The Hoshino Siblings and the Penguin Prince

In that instant, Su Cheng's mind raced with thoughts.

Just last time, Xuan Ying had treated Li Guanqi as an enemy, yet in the blink of an eye, she now regarded her as a friend, even acting like close sisters.

It was hard not to marvel at it.

This world truly was baffling.

No—perhaps it was more accurate to say that the minds of women were simply beyond his comprehension.

Then, he saw Li Guanqi flash him an apologetic look before being dragged away by Xuan Ying, with Zhao Yan following closely behind as they exited the classroom.

Su Cheng shrugged with a smile, unbothered, and proceeded to tidy up his desk, preparing to eat dumplings alone.

As he stepped out of the classroom, he pulled out his phone and noticed a text from Li Guanqi:

"They insisted on treating me to a meal. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on."

Reading this, he paused for a moment before replying:

"Go ahead. Just remember to watch your sugar intake."

Truthfully, he wasn’t particularly curious about the secrets between girls.

But if it involved him, Li Guanqi would surely tell him.

After sending his reply, he headed toward the lawn for lunch. However, as he reached the stairwell, he heard faint footsteps coming from the rooftop.

The steps were light, but Su Cheng’s sharp ears caught them.

He glanced up and spotted the graceful figure of Hoshino Mirai, the Disciplinary Committee Member armband on her shoulder.

After a brief consideration, he decided to head up to the rooftop.

Since the door was open, there was no need to make the extra trip to the lawn—it would save time.

Besides, the lawn without Li Guanqi wasn’t worth visiting anyway.

Upon reaching the rooftop, he found the door unexpectedly closed. He pushed it open lightly and stepped inside, only to see Hoshino Mirai crouched in a corner.

Before her stood a statue, with an incense burner placed in front. Three sticks of incense smoldered inside, and she was pulling out a stack of handmade joss paper from her bag, beginning to burn it.

Huh?

What the hell?

Su Cheng’s face was a picture of confusion.

Judging by the intricate patterns, the joss paper was clearly hand-drawn—the kind he couldn’t even afford.

And this entire scene unfolding in a school setting? Utterly bizarre.

Fortunately, Su Cheng wasn’t scared—just deeply weirded out. He couldn’t help but think: Burning incense was already strange enough, but now joss paper too?

Though, on the bright side…

At least he wouldn’t have to worry about money in the afterlife—wait, no, what the hell?!

Despite not being superstitious, an inexplicable sense of foreboding surged through him, as if his head was being bombarded with floating "+100 Hell Notes" notifications.

Just then, footsteps echoed from the stairwell again. Instinctively, Su Cheng drew his ghost blade and vanished into stealth mode.

Soon, a burly male student appeared at the door—Hoshino Yikui, Mirai’s older brother.

"Little sis, why didn’t you lock the door before burning these?"

He immediately locked the door behind him and called out to Mirai, who was still focused on burning the joss paper, seemingly lost in thought.

"Little sis?!"

Hoshino Yikui walked over and reached out to tap her head.

"Ah! Sorry, bro, I was just… thinking. Didn’t notice," Mirai snapped out of her daze and quickly apologized.

"Tch."

Yikui sighed and said, "Keep going, then."

As for why his little sister was burning joss paper—well, it had actually been his idea. A few days ago, a sudden gust of wind had blown away Penguin Prince’s 100 bucks…

Then, Mirai had fallen ill, burning up with fever to the point of delirium. But in her haze, she’d whispered to him that Penguin Prince was gone.

When she said it, she’d cried—hard.

This shocked Yikui. His sister had always been strong-willed and reserved, not the type to shed tears easily…

Under his persistent questioning, she finally explained: Penguin Prince had once promised to use his remaining power to protect her for a while. But now that time was up, the money had flown away—proof that he, too, was gone.

Gone for good. Never coming back.

That was why she’d been so heartbroken, so devastated that she’d fallen sick.

