The First Employee Is Born

The moment he opened the door, Ma Feifei looked over his little courtyard and felt that something seemed different.

Thirty seconds later, realization dawned on him—the tree in his courtyard had frozen over! Not a single leaf remained on its branches, leaving only a bare trunk wrapped in a glistening layer of ice.

It was late autumn, one of the four seasons. Ma Feifei could understand the leaves falling off overnight, but what was this freezing business?

Even a frost wouldn't be this outrageous!

"Are you bullying me just because I've never spent a winter on the Azure Dragon Continent?"

He turned his head to glance at the master bedroom in the center. Its door was tightly shut; Yun Qingyang apparently had yet to rise. Ma Feifei shook his head and went to fetch water with his washing supplies.

There was no such thing as running water these days. Every household relied on well water for daily use. Who knew whether there was an ocean beneath the Azure Dragon Continent or what, but as long as each household dug into the ground beneath their home, they could strike water. That was why every home had its own well.

"Holy shit! This froze too?" Ma Feifei leaned over and peered down into the well. The sun was already growing bright, and its rays shone upon the frozen water at the bottom, reflecting Ma Feifei's silhouette.

"I need to have a proper talk with her later. At this rate, she'll probably freeze the whole house into a block of ice." Ma Feifei could not help sighing, wondering what kind of monster he had taken in.

After using spiritual power to melt the ice, Ma Feifei finished washing up and went to open the shop for business.

At that moment, the door to the master bedroom in the rear courtyard opened as well. Yun Qingyang appeared in the doorway, still clad in black and holding that sword in her arms, watching Ma Feifei's departing back.

When he opened the shop door, the first person he saw was Yang Chengzhi, just as expected. He had become a loyal fan of the Mysterious Bookstore; aside from weekends, he was never late. As for returning to the academy, he had long since tossed that to the back of his mind.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhuling had come early today as well and had been waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing Ma Feifei, she gracefully bowed to him. The sight made Ma Feifei's heart bloom with joy, and his mood instantly turned sunny.

"I still like girls like this!" The more Ma Feifei looked at Zhou Zhuling, the more pleasing she seemed. He began wondering whether he ought to pursue her.

Zhou Zhuling had been quite composed at first, but after enduring Ma Feifei's stare for a while, she could take it no longer and lowered her head, blushing.

"Come in." Ma Feifei chuckled and invited the two inside.

Once inside, Yang Chengzhi hurriedly paid his Spirit Crystals, took The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and ran to a table off to the side, immersing himself in the world of the book. Zhou Zhuling, meanwhile, stayed unhurriedly at Ma Feifei's side, speaking to him in a low voice.

"Miss Zhou, I'm truly sorry about what happened yesterday." Ma Feifei still felt he should apologize. After all, Yun Qingyang was his bodyguard, and Ma Feifei felt she could not shake the blame for freezing the wine.

"You're too serious, Shopkeeper. Actually, Zhuling was already very happy yesterday." When alone with Ma Feifei, Zhou Zhuling was still somewhat shy.

"Don't call me Shopkeeper anymore. That's too formal. Just call me by my name." Ma Feifei walked over to the counter and poured out the Spirit Crystals Yang Chengzhi had given him, counting them over.

"Brother Ma," Zhou Zhuling called softly.

The moment Ma Feifei heard it, his eyelid twitched involuntarily. For the first time, he felt the urge to change his name.

"Why does that sound so awkward?"

While pondering whether he should change his name, he opened the drawer to put away the Spirit Crystals. But the instant he opened it, Ma Feifei froze!

The drawerful of Spirit Crystals was gone!

They had vanished without a trace!

"Brother Ma, what's wrong?" Seeing Ma Feifei's dumbfounded look, Zhou Zhuling could not help asking.

"Oh~ Nothing. Go read first. I have something to take care of." Ma Feifei was distracted.

Zhou Zhuling blinked her limpid eyes twice and did not press the matter. She took out her Spirit Crystals and handed them to Ma Feifei before going off to read on her own.

"System, can you tell me what the hell is going on?" Once Zhou Zhuling left, Ma Feifei immediately roared at the system in his mind.

Over a thousand Spirit Crystals! Though he had no use for them, they were still the fruits of his labor! He had earned them through two months of hard work, yet now they had vanished into thin air! How could Ma Feifei not be furious?

Unfortunately, the system did not say a word. Left with no choice, Ma Feifei could only keep staring at the system panel.

Gradually, however, Ma Feifei seemed to notice something unusual.

The system panel was very simple. Apart from the host's basic information, there were only mission details and mission progress. Yet this time, Ma Feifei discovered the word "Employee" beneath the host information.

