"So, Boss. Shawn is the old lady's grandson?" on a new ring that looked like it was made of green marble with forest like patterns, they wandered into a shop that looked like it was built with giant moving rocks that looked like pieces of turtle shells and strangely shaped trees that looked like shiny bird feathers.
"Welcome to Jayn's Exotic Pets. " a young man by the door welcomed them in: "My name's Francis, I am in charge of the store today. Anything I can help you with? What kind of pets are you looking for? If you are not sure, we can even do a quick test for your mana, your aura and even your fortune to let you know what is best."
"Thank you!" Jianmen asked the young man: "Do you have any that can become familiars?"
"Ah… " Francis was apparently stunned for a minute: "I am so sorry. But if you want familiar-grade pets you need to make a reservation three days in advance - and we are not carrying any at the store right now."
"No problem. I'll just take my students to look around. Maybe we can find some that might have potential." Jianmen smiled and nodded: "What about food or other sustenance for minor spirits?"
"I think I have some in the back, let me go check on them. Excuse me." Francis chuckled nervously and went to the back of the store.
"You're really looking for a familiar Boss? Or are you just saying that so that the sales guy can leave us alone?" Caroline whispered her question to Jianmen.
"A bit of both. Remember what I told you?" Jianmen also whispered to Caroline and Jason: "This ring is all about status and symbol over substance - you can buy an Amber and Obsidian Dung Beetle that costs a fortune because it was once put inside the coffin of a Pharaoh. But all it does is roll and eat shit all day."
Jason snorted from the laughter, and almost choked on the peppermint enchanted soda he was drinking.
"But it still has magical properties right? It's been in a Pharaoh's coffin after all." Caroline laughed and asked.
"Not really. I had one and it was useless besides it lives up to a thousand years in the right condition." Jianmen shook his head while he took his students to check out a small sleepy bird with color changing feathers on its wings and two silver and orange-red feathers on its tail: "So I sold it to a rich and fancy British wizard for his personal collection. Then I traded some of the gold coins for a lot of US Dollars to redecorate the inn."
"Smart. " Caroline finished her cup of apple and pumpkin spice soda: "And how did you find it? I don't suppose you still have a way to find more of them? You know, asking for a friend here."
"No. I was just helping an archaeologist with his quest of digging a hidden pyramid." Jianmen knelt down and took a look at a six-legged lizard in a glass box, which was repeatedly blinking from one corner to another but still was not able to escape: "Yanked it out of a murderous mummy's stomach, the smells were terrible."
"So what happened next? You started working for Shawn's store?" Jason brought the topic back on track.
"Well, I finally settled down a bit. The store was a small and humble grocery store that sold cheap snacks, some small items and some imported goods like spices and sauces from China so most of the time there was not much to do besides watching it. And I had time to recover and restore my strength. It started quite slow - the travel burns left me quite weak and I had to sneak out from time to time to look for things that could help me heal. From simple herbs with small traces of Xuanli or other magical energy inside, to some fresh and potentially hazardous supernatural pests that I wouldn't feel guilty killing and extracting power from. And in the day, I helped around the store - I cleaned, I moved the important boxes and helped organize the inventory. And then one day I noticed something strange."
----------------------------------------------
"Hi Shawn, good morning." on a Friday morning since Jianmen started working in this small grocery store, he was already at the store organizing the inventory and preparing to open the store: "You're here early."
"Yeah, today we have some special customers. " Shawn lowered his body and opened the locked up drawer and took out a few boxes of cigarettes and showed it to Jianmen, "Someone named Mr. Wu is coming over, and this is what he ordered. If he came to the store, don't let him take it yet. I'll speak with him first."
"Understood. " Jianmen nodded, and for some reason he had a strange feeling about the boxes of cigarettes and the upcoming visit from this Mr. Wu.
"Oh, and there's chicken and beef in the fridge. Grandma told me she has a sudden craving for porridge. She likes both beef and chicken porridge but she's very picky about it, so try your best for your first time cooking porridge for her. " Shaw said: "I'll need to run some errands later, if Mr. Wu is here early then tell him to wait for me. "
"No problem. I've cooked it before. " Jianmen nodded: "What kind of porridge does she like? Thick or thin? Which style? "
"Yeah. No need to be too fancy." Shawn hesitated for a while: "Just make it a bit saltier than you normally would - her taste buds deteriorated a bit so she could not taste anything if it is not strong enough. "
"Okay. I'll make some Cantonese style beef porridge with chicken soup for us." Jianmen nodded: "And I'll call you when Mr. Wu is here."
"Alright, I'm off." Shawn nodded and put on his coat, "I'll be back as soon as possible. Remember, tell Mr. Wu to wait for me!"
"Of course."
Barely half an hour and three groups of customers later, a middle-aged man with a buzz cut entered the store with two men wearing matching jackets behind him.
"Hi. My name is Wu." the man with a buzz cut was fidgeting a bit as he spoke accented English to Jianmen: "Shanyi has some cigarettes for me and I'm here to take it."
"Hi. Are you Mr. Wu? Shawn is out running some errands, he told me to wait for him when you're here. Let me call him right now." Jianmen nodded and took out his cheap and simple phone, which he bought with a little over thirty dollars.
The Man with a buzz cut looked at the two men behind him then turned and leaned in over the counter and said: "I don't have time, just give it to me right now!"
Jianmen was confused, but he still quick-dialed Shawn's number: "Sorry sir, I am new here. Boss told me to call him and he will be back immediately, please be patient."
"I don't have time for patience right now!" the man with a buzz cut looked back at the two men behind him again: "Just give it to me, now!"