On a bustling street, a beautiful girl with black hair wandered curiously, dressed in mismatched men's clothing.
She held a peculiar gothic doll in her arms, its lifeless eyes casting an eerie aura.
This unusual pairing drew the attention of many passersby—truthfully, Yu Sheng realized he might have underestimated the challenge of taking both Hu Li and Ai Lin out together.
He couldn’t recall how many curious glances had swept over them.
Part of the attention, without a doubt, was directed at the curious Hu Li, but the other half fell upon him.
Yet, Yu Sheng had to muster his courage to stay with the fox girl because she truly knew nothing of the world.
She didn't even understand what money looked like—realizing that shopping required spending money was already a huge feat, and that was mainly because she had lived in a civilized society many years ago.
On the other hand, the differences between Hu Li’s memories of societal order and the realities of the world they were in often led to unexpected trouble.
For instance, while passing a parking lot, she was particularly curious about the numerous “celestial carriages” parked inside, wondering why they could stay so quiet and why they all seemed so patient.
To be honest, Yu Sheng struggled to comprehend her question at first.
“In my old home, every vehicle, be it boats or carriages, has a spirit. The spirits of our transportation are lively and tend to bounce around; they usually wouldn’t sit quietly at the foot of a mountain,” Hu Li quietly explained to Yu Sheng. “So, in our land, when immortals or demons travel and wish to stop in one place, they would hand their vehicles over to someone in charge, who would keep them ‘active’ nearby. There are also large areas that have a miniature universe inside, where the vehicles can roam around freely—that's called a ‘self-service parking lot’…”
As she spoke, she pointed to a car at the roadside, which seemed to be driven by a novice driver struggling to park. “This one seems incredibly stiff. In our place, it would be laughed at by children on bamboo horses.”
Yu Sheng quickly pressed her hand down. “This place is different from your home, don’t point around like that.”
Hu Li nodded, confused. “Oh.”
Yu Sheng silently wiped the sweat from his forehead, suddenly very curious about what Hu Li's hometown was like.
When he first met Hu Li, he imagined her hometown to be a classic realm of immortals and demons.
Yet, soon after, toured by an immortal guide, it turned out that “hundreds of patrol immortals captured a mischievous fox demon and sentenced it to five hundred years” was part of the reality.
Now, even a child's toy (the bamboo horse) had a spirit—his head felt slightly muddled.
He couldn’t help but think that the scenario Hu Li described was beyond imagination.
Could such things even exist in a normal universe?
Sadly, Hu Li herself couldn’t clearly describe her hometown.
Not only had she left when she was still young, but the long ordeal in a foreign land had also caused her to forget many details.
“I can’t remember many things; I only recall elders saying that our homeland wasn’t always like it is now,” Hu Li reminisced, trying to piece together the faded memories of her hometown. “One day, powerful ‘Celestial People’ suddenly appeared, enlightening those who were in constant conflict. And then, many years later, we began living together with the Celestial People, soaring across the stars in mere moments. I still remember the elders saying that the stars overhead would change positions every few years, which was when the Celestial People adjusted the routes…”
At this point, the fox girl became excited. “My father worked on the routes! His task was to push anything that entered the route back out and issue a fine…”
She continued, “My father commanded a particularly large ‘celestial shuttle,’ bigger than a building! He called it a ‘Star Boat.’ The spirit of the Star Boat was even more impressive; it only took one person lying in a pool on the boat to issue commands, and it would fly. It could catch things faster than light, using a treasure called… something about the moon…”
Yu Sheng listened, momentarily stunned.
He turned to glance at Ai Lin, still cradled in Hu Li's arms, pretending to be an ordinary doll.
He mumbled to himself, “Can you even understand this?”
“I can’t,” Ai Lin’s voice echoed in his mind, “You really think she’s serious? She might just be talking nonsense... I suggest waiting a couple of months until Hu Li is more stable mentally before asking her these things. Who knows, her version might change again by then.”
Yu Sheng frowned, doubting the truth of Hu Li’s fantastical tales.
Yet he felt she couldn’t possibly have fabricated such imaginative and intricate stories if her mind was still muddled.
Regardless, everything Hu Li had shared deeply impressed him.
