Chapter 214: The Martial Virtue of Hu Li

The interstellar vessel with its streamlined shell and complex structure lay buried silently amid the collapsed mountains; though utterly unrecognizable, even its remaining fragments still conveyed the elegance and mystery of its former glory as it had once cruised the star seas.

Honestly, just by appearance, Yu Sheng found it nearly impossible to connect this clearly "spaceship" thing with the cultivation terms Hu Li had mentioned, or even with its name "Immortal Shuttle"—but upon deeper thought, he couldn't picture what an interstellar cultivation civilization's spacecraft would look like either… so maybe this was reasonable after all?

Song Cheng and Bai Li Qing walked to a point very near the wreckage of the Immortal Shuttle, tilting their heads up to examine the strangely styled vessel closely.

A pair of eyes quietly materialized behind Bai Li Qing, observing curiously.

"Definitely an unfamiliar design—on first glance, it resembles the Node-series ships built by the Algraidians, but only about thirty to forty percent of the hull is similar," Song Cheng muttered softly, "If this thing really came from 'outside the known universe'… do you think its origin might be connected to the Dark Angels' 'invasion' in principle?"

Bai Li Qing said nothing; she pressed her lips together, seemingly communicating with her "sister" inside her mind. After a long while, she gave a slight shake of her head: "Nothing discernible from the exterior; the internal structure exceeds our comprehension. But the residual energy signatures still hold analytical value—if possible, we should isolate its power system. Reverse-engineering the power system could help determine what level of travel this vessel supported—energy requirements for intra-system flight versus interstellar voyages differ vastly, and the energy needed to pierce 'the World' is beyond our imagination."

"Then we'll need to assemble a team of experts—cross-disciplinary, too—since this thing might come from 'outside,' and no one knows what principles it operates on," Song Cheng said, pausing to think, "... Should we contact the 'Academy'? They'd probably be very interested."

"There are far too many things here that could attract them, not just this one vessel," Bai Li Qing said softly, "The first entity ever 'permanently erased,' the first alien realm ever parasitized by an Angel yet neutralized, Yu Sheng's opened 'portal'..."

Song Cheng shrugged: "And the first vegetable garden ever planted in an alien realm."

"Yes—the first vegetable garden planted in an alien realm," Bai Li Qing said, glancing slightly back at Yu Sheng, who stood not far away. "Even the Academy's most hard-to-reach professors would be unable to sit still upon hearing about this."

Yu Sheng and Hu Li sat on a nearby hillside, enjoying the mountain breeze and the view, while snippets of Bai Li Qing and Song Cheng's conversation drifted faintly into their ears.

—Of course, Hu Li's ears were clearly far better than Yu Sheng's.

The fox girl's fluffy, large ears twitched nimbly atop her head, slightly tilting toward Bai Li Qing. After a moment, she leaned close to Yu Sheng and whispered: "They're discussing inviting a group of highly learned people to study the principles of the 'Immortal Shuttle'—and your vegetable garden too."

"No surprise there—Bai Li Qing has always been fascinated by this," Yu Sheng said, unsurprised, reaching out to rub the downy fur behind Hu Li's ears. "What about you? What do you think?"

Hu Li froze, staring blankly at Yu Sheng: "Me?"

"The Immortal Shuttle is yours—it's one of the few remaining links to your homeland," Yu Sheng looked earnestly into the fox girl's eyes, knowing that Hu Li, ever absentminded, had likely never considered the consequences; after all, her reactions were always slow, so he had to prompt her directly. "You have the final say here—do you want a group of 'outsiders' to study it? They'll almost certainly dismantle it. If you don't want that, I can help you refuse."

The fox sat stunned, as if truly considering this for the first time. Then she slowly sat down beside Yu Sheng on the hillside, pulling her two tails from behind and hugging them close, thinking intently.

After a long while, she suddenly reached out and tugged at Yu Sheng's sleeve.

"Master, these things left here are just a pile of wreckage."

The fox girl lifted her head, looking earnestly into Yu Sheng's eyes.

"Mourning over wreckage—even for ten thousand years—won't change it into anything else. Mourning alone is useless."

Yu Sheng's eyes widened slightly, surprised at the fox girl before him.

"Let them study it—gather scholars, dismantle it into parts, even move it to their own facilities. I've already kept everything I wanted to keep. The rest—I don't mind," Hu Li pulled on Yu Sheng's arm, drawing him to sit beside her, then slowly swept her fluffy tail back and forth across his back as she spoke. "I feel the Special Bureau people are reliable. If they find anything, they'll tell us—at least something. Even if they hide everything, the worst case is just what we have now: we know nothing."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, his expression slightly uneasy: "But what if it gets worse... don't blame me for being imaginative—I've probably watched too many novels and movies—but what if some power, not necessarily the Special Bureau, but the Algraidians, the Academy, or some other force we don't understand—what if they harbor ill intent, gain knowledge of your homeland, and decide to do something terrible? Like in the stories—invading, that sort of thing—what then?"

Hu Li looked momentarily surprised, but after staring at Yu Sheng for a while, she suddenly laughed.

"They can't beat us."

Yu Sheng took a moment to process what the fox girl meant by "can't beat us."

