Chapter 88 All I know is that her surname is Zhuang and she's from out of town.

Ling Shu passed by a dim sum shop, her mouth watering, and decided to go in for some crystal shrimp dumplings. She sat down at a table near the entrance, but since she was late and hadn't made a reservation, all the good seats were taken, so she just made do.

The entrance was wide open, with pedestrians coming and going, and the sounds of carriages and horses, as well as shouts, filling the hall. Inside, the hall was nearly full, and the cacophony of conversations was like a buzzing of bees.

When Zhuang Jinfu heard that someone had ordered shrimp dumplings, he thought of an old friend. Looking at the signboard of the dim sum shop that read "Our Signature Crystal Shrimp Dumplings," he wondered whether he should go in.

What if she didn't die, and she came across some delicious shrimp dumplings, got greedy, and ate a serving?

"Your pastries." Zhuang Jinfu snapped out of his reverie, paid, and paused as he took a step.

What are you thinking? How could she still be alive?

I walked in the opposite direction from the morning tea shop.

But after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

They quickly changed direction and headed towards the morning tea shop.

Ling Shu hadn't been down the mountain in a long time and wasn't used to the noise, so she called out to the waiter, "Do you have any private rooms here?"

"Yes." "Open one room." "Okay." The waiter picked up her shrimp dumplings and led her upstairs.

As Zhuang Jinfu stepped into the shop, he saw a woman in a light blue dress going upstairs. She had excellent manners and outstanding temperament. As soon as he entered, his attention was drawn to her. He couldn't see her face, as she had already reached the top of the stairs, only revealing half of her body.

She had a sword at her waist, the hilt protruding two inches from the inside, making it impossible to see the sword's appearance. She looked like a cultivator; it wasn't unusual for cultivators to descend from the mountain. She didn't pay any attention to this person.

His gaze searched among the people present for a familiar figure.

Business owners, chatting monks, innocent little girls... she didn't see the person she was looking for.

The waiter approached with a smile and asked, "What would you like to eat, sir?"

Zhuang Jinfu replied indifferently, "No need, there are no good seats."

Ling Shu had just reached the second floor when she suddenly stopped. She sensed a familiar aura—the aura of a demon core, very strong.

He immediately held up a compass in his palm, pointing eastward, away from the shop, but the aura emanated from the shop below.

Someone has come into contact with her demon core.

Ling Shu hurriedly turned back and started walking down.

"Sir?" The waiter noticed her movements and wondered if she didn't want a private room anymore.

She went down a few steps down the stairs. There were no new people at the entrance, and the same people were still sitting in their seats, but their presence had vanished. She went back. "It's nothing. I thought I saw the thief who stole my things. Oh well, I was mistaken. Let's go to a private room."

Zhuang Jinfu went out the door and hurried towards the school, which delayed him a bit, and he was going to be late for class.

Ling Shu sat in the private room and ordered a few more dishes, such as crab-stuffed oranges and spring rolls. The room was by the window, and she looked out at the passing crowds. In the far distance, people looked only the size of a thumbnail. She saw a person in white walking into the alley. Ling Shu felt that her figure was familiar and looked very much like... Zhuang Jinfu.

But then she thought, how could such an ethereal fairy, untouched by worldly affairs, be walking among the common people?

Ling Shu abandoned her random thoughts and buried herself in her food, craving it so much that she hadn't eaten anything from the human world in so long. It was so delicious!

Zhuang Jinfu walked through the alley to the school and, as expected, was late. She mysteriously took out the pastries hidden under her sleeve, and the children were pleasantly surprised, exclaiming "Wow!" She called on a child sitting in the front row: "Zhang Yao, help the teacher distribute the pastries."

"Come down, your older sister will catch you."

Ling Shu was eating in a private room when she heard hurried footsteps outside the door. She opened the door and saw a child who had climbed up to the second-floor railing to play when no one was looking. He had fallen down but managed to grab onto the shop's signboard and was hanging in mid-air.

The diners stopped eating and stood up to see how to rescue the little girl.

Ordinary furry children don't have the skill to evade human eyes. Ling Shu could tell at a glance that this was a little cat demon living in the mortal world with her family.

The little cat demon's demonic nature hadn't been completely eradicated. She probably mistook the railing for a cat tree, climbed up, and realized she couldn't get down. Panicked, she lost her footing, but luckily she reacted quickly and grabbed the sign hanging in the shop.

The waiter went to the backyard to find a ladder and was looking for a place to put it up.

Ling Shu went over to help, and they put up the ladder, but she still couldn't reach it.

“I am a cultivator, skilled in martial arts, I’ll go up.” She volunteered, and the people around her, seeing the sword at her waist, agreed to let her go up.

She climbed up, the ladder swayed slightly, and a few more diners came over to hold it steady. She reached the top, just a little short, about an arm's length away from the other two.

Ling Shu opened her arms and smiled at the little cat demon: "Come down, your older sister will catch you."

The little cat demon was frightened and shook its head, refusing to let go.

Ling Shu coaxed again, "Sister is very skilled, she will definitely be able to catch you."

The little cat demon's expression softened slightly, and she prepared to let go. She glanced at the ground, shook her head, and cried out, "Mother, I'm scared."

A woman below was sweating profusely with anxiety. "Mother's here, don't be afraid."

Ling Shu was very patient. She waited and coaxed for a long time, but the little cat demon still refused to let go.

Helpless, she had no choice but to show her skills. Her appearance was already quite conspicuous, and she didn't want to attract any more attention. As a demon king, she should keep a low profile when walking in the human world.

