Zatanna was shocked beyond measure, never in her wildest dreams had she imagined her mother was still alive!
The emotions that surged within her, besides shock, were anger!
"Why did you tell me she was dead, Dad?!"
Zatanna furiously questioned her father in the poster.
She felt as if she had lived all these years under her father's deception, and that all her previous emotions were lies.
"Why for so many years..."
Zatanna's emotions were somewhat unbalanced; she grabbed the poster, "Why did you lie to me?!"
Roaring in anger, Zatanna directly tore down the poster.
With a thud, clutching the torn poster, she plopped down onto the floor.
Feeling an immense sense of grievance, she sat on the ground, helplessly burying her head in her knees and crying.
"Creak!"
The door suddenly pushed open, and Peter walked into the room.
Upon entering the room, he saw Zatanna burying her head and crying.
He surveyed the room, and feeling somewhat disappointed as he didn't detect anything unusual about this Secret House.
"Are you alright, Zatanna?"
Peter half-squatted down and asked the girl, who was immersed in sorrow and tears.
Zatanna lifted her red eyes and said to Peter, "I don't know, I don't recognize Dad anymore."
She said to Peter aggrievedly, "This is the first time I've realized I've been living a lie."
"Hmm, sometimes parents' lies aren't entirely malicious, Little Za."
Zatanna sniffled, "Don't all lies look the same?"
"Of course not, they evolve gradually."
Peter shook his head and said, "At first, they are lies like 'you were picked up from a trash can,' 'I'm saving your New Year's money for when you grow up,' 'watching TV too closely will make your eyes go blind'… these kinds of lies."
After a brief pause, he continued:
"Then, as we slowly grow up and our ability to distinguish truth from falsehood improves, parents' lying skills also become more sophisticated, such as 'I don't like to eat it, you eat it,' 'I don't need it, don't buy it,' and so on."
Listening to Peter's words, Zatanna quickly understood his meaning.
Her distressed mood eased somewhat, and she gradually regained her composure.
Suspecting that her father might have had some unspeakable difficulties, Zatanna gradually calmed down.
"Alright, let's go!"
Peter saw that her emotions had eased somewhat and extended his hand to her.
Zatanna nodded, extended her hand, and was pulled up by Peter.
Holding Peter's hand, she felt a warmth.
Pushing the door open and stepping out, the scene before them suddenly changed.
The familiar scene instantly vanished, replaced by unfamiliar decorations and layout.
The floor and carpet hung from the ceiling, vases and sofas spanned the walls, and staircases extended in various directions leading to different areas.
Staring blankly at the unfamiliar room before her, Zatanna was somewhat bewildered.
Is this still her home?
"W-what happened? Did Dad come back?"
Zatanna looked at Peter, hoping he could give her an answer.
However, Peter was also utterly confused by this.
The rabbit Zatanna was holding in her arms, seeing the change in the room before them, immediately jumped out of her embrace.
The rabbit stood up on the ground and muttered, "What a day full of surprises."
Zatanna didn't notice that the rabbit could talk and continued to mumble to herself, "My home... what exactly happened?"
"It seems it has awakened."
"Wait!"
Realizing something was wrong, Zatanna looked at the rabbit with a shocked expression.
"Burkes, you just spoke!"
Peter also turned his gaze to the rabbit.
The rabbit can talk too?!
Has he come to some Alice's Wonderland?
"Since the house can awaken, it's not surprising that the rabbit can talk."
Burkes twitched his ears and said, "I'm not a real rabbit; I'm a Pooka, a familiar of a magic user."
(Pooka: Irish spirit)
Zatanna looked at the rabbit in disbelief, "Pooka disguised as Burkes? Is that real or fake?"
"I don't know, but I bet your dad would find it very amusing."
Burkes complained about Zatanna's father.
Having already witnessed Kelly transform into a White wolf, Peter quickly accepted the scene before him.
He asked the rabbit, "Why did this house change?"
"Because it awakened."
The rabbit said, "The Secret House is filled with ancient and dangerous secrets, guarded by a master since the beginning of time. The master's job is primarily to prevent the secrets within the house from falling into evil hands."
As it spoke, it turned its gaze to Zatanna, "To achieve this, your father disguised it, putting it into a magic-induced sleep."
"It dreamed it was an ordinary house, so it took on the appearance of an ordinary house."
Zatanna processed some of the information and asked the rabbit, "So, my dad isn't who I thought he was, and my house isn't really my house anymore?"
"Yes."
