Kazama Ryuuri

He then explained, "Guest, you are the hundred-thousandth customer since I opened this shop. We have a store-wide ninety-percent-off promotion for such lucky customers."

"But I didn't even go inside," Lu Mingfei said, feeling a bit puzzled.

"It's all the same. As long as you appeared at my shop's entrance, you are my lucky customer. No need to say more, please, come in!" The shop manager invited Lu Mingfei with a bright, hearty smile.

Since that was the case, he might as well go in. If they were scammers, he could just walk away; could they really stop him?

Holding this thought, Lu Mingfei took Erii into the shop.

Once inside, a rack of clothes several meters long was pushed right up to Erii. All sorts of designer labels hung from it—trench coats, princess dresses, and evening gowns, everything one could imagine.

"Good grief, they look expensive. It's a good thing it's ninety percent off," Lu Mingfei muttered to himself.

The shop assistants held up various outfits against Erii. As soon as Lu Mingfei nodded, they would immediately whisk her into the fitting room to try them on.

Erii kept going in and out of the fitting room. One moment she looked like a princess, the next like a girl next door, and then like a queen on inspection. Every outfit looked stunning on her.

Encouraged by the assistants, she even walked a few steps in high heels. Although her gait was a bit clumsy, Erii was learning these things earnestly.

When the assistants brought a full-length mirror before her, Erii's eyes were filled with delight. This was the first time Lu Mingfei had seen such an expression of joy in her eyes.

This must have been the first time she realized she was beautiful. The girl's innate love for beauty surfaced, and she twirled around, holding her skirt with a hint of vanity.

Erii looked at Lu Mingfei with sparkling eyes. Lu Mingfei smiled, nodded at her, and gave her a thumbs-up.

"That will be one hundred thousand yen in total," the manager said, beaming at Lu Mingfei.

"Hiss—" Lu Mingfei gasped.

So many clothes for only one hundred thousand yen; this shop really was having a sale!

After paying, the assistants helped pack the clothes into seven or eight boxes. Erii picked out a white off-the-shoulder dress to wear immediately.

The sash was tied into a bow behind her waist. After putting on white leather ankle boots with high heels, she was only a forehead's height shorter than Lu Mingfei. She looked tall and elegant, a completely different person from when she wore her shrine maiden robes.

It was as if a country girl had transformed into a white swan.

Lu Mingfei carried the gift boxes out, hailed a taxi, and with a wave of his hand, called for Erii to get in.

"That little monster is actually quite pretty. Her charm has skyrocketed after changing her clothes!"

Jiu De Mai sat in a small room inside the shop, watching the surveillance footage and clicking her tongue in wonder.

"Still no news of Erii?" Gen Chisaki asked with a sigh.

"Young Master, the family has been searching for a full day, but there is still no word of the Young Lady," Yakwa and Crow reported.

"Damn it! This is the first time Erii has been away from home for so long. In the past, she never stayed out for more than two hours, and she could never even make it past the first traffic light. What is going on this time? Has something happened to her!" Gen Chisaki looked furious.

After a moment of hesitation, Yakwa stepped forward. "Young Master, this is my fault. I failed to watch over the Young Lady. This is my crime; please punish me."

Gen Chisaki didn't speak, just stared at Yakwa.

Yakwa drew a short blade from his waist and slashed at his own left hand. Once the Young Lady was found, he would surely pay for his failure with his life.

A hand caught Yakwa's blade.

"That's enough. Now is not the time to assign blame. We'll talk after Erii is found. Put the blade away; I have plenty of ways to deal with you later." Gen Chisaki stared intently into Yakwa's eyes.

"Yes, Young Master!" Yakwa bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"Notify the family to increase the search party. Don't tell the Old Man about the situation yet," Gen Chisaki ordered.

Elsewhere, Lu Mingfei was bringing Erii and her bags of clothes into their hotel room.

Erii seemed very happy. Once inside, she kicked off her high-heeled boots and ran around barefoot, occasionally showing off her new clothes to Lu Mingfei.

"Erii looks so beautiful!" Lu Mingfei kept praising her. He felt that only now did Erii seem like a normal person.

"Alright, alright, stop running. What do you want for lunch? I'll go buy it," Lu Mingfei said with a smile.

"For lunch, I want Gomoku Fried Rice!" Erii held up her diary to show Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei's face stiffened. Why was it Gomoku Fried Rice again? How much could this kid possibly love Gomoku Fried Rice!

"Are you the Goddess of Gomoku Fried Rice? We've eaten it for three meals in a row!" Lu Mingfei complained.

"Not the Goddess of Gomoku Fried Rice. For dinner, I want Hokkaido ramen, and for a late-night snack, I want pizza with meat toppings!"

Erii wrote down the food she had seen and wanted to try on her little notebook to show Lu Mingfei.

Ruffling her hair, Lu Mingfei smiled and said, "Alright, I'll go buy them for you in a bit. Is there anything else you need, Princess?"

"I also want to watch TV. I want to watch anime."

He turned on the TV, found a channel playing anime for Erii, and Lu Mingfei headed downstairs to buy her favorite fried rice.

On the way back, Lu Mingfei ran into Jiajia.

"Senior Brother Lu, are you going to have lunch?"

"Yeah," Lu Mingfei replied with a smile.

"Can I eat with you?" Jiajia asked, head bowed and voice soft.

"No. Outside of restaurants, I don't like eating with others," Lu Mingfei said with a serious expression.

Out of admiration for Lu Mingfei, Jiajia nodded repeatedly, looking disappointed. Seeing the lunch Lu Mingfei had bought, she asked, "Senior Brother Lu, why did you buy two portions of fried rice?"

"One serving wasn't enough, so I bought an extra. Alright, go find your parents now, I'm heading back."

Shaking off Jiajia, Lu Mingfei let out a sigh of relief. If anyone saw a girl in his room, he would never be able to explain it.

Returning to the room, Lu Mingfei smiled as he watched Uesugi Erii staring unblinkingly at the television. He had to walk over to her side to hand her the food; she really was such a little shut-in.

"The Snake Eight Families' secret weapon is missing, which means our opportunity has arrived. Make the arrangements and have the Demon Spirits conduct a search. If possible, bring her back."

The person wearing a court noble mask gave instructions to the man on the other end of the line.

"Understood, King."

A man who bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Gen Chisaki, though appearing more graceful and delicate, hung up the phone.

"Uesugi Erii, is that the one who replaced me?" A cold, sinister smile bloomed on Kazama Ruri's bewitching face.