This was Viska's home. The Obsidian Palace had already left realspace and was now drifting through a warped otherworld.
Ice Father and Ice Mother had prepared a lavish family dinner, both to welcome their daughter home and to welcome their guest. Though it was rude to think so, it was really great to eat at Viska's house without having to face Leek Boxes and egg-filled pancakes—of course, it wasn't that Leek Boxes and egg-filled pancakes were bad. But think about it: if Tang Monk had crossed countless mountains and rivers, endured eighty-one trials, and arrived in India after narrowly escaping death time and again, only for the Buddha to have someone bring him a five-coin book titled A Quick Guide to Buddhism—Printed by the Tang Dynasty Book Bureau...
Then you'd understand how I felt when eating at Father God's house.
Since this was a family dinner, there was no one else at the table. Aside from Kuwa Yin and his wife, only Viska's disembodied-soul version and I were present. The maid Mo was not attending us this time either; only two shadowy servants, like clusters of smoke, stood nearby to pour tea, fetch things, and await orders. The atmosphere should have been especially relaxed in theory, but the goosebumps and cold sweat on my body came wave after wave without end. This atmosphere was making me miss even Father God's Leek Boxes. I put a spoonful of beans that tasted a little like corn kernels into my mouth and couldn't help looking toward the source of this bizarre atmosphere: Uncle Kuwa Yin and Aunt Aisha Li were indeed still staring this way with blazing eyes.
The two of them had been staring for nearly ten minutes since the meal began. Ice Mother was a little better, at least she had