The sea of suffering was boundless,
yet I could ferry people across it.
Li Yao pursed his lips, wondering, Who wrote this couplet?
A bit arrogant.
But I liked it! And it suited the name "Lost Tavern" perfectly.
Lost upon the road, the sea of suffering was boundless, yet I could ferry people across it.
Perfect!
He looked at the shop owner. "I'll take this. How much?"
The owner smiled. "Two hundred yuan. If you like it, take it."
This wooden couplet was not worth much to begin with. The carving technique and craftsmanship could only be called proficient. It was just that the words were somewhat arrogant—yes, arrogant, in the owner's eyes. Shaking his head, he said, "My third granduncle carved this in his later years. He believed in Buddhism all his life, but I don't know how he ended up becoming so..."
The owner shook his head again and fell silent.
Li Yao did not press him. After paying, he asked, "Boss, I'd also like to make a signboard. Just carve and paint it from a piece of raw wood. Can you do that?"
The owner said, "Sure."
Afterward, Li Yao left the specifications and the name with the owner of the woodcarving shop, then took a taxi back with the two couplets.
Back at the tavern, Li Yao held up the two couplets for a while and felt that they suited his tavern perfectly.
To match the two couplets, he even had the tavern owner make the sign look a little weathered.
As Li Yao was positioning them, he saw an old man emerge from the Late Night Tavern next door. The old man wore a well-tailored suit and was impeccably groomed. Seeing the couplets in Li Yao's hands, he immediately smiled. "What a bold claim."
"Sir."
Li Yao set the couplets aside and greeted him. The old man walked over and nodded. "Hello, young man. We meet again. My name is Lu Xingshen. I'm second in the family, so people usually affectionately call me Second Uncle."
After saying that, he looked eagerly at Li Yao.
Li Yao: "???"
Why the hell are you looking at me! My Second Uncle...
Oh, Li Yao did not have a Second Uncle. He had been the only child in his family for three generations!
But did that mean you got to take advantage of me?
I'm a man with principles!
Li Yao shook the man's hand. "Hello, Mr. Lu. Nice to meet you."
Undisguised disappointment appeared in Lu Xingshen's eyes. He said, "Well... I'm right next door, so we'll be seeing each other often. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."
Li Yao said, "Take care. Goodbye."
He turned and carried the couplets inside. Most of the tavern had already been sorted out. He was still contacting liquor suppliers and arranging the menu, while staff were also being recruited. Hotel management was an area of study in itself. Li Yao had studied business management and knew a little about it. Once everything was listed out, there turned out to be quite a lot to consider.
That only made him busier.
But looking at this tavern made Li Yao happy.
He finally had a business of his own.
When he was young, it had been the nineties. Many people were poor, and his family was no exception. Dad had only been a low-ranking clerk in some department back then. The whole family lived in a work-unit apartment smaller than fifty square meters, barely getting by.
By then, reform and opening up had reached its later stages, and many people who had gone into business had become wealthy.
Some began wearing oversized, ill-fitting suits, slicking back their hair, and striding through the streets with briefcases and brick phones in hand, looking terribly busy.
It seemed that the gap between people had begun to widen around that time.
Some of his childhood friends had started showing off their new toys and new clothes.
Li Yao would just watch from the side.
To be honest,
he was a little envious.
But he knew his family was struggling. Even at such a young age, he knew to be considerate of the adults. The happiest part of every day was sitting on the balcony and waiting for Dad to come home.
Because Dad would always bring him something sweet and tasty.
Later, Dad steadily climbed the ranks, and their lives got better and better...
But the two old folks became totally unreliable, okay?! Remembering that, Li Yao could not help covering his face. "Where the hell did it all go wrong?"
Anyway, he had envied rich people ever since he was young. Now, he counted as a somewhat wealthy person himself.
How nice.
He took out his phone and sent his best friend a message. "I bought a tavern in the provincial capital. Call me Boss from now on, and I'll teach you how to drink."
Not long after, Lin Xiaowei actually replied, "Though separated by two worlds, Your Grace's favor falls upon me like rain and dew. I shall hold that gratitude in my heart and never forget it."
Li Yao: "???"
With a dark expression, he replied, "Have you gotten too full of yourself, you mutt, or has your boss lost the strength to wield a knife?"
Lin Xiaowei replied, "That's exactly how it is! I'm your sugar daddy! You still haven't even thanked me! Dad is very disappointed in you."
After thinking for a moment, Li Yao said, "Oh, right. Recently, I feel like my exploration of the spiritual world has reached a new level. It seems like I can sense movement within fifty meters through my mental perception."
Lin Xiaowei: "!!!"
Lin Xiaowei was stunned! That was fucking unscientific! Lin Xiaowei replied, "Li Yao, have you been taking something behind my back? Or have you gone into cultivation deviation? You've only practiced the Meditation Technique for four months! How are you already at this level?!"
Li Yao replied, "I, Li Yao, am the Son of the Plane!"
Lin Xiaowei: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!!! Get lost!
Lin Xiaowei felt a sharp pain in her chest. Why?!
I'm a dignified transmigrator with my own cheat ability, yet I was still surpassed by my best friend on Earth... It had taken her nearly a year to reach the Spirit Sense capacity required for advancement!
Lin Xiaowei fell into deep thought.
Could that guy really be the Son of the Plane? Seeing how strongly Lin Xiaowei reacted, Li Yao said gleefully, "You kept refusing to tell me what level I needed to reach before advancing because you were afraid I'd surpass you, right?"
Lin Xiaowei calmly replied, "Bullshit."
Li Yao had already immersed himself in the wonderful fantasy of his own awesomeness. "You reacted so strongly. Does that mean I can start preparing for advancement?"
Lin Xiaowei replied, "Bullshit."
Li Yao was displeased. "Then what the hell are you so worked up for?"
Lin Xiaowei explained, "The Meditation Technique is powerful because it drives the entire Spirit Sense into motion. The stronger your mental power, the greater the benefits after each cultivation session. The minimum standard for advancing to Formal Mage is sensing eighty meters around you. With your current mental capacity, you'll probably be able to prepare for the Advancement Ceremony very soon."
Li Yao pondered this. "Does that mean... the greater the mental capacity, the easier it is to succeed in the Advancement Ceremony?"
Lin Xiaowei had said before that the Advancement Ceremony could fail.
And every failure would damage the soul.
After three failures at most, an apprentice would never be able to advance into a Formal Mage again.
Lin Xiaowei said, "Theoretically, yes, but no one can say for sure whether an Advancement Ceremony will succeed. All you can do is raise the success rate as much as possible."
In that world's history, there had been miracles where someone succeeded in advancing with mental perception reaching only fifty meters.
There had also been tragedies where someone reached two hundred meters yet repeatedly failed to advance.
Of course, those were all extreme cases.
They had research value, but no reference value.
All in all, the Advancement Ceremony was an adventure that depended heavily on luck...
Second update complete. The weather is getting cooler, so remember to put on more clothes. Oh, and the name Lost really was picked when I grabbed a book in a café and chose one blindly with my eyes closed. The sea of suffering being boundless was a plot point I had planned beforehand, yet now it happened to fit the situation perfectly. Nice.
Before you continue