Dimensional Hotel

The interstellar craft, with its sleek outer shell and intricate framework, lay silently half-buried among the collapsed mountains. Even though it was already wrecked beyond recognition, the remaining parts still hinted at how elegant and mysterious it must have been when it once traveled among the stars.

To be honest, just by looking at it, Yu Sheng found it hard to connect this obviously “spaceship-like thing” to all those Cultivation terms Foxy had mentioned. Even the name “Celestial Shuttle” felt hard to match with its appearance. But, if he thought more about it, he couldn’t really imagine what kind of ship a Cultivation civilization of the interstellar era might build. Perhaps this design was logical enough.

Song Cheng and Bai Li Qing walked to a spot near the Celestial Shuttle’s wreckage and tilted their heads back to examine this strangely designed vessel. Behind Bai Li Qing, a pair of quiet eyes emerged, also studying the ship with curiosity.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Song Cheng muttered. “At first glance, it’s a bit like one of those Node-class ships built by the Algerlaid people. But the resemblance is only in a third or so of the hull design. If it really came from ‘outside the known universe,’ do you think it might share some principle related to how the Dark Angels ‘invade’ our world?”

Bai Li Qing did not reply right away. She pressed her lips together, as if conferring silently with her [Younger Sister]. After a while, she gently shook her head. “We can’t tell just by the outside. The interior structure is beyond our understanding too. But the energy reaction inside is still worth analyzing. If possible, we should isolate its energy system. By studying that, we might figure out what level of travel it was designed for. Traveling within a single star system and traveling across galaxies require vastly different energy levels, and the power needed to cut open a ‘world’ would be beyond our imagination.”

“That means we’ll need to bring in some experts,” Song Cheng said. He paused, thinking for a moment. “We’ll need a team of cross-disciplinary specialists, since this thing might really be from ‘outside.’ We can’t guess how any of it works. Maybe we should contact the Academy? I bet they’d be very interested.”

“They’d be interested in far more than just the ship,” Bai Li Qing said softly. “There’s the first Entity we managed to ‘permanently remove,’ the first Otherworld parasitized by angels but rendered harmless, the ‘Teleportation Door’ Yu Sheng opened…”

Song Cheng shrugged. “Don’t forget the first vegetable garden planted in an Otherworld.”

“Yes, the vegetable garden in the Otherworld,” Bai Li Qing echoed with a small nod, glancing at Yu Sheng not far away. “Those professors at the Academy—who are normally so hard to convince—would drop everything to see what’s going on here.”

Naturally, Foxy’s ears were sharper than Yu Sheng’s. The Demon Fox Maiden’s fluffy ears twitched on her head, lightly aiming toward Bai Li Qing’s voice. After a moment, Foxy leaned close to Yu Sheng and whispered, “They’re talking about bringing in some very knowledgeable people to study the Celestial Shuttle’s tech. They also want to research your vegetable garden, Benefactor.”

Yu Sheng did not seem surprised. He reached out and gently rubbed the fluffy fur behind Foxy’s ears. “That’s not unexpected. Bai Li Qing’s been interested in all that for a while. But what about you? What do you think?”

Foxy blinked, as if only just realizing she might have a choice. “Me?”

“The Celestial Shuttle is yours. It’s one of the few remaining links between you and your homeland,” Yu Sheng said, looking at the Demon Fox Maiden earnestly. He knew that Foxy, forever a bit dazed, probably hadn’t considered the next steps. Since she was slow to react, he had to ask directly. “You have the final say. Are you okay with ‘outsiders’ coming to study it? They’ll definitely take it apart. But if you don’t want that, I can refuse for you.”

Foxy stared blankly for a moment, as if this was indeed the first time she had taken the matter seriously. Then she slowly sat on the slope, right next to Yu Sheng, and pulled both of her tails into her arms. She thought about it with care. After a while, she tugged on Yu Sheng’s sleeve.

“Benefactor, if we just leave these things here, they’re only a bunch of ruined scraps.”

She looked up and met Yu Sheng’s eyes, her expression serious.

“No matter how long you mourn them—ten thousand years even—they’re still only wreckage. Just feeling sad about them does nothing.”

Yu Sheng blinked, surprised by how serious she seemed. [I never expected Foxy to think it through like this,] he thought.

“Let them study it if they want,” Foxy continued. “They can bring all the Scholars. They can take it apart, or even haul it to their own labs. I’ve already kept the parts I wanted. I don’t mind what happens to the rest.” She pulled Yu Sheng’s arm, guiding him to sit beside her. As she spoke, her fluffy tails brushed gently against his back. “I think the Special Affairs Bureau people are trustworthy. If they really find something, I believe they’ll tell us at least part of it. Even if they keep it all secret, we’ll just be in the same position we’re in now—knowing nothing.”

