บท 56: The Ambitious Genius, Mei Xue

The young lady, Mei Xue, bent over, curiously looking at the strange glowing apparition in front of her. Was this the equipment that offered light on this dark evening? No, it didn't seem so. She tucked the strands of hair behind her ear. She did not understand what she was staring at, but she certainly was intrigued.

'Is this the item that made all the three families gather in this inconspicuous store? I suppose this needs further verification.' While her thoughts swirled in silence, she kept a calm and innocent facade on the outside. "What is this glowing orb," she asked Shou. "How does it work?"

"Do you know how to use your Spiritual Qi?"

"I think even a child knows that, dear." Mei Xue chuckled. "Is this some kind of priceless treasure that only allows cultivators to activate or something?"

Shou's next answer shocked both of them. "Actually it is."

"Huh, that is interesting." Zheng Tianhe rubbed his chin, seeing that thing in a new light. He didn't doubt Shou, as there was really no point in lying. The youth also did not look like he was joking either. Still, that would mean that this thing's nature was more special than he thought, no?

Mei Xue's thoughts did not deviate far from her fiance, the second prince. If what that youngster said was correct, the meaning should be self-evident. This was not a casual store dabbling with rudimentary wares or pleasures. Anything concerning cultivation should be regarded with scrutiny. Though in this age, anyone could be a cultivator, and not everyone found interest in becoming the strongest and breaking through realms, there was no doubt that cultivation ruled the world—and it would not change anytime soon. The young ladys' brows knitted. She wondered if anyone else had realized this.

Shou explained, regardless of the duos' thoughts. "Hover your hand over this golden-glowing orb," he added quickly, "ah, but don't touch it, otherwise you will leave fingerprints! Anyways, insert a wisp of Spiritual Energy, and the rest will be self-explanatory.

Mei Xue nodded. It was already getting late, and her curiosity had reached its peak, so she did not wait any longer and did as advised. Not a second later, she fell into the arms of Zheng Tianhe, seemingly unconscious. The prince that caught her immediately grew confused and alarmed at the same time. He ascertained the surroundings, looking at Shou who was pointing at the glowing orb. Turning his head, the man could not believe what he saw.

[Welcome, Fated one, to the Deadly Witch Hunt!

You have entered an illusory world.

An illusory world is a place that does not truly exist, and thus can only be entered through the mind. Like a dream or a mirage. Beware though, for an illusion can be realer than the truth and danger can come unexpectedly. But worry not, the Store of Fates™ will never truly put the customer at risk, so explore leisurely. Rather, we recommend you to keep your mind on the rewards:

This world is 'unwritten' and there's no fate governing over it. By writing the customers' story, they write the story of this world. Leave an everlasting imprint of your fate to earn sizable rewards and a string of karma.

Completion rate: 1%]

The beautiful Mei Xue read through the window that appeared in front of her, her eyes growing wider with every word. In the end, her lips even started quivering. "This is insane. . ." She glanced past the system message, her eyes falling on the gorgeous field. She found it hard to believe the words on the window, but how could she refute it as she had already done the miraculous thing of traversing through different worlds?

"Mei Xue, are you alright?"

She turned her head towards the sky. "Tianhe, is that you? Can you hear me?"

The second prince sighed in relief. It seemed like nothing had happened after all. Still, his heart continued beating incessantly. What was the screen he had been looking at made of? He nudged Shou, "Is it fine if I touch it?"

Shou shrugged his shoulders. "You can try, but your hand will simply pass through."

". . .I see." Zheng Tianhe nodded thoughtfully. He smiled silently. "This is an extraordinary date indeed." Without a doubt, even with all his privileges as the direct son of the emperor, he had never seen anything close to this before. He had his own thoughts, but kept them for himself, as he realized this was only the beginning. "Will she be able to return? In the first place, is it safe?"

The youth answered him truthfully. "She can always choose to log out by opening that window in front of her with her thoughts. If not, after 5 hours she will naturally be rejected and be part of this world without any troubles." Well, she could also choose to die thrice, but for now, Shou kept that info to himself.

