42. The Shopkeeper's Ambition

"Do you remember the box, one foot square?"
"I remember, I remember."
Liu Chengbiao didn’t try to hide anything, nodding rapidly like a pecking chicken. The pale-faced giant before him looked like a demon straight out of a strange tales novel—he dared not lie.
"Where is it?"
"After I got the box, someone ambushed me. I fought my way out and sent A-Liang to deliver it to the general store at the crossroads."
Lu Xun almost blurted out, "The owner of Lu’s General Store was killed, did you know?" But he held the words back.
He had a suspicion—the store needed someone to observe it, so perhaps he did too. What if he rashly said he was dead, and his words made it come true?
"It’s not there."
Liu Chengbiao was stunned. "Not there?"
Lu Xun shifted the topic. "I’m looking for someone."
"I’ve got twenty or thirty brothers under me, not quite a big shot but I know the local scene. Who do you need to find, just say the word."
"He wears a scaled leather coat, a silver-white mask, a long blade at his waist, and he’s formidable. He can react before anyone else even when they’ve got guns trained on him."
"Do you know him?"
Liu Chengbiao hesitated. He wanted to say: isn’t that you you’re describing?
But with his life on the line, he didn’t dare joke. Racking his brains, suddenly inspiration struck: "I’ve heard about someone like that in the circles. Don’t know his name, but they say he’s the Left Envoy of the Azure Gate."
"Where is he?"
"Well..."
"At the end of last year, when I went to Yuezhou to buy goods, I caught a glimpse of him at the Baoli Grand Hotel. Of course, I was just a nobody down by the dance floor; he was an untouchable big shot."
"Is he easy to recognize?"
"Very easy. Everyone shows him respect, and he never removes his mask." Liu Chengbiao clung to the floor, his legs cramping with fear, not daring to move.
Lu Xun spread his hands, released the safety, ejected the magazine, twisted his waist, and with a twist of both hands, the pistol was bent like a pretzel, clattering to the floor. "How do I compare to him?"
"Brother, your physical strength must be on par, but..." Liu Chengbiao didn’t finish, fearing he’d offend this ‘monster’.
How long has it been since the Illusory Realm appeared, and already monsters walk the earth? He looked more closely, then, as if compelled by a strange force, asked, "You’re with the higher-ups, aren’t you?"
Liu Chengbiao calmed down a little. This man wasn’t some real monster; more likely, he had a powerful treasure at his side.
After all, they risked their lives in the Illusory Realm for treasures.
Something that could enhance a Realm Walker so comprehensively that they seemed superhuman—he’d never even heard of such a thing.
"What makes you say that?"
Liu Chengbiao quickly explained, "Since the Illusory Realm appeared, it’s always been the authorities sealing off the area and sending in young soldiers to search for treasures first. Many experts have emerged in the army. Then, from top to bottom, they assigned them to law enforcement everywhere, restructuring everything from the top down. As for us civilians, the strong get recruited and the weak get registered."
With no gun at his head, Liu Chengbiao slumped onto the floor, speaking with admiration as he raised his thumb. "Brother, your skills are first-tier, no question."
Not everyone can reverse a situation with firearms pointed at them.
There aren’t many such experts in the world.
"What about those who refuse to be managed?"
"They can only go on the run. I don’t know about abroad, but here the most famous masters are in the capital, An City, Shen City, Hong Kong, Macao, and there are some inland, but I don’t know much. They keep a low profile."
"And you?"
"Me? I’m just a loach in the mud."
"What can you do?"
"I..." Liu Chengbiao gritted his teeth and raised his left hand, revealing an ancient jade ring. "When I activate this ring, it creates a barrier. I can only use it once a day."
"Show me."

