Hao Ren had been looking for a door in the real world, through which he could safely travel to the Plane of Dreams—there would be no need for troublesome conversion equipment, and longer time constraints while he explored the mysterious world. Plus, he would not be held responsible for the collapse of the Wall of Reality, or the implosion of the Plane of Dreams into the real world. He was looking for the crack, which had existed way before he even began to look for it. To top it all off, it had been safely opened once. Only a crack like that was reliable. The thing he had been looking for was right in front of him.
If the vengeful spirit was like the other unusual creatures—a creature that invaded the real world from the Plane of Dreams—this lilac crack in front of him would then be the passage through which this creature came to Earth.
The passages used for by the unusual creatures to cross over to Earth had disappeared over time, but no one ever thought that the passage used by the vengeful spirit would still remain!
Of course, it was not a sure thing that it was stable crack leading to the Plane of Dreams, but at least the possibility was high.
As Becky also came to her senses, she was filled with joy and she began to run around. She hugged everyone, shaked hands with them, and started saying goodbye. The only things on the greedy mercenary's mind were her manor, titles, gold and jewelry—those things were lying in her dream home, waiting for her. All she needed was a door through which she could travel home safely!
She jumped onto the round platform happily and lunged into the light film. However, she could not cross over as expected.
Hao Ren yelled behind her, "Calm down. We have to find a way to reactivate this thing first."
Becky was disappointed as she squatted by the side, her head hung low.
"You think this door could lead to..." Vivian whispered to Hao Ren. "But, it's closed now. Do you know how to activate it?"
Hao Ren scratched his chin while he thought about it, pretending to be an expert. Nonetheless, he managed to come out with an idea. "I think it has something to do with the 'stones' that you gave to the two human menials."
Vivian twisted her eyebrows. "How do you know? I tinkered with the stones and studied them for a long time, but the door didn't move an inch."
"Maybe you were doing it wrong," said Hao Ren. "And even if it's impossible to open the door, it's worth studying. What's more, it fell out of the crack, so it has to be related to the vengeful spirit. We should go back and see Igor. He would not have thrown away something left behind by his ancestors just like that."
"Do you think he'll just take out the stones without any resistance?" Vivian looked at Hao Ren suspiciously.
"You've got to be kidding me," said Hao Ren as he looked at Vivian. "His ancestors addressed you as the boss. You should show your power as the witch. We have a portrait to back it up. You should know some secrets about their ancestors, right? By then we'll find ways to convince him of your identity."
Vivian thought about it for a moment and nodded. Meanwhile, Hao Ren had walked around the black platform. Since the vengeful spirit had been contained, the strange weather surrounding the circular platform had long subsided, and the dark, snowy plains were back to silence. The only activity in the area came from the lavender light film above the circular platform. It was emitting a buzz like an electrical current flowing through a transformer.
This ancient space crevice hid a huge secret and Hao Ren decided to dig it up at all costs.
They decided to leave the strange space for a while and seek one of the two stones from Igor. Before they went, White Flame suddenly stepped forward and said goodbye to everyone. "I'm not going with you guys. I'm just here to hone my skills a bit. Now that the vengeful spirit has been contained, I should go back."
Hao Ren smacked his forehead in realization. "Oh yeah... I almost forgot that you're not with us!"
Everyone stared at Hao Ren. Even Lily was wagging her tail. "You seem to be more naive than me, Landlord."
Hao Ren gave them a wry smile. He had totally forgotten. As White Flame was a lone demon hunter working with them, she had to be cooperative. Because of that, they worked in a seamless manner during the battle. What was even better, as an orthodox demon hunter, she did not show the slightest discomfort in working along with a group of unusual creatures. She did not even say anything beyond what was necessary. This reduced her sense of oddity and presence to the lowest level. If she had not mentioned anything, Hao Ren would not have expected this girl to leave in the end.
However, right after White Flame said that she was leaving, something suddenly crossed Hao Ren's mind. "Wait a second, you've heard and seen things that you're supposed not to..."
Although White Flame was not really familiar with how things worked in the world, she was not stupid. When she decided to say goodbye she had anticipated that there would be problems—in fact, she had even worked out a counter-attack strategy in case they decided to silence her. But now, it seemed like she did not need it. She smiled slightly and said, "I just came here to hunt. And after a long and fierce battle, the target has been eliminated. Apart from that, I've never met anything else. I didn't even know there was a stable alien dimension beneath the ancient castle, much less a witch."
White Flame looked very indifferent. She did not even appear evasive as she said that. This in turn had Vivian amazed. "You know what this means? This alien dimension, this crevice in the alien dimension... I know the demon hunters' rules. You're required to give a report on any supernatural phenomenon you've seen."
"I know." White Flame nodded. "But, there isn't anything left here, right? Besides, you guys don't seem to be the kind of otherworldlings that would do harm. When you're kind enough to help the ordinary people expel evil spirits, you're better than my stubborn mentors. I think I should close my eyes to all of this," White Flame said as she sighed.
"I'll ponder about these things... They've been on my mind before, but after meeting you guys, I'm beginning to think about them even more—about aliens, and demon hunters..."
Hao Ren looked at White Flame for a while, but he did not know what to make of the situation. So, he just nodded. "Well, we shall not persuade you further then. After all, the team is still a bit sensitive about it. But, we'll see in the future?"
"Perhaps." White Flame grinned. "Your odd weapons and your peculiar style of fighting are all very interesting. Although I know that everyone has their own secrets, I do hope when we meet next time, given the chance, you'll talk about them. I should go now. We'll part here."
As her voice trailed off, she turned into a pale flame, and disappeared before their eyes. Nangong Wuyue activated her Mist Barrier, sensing their surrounding atmosphere. After White Flame's vibe completely dissipated, she turned to look at Hao Ren. "Are you really letting her go just like that? You believe the words of a demon hunter?"
"No, I don't." Hao Ren shrugged indifferently. "I'm not a child anymore. How could I trust an outsider? But letting her go is the best option now. She's a celebrity demon hunter. Her mentors and protectors must have known that she came to Andrea's Castle. If for some reason she doesn't make it back, do you think this place will be left unturned by the other demon hunters? The secrets underground will then be exposed, so why don't we take a chance and see if the demon huntress will keep her word."
Lily's ears twitched as she asked, "What if she exposes everything about the castle and whatever's beneath it?"
"This crevice may be a leakage point of the Plane of Dreams and the Surface World," said Hao Ren as he looked at the lilac light curtain. With his mouth slightly tilted up, he added, "If it's really threatened, I can always call for more advanced firepower, or even let the goddess intervene personally. Don't underestimate this crevice, it may even affect the safety of the entire universe. Once we know how legit this thing is, I won't have to worry about what will happen here anymore."
After half a year as an agent of the goddess, Hao Ren finally began to look like a veteran. He knew what he was doing!
Nangong Wuyue rubbed her chin and said, "Why does is it feel like deja vu? Is it like 'the dragon's been contained under the old tree in the village, and the village chief just handed you a bronze dagger to save the world'?"
Vivian glanced at the box next to Hao Ren's foot; the vengeful spirit was sealed in that very box. It was invisible, but it actually existed. She could not help but sigh. "This is probably the first vengeful spirit that has ever been captured. I've defeated several vengeful spirits, but never have I understood so clearly about what was being destroyed. It's not even some kind of light, it's an energy field."
Hao Ren also grinned. "I can't believe we accomplished this feat with the accompaniment of Little Apple. What's going on with Lil Pea?"
Lil Pea poked her head out from his furry collar, waving happily and saying, "What's going on! What's going on!"
"If you want her to explain, she won't be able to say it clearly." Nangong Wuyue looked up at the dark sky and sighed. "Let's get the hell out of this creepy place. This place is freaking cold... I feel like hibernating now!"