". . .This really seems like an unfair ability," Si spoke to Shou.
It was the next day, Shou, who woke up early to open shop. . . did not feel hungover at all. It is a trick he had learned some time ago, as when he truly died, his body would reset and all wounds and ailments of the past would disappear. As such, it was an easy way to avoid the consequences of drinking too much. Many drunkards would kill for this ability.
Shou smiled. "Quite honestly, I don't remember that much of last night." He rubbed his head, and a yawn left his mouth. "I think I did get closer to the conspiracy that goes on in this city, though. In the end, the secrets are with the City Lord after all, huh? Since the biggest sect, the Waning Principle, appears to have fallen apart. Who'd have thought?"
"So what are you going to do?"
"Nothing," Shou spoke and shrugged his shoulders.
Si tilted her head. "Huh? Why? Did you not say that you were bored?"
Shou stared up into the sky. "Come on Si, should you not understand my thoughts by now? How long have we known each other now?"
"Not that long, quite honestly," the girl answered. "Don't tell me you are being lazy again?"
"Don't assassinate my character," the youth reprimanded. "I've lived for so long, do you know how many of these conspiracies I have seen? A person in power is corrupt and wishes to take more than he currently has. It's boring. Cliche even. I told you, I have experienced everything already, sinister plots in the shadows don't interest me anymore. Rather, I'd love to watch the customers living their life within the illusory world while continue finishing the system quests. To me, that truly is unique."
"I am glad to see you this earnest." Si was touched. To be truthful, she always thought Shou hated her guts, and would one day cause trouble for her—it wasn't like she could stop it if he did. "But there might be more than just a sinister plot behind the City Lord."
"You might be right. I won't run away either if the conspiracy ever comes to meet us." Shou spoke. "It doesn't matter, only time will tell if our paths are meant to cross. And we have a lot of time."
"That is true [nod nod]."
A customer entered while the two of them were talking. It was a rather familiar person these days. "Mei Xue, welcome."
"I am the first this time, I see," the woman spoke as she walked through the door. She took a deep breath. She realized, even the smell here was different. It felt clean and natural. As if in the deep mountains, with no human touch.
"I'm sure the others will be here soon too," Shou spoke with confidence. He rested his head at the counter while smiling.
Mei Xue took a seat on the couch in the reception hall. It was soft and comfy, reminding her of the high standard within this place. "If anyone else said that, I'd had reprimanded them for being cocky, but I suppose for you, it is simply a fact." She smiled, gently hiding her face behind her sleeve. She still remembered the last night, when Shou gave Li Yinyi that cultivation manual. Needless to say, if that thing did half of what had been promised, anyone not coming to the store would be an utter fool.
"I was hoping you'd bring that green-haired man again." Shou opened the system quest window.
[Chain Quest - Run a successful business.
Second Chain Quest: Find Your Roots.
Description: Get at least 10 people to buy and enter the illusory world 'Deadly Witch Hunt'. 1 remaining. Time limit: 12 hours, 43 minutes, 31 seconds.
Reward: Store size upgrade. Ascending to the 'Mortal Fortification' stage.]
He only needed one more person, but he could not feel at ease as at the same time, the clock was ticking down and it was also the last day for him to complete the quest.
"You mean Zheng Tianhe? He's busy these days," Mei Xue spoke. After all, he was the prince of this country. He could not just wantonly waltz around, although, if he fully understood what this place was hiding, would he come more often?
Shou asked her, "What is he busy with?"
"Currently? Probably with assembling an army to raid the outer sects." Mei Xue shrugged her shoulders as if what she said held no importance.
Shous' eyes widened in surprise. ". . .it feels like I shouldn't have heard that."
The young lady laughed. "It's fine, it's fine. Well, no one knows that yet, so normally it would not be fine, but in the first place, the plan was mine, to begin with. If anything happens, it's my responsibility." She stared at Shou, a slight smile on her face, while her eyelashes fluttered beautifully. "And I am not one to shirk responsibility."
