Yu Sheng didn’t immediately grasp what the little doll meant—everything had become rather uncanny lately. Only when Irene cautiously cupped her tiny hands together and conjured a dazzling orb of scorching light between her fingertips did he finally understand the meaning of her words, “I’m charged.”

He was utterly dumbfounded.

Honestly speaking, Yu Sheng considered himself fairly adaptable. He could accept dishes Foxy cooked that greeted him cheerfully. He could accept that Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain’s immortal pills tasted like grapes. He could even accept that among his readers were those who shipped his protagonist with a llama—but right now, even he was completely at a loss.

[Chewing on electrical wires actually worked.jpg?!]

At this moment, Xuan Che and Foxy hurriedly emerged from the dining room to see what was happening. Thus, another bewildered face joined Yu Sheng’s.

The bewildered one was Xuan Che. Foxy wasn’t baffled at all—she had even calmly brought her bowl along. Upon seeing the sparkling electric sphere Irene had conjured, Foxy unhurriedly took a sip of soup before leisurely commenting, “Oh, so she’s a Lightning Cultivator.”

Yu Sheng nearly broke into laughter: [Lightning Cultivator my foot!]

“Eh? Really?” Irene was easy to fool. She lifted her head in confusion and looked at Foxy earnestly. “Is this what Lightning Cultivators look like?”

Xuan Che quickly guessed what had occurred, but perhaps he’d already encountered too many shocks today. Right now, he felt oddly numb, a thought circling persistently in his mind: [It’s perfectly normal for such strange occurrences to happen at this Big Manor. I must not let these trivial matters disturb my Dao-heart.] Hearing Irene’s question, he genuinely pondered for a moment before responding seriously, “Where I’m from, Lightning Cultivators aren’t quite like this.”

“In my hometown, anyone who deals with lightning counts as a Lightning Cultivator,” Foxy explained matter-of-factly, scooping another spoonful of food into her mouth. As she chewed, she continued casually, “Irene, you have a natural talent for directly absorbing energy from electricity. Next time there’s a thunderstorm, you could give that a try—perhaps you’ll become a Thunder Struck Immortal.”

Instantly enraged, Irene (Pro Max Smoky Black-Gold Limited Edition, 66.6 cm) leaped up, baring her teeth and claws as she lunged at Foxy. Yu Sheng intercepted her mid-air, but she continued flailing indignantly, “Stupid fox, you did that on purpose! Usually, you call Yu Sheng a Civil Engineering Immortal or a Cooking Immortal, so why am I suddenly a Thunder Struck Immortal?!”

Yu Sheng held Irene firmly (the name was too long to repeat entirely), confirming the little doll had truly fully recovered. The main evidence was how unexpectedly strong she’d become now…

After some chaotic wrestling, Yu Sheng finally managed to calm down the hyperactive doll. He first replaced the burnt-out electrical outlet, ensured the television was undamaged, then reset the tripped breaker to restore power. Carrying Irene to the bathroom, he meticulously cleaned her up, spending considerable effort to comb down her frizzy, electrified hair.

Afterward, her hair remained slightly fluffy—resembling Foxy’s tail during winter—ending in natural curls. Nothing more could be done; they’d just have to let her wash it frequently and gradually return to normal…

After finally resolving this disturbance, Irene once again became the center of attention.

“…Did that one electric shock really fully charge you?” Yu Sheng remained incredulous. Watching Irene again conjure dazzling orbs of electricity between her fingers, he couldn’t help but ask, “How does that even work?”

“No idea,” Irene answered casually. Thinking back on the electric shock incident, she explained, “Actually, I wasn’t fully charged by that shock alone. I’d probably already charged up over the past day and night. The shock was just the last little bit I needed…”

“Alright, fair enough,” Yu Sheng scratched his head, conceding that bizarre events were commonplace around him now. Observing Irene forming yet another brilliant sphere of electric light, he belatedly broke out in a cold sweat, “Anyway, could you please stop making those electric orbs indoors? I’m worried one accidental twitch might punch a hole in the house.”

“Oh, fine.” Irene reluctantly dispersed the electricity from her fingertips, looking genuinely disappointed. “But I finally got my energy back—I wanted to practice my control…”

Yu Sheng knew the little doll was just showing off, but given her recent run of bad luck, he refrained from pointing it out.

“Let’s put the exact principle aside for now. At least we’ve finally discovered a way to recharge you quickly—or at least have a workable idea. Next, we’ll need to figure out how to make this process practical.”

Irene lifted her head curiously, “Practical?”

“Obviously. We can’t destroy an electrical outlet or have you literally chewing on wires each time,” Yu Sheng rolled his eyes, “You saw what happened; it trips the breakers, and you nearly fried yourself.”