Mei Xue breathed in. She clenched her fist. She realized the Spiritual Essence here was several times higher than in the real world. Though no one knew, she had already reached the 4th cultivation stage and did not imagine herself improving anytime soon, but given this mysterious store, that may not necessarily be true. "To cultivate in the field. . . is probably not that artifacts intention."

Currently, what she was most interested in were these words though:

—This world is 'unwritten' and there's no fate governing over it. By writing the customers' stories, they write the story of this world. Leave an everlasting imprint of your fate to earn sizable rewards and a string of karma.

Was there anyone that could resist these terms? She doubted that. Her mind churned again. She remembered there was a completion rate. If she had to guess, there was a task that needed to be done, but she was unsure of what exactly it was. However, given that there was a reward that came from completing it, it should not be that easily achievable.

"How fun." A bright smile blossomed on her face, completely overshadowing the flowers on the field. Even Zheng Tianhe could not help feel his heart skip a beat.

Her competitive spirit was roused. Though she had not intended on interacting with the shop this much, the ambition within her was too hard to suppress. She did not want the prince to see her like that, as a person full of ambitions. She wanted him to believe she was only a wall-flower, at least until they were married, otherwise, he may see her as a power-hungry woman, but again, was there anyone that could resist these terms?

"I suppose the first step should be gathering information." She licked her lips. In her mind, she had already assessed this store as something that stood above the three families and the golden circle—an opinion that was rather progressive and insightful. As such, what reward could there be in completing the story? Compared to relying on the authority of royalty, would she be able to dominate the world herself? A slight shiver ran down her spine, giving her goosebumps.

Shou blinked twice, as he watched the lady with interest. "It would seem she is not just a woman with a pretty face," he muttered.

"[Huh?] What do you mean," Si asked him, curious.

"I think you will realize yourself as time goes on. Congratulations, we got ourselves a repeat customer. She may just turn into the person that will support our business the most, right after Li Yinyi."

"I don't quite get it, but that is nice [nod nod]."

"Uhh," the prince glanced at Shou. "Say, do you have a place where I could place miss Mei," he smiled wryly as he kept holding onto the unconscious Mei Xue. She wasn't particularly heavy, but holding onto her for 5 hours seemed like a massive waste of his time.

"Ah whoops! Apologies, you may lay her down on the table." He scratched his head and quickly ran to the counter. "I will get a blanket to cover her." Man, how nice would it be if there was a chair? He couldn't wait until that stuff was implemented. 'Damn Si, how could she simply forget such a crucial point? Oh, is it because she doesn't have a body herself?' His eyes lit up as if solving another mystery.

At the same time, Mei Xue was moving around, solving her own mystery. After walking through the flower field and enjoying the scenery, the first thing she passed by as she wandered the fields was a dilapidated hut. For some reason, it gave her a queer sense of danger, even though there were no signs of any living being around it. She eyed it by walking around its periphery, but there did not seem to be anything happening. "Hmm. I don't think this is just a normal house." She approached the door and touched the doorknob. However, on second thought, she decided to climb through one of the many broken windows. It was a bit inelegant, but seeing this hut, she felt the need to be as cautious as possible.

The moment she entered and observed the small room, her expression promptly turned dark. "There's no dust inside." In other words, someone must have cleaned this place just recently. Her mind churned again, and she thought about the first words in the welcome message.

—Welcome, Fated one, to the Deadly Witch Hunt!

Mei Xue interpreted these words. She doubted that she was the witch, as there was nothing magical about her. So was her job hunting the witch? The words were rather vague. Either way, they probably weren't on the same side. However, the word that was of utmost importance was actually the first word: 'deadly'.

Feeling a sense of danger, she jumped out the window again. Only after landing outside, did she turn her head, and what she saw caused her blood to flow backward and almost made her scream out in fright. Right at the window, there stood a lone woman, wearing a mask that obscured everything but her red iris. She lifted her pale finger, and soon after, Mei Xue learned why this game was described as deadly.

The young lady instinctively ducked, and an incredible beam of light passed right above her head, giving her the feeling the sun had just descended upon her.

Without further delay, she grabbed her frilly dress and ran away, laughing. "How exciting!"