章 21: How the Store Looks Like
"Huh, Mortal Ascension Realm? What does that mean?"
"Exactly as that sounds, if you do the Quest, you will ascend a Realm, isn't that nice?"
Shou took the transparent screen and threw it out the window. "Not at all. Why would I want to rise in cultivation levels, it would only make it harder to die."
"Hey you are joking, right? You aren't planning to stay a mere mortal your whole life, right?"
"Why not," Shou shrugged his shoulders, "what's the problem?"
"I'll end up a laughingstock if the other systems find out my host is a mortal! I won't change the rewards. That's the only thing I can't compromise on," Si shouted.
"Then I won't do the Quest," Shou said simply.
There was a short silence, as Si was too shocked to speak. "You—Y-You... Uwah~," she began to cry. "You're mean! I hate you! Even though you promised!"
Not prepared for her sudden scream, Shou jumped up, staggering a few steps back from her loud voice. "I'm joking, I'm joking! Jeez, relax. Fine, I will do the Quest. It's not like my realm matters anyway."
She toned down a bit, but still sniffed. "...Thank you," she muttered sullenly.
Shou rubbed his temples and sighed. "Don't mention it." He then concentrated on the other reward, "expanding the store already? Why?"
He looked at the current store and had found it to his liking. It was a modern Chinese style. The walls, which were thin and wooden before, had been replaced by trusty stone, painted white; The floor was now clean-cut marble; Only the ceiling remained wood, but it looked a lot sharper and more refined than before. The store was now a lot bigger (or it might only seem so, since all the shelves were gone), allowing enough space for more than one room.
In the first room, there stood a black couch, looking big and comfy—inviting people to sit. Of course, the counter could not be missing, which faced the opposite direction.
The second room, parted by only a wooden-framed glass wall, contained the cores. What had been the big, glowing core, Si replaced with six smaller ones, three on each side. They now emitted a golden light, complementing the color scheme. They illuminated the colorful dragons on the wall—making them look lifelike and vivid—and the mahogany wood table in the middle.
In the back, wide stone stairs led up, though Si had only renovated this floor.
"To earn more money of course. I am in dire need of it," Si said. The revamp of the store had cost her some energy, and now she wished to earn it back as fast as possible.
"I suppose that sounds reasonable." He walked to the counter and stared at the vertical painting hanging above it. "I assume it must have been hard to create this artwork without a body."
The painting depicted a woman wearing a mask, her eye gazing directly at the onlooker. Behind her was a field of flowers and a small village. In the white space which was the sky, 'Deadly Witch Hunt' was written in ancient calligraphy.
The whole painting appeared dynamic, as if one could simply jump right in. It would have been a sensual experience, if right below it the number '15' and the words 'spirit stones' weren't written, boldly stinging the onlookers eye.
"If you won't change the Mortal Ascension reward, at least change the store expansion reward," Shou suddenly decided.
"Hey, you can't just come and decide that on your own. I am the system, you hear me? I. Am. The. System."
"Really, I leave you a little leeway and you immediately turn cheeky. I am asking for both of us here," Shou complained, "think about it, though expanding a store does earn benefits, so do other things. Since we have already renovated the store, we should focus on something else first."
"Huh. That makes sense. Stop making sense, I will look bad."
"Can you look worse than now?"
Soon enough, a window popped up in front of Shou. It read the same as before, only the rewards had been slightly altered.
[Reward: Expansion of 'Deadly Witch Hunt'. Ascending to the 'Mortal Ascension' stage.]
"That is better. good girl," Shou complimented. He wasn't sure what that reward meant, but he could guess faintly, and upgrading the product was a nice idea, after all if he completed this Quest, it would mean the first few customers had started to gather. "If it was a new memory already, I fear the costumer might get bored too easily, and our value may sink. You chose wisely."
"Hehe," Si giggled—then she remembered she shouldn't be happy to be praised by her host! It was supposed to be the other way around!
Shou had slowly gotten accustomed to throwing the screen away, but this time, as he neared the window, a loud squabble entered his ears. he looked outside and saw numerous guards, running after a person.
"I haven't done anything," the person shouted while picking his pace. "This is wrong!"
"No, I saw it clearly," a guard said with a cold voice; whether he did, no one could tell for sure. The other guards behind him unanimously agreed though, and that was what mattered.
"I know you are just going to throw me in prison. I won't fall for this trick. You guards are all corrupt," the man yelled loudly.
"There we have it," another guard shouted out, "contempt of authority. That will get you locked up for sure. Hopefully you learn by then."
The person shook his head, and soon passed by Shou, who rested his head out the window. The man looked at him, and Shou saw it in his eyes—a primal fear, as if he was running away from a beast. His eyebrows were knitted in worry, and sweat ran down his cheeks, moistening his beard.
The man opened his mouth, but before any words came out, the guards leaped at him and grasped him by his legs. He tumbled and fell, and his run came to a stop. They pushed him to the ground and even when they dragged him away, the man screamed out loud, begging for help.
Silence returned in the alleyway; however, Shou didn't go back. "That sure was something, huh?"
"[tilts head] I wonder what is going on in this city. Is it truly because of the emperor's illness?"
"That is truly the question worth asking."
As Shou was about to reenter the store again, he saw a shadow vigilantly poking out the corner of the alleyway. The shadow belonged to a muscular man, sneakily looking around. He sighed in relief, when he realized the guards had gone away. Next, his eyes fell on Shou.
"Did you see that too?" The man had a rusty voice, as if he had used it too much the night before.
Shou nodded.
"It's been unsafe lately. You have to be cautious whenever you see any arrests, because you can't be sure if they won't just take you with them, just because they can. Just because they are part of the law, they think can do whatever they want. Tell you what, the law does not equal justice, don't you think so too?"
"I guess," Shou answered perfunctorily.
"Young man, I kind of like you." The man walked out his little corner. "You run a store? Great, let me support your business then."
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