Yu Sheng thought about it, his expression a bit complicated. “What if things go bad…? Sorry for sounding paranoid, but I’ve read too many stories. What if some other force—maybe not the Special Affairs Bureau, but people like the Algerlaid, or the Academy, or some group we don’t know—tries something evil once they find out about your homeland? Like those movie plots where they end up invading or something. What then?”

Foxy seemed surprised by his question. She looked at Yu Sheng for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

“They’d lose,” she said.

Yu Sheng paused, then realized what “lose” meant.

“They can’t win,” Foxy repeated, then continued, “Besides, my homeland, and my clan, and even the Celestial beings there, wouldn’t mind anyway. Risk and threat are part of evolution. As long as you win in the end, it’s fine. That’s what the teachers taught us.”

“…So your homeland’s martial virtue is that strong?” Yu Sheng asked.

“Is it?” Foxy tilted her head thoughtfully. “Anyway, our Teacher said that the star-spanning order created by the Celestial people is meant for ‘peaceful coexistence.’ You let those who don’t accept that idea share your viewpoint by… removing them all, and then whoever’s left will accept you. This process is called ‘all under heaven as one,’ and once that’s done, you get peace.”

Cold sweat formed on Yu Sheng’s brow. [That’s a terrifyingly intense interpretation of “martial virtue,”] he thought. But he also had no way of telling whether Foxy was recalling things accurately. She’d basically stopped her schooling at an elementary level, then spent decades wandering about in a fog. Maybe her memory was jumbled, or maybe she misunderstood her lessons. There was no way to know how much was true.

Right at that moment, he realized that Foxy’s big tails had been swishing against his back the whole time.

“What are you even doing?” he asked, turning around.

Foxy tilted her head. “Rua.”

Yu Sheng stayed quiet for a second. She was mimicking how he would usually “rua” her tail, so now she was returning the favor on him.

…

Afterward, Yu Sheng opened the Door to send Song Cheng and Bai Li Qing back to the Special Affairs Bureau Headquarters. Before they left, they all had a short talk about plans to further investigate the Celestial Shuttle. However, the more urgent threat was still Fairy Tale and the Dark Angels’ “Anka Aila.” Yu Sheng soon shifted his focus back to the Orphanage.

In the Valley, their settlement was still under rushed but orderly construction. Yu Sheng left Foxy and Irene there to keep an eye on progress, while he returned to the Orphanage by himself.

By then it was late at night, but the Orphanage always had a Guardian on duty. Tonight, the Guardian was Little Red Riding Hood. When Yu Sheng arrived, she was patrolling the East Building’s hallway.

The corridor was very quiet at midnight, and a cool darkness filled the air. Yu Sheng walked with Little Red Riding Hood, and as they passed a window, he turned his head to look outside.

The outdoor activity area, so lively during the day, was now hushed and dreamlike under the night sky. The swing set, sandbox, slide, and climbing frame all dozed in the moonlight. Looking at them through the corridor window, he noticed a faintly eerie feeling.

With everything that had been happening, Yu Sheng couldn’t tell if he really sensed something unusual, or if it was all in his head.

Little Red Riding Hood, on the other hand, seemed more carefree.

“If you think the night looks spooky,” she said, “just remember that in an Orphanage like this, everything seems spooky when the sun goes down. The Cursed Children’s dreams often lightly affect the real world. Tables can move on their own, lights can flicker, windows might creak. We’ve gotten used to it.” She smiled calmly and walked at an unhurried pace. “Relax. Don’t scare yourself. Real ‘anomalies’ are a lot bigger than that.”

Yu Sheng answered without much thought, “I figured Spirit Realm Detectives would be extra alert when anything weird happens, always on edge.”

“Being sharp is not the same as being jumpy,” Little Red Riding Hood said, suddenly serious. “A Spirit Realm Detective needs to notice every little thing but also figure out which ones are actually dangerous and which are just someone’s overactive imagination. Balance is key. Relax too much, and an Otherworld Entity might kill you before you even notice. Be too tense, and you’ll probably scare yourself to death first.”

Yu Sheng pressed his lips together and kept pace with her. They walked on in silence for a moment before he spoke again. “They’ve started building the settlement in the Valley. We can start moving people as early as tomorrow.”

“Mm. That’s about what I expected.”

“Have the Cursed Children been told?”

“Everything is arranged. They’re all quite well-behaved,” Little Red Riding Hood said, then hesitated briefly before cracking a small, wry smile. “At least on the bright side, we won’t have to keep patrolling these halls at night once we move.”

“On the not-so-bright side, there’s no ‘night’ at all in that Valley,” Yu Sheng said. “Keeping the little Cursed Children on a normal sleep schedule is going to be a real headache. The good news is that those thick curtains from the Special Affairs Bureau do a decent job of blocking out the light.”

Little Red Riding Hood sighed. “Ugh, Brother, you’re giving me a headache just thinking about it.”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation