Daphne tightened her grip on the black jade talisman, watching one figure in black and one in white until the two boarded the RV. Only then did she turn back to her own car, her disappointment written across her face.
Mr. Sack naturally noticed his daughter's low spirits. He patted her shoulder to comfort her, switched the vehicle to auto-drive, and waited until they had left the Film City gate before speaking.
"Daphne, our whole family is grateful to Mr. Xun Kun. Strictly speaking, though, it was because you saved him first that he helped Benjamin. Afterward, to thank him, we provided everything he asked for. As far as the Sack family is concerned, the debt is paid."
Daphne bit her lip, unwilling to agree. "Dad, when Mr. Xun Kun left, he took nothing but the clothes on his back. How is that repaying him for helping my brother?"
Mr. Sack sighed and explained patiently, "Daphne, a stranger suddenly appeared inside our private estate without setting off the guards or patrol drones. Do you think the butler would not investigate his identity and just let him stay here with only you and Ben at home?"
Daphne blinked, surprised, then clenched the black talisman tighter in her palm. "Did the butler discover Mr. Xun Kun's identity?"
Mr. Sack shook his head. "No. Nothing. Azure Star's systems do not even have his fingerprints. And the timing of his appearance was very coincidental. That day the estate's sensors captured a strong magnetic field fluctuation nearby. It lasted only three seconds, but it gave me many hypotheses."
This time Daphne was truly shocked. Her blue eyes widened. "Dad, you mean he is not from Azure Star?"
"More precisely, he is not an Azure Star person from the year 2090."
Daphne's mouth fell open. "You are saying a space time transfer gate really exists?"
Mr. Sack shook his head. "Daphne, I cannot answer that. This research has always been controversial. Whether it continues, no one knows. Only the upper echelons of Azure Star would be aware. It is merely my reasonable conjecture.
"In any case, his leaving is best for us. In the end, he is not someone from our world. Do not set your heart on Mr. Xun Kun. When Ben's condition is stable, you and your brother will return to Sack Estate with me."
Daphne drew a long breath and murmured assent, then stared blankly at the black talisman in her palm while the car accelerated on the return road.
The Gongsun brothers, who had witnessed Ran Xi and Xun Kun meeting, exchanged a glance and immediately flagged the incident as high priority, because the man seemed quite familiar with Ran Xi and had a similar aura.
"Brother, did you get a front shot of that masked man in black?"
Gongsun Jing scrolled through his recent photos and shook his head. "No. He wears a mask that covers the top half of his face. You cannot run facial recognition from just the lower half."
Watching the RV drive back into the Film City, Gongsun Ming said, "Let us send what we have to Data Analysis first and see what they can dig up. The minister should be back any day now."
Gongsun Jing had the same idea. After sending the pictures, he looked up. "Likely in a day or two. I hope he brings good news."
Meanwhile, seated in the RV's passenger seat, Xun Kun sat with arms folded and eyes closed. He did not rush to speak with Yunxi, instead sweeping up, by divine sense, the conversations between the Sack father and daughter and those shadowing them. Only when the vehicle stopped did he open his eyes.
He opened them to meet a round, glossy stare. Li Li was crouched across from him, black grape eyes full of curiosity, peering at him without blinking.
Xun Kun's mouth quirked. He spoke to Yunxi, who was unfastening her seat belt. "What is your new spirit pet called, and why does it keep staring at me?"
Yunxi, in a very good mood, replied, "His name is Li Li, a fourth rank little red panda. Li Li's eyes are special. He can see through the essence of all living beings. He is curious how you, a demon cultivator, are bathed in the golden light of accrued merit, and he says your soul is black gold in color."
Xun Kun's mouth twitched. It was the first time he had heard such a mismatched compliment.
Yunxi chuckled and rubbed Li Li's head, then gathered the little fellow into her arms. The two of them headed to the RV's back cabin. She poured spirit tea for herself, for Xun Kun, and for Li Li, and then recounted her fall into Azure Star.
Xun Kun was an excellent listener. He did not pelt her with questions afterward, but in turn described how he had landed at the Sack estate.
Li Li sat primly on the corner of the table, swishing his tail as he listened to both stories, sipping spirit tea from time to time, blissfully content.
When Yunxi and Xun Kun had finished, they shared their hypotheses.
"We were sent here by the handiwork of evil cultivators. This world should be a low tier plane. There is no spiritual qi and no demonic qi. The laws of heaven and earth are weak. No orthodox lineages have continued.
If we cannot find a way back to the Weiyu Realm, then once our resources run dry, we will be trapped here to die."
Xun Kun nodded. "That matches my thinking. When fighting those Divine Transformation evil cultivators, I felt they were too crazed, which shows how desperately they wanted to seize the Misty Snow Domain. I do not know whether their goal succeeded."
Yunxi cleared her throat, and said embarrassedly. "Xun Kun, you were probably dragged into this by me. In the secret realm's heart, I killed two Divine Transformation evil cultivators, then coaxed and deceived spirit realm of the Misty Snow Domain into forming a contract with me. That ruined their plan. Since they could not kill me, they threw me here.
I was afraid you would be affected and tugged the red cord on instinct. Instead I pulled you into the black hole as well. Han Lian and Yun Chen likely tried to save us and were also swallowed."
Xun Kun rubbed his brow, too mixed in feeling to know what to say. He finally waved it off. "Since you have a contract with the Misty Snow Domain, we have the secret realm as a fallback. We do not have to worry about burning through our supplies too quickly."
Yunxi gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry. After I was sent here, the spirit realm of the Misty Snow Domain fell into slumber. The secret realm will not open for now. We have to wait."
This was not something easy to hide. Otherwise they would not remain friends, so Yunxi told Xun Kun directly.
Xun Kun glanced at the slightly guilty Yunxi and shook his head with a laugh. "No matter. The situation cannot get much worse. Something is still better than nothing. At least we have hope. What we must do now is find a road back to the Weiyu Realm. We cannot truly be trapped here to die."
Yunxi smiled slightly. "While I was on my own, I discovered what is wrong with this little world and came up with a preliminary idea for the return. I was waiting for the four of us to reunite so we could discuss it properly."
Xun Kun took a sip of spirit tea and asked, more at ease, "How do we go back?"
"By borrowing a road through the Underworld."