Chapter 53: Stefan's Party Invitation

“A house bought with my own abilities—why should I move out? If it’s a blessing, I can enjoy it; if it’s a curse, I can’t escape it anyway. Rather than moving out and not knowing what the other party intends, it’s safer to stay and keep a close watch on any developments.”
Lin Xiao was not timid. As far as he understood, even if gods truly existed in this world, it would be difficult for them to show themselves, and even harder to cross dimensions to attack him directly.
The only thing he truly needed to worry about was the pentagram array below—he must never allow anyone to restore it.
With this in mind, he jumped off the platform, summoned lightning once more, and with the Stellar Destruction Axe, utterly destroyed the pentagram array.
“Hey, the power that was binding us is almost gone!”
The blonde woman floating midair exclaimed with delight, and the other three nodded in agreement.
Lin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that by luck, he had ensured safety for himself and his family, at least for now. There was no need to worry about the Crimson Sovereign, so he could live in peace for the time being.
He turned to look at the four spectral figures suspended in the air. They were likely spirit bodies, similar to the ghosts from old Chinese legends. Keeping them around wasn’t much of a problem—perhaps it was better to...
“Spare us, Master, please spare us! We’ve never harmed anyone—we are just the innocent owners who died tragically here! Please don’t let us be destroyed!”
The blonde woman was the first to kneel, quickly pulling the little girl down with her. The two men hastily followed suit. They knew well that this man had slain the very source of evil and destroyed so many malevolent spirits; he could certainly destroy them as well.
Now Lin Xiao was in a dilemma. If they had been evil spirits or vengeful ghosts, he would have ended them with a single blow—they would only frighten people if left alive.
But these four were not evil. There was no trace of wickedness about them; killing them rashly would be no different from senseless slaughter of the innocent.
After some thought, he made up his mind: it would be better to keep them around, use them to guard the home. After all, the werewolf leader Lucien could come to attack at any time—perhaps these spirits would be useful.
“I can consider letting you stay, but I have two conditions. If you agree, you can remain; if not, either leave now or don’t blame me for being merciless.”
At this, the four spirits nodded eagerly. In times of desperation, one cannot afford to bargain, especially before someone who could end them with a thought.
“First: you must never harm my family. If I even suspect you are, you will be obliterated.
Second: you are to guard this house. If any enemy attacks my family, you must step forward and protect them.”
The blonde woman sighed with relief. She had feared some strange or evil demand, but these were simple requirements, and all four immediately agreed.

“Here’s the deal: I’ll tell my family about your presence. Don’t appear and scare anyone for no reason, especially you two—if I catch you fooling around everywhere, well, you’ll take the consequences.”
Lin Xiao reminded them again. After all, spirits were not ordinary people and could easily frighten Joey and the others, especially those two men—who had a reputation for public displays of affection and needed some restraint.
Having handled the matter, he ordered the spirits to stay quietly in the basement and then returned upstairs. The main reason he kept them was to guard the pentagram array, to keep constant watch on the Crimson Sovereign and prevent her from making any moves behind the scenes.
Ancient gods...
Although he didn’t know what exactly these so-called ancient gods were, they must be vastly stronger than he was now. Against such unknown enemies, as the system warned, one could never be too cautious.
Back in the living room, Joey had been sent to her bedroom, while Will and the other two sat with her. Lin Xiao told them everything had been resolved perfectly and there was nothing to worry about anymore, explaining about the four spirits as well.
Learning there were four spirits in the house made Joey uneasy, but since this was her son’s idea, she trusted he had his reasons and said nothing more, only urging him to be careful.
After a long and exhausting night, the five were thoroughly worn out. They decided to all sleep in Joey’s room—Lin Xiao, Will, and Chief Hopper on the floor, while Eleven and Joey slept on the bed, the family together and safe.
The next morning, they woke one after another. Joey quietly got up to prepare breakfast, with Eleven helping her. By the time Lin Xiao woke up, the table was already laid with steaming breakfast.
Fried bacon, eggs, several slices of toasted bread, a large plate of vegetable salad, and hot milk.
Thanks to the rapid development of his former homeland, Lin Xiao was used to international breakfasts. He could handle milk and bread, and even most American food, though nothing tasted quite as good as rice.
After washing up, the five sat around the table, eating and chatting about the previous night’s events.
Joey said she didn’t know what had happened; as soon as she entered the house, her mind became hazy and she lost control of herself. Only when she heard their heartfelt calls did she wake up and drive the evil out.
Lin Xiao told them about fighting the evil spirits, which left Joey deeply shaken, silently grateful that they had superpowers—otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“Jim, thank you for everything last night.”
Joey thanked Chief Hopper, who waved it off and joked,
“Living in a mansion isn’t bad. I won’t charge you rent, just let me take care of the yard and drive you around in exchange.”

“Of course! With a police chief living here, what do we have to fear? Besides, the four of us stayed at your house for a long time and you never charged us rent.”
Joey replied. Neither mentioned what had happened between them last night; some things were best left unsaid.
Lin Xiao felt a headache coming on. He had thought that after sharing hardship, the relationship between the two might finally progress, maybe even a proposal today. But for now, it seemed there was no hope yet.
Still, living under the same roof, feelings would grow with time. It was only a matter of time before they became a true family.
After breakfast, Lin Xiao took Will to school while Chief Hopper drove Joey to work. As Lin Xiao had instructed, Eleven disguised herself as a girl and quietly took the bus into town to continue protecting Joey from the shadows.
At school, Dustin came running to find Will. The two discussed visiting Michael and Lucas in the hospital after class—they were still hospitalized and hadn’t returned to school.
Lin Xiao greeted Will and went to his own class, where he found a crowd noisily gathered around Stefan, discussing something.
“Hey, Byers, I’m hosting a party tonight. Would you do me the honor of coming?”
Seeing Lin Xiao enter, Stefan stood up and asked.
Everyone turned to look, baffled as to why the handsome Stefan always paid so much attention to this guy—what was his name again?
Lin Xiao was about to refuse when his magic stirred at the faintest provocation; almost involuntarily, he replied,
“I’d be delighted. What time?”
“Seven o’clock tonight. My house is at the Baskerville Manor on the shore of Campus Lake. Just let the gatekeeper know when you arrive, and I’ll come out to meet you.”
Stefan said happily. Lin Xiao’s heart stirred—Baskerville Manor was right next to his current villa community.
That was the real territory of the super-rich, where every inch of land was worth a fortune and the luxury was legendary—famous throughout all of Rowan County.