Chapter 2, Chapter Two: Sikong Zhaixing.
After seeing the two people's appearances, Lu Yusheng lowered his guard a little.
They were all young men with regular features. Even the bearded young man didn't look much older than her, and none of them had a fierce appearance.
Moreover, the white-clad man's clothes were so expensive that even she could tell they weren't for her money or beauty... But just to be on the safe side, she still asked about the extent of the system's protection.
"This shop is entirely your personal territory. You are free to expel anyone who enters this territory and tries to harm you."
...After hearing this, she probably had a better idea of what was going on.
Seeing that the two were standing at the door with no intention of coming in, Lu Yusheng invited them again: "Why don't you come in and rest for a while?"
A muffled clap of thunder on the horizon interrupted her voice.
Jin Jiuling also took a step back and replied, "Let's call it that..."
Before he could finish saying his refusal, a sudden downpour began.
Lu Yusheng was overjoyed; it seemed he could open for business tonight.
The eaves at the entrance provided some shelter from the rain, but the raindrops outside were pounding on the ground like bullets; it didn't seem like the right time to go out.
Knowing his temperament, Lu Xiaofeng could only helplessly say, "Captain Jin, let's not think about anything else at this time."
Although Jin Jiuling was particular, he wasn't stupid. He had no intention of traveling another hour in the rain to get to the city, so he had no choice but to make do for now.
Seeing that he nodded, Lu Yusheng quickly said, "That's great, young man. You look travel-worn and need a good rest."
The two of them entered the room together, led by her.
The room was very dark, and the little moonlight from before was obscured by dark clouds and rain. Lu Yusheng looked at the burning paper in his hand, afraid that it would go out at any time.
Fortunately, Lu Xiaofeng flipped his hand behind his back and conjured a torch as if by magic.
Seeing that there was a stable light source, Lu Yusheng turned around and asked curiously, "By the way, you just said he was a constable?"
This should be similar to the police position she knows, which makes her feel safer.
—This shop is truly bare, with several load-bearing pillars painted clean and beautiful white, yet there isn't even a table.
Lu Xiaofeng also struggled to hang the torch tilted on the wall. Hearing the question, he answered casually, "This is Constable Jin from the Six Doors. We've come here together to pursue a master thief with exceptional lightness skills..."
As he spoke, he chuckled to himself, "Unfortunately, that thief was too cunning. We were at a loss and had no choice but to return empty-handed."
Upon hearing this, Jin Jiuling was filled with anger: "If you hadn't failed to do your best, how could Sikong Zhaixing have escaped right under our noses?"
Lu Xiaofeng's expression turned serious: "I would believe you a hundred times that he would steal. But to say that he would kill his entire family after stealing is definitely not his style."
However, the serious atmosphere didn't last long, and he chuckled again: "I told you I could find out in three days... Don't worry, I'll find the real culprit for you soon."
"Hmph, if I can't find it..."
"If we can't find it, then my old friend will just have to suffer in the Six Doors prison for now."
Lu Yusheng didn't pay attention to their subsequent conversation; his mind was filled with thoughts of—are there thieves around here?!
She started to get nervous again. After all, she came from a society governed by law and almost forgot how bad the public security was in ancient times. And now she was living in this desolate wilderness.
"May I ask your name, young lady?"
The sudden sound interrupted her thoughts; it was the bearded man.
She thought for a moment and then answered truthfully, "Lu Yusheng."
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, the person who asked the question raised an eyebrow and smiled, "What a coincidence, to have the same surname as me... I am Lu Xiaofeng."
Lu Yusheng hadn't considered the issue of homophones at first, and said with some surprise, "That's such a coincidence!"
Lu Xiaofeng then asked, "Is this shop run by the young lady all by herself?"
He did not easily let go of his suspicions about this place, even though the little girl did not seem to have any martial arts skills.
He and Jin Jiuling had passed through this place just two days ago, when it was still a dense forest. In just two days, they had completely built such a well-fitting two-story tile-roofed house. As far as he knew, there were almost no such skilled craftsmen in the martial arts world.