Ling Shu pushed off with her feet, using the momentum to jump upwards, leaping into the air, embracing the little cat demon, and holding her small hand with her other hand, pulling away the veil she was holding.

"What skill!" someone exclaimed.

The little cat demon looked at the beautiful older sister with admiration. The hand holding her little hand was so warm, and the older sister smiled at her so gently.

Upon landing, the little cat demon immediately pounced into the woman's arms. The woman picked her up, recognizing her as the demon king of their demon clan, and was filled with gratitude, insisting on treating her to a meal.

"It was no trouble at all," Ling Shu said.

The diners applauded and cheered for her, and the owner of the dim sum shop offered to pay for her meal. Ling Shu was pleased with the praise and insisted on paying, but the owner refused. The woman then offered to pay for her, and Ling Shu, unable to refuse, let the woman pay.

When the woman went out, Ling Shu used magic to steal the money the woman paid for her bill, put his own money in the shopkeeper's purse, went out to find the woman, and secretly put the money back into her bag.

With that matter settled, he went to buy gifts and paid a visit to Boss Zhang.

Upon seeing Ling Shu, Boss Zhang was overjoyed and even shed tears. She said, "I must have been daydreaming, to have just seen the young lady again."

Ling Shu chuckled and said, "Seeing ghosts in broad daylight, aren't you afraid?"

Mr. Zhang smiled through his tears, "Knowing it's you, young lady, I'm not afraid of anything anymore."

Ling Shu handed over the gift and replied with a smile, "Seeing ghosts is such an evil thing, Mr. Zhang. You are so lucky that you can't see them even if you want to."

"They all said you were dead, I thought..."

"I'm alive and well, a genuine living person. Here you go."

Mr. Zhang wiped away his tears as he accepted the gifts and welcomed her in. "Miss Ling, what exactly happened? Tell me about it."

Ling Shu told her about using the demon core to escape like a cicada shedding its shell. Boss Zhang knew the details and said "Thank goodness, thank goodness, you're so clever, young lady" several times. Ling Shu was concerned about Xu Fangshi's attempt to seize the Zhang family's fertile land. Boss Zhang said that the thief was lucky and actually escaped the natural disaster.

Xu Fangshi owed the Zhang family a life. After the natural disaster, the case previously submitted to the Tongpan of Nanxi City was put to trial again. Xu Fangshi was convicted. During the in-depth investigation, three or four murder cases were found to be related to this case, and Xu Fangshi was sentenced to beheading.

The two chatted for a while, and when noon arrived, Boss Zhang went to pick up Zhang Yao, while Ling Shu waited for them at home. When Zhang Yao returned, she was also very happy to see Ling Shu, and presented her with a paper package in both hands.

“My handwriting is beautiful, so the teacher rewarded me with two pieces of pastry. Let’s give them to Sister Ling.”

Ling Shu was very happy to be coaxed and said, "Sister, if you eat one piece, you can have one too, okay?"

Yao Yao nodded, put down the pastry, and took her hand to show her her toys.

Ling Shu immediately spotted one of the dove carts, which had been worn smooth from being touched. This was a gift she had given to Yao Yao. After the earthquake in Nanxi City, she was worried that Yao Yao would be bored, so she took a dove cart from her storage space to give it to her to cheer her up, so that she wouldn't be so bored that she would bite her nails.

Yao Yao loves this toy the most. While playing with it, she tells her about what happened at school: "Teacher Zhuang was late for class today, haha. She said she was craving something and couldn't resist the crystal shrimp dumplings. She almost missed class. This teaches us to control our desires and behave properly. Missing class because of shrimp dumplings is impolite. She taught us a phrase called 'self-discipline'... self-discipline..."

"Self-discipline and adherence to propriety."

"Yes! My older sister knows that too. She knows so much!"

"What is your teacher's name?"

"I don't know, I only know that her surname is Zhuang and she's from out of town."

Ling Shu quickly connected these events. She sensed a strong demon core aura at the tea shop, which disappeared after a moment. Yao Yao said her teacher's surname was Zhuang, and he couldn't resist the crystal shrimp dumplings. That meant she had indeed arrived at the tea shop, and her feeling was correct.

Is Yaoyao's teacher Zhuang Jinfu?

But why would she go down the mountain for no reason?

The Ruthless Immortal Venerable descends the mountain to teach children to read? Don't be ridiculous.

"Does my older sister know her?"

“We might know each other.” Ling Shu had a sudden inspiration and smiled. “Yaoyao, let’s make a deal. Tomorrow you take me to meet your teacher, and I’ll buy you a new carriage. What do you think?”

Yao Yao's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly: "Easy, leave it to me."

The next day, Ling Shu got up very early and went with Boss Zhang to take Yao Yao to school.

As they entered the school, Yao Yao winked at her, signaling her to come with her. Boss Zhang looked at her affectionately and asked, "What secret do you two have?" Yao Yao replied smugly, "I'll take Sister Ling to meet our Master Zhuang." Boss Zhang glanced at Ling Shu, understanding her intentions, and let her go.

As soon as Ling Shu entered, he sensed a strong aura of a demon core.

Hold up a guide in your palm, and the guide spins in place.

It's nearby.

Yao Yao went first to find Master Zhuang and told him that someone was visiting, and asked Ling Shu to wait outside. After a while, Yao Yao came out looking dejected. She said, "Master Zhuang has taken the day off."

Ling Shu said regretfully, "Go to school, I'll come again next time."

When I went out, I asked Mr. Zhang. Mr. Zhang pretended to be profound and replied with a smile, "You'll know who she is when you see her."