The next morning.
After feeding Xiaobai with dog food, Ye Xiu carried it through the alley as usual and arrived at the entrance of his bookstore.
Not long after opening the door, he saw a middle-aged man in a black robe walk in.
The person's facial features were clearly defined. He didn't dare to raise his head to look. The expression on his face was gloomy and nervous.
He thought, "Why did a customer come so early?"
Ye Xiu quickly observed this customer.
"No, this person didn't look like he was here to read or buy calligraphy. Could it be that this person was the guest that Ban Feimeng had mentioned yesterday, the one who had come to apologize?"
Could it be Lin Suxin's parents? Or Bai Xing and Li Fei's parents?
He was a bit nervous. After all, he had tricked Lin Suxin to bring him customers. Even though he didn't take money from Lin Suxin, it seemed like he earned two hundred thousand through her help. Who knew what Lin Suxin's parents would think?
If it was Bai Xing's or Li Fei's parents, things would be even worse, because Bai Xing and Li Fei did pay him.
"Ye... Mr. Ye."
Lin Pingzhi took a deep breath and said nervously.
He had wanted to call him Senior Ye, but he suddenly remembered that his daughter had said that this Senior Ye seemed to be deliberately hiding in the human world. He was only selling some calligraphy to mages.
The bookstore was just a layer of disguise.
Calling him Senior Ye was a bit like ruining Ye Xiu's reclusive lifestyle. After all, very few people would address each other as seniors.
Ye Xiu thought a while and tried his best to remain calm. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to come so early. Yesterday, I happened to have something to do and went out. I didn't receive you. I was careless."
"However, there are still quite a few things left in my shop. I had sold not too many of them. If I can explain them to you, you won't blame me again, right?"
"After all, whether it's the items or experiences, they're all valuable to people."
For the time being, Ye Xiu didn't know whose parent the other party was, but this was how he should start the conversation.
First of all, Ye Xiu wanted to dispel the other party's doubts. He didn't run away to avoid debt, but because he had something to do. Second, he wanted to tell the other party that being forced to spend money and taking the initiative to spend money were both similar experiences. These experiences were both valuable to the person involved.
The other meaning was to tell the other party that he had sold a lot of calligraphy. The prices were the same, and he never scam anyone.
"Of course not. That incident was my fault, to begin with. How would I, as a junior, dare to blame you?" Lin Pingzhi immediately lowered his head in response.
He tried his best to be humble, and he understood in his heart.
Senior Ye seemed to be apologizing, but in reality, he was probably reminding him, "I knew you would come looking for trouble with me yesterday, but I don't want to bother with you. You are not at the level where I will personally attack you. You can't even get past the jujube tree that I casually enchanted."
As for the words "dare to blame you", they were probably mocking him.
If Lin Pingzhi couldn't even deal with a jujube tree in front of his door, how could he have the right to blame its master?
That last sentence seemed to be comforting him, hinting that even though his attack had been blocked by the jujube tree, that was still a meaningful experience.
Ye Xiu sat behind his desk. Seeing Lin Pingzhi's respectful and panicked attitude, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
His attitude was clearly abnormal.
No matter whose parent he was, he wouldn't be like this. He looked like he had made a mistake as if he was afraid that he wouldn't forgive him?
Last night, what did Ban Feimeng say to him that scared him so much?
One had to know that Ban Feimeng could take out 100,000 gold coins even though she was the Academy's student, and her grandfather was the same. This meant that they were rich. A wealthy family would definitely have connections with mages.
Ye Xiu started to deduce. Ban Feimeng had probably revealed that her family had connections with many mages.
The customers that came to the bookstore were all ordinary people. How could they beat a mage? And this man must fear the mages.
It was just that Ban Feimeng was young, so how could she know any mages.
Ye Xiu thought this man in front of him was very timid.
Thinking of this, Ye Xiu couldn't help but feel a bit complacent. A sense of satisfaction immediately rose.
This was what life was like.
The other party thought that his bookstore had the support of many mages. Wasn't this intimated enough?
Ye Xiu stood behind his desk and subconsciously straightened his back. He wasn't worried about being pressed for debt payment anymore.
"Sir, I haven't asked your name."
"I'm Lin Pingzhi."
Ye Xiu was stunned. His surname was Lin, so he should be Lin Suxin's family. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "Mr. Lin, don't be nervous. Perhaps Ban Feimeng said something rude to you yesterday, and might have even mentioned..."
Halfway through his words, Ye Xiu pointed to the sky behind him, which indicated that there might be mages in his bookstore now.
Seeing this, Lin Pingzhi lowered his head even more.
Yesterday, he had collected information from all over the place and even searched through the family's books that recorded ancient characters. Most of the records were unconfirmed, but there were also a few that were true.
If the books were not wrong, those ancient mages might have had been living in the human world for a long time.
They were bent on creating a perfect human world, elevating the status of the human world to the same level as the Divine Realm and the Abyss world.
If he did not guess wrongly, this Senior Ye was probably an identity disguised by the ancient magic master.
Not only did they set up plans in the human world, but they also dabbled in the Divine Realm.
Raising his finger to the sky should be a warning. If the Lin family didn't know what was good for them, they would use their strength to crush them. Even if the Lin family contacted their elder who ascended to the Divine Realm, it would be useless. There was Ye Xiu's force in the Divine Realm too, so they had no chance at all.
The words that Ban Feimeng said to him yesterday were somewhat impolite, but the reality was often much more serious than this.
"Of course, her words aren't wrong." Ye Xiu saw that Lin Pingzhi's attitude was even more humble, so he was even more certain that his guess was correct, he continued, "But I've always believed that when dealing with people, you have to do things that suit your own identity."
"Think things through before you do them, don't you think?"
His words first confirmed Ban Feimeng's threat. Lin Pingzhi probably didn't dare to retort.
At this time, he had to press him slowly and give him a good beating.
"Mr. Ye is right." Lin Pingzhi immediately replied, "It was my thoughtlessness that offended you. Please give me a chance to apologize."
As he spoke, he took out an item and lowered his head slightly. He handed it to Ye Xiu with both hands and said, "This is a gift. It can be considered a fun item. Please forgive me and accept this gift."
Not only did he personally come to apologize, but he also brought a gift?
Ye Xiu was a bit surprised and looked at it seriously.
It was a transparent crystal ball. It was a bit smaller than a palm and was embedded in a square base. It looked like it was made of glass. Inside the crystal ball, one could see a ferocious Twin-headed Demonic Dragon sculpture, it seemed like it would rush out at any moment.
The Twin-headed Demonic Dragon's body was still shrouded in a faint white mist. It was very exquisite.
An ordinary artist wouldn't be able to make it.
But because it was made of glass, it wasn't worth much. If one included the labor costs, it would only be a few hundred gold coins at most.
It could be used as a decoration item in the bookstore.
After all, the other party didn't do anything wrong. Lin Pingzhi just didn't understand the situation and came to cause a ruckus. But now that he came with a gift, and even apologized.
"It's not bad. Just leave it in my shop as a decoration." Ye Xiu lightly nodded his head.
Lin Pingzhi immediately let out a sigh of relief. He carefully placed the crystal ball in his hand on the desk. "Thank you, Senior."
As expected of a senior. He could tell immediately what his goal was.
The reason he gave the crystal ball wasn't because of its practicality or preciousness, but for aesthetic purposes.