Ch 92: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Flying out of the Internet Cafe, the sparrow demons led Lu Yao toward the sunny side of the mountain.

Baixian Mountain had one side facing the sun and the other shrouded in shadow.

The shadowed side, dense with tall grass and ancient trees, was often home to demons and small spirits. Yet the path downhill led to the sunny side, where Hengze Sect was located at the mountain’s base.

Hengze Sect was a small sect. In recent years, the senior disciple had taken many juniors out for training trips, leaving behind only a few young disciples with shallow foundations and the ailing Jiang Yan to guard the sect.

Even so, small demons and spirits rarely dared provoke Hengze Sect. Cultivators were known to show no mercy when slaying demons, and weaker beings usually avoided crossing paths with them.

However, Baixian Mountain was a quiet and ideal refuge. Its damp, shadowed side made it a favorite hiding spot for small spirits and demons. Hengze Sect never disturbed the creatures of the forest, maintaining a delicate balance of peace between the two.

That said, the sparrow demons were mischievous by nature and often bullied Jiang Yan and the young apprentices when they came to gather herbs.

…

Stepping out of the shaded forest, pale golden sunlight poured down, dispersing the morning mist.

Lu Yao’s shoes became damp with dew as she paused, stamping her feet and wondering if the sparrow demons were just trying to fool her.

The sparrow demons, however, seemed anxious. They landed on her shoulders, tugging at her hair with their beaks, urging her to continue.

The lead sparrow boldly perched on her head, pecking at her impatiently. “Coo, coo-gah!”

Lu Yao: “…”

She let herself be pushed along for a while, nearing the foot of the mountain, before stopping to demand an explanation.

“Eeeeng—”

A delicate, slightly sharp cry came from the bushes beside the path.

This path wasn’t man-made but rather a rugged trail worn down by frequent use.

The grass along its edges was tall and blade-like, tipped with dewdrops that gleamed in the morning light.

Lu Yao stepped onto a rock, peering into the dense thicket, but the undergrowth was too deep to see anything clearly.

Approaching summer, Lu Yao wasn’t afraid of much—except snakes.

She had no tolerance for the scaly, slithering creatures. Even the sight of one gave her chills.

If it were a demon, it wouldn’t be hiding in the grass. Just as she was about to leave, the cry came again.

“Eeeng eeeng—”

The sound was strangely familiar, stopping Lu Yao in her tracks. She felt like she’d heard it somewhere before.

“Eeeeng—”

The sparrow demons became visibly excited, tugging at her sleeves, trying to pull her toward the bushes.

Lu Yao stayed put, extending her hand to the lead sparrow. “Come here and explain.”

The sparrow landed in her palm, tilting its head and pretending to be cute.

Lu Yao frowned. “I’m not buying it. Speak properly.”

…

“Miss Lu?” A slightly surprised voice called out from ahead. “Heading down the mountain?”

Lu Yao looked up and saw Jiang Yan in his daoist robes.

Today, he wasn’t carrying a medicine basket or accompanied by the young apprentice. Instead, he leaned on a wooden staff, clearly not heading up the mountain to gather herbs.

The sparrow demons immediately flew off from Lu Yao’s palm, perching on grass blades far away, feigning an air of unfamiliarity with her.

Ignoring them, Lu Yao turned to Jiang Yan and said, “I just heard something from the bushes over there. Not sure if it’s a demon or a small animal of the forest.”

Jiang Yan leaned forward, glancing at the bushes with a slight frown. “Let me take a look.”

Although frail and with low-level spells, Jiang Yan had been gathering herbs with his master since the age of four or five, later joined by his senior sister.

After his master, senior brother, and sister left the mountain for their travels, Jiang Yan began venturing alone to collect herbs.

He usually didn’t bother with the mountain’s demons or spirits, not out of fear but because he preferred to avoid unnecessary entanglements.

Jiang Yan used his staff to push aside the grass and cautiously stepped forward, his robes brushing against the vegetation.

The grass rustled as if something alive was moving within.

But despite combing through the area several times, Jiang Yan couldn’t catch the creature.

The sparrow demons perched on the grass blades, watching the scene unfold with amusement.

Under the soft morning light, Lu Yao noticed sweat glistening on Jiang Yan’s forehead. She was about to call him back and suggest giving up. After so much commotion, any alert creature should have fled by now.

Thud!

Suddenly, a black-and-white furry ball tumbled out of the grass from an angle and crashed directly into Lu Yao’s leg.

Lu Yao crouched down, clutching her shin in pain. She gritted her teeth.

Was that a rock? It felt like her leg bone had been cracked.

The creature seemed dazed from the collision as well. It curled into a ball, covering its head and staying perfectly still.

After a moment, it began to let out pitiful cries.

Lu Yao froze, finally recognizing the sound. She’d heard it before in a viral panda video—it was the soft, plaintive sound of those round, black-and-white creatures.

