Bad Luck

Six people in traditional Chinese dress were sitting on the floor, quietly watching as a young man dressed in a hoodie and gym shorts scooped water from a fountain before laying it in front of them.

Lin Feng quietly sighed to himself as he sat down. He couldn't help but feel like his luck was really bad. From getting dropped off in some deserted valley, being trapped, and, finally, meeting these people.

Maybe waiting for months on end dreaming of this moment had given him a warped perspective but Lin Feng couldn't help but be disappointed. In his mind, meeting people for the first time would solve his problems. He could sell something to them, unlock the system's remaining functionality, and get the hell out of this valley—but that's not what happened.

These people didn't carry spirit crystals. From what Lin Feng could now understand, the system had expensive taste and most people couldn't pay.

As the owner of a supposed shopping mall, would he ever be able to sit back and relax? Or was he doomed to struggle for every single sale in the middle of nowhere?

"Senior Lin, what brings you to the Demon Tooth Mountains?"

Lin Feng looked over at who asked the question. It was the first guy who showed up, the one who told him to be quiet when he tried talking to him. Wang Mu, was it? Lin Feng had thought that Wang Mu was especially rude, but now, after meeting other people, he suspected it might have something to do with the system.

"You don't have to keep calling me senior. I'm no one's senior."

Wang Mu seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I'll… have to take Senior Lin's word for it."

Lin Feng sighed. Somehow, finally meeting people was only making his mood worse.

"Demon Tooth Mountains, you said?" Lin Feng took a second to organize his thoughts. "It seemed like a nice area. I figured I should set up a shop."

Lin Feng had a complex expression on his face. He certainly wouldn't have chosen to set up a shop here if he had a choice.

That being said, he was now in a cultivation world. As long as he stayed in the shopping mall he would be safe, but if he ever left he would probably be squashed like an ant. Lin Feng felt that it was best not to publicize his circumstances. As such, he was forced to act like he wanted to be here.

"So the house outside is yours?"

"…Yeah." Lin Feng figured he could safely claim it. Even if someone else showed up to claim it, what could they do? Force him to leave? According to the system, he was invincible as long as he stayed here.

It was at this point that the city lord finally mustered up the courage to speak.

"Senior Lin, I am the city lord of Yashan city, Yang Wen. Might I ask what kind of things you sell here?"

"So it's the city lord? Welcome." Lin Feng wasn't sure if he should be excited. If a city lord didn't carry around spirit crystals then did anyone? Granted, it was Yang Wen that sent someone to get spirit crystals, so maybe there was hope for people being able to afford to shop here.

"Currently, I only sell food and drink, but I'll be expanding my offerings soon." Lin Feng said with a smile. "Even so, the food is very worth it, I'm sure you'll be impressed."

"It's true. Brother Lin's food is the best there is. You're lucky to have a chance to buy it." Mei quickly spoke up from beside Lin Feng.

Yang Wen was confused. Such an expert opened up a shop in the deserted mountains to sell food? And you had to buy the food with spirit crystals? It should be said that there were probably only a few thousand spirit crystals in all of Yashan city. Even high-grade medicinal food sold in the capital might not be paid for with spirit crystals.

As Yang Wen and Wang Mu pondered over this, the remaining cultivator from the Chen family gasped wordlessly in shock.

Everyone glanced at him oddly. The man was an elder from the Chen family but he had only come because Chen Rong had come to guide everyone. He was only in the ninth stage of the Qi Gathering Realm but he actually dared to make noise right now?

Chen Longhui looked like a gasping fish as he looked at everyone else.

"C-city lord! The water!"

Yang Wen squinted down at his cup in confusion. Lin Feng had scooped the water out of a fountain, so he had been a bit hesitant to drink it. Looking at it more closely now, it did seem odd. The cup was made out of some kind of clear flexible material with an uneven edge. The water looked mostly normal but it had strings of bubbles slowly rising from the bottom.

Yang Wen took a sip. His eyes widened comically. Spirit water? Yang Wen looked down at his cup in awe before realizing that this had been scooped out of an enormous pool of water. Yang Wen turned and stared at the water fountain and gigantic pool of water in the center of the room. Was all of it spirit water?! How much was that? Yang Wen doubted there was so much spirit water anywhere else in the entire empire.

Gasps rang out one by one as each person realized that they were holding a cup of spirit water.

"Is something the matter?" Lin Feng asked. "I've been told that drinking this is very beneficial for cultivation."

"No! It's fine!"

"No! This is perfect!"

Yang Wen and Wang Mu exclaimed at the same time. The cultivators all glanced at each other in disbelief.

Lin Feng sighed.

——

Finally, Chen Rong returned from Yashan city. When he walked into the courtyard, he saw the same strange young man lying listlessly on a worn stone bench.

Lin Feng glanced up as Chen Rong arrived.

"Go inside. The fox will tell you what to do."

Chen Rong hurriedly nodded before hurrying into the mall.

Lin Feng sat up and watched as he ran off with a complex feeling in his heart. Did this count as robbing people? Lin Feng wasn't sure. It's not like he had explicitly threatened them, they had just filled in the blanks themselves.

Whether or not Lin Feng would have taken drastic action if they had refused to buy something? He would like to believe that he wouldn't, but he wasn't sure at this point. Regardless, they were buying something, so he would never have to make that decision.

If anything, this first group of customers of his could only curse their own luck. Who asked them to come here?

Lin Feng followed Chen Rong inside. His enthusiasm might have been dampened by the circumstances of this first meeting with people, but he still couldn't bring himself to not be excited about finally making some progress. Maybe the system would stop insulting him and his mall. Maybe he would finally be able to leave this valley.