As her brother, Yikui couldn’t just stand by. But he also knew her personality well—stubborn and introverted—so he’d been at a loss, silently watching over her.

Yet seeing her grow thinner by the day pained him deeply.

So, he’d racked his brain for ways to lift her spirits.

Just yesterday, he’d visited a Taoist temple, hoping a priest could help. But when he mentioned Penguin Prince, the priest had outright called him insane and kicked him out.

Luckily, as he left, he’d spotted another priest burning joss paper in an offering furnace.

That’s when inspiration struck.

Why not burn joss paper for Penguin Prince?

Didn’t it need QB to move on?

Send it money—let it buy its own QB!

Who knows? Maybe it’d even come back!

Of course, Yikui himself didn’t believe a word of it. The whole thing was absurd. He figured Penguin Prince had just been messing with his sister.

But as long as she believed, that was enough.

Belief meant hope, and hope could pull her out of this slump.

So, he’d scoured the streets for the most expensive joss paper and "hell banknotes" he could find.

That night, he’d told Mirai about the idea of burning offerings. To his surprise, the very next day, she’d brought the entire stash to school to burn at noon.

"Bro, why don’t we just burn QB directly? Maybe he’ll come back right away…"

Mirai’s question hit Su Cheng—still invisible behind them—like a truck. His face darkened.

"Burn… QB?!"

Since when was that a service available in the underworld?

Would burning a VIP membership make King Yama announce: "Esteemed Hell Super VIP, your sentence has been accelerated by 6.5x!"

Yikui blinked, then put on a patient, elder-brother tone.

"Little sis, you don’t understand. QB is virtual currency—it has no physical form. You can’t burn something that doesn’t exist."

Su Cheng, eavesdropping, nearly lost it.

One asks a ridiculous question, the other gives a serious answer.

These siblings were like JFK in a convertible—brains wide open.

What kind of mental gymnastics led to such a surreal conversation?!

At first, he thought they were missing a few screws, but no—their brains just operated on a different wavelength.

"Just remember this," Yikui continued, seeing his sister silently burning more joss paper. "Once the money reaches him, he can buy his own QB. Maybe then… he’ll come back."

He knew Mirai was clinging to anything right now. So, he had to craft a belief—no matter how absurd—to keep her from breaking.

Hope, however flimsy, was still hope.

"But… what if it doesn’t work?"

Mirai finally looked up at her brother, her voice small.

"What do we do then?"

At this moment, she knew full well how absurd this was, but she was so desperate that she clung to the faintest hope—because hope was all she had left, and humans are creatures who survive on hope.

"It's alright. I’ve already gotten the contact information for Ma Linlin, the graduated senior, from the student council."

Hoshino Yikui smiled and said, "I’ll personally visit her later and ask her to help produce an officially licensed paper version of underworld currency—QB."

"Brother!"

Hoshino Mirai suddenly interrupted him. She hadn’t expected her brother to have already thought this far ahead. Last night, he had stayed up all night just to buy underworld currency...

At this thought, her eyes reddened, and her lips trembled slightly. But she didn’t know what to say.

"Relax, he hasn’t fulfilled my wish yet. Letting him off so easily would be too cheap," Hoshino Yikui said, patting his sister’s shoulder reassuringly.

Seeing the hope and anticipation in her brother’s eyes, Hoshino Mirai finally nodded.

……………………

Hearing this, Su Cheng roughly understood what was going on.

However, he decided not to reveal himself now—he’d wait a few more days.

He hadn’t expected that neglecting his alternate account for so long would lead to such trouble.

It was all because of his vengeful prank!

But if given another chance, he definitely wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

Yet, just as he stepped toward the rooftop exit to leave, his hair stood on end, and a sudden sense of danger surged through him.

His cardiovascular system reacted instantly—his pituitary-adrenal cortex activated, his heartbeat, breathing, pulse, liver, spleen, and kidney functions rapidly shifting...

This was a stress response he hadn’t triggered in a long time.

