Chapter 94

Chapter 94

In the Eerie World,

Du Du cried, on and off, for several hours.

It must be said that Eeries truly possess extraordinary traits; an ordinary person crying like this would either be severely dehydrated or completely lose their voice.

Finally, when her emotions had completely settled, Du Du looked up, a little embarrassed. Brother Xiao Mu had stayed with her the entire time she cried, never leaving her side.

At one point, when she grew tired from crying, Brother Xiao Mu even brought her some fruit.

It seemed Brother Xiao Mu was indeed a very good brother to her.

The only regret was that Brother Xiao Mu had his own family, and she couldn’t defeat his brothers or Grandpa Niu, so she couldn’t have Brother Xiao Mu come live at her house.

Feeling that she had already troubled Brother Xiao Mu for too long, the little girl sniffled, her nose red from crying, and said goodbye: "Brother Xiao Mu, I should go home now."

Hearing this, Su Ximu thought about Du Du’s current family situation. Qian Qian and Xiao Ming, both players, had already left.

Du Du’s parents also seemed to have found new places to be.

Her little brother, Teng Teng, had yet to be found.

In the entire household, aside from the previously hired nanny, Du Du was the only child left.

How could she not feel lonely?

If Du Du were an ordinary child, Su Ximu would have definitely invited her to stay at his place temporarily, with further arrangements to be considered later.

But Du Du was different. After her parents exited the scene, she became the one in charge at home. She needed a place of her own, where she could build and protect her own home.

For many Eeries, having their own territory and creating their own world is a lifelong pursuit.

So, in the end, Su Ximu simply crouched down and told the little Eerie, who looked like a young girl: "Du Du, if you ever feel bored at home, come find me to play. Also, hold onto that glass bottle I gave you. If you ever encounter danger, it can bring you to my dungeon, so you won’t get hurt."

Du Du nodded but hadn’t yet figured out how to tell Brother Xiao Mu that, after breaking free from her parents' control and beginning to absorb their power, she had already grown into a bigger kid.

She simply lowered her head to look at the little hamster still resting in her palm, then lifted it up to show Brother Xiao Mu, asking, "Brother Xiao Mu, can I borrow this little hamster to raise for a while? I promise I’ll take good care of it and fatten it up nice and plump."

It was only then that Su Ximu clearly saw what Du Du was holding in her hand.

It was Xiao Yin.

He had named the little silver hamster Xiao Yin.

Du Du’s palm was fully open, and Xiao Yin lay quietly in her hand, occasionally shifting positions, seeming to get along quite well with Du Du.

After a moment’s thought, Su Ximu nodded in agreement: "Alright, Du Du, come with me to my place to grab what Xiao Yin needs, as well as a little handbook on raising hamsters."

Happy with the permission, Du Du held the little hamster in her left hand, took Brother Xiao Mu’s hand with her right, and slowly headed back home with him.

The little girl thought to herself that this was actually pretty nice.

She decided she would hold off on growing up a while longer.

She still wanted to be a child for a little while longer.

A truly happy child, just as her older siblings had said.

***

window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: '6909b82653c30418d8ca4f40', id: 'pf-17365-1'})

During dinner that evening, Su Jianglou guessed that the incident might be related to the "Beast Tamer."

That is, the Eerie currently fighting the old man for control of his body.

Ever since learning that the old man had once given Xiao Xi an item to protect his life, Su Jianglou, though he never spoke of it, had been quite concerned about the old man’s situation.

Lately, through various channels, he had picked up more information about this "Beast Tamer."

And indeed, it seemed to be a tough customer.

The Eerie World could currently be divided into five major zones.

Taking Tanzhong City as an example, Tanzhong, Tandong, Tannan, Tanxi, and Tanbei, along with the nearly boundless gray mist surrounding these five cities, together constituted one of the five major regions of the Eerie World.

These five regions were really far from each other, more like isolated islands that did not interfere with one another.

The region led by Tanzhong City was considered an up-and-coming area in the Eerie World.

The "Beast Tamer," on the other hand, had come to Tanzhong City after failing in a competition for zone leader in another area, arriving wounded.

Based on information Su Jianglou had gathered from other regions as well as Tanzhong City, he inferred that the Beast Tamer likely possessed an ability to fundamentally change the form and nature of Eeries.

However, this ability probably had limitations and wasn’t something he could just use anytime.

Combined with his title of "Beast Tamer," some guesses could be made.

For instance, the missing little Eerie might have been nearby all along.

The reason no other Eeries had noticed might be because, in their eyes, it was just how things were supposed to be.

"I’ve observed before that during the periods when the Beast Tamer emerges, the old man’s perception of the outside world becomes quite blurry. That’s because he needs to use all his strength to suppress the Beast Tamer again. It could be seen as a kind of split personality."

"So, Xiao Xi, why don’t you just look through all the animals in the old man’s yard? You might just find that little Eerie named Teng Teng."

"However, changing the little Eerie back to its original form will likely take some effort. We’ll have to wait until the old man fully wears down the Beast Tamer."

Hearing his third brother, Su Ximu nodded thoughtfully.

If it weren’t for the fact that Grandpa Niu couldn’t fully control himself when the "Beast Tamer" emerged, Grandpa Niu wouldn’t have specifically warned him not to visit in the morning.

