"...Huohuo, would you mind explaining why a historic landmark collapsed?"
"...Basically, a meteor fell from the sky—"
"The Luofu is a spaceship. The sky is artificial. Do you think nobody would notice if a meteor broke through the magnetic barriers and every layer of the carapace?"
Hanya sent a chilling gaze towards the cowering Foxian, Tail snickering in the background. Huohuo was sitting on her knees, a mountain of splintered debris behind her, reflected by the moonlit sky.
She gulped.
"So, uh... it turns out that the Heliobus was able to possess the building, and... I guess that after bending it in all kinds of weird ways, the mansion couldn't keep itself together once it was out of the Heliobus' control?"
Huohuo shrunk under the stoic woman's gaze, which lingered on her with a piercing intensity. It really wasn't her fault! If anything, Hanya should be berating the guy who killed the Heliobus in the first place!
Eventually, the older woman spoke:
"I see. That is acceptable. However, this residence was once lived in by Marshal Hua herself, so I can't let you off completely. Quintuple your training."
Huohuo blanched.
"Quint... Quintuple? How much more is that, if you would be so kind?"
Hanya paid no heed to her shaky tone.
"Five times."
The Foxian stared up for a few moments, before lowering her gaze.
"...Right. Of course. Whatever you wish Madam Hanya. Truly, your mercy knows no bounds!"
"...Is that supposed to be sarcastic?"
"Wha— I would never! I'd sooner gut myself... never mind, I don't have the guts for it."
Hanya shook her head, the ghost of a thin smile lingering on her lips, almost like a haze. She then held out her hand.
"Don't concern yourself with that. The gourd?"
Huohuo silently nodded, reaching out for a moment to transfer a Memory... before suddenly stiffening. Rivers of sweat seemed to manifest out of thin air as they flowed down her face, her entire body shaking as she forced out:
"About that... the Heliobus wasn't really... sealed?"
Hanya herself paused for a short moment.
"Explain."
Fear shimmered in Huohuo's strange pawprint eyes.
"Sunny kind of killed it...?"
***
"By the way, how did Hanya let you come along?"
The estate that was being haunted by the Heliobus rested at the top of a large hill overlooking a dense forest. A wild scent wafted through the air, containing the faint aroma of... well, trees. Nothing special, really.
To get to the top of that hill, one had to climb the stone steps laid into its side. That was where Sunny, Guinaifen, and Sushang were currently seated.
Guinaifen, who had been checking something on her phone, turned towards Sunny with a curious expression.
"She didn't tell you?"
"Nope."
She wore an awkward expression.
"Uh... basically, I was a bit strapped for cash. So, I got the genius idea to go hunting for ghosts, since I heard the Luofu had those."
She glanced over at Sushang, who grimaced before turning away, chestnut hair swaying in the breeze.
"I ended up jumping into a restricted area to catch some footage, and Sushang was standing guard there... she ended up chasing me for a while, even though she wasn't very good at it. Oh, but we already knew each other before that, so it was more like two besties playing tag. Then, Huohuo and Hanya, the professionals, came around and dealt with the ghost problem. I was probably going to get kicked out after, but Hanya saw my page, and was like: 'Wow, Lil Gui, you're so famous! We definitely need your help to bust these ghosts out of the Luofu!' And that's that."
Sushang sent her a look.
"She definitely didn't say it like that."
Guinaifen scoffed.
"Then you're remembering wrong. The point is, we're using my fame to gather information, so that interview segment was really helpful!"
Sunny tilted his head.
"It was?"
Guinaifen tilted her phone so that he could see it. Leaning forward, he saw the analytics for her channel — mainly the viewing trends... which vastly surpassed her subscriber count. Furthermore, it seemed to have quintupled today...
'Ah.'
Sunny slowly moved away, staring at the sky with a blank expression on his face.
It seemed... that he had greatly underestimated how much fame his own name could attract. It was no longer a wonder that plenty of Saints seemed to know his name...
...There was something he couldn't quite grasp, however.
"Aren't you a Legacy? How are you broke— oh, wait, I think I get it. You're disowned, aren't you? You definitely seem the type to get disowned."
Guinaifen's smile grew a little forced.
"Oh... that? Nah, let's save that story for another day. It's a really long one, and we're sure to be seeing more of each other, yeah, Mister Starkiller?"
"I have a name."
"Eh. I like your stage name more. And, uh... me and Shangshang are going to dip before Hanya gets on our asses, so bye!"
Sushang, who was referred to by that strangely infantile, yet endearing nickname, yelped as she was pulled up by the wrist as Guinaifen dragged her down the stairs, stumbling in her steps as she tried to keep up with the redhead's excitement.
"Hey! Slow down!"
Sunny blinked, feeling a shadow approach him from behind. Turning around, he saw Hanya — Huohuo cowering behind the taller woman's back, as if worried he'd stab her if she so much as peeked in his general direction.
"...Hey?"
Hanya silently stood there for a few moments, before stating:
"Although I said that you can stab as many Heliobi as you wished, I will kindly ask that you refrain from killing them. They're needed to power the Creation Furnace... which has very steep and strict energy requirements."
'...I guess slave labor is a lot more humiliating than just dying. Stupid ghosts.'
"Alright. Anything else?"
Hanya paused for a while, before smoothly answering:
"Huohuo said she wanted to talk to you."
The cowardly Foxian made a look of confusion.
"I did?"
Tail, who had remained silent, added:
"She did?"
Sunny pursed his lips. Why did this feel like it was going to be bothersome?