บท 54: Cordial Smile

Fu Hao looked at Ah Liang. "The what?"

"Well, you see, it's called the Store of Fates. A new shop," Ah Liang said, his voice trailing off a little. It seemed he too found that name awkward to pronounce.

"A new shop? What kind of shop would name themselves like that unless they specifically wish to catch the ire of the heavens?" The young one, Tian Xu said with an incredulous voice. He thought that name was a rather weird one.

"Fate, as in, destiny?" Xing also gave him a weird stare. The only one to not react was his companion An Bai, who had accompanied him on his journey to that mysterious store.

"Yes, that is correct," Ah Liang replied, steadfast. Though the title indeed was a strange one, any person that has experienced Shou's artifact, would not doubt its quality. For some, it may even appear too simple. As such, even though he knew the others from the Dragon circle may make fun of him, he did not back down.

Indeed, the old man, Fu Hao, laughed. "What does such a veritable 'store' have to do with us?" From his expression, one could already tell that he had put this matter at the back of his mind. Of course, for merchants like him, stuff like fate, destiny, and karma do not earn money or grant power. They may exist, but certainly are of little use when one does not pursue success themselves. In general, people that wait for a deity's sign, count or luck, or try to meddle with supernatural means will find no golden road to wealth. The old man thought Ah Liang would know that though, which is why he was interested in seeing why that big guy brought it up.

Ah Liang appeared to have read his mind. "The last time you had asked me to take a look myself, do you remember? It was that one place where the three great families converged."

Fu Haos' eyes lit up. "I see! So that place was a store. I did not know. Well, it may have just posed as a store too. Well, if you put it this way, their name bears little importance." he nodded. "But you need not worry. I have comfirmed with internal sources that the great family knows not of our plan." The old man leaned forward, resting his head on his hand. "If I had to guess, it was only a coincidence after all. Taking into account the people that met up there were just the next generation not yet of age, and an old man that has been denounced by their only family, I doubt they have talked about anything worth mentioning."

Ah Liang dabbed his forehead. "Yes, yes, that is true. But still, I don't think it is that simple." He thought about the mysterious owner, amazing artifacts, beautiful architecture, and otherworldy magic, but before he got a word out, Fu Hao already interjected.

"Worry not. Even if they have talked about anything worthwhile, it most likely relates to the cults at the border." Fu Hao sneered in derision. "Don't you find it hilarious? Even though these families are heralded as the best, they have don't even know these sects have been long wiped out. chasing after ghosts, that's what I think."

Xing laughed. "While reality slips right past them. What a pity. The new world will be ruled by us, not them."

Tian Xu rubbed his head. "Well, that's only the first step after all, and we are only dealing with branch families here. Though when the time comes and we take over the most prosperous city within the empire, even they have to listen to us."

Ah Liang watched them talk. he felt a queer sense of alienness to them. Have these three always been like that? just a few seconds ago, they have talked about the innocent lives involved within their plans and how it may affect them, yet they talk about overpowering the three families and taking everything they have. That. . . seems a little double-faced. he looked at his friend An Bai. The man showed a similar face to him. Truly, this wasn't the Golden Circle they knew.

An Bai spoke. "Uh, we are not really toppling the three families, right? Is it a figure of speech? I am only here to earn some money."

The three looked at him. They paused, their face frozen for a second, until in the end, Fu Hao, replied in light laughter, "That is right. You do not have to worry. Simply follow the City Lord's plan, and everything will be fine."

For some reason, An Bai could not prep himself to simply say yes.

...

At the same time, in the evening. Shou remained seated in the receptionist area, his hands in his pockets, while he stretched his legs. Anybody observing him would place him akin to a lazy bum—just like what Si did right now.

"Hey, you are leaving a bad impression on our customers with your lackadaisical attitude [scoff]."

"Woah, that's a big word," Shou spoke and looked up. "Where did you learn that?"

"[grits teeth] I am not twelve, stop making fun of me." Her voice trailed off, as she muttered by herself. "What do you think a system is. . . damnit. . . I wanna go home."

Shou shook his head. There was nothing he could do when she went into her self-pitying charade. "Look how late it is. I doubt anyone is gonna come here. There's no rain either, so there won't be anyone like Li Yinyi seeking shelter, so what else can I do than laze around." He sighed, feeling his boredom creep in. Was this all there came to this life? If so, that would indeed be quite underwhelming. As a person who had lived for an eternal amount of time, his patience ran rather thin when it came to novel things. "Should just kill myself again?"

"[Pei Pei] How can you speak of such a sensitive topic so nonchalantly. Such thoughts aren't a joking matter, you hear me?" Si voiced her opinion angrily. She could not believe this guy. He was harder to please than the emperor in heaven. "If you are that bored, how about you finish that one quest about completing the Witch Hunt instance? I reset it to 0, so you can just try again."

Shou mulled over her sentence. "Even if, there's nothing I really wanna do with her. Her powers, though interesting, aren't anything impressive. In fact, given time, I should easily be able to replicate it. Let's see, 5 years?" The boy cracked his neck. "But in general, I have no interest in her story."

Si paused. She looked at him (though she had no eyes) and asked. "Don't you want to know what compelled that witch to stay in this run-down shack? Clearly, there's a complicated history involved with her, so how can you not feel the intrigue?" Truthfully speaking, even Si herself wanted to see what exactly was hidden behind the hidden witch's mask. Was it a beautiful woman, just like her figure? Or an old hag? Maybe it wasn't human at all. She was eager to find out. After all, she also used to play these types of games before. "Maybe she isn't the person you imagine her to be?"

"It does not change that she is a murderer, my dear." Shou chuckled. "We all have our stories. That doesn't excuse our actions, you should always remember that." He shrugged his shoulders. Wind, from the open door, blew inside, rustling his hair, giving him a mysterious feel. Si sized him up while remaining silent. She realized, there was still a lot of stuff she didn't know about this seemingly ordinary youth.

Si paused again, this time, staying silent for good.

The queer quietness did not remain for long, as jingle echoed through the shop, and two new people entered out of nowhere.

Shou's eyes opened wide, for one, he hadn't imagined anyone entering after nightfall. Clearly, the Li siblings were busy, and his other repeating customers have already clocked in their time, and he did not imagine anyone stupi. . . no, curious enough to enter this godforsaken place with outrageous prices. But what really surprised him was the appearance of his new potential patrons.

They were a pair, one male, one female, both, seemingly around the age of 20—though with all the cultivation and age-reversing effects going around, it was hard to pinpoint ones' exact age.

The young man had a striking green hair color. He was tall, yet lean, with a somewhat majestic aura that enveloped a person, making them feel safe. His eyes had a dark color, and they were slanted upward. A slight smile painted his face, giving him a cheeky, yet evasive feel.

The woman—he could only tell it was a woman through her figure—wore a white veil over her face. Still, even without seeing her actual face, Shou realized that his woman would be regarded as beauty, wherever she went. Her pale skin, her graceful attire, her slender body, her silken smooth hair all stood as evidence for her ephemeral appearance. For a second, he even thought an ancient charm spell had been evoked on him, only to realize that these did not work.

Though Shou himself, as someone infinitely close to heaven, did not look bad either, creating an utmost beautiful image within this shop, as if one had arrived at paradise, and this was how the world looked like if it had no flaws.

"Is this the Store of Fates," the woman asked, with an inquisitive tone. "Oh excuse me, I forgot to remove my cover, how rude." She took off her veil. Her delicate hands gently swept through the thin cloth.

At that moment, Shou's face froze. Glancing at the face, he could not even muster a cordial smile. His brows knitted. "Nope, excuse me, but I will have to ask you to leave."