Chapter 60: Hu Li's New Home

Erin looked down at her right leg, now fully restored, cautiously rotated the joint left and right, then put on her socks and, holding Yu Sheng's hand, slowly stood up.

"Both, both legs are the same length, right?" the small doll looked up, staring straight at Yu Sheng. "I didn't guide the reshaping this time; I only performed soul infusion and fusion. Help me check..."

Yu Sheng rolled his eyes: "Definitely the same length. I just fixed the surface; I didn't cut it off and remold it."

Erin breathed a sigh of relief, took a few steps back and forth on the table with her short legs, and finally smiled: "I can run around again! Yu Sheng, your craftsmanship is quite good this time; maybe you have a talent for making dolls?"

"Thanks for the praise..." Yu Sheng replied casually, then saw Erin, now mobile again, hoist the picture frame onto her back, jump from the table to an empty chair nearby in a few bounds, climb backward from the chair to the floor, and start running in circles around the open space in the attic.

Previously, whenever Erin ran around wildly, Yu Sheng felt it was too much noise, especially since she would always bump into things and make a mess of the house, but for some reason, seeing Erin running around everywhere this time, he felt no such irritation, only a strange sense of accomplishment slowly rising in his heart.

"A talent for making dolls..." Yu Sheng muttered, looking down at the scraper in his hand and the nearly empty jar of filler, momentarily unsure whether Erin's words just now were flattery or sincere praise.

He wasn't sure if he had a talent for making dolls, but he suddenly recalled the two sections of lotus root he had fumbled with earlier, which had successfully undergone "soul infusion."

It seemed Erin had completely forgotten that matter.

Just then, a sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs interrupted Yu Sheng's wandering thoughts and also stopped Erin, who was running back and forth in the attic.

Yu Sheng turned his head and saw a pair of fluffy white ears poking out from the stairwell, followed by Hu Li, looking around with a face full of nervousness and curiosity.

The fox girl was wearing a set of pajamas and pants that seemed a bit too large; her silver-white hair was still slightly damp. She had probably followed a scent to find this place. Seeing both Yu Sheng and Erin there, a happy smile immediately appeared on her face: "Ah! Benefactor, and Erin, you're both here!"

Then she noticed Erin's hands and feet had "healed," and was instantly delighted: "Erin, your hands have grown back?"

"Yu Sheng fixed them!" Erin happily raised both hands to show Hu Li, then jumped up and down in place. "My legs are fixed too!"

"Benefactor, the immortal arts are amazing," Hu Li stared blankly at the fully restored doll, then turned to look at Yu Sheng with even respect on her face. "You can open the Nether Path, reshape bodies and restore life, and you also know how to refine puppets."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment; the "Nether Path" the fox mentioned was probably his ability to "open doors," and it seemed she had mistaken Erin for a puppet he had refined.

The next second, Erin, having realized this, indeed jumped up and started making a huge fuss: "What do you mean puppet! I am a living doll from Alice's Cottage! Blessed, do you understand! You wild fox, if you don't know, don't talk nonsense!"

Hu Li listened blankly as the small doll made a scene, then immediately lowered her head: "Oh, I don't understand. I won't talk nonsense."

Erin stopped mid-rant, completely stunned. She was used to bickering with Yu Sheng, but this was the first time she met someone so honest who wouldn't argue back with her. With no plan in her mind, she stood frozen in place.

And immediately after, Yu Sheng suddenly noticed something else.

He looked at Hu Li's back with some astonishment: "... Where is your tail?"

Erin also reacted, belatedly noticing that the tail behind Hu Li was gone.

"I put it away," Hu Li smiled, turned slightly to the side, and then a sound like a precious sword being drawn, "Voom," was heard. Brilliant light suddenly erupted behind the fox girl, and a large patch of fluffy, bushy tails burst open with a "Bang." "The door is narrow and always hits things, so I put it away."

Erin, standing right beside her, let out an "Aiya!" and was instantly knocked flying by that suddenly appearing mass of tails, rolling and crawling several meters on the ground.

Hu Li immediately let out a cry of alarm, ran over, and clumsily pulled the cursing Erin up from the ground.

Yu Sheng watched blankly from the side; his first reaction was to sigh with relief: "You scared me. I thought you had fired your tails..."

Then he suddenly came up with a strange question: "... Why does the tail coming out make a 'Voom' sound?"

Hu Li thought for a moment: "It could also be 'Bang'."

