Chapter 5: The ’Welcome’ Lagged

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The ’Welcome’ Lagged

The night air was as cool as water. Thick, overlapping clouds obscured the moonlight, rendering the woods pitch-black.

Ling Qianjun and Ling Qianfan groped their way through the darkness, quickly heading toward the door.

Outside the woods, Ling Yunge and Xu Panqing huddled together, staring anxiously in the direction the brothers had gone. Their hearts were in their throats.

Soon, the two men reached the door.

"You go in first. I’ll cover the rear," Qianjun said, glancing behind him and maintaining high vigilance.

Qianfan nodded with the solemn resolve of a martyr. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door.

He charged inside blindly. As a result, with a heavy SMACK, he crashed straight into a wall!

Clutching his forehead, Qianfan grimaced in agonizing pain, his face contorted, yet he forced himself not to cry out.

Hearing the noise, Qianjun turned around and saw Qianfan’s teary-eyed, aggrieved expression. He furrowed his brows in confusion. "What are you doing? Why haven’t you gone in yet?"

Qianjun had been scanning their surroundings the entire time and hadn’t noticed his brother running into the wall.

Qianfan choked back a sob. "Qianjun, I can’t get in. There’s a wall blocking the way."

Qianjun knew that Qianfan wouldn’t mess around at a crucial moment like this, so he suspected there was something wrong with the door. Therefore, he instructed Qianfan to keep an eye on their surroundings before stepping through the doorway himself.

"Welcome."

Hearing the familiar voice, Qianjun relaxed. Fortunately, he could still enter the grocery store. He had been worried that he would never be able to get back in.

Hua Buwan was leaning on the counter watching a cartoon. Hearing a sound from the back door, her ears perked up, and she whipped her head around, her eyes shining brightly.

At first, she had been curious as to why opening the bathroom door would trigger a "Welcome" chime, until the system explained that this was the prompt tone for opening the Any Door. However, when she turned her head, there wasn’t a single soul in sight. Where were they? Where were her thousand-year-old ancestors?

Cupping her cheeks in both hands, Buwan wondered, "Am I hearing things?"

After confirming he was inside, Qianjun stepped back out and signaled for Qianfan to try again. Perhaps the door had just glitched earlier.

Qianfan had seen Qianjun vanish through the door with his own eyes. Realization dawned on him, and he agreed that Qianjun was right—the door must have malfunctioned. But a moment later, right in front of Qianjun, he smashed violently into the wall again.

"WAAAH, Qianjun, I’m not going, I’m not going!" Qianfan whimpered, clutching the large, swollen lump on his forehead. He felt deeply traumatized.

Refusing to believe it, Qianjun stepped through the doorway once more.

"Welcome."

After confirming he was back inside, he backed out again to check on Qianfan.

"Welc... Welcome..."

Because Qianjun had walked back and forth several times, the broadcasting machine was now glitching and stuttering.

Qianjun came to a clear realization. "It seems only I can go in. You can’t. Go down and swap with Mother and Yunge. Let them try too," he instructed.

Qianfan, wanting nothing more than to flee this place of heartbreak, quickly agreed and scurried out of the woods holding his head.

When Ling Yunge and Xu Panqing saw Qianfan return alone without Qianjun behind him, they anxiously asked if something had happened to him. Neither of them noticed the lump on Qianfan’s forehead.

Qianfan felt even more demoralized. However, he didn’t forget his task. He explained the situation in a few brief sentences, but before he could even utter a complaint, Yunge took Xu Panqing’s arm and hurried toward the woods, leaving Qianfan standing all alone, bewildered in the wind.

Seeing his sister and mother arrive, Qianjun let them try.

Meanwhile.

Listening to the stuttering "Welcome" chime ringing in her ears, Hua Buwan hastily stood up.