Pan Lü'er and Deng Xiaoxian

The ground floor commercial space of Yunhua Residential Area, facing the street.

Outside Sanyou Bookstore.

Seeing the black notice board still hanging outside the window, Zheng Qing's disappointment was evident.

It seemed Mr. Wu hadn't returned yet.

Humans always had their anxieties when facing new things. The thought of stepping into a completely unfamiliar environment made Zheng Qing feel a sense of unease and apprehension.

Was it too hasty to agree to study at First University? Zheng Qing couldn't help but wonder if anyone in his family, besides himself, truly understood this school. Was his impulsive decision really the right one?

At this moment, he especially wished for Mr. Wu's guidance.

He peeled off a crumpled yellow talisman from behind the black notice board.

Zheng Qing glanced around; there were no strangers.

He held the talisman in his palm and silently recited an incantation.

The talisman twisted, folding itself into the shape of a key, and reluctantly burrowed into the keyhole. Zheng Qing turned the handle, unlocked the bookstore door, then pulled the talisman back out and stuck it behind the black notice board again.

The shop was deserted and eerily quiet. After months without visitors, the air was thick with the scent of books. Zheng Qing took a deep breath, a satisfying aroma of old paper filling his lungs.

When I'm old, I want to open a big bookstore too, bask in the sun, lie on a lounge chair with a book covering my face, and inhale this fragrance to my heart's content. Walking among the bookshelves, Zheng Qing thought with a touch of envy.

The bookstore wasn't large, only about fifty square meters. The windows and door faced north and south, and the bookshelves were arranged along this direction.

In the southeast corner of the bookstore, there was a wooden ladder leading up to a narrow loft filled with miscellaneous items and the dried fish for the calico cat. Below the ladder was a tightly shut, plain black wooden door.

The wooden door was less than two meters high and just over a meter wide. The threshold was a good two inches high. On either side of the threshold stood two smooth, cylindrical wooden stumps, only slightly taller than the threshold, their surfaces polished to a shine, devoid of any carvings.

There were no door gods pasted on the door, only a rabbit-hair brush hung with fine hemp string and a small pot of sesame oil.

On the left side of the door's center was a brass door knocker in the shape of a turtle with a snake on its back. The base was a reclining turtle with its head held high, and the knocker was the coiled snake on its shell. However, the knocker was now firmly embedded in the turtle's back, with no place to grip it. The reclining turtle had retreated into its shell, revealing six small, pitch-black holes.

Zheng Qing picked up the brush hanging on the door and gently scratched the chin of the coiled snake. The snake hissed, raised its body, and revealed a door ring.

Zheng Qing then dipped the brush in some sesame oil and smeared it on the snake's tail. The snake vigorously shook its tail. From beneath the turtle's shell, a small head slowly peeked out.

Click. A unlocking sound came from within the wooden door.

Zheng Qing watched with amusement as the little turtle licked the sesame oil from the snake's tail, then grabbed the coiled snake knocker and pulled hard. The wooden door swung open, revealing a dark passageway before him.

This passageway was specially built for Zheng Qing by Mr. Wu. Walking about a hundred meters down the passage would lead to Jiuyou Bookstore in Huizi Market.

Mr. Wu was often not in the shop, so Zheng Qing frequently helped out at both stores when he had free time. Since he couldn't find his way to Huizi Market on his own, Mr. Wu had created a passage between the two shops. This way, even when Mr. Wu was away, Zheng Qing could manage both stores.

In the past, Zheng Qing had been filled with awe for this magical passage, his mind racing with countless fantasies. But after his journey through the grandfather clock at Four Seasons Market, Zheng Qing now knew this passage was merely constructed using advanced magical techniques.

People held reverence for mysterious things they couldn't understand; but for remarkable achievements they could comprehend, they felt only admiration.

Walking through the passage, Zheng Qing's longing for First University was rekindled.

He yearned for the day when he too could construct such a magical passage.

The bookstores on both sides of the passage were equally deserted and quiet. The calico cat had seemingly wandered off somewhere else again. Zheng Qing glanced at the cat food bowl, tossed the hardened dried fish into the trash can, tidied up the dust in the room a bit, and watered the potted Kalanchoe on the windowsill.

When the bookstore was closed, customers would sometimes slip a list of the books they needed under the door. Zheng Qing's main task was to collect these lists, pick out the requested books from the shelves one by one, wrap them in brown paper, and then leave them at the adjacent Huichun Hall.

Customers could then pick up their books directly from Huichun Hall on their next visit.

There weren't many customers this time, only three, and they were all purchasing specialized books on rune construction. After writing the titles on the brown paper packages, Zheng Qing stretched leisurely and surveyed the small bookstore.

Sanyou Bookstore in Huizi Market was about the same size as the one in Yunhua Residential Area. Zheng Qing recalled the abandoned Sanyou Bookstore at Four Seasons Market, which was also of a similar scale.

He still couldn't figure out why Mr. Wu opened so many bookstores.

He sighed, picked up the three packages, and walked out of the bookstore.

The street was still sparsely populated. This market seemed to have never experienced a bustling crowd; perhaps this was the gathering place of the stubborn wizards mentioned in history books.

Zheng Qing grinned, realizing he had recently started noticing details he hadn't paid attention to before.

Just by reading a couple more days, his understanding of this world had completely changed. Many details he had previously overlooked now held deeper meanings in his eyes. Four years from now, after graduating from university, what would this world look like through his eyes?

He looked around, gazing at the narrow street and the old-fashioned scenery, filled with anticipation for the future.

"Put the packages away in the cabinet yourself," a lazy voice drifted into his ears.

He turned his head in surprise.

At the entrance of the adjacent Huichun Hall, a young man in slippers, wearing a white robe, with his hair tied in a topknot, and holding a small teapot, was engrossed in reading a thread-bound ancient book.

"Pan Lü'er, you're reading Jin Ping Mei again," Zheng Qing said with a grin as he approached.

This young man reading the book was the young proprietor of Huichun Hall, Deng Xiaoxian by name, whom everyone on the street called Young Shopkeeper Deng. Because the two shops were next to each other, Zheng Qing was very familiar with this young proprietor and, over time, took the liberty of giving him the nickname "Pan Lü'er."

Deng Xiaoxian didn't mind; instead, he often boasted that Zheng Qing's nickname was a perfect fit for him.

Shameless.

Pan Lü'er glanced at Zheng Qing, took a sip of tea from the teapot, and drawled, "Heard you're going to study at First University?"

Zheng Qing's eyes lit up. He suddenly remembered Mr. Wu mentioning that Deng Xiaoxian had only recently graduated from university.

Perhaps he could offer some advice!