Then, he turned his horrified gaze toward the siblings...

Logically, these two shouldn’t have the conditions for a false confession, so he hadn’t run at first, assuming the danger came from elsewhere.

But then—

"Brother, do you like Penguin Prince?"

"Ah… well…"

Hoshino Yikui looked at his sister’s hopeful, expectant eyes and couldn’t bear to disappoint her. So, against his better judgment, he lied, "Yeah, I like him. If you like him, of course I do too."

………………

Wait, a guy could trigger it too?!

And there wasn’t even a system mark on his head!

[Ding—]

[Host confession successful]

[Evaluating—]

[Verdict: Goal-oriented confession]

[Victory brings reward, defeat brings punishment—an eternal principle]

[System punishment will arrive in five minutes!]

[Countdown begins!]

"Please, not the Hungry Ghost Realm!"

He really didn’t want to endure that agony again.

Su Cheng prayed silently, pulling out a pack of Hua cigarettes. But as the seconds ticked by, his heart pounded harder, nearly leaping out of his throat.

No, I need to find the club president!

The president was usually alone.

At least they could watch out for each other.

Right now, Li Guanqi was eating with someone else.

The inexplicable tension made it hard to breathe, but he quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. Remembering the grotesque appearance of the Hungry Ghost, he’d rather die on the spot than let anyone see him like that.

In the end, he trudged heavily to a corner of the rooftop and sat down, looking small and helpless as he glared at the siblings—the root of this mess. In his right hand, he gripped a ghost blade; in his left, four cigarettes.

If it was a Hungry Ghost, he’d smoke all four at once.

[Punishment begins!]

[Punishment confirmed!]

[Arrogance begets rebirth; wrath fuels the cycle.]

[Punishment: Asura Realm]

"Holy shit!"

[System punishment has been issued]

[Classification: Celestial Asura]

[Duration: Ten minutes]

[Note: If you counterattack and leave them heartbroken and devastated, you will receive a random reward. Otherwise, deceit, arrogance, cruelty, combativeness, envy, and paranoia will intensify.]

"Boom—"

A plume of white smoke suddenly erupted on the rooftop. With a deafening explosion, Hoshino Mirai stared in shock at the corner before her legs gave way in excitement, sending her crashing to the ground.

"B-Brother… he’s back."

Hoshino Mirai pointed at the smoke, her voice trembling. She remembered that when Penguin Prince had left, there had been thick white smoke like this too. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her eyes brimming with joy.

"Huh?"

Beside her, a bewildered Hoshino Yikui blinked at his sister, as if thinking, "So burning paper money actually works?"

Hoshino Mirai scrambled up and sprinted toward the rising smoke, her eyes burning with fervor, as if her beloved awaited within.

Hoshino Yikui sighed and followed—but the moment he took a step forward, his pupils shrank violently, his face twisting in horror.

This was an image that would haunt him for life.

Because as the smoke cleared, a massive shadow emerged.

Its eyes glowed blood-red, radiating murderous intent.

It stood over four meters tall!

Three heads, six arms—its three faces were dark blue, flames licking its scalp, its naked form twisted in rage, with two long fangs protruding from its snarling mouth.

Every muscle bulged like forged steel, as if a single punch could warp the air itself.

"Little sis, get back here!"

Hoshino Yikui shouted, lunging for his sister.

Hoshino Mirai turned, startled by her brother’s terrified expression. "Brother… what’s wrong?"

Then, the three-headed monster levitated midair.

Noticing her brother’s strange gaze, Hoshino Mirai turned—and screamed, collapsing again as her legs failed her.

She scrambled backward on her hands, her entire body shaking.

Hoshino Yikui rushed forward, scooping his sister into his arms, cold sweat dripping from his forehead as the monster loomed closer.

What the hell is this?!

Why did it suddenly appear here?!

Wasn’t it supposed to be Penguin Prince?!

..................

The crimson-eyed monster raised one foot—then vanished, reappearing instantly behind the siblings like a teleportation effect straight out of a movie.

