Chapter 35: An Invitation to Be My Guest

Chen Zi'ang brought takeout home from the cafeteria, fed his younger sister her dinner, and then sat on the sofa to watch television.

True to Suzuna's words, he tried his utmost not to leave the house so he could take care of his sister. Over time, he had naturally developed the habit of being a homebody.

Just as he was watching TV, his phone suddenly rang.

"Senior, are you free?" Tsukimiya Suzuna's sweet voice chimed. "Can I visit your place tonight?"

"Of course." Chen Zi'ang was somewhat surprised, but didn't think too much of it. After all, Suzuna had a history of showing up early in the morning, so coming over late at night wasn't out of the ordinary.

He continued watching TV when he suddenly heard a strange sound coming from upstairs.

It sounded like something dropping onto the floor. However, upstairs were his, Xiaozhu's, and his parents' bedrooms, so logically there shouldn't have been anyone up there.

Chen Zi'ang stood up, his spiritual perception already detecting a certain anomaly.

An aberration.

If the mortal world could be likened to an ice floe floating on the surface of the sea, the abyss was the bottomless ocean beneath that ice floe. Occasionally, aberrations from the sea would leap out of the water to attack the humans upon the ice floe.

However, if one possessed a relatively high spiritual vision, it was akin to being a diver who had already descended into the sea, naturally making them much more vulnerable to attacks by aberrations.

Chen Zi'ang used the Shadow Cloak to lock down his spiritual vision, but his spiritual vision was not zero to begin with, so encountering an aberration was quite normal.

He first quickly carried Xiaozhu into the bathroom, closed the door, and then grabbed his Mandrake Magic Sword, tiptoeing up the stairs.

Upon reaching the second floor, Chen Zi'ang saw a figure shrouded in a long robe standing quietly in the center of the corridor.

The entity was tall, wearing a deep ink-colored robe embroidered with intricate gold threads along the collar and cuffs, and holding a strangely shaped long staff.

Beneath the hood of the robe was an exquisite, hollowed-out bone mask.

Chen Zi'ang recognized this attire: previously, within Nishikawa Mie's divine kingdom, inside the dark altar deep beneath the City of Decay, he had fought alongside his teammates against four Ghoul Priests dressed precisely like this.

Before he could draw his Mandrake Magic Sword, the other party spoke:

"Mortal, you have long since obtained the understanding of the Ghoul King. Why have you delayed your visit to Zubassa?"

At that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Chen Zi'ang's mind, and he quickly confirmed that the other party's tone did not sound like interrogation, but rather inquiry.

Therefore, he responded cautiously:

"I haven't received any message about visiting Zubassa... In human etiquette, visiting without an invitation is, in most cases, considered an offense."

The other party did not reply. Chen Zi'ang could sense a chilling, hair-raising gaze projecting from the eye sockets of the hollowed-out bone mask.

After an unknown passage of time, the Ghoul Priest slowly spoke:

"If that is the case, then it is indeed an oversight on our part."

Before Chen Zi'ang could answer, the entity continued:

"Mortal, let me leave you with a piece of advice."

"Never take your good fortune for granted. For any gift bestowed upon you by fate often has its corresponding price secretly marked upon it... or someone has already paid it in advance for you."

"Go now, mortal. Let us proceed to the Realm of Lingering, for I have an oracle from the Ghoul King to convey to you..."

"Hold on a moment." Knowing this trip could not be avoided, Chen Zi'ang hurriedly said, "Let me report to my family."

The Ghoul Priest fell silent, but this time did not make him wait long before its chilling voice sounded once more:

"I can wait for you a moment."

Not knowing how long "a moment" was, Chen Zi'ang quickly ran to the first floor and briefly explained the situation to his sister:

"Xiaozhu, your older brother has a very urgent assignment and needs to go on a business trip. I don't know how long it will take before I can return, so I'll ask Sister Suzuna to come take care of you..."

Before he could finish, Chen Xiaozhu suddenly reached out and pressed the back of his hand.

"Xia Zili," she said softly.

"You want Xia Zili to take care of you?" Chen Zi'ang asked in shock.

Chen Xiaozhu said nothing.

