166: This Fried Turtle is an Antique

Hearing the words "Beiping," Hakuto's face instantly showed a trace of shock.

Damn… Beiping? That name hasn't been used in how many years?

Hakuto glanced at the stall owner in front of him without showing any expression, thinking that if he wanted to give a location, he could've picked a better one. 

Even Sichuan would've been fine.

Beiping, of all places, like it's some kind of secret code…

"Beiping? Where's that?"

Nao was from Japan, so she wasn't familiar with Beijing's old name. After all, that was something from decades ago.

"It's Beijing, the capital of China…"

"Oh~ So it's a kind of alias?"

"Not exactly… It's actually more accurate to call it a former name…"

Hakuto didn't say much more. It wasn't a big deal to refer to Beijing as Beiping. Maybe the stall owner just had the habit of calling it that.

But still…

Hakuto looked at the deep-fried turtle on the stall. The thick layer of grease, the yellow-brown shell… He instinctively took a sharp breath.

And combined with the mention of Beiping just now, the sense of history really hit him all at once.

Sigh~ Guess what? This thing is ancient~

"So? Want to try one, customer? This is a true Chinese specialty!"

Hearing the words "true specialty," Hakuto frowned. If this guy in front of him didn't look like a Japanese man, Hakuto might've thought he'd run into a fellow countryman.

"Boss, this turtle… how long is the shelf life?"

"Shelf life? No shelf life." The stall owner waved his hand. "Fried every three days. If it doesn't sell, we fry it again."

Unbelievable…

No wonder it's so greasy—this turtle really is an antique!

Hakuto couldn't even imagine how many times this turtle had been fried. Even a historian would probably say, "Ah, the taste of childhood!"

"President, want to try one?"

"Hm? You're not getting one? Weren't you hungry?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd be my poison tester. At least I'm confident I can get you to the hospital within ten minutes…"

Hakuto didn't have the courage to actually eat this so-called Chinese specialty. If he ate it now, he might pass out on the spot and not even make it to the concert.

"Forget it, since I'm already here…" Though he didn't dare eat it, he still wanted to buy one out of curiosity.

"Boss, I'll take one!"

"Alright! I'll pack it up for you."

The moment Hakuto paid, Nao's eyes widened in shock.

In her eyes, Hakuto was someone who valued money like his life. And now he was actually spending money on something completely useless.

More importantly, eating this might really land him in the hospital.

"Huh?! You're seriously buying it?"

"I'm not eating it…" Hakuto said as he used a plastic bag to pick up the deep-fried turtle from the stall.

The next second, he forcefully cracked the turtle in half. The grease almost splattered onto Nao, but thankfully, she dodged just in time.

"Huh? Did something fall out?"

"Looks like a piece of paper…"

Hakuto immediately tossed the deep-fried turtle into the trash. Just from the way it felt in his hands, he was sure this thing had been refried at least ten times.

Nao used a paper napkin to pick up the slip of paper from the ground and slowly unfolded it.

"What does it say? Don't tell me it's a treasure map or something? Is my luck finally kicking in?" Hakuto leaned over her shoulder to check the note.

"No…" Nao frowned. "I think it's in Chinese script. I can't read it…"

"Hm? Chinese script?" Hakuto bent down, leaning against her shoulder, and looked at the note in her hand.

"The Great Chu shall rise, Chen Sheng shall be king…" Seeing these six characters, Hakuto was completely dumbfounded.

For a long moment, he just stood there before suddenly shouting.

"AHHH?!?!"

"Why are you screaming in my ear?!" Nao covered her ear with one hand and shoved Hakuto's face away with the other.

"Sorry… sorry, I just…" Hakuto couldn't even put his feelings into words. His life felt like a scripted comedy—this was too ridiculous…

The Great Chu shall rise, Chen Sheng shall be king…

Tch… So Chen Sheng didn't just put messages inside fish, he also stuffed them inside turtles? And this turtle even got exported to here?!

So it's an actual imported item?!

Hakuto had no idea what to say. Maybe the note was placed inside by the last customer on purpose, but still, it gave him chills.

"So what does it say? What's so shocking about it?"

"Nothing…" Hakuto didn't want to tell Nao the truth because this was just too absurd.

"President, I'm not hungry anymore. Come with me somewhere."

Hakuto had lost his appetite. He was afraid that if he saw any more food, all he'd think about was those words, "Chen Sheng shall be king."

"Huh? Where to?"

"You'll see when we get there."

Hakuto was planning to get his ear pierced. He couldn't let Nao's effort go to waste.

Even if it got infected and hurt like hell… well, maybe it wouldn't. He believed in his luck!

"By the way, the concert should be starting soon, right?"

"Yeah, so where are we going?"

"It'll be quick…" Getting his ears pierced wouldn't take long. "Oh, and if I pass out during the concert, don't send me to the hospital. Just find a chair and let me lie down for a bit."

"Huh? What do you mean pass out during the concert?"

"Just a precaution. You know, in case of an unexpected situation."

"Did you overuse your quantum brain and break it? Or… did you see the future?"

"I saw a girl named Tomori Nao getting hit by a car!"

"You're the one getting hit by a car!" Annoyed by Hakuto's teasing, Nao didn't hesitate to punch him.

"Hiss—"

"Huh? You didn't dodge?"

Nao was surprised. It was rare for her punches to land on him. Normally, he either dodged or blocked them.

"Too lazy to dodge. Besides, your punches don't even hurt…"

Liar! They totally hurt!

But Hakuto was sore all over. He wanted to dodge but didn't have the strength. Still, he wasn't about to admit that.

When facing Nao, even if his whole body went limp, his pride had to stay strong!

"Huh? My punches don't hurt?" Nao looked confused. No one had ever told her that before…

She glanced at her hands in doubt, wondering if she'd gotten weaker…

Then she looked at Hakuto again and instinctively punched him one more time.

"Enough already?!"

"Weren't you the one who said it didn't hurt?"

___

Read 20 Advanced Chapters on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics

Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you!

Don't forget to leave a review too~ 

Check out the other translations too

___