“Enough thinking,” Ai Lin’s voice interrupted his reverie, “You should quickly get Hu Li some normal clothes—it's time to face the challenge.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng instantly grew grim.
Many things feel effortless at the planning stage, yet once he had to delve into the details, the troublesome parts began to emerge.
How could he choose clothes for a girl! He had never even stepped into a store that sold women’s attire!
But he had no choice but to brace himself—after all, he was the one who had decided to take Hu Li in.
It was too late for regrets.
As Yu Sheng led Hu Li into the mall with a determined attitude, akin to preparing for a sacrifice, a familiar figure suddenly flashed past the corner of their eyes.
It was a somewhat petite girl with short hair, about seventeen or eighteen years old.
She pressed her lips together, displaying a certain silence and maturity not often seen at her age.
At first, Yu Sheng didn’t recognize her, only feeling that she seemed familiar.
After two or three seconds, he realized where that sense of familiarity was coming from.
It was the girl who called herself “Little Red Riding Hood”—today she wasn’t wearing that dark red garment but had swapped it out for a bright-colored coat, making her initially unrecognizable.
Yu Sheng immediately knew he had stumbled upon a savior.
Almost at the same time, the girl walking across the street noticed the gaze falling upon her.
She quickly lifted her head—at that brief moment, her eyes reflected the alertness of a wolf.
But that wolf-like gaze vanished almost instantaneously, too fleeting for anyone to notice.
After recognizing Yu Sheng, a trace of surprise flickered across her face.
Little Red Riding Hood swiftly crossed through the traffic and approached Yu Sheng, looking at him with a hint of unexpectedness.
After examining him up and down for a few seconds, she blurted out, “... You’re buying things too?”
“... Is it strange for me to be out buying things?” Yu Sheng replied.
“Ah, sorry! I just thought it was a coincidence,” Little Red Riding Hood quickly apologized, realizing her words might sound off.
However, the confusion in her eyes didn’t diminish one bit—because she had already known that Yu Sheng lived in a place called 66 Wutong Road.
At the moment she left that realm, she had guessed that this so-called “Yu Sheng” might be of questionable origin.
His believable human mannerisms might belong to some kind of “simulation.”
She truly hadn’t expected to see this “human,” who had been living in a foreign land for so long, out on the street shopping.
…Could this guy actually enjoy human food?
This ludicrous (at least in her eyes) thought arose in Little Red Riding Hood’s mind.
Then, she noticed Hu Li beside him and the doll cradled in Hu Li's arms.
Little Red Riding Hood frowned for a moment before recognizing Hu Li’s face, and then pointed at Ai Lin, who remained motionless, void of any spark in her eyes.
“Is this… dead?”
Yu Sheng saw Ai Lin’s eyes nearly regain their spark—she slightly stirred in Hu Li's embrace, and then surged with fervent chatter in Yu Sheng's mind: “She’s not dead! She exploded in the air eight hundred times! That %￥￥#—Yu Sheng! Scold her! Scold her on my behalf!”
“She’s cursing you,” Yu Sheng calmly pointed at Ai Lin, maintaining his composure as he replied to Little Red Riding Hood, “And what she says is rather unpleasant. But I am a cultured person, and I can’t repeat it.”
Ai Lin’s curses grew even harsher.
Little Red Riding Hood couldn't hear them.
But she could imagine.
“You guys… are quite creative,” she remarked, looking Ai Lin up and down several times, “to bring her out in such a manner… Speaking of which, from the looks of it, are you here to buy clothes for her?”
“You guessed it right,” Yu Sheng shrugged, effectively blocking out Ai Lin's ongoing tirade, “I’m in a bit of a dilemma, and I didn’t expect to see you—can you help me out?”
“I think I can guess what kind of assistance you need,” Little Red Riding Hood replied within two seconds, her gaze flitting over Hu Li’s obviously ill-fitting outfit, and a slight smile crept onto her face. “This indeed… is something I haven’t encountered before.”
Yu Sheng's eyes lit up. “You agree?”
Little Red Riding Hood waved her hand dismissively. “Of course, it’s just a simple task—but you’ll need to help me out with something later.”
(End of Chapter)