Fate

"Ghosts?"

Shen Qing looked at the young girl who had instantly tensed up, finally realizing where the rumors about ghosts from Uncle Zhang, the security guard next door, had originated.

That meant she had been here for three or four days, and had even gone hungry for two days before he left yesterday.

"No, forget it, there are no ghosts, just pretend I didn't say anything." Shen Qing waved his hand. "So, you've only eaten those few cold steamed buns these past few days?"

"Buns? You mean steamed cakes? I will compensate you."

Shen Qingtang gripped her waist saber, her voice growing quieter. That was what she said, but she didn't have a single cent on her right now, let alone the fact that those steamed cakes were made of fine grain; how could she possibly repay him...

"I meant, have you gone out at all during this time, or had any conflicts with anyone?"

Shen Qing felt a jolt in his heart. This girl dared to pick a lock, so she might just dare to draw a blade and rob someone. He really didn't want her to run into Officer Wang Yu and cause another misunderstanding.

"No, I haven't stepped out these past few days; I've been right next door."

"That's good then..."

Shen Qing had just let out a sigh of relief.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Hello, food delivery!"

Shen Qingtang spun around abruptly, drawing her waist saber once again.

"Hey, stay calm, this is just the person delivering food." Shen Qing's eyelid twitched, and he quickly reached out to soothe her. "Come on, put the blade away. This is a society governed by law; don't go drawing your weapon at every little thing."

"Delivering food?"

Shen Qingtang seemed to grasp the meaning, glanced at Shen Qing, and slowly sheathed her saber.

Shen Qing checked the living room, opened the door just a crack, grabbed the KFC meal, and immediately shut the door again.

"You haven't been out, yet you know about people outside?"

Shen Qingtang looked at Shen Qing as if it were common sense. "Isn't that just a suohuan?"

This touched on a blind spot in Shen Qing's knowledge. He pulled out his phone to check and realized that food delivery had actually existed in ancient times.

Delivery was called suohuan, and the deliverymen were called xianhan; larger restaurants in ancient times usually provided delivery services.

"Uh, eat, let's eat first."

He quickly changed the subject, took a burger out of the paper bag, and handed it over. "It's a bit late now, and since this area is so remote, only fast food is open. Just make do with this."

Shen Qingtang swallowed hard, but she didn't take it.

"What, still afraid I poisoned it?" Shen Qing opened a pack of fries and started eating them himself, mumbling, "Do you think I need to?"

Her stomach growled again, uncooperatively. Shen Qingtang looked at the corpse of the Swallow Demon, then hesitated.

"Thank you."

Seeing her take the burger, Shen Qing suddenly stopped what he was doing and stared at her, looking like he was ready to watch a show.

Shen Qingtang, however, didn't take a bite as he had expected; instead, she first tore open the packaging.

"Uh..."

Clearly, the girl before him wasn't stupid, just lacking some common knowledge. Why did he feel like he was the one acting like a fool?

But what to do next?

Shen Qing looked at the girl. Calling the police was definitely out of the question; this wasn't an ordinary incident.

So, it was a choice between two options: one, ignore it. If she went out and started fighting, she'd likely be shot by the officers, and they would probably contact him anyway.

So, report it directly?

Or option two, keep her here for a while and see?

Shen Qing glanced at her. An ancient time-traveler, and she just happened to appear in his home.

Although this world was already far from ordinary, and he himself was a reincarnator... why did it feel like destiny?

"Cough, cough—"

Just as Shen Qing was lost in thought, perhaps because she was too hungry, Shen Qingtang shoved the burger into her mouth in a few bites. Although the burger wasn't huge, she ate too quickly and immediately began to cough.

That was normal; he had ordered a double chicken leg burger. Even modern people couldn't resist fried food, let alone someone from ancient times.

"Don't rush, there's more burger. Drink some water first."

Shen Qing instinctively inserted a straw and handed over the Coke. "You know what a straw is, right?"

The girl nodded, took the Coke, and took a sip. A strange, tingling sensation hit her—it felt like something was dancing in her mouth—and her eyes widened instantly.

Shen Qing realized what had happened. Oh no, this is bad. Will she think this stuff is poison?

He quickly dodged, fearing she might spray it on him, but as it turned out, he had overthought it. Shen Qingtang paused for a moment, then swallowed it.

"Don't you think this is poison?"

"It's sweet, it shouldn't be wasted."

Shen Qingtang shook her head, finding the question very strange. "Besides, didn't you say that with your strength, you could easily deal with me?"

Shen Qing fell silent, feeling as though his intelligence had just been suppressed by an ancient person.

Was he being too presumptuous?

"So, where is this place?"

After finishing one burger, Shen Qingtang stopped eating and began to scan the entire room.

Lights that required no fire, humming iron blocks that emitted cold air like ice chests, and those incredibly soft stools—none of these were things that existed in the Dayong Dynasty.

"Binhai City."

Hearing Shen Qing repeat the name, the young girl looked deeply puzzled. "Is it very far from Dayong? How am I supposed to return? I want to go home."

As if speaking to herself, she tried her best to keep her voice steady.

"Very far, though I'm not sure exactly how far. I'd estimate it in years."

Shen Qing shook his head; after all, he didn't even know which era the girl before him came from—Dayong?

"Perhaps you can never go back, or perhaps you'll wake up tomorrow and find yourself back there."

This was not an ordinary world to begin with; if she could cross over, perhaps she could cross back.

Shen Qingtang froze, her voice trembling slightly as she asked, "Will it take many years?"

She could not understand why it might be impossible to ever return, yet also possible to return by tomorrow.

"Tsk... how do I explain this?"

Shen Qing pondered how to phrase it, then suddenly clapped his hands. "It means the dynasty you lived in has likely perished. This is a world at least a thousand years later."

"Well, what I mean is, your family and friends have likely already passed away."

Although the reality was cruel, since he had already made up his mind, he felt it was better to be direct.

"You lie!"

Clang!

Shen Qingtang gripped the hilt of her blade, instinctively wanting to draw it, but a moment later, she slowly loosened her hand.

"You must have had some suspicions yourself, right?"

Shen Qing swept his gaze around the living room. "Everything around us is completely different from the world you come from—the living environment, the food, and even the laws."

"If you don't believe me, you can go outside and see for yourself."

As he spoke, he glanced at the waist-blade in the girl's hand. "However, I suggest you put the blade away. Sharpened weapons are illegal here."

"Perhaps your original world was very dangerous, but it is quite safe here."

As he said this, Shen Qing glanced at the corpse of the Swallow Demon with a twinge of guilt; why did he feel like he was just swindling her?

"I don't believe you, you're lying to me!"

Shen Qingtang stubbornly shook her head and turned to grab the doorknob, but she hesitated, unable to make a move.

It wasn't that she couldn't open it.

She didn't know what "time travel" was, but the other party was right about one thing: this was a world entirely different from Dayong.

It was already night, yet there were lights everywhere outside, along with those fast-moving iron boxes, and yet, there were no demons or monsters roaming the streets.

When she had been hiding and fleeing through the nearby area, she had already noticed that everything was different.

"Why are you helping me?"