Ch 117: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

“An old man?”

Lu Yao was puzzled.

The little bear demon also shook his head, saying he didn’t recognize him.

Seeing that she couldn’t get any useful information, Lu Yao followed the bear spirit downstairs.

The Internet café was bustling in the morning, with demons, devils, and humans mingling together. At first glance, the scene appeared slightly strange and a bit crowded.

Lu Yao made a mental note that the main hall and second floor also needed expansion. In two months, when the Celestial and Demonic Conference took place, it would give the venue a more dignified look.

Amid the noisy chatter of the café, Lu Yao descended the stairs, locking eyes with a silver-haired elder standing by the entrance.

The old man wore a gray-green Daoist robe and held a whisk. His hair and beard were white, but his face was refined, exuding an otherworldly aura of kindness and grace.

Lu Yao hesitated slightly, her eyes sweeping across the café. Several rows of seats were occupied by cultivators gaming, binge-watching dramas, enjoying variety shows, exploring anime, or listening to music—they had seamlessly integrated into the Internet café environment.

She noticed a familiar figure crouched in the corner by the wall, wearing headphones and surrounded by snacks and drinks. His screen displayed a live stream of a giant panda sanctuary.

It was Jin Huaichen.

This guy had come to the café for the first time a few days ago and somehow learned about live streaming. After registering an account, he began exclusively following zoo live streams and watching wildlife documentaries when there weren’t any live streams available. He could sit there for an entire day each visit.

Lu Yao tilted her head slightly, meeting the old man’s gaze again. Could he be here to find some delinquent disciple or grandchild?

The elder seemed to notice her hesitation and smiled, beckoning her over.

Lu Yao walked to the entrance. “Sir, is there something you need?”

The elder replied, “Young lady, this old man once owned a trial artifact called the Mirror of Serenity. It was lost hundreds of years ago. A few days ago, I sensed its power being used in this mountain. Have you seen it?”

Holy…!

This old man’s a celestial?!

In the Floating World Continent, there were several kinds of celestials: true celestials born with innate celestial roots and spirits; wandering celestials who achieved enlightenment and sanctified their physical forms through cultivation; and humans, demons, or devils who could all ascend to become celestials.

The Celestial Race resided in the heavenly realm, and aside from the path of ascension, they rarely interacted with other realms.

When Lu Yao read about them in the Mirror of Serenity, she often sensed their aloof and unapproachable nature through fragments of text.

Yet, here she was, encountering one so easily.

Though her thoughts raced, Lu Yao maintained her usual calm demeanor. She retrieved the broken fragments of the Mirror of Serenity from her storage pouch and presented them. “I didn’t realize it was the senior’s artifact. It was accidentally broken the other day.”

The old man picked up the fragments and examined them. “Impressive. For a mere mortal to break my Mirror of Serenity—and shatter it this thoroughly.”

The little bear demon, standing behind Lu Yao with his paws on her legs, had been slightly nervous at first. But hearing what sounded like praise, he perked up and began tugging at her pants, hoping for some acknowledgment.

The naive little guy had no idea the elder was here to hold them accountable and only wanted to be praised.

Lu Yao nudged him away with her foot and lowered her head, speaking humbly, “I didn’t know it was the senior’s artifact. At the time, I was trapped inside and had no choice but to act. Please forgive me.”

The elder waved his whisk, collecting the remaining fragments of the Mirror of Serenity from Lu Yao’s hand. “No matter. Breaking it is a testament to your skill. One more thing—do you know where the person who trapped you inside the Mirror of Serenity is now?”

“…”

How should she explain this?

From what Lu Yao understood, the relationship between the Celestial and Demonic Races was delicate.

Well, actually, it was outright hostile.

Otherwise, why would the grand ancient conference of the six realms only bear the name “Celestial-Demon Conference”?

Among the six realms, the only race capable of rivaling the Celestials in power was the devils.

Devils were born of the heart, emotions, and desires.

As long as living beings existed in the world, devils were eternal, neither dying nor fading.

The Celestials couldn’t exterminate the devils, so they tried to confine them to the Demonic Realm, but even that failed.

For the past five centuries, the devils had stayed within the Demonic Realm, primarily because Zeyuan, for reasons unknown, had suppressed the other devils and forcibly closed the gates between realms.

The news of the celestial now being in the Demonic Realm was sensitive.

Lu Yao thought for a moment and decided to keep it to herself.

The old man squinted at her for a moment but didn’t press further. He turned to leave, seemingly uninterested in the diverse crowd of humans, demons, and devils in the café.

Lu Yao’s mind blanked for a second, but then she called out to him. She pulled out a handful of teleportation scrolls and discount coupons from her pocket. “If you have time, please come by and enjoy our store.”

It didn’t matter if they were Celestials, Demons, or Devils —they were all potential customers once they came in.

Lingxiao Celestial lowered his head, glanced at the scrolls and slips in his hand, then raised his eyes to look at Lu Yao, seemingly at a loss for words.

Still, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he stuffed the random items into his sleeve, waved his whisk, and left.