Lu Yusheng didn't think too much about it and nodded in agreement.
However, as if sensing something, he did not choose to ask the question in his heart at this moment, but considerately said, "Miss, there is no need to go to the trouble of entertaining you. It is late at night, so please rest first."
She was initially a little worried, but then she realized that she also needed a private space to continue exploring the system.
There was nothing to take downstairs, so she just needed to stay vigilant upstairs and kick them out if anything seemed amiss.
So he went up to the second floor alone.
This place is intended to be used as a shop, so its layout is quite different from that of a typical residential building.
She randomly picked a private room and went inside. Although it was empty, at least the door could be locked, which gave her a sense of security.
*
Thump thump thump—
There was a knock on the door. Lu Yusheng suddenly opened his eyes... Had he actually fallen asleep?
It's likely because she had already worked overtime for two days straight and died suddenly; the fatigue didn't disappear with her rebirth. After dealing with the immediate matter, she unknowingly leaned against the wall and fell into a deep sleep...
Before she could compose herself, the knocking on the door sounded again, jolting Lu Yusheng awake once more. This time, she was completely sober.
"Who is it?" she asked cautiously through the door.
"Lu Xiaofeng".
Lu Yusheng recalled for a moment, and it was indeed the voice she had heard before, but she still didn't open the door, and continued to ask, "Young Master Lu... is there something you need?"
"The rain has stopped, and we're getting ready to leave. We've come to say goodbye and settle our room bill."
After saying this, Lu Xiaofeng outside the door did not receive a reply immediately. About ten seconds later, a crisp "click" sound came from behind the door.
The door was then opened, and the girl's figure was fully revealed.
He handed over the silver in his hand and said with a smile, "Please accept this, young lady."
Her gaze involuntarily followed it.
It was a silver note. Moonlight shone through the window again, but unfortunately the light was dim, making the paper look like a dark blob, and she couldn't see the denomination.
"Never mind..." Lu Yusheng refused with great reluctance: "I haven't even served a cup of hot tea, how can I possibly accept money?"
There's no way to harvest chives like this.
It's still dark outside. If they really slept through the night, that's fine, but charging them for just sheltering from the rain for a short while is something she's not about to cross her moral line for.
Lu Xiaofeng did not take it back, but instead revealed a mysterious smile: "Consider the extra amount as payment on behalf of that friend."
It's a bit strange. His companion didn't stay long either, so why did he say that?
But Lu Yusheng's willpower only went so far. After all, she was penniless, and it was only because she refused once that she was considered to have high moral standards.
Looking at Lu Xiaofeng's serious face, she hesitated slightly before accepting the silver note: "I'm easily persuaded. Since you insist, young master, then I won't stand on ceremony."
Seeing that he had no intention of going back on his word, she quickly and happily folded it up and put it in her pocket.
"What a generous and kind person!"
She stood at the doorway, watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, and sighed.
A night breeze blew by, and Lu Yusheng touched his thin clothes, deciding to go inside first.
Before she could turn around, an old male voice rang out from behind her.
"Cough cough."
She suddenly felt a chill run down her spine again.
After overcoming his momentary fear, Lu Yusheng suddenly turned around and saw an elderly man in his sixties.
When did he come in? Is he a human or a ghost? This system is so unreliable; didn't they say this was her domain?
At this moment, the system seemed to sense her thoughts and said, seemingly casually, "Do you need me to help you get rid of him now?"
Before Lu Yusheng could respond, the old man coughed again when he saw her looking over, as if he were very weak: "I am unwell and cannot travel with them. May I rest here for the night?"
No wonder he insisted on paying; it turns out that the friend Lu Xiaofeng mentioned before leaving was him. How could he be forcing me to buy something?!
Now that Sikong Zhaixing has disguised herself as a man in his sixties, although she doesn't look as pleasing as the two handsome young men, she still doesn't feel the need to send them back.
After hesitating for a long time, she touched the silver notes in her pocket and said with difficulty, "You stay here and rest. I'm going upstairs. Knock on the door if you need anything."
Oh well, after all, the money they paid could be considered as accommodation.
