Ling PingAn regarded the female customer wearing black tights and a veil as she bid farewell, making a very polite bow. She then opened the door and walked out into the thick fog of night.
He sighed to himself. "I hope everything goes well for her… I also hope that her parents can be more sensible."
Fortunately, they were now in an era where the rule of law had been well established.
It was impossible that the Federal Government would allow the Old Empire people to be as lawless as they had been in the past.
Besides, time had also progressed.
The most stubborn Old Empire parent now would be like the most progressive and open-minded parent if they had been living some 200 or 300 years ago.
So Ling PingAn didn't worry too much about her.
He decided to examine the two bundles.
He gently unwrapped their outer paper, revealing two boxes that appeared to be made of plastic.
Lifting one of the lids, Ling PingAn saw a peach that was as big as a fist, golden in color and exuding a strong fragrance.
Just by smelling its scent, Ling PingAn's appetite increased enormously. He couldn't wait to try it.
"Let me have a bite…" he said to himself.
And he chomped into it.
"Delicious!" He chewed a bite of the peach before it traveled to his tummy. Ling PingAn's eyes were almost popping out. "Delicious! Deliciousness that is above everything! The most delicious peach ever!"
The delicate and juicy flesh of this peach would melt in one's mouth.
More important, having swallowed one bite, even his saliva seemed to have become sweet.
Therefore, paying no attention to anything else, Ling PingAn took hold of the peach and munched on it messily.
After a brief while, only a peach pit was left in his hand.
He stuck his tongue out and licked away the last bit of juice from the peach pit.
Then he noticed the kitten on the counter looking at him pitifully.
"You wanted some?" Ling PingAn was stunned.
Had anyone ever seen a cat that wanted to eat a peach?
He'd learned something new today.
With no other choice, he could only scratch his head. "If there's a next time, I'll save some for you!"
Meow!
The kitten meowed softly, seemingly agreeing with this idea.
However, Ling PingAn thought that such a delicious peach shouldn't be eaten only once.
Looking at the peach pit in his hand, he had an idea and found a plastic basin.
"I'll find some soil tomorrow. Let's see whether I can get it to sprout…
"I'll plant it on top of the building."
Ling PingAn's store had a total of three floors. The top floor was a flat platform that he used to dry clothes and quilts.
Ling PingAn was thinking that if he could get this peach pit to germinate, perhaps in a few years he would be able to relish some delicious peaches.
This was called, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
"I'm so clever!" He praised himself for his wisdom.
...
"Found ya!" Situ He smiled broadly.
Just now, he had lost contact with two of his paper dolls.
It was a sudden loss of communication. There hadn't been any prior warning, nor were any messages or images returned.
However…
That wasn't important!
The most important thing was that Situ He had known where they were before they lost contact.
"At most, they were 300 yards from this place." As he spoke, he leaped and arrived at the spire of a nearby telecommunications tower.
He climbed high up in order to gaze far and wide.
It was almost 11:00 o'clock.
Nightlife in Jiangcheng City had begun.
On the distant riverside, neon lights flickered brightly.
On the electronic screen of the skyscraper across the river, colorful advertisements were being broadcast.
Every late-night supper shop was full of people who were chattering while sipping on their beers.
Red-faced youngsters were waving their drunken fists while narrating their tall tales.
All of a sudden, Situ He's eyes were drawn to a location.
It was a small alley.
It was a street that was so quiet that it gave him goosebumps.
The road was empty.
There was only a lone streetlight shining upon the surface of the road all by itself.
The shops on both sides of the street were already closed.
When Situ He saw this, he laughed.
"Are you seriously trying to fool me with this level of disguise?" He floated up gently and glided toward that quiet alley like a bird.
Swiftly, he touched down on the ground.
"Stars on the terrace, flickers in the ever-changing causatum!" As soon as Situ He landed, he made a hand seal and pressed his fingers into the ground. "Seek out the traces, and unveil the evil!"
His eyes immediately turned completely golden. The power of the sacred leaves plucked from the Himalayan locust tree exploded.
On the ground where his fingers had pressed, two fishes of Yin and Yang that were chasing each other appeared.
And everything that was around him abruptly altered in appearance.
Situ He stood up and saw himself enshrouded by mist.
In this mist, his eyesight was limited to his own person.
Worse than that…
Situ He quickly discovered that he could no longer unleash his magic.
His magic seemed as if it had been imprisoned in his body by some kind of power.
No matter how hard he tried to call upon it, it did not respond.
This made Situ He nervous instantaneously.
"Where am I?" He looked around.
However, all he could see was the mist.
It was also at this moment that the two pieces of dry leaves that had completely withered fell from his eyes. Situ He held them in his hands, and it was evident from his expression that he was in complete shock.
"This…"
"The sacred leaf of the locust tree in the Himalayas couldn't hold on for even a split second in this mist!"
The alarm bells in his inner heart started ringing frantically.
Finally, he understood that he had stepped into a place that he shouldn't have.
Aside from shock, Situ He felt completely worried and on his guard.
"There's actually such a place hidden within Jiangcheng City?"
"It's right in federal territory, right under the rule of the governor of Guangnan!"
"A super-industrial city with a population of tens of millions!"
This was something completely unheard of!
More than that, it was something that made him feel afraid.
Situ He couldn't help but think of the disaster that had happened in the Fusang Kingdom a few years ago.
He immediately shuddered in fear.
At this moment, Situ He heard footsteps coming and getting closer by the second.
He looked toward the sound. He was only able to see a tiny bit of light coming toward him from a distance.
This left him in horripilation, compelling his entire body to get into a fighting state whether he wanted to or not.
He swore that even if it meant death, he would prevent this thing in the mist from appearing in reality.
He almost understood now what was going on...
This mist was a world that was separated from reality.
Yet it shared a peculiar connection with reality itself.
He, however, had recklessly barged into this place.
He'd acted like an ignorant insect, attracted by human light sources, ultimately fluttering into their fiery demises.
However, when the light gradually approached him, Situ He discovered that it was the light from a flashlight.
A flashlight?
This made him feel ridiculous.
A flashlight could actually work in such a strange and dangerous place?
And as the light source gradually approached, via the lights of the flashlight, Situ He was able to discern what was coming.
It was a human.
At least something living that had a humanoid shape.
The dense fog made Situ He incapable of seeing the person's appearance, body shape, or gender.
He could only vaguely figure out that it was a humanoid-shaped creature.
This gave Situ He some relief. At least if it was a person, it wouldn't be such a big deal. Right?