Watching the green light rise, Lu Xun reached out but didn’t break it directly. With a faint flow of inner energy, he punched, and with a pop, it burst like a soap bubble.
"You know martial arts?"
"I know a little. Practiced forms and Sanda in my youth, dabbled in Bajiquan."
"Have you cultivated inner energy?"
Liu Chengbiao burst out laughing. "Brother, you’re spinning tales now."
Then his expression changed; a jolt ran through his body, and he shivered in fright. "You mean the higher-ups already have someone who..."
Having gotten the information he wanted, Lu Xun stood and walked to the door.
Liu Chengbiao, still dazed, noticed that when the gun was twisted, the killing intent faded. He hadn’t expected Lu Xun to leave so readily.
Lu Xun reached the door.
Click.
He unlocked it, stepped out, then paused and turned his head. "You never saw me."
"I absolutely never saw you!" Liu Chengbiao swore.
Lu Xun nodded slightly. With the clang of the iron door and footsteps fading, his figure disappeared into the night.
Inside, Liu Chengbiao let out a heavy breath, clearly hearing his own ragged breathing.
His bones and muscles felt weak—he nearly collapsed.
He patted himself, stood up, muttering, "A box, one foot square? Where did I send A-Liang with it? The name is right on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t remember..."
Finally, he groped for the pack of cigarettes on the table.
He fumbled out a cigarette, hands shaking.
Click.
Click.
The lighter wouldn’t work.
"Damn!"
He hurled the lighter and cigarette against the wall, where they exploded with a smack.
"Why so angry? Who got you so worked up?" A woman leaned in the doorway, half her chest exposed.
Liu Chengbiao strode over, scooped up the beautiful woman, tossed her onto the bed, and kissed her with a near-frenzied passion, as if to vent all the fear and panic he’d just endured.
It had shaken his entire worldview.
Monsters like that actually existed in the world.
...
The moon shone brighter.
A black cat slipped through the shadows, unnoticed as it darted through the city streets.
In less than twenty minutes, the black cat returned to the general store.
Regaining human form, Lu Xun took out a magnet and stuck a slip of paper with a written address onto the shelf.
"Yuezhou, Baoli Grand Hotel."
Huacheng was still far from Yuezhou. To get there, he’d have to take a train or a plane—the train was cheap but slow, the plane fast but expensive.
If he booked a ticket now, it would take a day and a night. But if he got pulled into the strange ancient world again and wasn’t in the shop, who knew what would happen?
Even if he got to the Baoli Grand Hotel, there might not be any clues about the masked man.

Azure Gate, Left Envoy.
It sounded like a powerful organization.
If he started digging, he might be noticed first.
Men like that acted without hesitation—if they slipped away, finding them would be like fishing a needle from the sea.
Lu Xun grabbed his phone and dialed the broker’s number.
Repeated the process.
Suddenly.
The phone rang. He answered, gave the code, and said directly, "I’m looking for someone."
"Who?"
"Two people. One wears a silver-white mask..."
Lu Xun described the features again, then added, "Second, the Left Envoy of the Azure Gate."
The other side was silent for a long moment.
"One point eight million."
Lu Xun frowned. "Is your information precise?"
The broker’s voice was distorted and genderless, but his tone was heavy and grave as he lowered his voice and said, "Both people you’re looking for are big players. The risk for me is huge—this is money earned at the risk of my life."
"In business, reputation is everything. Give me the money and I will find them."
Another long silence.
"I’ll call you back."
Lu Xun hung up at once.
"Looks like I’ll have to go to the strange ancient world again," Lu Xun suppressed his churning thoughts.
He had to make at least four million in that world this time.
The Five Peaks Spirit Lord was powerful, but his mastery of the major arts was still lacking. If only all the arts could reach true perfection, it would be safer.
"Maybe I should sell cultivation manuals."
Lu Xun smacked his forehead. "Ah, illiterate!"
He could read the characters here, but not those in the ancient world. Even with treasures in hand, he couldn’t translate them.
So he couldn’t sell them for a high price.
He still had to carefully calculate the time ratio between the present and the ancient world, and how long he’d have to stay in the shop before being pulled over.
...
Lu Xun bought vegetables, fruit, and all kinds of meat, and treated himself to several good meals.
He stopped by the corner store near the elementary school to buy large glass marbles and trinkets, about three pounds in all. After that, he holed up in the shop, eating, drinking, and reading.
When bored, he watched TV or played DVDs on the player.
Several days passed like this. No one called, and no customers entered the shop.
Dusk.
That familiar feeling surged over him again like a tide.
Lu Xun looked out the glass door; outside, it was already pitch black.
He drew down the shutter, pressed the small clock on the counter, and grabbed the plastic bag filled with trinkets.