Chapter 367: Audrey's Social Embarrassment

Chapter 367: Audrey's Social Embarrassment

Hastur wanted to decline the invitation, but he couldn't resist Audrey's expectant gaze, which was too powerful.

"That's wonderful! I've always been hesitant to explore the deeper areas, but with Mr. Hastur accompanying me, I can finally uncover its mysteries," Audrey said, her excitement evident in her voice. She glanced shyly at Hastur before turning to give Susie a smug smile.

"Woof!" Susie stood up and rubbed against Hastur's pant leg, indicating she wanted to join this spiritual adventure too.

"No, Susie can't come!" Audrey objected, her face slightly flushed.

"Woof?" Susie looked at Audrey in confusion, and Hastur's gaze also turned to her.

After a moment's thought, Hastur understood Audrey's concerns. In that spiritual world, there were likely special places where one might unconsciously reveal their inner thoughts. Audrey was probably afraid Susie might accidentally expose some of her secrets.

Realizing this, Hastur immediately sided with Susie . "I think Susie could use some training to develop her extraordinary abilities. Sometimes her non-human attributes might help us overcome difficulties."

"Woof!" Susie wagged her tail happily.

"Fine," Audrey reluctantly agreed to let Susie participate, already thinking about how to give Susie an emergency briefing. She was determined not to let Susie reveal any of her secrets to Mr. Hastur in the spiritual world.

Soon after, Audrey excused herself to rest in her room, taking Susie with her under the pretense of discussing psychology.

Since he would be exploring the spiritual world with Audrey that night, Hastur accepted Mrs. Hall's invitation to stay overnight in a guest room at the Hall estate. This deepened the look in Earl Hall's eyes, though he said nothing after quietly observing Hastur. Mrs. Hall was delighted and bustled about preparing a guest room.

Alfred patted Hastur's shoulder with a mysterious smile. "Hastur, it seems my family really likes you."

...

Just after eleven that night, Hastur finished having a few drinks with Alfred and Earl Hall before retiring to his prepared guest room. Half an hour later, he appeared in spirit form in Audrey's room.

Audrey was half-sprawled on the edge of her bed, leaning down to pet Susie 's head while giving her repeated instructions: "Susie , you must remember everything I told you earlier. Don't let your mind wander."

"Okay, Audrey," Susie nodded affirmatively. "Audrey, you should trust me, and trust Mr. Hastur too. No matter what secrets I might reveal, it won't affect how he sees you."

"Susie , don't you know every young lady should have her own secrets?"

"Oh, but what if you accidentally say something yourself?"

"Then it would be intentional, of course."

"Woof."

Susie said no more.

A rhythmic tapping came from the window - the pre-arranged signal from Hastur. Audrey, who had been waiting eagerly, activated her spirit vision and saw Hastur by the window. It was her first time seeing him in spirit form, just a vague outline with no distinct features, likely intentionally obscured. This matched perfectly with the shadowy figure she had seen tapping on her window before.

Audrey smiled and retrieved the crystal ball that served as a nexus to the spiritual world from her bedside. Usually, to enter that world, she would simply place the crystal under her pillow and naturally slip in. But she had never tried inviting others along, not even Susie . To be safe, she always had Susie stay outside in case of emergencies, ready to wake her if needed.

"Audrey, lie down and relax as usual to enter the spiritual world first. I'll take care of the rest," Hastur instructed briefly.

Audrey lay on her back, slowly closed her eyes, and her breathing soon became even as she entered the spiritual world.

"Susie , you know how to enter someone's mind, right?"

"Woof."

After reminding Susie of what to be careful of, Hastur led her into Audrey's spiritual world. Through the crystal nexus, they arrived at a silvery-white spiritual tower.

Audrey was already waiting for them there. When Hastur and Susie appeared, she greeted them cheerfully like the host: "Mr. Hastur, Susie , welcome to the Silver Tower."

Silver Tower was the name Audrey had given to this silvery-white spiritual spire. The eerie forest outside also had a new name: the Twisted Grove.

"Woof." Susie curiously circled the Silver Tower, investigating.

