Chapter 56: Homecoming

Hu Li firmly told everyone that she had buried her parents deep under the soil of this forest, very deep, so deep that even though the ground was now covered with pits and trenches everywhere, the spot where she had buried them was certainly still there.

Now she started digging.

With the strength of a fox demon, even going hungry, digging with her bare hands was still fast.

The loose soil kept being thrown out of the pit. Yu Sheng and Ai Lin stood nearby, quietly watching. Not far away, Li Lin's group of three, though they didn't understand the situation, now vaguely grasped something.

Ai Lin sat on Yu Sheng's shoulder, watching Hu Li dig below, and couldn't help speaking again: "So... how about we come back another time? We've been at it for a while now. That hunger entity might pop up again soon, and then we'll have to fight it all over..."

"No, it won't. I can feel... when it appears. I've been here many years," Hu Li raised her head from the big pit. "This pit... nothing. Should be... next to it."

With that, the fox demon girl climbed out of the pit, judged the direction again in the middle of the wasteland, and quickly went to a nearby patch of ground to continue digging furiously.

Ai Lin opened her mouth as if to say something more, but Yu Sheng gently patted her arm.

"Let her dig. If she doesn't find it, even if she gets out, she'll be trapped here forever."

Ai Lin pressed her lips together, but her voice sounded in Yu Sheng's heart: "I'm not afraid she'll dig something up; I'm afraid she'll end up digging nothing at all."

"I know," Yu Sheng replied in his heart as well.

"Then you..."

"But I believe she will find it."

Ai Lin was silent for a moment. "But you've seen it too. Her mental state before, when the 'hunger' was at its worst—she could barely think straight. And considering what we saw deep in that dream..."

Yu Sheng just shook his head.

Then he walked forward, coming near Hu Li: "Need any help?"

Hu Li, digging fast downward, shook her head stubbornly. "No, I'll dig myself. It's right here. I saw... the cloth strips I buried earlier, just a little deeper."

Yu Sheng nodded and stepped back two paces. "Alright, I'll wait nearby."

Then he and Ai Lin withdrew to the side, to a place where they couldn't see the bottom of the pit, quietly waiting for the fox demon girl to finish what she needed to do.

Yu Sheng himself didn't know how long he waited—he waited calmly and patiently on the side, but gradually every passing second felt as long as a year. He couldn't help wanting to go check on the pit, but felt as if his legs were slowly growing into the ground. He didn't know if Ai Lin on his shoulder felt the same, but he could sense that the little puppet's body had been a little tense all along.

"When we get back, I'll fix your body first," Yu Sheng broke the silence, trying to divert Ai Lin's attention.

"Okay, sure," the puppet said absently.

"But I might not have enough clay at home. I'll probably have to use some flour or something. You don't mind, do you?"

"I don't mind."

"What about using two sections of lotus root?"

"I don't mind."

"Are you sure? I mean two sections of lotus root."

"I don't... wait, no! I mind!"

Ai Lin snapped back to reality and glared at Yu Sheng fiercely (or so she thought).

Just then, she suddenly noticed the digging sound from the pit had stopped.

It had become very quiet down there. No more soil was thrown out, but there was also no sound from Hu Li.

Ai Lin was stunned for a moment, then exchanged a look with Yu Sheng. "Oh no! Is it really empty down there?"

Yu Sheng said nothing and dashed toward the pit.

He saw Hu Li.

The fox demon girl was quietly curled up at the bottom of the pit—her body bent, arms hugging two fluffy tails, while the rest of her tails wrapped around herself like a blanket.

Beside her were two neatly arranged skeletons.

She curled up between the two skeletons, her body slightly rising and falling, like a young beast sleeping beside its mother.

Yu Sheng let out a breath and sat down among the gravel beside the pit.

Ai Lin also let out a breath and directly lay down on top of Yu Sheng's head.

After a few minutes, the fox curled up at the bottom slowly stood up. She glanced at the two skeletons beside her, then looked up at Yu Sheng sitting above, a smile gradually appearing on her face.

Yu Sheng looked at Hu Li: "Ready to go?"

"Mm. Let's go."

The fox demon nodded, then bent down and carefully snapped off a sharp, unhuman canine tooth from each of the two skeletons before standing up and walking over.

Yu Sheng reached down into the deep pit, grabbed Hu Li's arm, and pulled her out.

"Just taking those is enough?" Ai Lin asked curiously, looking at the two canine teeth Hu Li held tightly in her hand. "What about the rest..."

Hu Li shook her head. "Just the teeth. Mom and Dad said, the fox rule... teeth go home, and that means home."