Their hearts nearly stopped.

They turned their heads slightly, disbelief and terror choking them.

Their chests tightened under the unbearable pressure.

"This is all your fault."

The monster uttered these inexplicable words before suddenly seizing Hoshino Yikui’s shoulders with two of its six hands, lifting him into the air.

At that moment, Hoshino Yikui felt as if his shoulders were being crushed in a vise. He thrashed his head and legs, fighting against the agony, but his strength was pitifully inadequate.

Hoshino Mirai froze momentarily before snapping back to reality, swinging her fists wildly. "Let go of my brother!"

She wasn’t the least bit afraid as she kept pounding her fists against the three-headed monster’s legs, but the creature didn’t budge an inch.

"Don’t worry about me, just run!" Hoshino Yikui shouted in a hoarse voice.

He knew that in a situation like this, no one could save him.

Unless…

At this thought, his gaze flickered toward the Penguin Prince in the corner.

Compared to the monster before them, the Penguin Prince seemed downright ordinary now.

But Hoshino Mirai didn’t listen to her brother. She kept hammering at the monster’s legs with her tiny fists.

"Go! There’s no time left!"

Gritting his teeth, Hoshino Yikui tried again to convince his sister.

"A little to the left."

Suddenly, a deep, raspy voice rumbled out.

Both Hoshino Yikui and Hoshino Mirai froze.

Then, the monster set Hoshino Yikui down, and Mirai, seeing this, obediently shifted her punches slightly to the left.

"That’s it. Harder."

"Oh, okay!"

Hoshino Mirai quickly complied, putting all her strength into the next punch.

"You too."

The monster spoke again.

Hearing this, Hoshino Yikui hurried to the other leg and started swinging with everything he had.

A minute later, their arms felt numb, but they didn’t stop.

Because the monster hadn’t told them to.

"Not bad. I’ll give you the chance to make a deal with me."

"A… deal?" Hoshino Yikui panted.

"Just tell me—do you want to make a deal or not?"

Hoshino Yikui hesitated. He didn’t know if this monster was good or evil.

But curiosity got the better of him. "What would we have to give?"

"Your souls."

The moment those words left the monster’s mouth, the siblings’ faces paled. This sounded exactly like some kind of demonic bargain—trading their souls for a wish.

"No thanks."

Without another thought, Hoshino Yikui refused outright.

But beside him, Hoshino Mirai stopped punching. She fell silent, her eyes locked onto the monster as if deep in thought.

Seeing this, Hoshino Yikui panicked. He grabbed her arm and shook her.

"Are you insane? No one who makes deals with demons survives! How could you even—"

Yet Hoshino Mirai just looked up and gave a faint smile. "Brother, don’t worry. If we revive the Penguin Prince, he’ll definitely help us beat this ugly thing!"

"Are you out of your mind?! Why would you say something like that right in front of him?!"

Hoshino Yikui couldn’t hold back anymore. He snapped.

But Hoshino Mirai shook her head, her gaze resolute as she stared at the monster. "I’ve made up my mind. I—"

Before she could finish, her brother clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled, but he held firm. Finally, she decided to bite.

Hoshino Yikui seemed to anticipate this. He quickly adjusted his grip, his eyes frantic.

In the end, she still bit him. But he endured the pain, clenched his teeth, and—with no other choice—shouted at the monster, "Fine! Take my soul instead!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the monster reached out and placed a hand on his head.

"As you wish."

The second the monster spoke, it vanished in a puff of white smoke. At the same time, a stainless steel basin materialized midair and clattered to the ground, rolling to a stop at their feet.

For a moment, the air itself seemed to freeze. Silence enveloped them.

The two stared blankly at the basin, too stunned to speak.

"So…"

Hoshino Yikui’s face was ghostly pale, his lips trembling. His eyes were lost, filled with regret, as he muttered, "I sold my soul… for a stainless steel basin?"