Erin, who had just been pulled up and was preparing to continue cursing, was stunned by this, staring blankly at Hu Li: "... You added the sound effects yourself?!"

"Before a fox reveals its tail, it must make a sound to remind people around to dodge," the fox girl said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her speech was much more fluent now than when they first met, but there were still some strange pauses. "But you... didn't dodge." Erin instantly exploded: "How was I supposed to know these weird 'rules'? What kind of fox are you anyway!?"

Hu Li thought carefully, shook her head somewhat dejectedly, and her ears drooped along with it: "I... don't remember."

This time, it was Erin's turn to freeze. The small doll awkwardly turned her head away: "Don't take it seriously; I was just saying it off the cuff..."

Yu Sheng came to Hu Li's side, thought seriously for a moment, and then spoke earnestly: "Don't be too depressed. It's not necessarily impossible to return; maybe you'll find your home in the future."

Hu Li's ears perked up instantly: "Benefactor's Nether Path can send me back?"

"His door can go anywhere; sometimes if you pull it open, you can even drill into someone's alchemy furnace," Erin said from the side, hands on her hips, looking so proud as if it were her own skill. "Maybe someday it will open to a door that leads to your hometown."

Speaking of this, she seemed to suddenly think of something and turned to look at Yu Sheng again: "Hey, should we go check that alchemy furnace from last time again? There were immortals and such over there. Maybe it's Hu Li's hometown? Or maybe they've heard of it, since it feels like the same system..."

Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng looked troubled: "Given the situation last time... the other side would probably attack directly."

"Oh, true. If I were on the other side of the door, I'd want to beat you up too."

Hu Li listened to Yu Sheng and Erin exchanging words, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two, looking completely confused.

!.

Seeing this, Yu Sheng coughed twice and said somewhat stiffly: "We are discussing who to ask about your origins. Don't worry; I will help you find out slowly."

"Benefactor, no need to trouble yourself too much," Hu Li understood this time but only shook her head gently. "If we can find it, that's better; if not, it doesn't matter. Anyway... if I don't remember what my hometown looks like, there's no one I know even if I go back."

As she spoke, she reached into her tails, fished out the two sharp canine teeth, and a gentle, slightly relieved smile appeared on her face.

"I have already found Mom and Dad. Not going back is fine."

"... It's good that you can think that way," Yu Sheng sighed softly and nodded to the fox girl. "So, what are your plans for the future? Have you thought about what to do next?"

Hu Li looked somewhat lost. After hearing Yu Sheng's words, she stared blankly for a long time before slowly shaking her head.

"I... don't know," she said softly, her tone as uneasy as a young beast leaving the nest for the first time. "This is my first time leaving that valley. This place is good, but everything is strange. I... don't understand anything, and I don't know where to... find food. Mom said foxes must not forget kindness, but I don't know what I can do to help the Benefactor."

Her speech was still a bit jumbled, but Yu Sheng understood it all.

He smiled, comforting the somewhat anxious fox.

"Then you can live here from now on. I still have an empty room—and plenty of food, so no need to worry about going hungry. As for what you can do... from now on, just help me fight. Let's start with that for now."

Yu Sheng pondered carefully, feeling he didn't know what abilities this fox possessed. Although it was said that a fox repaying kindness changes fate, having her help write C code, draw illustrations, or make a PowerPoint was probably out of the question. However, this girl's supersonic headbutt and the move where she fired her tails were truly astonishing. When dealing with other realms in the future, she would be an invaluable high-end combat force—Erin would handle hard crowd control, Hu Li would rush in to hit people, and he could safely stand aside and shout "666." It was indeed a wonderful arrangement.

Hu Li, however, looked somewhat confused: "Fight?"

"In the future, we will come into contact with more realms, just like that valley. There are many, many similar 'anomalous spaces' in this world, hiding all kinds of dangerous entities," Yu Sheng said slowly. "There might be others trapped inside like you, or others seeking our help for various reasons. And I myself... also have reasons to continue dealing with other realms and entities. In short, I need a helper."

Hu Li listened but suddenly looked a bit nervous: "Then... will I get trapped again?"

Yu Sheng was stunned, but quickly, the fox girl's exceptionally genuine reaction made him smile: "Did you forget my 'Nether Path'?"

Hu Li was stunned for a moment, and a smile finally slowly appeared on her face.

She nodded happily: "Okay, I will help the Benefactor fight!"

(End of Chapter)