The rabbit replied to her, "A powerful artifact maintains a spell, keeping the house dormant and hidden; there's also a key that can firmly lock away magic."
Before the other party could finish, Zatanna proactively said, "I guess that's the golden key that was stolen, right?"
"Exactly." The rabbit nodded.
"This sounds like a fairy tale."
Zatanna swallowed.
After listening to the rabbit's narration, Peter surveyed the surrounding rooms and asked, "What's in these rooms?"
"I don't know, after all, it's called the Secret House."
The rabbit tilted its head, "Since it's called the Secret House, I suppose its secrets won't be easily uncovered, will they?"
Peter eyed the rabbit suspiciously, "You don't know either?"
"I don't know."
The rabbit blinked, making a cute expression.
"Maybe we can go in and try, we might find Dad."
Zatanna immediately became impatient and ran towards the nearest door.
With a creak, Zatanna pushed the door open and entered.
What she saw upon entering was a scene of several Goblins cooking in the kitchen.
A burly Goblin was stirring a boiling soup, seemingly adding something to it.
Seeing the incredible scene, Zatanna immediately retreated at the fastest speed, slamming the door shut with a loud 'bang'.
Leaning back against the door, Zatanna spread her arms and breathed deeply.
"What did you see?"
Peter asked her curiously.
"I don't know, it seemed like two... Goblins?"
Zatanna said incredulously, "I actually entered a Goblin kitchen, in my own house! Goblins exist in this World, and they can even talk!"
She felt that her common sense was being slightly challenged.
"I warned you, this house is no longer what you're familiar with."
The rabbit said gloomily, "Besides, isn't this common in the magic World? I even know a talking ape!"
"Goblin?"
Peter didn't enter the room; he pinched his chin and fell into thought.
Since Zatanna could enter a Goblin kitchen, what else could be in the other rooms?
Burkes said the Secret House's history could be traced back to the beginning of time.
So, are there other creatures in the rooms imbued with mysterious magic?
Fantasy creatures, or incredible creatures from the magic side, as well as humans or historical scenes that once existed?
It seemed that every time a door was opened, it was like opening a blind box; one never knew what they would see.
He developed a strong interest in this Secret House.
If he could gain the right to use this Secret House, he could lock the naughty children inside when they misbehaved in the future.
Let the naughty children experience the thrill of opening a blind box.
It could serve as both a confinement and a way for the misbehaving children to explore the secrets of the Secret House for him, killing two birds with one stone.
Burkes, unaware of Peter's thoughts, twitched his ears and said to the two, "We should be trapped in the Secret House!"
Patrick Farm.
By evening, Peter still hadn't returned, and Mark and Star-Lord sat at the dining table, both feeling a bit down.
Mark frowned, looking at the dark night outside the window.
"Did something happen to Dad?"
Mark muttered to himself.
But he quickly shook his head again, "No, it won't, no one can hurt Dad."
Although he said that, Mark quickly became uneasy again, thinking of the "Lucifer" he had dealt with before.
If he encounters someone who can use magic, Dad might run into some trouble.
After all, Dad and he don't know magic.
Thinking of this, Mark's unease and anxiety grew stronger.
"I need to do something."
Thinking of this, Mark immediately turned to Star-Lord and said, "I'm going out for a bit, Star-Lord, you stay here."
Seeing Mark about to leave, Star-Lord stood up and said to him, "But Dad told us to wait for him to come back."
Although he was also very worried about Peter's safety, he believed they should listen to their father and stay at the farm to wait for him to return.
"Then you can wait foolishly; I won't waste my time here."
Mark took a deep breath and quickly changed into his clothes and shoes.
"But do you know where Dad went?"
"I don't know, but I have the ability to fly and super vision; I'll find Dad eventually."
Although Star-Lord wished he could use magic to turn Mark into a doll, he didn't want him to get into trouble now, so he reminded him, "Dad took Zatanna home. As for Zatanna's address, maybe you can ask those gangsters; after all, they've been investigating Zatanna."
"Do you know which gang they belong to?"
Star-Lord nodded, "I know, I heard it when Dad was on the phone with Chandler."
"Wait... you eavesdropped on Dad's conversation?"
Mark looked at him with an unfriendly gaze.
"I just accidentally overheard, just like your conversation with Dad this morning, I accidentally overheard that too."
Star-Lord said innocently.
As his words fell, the scene fell silent for a few seconds.
Gradually, the 'creaking' sound of fists clenching came from Mark's hands.