Ch 72: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Zhong Lianjia’s half-month plan for the internet café’s renovation took only three days.

Lu Yao spent one day upgrading the interdimensional space.

The next day, when the staff entered the café, they found that the once-small space had more than doubled in size and now even included a small second-floor loft.

Lu Yao had dismantled the small private rooms on the first floor, replacing them with five computers lined up against the wall.

The main hall had two additional rows of computers, bringing the total number of machines downstairs to twenty-five.

The second floor was designed as a ring of private rooms along the walls with the center open. Upstairs featured two double-person rooms and three single-person rooms, housing a total of seven computers.

Installing and adjusting the new equipment took another day.

While Cheng Ye and Zhong were busy setting up, Lu Yao made another trip to Liuxian City.

With Wuling absent, Xuanfeng accompanied her instead.

Xuanfeng, being a demon, had followed the Demon Lord during his early travels in the human world. Compared to Mo Bao, who had spent most of his life in the Demon Realm, Xuanfeng was more familiar with human customs and skilled at disguises.

However, demons generally disdained the idea of disguising themselves, preferring to flaunt their demonic aura wherever they went.

Finding this impractical, Lu Yao asked Xuanfeng to help her disguise herself as she had last time—a low-level lotus demon.

Since Xuanfeng was tagging along, he also needed a disguise.

Refusing to pose as a demon, he instead dressed in a Taoist robe, intending to pose as a cultivator.

Lu Yao rejected this outright.

“What cultivator travels alongside a demon? It looks too suspicious.”

Frustrated, Xuanfeng halfheartedly disguised himself as a flying squirrel spirit.

Lu Yao brought along a sample of the newly developed three-mode keyboard and sought out Liusheng.

Liusheng had already completed a batch of refined keyboards for demon use, which were indeed sturdier than plastic models.

When he saw the new keyboard with switchable input modes, he was surprised.

“Already something new?”

Lu Yao replied, “It’s just an added text-switching function. I’d like you to help produce a batch of these. The latest delivery should be within ten days.”

Liusheng handed over the refined demon-use keyboard to Lu Yao, and the two signed a new commission contract.

He promised to deliver the new keyboards to the café by the agreed date.

After concluding her business, Lu Yao planned to visit some talisman stalls and pill shops other than the Lingdan Pavilion.

She carried a fair amount of spirit stones this time and intended to purchase everything she had missed on her previous trip.

However, every time she finished picking items and prepared to pay, Xuanfeng would stop her and pull her away.

“What’s your problem?” she finally asked, glaring at him.

Scratching his head and ignoring the sharpness of her tone, Xuanfeng muttered, “Too expensive. Liuxian City is under demon management, and the items they sell to cultivators are ridiculously overpriced. Pills, talismans, even storage bags—you could get them for much cheaper elsewhere.”

Lu Yao stared at him. “And how exactly do you know so much about this?”

Xuanfeng replied, “A few hundred years ago, I followed the Lord during his travels in the human world. I’ve been to plenty of these little markets.”

Lu Yao paused. “…And how long has it been since you last visited the human world?”

“About five hundred years, I suppose. This is my first time coming out since the gateways between the Demon Realm and the human world closed.”

“…You do realize that prices from five hundred years ago can’t be compared to now, right?”

Xuanfeng seemed unbothered. “But the talismans hanging in those shops and the pills sold in those pharmacies are still the same as five hundred years ago. Nothing new, yet the prices have multiplied several times. Looking around, the only fresh thing I’ve seen in this human world is your internet café.”

In the cultivation world, time is often measured in centuries, millennia, or even tens of thousands of years.

To Xuanfeng, five hundred years likely felt about the same as fifty days.

Lu Yao, in no rush to shop anymore, continued asking, “Does your lord like coming to the human world?”

Xuanfeng shook his head. “The Lord doesn’t have many preferences. But in the past, every so often, he’d come to the human world. I never understood why.”

“Could it be to meet someone?” Lu Yao asked.

Xuanfeng shook his head again. “No one in the human world is worthy of the Lord’s attention.”

“What color is your Lord’s hair?”

Sometimes Xuanfeng found the shopkeeper unfathomable; other times, her ignorance was startling.

“All demons, regardless of their true form, have black hair when taking human form,” he explained.

The Demon Lord had black hair and red eyes.

Ignoring Xuanfeng’s odd expression, Lu Yao turned toward the teleportation array. “Let’s head back.”

Xuanfeng was caught off guard by her sudden shift. “Not buying anything?”

“You said everything was overpriced. I listen to good advice,” she replied. “I’ll shop somewhere else next time.”

As soon as Lu Yao and Xuanfeng left Liuxian City, the news reached the city palace.

Jizhuang sat at his desk, listening to the report from the Yao official.

After the official left, he picked up the recording jade token on the desk.

A mere mortal, disguising herself as a weak demon to enter the city.

Even wearing a face covering, her eyes alone reminded him of his first meeting with Yu Yao three hundred years ago.

…

That day, the weather was clear, and Jizhuang had just emerged from secluded cultivation. He had arranged to meet Wuling at Tianxiang Tower in the city.

As a flower spirit, Jizhuang preferred the serenity of the mountains while cultivating.

Descending the mountain, he came across an overturned carriage in a valley.