"If you are the leader of the expedition, shouldn't you be with them right now?" He was no stranger to the sects anymore, due to last night's outing. It was hard to tell their exact power level, as to him, they were all weak enough to all seem similar. However, the size of all these cults, sects, and clans wasn't small.
"I have trust that they will do well. Most of them are people I handpicked, you know?" Mei Xue pointed at him. "And they aren't a band of weaklings, like the Wang family guards. They are true powerhouses who'd do anything for my courtship." She laughed. "The only thing lacking is their homogeneity, but with royalty leading them, these bunch of individuals should be able to band together. It will also be a great merit for Tianhe." Of course, with the emperor ill, this would be a good chip to use if it ever came to a fight for the throne, but those were more her personal thoughts. "Am I not a good fiancee."
Shou chuckled, showing his agreement. "Oh, I forget, you are from the Wang family. Your surname is different so I didn't realize."
Mei Xue sighed. "There are all kinds of baseless rumors going around because of that, troubling me, but it's rather simple, I was originally an orphan. My current parents adopted me." She paused. "But I've told you so much, so may I ask you some questions now?"
The youth glanced out the window. The day had just begun, and it did not appear that anyone was entering any time soon. "Sure, but I might not know the answer to all of them."
"I'm pretty sure you do," Mei Xue assured him. "This shop, as you call it, deals with fate, right? But I am unsure of what exactly that means. We progress through the many tasks within this shop, yet it feels like all we are doing is learning, instead of changing stuff. The items upon completion are nice, but only a bonus. So how exactly is this place related to fate?"
"I get that question quite often." Shou rubbed his chin. "You haven't even completed the game, yet you are asking what treasure lies in the end? It would spoil the journey, you know?"
"I am an impatient woman."
Shou sighed. "Well, to understand what lies beyond, we will have to understand fate itself first, say to you what is fate?"
"A development of events and scenarios, outside human control, which defines birth, reason, and ultimately their end," she told him matter-of-factly.
"That's wrong." Shou immediately cut her down. "Fate's actually a gloomy lady who thoroughly despises her job, pulling on one single string connected to every single living being. She does sit within a small office space for eternity, so who can blame her?"
Mei Xue tilted her head, while her brows knitted—a big question mark on her face. ". . .Is that a metaphor?"
"No, I mean it, you should see her eyebags," Shou spoke with all seriousness. "Anyways, this may sound pessimistic, but it is in theory almost impossible to drastically change ones' fate. Let's say, for example, you manage to bypass that lady's surveillance, and pull or push on the string. The life of many then changes at once, as they are all connected. That's cause and effect. Inevitably, when you move, so does everyone else, and even if you changed, so does everyone else, and through that, you all stay the same. Generally, to stop such a thing from happening, the only way was to leave the system entirely—which meant reaching the last stages of cultivation." Or, just like Shou, you could be born before fate existed, but that carriage had long passed, so he found it unnecessary to mention. "That's ordinarily the case, but our shop is like taking a pair of scissors and cutting out a small part and rearranging it. Of course, we can't just wantonly go in and snip it off, so the whole world is like a trial for you guys to pass, and for us to understand what change you wish for."
Mei Xue grumbled, her arms crossed. "I feel like I've gotten more questions than answers." Yet, she noticed, her cultivation had risen a few notches. It was unbelievable. A few sentences could help her move closer to the bottleneck? She was amazed once more. If there's one thing she knew as fact, it was that this store and owner was fucking awesome.
"Don't worry about it. There's a popular saying for those venturing the path of Daoism, 'Destiny is shaped by I; not the heavens', the moment you start cultivating, you have gone against heaven," he promptly thought of something, "Ah, that's not karma though, that is governed by someone else, don't get it confused."
Mei Xue wished to ask more but was interrupted by a loud bang on the door. A voice, heavy like the peal, announced. "The City Lord has arrived, prepare his entrance!"