Level 1 Employee: Yun Qingyang Gender: Female Age: ??? (Beyond the system's calculable range)

Race: Dragon Description: Direct descendant of the Frost Giant Dragon from the ancient era of the Azure Dragon Continent Abilities: Unknown Permissions: Level 1 Permissions Benefits: Free access to all books in the bookstore

"What's this supposed to mean?" Ma Feifei stared at the description on the system panel, utterly baffled.

Since when had Yun Qingyang become his employee? He did not remember asking her to join the shop! And judging by what the system meant, there was a ninety-percent chance those Spirit Crystals had been taken by Yun Qingyang? Ma Feifei vaguely recalled Yun Qingyang saying last night that Spirit Crystals seemed to be her favorite food!

Then Ma Feifei spotted another item beneath the employee description: Employee Operation Log.

There happened to be one record below it.

"October 12th, 3:00 AM, the 350th year of Chu Kingdom Zhonghe Era: Employee Yun Qingyang took 1,125 Spirit Crystals."

"Are Level 1 Permissions this fucking awesome now? You can openly take the boss's money?" Ma Feifei was dumbstruck. This was called Level 1 Permissions? Why not just call them Shopkeeper Permissions? If she could take the money, what else in here could she not take?

The system seemingly did not want to take the blame. This time, it actually responded, displaying a line beneath the employee log.

"Note: Employee Yun Qingyang took the Spirit Crystals with the host's permission. Employee permissions cannot withdraw Spirit Crystals."

"You must be trying to make me laugh. I don't even know when she became an employee here, much less when I gave her permission to take Spirit Crystals. I'm not taking the blame for this." Ma Feifei shook his head.

"I won't argue with you. They're gone, so they're gone. It's no big deal anyway—I can't use them." Ma Feifei felt that even if he won the argument, he would not receive any compensation. He waved his hand and was about to leave.

Who would have thought that at that moment, a flash of light suddenly streaked through Ma Feifei's mind, followed by an image.

The image showed the scene of Ma Feifei's conversation with Yun Qingyang last night.

"By the way, if there's anything you need help with regarding your injuries, just speak up. My father used to practice medicine, and there are still plenty of medicinal herbs left at home. Take whatever you can use."

"Take whatever I want?"

"As long as it can help you recover from your injuries, take whatever you want."

"..."

"Hehe, System, you're being a little cheeky!" Ma Feifei flashed an awkward yet polite smile and backed out.

So after all that, I really did say it myself! Ma Feifei curled his lip.

Eh~ Something seems off. Ma Feifei suddenly thought of something. He had only just backed out when he immediately rushed back to the system panel and scrolled to the employee information section.

Employee: Yun Qingyang
Race: Dragon
Introduction: Direct descendant of the Frost Giant Dragon from the ancient era of Azure Dragon Continent

"Holy shit! She's actually a dragon!" Ma Feifei's eyes went wide.

Whether in the myths and legends of his previous life or on Azure Dragon Continent, dragons were creatures that stood high above all others.

According to the historical records of Azure Dragon Continent, dragons were one of the Ten Great Divine Beasts of Azure Dragon. However, after the ancient era, the Ten Great Divine Beasts had vanished without a trace, and no one had ever seen them again.

Rumor had it that, like the immortals of the ancient era, the Ten Great Divine Beasts had all died.

After the ancient era, many spirit beasts had also advanced into divine beasts through their own efforts. Yet in truth, they did not count as divine beasts in the truest sense. True divine beasts not only possessed extraordinary strength, but also mighty bloodlines. The divine beasts of the ancient era had been like this. For those ancient divine beasts with powerful bloodlines, cultivation was merely something they did on the side. Thus, people generally divided divine beasts into two types: ancient divine beasts, and divine beasts.

But the dragon Ma Feifei had encountered now was described by the system in crystal-clear terms. A dragon! And a direct descendant of the Frost Giant Dragon from the ancient era.

A pure bloodline!

For all he knew, her father and mother might have lived in the ancient era!

"Tsk tsk, I've struck it rich this time." Ma Feifei rubbed his chin. He no longer cared about Yun Qingyang taking his Spirit Crystal and began pondering how to keep this dragon around.

The thought of having a dragon serve as his Bookstore's bodyguard in the future made Ma Feifei's heart surge with excitement. What incredible prestige that would be!

Just as Ma Feifei was fantasizing about that wonderful future, two figures appeared at the entrance. He looked up, and his eyes lit up.

New customers!

Two refined young men—one in a long white robe, the other in a long blue robe. Both wore spirit swords at their waists, with handsome faces and vigorous, spirited bearing. They were both cultivators.

Ma Feifei was about to rise and greet the customers when the two of them entered, looked around the room, spotted Yang Chengzhi in the corner, and unexpectedly spoke first.

"Well, well! Isn't this Yang Chengzhi, who doesn't know his own limits?"