"Alright then," Yu Sheng nodded, then raised his hand to open a door to the mortal world. But just as he was about to open it, Hu Li seemed to remember something and tugged on his sleeve. "Benefactor, wait. There's still..."

Before she finished, Yu Sheng understood and slapped his forehead. "Ah right, I almost forgot something. Give me a moment."

With that, he immediately pulled open another door and slipped inside, leaving Li Lin's trio nearby staring dumbfounded.

But he wasn't gone long—only about a dozen seconds—before another door appeared out of thin air in the same spot. Yu Sheng came out carrying Ai Lin on his shoulder, holding a somewhat damaged plastic bag in his hand.

Inside was the food that had been left behind in the ruined temple.

"Some of it was wrecked by those monsters. I brought back what's still packed intact."

Hu Li's face then showed an even happier smile. She immediately reached out, took the plastic bag, and carefully counted the contents inside. She checked it twice before setting it down with relief.

"Alright, nothing else left behind. Let's go home," Yu Sheng also smiled. Then he reached out into the air beside him, and with a casual pull, a door leading to No. 66 Wutong Road materialized and opened—the flickering phantom centered on the familiar living room. "You three, Li Lin, come over now. Let's go back together."

"Oh... oh, okay!" Li Lin hastily agreed. He and Little Red Riding Hood hurried over. Xu Jiali, following behind, couldn't help but shoot a strange look at the door Yu Sheng had opened. For a moment, she didn't know what was going through her mind—her eyes showed hesitation—but she finally quickened her pace and followed.

Passing through the door, the cold wind of the Valley of Hunger was sealed off on the other side. The familiar scent of home brought a reassuring atmosphere. As soon as Yu Sheng returned, he couldn't help but take several deep breaths.

Unconsciously, he felt this place had truly become home.

Hu Li's eyes widened in wonder as she looked around at this place that seemed completely strange.

She had lived in that desolate valley for too many years, to the point where she was no longer accustomed to this kind of "house." The intact, sealed roof and bright lights made her feel at a loss.

After a few seconds of blankness, she put down the bag of food and sat directly on the floor nearby, guarding the instant noodles, biscuits, and eight-treasure congee cautiously, occasionally sneaking curious glances around or checking on Yu Sheng's direction.

Li Lin, Xu Jiali, and Little Red Riding Hood were also carefully observing the place. Through the living room window facing the street, they immediately confirmed that this was somewhere deep in Wutong Road in the old city. But judging from the angle looking out the window...

Even Li Lin, a professional Special Service Bureau agent, couldn't identify which house on Wutong Road this was.

At the same time, their spiritual intuition kept twitching faintly in their hearts, constantly reminding them—this was not a truly peaceful mortal world; it was still some kind of abnormal space with depth not equal to zero.

The three exchanged glances, each seeing thought and caution in the others' eyes.

This place felt off.

But they couldn't just take out a depth probe and measure the environment in broad daylight. This person named "Yu Sheng" seemed friendly, but the uncanny way he had taken down the hunger entity and his weird ability to open doors between the other world and reality at will all pointed to one thing: this person was powerful and dangerous.

Provoking such a mysterious and dangerous figure wasn't wise. If this seemingly friendly "human" really got angered, none of the three might make it out of this place alive.

"Is this... your home?" After hesitating for a long time, Li Lin was the first to break the silence.

"Yeah," Yu Sheng nodded. "Make yourselves at home anywhere. I'll get you some water—today's situation was unexpected; I hadn't prepared anything to entertain guests. Don't mind it."

"Ah, no need to trouble yourself," Li Lin quickly waved his hand. The more friendly and ordinary Yu Sheng acted now, the more unsettled Li Lin felt—after all, the scene of the hunger entity devouring itself in that valley was deeply impressive. "We'll be on our way soon, soon..."

Then he paused and casually asked, "By the way, where is this? Is it still in Jiecheng?"

"Of course it is," Yu Sheng said matter-of-factly. "Just look outside—it's Wutong Road. Isn't that where you were keeping an eye on me?"

Li Lin broke out in a cold sweat. "Well... don't mind that, please. We didn't have the full picture at the time..."

"No big deal," Yu Sheng waved his hand. He genuinely didn't mind. "Actually, I was looking for you, but I couldn't find you."

Li Lin and Xu Jiali were both taken aback and said in unison, "Huh?"

"You're looking for them, right?" Little Red Riding Hood immediately caught on, pointing at Xu Jiali and Li Lin. "I'm just on a holiday job..."

"No, I'm looking for all of you," Yu Sheng said seriously. "You 'professionals.'"