Anyway, there's nothing on the first floor now, and he can't move the original building materials either...
Ignoring the old man's thanks, she climbed the stairs, thinking to herself, "There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Having been frightened twice in one night, Lu Yusheng was truly wide awake. After locking the door again, she asked the system, "By the way, can I use the money I received today now?"
"Sure, would you like to exchange it for a computer or other furniture?"
She looked helpless: "At this point, I haven't even figured out what to eat for breakfast tomorrow, let alone buy a computer. Just show me the online store first, and I'll go straight to the food section."
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket to take out the silver notes.
After taking out the silver note, she suddenly realized something; she had just felt a palm-sized cube in her pocket, and the feel of it…
Then, incredulously, she took out the object, and sure enough, it was a cell phone.
And it's the same one she used in her previous life.
The first thing Lu Yusheng did after taking out his phone was to unlock it and open his contacts, but as expected, there was no signal.
After trying to dial the number several times without success, she finally gave up. It was at this moment that she realized more deeply that her original self had died.
Well, after all, she died suddenly at her workstation. I hope her parents won't go easy on her in court... and will make that stingy man pay them off.
She stopped thinking about it, turned on the flashlight, and found that the functions on her phone that didn't require an internet connection were still working.
Under the light, she could see the face value on the ticket clearly; it was indeed a generous offer, a full one hundred taels.
Now Lu Yusheng doesn't feel like he's been taken advantage of at all.
She had previously watched period dramas where these silver notes had smaller denominations, ranging from five to ten taels, so receiving one hundred taels was a truly unexpected surprise.
She finally had the mood to look at the online store that had been displayed in front of her earlier.
*
The next day at daybreak, Lu Yusheng first brought down a newly bought table.
Seeing that the old man was still fast asleep against the wall, she slowed down even more. After finally arranging the table and chairs, she also took two packets of instant noodles.
After all, this old man's "descendants" paid quite a bit of money; they should get their money's worth.
After spending the whole night shopping, she has to treat everyone to breakfast this morning, at the very least.
The water dispenser was too inconvenient to move up and down, so she only replaced it with two self-heating lunch boxes and two bottles of mineral water.
After the noodles were cooked, she took out the stainless steel bowl containing the noodles separately.
"Grandpa, get up and have some breakfast."
Lu Yusheng's invitation was extremely frank.
She had never allowed anyone to go up to the second floor before, and in her memory, Lu Xiaofeng had only gone up once before he left, so she didn't bother to hide it.
It would be strange if such a big building were completely empty... Wouldn't it be reasonable to put some tables, chairs, benches, and other supplies on the second floor?
She took it all for granted.
Unexpectedly, the old man before her possessed extraordinary lightness skills, having already searched the entire shop, including her sleeping room, and found no place where the six-foot-long table could be placed.
This is really strange... Is there a secret room inside this house?
After this incident, Sikong Zhaixing would no longer dare to eat it directly.
He slowly got up, then slowly dragged a chair to sit down, and finally quietly checked that the noodles were not poisonous before he felt at ease to start eating.
The taste of this noodle dish is quite novel, but unfortunately it doesn't taste as good as it smells.
To fit the persona of an elderly person with a small stomach, he ate slowly and carefully, resulting in Lu Yusheng finishing his food in a few bites while he still had more than half left in his bowl.
While waiting to wash the dishes, Lu Yusheng subconsciously took out his phone again, following his previous habit.
Since most web pages were inaccessible, she didn't browse any entertainment news and instead opened a single-player rhythm game.
Before logging in, she remembered something and frantically pressed the volume buttons, finally managing to mute the game before the logo made a sound.
Then, mindful of the elderly person in front of her, she hesitated for a moment, then, like someone trying to hide something, she turned the screen upside down, leaving only a bare phone case for the person opposite her.
...Sikong Zhaixing certainly noticed it.
Although from his perspective he could only see her fingers moving back and forth on a small square box, the light from the screen reflected on her face, flashing in sync with the movement of her fingers.
Only a blind person wouldn't be able to see a ghost.
A note from the author:
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