Chapter 554: Still Missing One Piece

What kind of hospitality is this?

He was too lazy to move. Shi Chun really wanted to ask Dong Wenshu where he found such an obnoxious employee, who was actually carrying a bottle of wine and was drunk on duty. Could this bookstore even stay in business? Bookstores don't make much profit to begin with.

He looked back at the scene again and noticed something was off. It seemed business wasn't worse than before.

Upon closer inspection, he found that there were also wine bottles on the tables in front of the readers.

How long had it been since he left, and they were already serving wine?

He turned back to look at the woman in red, surprised and suspicious. Could it be that it wasn't this woman's fault? Had Dong Wenshu, that old conservative, finally opened his mind, and was the bookstore now also selling alcohol?

Whether he had opened his mind or not was one thing, but this woman's indifferent attitude still made him feel uneasy. With such a work ethic, how could Dong Wenshu hire someone like this? Could she be another relative of the Dong Wenshu family?

He subconsciously activated his right eye's special ability to examine the woman.

In fact, recently, both the consumption of magical power and the blood qi consumed by his right eye's ability had been excessive, and he was already reluctant to use it freely.

Now, he didn't know until he looked, and after looking, he was very puzzled. The blurry figure was actually a demon cultivator.

His gaze quickly fixed on the woman's Dantian area and found it to be a thriving vine-like form.

Observing her Dharma Source form again, Shi Chun was puzzled again. He had never seen a demon cultivator capable of shapeshifting whose cultivation was so weak. There was no sense of depth or power. Her Dharma Source was almost ethereal, nearly invisible. This was the first time he had seen such a Dharma Source, and he wondered if he was simply inexperienced.

Of course, a weak cultivation didn't matter. For general chores, there was no need to be particular; even a mortal could do the work in this bookstore.

What he was curious about was that Dong Wenshu used to not recruit demon cultivators into his home. Yet, this old conservative actually hired a demoness for odd jobs. Was she very cheap?

Judging by this demoness's looks, she didn't seem like a cheap hire.

The woman in red, whose eyelids were drooping, slowly opened them a bit and scrutinized Shi Chun. Shi Chun's behavior was unusual; he neither spoke nor looked at the notice. Staring at her could be understood, as many men liked to look at her, but the problem was, this man's reaction wasn't like a man admiring a beautiful woman.

Upon closer inspection of Shi Chun's appearance, certain subtle details made her eyebrows twitch slightly.

Meanwhile, the third young lady, Dong Liangying, who was temporarily doing chores in the hall, was carrying a bundle of paper under one arm, replenishing it on various tables. Suddenly, she saw the back and angled profile of the person standing in front of the counter. She froze, then was surprised, muttering, "Why is he here?"

Then an angry expression appeared on her face. She quickly strode over, and reaching behind Shi Chun, she slapped him on the shoulder and angrily rebuked, "You..."

The face with three long strands of beard that instinctively turned to look back made her words get stuck in her throat. Knowing she had mistaken him for someone else, her eyes darted, and she quickly said to the woman in red behind the counter, "Sister Jun, is this man harassing you?"

"No," the woman in red shook her head slightly and slowly stood up.

Shi Chun looked at Dong Liangying's hand on his shoulder, then at the graceful figure of the woman in red as she stood up, and then at the thriving business inside the hall. He vaguely understood how this good business came about, and also somewhat understood why Dong Liangying had mistaken him.

He, who was almost startled, asked with a constricted voice, "Miss, is there some misunderstanding?"

Dong Liangying quickly withdrew her hand and apologized, "My apologies, my apologies. Seeing you standing by the counter and not leaving, I thought you were another scoundrel trying to flirt with Sister Jun."

"Sister Jun?" Shi Chun mused inwardly. He outwardly forced a smile, "It's my first time here; I just wanted to figure out the cost of reading in the bookstore."

"Is that so?" The woman in red blinked. She hadn't seen any indication in his previous behavior that he wanted to clarify the costs. She conveniently placed the wine pot she was holding on the second shelf inside the counter.

"Oh, here, here." Dong Liangying quickly pointed to the notice board on the counter nearby, indicating that he should look there.

Alright, Shi Chun had no choice but to feign interest and move over to read it carefully.

He hadn't even read a few lines when his attention was drawn to a figure approaching from the backyard.

The newcomer was none other than the bookstore owner, Dong Wenshu. The reason he caught Shi Chun's eye was because Dong Wenshu felt different from before. It was hard to pinpoint exactly how he was different, but at least in his attire, Shi Chun had never seen Dong Wenshu so meticulous.

Dong Wenshu merely glanced at him. He didn't even truly look at his own daughter, who was clearly there. His gaze immediately fixated on the woman in red behind the counter. His eyes and expression instantly softened. He stopped in front of the counter and asked with concern, "A distinguished guest has arrived. I was just about to go out and buy some things. Is there anything you'd like me to bring back for you?"

Hmm? Shi Chun blinked again and turned his head to look at Dong Liangying. He then noticed Dong Liangying's fleeting, disdainful curl of her lips. He suddenly had an epiphany, thinking he understood why Dong Wenshu would hire this demoness for odd jobs.

He quickly glanced again at the well-dressed Dong Wenshu and chuckled inwardly. The old conservative really had opened his mind, and for a demon cultivator at that.

The woman in red calmly refused, "No, thank you."

Dong Wenshu nodded gracefully, "Alright."

Then he turned and left, maintaining his upright posture.

Shi Chun, meanwhile, muttered to himself while looking at the notice, "Library up to the second floor..."

Then he walked, looking around, and found the stairs leading to the second floor, appearing like a first-time visitor.

Dong Liangying, meanwhile, tilted her head and stared for a moment at his receding back.

The woman in red was half-sprawled on the counter and teased, "Taken with him?"

