79 Stranger Danger

"What the hell am I watching?" Lan Jiu had an absolutely incredulous expression. He simply could not process the situation in front of him. If he were from the spiritless era, he may have understood the scene to be a movie, albeit a really exaggerated one, but for him, everything was as real as it got—from the masked woman, whose attacks were world-shattering, to the seemingly immortal Shou, who survived, even though half his body had turned to crisps. He glanced at the other guests, but they showed no expression.

Zhang Yong rubbed his chin. He nodded in understanding. "As expected of the owner. Even with all the bombings, he managed not to collect a death-count."

Lan Jiu did not understand that mans words. Death counts? What exactly did that mean? Were they accustomed to the happenings on that weird projecting from that artifact? He glanced at Shou, the real one, sleeping peacefully on the chair. It was hard for him to process seeing him on the screen at the same time.

"I think we are yet to see anything," Ah Liang commented. "He did not even fight back, just taking these attacks head-on, so we don't know his true power yet."

"Does he even have any abilities to fight?" Li Yangyi wasn't convinced. How was it possible for a mortal who had yet to walk down the road of cultivation to know any techniques? "But I admit, he has a way of surpassing the unimaginable. If he focused his time in studying the Dao, instead of wasting his time in this shop, I wonder how strong he could get?"

"Hey, don't run your mouth like that, little Yangyi! What if he hears you and seriously considers your proposition? Can you make up for it when this store disappears?" Zhang Yong hit the back of Yangyis' head, telling him not to jinx anything.

Lan Jiu felt his eye twitch. Though he was not one to show many emotions on his face, he could not help hold his head, as it started to ache. He felt as if he had traveled to another world of aliens, much different from the normal world. Even though the man understood their words, he remained confused.

Mei Xue carefully observed him, and when she saw his baffled expression, a small feeling of glee welled up within her. She returned her attention to the screen. "But that Shou, he is taking an interesting road, don't you guys think?"

"He also wants to befriend the witch," Li Yinyi spoke cheerfully. "I hope they can be good friends!"

"I don't think that is quite the case," Mei Xue spoke. "I think he is taking a road that only he could. A truly unreplicable one. And here I thought we could learn from what he did."

Ran Wei and Lin Zhuyue, arguably the most normal ones out of this group, did not even have the energy to sigh or feel envious. To them, the things the owner Shou did was a completely different world. It seemed so unrealistic, that it became distant. By now, the only reason they came here was to enjoy the stories unfolding in front of them. The two had no intentions of leeching Ah Liang's money, and by heavens, they'd rather die than pay that insurmountable price.

Of course, the both of them would never tell that Shou, fearing they may get kicked out.

—Returning to the world of the witch, Shou began rummaging through the dilapidated hut, in search of the witch. Even though she had locked the door, with all the broken windows and walls, it wasn't hard to break in.

"Hello? Anyone there?" He leisurely walked around, his steps creaking on the old floor. By now, his wounds have slowly started healing already. "Are we playing hide and seek now? Just to have you know, I am an undefeated champion in this game, as time is always on my side."

Shou quickly, but meticulously swept through the rooms, one after another, until he arrived at the last, no witch in sight. The past him would have been confused, by her disappearing act, but Li Yinyi had already hinted at a basement, so he knew where exactly to find her. It coincided with his interest in the studies conducted within the basement too. They weren't exactly low-level realizations.

However, for today, he was done. He had only come here to confirm the new updates and the way he wished to solve this world. It was time to let the other guests shine, as he was the owner, not the customer.

Shou opened the system window, and clicked on logout, promptly arriving back in his store. The cozy atmosphere differed greatly from the coldness of the dilapidated hut. By now, he had grown familiar with the faces in front of him, in fact, they were a welcome sight. Only the newcomer, Lan Jiu, showed an expression as if he could not believe what his eyes depicted.

He did not mind their faces. Instead, he walked back into the reception area and took out one of the brushes on the desk shelf. He dipped it in black ink, and on the mesmerizing painting depicting the witch, he wrote a few additional words:

Expansion Pack, 10 spirit crystals.

The words caught the attention of some of the customers. Especially Li Yangyi could not help ask, "Expansion Pack? What does that mean?"

"It's more content for when you are bored with the old story," Shou explained. "It will not relate to your fate or completion rate, though."

"Why would anyone buy that then," he scoffed, crossing his arms. "You aren't trying to scam anyone, right? Sorry, sorry, you know, it's a force of habit. But still, I suppose you tend to forget, with all the money being thrown around, but 10 spirit crystals is quite a lot of money."

"You don't have to buy it if you don't want to." Shou shrugged his shoulders.

"This fucking miser. . . How the hell do you run a business like that."

Lan Jiu analyzed the cores. He wondered what exactly their function was. The man remembered clearly Shou inserting Spiritual Qi within this strange-looking artifact. Does it grant some kind of power? He was unable to read Shous' cultivation road, but in his mind, he already believed him to be some unfathomable master. If he injected Qi too, would he have a chance to be just as strong? He did pay for it, fair and square, so it shouldn't be a problem if he experimented a little bit, right?

With nervous, yet somehow keen thoughts, he entered the illusory world. At once, his view changed to a beautiful flowerfield. The change was so sudden, he did not know how to properly process it. What eventually broke his stupor, was the rich spiritual energy surrounding him.

"Huph," Lan Jiu immediately closed his mouth, fearing that even a small leak would somehow let all the essence escape. His eyes opened wide. This was incredulous! Even the holy mountain prophecied by some of some dark cults did not have such wondrous effects as here. He really wanted to close up and start cultivating, wasting no second.

It was the strange, otherworldly message that appeared before him that ultimately changed his mind. "Change my fate. . ." Reading everything, goosebumps ran through his whole body, and Lan Jius's heartbeat was louder than a drumset during the climax of an orchestra. He clenched his fists, exhilarated. He was right after all! This truly gave him an opportunity to pursue revenge.

If there was any god or deity up there, he wished to thank them. He wished to thank the 'Ghost of the Underworld', even if it truly was a monster from the netherworld. He gave gratitude to the countless sects that fell yesterday, as their sacrifices allowed him to meet this store. He clapped his hands twice.

The other customers, all citizens of the Eternal Wind Empire, watched Lan Jiu scrutinizingly. They all had their own notions when it came to the people outside the Extended Delight. They also understood that the illusory world brought out the true values of those who entered. They wished to see, this man, driven by revenge, which facets define him?

Lan Jiu was lucky. Wading through the endless flowerfield, the first thing he encountered was the village, arguably the only safe haven in this purgatory-like world. The only one who had reached here this fast was Li Yangyi, thus, it was only natural for them to encounter the same thing too.

The chef, wearing a blue robe, with one hand hidden, spoke towards this foreigner. "A newcomer. This is indeed a rare occurrence."

The man was startled by this farmer who suddenly spoke to him. He asked, with a curious voice, "Are you not scared of me?"

"Why should I be?"

"Well. . ." Lan Jiu vaguely gestured around himself. "Look at me. I am clearly a sect member."

"Is that a bad thing? From where I originally come from, that's nothing special," the farmer spoke.

"Still. Stranger danger," Lan Jiu spoke.

The old chef laughed. "There is nothing scary about humans If you see the monsters lurking outside this place." The man turned around. "And I am quite strong too."

Lan Jiu wanted to laugh but held himself back. He came to a sudden realization, maybe this was also an encounter that would help his fate. Would this help him improve? He searched for his sword, only to realize he had left it outside the store, to show his sincerity. In the end, he could only settle for the old-fashioned way.

"Then, how about a duel?"