Nancheng was sweltering in the summer heat, and there were hardly any people on the streets.
In front of an Internet cafe in the old town district, a car was parked, and the old Taoist inside looked at the young girl beside him with a slight worry on his face.
"Old ancestor, I entrust the Jiaoyang Temple and my good-for-nothing disciple, Xia Xin, to you. I can only take you this far. Once you get to Jiaoyang Temple, the child Xiaoxin will tell you about your new identity."
The young girl had a complexion as white as snow, lips red as if dabbed with vermilion. There was no air conditioning in the car, but not a hint of sweat on her; instead, she exuded a faint chill.
Hearing the old man's words, Jiangli nodded slightly, "I know, I owe you, and I'm aware of that. You can leave with peace of mind."
Upon hearing this, the old man got out of the car with her and bowed deeply to her in salute.
Jiangli stood there and accepted the bow.
The next second, the old man and the car vanished from the spot, as if they had never been there.
Jiangli's eyelids twitched slightly as she looked up at the high-rise buildings in front of her. There were a few characters written on them, some of which Jiangli recognized and some she did not, as if something was missing.
"This is called an Internet cafe?" She recalled the Taoist's words, and seeing that the Internet cafe was not closed, with the inside visible from outside, she went straight in.
...
"What on earth is going on today? First, the computers won't start, and now there's a power outage..." Inside the Internet cafe, the owner looked annoyingly at the young man next to him, "Xia Xin, can you fix it?"
Xia Xin was bent over in front of a computer, checking where the issue was with the wiring. He was about to respond when suddenly a loud bang rang out as if something had hit the door.
The owner turned around to see an oddly dressed girl, looking like she was in ancient costume, standing at the entrance, clutching her forehead as though she had just run into the door.
Jiangli rubbed her forehead, looking at the transparent door in front of her. She touched it with her hand, finding it strange. Transparent doors in this day and age?
"Hey..." Jiangli was examining the door when suddenly it swung open, and the owner poked his head out, looking at Jiangli, "What's wrong with you, young lady? Didn't you see this huge glass door?"
"Glass door?" Jiangli mused, thinking it was a door made of colored glaze. People nowadays must really be extravagant, using colored glaze for doors as if it were nothing?
"What's with that look?" The owner saw her puzzled expression and found it strange.
"You can't tell me you've never seen a glass door before? Are you some antique from who-knows-where?"
Jiangli blinked, "I come from the mountains."
"..."
Hearing her dead-serious reply, the owner was speechless, more convinced than ever that she hadn't come to use the Internet.
"I am looking for Xia Xin."
While the owner was looking at her skeptically, Jiangli spoke up.
The owner paused, "Xia Xin? You're looking for Xiaoxin?"
Jiangli nodded, "His master said he was here."
"... His master who passed away a few days ago?" The owner muttered, sizing up Jiangli.
Though the young girl was odd, she was quite pretty, especially her eyes, which were clear as spring water, seemingly reflecting all of the world. Her entire demeanor exuded a crisp and refreshing quality, making one's annoyed mood feel cooled even in the heat of summer. She probably wasn't a bad person.
Thinking this, the owner said, "Then come in. Xiaoxin is inside."
Jiangli thanked him and followed the owner into the Internet cafe.
The entire shop spanned two floors, but there were hardly any customers.
In the front hall, there were separate booths partitioned off, each containing some heavy-looking wooden objects like black drapes and some oddly shaped chairs.