"They can't beat us," Hu Li repeated, then continued, "And back home, my people, and the Celestials—they wouldn't care. Risk and threat are normal parts of evolution. As long as you win in the end, that's all that matters. That's what the school taught."

"Is that so?" Hu Li thought for a moment, speaking with some uncertainty. "Anyway, the teacher said the Star Order established by the Sky People is 'Peaceful Coexistence.' Kill those who do not accept the concept of peaceful coexistence, and the rest will accept you. This process is called 'Great Unity Under Heaven'—the ultimate form of Great Unity Under Heaven is peace."

"Is that so?" Hu Li thought, uncertain. "Anyway, the teachers said the Celestials established the Stellar Order as 'peaceful coexistence'—they killed anyone who rejected peaceful coexistence, and the rest would come to accept it. This process is called 'Great Unity Under Heaven'—the ultimate form of Great Unity Under Heaven is peace."

However, he dared not be certain how much of what this Miss beside him said was true—after all, Hu Li was only at the level of someone who dropped out of elementary school, and had been muddled for decades. Who knew how much of her memory about her hometown was real, how much was her own fabrication, and how much was a misunderstanding caused by not listening carefully in class?

But he couldn't be sure how much of what the girl beside him said was true—after all, Hu Li was barely a primary school dropout, had been dazed for decades, and who knew how much of her memories of her homeland were real, how much was fantasy, and how much was due to her not paying attention in class...

And just then, he finally noticed the several large tails continuously sweeping back and forth across his back.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

Hu Li tilted her head: "Rua."

So it turned out that he usually just played with Hu Li's tail when he had nothing to do, and now this Miss knew how to turn around and play with him!

So he'd been casually ruing Hu Li's tail whenever he had free time—and now she'd learned to rua him right back!

After this, Yu Sheng opened the door to send Song Cheng and Baili Qing back to the Special Agency headquarters. Before parting, he discussed with them roughly the plan for further research on that "Immortal Shuttle," but since the more pressing issue was still the threat of the "Fairy Tale" and the Dark Angel "Ankaira," Yu Sheng's attention quickly returned to the orphanage.

After this, Yu Sheng opened the door and saw Song Cheng and Bai Li Qing back to the Special Bureau headquarters, and before parting, he discussed with them a general plan for further studying the "Immortal Shuttle." But since the more urgent issue remained the threat of the "Fairytale" and the Dark Angel Ankaela, Yu Sheng's attention quickly returned to the orphanage.

The settlement in the valley was still under tense, orderly construction; Yu Sheng left Hu Li and Erin to oversee the progress, while he went directly to the orphanage.

No error. One issue. One content. One look!

It was already midnight, but at any time, someone always served as night guardian in this orphanage.

Little Red Riding Hood was on night duty tonight; when Yu Sheng greeted her, she was patrolling the corridor on the east building.

The corridor at midnight was especially quiet, the cold night shrouding everything. Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood walked slowly together; as they passed a window, he glanced out.

The outdoor activity area, bustling by day, now lay a hazy silhouette under the night—swings, sandpits, slides, climbing frames—all lay still and silent in the darkness, their outlines carrying a faintly eerie quality through the corridor windows.

Recent events had made Yu Sheng unsure whether the slightly eerie night atmosphere outside was truly real or just his own psychological effect.

"If you feel the night is eerie, then nothing in this orphanage is not eerie after nightfall. The children's dreams often lightly interfere with the real world—the table suddenly moves, the electric light suddenly dims slightly, the window creaks. We are used to all of this," the girl said with a smile on her face, speaking slowly and calmly. "Relax, don't scare yourself—real 'anomalous phenomena' are far louder than this."

"If you find the night eerie, then nothing in this orphanage after dark isn't eerie. The children's dreams often lightly interfere with the real world—tables move slightly, lights flicker weakly, windows creak—we're used to it," the girl smiled calmly. "Relax. Don't scare yourself—real 'anomalous phenomena' are far louder than this."

Yu Sheng said casually: "I thought 'Spirit World Detectives' were especially sensitive to anomalies around them, always on high alert at the slightest disturbance."

"Sensitivity and alertness aren't the same—Spirit World Detectives must notice every whisper of wind, yet also distinguish true danger from self-induced illusions. Balance is key," Little Red Riding Hood said seriously. "Too lax, and you'll get killed by an alien entity. Too tense, and you'll die of stress before any entity even moves."

Yu Sheng pressed his lips together and walked forward with Little Red Riding Hood. After a while, he suddenly broke the silence: "The settlement in the valley is already under construction—it can be moved by tomorrow at the latest."

"Hmm. About what I expected."

"Everything is arranged; they are very sensible," Little Red Riding Hood said, then fell silent for a moment, tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Sigh, look on the bright side: starting tomorrow, we won't have to patrol this building at night anymore..."

"All arranged. They're very sensible," the girl said, then paused, pulling at her lips. "Well, thinking positively, starting tomorrow we won't have to patrol this building at night..."

"Thinking negatively, there's no 'night' in the valley—keeping the children on a schedule will be your next big challenge. Good news is the Special Bureau's thick blackout curtains block light well."

Little Red Riding Hood: "... Bro, my head's starting to hurt."

【57】 (End of Chapter)