Lu Yao stood at the entrance, lost in thought.

She had instinctively sided with Zeyuan just now.

The celestial’s artifact belonged to someone else; the celestial had once met Zeyuan a thousand years ago by the Jade Pool; Zeyuan had mysteriously lost his memory at some point; five hundred years ago, Zeyuan ordered the devils to close the gates between realms, and the devils had not set foot in the human world since…

Lu Yao frowned as she returned to the break room and took out her transmission jade talisman.

…

Zeyuan sat on the roof ridge of the grand hall of Ninefold Demonic Hall, idly twirling a jet-black twin-petaled demonic lotus in his fingers.

Days ago, he had ventured into three secret realms in succession just to find this demonic lotus, intending to present it to Lu Yao as a gift for their engagement.

Devils were inherently driven by desire, striving to claim everything they could.

Zeyuan was no exception.

But he always felt that something—something that should have been by his side—was missing. It made him lose interest in everything else.

To him, that missing piece was more important than anything in the world.

He had searched across the six realms for eight centuries and finally found it.

The day he first met Lu Yao, he had an overwhelming urge to take her away and hide her somewhere.

But when he saw her starlit smile, he suppressed that impulse, striving to appear composed and gentlemanly.

It was as if he instinctively knew what she liked.

One day, she told him, “Of all the realms, I like you the most.”

That night, he spent hours sitting on the roof, cold wind blowing past, as fireworks exploded in his mind.

Later, she said she wanted a Demon Lord.

He thought it was a hint, so he ordered preparations for a grand wedding and ventured into secret realms repeatedly to gather treasures worthy of her.

But when he emerged, eager to see her, he found an imposter with her face at the café.

In that moment of fury, he also felt an eerie calm, holding back just enough not to obliterate the little celestial maiden’s soul on the spot.

When Lu Yao broke free from the artifact, the crowd immediately surrounded her.

He was pushed aside and could only watch as she calmly comforted the fragile humans with a gentle smile.

He was a devil—the strongest and most fearless of them all.

Unlike those fragile humans, he didn’t need comfort.

He turned and ordered Xuanfeng to take the deceitful celestial maiden back to the Demonic Realm.

Everyone assumed Yu Yao was a Demon, but he saw through her immediately. She was a natural-born celestial spirit, yet somehow a drop of dark obsession had tainted her pure soul.

The celestial maiden had shown him Lu Yao’s memories.

Lu Yao had many secrets.

Her desire for a “Demon Prince” stemmed from some strange task, not the sentiment he had imagined.

But granting her wish was no challenge for him.

After leaving the dark prison, he immediately appointed Mo Bao as the Demon Prince. Translated on hololonovels.

As expected, Lu Yao was delighted.

Now, with the wedding preparations and betrothal gifts ready, he was still deliberating on how to present the twin-petaled demonic lotus.

She seemed so busy lately.

To her, he didn’t seem to matter much.

The transmission jade talisman in his hand suddenly warmed. Zeyuan snapped out of his thoughts and pulled it out.

Lu Yao’s voice came through: “Zeyuan, Zeyuan.”

Zeyuan lowered his gaze, his fingertips brushing against the lotus stem. “I’m here.”

Lu Yao: “Someone came to the café today looking for the celestial maiden. I didn’t say she was in the Demonic Realm, but there might be more to this. Could you investigate?”

Zeyuan: “Mm.”

Lu Yao: “What’s wrong? Not in a good mood?”

Zeyuan’s fingers trembled slightly. “No.”

Lu Yao: “You haven’t been coming to the café much lately. Busy?”

Zeyuan: “…No.”

Lu Yao: “…Then come by today.”

Zeyuan: “Is there something you need?”

Lu Yao: “You’ll find out when you come.”

Zeyuan: “…”

Lu Yao put down the transmission jade talisman and pulled a few high-grade spirit stones from her portable space, scattering them into the green pet bed.

That little egg hadn’t even hatched yet, but it already had the appetite of a gold-devouring beast, demanding spirit stones daily.

At first, Lu Yao had no experience and would casually toss some stones in whenever she passed by.

One day, she accidentally overfed it, and the egg became “drunk,” rolling around the room and causing chaos, nearly shattering itself.

Now, she strictly limited the feeding to no more than 25 high-grade spirit stones a day.

The black egg had grown significantly larger, and its shell had gained a sheen, though its surface had also become even darker.

The little ginseng demon found this odd as well. Spirit beast eggs that turned this completely black were a rarity.

Meanwhile, the baby tankang lay peacefully in its soft bed. Upon seeing Lu Yao, it let out soft whimpers, acting spoiled.

Its condition hadn’t improved much, but it hadn’t worsened either. Ever since it arrived at the café, it had remained stable.

Lu Yao mixed some goat milk and fed it.

The baby tankang drank its fill and promptly went back to sleep, looking content.

Lu Yao gently patted the little piglet, noticing it might have gained a little weight.

At that moment, Cheng Ye knocked on the door and entered. “Boss, someone’s here to see you.”

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