Chapter 023 Bronze Mirror
"Is there a sense of camaraderie between strange creatures? That's hard to say." The system hissed in its consciousness. "I'm more inclined to believe it has some hidden value. But what can a strange creature without a strange domain do?"
Mo Xuanji sighed softly and looked down at the bamboo slips in her hand. "Forget it. If an enemy comes, we will fight him. If a flood comes, we will block it with earth. No matter what they want to do, we will just take it on."
There can't be anything worse than the end of the world, right? Mo Xuanji thought optimistically.
This was the first time Mo Xuanji had appeared in the antique shop during the day. As morning approached, he discovered that the place wasn't as deserted as he'd imagined. Occasionally, a few pedestrians would pass by. At the nearby intersection, seven or eight breakfast stalls had been set up, sometimes bringing in office workers or students for lunch.
Someone noticed this newly opened antique shop, and its out-of-place decor sparked a bit of curiosity. However, passersby were in a hurry to get to work, so they just took a quick glance and left without looking back.
The aroma of food drifted over on the breeze, whetting the appetite. Mo Xuanji thought for a moment, closed the door, and went to the breakfast stall nearby.
"Boss, give me a bowl of wontons."
"Okay, please wait here for a moment." The stall owner smiled honestly. He wiped his hands with a wet cloth and lowered his head to wrap wontons.
Yuheng lowered his head slightly, watching the boss's movements for a moment, a smile flickering across his beautiful phoenix eyes. He casually fiddled with the white jade fan and chatted with the boss like a bored diner, "Business is usually good here, isn't it?"
"Hey, how did you know that?" the boss said as he put the wontons into the pot. He lifted the lid and a puff of hot steam rose from the pot.
There weren't many diners at this time, and most people chose food that was easy to carry.
"Your wontons have thin wrappers and generous fillings, and the portions are generous. You won't find a boss as conscientious as you anywhere else."
The system let out a laugh from deep within its consciousness.
"Ahahaha, really? Well, I, Old Zhao, don't have many good qualities. I'm just honest and simple. Consumers spend money with me, so I have to give them the best." The boss showed a happy and hearty smile and patted his chest: "What's the saying? Serving the people wholeheartedly!"
High above, a man in combat fatigues lowered his binoculars and slammed the wall in frustration. "You idiot! You thought he was praising you? You've been exposed! What vendor would stuff so much meat into these wontons for free? You're supposed to be serving the people, but you're afraid he won't recognize your background?"
The polite laughter of the two people came from the headphones.
Mo Xuanji truly felt that this owner was both conscientious and down-to-earth. He had eaten at many breakfast stalls during his school years, and most wonton vendors would simply dab the filling on the wontons with chopsticks, then quickly wipe it off with dough and wrap it up, fearing that the customers would notice the meager amount of filling. This owner, on the other hand, was quite down-to-earth. He didn't make the wontons quickly, but he stuffed them generously with filling, as if he was afraid the customers wouldn't be full.
It's rare to find such a good breakfast shop owner. It would be even better if he wasn't sent by the authorities. Mo Xuanji thought silently. He quietly calculated the time in his mind and couldn't help but sigh at the efficiency of the authorities. It only took a few hours to find his location.
If I'm not mistaken, not only this boss, but also the owners of the other breakfast stalls and the diners are probably all sent by the authorities. After all, it's almost seven o'clock now. What office worker can still sit here leisurely and eat breakfast? Don't think he didn't notice these people's subtle gazes!
"Your wontons are ready. Do you want to take them away or eat them here?" At this time, the boss didn't know that his identity had been exposed, and he was still competently playing the role of a qualified breakfast stall owner.
"Take it away." He couldn't eat it with so many people watching. He wasn't that arrogant yet.
"Okay."
Mo Xuanji returned with his breakfast. Unexpectedly, the system didn't nag him about his image this time.
Back in the shop, Mo Xuanji opened the wontons and picked up one with chopsticks.
“…” He looked at the wontons, a trace of embarrassment on his face.
"What's wrong?"
Mo Xuanji put down his chopsticks, his expression blank: "I can't eat it."
It wasn't like he couldn't eat because he wasn't hungry. The food was delicious, yet even when it was right in front of him, he couldn't swallow it. Mo Xuanji forced himself to take a bite, but a strong feeling of nausea washed over him. He quickly picked up the teacup and took a few sips. He couldn't help coughing, and the corners of his eyes turned slightly red under the stimulation of the saline solution.
"Ahem... Could it be that this vest has the attribute of being out of touch with the world?" I can drink the tea, but I can't eat the wontons.
"That shouldn't be the case... I made this doll based on a real life form. It's impossible for it to be unable to eat." The system fell into deep thought. It scanned it back and forth several times, but found no problem.
In the end, the entire breakfast went into Liuliu's stomach.