Hastur stood at the railing outside, gazing out at this hazy and strange spiritual world. Last time, he had viewed it from the perspective of the stars, looking down on a vast spiritual sea. Now he was on just one small spiritual island within it.

If there were truly secrets and gifts hidden in this spiritual world, they would likely be in the depths of the spiritual sea, where the remains of that spiritual dragon had fallen.

"Mr. Hastur, to the east is the Twisted Grove, to the south is the Silent Fortress, to the west is the Witch's House, and to the north is the sea. If we want to leave here, north is our best option," Audrey explained, pointing out the different areas as she and Susie joined Hastur.

"It helps to have proper names for things," Audrey said, blushing slightly as she felt Hastur's surprised gaze.

As she explored this spiritual world, she had developed a habit of giving distinctive names to special areas or structures. For instance, the Silent Fortress to the south was named for an ancient castle there. Upon entering, one's spiritual gates would involuntarily close, as if completely cut off from the outside world, not wanting to speak a word.

As for the Witch's House to the west... that was simply because there was an empty, candlelit wooden cabin that seemed to fit her image of a witch's wilderness dwelling.

To the north...

Hastur recalled the overall view of this spiritual world from last time. The remains of that spiritual dragon did indeed seem to be north of this spiritual island.

The three of them - two people and a dog - descended from the Silver Tower and headed north.

The areas they passed through were all familiar to Audrey from her previous explorations, so there was no danger. It wasn't until they passed through a black forest and came upon a crystal-clear lake that Audrey slowed her pace, took a deep breath, and exchanged a meaningful glance with Susie .

In this spiritual world, even at night there was no crimson moon, but there was a faint starlight falling. Hastur guessed this change was likely due to his previous descent here in star form.

Under the hazy starlight, the lake before them appeared even more serene and pure.

Hastur casually asked Audrey the name of the lake.

Audrey blinked softly and said, "This is the Wishing Lake. Mr. Hastur, you can try making a wish here."

"Woof," Susie chimed in agreement.

Hastur glanced at the person and dog who were clearly hiding some scheme, then walked a few steps towards the lake, coming to its shore.

The previously still surface of the lake rippled gently, then coalesced into the form of a small, lake-blue sprite. Half its body emerged from the water, revealing delicate features, pointed upright ears, and a pair of blue wings made of water gently fluttering on its back. Its eyes regarded Hastur with innocent curiosity for a moment before it spoke: "Traveler from afar, what assistance do you need?"

"I wish to know the hidden thoughts in a young lady's heart," Hastur said, pointing towards Audrey, who had been preparing to watch the show.

"Mr. Hastur!" Audrey panicked at his words, losing her previous composure. She clutched at her skirt, her cheeks reddening. She had only meant to give Mr. Hastur a pleasant surprise, but he had given her an even bigger shock in return.

"I can grant your wish, but you must answer a question for me in return," the lake sprite said.

"No problem," Hastur agreed to this small trade.

The lake sprite merged back into the water. Soon, the calm surface of the lake displayed a scene of Audrey standing by the shore, chatting with the small lake sprite.

Audrey's clear voice rang out from the lake's surface:

"Can you leave the spirit world and stay by my side? I really want a cute little sprite companion I can hold in my hands."

"Susie is great, but lately she's been too obsessed with studying. She's just a dog, but it makes me have to work harder too, afraid I might fall behind her."

"Just imagining her looking at me with that confused and disappointed expression, saying 'Audrey, you don't even know this?' ..."

"Since you like asking questions, next time I'll bring Mr. Hastur along. His knowledge is vast; he's sure to satisfy your curiosity."

"I kind of miss when Mr. Hastur was still poor. At least back then I could beat him when it came to money..."

Hastur and Susie both turned to look at Audrey as her crisp, clear voice emanated from the lake.

If there was ever a perfect example of social mortification, this was it. Audrey now wished she could dive into the lake and hide in its depths to escape the knowing looks from Hastur and Susie .

"Audrey, I didn't realize you had such faith in my efforts and intelligence," Susie said happily, her tail wagging so hard it nearly reached the sky.

"..." Audrey tried her best to suppress her conflicted emotions, turning slightly away and pretending not to hear Susie 's smug voice.