At the same time, he had no hard feelings toward Grandpa Niu.

After all, wasn’t Grandpa Niu one of the Beast Tamer’s victims too?

It was just that Grandpa Niu had grown stronger now.

But…

Su Ximu took a napkin from the table, rolled it into three small balls, and placed them in front of him.

He couldn’t help but wonder: up to this point, was the Beast Tamer really the only "personality" inside Grandpa Niu’s body?

When the Beast Tamer merged with Grandpa Niu, the Beast Tamer was severely injured, and Grandpa Niu wasn’t as powerful as he is now. Overall, back then, Grandpa Niu was actually at a disadvantage.

In the years of struggle and contention with the Beast Tamer, could there have been a blurry area that had always existed?

It was possible.

He had a feeling.

Just like when he and Grandpa Niu first met in this world, "Grandpa Niu" would hold Little Yellow and tell him that this was a real dog.

At first, Su Ximu didn’t think much of this statement.

It wasn’t until today, when his third brother mentioned the detailed information about the Beast Tamer, that these words suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

After dinner, now that he had the latest clue, Su Ximu naturally went to find Du Du right away.

He went to Du Du’s house and told her that the little hamster might actually be Teng Teng. He'd concluded the hamster was Teng Teng based on his own analysis, which pointed to this as the most likely answer.

Unexpectedly, Du Du didn’t seem surprised at all. Instead, she said she wanted to ask Grandpa Niu for advice on how to get Teng Teng so plump.

Moreover, Du Du didn’t appear to be in a hurry to turn Teng Teng back from a little hamster.

According to her, Teng Teng was still quite young, and the events from his past had left a significant impact on him. He might even have some psychological issues.

So, letting Teng Teng remain a little hamster for a while longer wasn’t a bad thing—it could be seen as a way to help him heal from his "family-of-origin issues."

Yes, "family of origin."

That was a term her older siblings had taught her.

Anyway, he seemed quite happy being a little hamster now.

A happy childhood can heal a supernatural being for life.

She was now creating a happy childhood for Teng Teng.

For the first time, as the one who was probably the older brother, Su Ximu found himself stunned by Du Du’s words.

Even as he walked home, his head was still spinning, filled with Du Du’s theories on "happy education."

Little Eerie, little hamster.

Little hamster, little Eerie.

Happy education… Was that right?

Was that how the term was supposed to be used?

***

That night, Su Ximu didn’t sleep very soundly.

At one point, he dreamed of a large, plump hamster lounging with its legs crossed, watching TV and eating potato chips.

At another point, he dreamed that his grandfather, of whom he originally had only one, suddenly split into three with a "pop," then became two again.

Dreaming could be exhausting sometimes.

The next morning, the slightly weary teenager shuffled downstairs in his slippers.

Su Xuanxiao, Su Juzi, and Su Jianglou were already waiting at the dining table.

Seeing Xiao Xi come downstairs, Su Jianglou immediately waved him over. "Xiao Xi, after breakfast, Big Brother, Second Brother, and I will take you to school."

Before he knew it, summer vacation was over, and today was the registration day before the start of the semester at Tan Zhong University.

For Eeries, registration wasn’t really necessary, but the sense of ceremony was more important than anything.

Tan Zhong University opened its gates with great fanfare today.

"Okay, I’ll eat now," Su Ximu said, sitting down. He rubbed his eyes, nodded, and picked up a sandwich from in front of him.

As he ate, his energy gradually returned, and he sat up straighter.

After breakfast, since the school hadn’t distributed any textbooks yet, Su Ximu put on his shoes at the door and stepped out empty-handed.

Outside, a large gift box was sitting on the ground, with a greeting card on top.

Su Ximu bent down and picked up the card.

"Grandpa can’t accompany Xiao Mu today. Wishing our Xiao Mu a happy start to the school year."

The teenager holding the card pursed his lips and glanced toward the neighboring villa.

***

Su Ximu couldn't bring himself to leave Grandpa Niu’s gift in the living room, so he carried the gift box directly to the car.

This way, he could take his time opening the gift on his way back from school.

On the way to Tan Zhong University, his eldest brother didn’t use a driver. Instead, his third brother drove while he sat in the back with his eldest and second brothers.

Along the way, his eldest and second brothers occasionally pointed out some of the buildings they passed.

It was a long drive, and at one point, his third brother even used his powers to take the car down a dark path before they finally arrived at the gates of Tan Zhong University.

Su Ximu had initially thought that the start of the semester at Tan Zhong University would be similar to the school openings he'd seen before.

But to his surprise, the moment he stepped out of the car, a strong gust of wind swept over the school gates.

He instinctively looked up and saw a helicopter buzzing directly overhead. It circled a few times above the campus before finally landing on the rooftop helipad.

Below, the students who had been going through the registration process erupted into a frenzy the moment they saw the helicopter, swarming toward the helipad as if they'd seen the idols of their lives.

At the same time, Su Ximu heard some students shouting:

"F4!"

"They actually came today!"

"My young master, my young master! Hurry, let’s go over!"

Su Ximu, his hair tousled by the wind, continued to look up curiously.

What, what four?

What exactly is everyone shouting about?

Author’s note:

The domineering prince, the elegant prince, the passionate prince, the melancholic prince—here they come!