Chapter 77: The Antique Shop [1]

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Antique Shop [1]

The Patriarch’s words lingered in the air.

"That is exactly why I came."

Xi Yunxui looked from the Huo Patriarch to the elderly man, her confusion deepening.

Before she could ask what he meant, the elderly man’s sharp gaze swept across the three creatures surrounding her. He studied King C first, who still looked deeply dissatisfied about having his mouth covered earlier, then Biyu on Xi Yunxui’s shoulder before finally settling on Hui.

Something shifted in his expression when he saw Hui.

However, he said nothing.

Instead, he turned toward the Patriarch.

"Come with me."

The Patriarch raised an eyebrow. "You’re ordering me around in your own shop now?"

The elderly man snorted. "If you don’t want answers, then stand there and continue frightening my apprentice."

Behind the counter, the young man immediately protested.

"Master, I wasn’t frightened by him."

The elderly man glanced at him.

The young man’s voice lowered.

"...Not very frightened."

A faint smile appeared on the Patriarch’s face, and Xi Yunxui found herself suppressing one as well.

Unfortunately, the elderly man noticed.

"Young lady, don’t encourage him."

Xi Yunxui immediately straightened. "I wouldn’t dare."

"Hmph."

The elderly man turned away and motioned for the Patriarch to follow him.

The Patriarch spared Xi Yunxui and the creatures a brief glance before walking toward the inner section of the shop.

Xi Yunxui watched as the two men disappeared through a door at the back.

Before it closed, she caught a brief glimpse of the room beyond. Unlike the main shop, which was filled with shelves and glass display cabinets, the inner room appeared noticeably darker. She could not see much beyond the doorway, but something about it felt strangely secluded from the rest of the shop.

Then the door shut.

The antique shop became quiet.

Xi Yunxui remained where she was for a moment before turning toward the young man behind the counter.

Unfortunately, he was already looking at her.

More specifically, he was looking at the creatures around her.

Their eyes met.

The young man immediately lowered his gaze.

Xi Yunxui raised an eyebrow.

A few moments later, his curiosity won again, and his eyes drifted toward Hui.

Xi Yunxui followed his gaze.

Hui stood quietly beside her leg, appearing considerably less intimidating now that no one was screaming at the sight of her.

At least, Xi Yunxui thought so.

The young man apparently disagreed.

His gaze shifted from Hui to King C.

King C noticed and narrowed his eyes.

The young man immediately found something extremely interesting on his counter.

Xi Yunxui sighed inwardly.

Why did everyone keep looking at her creatures as though she had personally brought three disasters into the Huo residence?

Well...

Perhaps that wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

Still, she refused to admit it.

The silence lasted only a few minutes.

Then a voice suddenly rose from the inner room.

"What do you mean you don’t know what it is?!"

Xi Yunxui looked toward the closed door.

The voice belonged to the elderly man.

The young apprentice, however, did not appear surprised. He simply lowered his head and continued pretending to arrange the objects on the counter.

Xi Yunxui glanced at him.

Apparently, whatever happened behind that door was not something he intended to involve himself in.

A calmer voice followed shortly afterward.

It belonged to the Patriarch, although Xi Yunxui could not make out his words through the closed door.

The elderly man’s response was much easier to hear.

Xi Yunxui blinked.

Were they arguing?

King C quietly moved closer to her side, his gaze fixed on the door.

Xi Yunxui noticed him watching.

Before she could warn him against doing anything troublesome, he leaned closer and whispered so softly that only she could hear him.

"Do you think they’re fighting?"

Xi Yunxui glanced toward the door just as another raised voice sounded from inside.

"...I don’t know."

King C’s eyes brightened.

"Should we listen?"

"No."

"I wasn’t going to—"

Xi Yunxui gave him a look.

King C stopped speaking and lifted his chin with the dignity of someone who had definitely been caught before doing anything.

Biyu made a faint sound from her shoulder that suspiciously resembled amusement.

King C immediately glared at it.

"You stay out of this."

"You’re whispering now," Xi Yunxui murmured.

"Because someone keeps covering my mouth whenever I speak."

Xi Yunxui ignored him.