"Huh?" Dong Liangying, turning back in surprise, quickly spat a few times. "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, of course not! It's just that his figure looked a bit familiar, quite like the one who used to do odd jobs in the bookstore."

Her words carried a hint of sentiment. One must know that she used to sit behind this counter and secretly watch Shi Chun for a very long time. She was very familiar with Shi Chun's figure and movements, so she truly felt he resembled him.

Thinking about it, she felt she was overthinking. That guy had caused her family terrible trouble, almost leading to their utter ruin. How could he possibly come to the bookstore again? More importantly, the bookstore held no value for him to return to.

At the same time, she was very curious about who Shi Chun really was. To this day, it remained a mystery to their family. They had not been able to learn Shi Chun's true identity from anyone.

Her family wasn't foolish. They knew that the name was most likely an alias, but those who knew wouldn't tell them.

On another note, it was understandable, or rather, there was no real hatred. He had merely lived in seclusion there, and essentially, he had no malicious intentions towards their family.

The woman in red, however, directly asked his name, "Wang Ping?"

Dong Liangying hummed in affirmation, turned, and continued with her work, carrying the bundle of paper.

The woman in red glanced sideways towards the stairs and slowly sat down. This time, she didn't recline, but leaned against the counter, one hand propped up her head while the other slowly turned the pages of an account book.

Shi Chun, who had gone up to the second floor, saw the second young lady, Dong Liangyu, who had almost been married off. She was still wearing the soft blue men's long gown and the same silver gauze hat. Dressed like a delicate, slender young gentleman, without makeup, saving herself the elaborate process of female dressing.

A beauty mark between her eyebrows made her fair complexion appear even paler.

She sat gracefully in the dappled light, holding a scroll to read, and occasionally coughing into a clenched fist.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up, and seeing a customer approach, she bowed her head slightly in greeting from her seat.

Meeting an old acquaintance again, Shi Chun, whose eyes were solely on benefits, felt nothing. He walked to her table, took out seven coins he had prepared beforehand, and placed them on the table. Then he turned directly and entered the inner chamber filled with bookshelves.

Normally, ten coins allowed one to read in the bookstore for a day, including tea. Fifteen coins also covered lunch and pastries.

Seven coins was the minimum charge, which allowed one to browse freely in the library for a day, but it didn't cover food, drinks, or writing supplies. Leaving the second floor meant the session ended. Therefore, people usually came only after they had eaten, drunk, and taken care of their needs.

Such people were usually those who genuinely came to read.

Looking at the seven coins on the table, Dong Liangyu was also surprised for a moment. Although she was frail and sickly, her memory was excellent. How could someone who could remember the location of countless books have a bad memory?

She was certain that the person who just entered was a newcomer, yet he went through the process silently and very smoothly, very skillfully. This was different from just knowing the rules.

She glanced at the basket placed nearby. The previous person who came in was also a first-timer, but even after knowing the rules, they still verbally confirmed them.

She didn't rush to collect the money. She turned her head to look at Shi Chun's retreating back. It immediately gave her a sense of déjà vu. Most importantly, he didn't go all the way to the end before turning into the adjacent area. Instead, he turned left shortly after entering and directly pulled open a side door to enter the adjacent area.

The rest of the process was blocked by the bookshelves, so she couldn't see it, but she saw the light and shadow of a person passing through the gaps in the bookshelves and heard footsteps. This newcomer didn't hesitate at all, directly finding the side door and opening it to enter.

The side door was a sliding door. Those unfamiliar with it would mistake it for a wall.

Thinking again of that familiar silhouette, Dong Liangyu instantly couldn't sit still. She stood up, put down the book in her hand. After stepping away from the table, she paused and hesitated for a moment. After thinking, she returned to the table, picked up the seven coins, and her slender figure proceeded deeper, following the aisles between the bookshelves.

She first went straight to the end and saw the scholar in green, who had arrived earlier with a basket, sitting on the floor, leaning against a bookshelf, meticulously flipping through scrolls. Hearing her, he looked up, smiled, and nodded in greeting, then continued to immerse himself in his book.

Dong Liangyu also nodded slightly in greeting, ignoring the person. Once she reached the end, she turned left and entered the adjacent area. She moved step by step among the bookshelves, occasionally reaching out to touch the books on the shelves, while also looking and searching through the gaps.

She searched all the way to the end but saw no one. She immediately realized the person had gone upstairs.

She immediately went to the stairs and also went upstairs.

Shi Chun was indeed upstairs. He knew the general layout of the bookstore's book categories and had headed straight for his target area. He also heard footsteps coming upstairs. He tilted his head and glanced through a gap in the bookshelves, seeing it was Dong Liangyu looking for something along the bookshelves. He didn't think much of it and continued his search on the shelves.

To be precise, he knew this family too well. He knew they were not much different from ordinary mortals, honest and harmless, so he hadn't taken any precautions against them at all.

He thought that a casual disguise would be enough to fool this family.

Little did he know, this very family, whom he had underestimated and dismissed, had almost recognized him downstairs, just as he entered the bookstore.

As he was searching through the bookshelves, Shi Chun sensed something amiss. He turned his head to look and saw Dong Liangyu in the narrow aisle between two rows of bookshelves, staring at him as she walked towards him, step by step.

Shi Chun, holding a volume in his hand, froze. His heart pounded nervously. No way, they'd only just met briefly. Could she really recognize him at a glance?

Dong Liangyu finally stopped in front of him and displayed the coins in her slender palm. "Sir, to read any book on the second floor, it costs seven coins. You only gave six; one is still missing."

Downstairs in the main hall, the woman in red, who had been propping her head, suddenly closed her eyes to rest. Her fingers, which had been turning the pages of the account book, paused, and then slowly landed on the ledger, tapping it lightly.