Chapter 84 - Variant Characters
Ling Pingan held the freshly brewed tea in his hands as he sat at the counter and sighed.
That night, he had overturned all the results of his efforts on the previous night.
The reason was quite simple.
He read the manuscript once and felt that it was awkward.
So, he knew that he would definitely fail.
He looked at the document that had been deleted again on the screen and sighed. “Writing a new book gives me a headache!”
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have written the ending for the previous book…”
This way, he could continue working by fits and starts while spending his day happily.
He didn’t need to spare some time every day to write the beginning of the novel, like what he was doing.
He looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already eleven o’clock.
Ling Pingan stood up and walked to the door of the shop. He was about to close the door and head upstairs to sleep.
Then he saw a figure that seemed to be approaching him in the distance in the fog.
So, he stopped.
“A customer or a passer-by?” He was curious.
Coming to think of it, the customer that pledged his wristwatch a few days ago had not returned to get his watch back.
Probably he was lost in the game of Stellaris, and was trying to get Gold…
Ling Pingan thought.
Stellaris was famous in the entire Federal Empire’s gaming world for the addiction it caused.
It was quite common to raid the dungeon, dozens to hundreds of times just for a rare piece of equipment.
It was also necessary to participate in large-scale team dungeon activities organized by the union on time exactly like going to work, in order to obtain so-called team points to buy pieces of equipment that were found only in team dungeons.
That was why Ling Pingan did not play the game.
It was too scary!
Ling Pingan thought of the two guests from last night again.
They were both nice people!
Upright gentlemen!
Especially that old man, Ling Pingan admired him very much.
Look at him, how trustworthy! The ancient Liu Xiahui was just so-so in front of him!
After waiting for a while, Ling Pingan saw a person walking over from the distant thick fog.
It was a young man wearing a set of exquisite vintage clothing.
As an author of web novels, Ling Pingan recognized it at a glance. It seemed to be the black silk woven material from the Han dynasty. There was a standard Han dynasty red ribbon tied around his waist, and he wore a crown that seemed to be of jade.
Just looking at it, Ling Pingan’s eyes lit up.
“Fat sheep! Big fat sheep!” He was eager to give him a try and rubbed his palms.
Everyone knew that the Han costume was a hobby that cost a lot of money. Not to mention the accessories, any Han costume on the market could easily cost thousands.
If one were particular about it, it would cost thousands or even tens of thousands.
As he got closer and closer, Ling Pingan was overwhelmed with excitement.
That was because the clothes that this young man was wearing, no matter from which aspect, were all custom-made after going through a strict examination.
Custom-made clothes meant that they were expensive.
The strict examination showed that he was very particular.
That was a customer that he rarely met, and also a very generous customer!
Ling Pingan had heard that some bookshop had sold an original copy to a customer, who had a passion for ancient culture and traditions. What a guy, he had earned over ten thousand yuan in one go!
Over ten thousand yuan!
It was a huge income after a long time!
Of course, Ling Pingan’s shop didn’t have any ancient books of that value.
But…
There were several sets of popular books that were printed more than 100 years ago.
One of them was even worth 1,000 yuan!
If he could sell it…
Ling Pingan was about to drool.
… … ..
Liu Zhi looked ahead at the flickering light source in the depths of the fog.
He hesitated.
Because he saw a shadow under the light.
Without a doubt, it was a person.
Or a ‘humanoid’ monster.
“What is this place?” He looked around at the thick fog.
This thick fog gave him the feeling that it was an independent world.
It also seemed to be a divine kingdom created by some diablos of Chaos.
Since the Kingdom of Xinghan was founded, it had dealt with many diablos of Chaos and their claws and servants.
In the palace, there was even a tradition of using the followers of Tzeentch.
The Kingdom of Xinghan was both wary and friendly towards the evil god of Chaos and their claws.
Just like those rat-men who assassinated him were refugees that his grandfather had taken in.
These people who called themselves the followers of the Horned Rat had come out from underground.
At that time, the Kingdom of Xinghan was facing a serious threat from the goblin, Chan Yu from the northern grassland.
The ogre army under him had even threatened the safety of Chang ‘an.
In the end, it was thanks to the arrangement left by the ancestral dragon and with the deterrence of three Kirin worshipped by the royal family, that the invasion was forced back.
Therefore, even though they knew that those dirty rats would become a disaster sooner or later, they had to drink poison to quench their thirst and use them to assassinate the officer and Noble of the Goblin, Chan Yu to delay the advance of the army.
“So, I am facing a diablo?” He looked at the figure under the light and thought, “it is very likely to be a new diablo?”
However…
“When did a new Diablo appear in the Void?!” He thought.
However, since he had already stepped into someone else’s territory, if he did not go over and see his thoughts and intentions, Liu Zhi knew that he would never be able to walk out of this fog.
So, he gathered his courage and slowly approached.
When he approached, the thick fog gradually dispersed.
A building that seemed to make him extremely confused appeared in front of him.
It was a building that was completely different from the architecture of the Kingdom of Xinghan.
It was made of red bricks of a certain material, and its surface had some stones that were stuck to it.
A plaque of an unknown material hung at the door. Surprisingly, Liu Zhi could recognize the word written on it.
This was because there was a connection between it and the usurp writing and clerical script of the Kingdom of Xinghan.
“Qiyuan Bookstore?” Liu Chi frowned. He had received a formal and strict royal education since he was a child, so he quickly realized something was wrong. “or rather, it’s the ‘The Bookstore of Origins’!”
There were many variant characters in the Kingdom of Xinghan.
That was especially used in the upper echelons. They loved to do this kind of thing.
Did I write the wrong character?
No!
That was a variant character! Do you understand?
On the other hand, within the red bricks, stone slabs, and plaques, Liu Zhi’s had an instinct that there were countless monsters entrenched within them.
They lowered their ferocious tentacles.
They opened their terrifying mouthparts.
Under the cracks of the walls and plaques, the indescribable monsters emitted low, incomprehensible sounds.
It seemed to be a warning, or perhaps it was to put a fear of them in him.
Under the plaque, a ‘person’ who was wearing clothes of an unknown material and seemed to be slightly taller than him was already standing there.
To be more precise…
It should be Him!
Liu Zhi looked at him, who was under a certain light source.
The head that was shrouded in the fog was like an abyss that could not be looked at directly.
At this moment, he looked over.
He looked at Liu Zhi. In the head that was covered by the mist, two flames rose from what seemed to be the eye sockets.
Liu Zhi looked at him, approaching. Then, he cupped his hands and said to Liu Zhi with a very traditional etiquette of Kingdom of Xinghan, “Welcome to my humble store, dear customer!”
His voice was calm and powerful.
It was as if he had great power. When he spoke, the whole world fell silent.