You brats dare speak my true name!

West of Jinzhou City.

"Ah!" Chixia suddenly cried out, pointing at someone lying on the ground nearby. "Isn't that Uncle Chenpi? Why's he on the ground? Let's go check on him!"

The two approached and saw a stubbly middle-aged man in a bamboo hat sprawled on the ground, with an orange cat beside him.

This had to be the San Hua that Uncle Old Zhang had mentioned...

Chixia crouched down and patted Chenpi's back. "Uncle Chenpi, are you okay?"

Lu Li crouched down too. "Sir, you can't sleep here."

Chenpi rolled over and sighed. "...I'm fine. Just a little dizzy."

Lu Li picked up San Hua. "Did you do it on purpose, or was it an accident?"

San Hua's eyes brimmed with tears. "Meow..."

[I accidentally did it on purpose...]

"?"

"Meow, meow!"

[I said that wrong! I did it on purpose... pfft! It was an accident!]

"San Hua, when you do something wrong, you need to own up to it." Lu Li leaned close to San Hua's ear and whispered, "After all, you wouldn't want every cat in Jinzhou to find out about you and A Fu, would you?"

San Hua's fur instantly stood on end, and the cat stared at Lu Li in terror. "Meow, meow, meow!!"

[How do you know!? Wait, who are you!?]

Lu Li adjusted his contact lenses. "I am Known Throughout the Martial World as the Know-It-All. There's nothing in Jinzhou City I don't know!"

San Hua pouted, then jumped out of Lu Li's hands, went over to Chenpi, meowed a few times, and scratched his face with a paw.

[I didn't mean to. I'm sorry...]

Chenpi wasn't seriously hurt. Chixia had already asked what happened: San Hua had landed on his head while jumping down from a tree, making him fall over.

Chenpi stroked San Hua, then stood up. "I'm fine, Patroller Chixia. Let San Hua go home. Uncle Old Zhang must be getting worried."

Chixia nodded and let San Hua leave.

"Young man, I don't think I've seen you before..." Chenpi looked at Lu Li curiously.

"Actually, I'm one of the candidates for the next Magistrate of Jinzhou. I hope you'll vote for me when the time comes, Uncle Chenpi!"

Chenpi was shocked. "Oh? Has something happened to Magistrate Jin? How come I haven't heard anything about this?"

Chixia covered Lu Li's face with her hand. "Uncle Chenpi, don't listen to his nonsense. This guy never takes anything seriously."

Chenpi laughed. "I see. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Chenpi, a Relic Seeker. If you have any treasures, you can bring them to me for cash."

"You buy anything?"

"As long as an item has some significance, I'll buy it."

"Really?"

Lu Li rummaged around and pulled the Comrade's Hammer from inside his clothes.

"Take a look and tell me what this is worth. I'm not selling it, though. Just asking for a price."

"Certainly."

Chenpi took the Comrade's Hammer.

"This... this... this..."

It was an orange-yellow, pistol-shaped gun. Its exquisite finish and elegant industrial lines made Chenpi reluctant to put it down.

"This is a fine piece! Young man, where did you get it?" Chenpi's eyes gleamed.

Although Chenpi's expertise lay more in antiques, he was no poor judge of firearms either. He could tell at a glance that this gun was extraordinary.

"It's worth at least five hundred... no, at least a million Shell Credits!"

Chixia gasped. "A million Shell Credits? Lu Li, where did you get it? Did you bring it from your world?"

Lu Li actually thought a million Shell Credits was a little low. This was high-tech equipment, after all, and prices in this world were so steep.

Chenpi reluctantly returned the Comrade's Hammer to him. "Young man, if you ever stop needing this gun, make sure you bring it to me! If you have any other fine things you don't need, please bring those too!"

"No problem."

That gave him another way to make money. If he got anything he didn't need from the system in the future, he could trade it with Chenpi.

After they parted ways with Chenpi, Chixia put her hands on her hips.

"All right! That's sorted. How about we look up A Piao's Terminal number? We might find something."

"Sounds good."

A Piao had amnesia and seemed to have a significant connection to Jinzhou. They really might discover something.

In a corner neither of them noticed.

"Encore, see him? That's the guy!"

A white-haired young man wearing sunglasses cautiously poked his head out. Then a little girl dressed in pink also peeked toward Lu Li and Chixia nearby.

"I see him, I see him! Is that the big brother who made that post?"

The white-haired man in sunglasses pursed his lips. "That's right! Today, we're going to expose his lies!"

"Hmm... no matching number... the latest record was only registered today."

Chixia scratched her head, at a loss. It seemed A Piao's Terminal number wouldn't provide any useful information either.

Then Chixia placed Lu Li's gourd on the device as well.

"Beep, beep-"

"Hmm... there's no matching number for your Terminal either. Looks like you and A Piao really are special."

Looking a little disappointed, Chixia left the archives with Lu Li.

To their surprise, an adult and a child blocked their path outside.

"Stop right there! Jinxi's Dog!"

"??"

Lu Li froze, then quickly caught on. Looking at the white-haired man in sunglasses, he erupted in fury.

"Who goes there! State your name! You brats dare speak my true name!"

"Hmph... so it really is you."

Encore exclaimed, "Wow, it really is you! Big brother, where's the legendary person you mentioned in your post?"

Lu Li shook his head slightly, looking mysterious. "That legendary figure has always been a lone wanderer."

The white-haired man in sunglasses snapped, "Encore! Don't let him fool you. He's talking about himself!"

"Huh?" Encore paused, then looked at Lu Li with sparkling eyes.

"Wow! Amazing! Big brother, can you perform that thing you mentioned in your post? The one that goes... immortal something, world..."

Unable to resist Encore's admiring gaze, Lu Li turned his back to everyone and tilted his head toward the horizon. A breeze brushed his sleeves, making him look like an immortal descending to the mortal realm.

The corners of his mouth lifted as he declared grandly, "At the peak of immortals, above the mortal plane, with me, Lu Li, the heavens remain!"

Encore: "Wow!"

Chixia: "Pfft-"

Aalto: "...What a ridiculous act."

Encore ran over and hugged Lu Li's leg. "Big brother, teach me! I want to be as cool as you!"

Carried away with himself, Lu Li said, "Your master shall teach you another line. Listen well!"

Encore nodded and looked at him expectantly.

Lu Li straightened his collar and gave a soft huff. "I hold the sun and moon and pluck the stars; none in this world can match who I am!"

"Wow! Big brother, you're amazing!"

Lu Li threw his head back and laughed. "You flatter me. A true master must always keep the heart of an apprentice. Remember that."

Encore nodded rapidly. "I'll remember, big brother! Do you want to join our Black Shores?"

Lu Li scolded her. "Hmph! You brat, I knew you were up to something!"

"But... what's the Black Shores?" Lu Li looked at Chixia. "Chixia, do you know?"

Chixia covered her face, looking as though she barely knew him.