The horse pulling the carriage had broken its neck against a stone, and the coachman and maidservant were both dead.

Only a young girl, carefully shielded by the maidservant, remained alive, albeit barely.

Jizhuang carried her out and healed her with his demon power.

That day, Jizhuang never made it to see Wuling.

The girl refused to return home, so he waited with her in the valley for her family to come.

From dawn till dusk and into the night, her family finally arrived.

Jizhuang quietly retreated into the shadows and watched her return to the Lu residence in the city.

At the time, Jizhuang did not know she was the reincarnated Yao Xianzi undergoing a mortal trial.

Her human name was Lu Yao, the only daughter of Lu Zhiyuan, a wealthy merchant in Lingcheng.

After that, Jizhuang often descended the mountain to visit her.

She seemed especially fond of lotus flowers.

The backyard pond of the Lu residence was filled with them.

Morning or evening, Lu Yao loved sitting by the pond, playing with the water and admiring the lotuses.

Once, Jizhuang took root in the backyard as his true form, but she paid him no mind.

Her eyes only saw the lotuses in the pond. Day after day, night after night, she never tired of them.

Eventually, Jizhuang couldn’t resist revealing himself to her.

She was startled but not afraid. Instead, she brought him a plate of pastries from her room.

…

“Lu Yao…”

The name echoed from the recording jade token, snapping Jizhuang out of his memories.

That woman was named Lu Yao too.

But no, she was Lu Yao, not Lu Yao.

Jizhuang pressed a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes in frustration.

She wasn’t her. So why did she look so much like her, even sharing a similar name?

…

Lu Yao spent an entire day disassembling the keyboards Liusheng had refined with cultivation world materials. She replicated the components with her abilities and assembled a batch of new keyboards.

These keyboards had durability nearly matching that of the refined ones, though not quite as robust.

Lu Yao pondered the reason.

It likely stemmed from her limited understanding of refining techniques. Her replicated components only mimicked the surface.

She also tried using duplication magic, but the World Barrier appeared, preventing her. The duplicated keyboards were far inferior, even to her assembled ones.

The Goddess of Abundance’s blessing seemed like a highly convenient ability, but it had a small prerequisite—continuous learning and understanding of the hidden principles of everything in the world. Only then could it reach its full potential.

Lu Yao diligently worked through the day, hoping these keyboards would last until Liusheng’s next delivery.

After being closed for three days, the Interdimensional Internet Café reopened for business.

Previously, the owner and staff had been fully occupied with repairing and renovating the shop, leaving no time to devise strategies for attracting new customers.

At dawn, as soon as the café doors opened, the waiting crowd of demons surged inside.

“Finally, it’s open! I thought I’d never get to go online again—scared me to death!”
“I told you, Lu Yao isn’t that petty. Of course she’d reopen after a few days!”
“These past days were unbearable! My crops in the game have gone bad, my backyard pet hasn’t been fed, and I still haven’t finished my shows!”
“Net manager, quick! Get me a machine—I can’t hold back any longer!!!”

The demons shouted noisily as they poured into the café, but abruptly stopped at the entrance, retreating to check the signboard again to ensure they were in the right place.

Once reassured, they reentered and gradually began to notice the changes.

They had thought their previous actions might have angered the owner into closing the shop.

Not only was she not upset, but she had taken the time to renovate the place, add new machines, and fulfill her promise of demon-compatible keyboards.

The ground floor now had more stations, making it bright and spacious for gaming. The new keyboards worked seamlessly, although typing practice would still take some getting used to.

For those who disliked the noise downstairs, there were quiet private rooms on the second floor.

Within an hour, all thirty-plus stations were occupied.

The bustling reopening exceeded the staff’s expectations. Cheng Ye reported the good news in the staff group chat, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Xuanfeng and Mo Bao were hiding behind the counter shelves, clearly uninterested in serving.

“Why are they all these stinking demons?” Mo Bao muttered, annoyed. “Just looking at them irritates me.”

Lu Yao wasn’t about to indulge their laziness. She was just about to give the two slackers a pep talk when Cheng Ye suddenly stood up.

“Boss, someone’s looking for you.”

Lu Yao turned her head to see two figures standing at the entrance.

Her face instantly fell upon spotting the silver-haired, red-clad Jizhuang.

Why is this lunatic here again?

Beside Jizhuang stood another figure.

The young man had a sharp, handsome face and a slender yet commanding physique. Dressed in tight-fitting black attire that emphasized his long legs and narrow waist, he exuded a cold and imposing aura. His ink-black hair was tied high with a silver crown.

He glanced icily at the person next to him, clearly unwilling to let Jizhuang enter first.

The two seemed locked in a silent standoff, neither yielding an inch.

Lu Yao blinked, then walked outside.

The black-haired youth had striking crimson eyes, unlike anyone in her memory.

Yet, inexplicably, she felt certain it was him.

The youth seemed to sense her gaze. His sharp aura briefly softened as he turned to look.

Lu Yao halted.

However, his attention wasn’t on her. Lowering his brows, he said coldly, “You see me and don’t come over?”

Mo Bao and Xuanfeng shot past Lu Yao, racing toward the black-clad youth like swallows returning to their nest.

Lu Yao tilted her head, frowning in confusion.

The black-haired youth was the Demon Lord, but he seemed to have no recognition of her.

Did I mistake him for someone else?

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