"But..." Chen Zi'ang said, sounding troubled, "Xia Zili is a celebrity. I don't know what her schedule is like, but I can guess it might be packed tight. She might not be able to come over in time..."

Of course, the main reason was that they weren't very close.

Yet Chen Xiaozhu still said nothing. She only quietly gazed at Chen Zi'ang with hollow eyes, seemingly unwilling to make any compromises on this matter.

"Alright, let me ask her first." Unable to do anything with her, Chen Zi'ang could only bite the bullet, take out his phone, and dial Xia Zili's number.

After about three seconds of ringing, the call was answered.

The other end seemed to be in a very noisy environment. He only heard Xia Zili shouting loudly:

"Hello? Chen Zi'ang?"

"Here's the thing. I know this is presumptuous, but I just wanted to ask your opinion," Chen Zi'ang said, finding it somewhat difficult to voice, yet trying his best. "I have a temporary urgent assignment and need to go on a business trip. My sister, Chen Xiaozhu, has no one to take care of her at home. If you happen to be free recently..."

"Sure!" Without hesitation, Xia Zili immediately agreed. "What do you need me to do?"

"Bring her a meal once a day," Chen Zi'ang said quickly. "She's blind and unable to go shopping or cook, so please bring her something to eat. Any extra can be put in the refrigerator, and she can get it herself when she's hungry."

More dense chatter came from the other side, as if someone was talking to Xia Zili nearby.

Then she leaned back toward the microphone and shouted loudly:

"Got it. What time every day should I bring it over?"

"Whenever is convenient for you," Chen Zi'ang said. "My spare key is under the doormat. It's best to come in the morning so the food is fresher, but if you buy frozen bento boxes, it doesn't matter what time you come."

"Frozen bento boxes?" Xia Zili asked doubtfully. "Does your sister know how to use a microwave?"

"Probably not," Chen Zi'ang said, troubled. "But I don't want to trouble you too much, or... could you teach her?"

"How about this," Xia Zili said briskly. "I'll try to come over around meal times and bring her food."

"It's really no trouble at all, I'm so sorry..."

"It's fine. I don't have any major concerts to rush to recently, so I can spare the time," Xia Zili said with a smile. "I won't talk to you anymore; the commercial break is over, and they're urging me back on the show."

"Sorry to bother you." Chen Zi'ang felt rather ashamed, only belatedly realizing:

The person on the other end was a major celebrity who could appear on television shows! What on earth was he thinking to ask her to take care of his younger sister?

And yet she actually agreed! How absurd!

He had no time for lengthy reflections and hurriedly called Tsukimiya Suzuna next.

"What is it, Senior?" Her energetic voice sounded from the other end.

"The Ghoul King's priest has come looking for me," Chen Zi'ang whispered. "Inviting me to be a guest in Zubassa."

"Ah?" Tsukimiya Suzuna seemed somewhat caught off guard. "You... are you going right now?"

"It feels like I can't refuse, unless I want to directly offend the Ghoul clan," Chen Zi'ang said with a wry smile.

"Well, I suppose so," Tsukimiya Suzuna forced a laugh. "Be careful, Senior, and try not to offend the Ghoul King again, okay? That deity holds grudges easily and is very petty!"

"Stop right there," Chen Zi'ang hurriedly cut her off. "He's still upstairs!"

"Mm-hm." Tsukimiya Suzuna was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Then I'll come over and bring Xiaozhu some food before I leave."

"Alright," Chen Zi'ang sighed. "I'm being invited over this time, and I have no idea how long I'll be staying there. I might be back tonight, or perhaps... Never mind, I'll contact you when I get back."

"Mm-hm, take care of yourself, Senior."

Hanging up, Chen Zi'ang quickly edited a text message to briefly explain the situation to Xia Qingyu and ask for leave, then returned upstairs and said to the Ghoul Priest:

"Let's go."

"Have you finished saying everything?" the Ghoul Priest said sinisterly. "Make sure you didn't leave anyone out, lest troubles brew at home later..."

"I have a lot of matters to attend to," Chen Zi'ang said calmly. "I hope this doesn't take too long."

"If this trip goes smoothly," the Ghoul Priest said meaningfully.