Chapter 28: 028: Little Lady~

Abnormal!

Extremely abnormal!

Shen Tang couldn't help but look around, rubbing her eyes.

After confirming that the scene before her was not a dream, she asked Qi Shan, "Yuanliang... we didn't take a wrong turn, did we? Did we accidentally step into some strange illusion, or perhaps cross through some kind of portal... It, it's not right..."

She couldn't help but turn her head to look back at the city gate they had come from.

The line, which seemed to stretch endlessly, was still crawling forward slowly.

Most of these commoners were dressed in rags and looked listless, yet the people inside the city were glowing with health and dressed in clean, decent clothing.

The visual impact caused by this grotesque disparity made her question her very existence.

Qi Shan remained expressionless. "What is not right?"

Shen Tang pointed toward the city gate.

"Look outside the city, then look inside. How is that right?"

Having grown accustomed to desolate and bleak scenes of ruin, seeing the prosperity and bustle within Xiaocheng made one wonder if these two scenes truly existed under the same sky. Yet the reality was—they were separated by merely a city wall and a moat.

Hearing this, Qi Shan lowered his eyes. At some point, a hint of mockery had appeared at the corners of his lips, adopting a mature and composed air. "Young Master Shen, you need to walk more and see more. In the future, you won't find it strange anymore."

Shen Tang was dissatisfied. "Are you saying I'm making a fuss?"

Not giving her even a shred of face?

"That is exactly what I mean."

Right, not giving her any face at all!

Shen Tang: "..."

She daily felt the urge to jump up and perform brain surgery on this fellow.

Passing by a tavern, Qi Shan pointed to a spot beside the entrance and instructed her, "Young Master Shen, wait here first. I am going to go inquire about something and should be back in about an hour. You must stay right here; do not wander off."

"Inquire about something? Looking for the whereabouts of your creditor?" Seeing that Qi Shan hadn't answered directly, Shen Tang waved her hand dismissively. "If you're going, go early. The sooner you go, the sooner you return. We still need to find a place to stay tonight; I don't want to sleep by the roadside or under a bridge..."

Qi Shan: "..."

His originally complex mood, which had been burning like a raging fire, was suddenly interrupted by Shen Tang's words, deflating like a punctured ball. He couldn't latch onto any emotion. That surge of frustration couldn't go up or down, eventually churning and mixing in his chest before turning into a long sigh.

He repeated helplessly, "Mhm. You too, don't wander off."

Shen Tang obediently stayed by the side of the tavern, watching Qi Shan's silhouette disappear at the end of the street. Once he was completely out of sight, her eyes suddenly lit up—although she had been transmigrated for nearly a month, she had basically traveled with Qi Shan every day and had no private time at all.

Naturally, she hadn't properly observed this world.

After waiting in place for a while, she turned around and rented a small stool from the tavern owner, while her motorcycle obediently crouched down to accompany her.

"How should I address this young lady?"

After about fifteen minutes, a male voice, feigning dignity, came from above her head. Hearing the voice, Shen Tang looked up and immediately saw a somewhat stout middle-aged man with coarse features staring straight at her.

She pointed at herself and asked, "Are you calling me?"

At this moment, only an emoticon could express her feelings.

*OMG (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻*

In nearly a month of transmigration, this was the first time someone had called her by the correct gender!

In the past, every single commoner had been led astray by Qi Shan.

What a sin, Qi Yuanliang!

The middle-aged man smiled and leaned closer, saying, "Precisely, precisely."

Shen Tang was quite pretty and handsome; even at her early teens, her potential was evident. She only needed a year or two of nurturing to become a moneymaker. Her skin was fair and her temperament clean, though her clothing wasn't luxurious, suggesting she likely didn't come from a wealthy family.

Her habit of looking around with curiosity, like a country bumpkin, made her look like an inexperienced child at a glance.

The best kind to trick.

He had noticed her the moment Qi Shan and Shen Tang appeared.

He hadn't originally intended anything, as Qi Shan was with her—one must know that one of the most dangerous people to provoke in this world was an elegant male dressed as a scholar, wearing a hair crown and hairpin. Who knew if they possessed "literary heart"? It would be bad to kick a steel plate—but what if Qi Shan left, leaving only the lone Shen Tang?

From their accents, they were clearly outsiders.

If he didn't fleece such a fat sheep, when would he ever make a profit?

As long as he lured her away, it wouldn't matter if Qi Shan returned.

Shen Tang sat obediently on the small stool, her eyes innocent, even flashing a "kind" smile at the man. "Is there something I can help you with?"

The man smiled and said, "It's like this. The gentleman traveling with you asked me to come and escort you to an inn."

Shen Tang asked, "Did Yuanliang send you to call me?"

"Yes, I am a helper at the Fanghua Inn. Was the gentleman you were with a tall, somewhat thin gentleman wearing moon-white scholar's robes? He said you were waiting in front of this tavern." The man gestured as he spoke.

Shen Tang maintained an air of naive innocence.

She nodded every time the man described a detail.

"Yes, yes, yes, that's Yuanliang... but, didn't he say he was going to inquire about something and told me to wait here..."

The man interrupted her, "Ah, that. It seems that gentleman ran into an old acquaintance and cannot pull himself away for the moment."

Seeing that he "didn't seem to be faking it," Shen Tang was half-believing, half-doubting.

The man asked again, "Is the young lady worried that I am a liar? In that case, why don't I accompany you here while we wait for the gentleman? You are just a young girl; it isn't very safe staying out on the street like this."

Shen Tang shook her head hurriedly.

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant."

After saying that, she thought for a moment and asked him, "If you wait here, won't it delay the chores at the inn?"

The man waved his hand generously and replied with a hearty laugh.

"It's no trouble at all. Let it be delayed. I can't just watch a young lady like you stay on the street; it's quite unsafe."

As he said this, Shen Tang's expression seemed to waver.

This scene was also observed by passersby.

The tavern owner glanced at the man and gave a disdainful snort, but did not speak up to expose him. Other shop owners were also familiar with this middle-aged man—a well-known thug in this area. He often scouted villages near Xiaocheng for boys and girls with potential, raising them at home for two years, and if they didn't grow up "crooked," he would sell them for a high price. Uninformed outsiders were often his targets.

Clearly, he had his eyes on this young lady now.

The tavern owner spat inwardly.

But he still kept his nose out of it.

Business was hard for everyone these days.

Cutting someone off from their livelihood was like killing their parents.

If you offended a thug like this, you wouldn't be able to do business in Xiaocheng anymore. It was better to avoid trouble and pretend he hadn't seen anything.

At the same time, he sneered inwardly, mocking Shen Tang's simplicity and lack of brains.

This man had a pair of narrow, long, rat-like eyes. When Shen Tang wasn't looking, his gaze drifted between her face and her clothes, and combined with his flippant manner, he was clearly not upright. Only a child from a wealthy family, unacquainted with the ways of the world, would fall for it.

To think she was actually chatting with him so amiably.

Little did he know, Shen Tang had this patience for a reason.

Who else would be the first person to get her gender right?

Shen Tang smiled, only then willing to chat with him a bit more.

And then—

If he gave up his scheme, fine. If he continued his mischief—

She would send him straight to the afterlife.