Front Gate Street Tofu Shop

Seeing Lu Yang finish a routine of Imitation Fist and turn into Man Gu, Lan Ting quietly brought out a sheet of yellow talisman paper. *Better just draw a transformation talisman myself.* As expected of an immortal sect renowned for its wild imagination and spellcraft: disguising a fist technique as a transformation technique—what profound comprehension of spells must one possess to pull off something like that? Surely Fellow Daoist Lu Yang's comprehension of spellcraft had reached the realm where dharma was non-dharma, technique was non-technique, pointing straight to the primal source. Lan Ting believed that no one among their peers could match Lu Yang in magical attainments. Only then did Lu Yang remember that Lan Ting had taken the tiger skins earlier to craft talismans as well; it seemed she was quite accomplished in the art of talismans. Lan Ting pointed toward her own eyes. "My eyes possess a certain mystic trait. They are extremely sensitive to patterns, allowing me to see through the core of talismans and the nexus of formations. I was born with a knack for crafting talismans and inscribing formations. "However, my energy is limited, so I devote most of it to making talismans. I only dabble slightly in formations." Though Lan Ting spoke modestly, it was in truth an extraordinary gift—one destined to carry her far in the fields of talismans and formations, earning the envy of countless masters in the craft. Before long, Lan Ting finished drawing a transformation talisman and slapped it onto herself. Her stunning beauty instantly shifted into an ordinary countenance, working its marvelous effect. And just like that, the barbecue shop welcomed a new clerk. *** Two days after Lan Ting joined, the barbecue shop was as bustling as ever. With an extra pair of hands, the workload grew considerably lighter for the three of them. Noticing that Man Gu looked somewhat downcast, Lu Yang used his divine sense to ask while serving dishes to the customers, "Did something happen? You don't look very happy." Man Gu nodded. "I don't know if Brother Lu has noticed, but our customer count has dropped over the past few days. I went over the recent earnings, and it's definitely true." Lu Yang was taken aback; he truly hadn't paid attention. "Because of Lan Ting?" With a female clerk joining them, business ought to have improved. "No, it started dropping before Lan Ting arrived. I haven't figured out why either, and I don't know where the problem lies." Man Gu had been brooding over this. Lu Yang did not mind in the slightest; he would be glad if the barbecue shop had less business. "Keep thinking on it, then. I'm off to deliver an order." A month ago, at Meng Jingzhou's suggestion, the barbecue shop had introduced a delivery service. During the day, they set a box outside the entrance. Anyone wanting delivery could write down the skewers they wanted, along with the delivery time and address, on a slip of paper and drop it in. At night, the three took turns making deliveries. Tonight was Lu Yang's turn. Lu Yang hadn't gone out at night in the past few days. Stepping outside now, he noticed that there were noticeably fewer pedestrians on the streets than before. *Maybe that's why foot traffic dropped at the barbecue shop,* Lu Yang mused. "Let's see where this delivery is going... Front Gate Street Tofu Shop?" *** Wen Xiangyu had heard long ago about a wildly popular barbecue shop that had opened nearby. She had been eager to taste the food and see if it truly lived up to the rumors. However, ever since her husband passed away and she inherited his tofu shop, she rarely went out at night. Not to boast, but she had fair skin and striking looks, coveted by more men than she could count. Going out alone after dark was far too dangerous. Later, when she heard the barbecue shop offered a delivery service, she wrote down what she wanted on a slip of paper and dropped it into the box outside their shop. Over the past few days, she had been feeling intensely drowsy, and tonight was worse than ever. Before the skewers had even arrived, she could no longer fight off the exhaustion and went to bed early. The clerk from the barbecue shop would surely be able to wake her. *** Lu Zhi was a thief who had recently been giving the constables a massive headache. He often snuck into people's homes at night while they were fast asleep to steal their valuables, slipping away swiftly and leaving almost no clues behind. Whenever the constables questioned the neighbors, the answers were always the same: they had been sleeping so deeply that they never noticed any commotion outside. Tonight, his target was the tofu shop on Front Gate Street. The proprietress was a renowned, pretty widow whose tofu was famed far and wide, and the money she had earned over the past few years had made the surrounding shopkeepers green with envy. Agile as a monkey, Lu Zhi soundlessly scaled the roof, twisted his body, and slipped open a second-floor window. *She must be asleep.* Lu Zhi was supremely confident. By chance, he had obtained a yellow talisman that put people into a dead sleep. As long as it was pasted to the outside of a house, everyone within fifty meters would succumb to its influence and fall into a slumber like death. The trick had never failed him. Tiptoeing and holding his breath, Lu Zhi caught sight of the beauty lying in bed, a smug smile of triumph crossing his face. He then turned to rummage through the cupboards for valuables. In his experience, women always loved hiding their treasures there. "Nothing?" Lu Zhi frowned, glancing back toward the sleeping widow. If it wasn't here, it had to be under the bed. He carefully crouched down and peered under the bed frame, only for his heart to freeze. There was a human face under the bed! "Ghost!" *** Zheng Shouhe was a flower-plucking defiler who had recently been giving the constables a headache. He frequently hid under the beds of single women well in advance, waiting until they fell fast asleep before crawling out to violate them. Occasionally he ran into women having secret affairs, leaving him no choice but to lie under the bed and wait it out. Tonight, he had set his sights on the tofu shop on Front Gate Street. The proprietress was a renowned, pretty widow whose charms had bewitched countless souls. Just like before, Zheng Shouhe had hidden under the bed early on, waiting for night to fall so he could indulge in the pleasures of love with the widow. *So sleepy.* Zheng Shouhe had never felt this exhausted in his life. Normally, the longer he waited, the more energized he became, but tonight, an overwhelming drowsiness kept welling up from within him. His eyelids fought to close. He tried to force them open several times, but unable to resist the slumber, he drifted off. A piercing shriek jolted him awake, shouting something about a ghost. Zheng Shouhe snapped his eyes open and saw Lu Zhi crouching beside the bed, staring at him in sheer terror. Zheng Shouhe lunged with lightning speed, clamping a hand over Lu Zhi's mouth as he scrambled out from beneath the frame, drawing a dagger from his waist with his other hand to press against Lu Zhi's throat. Zheng Shouhe then noticed Wen Xiangyu curled up on the bed, trembling all over. Clearly, she had been woken by Lu Zhi's scream as well. "You, get up too! What kind of rotten luck is this tonight?!" Cursing under his breath, Zheng Shouhe found some rope and bound Lu Zhi, intending to enjoy Wen Xiangyu first before killing both of them. Right then, a knock sounded at the door downstairs. "Anyone home? I'm here with your delivery!" Zheng Shouhe clicked his tongue. His luck tonight was truly vile. Making sure Lu Zhi was tied up tight, he forced Wen Xiangyu down the stairs with him. Threatening Wen Xiangyu with the dagger, Zheng Shouhe growled in a low voice, "Tell whoever's out there to get lost!" Everyone in Yanjiang Commandery knew the pretty widow lived alone. If he told the person to leave himself, the sound of a man's voice would inevitably arouse suspicion. "Just leave the food by the door. I'll come out and get it in a bit," Wen Xiangyu called out in a soft, trembling voice. "Can't do that, you haven't paid yet!" the person outside called back. A vicious glint flashed across Zheng Shouhe's eyes. *Since you're so eager to die, don't blame me!*