Judging by its size, this was likely a panda cub.

The sparrow demons flew over, perching on Lu Yao’s shoulders and head, chirping excitedly as if to say, “This is it! This is the one!”

Lu Yao called Jiang Yan back.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Jiang Yan approached and was surprised to see the ball of fluff huddled by Lu Yao’s feet. “I’ve never seen this iron-eating demon before.”

Lu Yao asked, “It’s a demon?”

Jiang Yan nodded. “It hasn’t taken on a humanoid form yet, but it has demonic energy. It’s undoubtedly a demon. Strange, though—I’ve never seen it around Baixian Mountain before.”

The sparrow demons impatiently pecked at Lu Yao’s head.

Lu Yao discreetly used her ability to hear their thoughts. The sparrow demons insisted it was a half-demon.

Blinking, Lu Yao whispered, “Are you sure?”

The lead sparrow puffed out its chest in assurance.

Lu Yao turned to Jiang Yan again. “How can you tell it’s new here?”

Jiang Yan scratched his head. “The mountain’s spirits and creatures are no different from the birds in the trees or fish in the streams—just living beings. I’ve climbed this mountain countless times over the years. I can recognize the regular ones easily.”

Since the Internet Cafe appeared, unfamiliar demons had begun frequenting Baixian Mountain, but they stayed on the shadowed side, and the barrier concealed their presence. Jiang Yan left them be.

Even if he wanted to intervene, his strength was limited.

Lu Yao nudged the furry ball with her hand. Like a stubborn puppy, it clung tightly to her leg and let out pitiful cries when pushed.

Jiang Yan asked, “What do you plan to do with it, Shopkeeper?”

What else could she do?

Lu Yao retrieved a spatial pouch from her storage and stuffed the wailing cub into it. The thing was too heavy for her to carry otherwise.

Jiang Yan gawked. “Are you taking it to the Internet Cafe?”

Lu Yao nodded. “This spot is too close to the foot of the mountain. If it accidentally wanders down, it could cause trouble. It’s better to bring it to the mountain’s summit. With so many demon customers at the cafe, it might even pick up some cultivation tips.”

Jiang Yan had always found Lu Yao’s demeanor and her treatment of demons and devils unlike that of ordinary people. Yet she truly had no cultivation herself.

The two of them headed back up the mountain together, with the sparrow demons scattering and flying off. Judging by their direction, they were likely heading to LiuXian City for work. On their way, they must have stumbled upon the panda demon and hurried back to inform Lu Yao.

With the matter settled, the sparrow demons left contentedly, planning to return in the evening to collect their reward.

Jiang Yan was currently the only human cultivator customer at the Internet Cafe. He didn’t visit frequently, usually stopping by once every three to five days.

He knew mingling with demons and devils was unwise. After each visit, he would regret his lack of discipline, but a few days later, he couldn’t resist returning to the mountain.

Sighing, Jiang Yan chastised himself for his weak resolve.

…

When they arrived at the Internet Cafe, Jiang Yan noticed a new shelf beside the snack counter, though it was still empty. The net manager on duty was someone he didn’t recognize.

Curious, he asked, “What happened to the previous net manager?”

Ji Feichen, on his first day at work, was already a bit nervous. Hearing Jiang Yan’s question, he didn’t think much of it and answered truthfully, “He’s on leave for a few days and will be back soon.”

Jiang Yan then asked, “What’s that row of new shelves for?”

Ji Feichen, upright and honest by nature, earnestly explained the Internet Cafe’s upcoming online shopping service.

Jiang Yan pulled a coin pouch from his belt and looked up. “Online shopping?”

…

Meanwhile, Lu Yao returned straight to the lounge, taking out the spatial pouch and releasing the little panda cub.

It had cried like it was being slaughtered when stuffed into the bag, but now it lay completely still. For a moment, Lu Yao thought it might have suffocated. She poked and prodded it, but it didn’t respond.

Only when she noticed the rise and fall of its tiny belly did she realize it had fallen asleep.

The little thing was deceptively large.

Lu Yao wasn’t entirely certain about the sparrow demons’ judgment and decided to wait for Jiao Niang in the afternoon to confirm.

Seeing it sleeping soundly and covered in dirt, she took out a cleaning talisman and stuck it on the cub.

A warm breeze swirled, brushing away the grass and dust from its fur, revealing a clean, refreshed panda cub.

Lu Yao fetched a blanket, wrapped the cub snugly, and stepped out of the lounge.

As the door closed, the panda cub, which had been sleeping deeply, slowly opened its bright, beady eyes.

The black circles around its eyes made them appear sharp and alert, a stark contrast to the timid, clumsy act it had put on earlier.

It waited warily for a while, ensuring the human wasn’t coming back immediately. Then it kicked off the blanket, clumsily climbed off the sofa, and began sniffing around.

