Her time was limited, so Su Jin did not stay for too long at the booth. She promised the bespectacled man that she would come back and select her wares during the noon break tomorrow. Once she saw that her time was almost up, she got up to return to her company's booth.
The bespectacled man's attitude toward her had done a full 180-degree turn. He barely ever received any clients at his booth, and the nature of the crowd today meant that they did not seem too fussed about blades and such. This was the first time the man's company participated in this exhibition, and they were here to test the waters first, to see if they could get any long-term customers.
When Su Jin returned to the company booth, she realized that everyone was staring at her. Soon enough, she understood why. Wang Linda must have told everyone that she was leaving. All the better, then, since she did not waste her time explaining anymore.
"Su Jin, are you really going to go back soon? But you just got here!"
Assistant Zhang looked genuinely disappointed. After what happened that morning, he was hoping that he could borrow more luck from Su Jin from now on, yet here she said she was leaving.
"That's right. I feel really bad about it too, but everything happened so suddenly. I only just made the decision," Su Jin said awkwardly. She did feel bad about it. After all, she had woken up on the plane after her death in the previous life, and there was literally no way for her to turn back at the time. That was why she decided to look around the exhibition for anything that might come in handy.
She chatted with her colleagues for a short while until the clients began streaming in. Since there were no international guests for now, Wang He called Su Jin to a small room at the back of the booth.
Su Jin made a face and went in.
Both Wang He and Wang Linda were in the room. Rather than blaming her for bailing, Wang He merely asked, "Your mind's made up?"
"Yes, Mr. Wang. I'm so sorry," Su Jin said sincerely.
"It's alright, I respect your decision. You don't have to feel guilty. Linda already has another interpreter lined up here anyway. Still, how are you going to tell HQ once you get back?" Wang He was sorry to see her leave too. He had intended to observe her for a few more days to see if what happened that morning was truly a coincidence.
"I've decided to resign once I get back, Mr. Wang." This time, she even took Wang Linda by surprise. After all, Su Jin had been working at the company HQ for three years now, and she earned an above-average wage for that area. They did not expect her to just leave on such short notice.
"Is your family emergency really that serious?" Wang He could not help but ask.
Su Jin did not know how to answer that, either. It was just like the saying went, one lie always leading to another. However, Su Jin did not want to waste so much time weaving a tall tale, and the more she tried, the more holes would appear in her story.
"It just came out of the blue. I simply must go home," Su Jin said.
"I see. Linda's new candidate will come in tomorrow, so brief her properly, alright? Teach her all the technical words she might not know."
"Don't worry, Mr. Wang, I'll make sure the transition goes quickly and smoothly."
That finally seemed to put Wang He's heart at ease. Just then, Assistant Zhang came over to call Wang Linda and Su Jin, saying that they had a potential client outside. Wang Linda led Su Jin out of the room to deal with them.
After working hard all day, Su Jin was feeling somewhat tired. At least she did not have to waste an entire month here anymore.
The exhibition ended in the evening, and Su Jin told the others that she could take the subway back to her hotel. That way they could avoid the rush hour traffic.
Assistant Zhang glanced at Su Jin's finger, wrapped up in gauze. Concerned, he asked, "Lil Su, is your hand alright? Do you want to get it checked out at the hospital?"
"I'm fine, I just scratched myself on the lock when I was using the washroom. I made sure to disinfect it, don't worry." Su Jin felt a warmth in her heart. Before she left G Province, she told herself, she was going to give Assistant Zhang a few more tips and words of warning.
Upon returning to her hotel room, Su Jin planned to bathe, change into her comfortable nightclothes, and practice her wood-type special ability.
Her injury still hurt slightly, but it was barely a scratch to Su Jin, so she was not that concerned about it.
When she took a shower, the gauze inevitably got wet. Su Jin decided to change the bandages with the extra gauze and medicine the bespectacled man had given her earlier. However, the wound on her finger began to bleed without her realizing it. The diluted bloody water ran down her head as she washed her hair, flowing to the pendant she wore around her neck.
Su Jin rinsed the foam off her hair and opened her eyes to see something glowing in front of her chest.
What was happening here? Was her pendant battery-powered?
The pendant she wore around her neck was an engagement gift from Lu Hao. It was only later that she found out it was a keepsake from Lu Hao's deceased mother, a true-blue generational 'heirloom'.
Before she could figure out what was going on, Su Jin suddenly felt a strong suction force. In her panic, she grabbed the towel that was hanging next to her.
The next second, her entire body felt cool in the breeze. Su Jin looked around and saw that she had been sucked away and thrown onto a solid rock platform.
She clutched her small towel to her body, shivering from head to toe. Did she transmigrate again after going back in time? Where the hell was she now?
The scenery was decent here, though. Other than the stone she was on, she was surrounded by agricultural fields. She could tell that the land was meant for agriculture because the soil looked soft and neat, as though already plowed and ready for sowing.
Su Jin was worried that someone would show up, so she hurriedly wrapped herself up in the towel, finishing off with a tight knot.
After that, she walked down the stairs around the platform and surveyed her surroundings barefoot. She wanted to figure out what was going on here.
There was a stone plaque ahead of her, to her right. Written in traditional script were the words, 'Wood Spirit Dimension.
…
This was a separate dimension? Did the pendant bring her in here?
Su Jin was starting to think she died of sheer stupidity in her previous life. She had had such a powerful game-breaking treasure with her, and yet she still managed to end up in such a sorry state.
In her past life, she had not managed to activate this dimension up until the moment of her death. This time, she somehow activated it before the apocalypse even began. In a way, that was a lucky coincidence.
There was a mansion styled like the ones she saw in historical dramas beyond the stone plaque. Su Jin walked toward it and saw that there were no steps at the door, only a wooden sign above her head that said 'Lu Mansion' in gold-embossed writing.
Did this dimension belong to Lu Hao's family?
Su Jin pushed open the wooden door and walked onto the mansion. The first thing she saw was the courtyard inside, followed immediately by the central hall just ahead. Su Jin knew that no one else could possibly be here, so she boldly walked into the main hall.
On either side of the courtyard were gardens behind stone fences. The gardens were filled with shrubs and blossoms, and the garden on her left even had a neatly-trimmed tree. Su Jin felt her wood-type ability coming to life, almost threatening to break free from the confines of her body.
Desperately holding her ability back, Su Jin walked into the main hall. The decor inside was simple, with a rectangular wooden platform on the left for drinking tea and playing chess. There was even a jade tea set complete with engravings on the platform. On her right, there were two rows of bookshelves lined up against the wall, filled with a smattering of old books.
At the center of the hall, there was a hexagonal table and chairs, all void of any external layers of paint as they boasted the natural color of their wood. The furniture was neatly arranged, and there was a rectangular jade tablet lying on the table. Su Jin picked it up and tried to examine it, but a flash of bright light suddenly shot from the tablet and embedded itself into Su Jin's forehead.
…
Did all of the Lu family heirlooms have a habit of randomly lighting up? What if they accidentally blinded someone? Su Jin complained to herself.