“Hey, hey, hey, at least give me a price!”
“What if we can make a deal? Tell me, how much can you offer?”
“Five hundred.”
“Gold notes?”
“Bucks.”
“Give it a rest! It’s the middle of the night and you’re joking with me? I won’t haggle further—fixed price, two gold notes!”
As he spoke, he channeled a surge of transcendent power, applying a mental suggestion to Yin Yang.
Yin Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had felt this kind of power before.
Back in the restaurant in Meng City, the person inciting the crowd had used this exact same power.
‘Is it the same person? Or just someone from the same pathway?’
Yin Yang quickly discarded the thought. After all, he had no reason to cross paths with the man.
He had no desire to get involved with those lunatics from the True Knowledge Society unless he could make use of them.
While thinking, Yin Yang pulled a gold note from his pocket.
“One note. I’m only buying this as a decoration for my home. This price is fair.”
“Deal!”
The man didn’t give Yin Yang a chance to regret it. He lunged forward, snatched the gold note, and then gave the skull a light kick to roll it over.
“It’s yours.”
“It’s so huge. How am I supposed to get it out of here?”
“Carry it. What, you want home delivery for one gold note? You’re not actually a robber trying to lure me somewhere to mug me, are you?”
Yin Yang looked at the skull, which stood over a meter tall. He had no choice but to drag it toward the exit with all his might.
Fortunately, he had broken through to Sequence 8. If he were still Sequence 9 with that weakness debuff, he wouldn't have been able to move it even if his life depended on it.
By the time he stepped out of Wanwu City, the sky outside was already beginning to brighten.
The bonfire had vanished, leaving only a Gate of Ashes in its place.
As he stepped through, the Gate of Ashes dissolved into the wind, as if it had never existed.
Yin Yang closed his eyes and summoned his three ghosts to patrol the area. After confirming no one else was around, he had the lantern-carrying ghost store the giant head inside its book box.
Then, he changed his clothes behind a tree and returned to Meng City.
...
The flower shop.
“Boss, are you still hiring? How about I just quit my job and come work for you instead?”
Early in the morning, Wang Nan had arrived to watch Yin Yang assemble bouquets.
“Huh? Isn't being a nurse pretty good? What’s wrong? Are you unhappy at work?”
“Yeah.”
“But my shop is too small. I can barely support myself. How would I pay your salary?”
“I don’t want a salary.”
“No salary? Then what are you after? Doing it just for the love of the craft?”
After trimming a bouquet, Yin Yang set it aside and inserted a handwritten card into the flowers.
“Boss, your handwriting is really beautiful.”
“Is it? Thanks.”
After finishing three consecutive bouquets, Yin Yang began to tidy up.
Canned Food walked back in from outside, meowing. Its hind leg was limping as it walked.
“Oh, Canned Food, what happened to you?”
Wang Nan looked worried at the sight. Yin Yang took a couple of looks and said, “It’s fine. Just a minor issue.”
As he spoke, he stepped forward and pressed down on Canned Food’s right leg, secretly infusing a thread of spiritual power to rapidly mend the injury.
“Meow~”
“I know, I know. It’s because you didn’t eat enough this time. If you had a full stomach, you could’ve beaten it to death.”
“Meow~”
“Yeah, you’re not bragging. Cats don’t brag.”
The conversation between the man and the cat left Wang Nan stunned.
“You... you can understand what it’s saying?”
“You’ve got it backward. It’s not that I understand it; it’s that it understands me. Canned Food is a very smart cat.”
“As for me, I’ve just spent a lot of time with it, so I can make an educated guess.”
Hearing this, Wang Nan stepped forward and crouched in front of Canned Food.
“Boss, where did you buy Canned Food? It’s so smart. I want to raise one too.”
“I didn’t buy it. It’s my creditor.”
“Creditor?”
“Yeah. I’ve already paid off my debt, but it still refuses to leave. It just ended up staying.”
Wang Nan patted Canned Food’s head and asked, “If I took Canned Food away, would you be sad?”
Yin Yang smiled.
“It never belonged to me. It is free.”
“It’s free here, and it would be free with you.”
Wang Nan was dazed by his words for a moment, and then her eyes seemed to sparkle with stars.
“That’s so philosophical.”
“Because it’s from a philosophy book. It’s a new work by the contemporary philosopher, Mr. Wan Tianqing.”
“Is... is that so?”
“Yes. Although he was talking about love, and I’m talking about a cat. There isn’t much difference.”
Yin Yang skillfully opened a tin of cat food to feed the cat. Just then, the piercing screech of tires rang out, and a rugged-looking pickup truck skidded to a halt in front of the shop.
Wang Nan’s expression froze the moment she saw the truck. Yin Yang perceived something but acted as if nothing was happening, quietly watching Canned Food eat.
Click.
The truck door opened, and a burly Wang Gen stepped out.
His gaze swept the area before landing on Wang Nan inside the shop.
“Nannan! I heard from the hospital that you haven’t gone to work in a long time. What’s going on?”
His massive, fan-like hand pushed open the shop door, his voice booming with an echo.
“Meow!”
Canned Food’s fur immediately stood on end. It blocked the way in front of Yin Yang and hissed at Wang Gen!
“Oh, Dad, look at you! You scared Canned Food.”
Wang Nan looked displeased, and Wang Gen’s tough exterior instantly crumbled.
“Oh, Nannan, isn't Dad just worried about you? Something happened at your hospital before. How can I not worry if you stop going to work?”
As he spoke, he finally seemed to notice there was another person nearby. When he saw Yin Yang’s age and appearance, a sense of crisis immediately surged in his heart, and his gaze sharpened.
“Who are you?”
Yin Yang looked at him, then at Wang Nan, and finally at the flowers.
“Sir, this is my shop.”
“Hmm?”
Wang Gen looked around.
“You’re a florist?”
“Yes.”
“Let me give you a piece of advice. If you sell flowers, stick to selling flowers. Don’t go getting any ideas you shouldn't have.”
Yin Yang looked at him, then at Wang Nan, and said, “Like, for example, trying to hook up with the daughter of the Security Bureau Chief to skip twenty or thirty years of hard work and enjoy a retired life early?”
“Uh.”
Wang Gen didn't expect Yin Yang to be so blunt, and Wang Nan’s face turned bright red instantly.
“Oh, Dad, what are you saying?”
Wang Gen recovered after a brief moment of awkwardness.
“Nannan, did you tell him I’m the chief?”
“No, he guessed it himself.”
Wang Gen narrowed his eyes at Yin Yang. “How did you guess?”
“Her department director got into trouble, and she knew about it before her colleagues did.”
“He was a director, yet he went out of his way to please her. Combine that with the director’s relationship with Captain Li, and the fact that her surname is Wang... is it really that hard to guess?”
Wang Gen nodded and gave Yin Yang a thumbs-up.
“Our Security Bureau is hiring recently. Are you a local? What’s your education level and major? Would you consider becoming a security officer? I quite admire your powers of observation!”
Wang Gen left one thing unsaid: he noticed his daughter’s gaze toward this kid wasn't quite right. It would be better to get him under his own nose where he could keep an eye on him!
Yin Yang shook his head.
“I really like my current life.”
Rate on N.U.
