Bai Qiru stared at the Mother-Child Talisman in her hand. "This time, the letter has become a Mother-Child Talisman. They want to contact us directly."
Li Xianghong snorted. "Does he think I'll play along?"
With that, she cast a spell on the Mother-Child Talisman and sent a demanding message: Who are you?
Having finished setting up the bookshop, Shi Chun was boiling water for tea beside the stove. He spared a glance at the incoming message and ignored the pointless question.
The bookshop's customers seemed to arrive especially early today, and in especially large numbers. Most had not come to read. With the city sealed, they had come looking for somewhere to chat, everyone talking over one another and offering all sorts of conjectures.
At first, Shi Chun had genuinely admired these scholars. But after listening to enough of their opinions, he realized many had not become fools from reading too much. They had been born fools, and no amount of reading would help.
With so many customers, pot after pot of tea was emptied.
Shi Chun noticed that Dong Liangying was quite happy collecting money behind the counter. When he went over to refill her tea, she even whispered to him, "Sealing the city every now and then doesn't seem so bad."
Shi Chun smiled at that. A few extra coins were enough to make this woman so happy; she certainly was not greedy. In his shoes, he would not have given such a pittance a second glance.
Meanwhile, finding herself ignored, Li Xianghong began losing her composure and kept sending messages, questioning him, threatening him, or trying to negotiate.
Shi Chun ignored every one of them. He had sent her the Mother-Child Talisman for a very clear purpose, and it was not for chatting. As for her threats