Having secured a place to live, Chris felt a deep sense of contentment. The house was dilapidated, but at least the prince no longer had to sleep on the streets.
Fearful of anything happening to the prince, Chris dared not leave to find work. Besides, at her tender age, no one would hire her. During the day, she used the last of their silver coins to buy some food. At dusk, she would leave the prince safely inside and venture out to beg. Whatever scraps or food she obtained, she reserved the best for the prince, eating only the leftovers herself to scrape by.
Prince Terry Ayr, however, proved far more sensible than one might expect. He never cried or fussed, making things easier for Chris. Yet, the young girl failed to notice the glimmer of maturity in the infant prince's eyes—a gaze far too seasoned for his age.
Yan Xu, now inhabiting the body of Prince Terry Ayr, quickly pieced together his situation. Unfortunately, as a one-month-old infant, no matter how mature his soul, he was utterly helpless.
This unfamiliar world left Yan Xu silent and contemplative. Any attempt at communication could only manifest as incoherent cries. Frustrated, he simply chose to remain quiet, his only solace being the gentle laughter he offered whenever Chris held him, hoping to ease her burden.
The first year passed in grueling monotony for Yan Xu. He could scarcely believe that his caregiver was just an eight-year-old child. Back in his original world, he might have pitied such a child enough to buy her a lollipop—but here, she was the one ensuring his survival.
Terry Ayr displayed extraordinary talent as he grew. By the age of two, he could articulate himself clearly, and by three, he was already assisting with household chores. To those nearby, he was a prodigy, though this reputation remained confined to the small circle of poor neighbors and brought him no material benefit.
One ordinary day, as Terry Ayr rested, a voice resonated from within his mind:
"Summoning ability activated. Graveyard unlocked."
What? Summoning ability? Terry Ayr was shocked—and exhilarated. At last, his transmigration wasn't entirely in vain!
Since his arrival in this new world, he had been searching his body for signs of a unique gift but had found none. At times, he even questioned whether this second chance at life was merely a punishment.
Excitement soon gave way to apprehension. What did graveyard unlocked mean? Surely, his first summon couldn't be a corpse, right?
There was only one way to find out.
After securing the courtyard gate, Terry Ayr attempted his first summoning spell.
No incantations. No staff. He simply focused on the azure vortex swirling in his mind—a portal to the summoning space.
"Come forth, my summoning gate!" he shouted. A sharp dizziness overwhelmed him, and he collapsed unconscious.
He awoke a full day later to find Chris at his side, her eyes swollen from crying. Her tear-streaked face brightened when she saw him stir.
"Big Sister?" Terry Ayr called softly, his childish voice filled with concern. To outsiders, Chris had claimed Terry Ayr was her younger brother to avoid suspicion. Terry Ayr went along with the story, calling her "Big Sister" without hesitation.
"You're awake! You scared me to death!" Chris cried, hugging him tightly and planting a kiss on his cheek. To Chris, Terry Ayr was her entire world. If he had died, she wouldn't have known what reason she had left to keep living.
Guilt gnawed at Terry Ayr as he saw her distress. Curse that summoning gate! Why did it make me pass out?
In the days that followed, Terry Ayr reflected deeply on the incident. He concluded that his spiritual power was too weak to sustain the summoning. Simply put, he lacked the strength needed to open the gate.
For the next two years, Terry Ayr refrained from further attempts. By the age of five, he had become entirely self-sufficient, capable of managing alone even if Chris was away all day. With time, Chris found work doing simple manual labor. Though exhausting, it spared her from begging.
Five peaceful years passed in this otherworld, but Terry Ayr's composure began to waver. As Chris grew older, her body began to change, and she remained blissfully unaware of it. She would still cling to him at night as they slept. For Terry Ayr, who retained the mindset of a nearly thirty-year-old man, this was unbearable.
But what could he do? It wasn't as if he could tell Chris that he was mentally an adult.
Resigned, he resolved to discipline himself—seeking inner calm and banishing impure thoughts.
As days slipped by, Terry Ayr could no longer suppress his curiosity. He decided to try summoning again.
One quiet afternoon, Terry Ayr stood alone in the courtyard, nervously rubbing his hands together as he prepared himself.
"Summoning gate, open!" he shouted.
A radiant blue portal materialized in the center of the courtyard, enormous and glowing. Terry Ayr's heart leaped with excitement. But before he could celebrate, a zombie leaped from the portal, landing right in front of him.
Terry Ayr's face turned pale. Trembling, he pointed at the zombie. "Y-you…you…"
The zombie rolled its eyes at him. "You what? My name is Yingzi. Master, what do you need from me?"
"Master?" The term eased Terry Ayr's nerves. He remembered his summoning ability and the graveyard he had unlocked. Though he had expected mindless undead, Yingzi seemed…different.
"Why aren't you afraid of sunlight?" Terry Ayr asked, puzzled by the zombie's lack of reaction to the sunlight streaming down.
Yingzi glanced at the sky. "The sunlight here weakens me but doesn't harm me. Master, do you have any tasks for me?"
"Ah, no, not really… I just wanted to test my summoning," Terry Ayr admitted sheepishly.
"Pointless," Yingzi muttered, giving him a disdainful look before turning to leave.
"Wait! Since you're already here, why don't you show me around?"
"You want to come inside?" Yingzi seemed surprised.
"Can I?" Terry Ayr asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Of course. This is your domain. You can come and go freely. Others, however, cannot."
Steeling himself, Terry Ayr stepped through the portal behind Yingzi.
The summoning space was shrouded in darkness, except for a faint glow above the graveyard he had unlocked. Drawn by the light, Terry Ayr walked closer to inspect the inscriptions visible there.
Zombie
Rank 1
Attack power: Normal, weakened by sunlight. Monthly production: 1.