The sun slowly climbed to the highest point in the sky.
Yuheng sat aside, bored, looking at the bamboo slips. A wind chime swayed gently, making a crisp sound. The clamor outside poured into the shop with the sound of the door opening.
The person who came was a little girl who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. She looked around the antique shop curiously, and when she saw the person sitting at the counter, her eyes lit up.
Oh my god! This store manager looks just like my wife! Fang Ying opened her eyes wide.
Yu Heng felt a little uneasy when she looked at him, but she still maintained a gentle smile: "Little girl, is there anything you need?"
Fang Ying hesitated for a moment, took out a small cloth bag from the schoolbag behind her and placed it on the counter.
"Well... I accidentally broke my dad's antique. Can you find me one that looks just like it? Please, the price is negotiable!" Fang Ying clasped her hands together, her face sincere. Her dad treasured this thing so much that he touched it every night before going to bed. If he found out the antique was broken, he would be furious.
Yuheng opened the cloth bag. Inside was a palm-sized bronze mirror. The mirror was exquisitely crafted, bearing the marks of history. For a bronze object, it had been broken in two in the most unlikely of ways. The fracture was smooth, as if cut by a sharp object. Incidentally, there was still some glue left on it that hadn't been removed completely, suggesting the girl had done her best to repair it.
Fang Ying saw the shop owner pick up the bronze mirror, his gentle smile gradually replaced by a serious expression, and she couldn't help but feel a little panicked. This shop manager had a very gentle demeanor, but when he had a stern face and no expression, he was more intimidating than the dean of studies.
"This is a defensive spiritual weapon that can withstand a fatal attack. The protective effect has been triggered, and the child may have been attacked without knowing it." The system said.
Could it be strange? Yu Heng calmly placed the bronze mirror back on the table.
"I don't have any antiques like it here." The girl's frustration was almost invisible as she said this. "It's not that I can't fix it." The girl's eyes lit up again.
A smile flashed in Yuheng's eyes: "I need to know where this is damaged and how it broke."
"Uh, what does this have to do with repairing it?" Fang Ying was a little confused.
Yu Heng opened his fan with a rustling sound and said, "To be honest, I am a sorcerer. Once I know the cause and effect of an object's breakage, I can restore it to its original state."
"That's amazing!" The middle school girl completely believed his nonsense. "Here's what happened..."
Fang Ying had a close friend who was sick and hadn't been to school for several days. Worried about her, she took advantage of her two-day break to visit her.
I remembered that my friend had always been interested in this bronze mirror, and my father was away on a business trip. I thought that if my friend saw it, he might be so happy that his illness would get better faster, so I took it with me.
Unexpectedly, just as she was near her friend's house, she had a series of bad luck happen to her. She fell and was hit by something, but luckily she escaped with no harm. In her panic, the small cloth bag containing the mirror fell to the ground. When she picked it up, she found that the mirror was broken.
"My friend lives in the Qingshui neighborhood... I was so scared that I ran home. I tried so many ways to glue it back on, but couldn't," Fang Ying said, her face filled with fear. She hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Manager, tell me... am I possessed by something foul?"
"Where does the scientific community get dirty?"
Fang Ying showed Conan's half-moon eyes: "But the existence of quacks is unscientific, isn't it?"
"This is quantum mechanics. The laws of quantum entanglement trigger resonance between the cross-sections, restoring them to their original state." This was clearly nonsense. Fang Ying felt increasingly dizzy as she listened, her expression switching back and forth between "Are you kidding me?" and "Really?!"
Yu Heng suppressed his laughter and picked up the two pieces of bronze mirror. "Okay, I know what happened. Now I'll go fix it. Please wait here for a moment."
"Okay." Fang Ying nodded blankly.
Yuheng walked into the study. The screen blocked the view from the outside, preventing anyone from directly seeing inside. Liuliu, disguised as an ordinary pet bird, was tasked with attracting the girl's attention.
"It's a good time to try out the restoration spell I just learned." Yu Heng pinched his fingers with one hand, and under the effect of the spell, the two halves of the bronze mirror merged into one, returning to their original state. As a precaution, he stayed in the study for a while longer.
When he came out, Fang Ying had already become familiar with Liuliu and was having a blast playing with him. Yuheng handed the mirror back to her: "It's fixed. Remember not to bend it hard for a while. Let it sit for a few days."
Fang Ying happily took the mirror and looked at it back and forth. "Amazing! There's not a single mark! I'll have to leave it for a few days... Manager, did you use some magic glue to stick it on?"
“It’s quantum mechanics.”
"Hehe, if you say it is, then it is. Manager, how much does it cost to repair it?" Fang Ying said as she took out her small wallet.
"No charge." Yuheng said as he picked up the teacup beside him.
"Eh? R-Really?"
"You have already paid me." A message that seemed to be related to something weird.
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