Ancient Costume Girl

"Whoosh!"

Just as Shen Qing prepared to strike, a piercing sound suddenly tore through the air, and the living room window was smashed open with a "bang," sending shards of glass scattering everywhere.

A black shadow surged into the room.

It was a massive bird with a wingspan of at least two meters, its wings pitch-black and its belly snow-white, with traces of dark red blood staining its beak.

"Look out!"

The young girl actually turned back, instinctively trying to push Shen Qing away, but it felt as though she were pushing against a wall rather than a person; he didn't budge an inch.

Shen Qing stomped his right foot forward, clenched his right fist, and exerted force from his waist and shoulder simultaneously, delivering a fierce downward strike.

"Bang!"

His fist slammed directly onto the top of the flying demon's head. With a thunderous crash, the giant bird was smashed heavily into the floor, causing the ground to crack significantly.

Its body shuddered a few times before it went completely still.

[Slayed demon, Swallow Demon, obtained entry: Swallow in Flight (Green · Anecdote).]

[Swallow in Flight: Swallows fly in pairs, their feathers uneven. Grants the ability to glide briefly on the wind, land silently, and increases body agility and speed by 50%.]

"Are you a Supernaturalist?"

The girl retreated a step instantly, raised the weapon in her hand, and her entire body tensed up.

Only then did Shen Qing have the chance to size up the person before him.

She was dressed in coarse, ancient-style linen clothes with frayed cuffs, wearing cloth shoes and leg wraps, looking as if she had walked straight out of a period drama, and she held a sixty-to-seventy-centimeter waist saber.

Cosplay?

That didn't seem right; the weapon in her hand was sharpened and even had a few nicks, clearly having seen real use.

She even knew the term "Supernaturalist," but why was she in his house? And why was she stealing his steamed buns?

"Who are you?"

Though the girl was dressed simply, her brows and eyes carried a heroic spirit, and her features were delicate. It was a pity—a beauty like her, yet why turn to thievery?

"Where is this place?"

The girl didn't answer, instead tightening her grip on the waist saber and asking in return.

"My house, Sunshine Residential Complex, Jiahe Road."

Shen Qing turned to close the refrigerator; a lot of cold air had already escaped, and that was a waste of money.

"Who are you?" the girl continued, her voice taut.

"That should be my question for you, shouldn't it?"

Shen Qing turned around to look at the girl, feeling a bit bewildered for a moment.

She picked his lock, ate his steamed buns, and then appeared in his home to ask who he was? Could she have escaped from some mental institution?

He was already certain this had nothing to do with Wu Yuan.

"Shen Qingtang, disciple of the Anding Escort Agency."

The girl was silent for a moment, her gaze shifting back and forth between him and the dead Swallow Demon on the floor.

Seeming to realize the disparity in their strength, and perhaps swayed by Shen Qing's attitude, she relaxed her guard slightly.

"I was in the middle of an escort mission, and I don't know how I ended up here."

"???"

Escort agency?

Did she mean a security company?

Shen Qing instinctively wanted to call the Public Security Bureau, but then he realized that wasn't right; this girl knew about Supernaturalists and seemed to have some combat ability.

This didn't seem like a matter for a standard department.

But if it were a special department, wasn't that his line of work?

"How about you put your weapon away first?"

Shen Qing looked at the gleaming waist saber in the girl's hand; although it couldn't hurt him, no one liked being pointed at with a blade.

"Besides, you can't beat me anyway, right?"

He added, trying his best to appear friendly, "Shen Qing, same surname as you."

The girl didn't speak, hesitating for a moment before finally sliding the saber back into its scabbard.

Just as Shen Qing was about to say something more, his phone suddenly rang out of the blue in his pocket.

Not only was Shen Qing startled, but the girl was even more shocked. With a metallic clang, her waist saber was drawn once again, and she immediately reverted to her previous state of being ready to fight for her life.

"Hey, stay calm. Think about it—you can't beat me."

After reaching out to soothe the girl slightly, Shen Qing answered the phone, and Xie Chong's voice came from the other end.

"Hello? Calling at this hour—don't tell me there's another mission."

"What, the demon that Night Owl and the others let escape?"

Shen Qing glanced at the Swallow Demon on the floor. "It's already been dealt with; it crashed right into my house... If there's nothing else, let's talk tomorrow. I'm already asleep."

Shen Qing hung up the phone and looked at the girl, who had suddenly become even more vigilant.

"..."

"Alright, let's continue."

Shen Qing scratched his head. "Binhai City, one of the major cities in the north. So, do you know it?"

Shen Qingtang shook her head.

"Ha? You don't know? You can't be an ancient person dressed like that, right?! Who is the Emperor?"

It was one of the country's major cities; even if she rarely went out, she shouldn't be that ignorant, right?

Thinking of his own rebirth, Shen Qing felt the hairs on his body stand up. An absurd thought arose—it seemed it wasn't impossible for an ancient person to have traveled to the modern era.

Yet, she still shook her head. "I do not know. I only know of the Sage."

"??"

This time, Shen Qing was even more bewildered.

The Sage? What Sage? Confucius? Although this world had a similar history, there was no such title as Sage Confucius back then, was there?

Furthermore, he only just realized that aside from her slight accent, the two of them could actually communicate perfectly.

"Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States—do you know Confucius?"

No, that wasn't right. Shen Qing shook his head. How would a contemporary person know these things? In that era, 'Spring and Autumn' would likely just be the name of a book.

"Do you know what year it is now?"

Shen Qingtang looked at him, puzzled. The questions from the man before her were getting stranger by the minute. She tentatively replied, "Dayong... Taiping year twenty-seven."

"Uh..."

There was no need to go online.

Based on Shen Qing's shallow historical knowledge, it seemed this dynasty had never existed in the past.

"Ancient costume, knowing about Supernaturalists..."

Shen Qing rested his chin in his hand, pacing back and forth in the room.

The current era belonged to the early stages of spiritual energy recovery. 'Recovery' implied that such a situation had existed before, yet history contained no records of it.

"So, you really are a time traveler."

He guessed that the girl before him might have come from an ancient dynasty where the appearance of spiritual energy had gone unrecorded.

The young girl tilted her head, completely unable to understand what Shen Qing was saying.

"Gurgle."

Suddenly, a sound from somewhere broke the silence. Shen Qingtang's face turned visibly red, and she tightened her grip on her sword hilt.

"You're hungry?"

Shen Qing seemed to understand the reason she had picked his lock to steal steamed buns.

"Forget it, we'll talk about the rest later. I happen to be a bit hungry myself."

Shen Qing took out his phone and opened a food delivery app. Just as he was about to place an order, he suddenly remembered there was an extra person. "Right, you aren't allergic to any food, are you?"

Looking at the girl's blank expression, Shen Qing felt like he was losing his mind. Why was he even asking that?

An ancient person from some unknown dynasty—what would she know about allergies?

However, a modern person traveling to ancient times would be a pathogen; how was it that an ancient person traveling to the modern era seemed completely unaffected?

"So, how long have you been staying at my place? And why did you only pick my door?"

The girl's gaze drifted, and she hesitated for a long time before answering, "Only your place had someone living in it, and had food."

Shen Qing: "..."

By that logic, she hadn't just picked his door; it was just that this residential complex was dilapidated and rarely occupied.

Otherwise, she would have been in the police station long ago.

"Wait, are you the 'ghost' that Uncle Zhang was talking about?"