Speculation About the New Book
Night falls at the Zhang Manor.
The moonlight was hazy, the Silver Moon hanging obliquely in the sky like a jade plate, and a coolness permeated the tranquility. Candlelight flickered in a courtyard of the mansion.
Zhang Yunji lay on the soft couch, his thighs wrapped in white gauze, occasionally groaning strangely. Baili Chuxue sat on the edge of the bed, gently unwrapping the gauze from Zhang Yunji's legs, preparing to change his dressing.
"Does it hurt?" Baili Chuxue asked softly when she saw Zhang Yunji groaning.
"It hurts..." Zhang Yunji said, feeling wronged.
Zhang Yunji was being a bit dramatic. After being Beat Up more than a hundred people, he only suffered a minor injury to his thigh. For a cultivator who teeters on the brink of life and death every day, such an injury was no different from Tickle.
Baili Chuxue gently blew on Zhang Yunji's wound, handed the blood-stained gauze to the maid, took the towel, and began to clean Zhang Yunji's wound.
"Brother..." A clear voice came from outside, and Liu Ying walked in, dressed in a dark brocade robe, carrying a spatial bag in her hand.
As soon as Zhang Yunji saw Liu Ying enter, he stopped whining and quickly asked, "How much is left?"
Liu Ying walked to the soft couch, handed the spatial bag to Zhang Yunji, tapped her two index fingers together, and whispered, "It's gone..."
"Gone?" Zhang Yunji was instantly dumbfounded and asked, "How is that possible? I only received twelve million Spirit Crystal in total, and there were thirteen and a half million in my spatial bag; even if you returned them all, there should still be one and a half million left, right?"
"Those cultivators said that they could have obtained higher-grade spiritual weapons or cultivation techniques, but they were made to answer the questions wrong because of my brother's questions, so my brother must compensate them for their losses," Liu Ying explained.
"Why should I!" Zhang Yunji retorted, "Everyone was willing to hit and be hit. Although I, Zhang Yunji, tricked you, I've already been beaten up and all the Spirit Crystal have been returned to you. Shouldn't that be considered a clean break? What about this compensation for losses?"
The Liu Ying stuck out its tongue but didn't say anything.
"Husband, let it go." Baili Chuxue was afraid that Zhang Yunji's excitement would aggravate his wounds, so she quickly comforted him.
"Hmph, no way! Once I'm healed, I'll definitely get it back from them. They've gone too far!" Zhang Yunji stubbornly lay down and said angrily.
Upon hearing this, Liu Ying couldn't help but touch her index fingers together again and quietly stuck out her tongue.
"Then, brother, I'll be going now. Take good care of yourself and recover from your injuries," Liu Ying said softly.
"Go on..." Zhang Yunji was in no mood to pay attention to Liu Ying. His eyes were fixed on the tassels on the cloud-silk curtains, and he muttered to himself, seemingly lost in thought.
Liu Ying nodded, greeted Baili Chuxue, and then quietly slipped away.
Just as they left Zhang Yunji's courtyard, a figure darted out from a dark corner; by the moonlight, it was Chang Kong.
"So? Did he figure it out?" Chang Kong asked in a low voice.
Liu Ying shook her head sharply and said slyly, "Brother didn't notice anything unusual, he really thought the Spirit Crystal had been returned to those cultivators."
Upon hearing this, Chang Kong nodded in satisfaction, a smile appearing on his face.
Today, the Zhang Manor was surrounded by a group of cultivators who demanded that Zhang Yunji return the Spirit Crystal he had collected. Faced with such a large-scale confrontation, Zhang Yunji knew he was in the wrong, so he asked Liu Ying to take his Zhang Yunji bag and return the Spirit Crystal to everyone on his behalf.
But Chang Kong had just returned from the Wantong Trading Market, happened to catch him doing something wrong. After inquiring about it carefully, he became unhappy.
First of all, Zhang Yunji didn't Sheer Force collect these Spirit Crystal as payment for the mock exam papers; it was you all who insisted on giving them to him. Now that you've discovered the returns aren't proportional to your investment, you're planning to take those Spirit Crystal back? There's no such thing as a free lunch.
So Chang Kong immediately confronted a group of cultivators, and threatened to find the culprit who attacked Chang Kong's son-in-law last night; upon hearing this, everyone's momentum immediately diminished.
Faced with Changkong's cultivation Chang Kong of Spirit Saint, no one dared to confront him head-on, and in the end, they could only admit defeat and leave Zhang Manor; therefore, the Spirit Crystal was naturally not returned to those cultivators.
So why did Zhang Yunji still run out of Spirit Crystal?
"Master, the other day I saw a seventh-tier magpie feather robe at the Wantong Trading Market. It's so beautiful, but it costs three million Spirit Crystal," Liu Ying said crisply, standing on tiptoe.
Upon hearing Chang Kong, Chang Kong waved his hand, and a spatial bag appeared in his palm. He handed it to Liu Ying and said generously, "A girl like you can buy whatever you like. Don't worry about Spirit Crystal. Here are five million. Take it and spend it."
Liu Ying squinted as she took the spatial bag, glanced inside, and then Splash excitedly, saying, "Thank you, Master! I will definitely keep this a secret!"
Chang Kong looked pleased, stroked his beard, and said, "Good boy."
The next day, at the Mysterious Bookstore.
Early in the morning, the long street in front of the Bookstore was packed with people, just like when I first started the Analects training mission.
"Hey, why is it that this book has already opened up a new world within the book before it's even on the shelves?" The Bookstore wasn't open yet, and people were bored while waiting, so they started discussing questions about the new book.
"I also find it a bit strange. We don't even know what this book is about. Isn't it a bit too abrupt to go in like this?" one cultivator nodded in agreement.
When the Mysterious Bookstore opened up the 'One Book Multiple Travels' world, the Pokémon book had already been read by many people. In Dubian Town, there is a tradition that after reading a book from the Mysterious Bookstore, people would go to places like taverns and brothels to spread the word about its contents.
Although they wouldn't recount everything from beginning to end, by taking turns adding their own points, everyone gradually filled in the gaps, especially the content from books of Yellow Quality or higher, which circulated widely in Dubian Town.
So even though most people haven't been able to go to Bookstore to read books yet, they are still quite familiar with the content of some books.
Popular books like "Pokémon" naturally attract more attention from cultivators, which means that everyone has a high level of understanding of "Pokémon." A higher level of understanding means that entering the world of the book won't feel unfamiliar; people will know the plot, who the main characters are, what kinds of Pokémon are powerful, and so on...
These are the advantages of reading the book first and then entering the world within it.
However, apart from the name and quality, no one knows what this new book from Mysterious Bookstore is about. When they go in, they'll definitely be completely clueless.
"Perhaps this points event has little to do with the content!" one cultivator speculated.
"You should at least learn about the story first! Didn't you see yesterday's requirements? You can't interfere with the plot. What if you accidentally interfere with the plot and your points instantly become negative?" Another cultivator questioned.
"That's right! And it even mentions a mythical world inside. I wonder how it compares to our world in terms of strength; if we're too weak and can't control our power, we'll lose points if we kill someone!" A cultivator at the Spirit King level said with a worried expression.
"Crunch~"
Just as everyone was discussing the new book, the Bookstore doors opened, and the Mysterious Bookstore began its day of business!