Meeting an Acquaintance Again

When you lose something, you often can't find it no matter how hard you look for it when you need it, but it reappears without warning when you no longer need it.

Si Ming's situation is very similar. Before, when there was still time to make amends, he couldn't remember what he had forgotten to do. By the time he suddenly remembered, he was already on a moving train.

"I can't believe I forgot something so important. I'm so stupid, really. I was only thinking about delivering the message for my master and practicing martial arts in the cave, and I forgot that I also had a personal matter to attend to..."

The thought of his handsome Mohist School Profound Armor being gone, and who knows when he would be able to ask the doctor to build it again, made Si Ming unable to resist smashing his head against the wall of the train carriage... The wall was dented, but his head wasn't even broken.

Murong Qing comforted him, "Actually, with your current improvement in martial arts, it will have a far greater effect than wearing a piece of Profound Armor."

Putting everything else aside, in terms of physical fitness alone, Si Ming can already walk around with impunity in the Qi Refining Realm. Even if he stands still, his opponents can't hurt him.

"It's different. Wearing a cool Profound Armor greatly increases one's fashion sense, but practicing a divine skill makes one lose all their hair, and their fashion sense plummets to rock bottom," Si Ming sighed.

Murong Qing didn't understand what "fashion value" was, but she knew the other person was in a low mood, so she said, "I checked, and your hair can still grow back. The hair loss is only temporary."

"Well, after all, I'm not powerful enough to be invincible, it's too early for me to go bald," Si Ming said casually.

Just then, a woman's voice came from outside the window. "If you don't return my treasure map, I'll make sure you're bald for life!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a masked woman climbed in through the car window; she was the Liu School disciple he had fought on the way here.

She glanced at Si Ming's head, smiled dismissively, and said, "You think I wouldn't recognize you just because you shaved your head? Don't underestimate me!"

"Do you think I wanted to become bald?" Si Ming retorted angrily, his sore spot reopened.

Murong Qing shook her head and said, "Your timing is really perfect. We were just about to go back today when you intercepted us."

"What kind of coincidence is this! There's only one train from the Zangqing Plateau to the east, and I've been waiting at that station every day for two whole months!"

"... You've really gone to a lot of trouble."

"It's nothing, just give me back the treasure map..." The masked woman glanced at Si Ming, "If it smells bad, I'll definitely cut you in half. I wish you a bad New Year!"

Chapter 126 Reunion and Acquaintance

"One slash and your knife will probably break."

Si Ming would never take the other party's threat to heart. He was completely different from the person he was two months ago. Every part of his body could be both hard and soft, and even Divine Rank Demon General couldn't do anything to him. He had even been a humanoid self-propelled nuclear bomb—although he had now reverted to the level of a humanoid self-propelled heavy machine gun.

Murong Qing, "We can return the treasure map to you; we have no interest in it. But you have to return my Time Wheel Meter to me."

"Here you go." The masked woman placed the Dragon Diagram Time Wheel Meter on the table without hesitation. "I've asked around; this thing has a provenance and is worth quite a bit of money—much more than the five thousand you claimed in the car. Don't be careless and get scammed."

Si Ming asked with slight surprise, "Are you worried about us?"

"Who cares about you! I just think it's better for me to cheat you than for you to be cheated by others. If you ever want to sell this thing in the future, come find me."

Si Ming laughed and said, "Then how can I find you?"

The masked woman's eyes darted around. "You want to find out my identity? Hmph, do you really think the Liu School disciples are thieves? Yaozu Chain Jewelry Store has branches in major cities across the country. Just show them this card, and I guarantee you a fair price."

She casually tossed out a black magnetic card. Si Ming glanced at it and saw the words "Yaozu VIP Card?" written on it. Based on the common tropes in urban novels he had read before, he guessed that this thing was probably similar to a VIP level card, such as silver, gold, or black diamond.

Unfortunately, he knew nothing about this. Although he had heard of the famous "Yaozu Jewelry", that was all he knew. He didn't even know where the branch in Tange City was located, so jewelry and luxury goods were out of his reach.