The lounge had recently been expanded, adding a storage room behind the employee area for supplies.

Boxes of instant noodles in various flavors were stacked high, along with stashes of gelatin sausages, jelly, marshmallows, chocolates, drinks, and assorted snacks that covered half a wall.

The panda cub waddled into the storage room, its little eyes blinking with delight. Sitting down, it casually grabbed a pack of snacks and tore it open with its claws. The sweet aroma of candy wafted out.

It sniffed the contents, cautiously bit into one, and—!!!

So sweet! So tasty!!!

The cub devoured the entire pack of candy in seconds, even chewing on the wrapper, only to spit it out when it found it unpleasant. It then clambered onto a box, rummaging noisily until a pile of candy spilled onto the floor.

Outside the lounge, Lu Yao was still unaware of the panda cub’s antics. She was talking to Ji Feichen. “There’s a panda cub in the lounge right now—it’s asleep. I’ll be out this afternoon, so keep an eye on it for me.”

Ji Feichen, already uneasy about the shopkeeper, now felt a mix of confusion and resignation. He tried to follow along. “…A panda cub?”

Lu Yao nodded. “I just brought it back. The sparrow demons say it’s a half-demon. Jiao Niang will confirm later.”

Oh, so it’s a bear demon. That’s fine.

Ji Feichen quietly exhaled in relief.

Both Ji Feichen and Ji Feiming were alike in their upright and principled nature. Neither was one for subtlety or tricks.

Watching Ji Feichen fumble nervously, trying to fit into the Internet Cafe’s unique atmosphere, Lu Yao couldn’t help but recall Ji Feiming’s early days.

On his first day, the divine emissary had shown up in a tailored suit, driving a luxury car to this rundown street in the middle of nowhere. Like an old-fashioned gentleman, he had politely knocked on the shopkeeper’s door.

A year had passed, and now Ji Feiming had found his rhythm. While he remained upright and meticulous in his work, the awkwardness from before was no longer present.

He still occasionally wore formal suits and adorned himself with expensive, finely crafted accessories, looking as though he were cosplaying on this run-down street.

His younger colleagues often teased him as being an “uncle-tier heartthrob.” Though initially baffled, he eventually couldn’t help but chuckle shyly along with them.

Time, in its subtle way, changes all things.

Adaptation is a process. Lu Yao hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided not to comment further. Instead, she asked, “Has anything happened while I was away?”

Ji Feichen thought back. To his surprise, things had gone better than expected. Despite the cafe’s clientele being primarily demons and beast demons, they had all been well-behaved. There was nothing noteworthy to report.

At that moment, Jiang Yan approached the counter. “Shopkeeper,” he said, “I heard the net manager teaches customers how to play games?”

Jiang Yan had arrived late, leaving only a spot near Wen Rong and the others, who were still glued to their seats, fully engrossed in their team games.

The four had become addicted to their squad matches and hadn’t left their computers.

Jiang Yan sat down beside them and, as usual, logged into a video site to watch exercise routines.

But the excitement from the adjacent demons and devils, with their periodic shouting and cheering, was impossible to ignore—even with headphones.

Frustrated, Jiang Yan politely asked them to keep it down. That’s when he overheard their conversation about making money through gaming.

Lu Yao asked, “Are you thinking about power leveling too?”

Jiang Yan had been wanting to buy some of the fitness equipment he’d seen online but wasn’t sure where to get it.

After hearing about online shopping while setting up his computer, and then learning about power leveling, he quickly connected the two ideas.

Following the spider demon’s guidance, he searched the shopping platform and found the equipment he wanted.

The spider demon checked the prices for him, commenting that they weren’t cheap.

That was when Jiang Yan started considering learning to play games.

Lu Yao suggested, “…Why don’t you try applying for an account first?”

But when Jiang Yan heard that creating a game account cost ten premium-grade spirit stones, he immediately froze.

Hengze Sect was poor, and Baixian Town wasn’t much better off.

Despite diligently crafting pills, Jiang Yan mostly produced low-grade ones, which sold for little. He barely made enough spirit stones to scrape by, let alone afford ten premium-grade ones.

Lu Yao, recalling something, offered, “How about this—if you help me with something, I’ll gift you accounts for three games once it’s done.”

Jiang Yan: “!!!”

..

At 2 p.m., Lu Yao, Ji Zhixin, and Ji Qingyan set out to discuss the game collaboration.

On the way, Ji Zhixin updated Lu Yao. He had contacted the artist Mei Xue and the modeler Liu Yixi earlier that morning. Both had responded promptly.

They mentioned that Yu Shu had already informed them, and they were interested in the positions offered by the shopping street. However, they both preferred to meet in person.

Lu Yao thought for a moment. “I’m free tomorrow morning. Let them know.”

With that, the car turned onto a side road and entered the underground parking lot of the Shen Corporation’s office building.

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