The apprentice had already witnessed enough strange things since their arrival. If King C suddenly began speaking in a perfectly understandable human voice, Xi Yunxui had no interest in finding out whether the young man’s next scream would be louder than the first.

Besides, she had already convinced—or rather, attempted to convince—the poor man that Hui was a dog.

There was only so much confusion one person should endure in a single day.

Xi Yunxui slowly walked toward one of the nearby display cabinets, careful not to touch anything inside.

Jade ornaments, old coins, porcelain, carved wooden boxes, and objects she could not identify rested behind the glass. Some appeared ordinary, while others carried an inexplicable sense of age that made her hesitate to look at them for too long.

As she moved farther into the shop, however, her attention gradually shifted away from the antiques.

Something felt different.

At first, Xi Yunxui assumed it was simply the atmosphere of the old building. The scent of incense lingered faintly in the air, blending with aged wood and the subtle smell of dust.

Yet beneath it was another sensation.

Cool.

Refreshing.

Almost—

Xi Yunxui slowed.

[Host.]

The System’s voice sounded in her mind.

Xi Yunxui’s expression became alert.

What is it?

[This location contains an abundance of spiritual energy.]

She paused.

Spiritual energy?

Xi Yunxui looked around again.

Nothing appeared unusual.

The shelves remained motionless, the antiques sat quietly behind their glass displays, and the apprentice continued his rather unsuccessful attempt to pretend that he was not curious about the three creatures accompanying her.

Yet Xi Yunxui had already learned that appearances could be deceiving.

Are you sure?

[Affirmative.]

After a brief pause, the System continued.

[The concentration of spiritual energy within this building is considerably higher than that of the surrounding environment.]

Xi Yunxui’s gaze travelled slowly across the antique shop.

No wonder the place felt different.

She had only learned about cultivation after arriving in this world. In her previous life, spiritual energy and cultivation would have sounded like concepts taken directly from a fantasy novel.

Yet this world had repeatedly proven that there was far more hidden beneath its modern appearance than she had ever imagined.

Xi Yunxui’s cultivation, unfortunately, was another matter entirely.

Her lips pressed together.

She had previously reached Beginner level Stage Three after painstakingly learning the basics of cultivation.

Then she had exchanged two stages.

For a phone number.

Huo Jingchen’s phone number, to be exact.

Xi Yunxui still wasn’t entirely sure whether she should consider that exchange worthwhile.

Two stages of cultivation for a string of numbers stored in her phone, and maybe some useful affection points.

She had fallen all the way back to Beginner level Stage One.

Thinking about it still made her feel slightly pained.

[Host.]

Xi Yunxui returned to the present.

Yes?

[The spiritual energy within this location is suitable for cultivation.]

Her expression immediately became serious.

[The System advises the Host to take advantage of the available spiritual energy and find a suitable place to cultivate.]

Xi Yunxui considered the suggestion.

She was currently at Beginner level Stage One, and opportunities to cultivate in a place rich with spiritual energy were unlikely to appear often.

However, she could not simply sit in the middle of someone else’s antique shop and begin cultivating without permission.

Especially not when the shop’s owner was currently having an increasingly loud conversation with the Patriarch behind a closed door.

Xi Yunxui glanced toward the apprentice.

His attention had drifted toward Biyu again.

Biyu slowly turned its head and stared back.

The young man immediately looked down.

Xi Yunxui almost smiled.

Then she mentally asked the System, Where exactly am I supposed to cultivate?

[The Host should locate a suitable place.]

Xi Yunxui’s lips twitched.

That was incredibly helpful.

Thank you for the detailed instructions.

The System remained silent.

Apparently, it had decided to ignore her sarcasm.

Xi Yunxui continued examining the shop.

The deeper she moved toward the back, the more noticeable the cool sensation in the air became. It was subtle, but she could now clearly distinguish the difference between the spiritual energy near the entrance and the energy gathered farther inside.

Her attention briefly shifted toward the closed inner room.

Could the spiritual energy be coming from there?

Xi Yunxui immediately dismissed the thought.

She had no intention of intruding.

Whatever the Patriarch and the elderly man were discussing was clearly connected to the three creatures, particularly Hui. She had enough sense not to approach a closed door simply because she was curious.

