds, rolled into a more comfortable position, and pulled two tails into her arms like a child clutching a blanket. The rest of her tails spread and curled around her, replacing the blanket she’d just launched across the room.

In two seconds, she was bundled into a fluffy fox ball.

“You tail-thing menace!” Irene clung to Yu Sheng’s arm, furious. “I swear, I help her and this is what I get!”

Then she twisted to glare up at him. “I’m telling you, tomorrow you don’t need to buy her a blanket. She clearly doesn’t need it!”

Yu Sheng hurried Irene into the hallway. Only once they were outside did he exhale and glance back helplessly. “Fine. Looks like we’ll need time to get used to this. Irene, are you okay?”

“My self-esteem is hurt,” Irene snapped. “Does that count?”

She climbed up his arm onto his shoulder, then crossed her arms like a queen on a throne. “Hey. If I still had my original body, would I suffer this kind of humiliation? You don’t know how strong I used to be. I… anyway. I was super strong!”

“All right, all right. You were strong. I believe you,” Yu Sheng said, soothing, as he carried her toward his room.

Usually that kind of halfhearted agreement would set Irene off again. This time, she didn’t argue. Yu Sheng glanced up, surprised, and saw her lowering her head, thinking hard.

“What are you thinking about?”

“What you said,” Irene replied, unusually serious. “Having Foxy help you fight. Looks like you’ve already decided you’ll keep dealing with otherworlds from now on, right? I don’t mean getting dragged into incidents. I mean… you’re going to go looking for trouble on purpose.”

Yu Sheng didn’t answer. His silence was a yes.

“Why?” Irene asked, genuinely curious. “You already saved Foxy. From now on, you shouldn’t have any reason to actively chase more trouble. Sure, people who’ve contacted otherworlds do tend to keep running into the other side for the rest of their lives, but you could still choose to cooperate with the Special Operations Bureau. Learn some system-based techniques for avoiding otherworlds. A lot of people choose that, and they can live quietly for years… at least more quietly than spirit realm detectives and investigators.”

Yu Sheng gave her a half-joking look. “What if I said it’s curiosity? Otherworld phenomena sparked my curiosity, and I just want to seek a little thrill…”

Irene grabbed his hair and yanked it into a mess. “Are you serious? Are you serious?!”

“Stop, stop—don’t pull,” Yu Sheng said quickly, pressing her hands down. “Half of it is serious.”

Irene froze, wide-eyed.

“Curiosity really is part of it,” Yu Sheng admitted. His expression sobered. “Do you remember the night I took you and opened one door after another? Do you remember what we saw behind those doors?”

“…I remember,” Irene said quietly.

“I remember too. Vividly.” Yu Sheng sat in the chair and spoke slowly. “So many faraway places. We even seriously discussed that glowing mountain. Irene, don’t you want to go see them? That floating city, those birds flying over the canyon…”

“And the senior brother hanging from the rafters,” Irene added, dead serious.

“…Right. And the senior brother hanging from the rafters.” Yu Sheng laughed, then shook his head. “Whether they’re distant places or otherworlds, I was genuinely captivated by those sights.

“Tell me—if I can open so many doors, and open them again anytime… and I already know there’s a world that vast beyond Boundary City… can I really stay in the Borderland and live a quiet life?”

He exhaled softly. “As long as I keep doing door opening, I’ll keep brushing up against those sceneries. The door has already been opened.”

“That does sound like a reason,” Irene murmured. She hugged his head and started combing his hair back into place, fixing the mess she’d made. “If I were you, I’d be full of suicidal ideas too. I’d be worse than you.”

Then she paused. “So what’s the other reason?”

Yu Sheng didn’t answer right away. His eyes narrowed slightly, distant.

Images rose in his mind: sunlight spilling through an old alley, a reddened sky, clouds like flowing water—an unfamiliar seaside town that still felt oddly dear.

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

Irene’s small hands stopped.

“Why do I feel like…” She leaned down, staring into his face with unsettling intensity. “You’re going somewhere, and you don’t plan to come back?”

Yu Sheng met those crimson pupils and felt, inexplicably, like he was being interrogated by something ancient.

“…I just want to find it and go take a look,” he said carefully. “I’ll come back.”

“Really?” Irene frowned, suspicious.

“Really.” Yu Sheng nodded, then paused as if testing the words for truth, and repeated, “Really.”

Irene tilted her head. “Feels like… you’re not lying.” She sighed and waved it off. “Whatever. If you want to lie to me, there’s nothing I can do. Door opening is in your hands.”

She leaned back against his shoulder, thinking again. “If you’ve decided you’ll deal with all that messy stuff from now on, have you figured out how to start? Are you going to be a spirit realm detective? Take commissions related to otherworlds? Or be a lone investigator—searching back alleys for otherworld traces and clues of distant places? Or… randomly open a door every day and jump through to die?”

“The last one is off the table for now,” Yu Sheng said immediately. “I’m not afraid of death, but I’m not that suicidal. If I provoke something I can’t beat and can’t run from, then I’m really finished.”

“Oh, good.” Irene bobbed her head in approval. “You’re not completely crazy. So you’re going to be a spirit realm detective or an investigator, then. The first mostly relies on taking jobs—stable work, but restricted. The second relies on being tough and reckless—lots of freedom, but you often get big surprises…”

Yu Sheng thought for a moment. “What kind is that Little Red Riding Hood?”

“Definitely a spirit realm detective,” Irene said. “She takes outsourced jobs from the Special Operations Bureau, and she’s even a student working as a holiday temp.” She flicked a hand dismissively. “But from what she said, she’s also backed by an organization called fairy tale or something…”

Yu Sheng’s thoughts stirred. “An organization… does an organization like that need to register?”

“…Probably?” Irene scratched her head. “Why are you asking me? I forgot everything. But it probably needs to register, right? With the Special Operations Bureau as an official regulator, if you gather a bunch of otherworld experts with professional skills and don’t register, wouldn’t that become an energetic and illegal social group?”

She stopped short, then stared at Yu Sheng like she’d just seen something new. “Wait. Are you planning to start an organization? We only have three people, including that fox, and that fox doesn’t even have an identification card—and neither do I. Hey… now that you mention it, the only person in this house is you, huh?”

“Seems like it,” Yu Sheng said, suddenly embarrassed. “Wait—where am I supposed to get Foxy an identification card?”

“Ask the next time the Special Operations Bureau contacts you,” Irene said quickly, already brainstorming. “They probably won’t mind helping with something that small.”

“…Is it really that kind of bureau?”

“It doesn’t cost anything to ask.”

“…All right,” Yu Sheng conceded. “True.”

He rubbed at his hair, then suddenly noticed another problem.

“Hold on, Irene—you’re still planning to camp in my room tonight?!”

“Of course! My room is creepy as hell!”

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

“I won’t!”