“Hmm, true,” Irene blinked thoughtfully, finding his reasoning sound but still somewhat puzzled. “Then how should we make it practical? Are you going to install a charging port on me?”

Yu Sheng was startled, “…Can we even install a charging port on you?”

“I absolutely can’t!” Irene said firmly, though she quickly added, “But I can give it a few more tries. Maybe I just wasn’t ready earlier. Now that I think about it, if I prepare ahead, I could probably control the charging process…as long as you don’t use such cheap outlets.”

Yu Sheng thought carefully about this. For the sake of household electrical safety, he wisely decided not to indulge the doll’s ridiculous suggestions.

“How about I set up a proper charger for you,” he said earnestly. “I’ll add a bulb into the circuit, and maybe an air switch with leakage protection. I’ll leave two connectors for you. When you run out of spiritual power, you just touch the electrodes…”

Irene immediately brightened. “Sounds perfect!”

Foxy nodded enthusiastically as well, though she probably didn’t understand at all. “Benefactor’s plan sounds very good.”

Xuan Che didn’t speak. He just stood quietly, watching Yu Sheng and Irene talk about the charging method. His heart was calm like an undisturbed lake, his gaze serene. In fact, he even felt a strange kind of enlightenment rising inside him—he didn’t know exactly what he was enlightened about, but he felt it clearly. Now he believed nothing in this world could shake his Dao heart anymore.

Glancing at the time, Xuan Che began to bid Yu Sheng farewell.

“You’re leaving already?” Yu Sheng asked in surprise.

“No, I’ll stay a bit longer in Boundary City,” Xuan Che quickly explained. “My Esteemed Master has arranged other tasks for me. But if you need anything, especially concerning that strange room, please don’t hesitate to call on me.”

“Oh, I thought you might stay here,” Yu Sheng responded sincerely. “The place is spacious enough; I can easily set up a guest room for you.”

Xuan Che subconsciously glanced around, recalling all the bizarre things he’d seen and experienced since stepping through Yu Sheng’s front door. Reflecting on these experiences from a perspective of maintaining his newly enlightened Dao heart, he concluded it was probably best not to accept the offer.

Even though he felt his Dao heart was stronger than ever, who knew what strange things might emerge next in this Big Manor?

Seeing Xuan Che’s thoughtful expression and hearing about his other responsibilities, Yu Sheng didn’t insist. After exchanging pleasantries, he began to lead his guest toward the door.

However, just before that, he suddenly remembered something important. “Ah, almost forgot—how should I contact you?”

Xuan Che immediately reached into his robes and produced a small mirror glowing with purple-golden light.

Yu Sheng’s eyes lit up instantly, assuming this mirror to be some powerful magical artifact. He began imagining all kinds of mystical rituals or special methods that might be used to communicate through it, even fantasizing about learning some cool, visual-effect-laden techniques from Xuan Che.

But just as his imagination was running wild, Xuan Che smoothly tapped the mirror’s surface, bringing up—a QR code.

Xuan Che smiled modestly, “Just scan this. It will add me to your Frontier messenger contacts.”

Yu Sheng: “…”

He immediately felt a cold splash of reality. Only now did he fully realize how the other “Four Thousand Wicked Disciples” usually communicated with him.

After exchanging contacts, Yu Sheng brought his guest to the front door. But just as he reached for the handle, Xuan Che paused, glancing toward the nearby window.

“Such dense fog outside!” he remarked with surprise.

Yu Sheng froze instantly, turning sharply to the window.

Outside, heavy mist rolled through the streets, thick and tangible, blurring the entire neighborhood into indistinct shapes.

Irene immediately leaped onto the closest windowsill. “Whoa—again?!”

Xuan Che, who had initially spoken without thinking much, quickly noticed something wasn’t right. “Is there something unusual about this fog?”

“Boundary City has been unsettled lately, mostly due to this fog,” Yu Sheng said solemnly, observing the mist outside carefully. “‘Mistbound City,’ that’s what the Special Affairs Bureau named this misty Otherworld. They’ve issued warnings to all Spirit Realm Detectives and Investigators in the Borderland. Normally, the mist shouldn’t appear in our real world. But this house has some…unique traits. Strange phenomena often appear around it. This isn’t the first time the mist has shown up outside the window.”

Xuan Che frowned thoughtfully. Did this Eminent One really think his house was only “somewhat” strange?

Yu Sheng, oblivious to Xuan Che’s inner reflections, continued after some consideration, “But you don’t need to worry. The mist usually remains outside. Special methods are required to enter it. I can still open the door normally—you’ll have no trouble leaving.”

But Xuan Che’s response surprised him greatly.

“If that’s the case…I’d actually like to see this mist for myself.”