"Being able to casually give away VIP cards to others suggests you hold a high position in Yaozu Company. And being able to wander around aimlessly for two months without doing your job indicates you're definitely not a high-ranking employee. The only remaining answer is that you're a Lineage member. So, your surname is Zu?"

The founder of Yaozu Jewelry Store was surnamed Zu, hence the store's name. Although it sounds tacky, jewelry is inherently tacky, and the more tacky it is, the more it suits the tastes of the nouveau riche. Those self-proclaimed Aristocratic Clan families who consider themselves to have historical heritage are unwilling to spend money on this kind of thing. They are not the main consumers, so there is no need to cater to their tastes.

Moreover, the word "Yaozu" not only means honoring one's ancestors, but also metaphors the brilliance of jewelry. In fact, it is both vulgar and elegant. It is very appropriate to use it as the name of a jewelry store. At least it has more connotations than the name "A Dafu Jewelry Store". There is no room for discussion.

The masked woman neither confirmed nor denied it, but instead said, "Oh, I didn't realize you were a detective."

"Not at all, I only have a little bit of basic reasoning knowledge," Si Ming said modestly.

Giving him a pile of information that's hard to distinguish between true and false, and asking him to find the truth from it, is indeed beyond his intellectual capacity; he wouldn't know where to begin. But giving him a piece of real information and asking him to analyze and deduce it is something he can do.

"Does your jewelry store accept these kinds of handicrafts?"

"Of course, we've moved past the stage of capital accumulation; our current goal is to pursue sophistication. Selling gold, jewelry, and diamonds sounds tacky, but selling antiques, collectibles, and art exudes cultural depth. Although the essence of both is the same, humans are such easily fooled creatures, especially women. A few words about how deep the love is or how big the diamonds are, and their IQ plummets to rock bottom."

"Putting gender discrimination aside, saying that is tantamount to admitting your identity. Aren't you afraid I'll recognize you in the future?"

Thinking that covering your face will make you unrecognizable is a plot only found in mindless period dramas and innocent romance comics. In reality, even if your face is completely blurred, people can still find you in a crowd if they are willing to do so.

The masked woman said defiantly, "So what if I'm recognized? I haven't done anything illegal. I just accidentally found someone's lost property, kindly waited at the station for two whole months, and returned it to its owner. This kind of honesty should be a role model for young people, and the whole society should learn from and emulate it."

Are youth role models someone who always hides their face and dares not show their Zhenmian to others?

"There's no way around it, I'm just too beautiful, naturally gorgeous. If I didn't cover myself with a veil, I'm afraid many shallow men would pester me. To maintain social order, I have no choice but to sacrifice myself—what do you think of this reason?"

Si Ming clapped his hands and said, "That's reasonable, well-founded, and convincing."

Then, curiously, she asked, "Speaking of which, after you stole the Time Wheel Meter, didn't you notice something was missing? I waited until the train arrived at the station, but you never came to trade. I thought you didn't care about this map at all."

He took out the undergarment with the map drawn on it, but the masked woman snatched it away and glared at him fiercely.

"It's all because of you! Your recklessness back then injured my hand bones, causing me to lose my balance when I jumped onto the roof and be blown off by the gust of wind! Luckily, I had a hang glider with me, otherwise, I would have lost at least half my life if I had fallen like that!"

The thought of it made her grit her teeth in hatred. Seeing Si Ming's barely suppressed smile only fueled her anger. So she raised two fingers and pointed them at Si Ming's wrist, intending to give him a little punishment and let him experience the same thing.

Unexpectedly, after the stab, the masked woman felt as if she had hit a steel plate; not only was her finger bounced back, but her finger bones also went numb with pain.

"Are your hands made of iron? How can they be so hard!"

Si Ming laughed and said, "Didn't I say before that your sword could break? After hearing that, you should have guessed that I've practiced external martial arts."

"Seeing that you've gone bald, I thought you'd mastered the Iron Head Skill Kung Fu."