xi

Later that day, at around four in the evening, Liwei informed him that she would go and help out at Sun and Moon Inn.

"I'll come with you !" Lan said.

Back in his world, he never thought he'd enjoy a job where he needed to interact with so many people. It was true that even now, he had to gather all his strength to do his job right, but he actually enjoyed it. He thought that working alongside Liwei was nice, and Madam Zheng was very sweet to him too.

He enjoyed the atmosphere there, so it made up for everything else.

The two walked to the inn, seeing it as bustling as ever. The reason it was always so full was that it was the only inn in the village. Now that it was becoming more prosperous, other inns were being built as well, but none of them were done yet.

"Ah-Li, Ah-Xi, [1] you're here !" Madam Zheng welcomed them with her usual warm smile.

"Hello." they greeted and bowed at the same time.

"Hello !" she answered. "I'm glad you two came, I can't seem to be capable on my own anymore, I've gotten used to your help." she chuckled.

"It's fine, we enjoy helping here !" Lan returned her smile.

More than being able to use magic, what surprised Lan the most was how easy it had been to get comfortable with some people here. Because he wasn't even comfortable with his own parents, he never thought he'd be with anyone else.

But first there was Liwei, then Madam Zheng.

He was quite happy ever since he transmigrated here. He didn't care about whatever danger was looming over him. Actually, he hadn't fully processed the gravity of it yet, but he wasn't in a rush.

The two walked inside and grabbed an apron laying on a small table in the kitchen. Their job here wasn't limited to waiters, they would help wherever it was needed. Taking orders, serving, making dishes or drinks, registering the rooms...

"A few customers came, but I haven't been able to take their orders yet. Others are waiting to register their rooms and take the keys. It's busy in the kitchen, and I myself am taking care of this meal." she mentioned a pot cooking on the stove. "Please take care of those for now."

"Sure !" Liwei turned to Lan. "I don't think I showed you yet how to register rooms, so you take care of the orders, all right ?"

"All right !" he smiled.

They both walked away, Lan toward a table where three people were sitting, and Liwei to the wooden counter on the far side of the room, near the staircase, where a small line had formed.

"Finally !" the middle-aged man at the head of the file exclaimed. "I thought I'd die and reincarnate before getting my room !"

His hair was tied in a bun and decorated with an expensive gold crown, scattered with shiny pearls. He was surely a traveling nobleman who had to stop in the nearest village to rest.

Liwei's lips twitched, but she forced herself to remain polite. She didn't want to bring a bad reputation to this inn. It took her a great effort, but she managed to smile.

"I'm very sorry, we were short on personnel." she said.

"Then hire more people !"

"We'll do our best."

"What best ? Is it hard to find someone ? Is this shabby, nameless village lacking young and hardworking people ?"

This man was rude and getting on her nerves.

It was true that Madam Zheng was planning on hiring more people since her business was getting bigger. But Liwei assured her that she'd continue to help her, and now Lan was helping as well, so she preferred to make some innovations first.

"Sir, are you going to wait longer to get your room ? You're making everyone else wait too." she couldn't help but say that, though she kept a calm tone.

Before the man could retort, another one behind him talked, "She's right ! Scolding won't change the fact that we waited, so just take your key and let us do the same !"

The man's eyebrows furrowed so much, they almost dipped lower than his actual eyes. But he saw that everyone in the file was looking angrily at him, so in the end, he didn't add anything.

Liwei opened the scroll on the table. She marked today's date, took out a random key, and scribbled the number attached to it.

"How long are you staying ?" she asked.

The man scoffed, as he threw the money on the counter. "Just tonight. I'm not staying an hour more than necessary in this sorry place if it wasn't that-"

"Okay, one night." she cut him, after writing these two words down. "Next !" she called.

The man behind shoved him away and greeted Liwei.

"Shameless ! It's not only this place, the people here are shabby too !"

Everyone ignored him. He flicked his long silk sleeves, and turned away, heading for the staircase.

"We'll have one room, three nights, please." the next customer smiled.

He was young and handsome. He was accompanied by a pretty lady.

Liwei smiled back. Getting understanding and nice customers was nice.

"Sure."

She gave them a bigger room, those they usually gave to couples. They were the same prices as smaller rooms though.

"Here, it's on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. You have one free meal per day, whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner —it's your choice."

"That's good !"

The lady talked at last, "Thank you. Can we tell you later which meal it is ?"

"Sure ! You can go settle down right now."

They thanked her and left for their room. Liwei continued to register for the rest of the customers. Thankfully they weren't as rude and annoying as the one first in line.

On the other hand, Lan was traveling from a table to the counter, then back to another table. Not only taking orders, but he also helped with the service.

"Here, young man !" a masculine voice called.

Lan turned in the direction of the voice. There was a man with his arm raised, indicating that he was the one calling. Lan walked toward him.

It was an old man. All of his hair had turned white, and they were in a bun. Unlike most people he'd seen here, he had no hairpin, nor any kind of ornament in his hair. His face was wrinkled, but he had a big smile.

"Ah, I've been here for a while already." he said.

Lan was a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I hadn't noticed."

"Oh but it's fine ! I can see how busy it is today."

"Yes."

"I never saw you here before, are you new in the village ?"

"I've been here for months already."

"Oh, so your family moved here ?"

Family ? None of them had come up with a lie regarding this matter yet. He wished Liwei was with him now, her ability to come up with lies that made perfect sense was outstanding.

"No," his brain was racing to find something, "I'm an orphan."

"Oh, I'm sorry to bring this up."

"It's fine."

"Do you live alone here ?"

"No, I live with..." he trailed off.

He was about to say 'with a girl' but he realized it might sound wrong in this world. Back in his own world, he had already lived in collocation and it was something common even between men and women. Though he hated the guy he lived with, which made him hate the thought of having a roommate. But as weird as it was, he didn't have this problem with Liwei.