As if to reinforce that decision, the elderly man’s voice suddenly rang out again.

"Don’t tell me to calm down!"

Xi Yunxui took a quiet step away from the door.

Behind the counter, the apprentice did not react.

Xi Yunxui stared at him.

He really had mastered the art of pretending nothing was happening.

Perhaps that was a necessary skill for surviving under that particular master.

Eventually, Xi Yunxui found a quieter corner near one of the shelves. A large wooden display cabinet partially concealed the area from the entrance, and although it was not entirely private, it offered enough space for her to sit without being directly in everyone’s way.

More importantly, the spiritual energy there felt noticeably denser.

This should work.

Xi Yunxui glanced toward the apprentice.

He was busy arranging something behind the counter, although she suspected that he was only pretending to be occupied.

She then looked at King C.

"I’m going to sit here for a while."

King C immediately became suspicious and leaned closer.

"Why?"

"I need to do something."

"What?"

Xi Yunxui gave him a meaningful look.

Understanding dawned on King C’s face.

His eyes widened.

"You want to—"

Xi Yunxui swiftly covered his mouth.

King C stared at her in outrage.

The apprentice looked up.

Xi Yunxui smiled politely.

"Nothing."

The young man looked unconvinced but eventually returned his attention to the counter.

Xi Yunxui lowered her hand.

King C leaned closer and whispered, "You could have just told me not to say it."

"And would you have listened?"

King C remained silent.

Xi Yunxui nodded.

"Exactly."

Biyu made another quiet sound.

King C glared upward.

Hui, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, stepped closer to Xi Yunxui’s side.

Xi Yunxui glanced at the three creatures.

"Stay here and don’t cause trouble."

King C frowned.

"Why are you looking directly at me?"

Xi Yunxui walked away without answering.

She settled into the quiet corner and crossed her legs.

The three creatures remained nearby, but Xi Yunxui did not depend on them to cultivate or protect her. Whatever strange attachment they had developed toward her, and regardless of how powerful they might eventually prove to be, Xi Yunxui understood that her own strength was something she needed to build herself.

She had already learned one difficult lesson since arriving in this world.

No one could walk her path for her.

If this world truly contained dangers and mysteries beyond her understanding, she could not afford to remain weak simply because there were creatures around her who might—or might not—help when the time came.

Xi Yunxui closed her eyes.

Taking a slow breath, she began following the cultivation method she had learned after arriving in this world.

The difference became apparent almost immediately.

Spiritual energy gradually gathered around her.

It was richer and purer than anything she had encountered during her previous mountain cultivation. Cool energy seeped into her senses, and Xi Yunxui carefully guided it inward, making sure not to rush the process.

For the first time since falling back to Beginner level Stage One, she felt genuine hope that recovering her lost cultivation might not take as long as she had feared.

Several metres away, the apprentice glanced up.

He had initially been watching the creatures.

Then he noticed Xi Yunxui.

The atmosphere around the young maid seemed strangely calm.

His curiosity deepened.

Before he could observe her further, King C casually stepped into his line of sight.

The apprentice blinked.

King C lifted his chin.

The young man frowned.

What exactly was wrong with these creatures?

A raised voice suddenly sounded from behind the closed door.

The apprentice immediately flinched.

King C glanced toward the door before looking back at him.

For reasons he could not explain, the apprentice suddenly felt as though the goat was judging him.

Meanwhile, Xi Yunxui remained unaware of the exchange.

Her attention was focused entirely on the spiritual energy flowing through her body.

When she had first entered the antique shop, it had seemed like nothing more than an old business filled with dusty treasures and eccentric antiques.

Now, however, Xi Yunxui could sense that something far more mysterious was hidden beneath its aged wooden shelves.

The spiritual energy filling the building was only one part of it.

Behind the closed door, the Patriarch and the elderly shop owner continued their discussion in voices too low for her to understand, occasionally interrupted by the elderly man’s unmistakable outrage.

And somehow, Xi Yunxui had the feeling that whatever answers they were searching for had something to do with the three creatures waiting nearby.

Perhaps even with her.