Perhaps because she was often outside or in her bedroom, and he himself was either in his bedroom or in the backyard. They mostly saw each other when eating, so they both had all the alone time they needed.

It wasn't like before, when the guy would cling to him and act as if they had always been best friends, trying to drag him wherever he went or trying to make him socialize, and 'get out of his bubble'.

But he didn't want anyone to misunderstand, so he switched his words, "I live with a friend. She welcomed me." [2]

"That's very nice. After all this, you didn't tell me your name yet !"

Lan was trying his best to stay polite, but he was getting annoyed. He didn't like it when people asked him too many questions, he didn't like to have to talk to them. He held back a sigh.

"My name is Lin Xi." he answered.

"What's the veil for ?" he didn't waste a second to ask. "Is it because you're too handsome or too ugly ?"

Lan was stunned. This man... didn't he have any limit or shame ? Making small talk like asking his name or when he moved here —it was annoying, but still okay to ask. Was it because he was answering everything that he thought he could go this far ?

"This is a personal matter." his tone was suddenly cold.

But the man didn't lose his big smile —which was even more annoying than his endless questions.

"Of course ! I didn't think, my bad !" he laughed loudly.

"Sir, as you've said, it's busy today. Can I take your order and get back to work ?"

"Sure sure ! Then I'll have green tea with orange cake."

Lan nodded and speed walked to the kitchen. Madam Zheng had just finished baking a big tray of different flavored cakes.

"Do you have an order ? I'm done with these, I can make it." she said.

"Yes, it's green tea and orange cake."

"It'll be done in a second."

"Okay. I'll go see if anyone needs something."

"All right."

Lan walked back to the restaurant. He stood on the side with his arms crossed. He looked around in case someone was signaling to him. No one was, but the old man's eyes were stuck on his figure. He felt a chill down his spine.

What kind of shameless man is that, what does he want ?, he angrily thought.

He shifted his gaze to Liwei. She was done with registering the rooms. He walked toward her.

"Miss Liu ?" he called.

Liwei was doodling something on the scroll, so she hadn't noticed him arrive. She lifted her head.

"Yes ?"

"There's an old man sitting at the table closer to the door —don't look now, I think he's looking at me !"

He didn't want the man to know they were talking about him. Discreetly, Liwei moved her pupils, taking a quick glance at the table Lan indicated.

"He's really looking at you." she frowned, once she returned her gaze on him. "Who is he ?"

"You don't know him ? I thought you did."

"How would I ?"

"Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought he was used to coming here."

"Used ? No, I never saw him before." She became suspicious. "What did he tell you ?"

"He asked some basic questions, but said I should be new in the village because he never saw me before."

"But even I never saw him before."

Liwei knew everyone in the village. From those who lived here for years to those who had recently moved in. For an Immortal, it shouldn't be hard to take account of the few hundreds of people living here. Adding in the fact that she worked in the only inn available, she saw a lot of faces every day. If she said it was the first time she saw someone, then she couldn't be mistaken.

"Then he lied." Lan frowned. "Why ?"

"Huang-ge, let's switch. I take care of the restaurant, you take care of the rooms." she got off the high stool she was seated on.

"But I don't know what to do ?"

"It's simple, I'll show you. Come here." she mentioned for him to stand behind the counter with her.

He complied and stood beside her. He was careful to leave enough space between them, so none of them would be uncomfortable. He leaned a bit too much over to take a good look at the scroll. He couldn't believe he had transmigrated into an Immortal, but still couldn't see farther than fifty centimeters away ! And what glasses could he use here ?

Liwei saw his squinting eyes, so she silently pushed the scroll closer to him.

"See, each day you start by marking the date. Then whenever you take a key, there's a number attached to it. You write it down, and beside it you write the time of their stay. Look here for example, room 26, three nights. If they stay from two nights to more, they get a free meal every day of their stay. The rooms on the first floor are smaller rooms, for those who come alone. On the second floor, there are bigger rooms, if they're two or more. Look," she went to grab two keys, "the first floor's key numbers are written in black, the second's are written in red." she thought for a second. "I think I told you everything."

Lan stayed silent, assimilating everything. Then he nodded. "I think I got it."

"Good ! If you're confused about anything else, just call me."

"Wait but why switch now ? Is there something wrong with this man ?"

They both looked up at the same time, their eyes falling on the man. His head was tilted downward. When he moved to look up, they quickly looked back at the scroll.

"Yes, there's something wrong. Whether he's just weird or hiding something, I can't tell." she straightened her back. "I see he hasn't been served yet. Stay here, I'll take care of it."

Lan nodded and sighed as she left. He didn't like the feeling of being useless and hiding behind Liwei's back when something happened. But he couldn't be stubborn for now, it would be a hindrance for him, Liwei, and even Wen Li.

At this moment, a thought crossed his mind —he just needed to get strong enough. Until now, he simply thought it was cool to have spiritual powers, nothing more. He wasn't interested in being strong or powerful. Maybe he was still used to the lazy life he had before, but the more time passed, the more he understood that this lifestyle wasn't suitable for this world.

Huang Lan ! Stop ignoring every problem and acting like they don't exist !, he scolded himself. There's danger, and Miss Liu and Miss Wen got involved to help you ! Help them in return by making some effort !

It took him two weeks to make this decision, but at least he made it.

~

[1] : using 'ah' with a shortened form of someone's name is a way to express familiarity and even affection.

[2] : she/he are pronounced the same way in china : tā — 她 (she) 他 (he), (so even by referring to Liwei as 'she' the man has no way to identify what's the gender this 'friend').

/!\ reminder that this book is settled in China, so the characters are supposedly speaking mandarin /!\.