After seeing Lu Yang perform a set of symbolic boxing moves and turn into a strong figure, Lan Ting quietly took out a piece of yellow talisman paper.
"I should draw a transformation talisman myself," she thought.
It was impressive how the sect known for its creativity and spells could disguise boxing techniques as transformation magic. It showed a deep understanding of magic. Lan Ting believed that Lu Yang had reached a level of insight where he could see the essence of spells beyond their forms. Among peers, she thought no one could match Lu Yang's skills in magic.
Lu Yang suddenly remembered that Lan Ting had taken the tiger skin earlier to make talismans, so she must be quite skilled in that area.
Lan Ting pointed to her eyes and said, "I have a special sensitivity to patterns. I can see the core of talismans and the key points in formations. I'm naturally good at making talismans and drawing formations."
"But I have limited energy, so I focus mainly on making talismans and only have a basic understanding of formations."
Lan Ting was being modest. This was a remarkable talent, one that would take her far in the fields of talismans and formations, making many masters envious.
Soon, Lan Ting finished drawing a transformation talisman and stuck it on herself. In a magical moment, her stunning beauty turned ordinary.
With this, the barbecue shop welcomed a new staff member.
...
Two days after Lan Ting joined the barbecue shop, things were as busy as ever. With the new staff member, the workload for the three of them became much lighter.
Lu Yang noticed that Man Gu seemed a bit unhappy, so while serving dishes to customers, he used his spiritual sense to ask, "Is something wrong? You don’t seem very happy."
Man Gu nodded. "I don't know if you’ve noticed, but the number of customers at our barbecue shop has decreased in the last few days. I checked the income, and it’s true."
Lu Yang was taken aback; he hadn’t noticed that. "Is it because of Lan Ting?"
With a new female staff member, business should be better.
"No, it started to decline before Lan Ting came. I can’t figure out why. I don’t know what the problem is." Man Gu had been pondering this issue.
Lu Yang didn’t pay much attention to it; he actually preferred a slightly quieter barbecue shop. "You think about it. I’ll go deliver some food."
A month ago, at Meng Jingzhou's suggestion, the barbecue shop started a delivery service. During the day, they placed a box at the entrance. Anyone who wanted to order would write down what they wanted, the delivery time, and their address on a piece of paper, and the three of them would randomly take turns delivering in the evening.
Today it was Lu Yang's turn.
He hadn’t been out at night recently, and as he stepped out, he noticed that there were fewer people on the street compared to before.
"Maybe that’s why the barbecue shop is seeing fewer customers," Lu Yang thought.
"Let’s see where this delivery is going... to the tofu shop on Qianmen Street?"
...
Wen Xiangyu had heard early on about a popular barbecue shop nearby and wanted to try it to see if it was as delicious as people said. However, since her husband passed away and she took over his tofu shop, she rarely went out at night.
It wasn’t that she was bragging; she was fair-skinned and beautiful, and many people eyed her. Going out alone was very dangerous.
Later, she learned that the barbecue shop offered delivery, so she wrote down what she wanted to eat and dropped it in the box outside the shop.
The past few days, she had been feeling very tired, and today it was worse. Before the skewers arrived, she couldn’t fight off her drowsiness and went to bed early.
The staff at the barbecue shop should be able to wake her up.
...
Lu Zhi was a thief who had been giving the local constables a headache. He often sneaked into people’s homes at night while they were asleep, stealing their valuables and escaping without leaving a trace. When the constables asked neighbors, they usually said they had been sleeping too soundly to notice anything unusual.
This time, he set his sights on the tofu shop on Qianmen Street. The shop’s owner was a well-known beautiful widow, and her tofu was famous far and wide. The money she made in recent years had made nearby shop owners envious.
Lu Zhi was agile, like a monkey. He quietly climbed onto the roof and twisted his body to open the second-floor window.
"They should be asleep."
Lu Zhi was very confident. He had accidentally obtained a yellow talisman that made people sleep deeply, and when he placed it outside the house, anyone within fifty meters would be affected and fall into a deep sleep. This trick had never failed him.
He tiptoed, holding his breath, and saw a beautiful woman lying on the bed, a sly smile creeping across his face.
Then he turned to rummage through the cabinet for valuables. According to his experience, women often kept their things there.
"Nothing?" Lu Zhi frowned and looked toward the widow’s position.
If there was nothing here, it must be under the bed.
He carefully crouched down and reached under the bed, his heart stopping.
There was a face under the bed!
"Ghost!"
...
Zheng Shouhe was a notorious lecher who had been troubling the constables lately. He often hid under the beds of single women, waiting for them to fall asleep before emerging to assault them.
However, sometimes he encountered women who were cheating, so he had to hide under the bed and wait patiently.
This time, he set his sights on the tofu shop on Qianmen Street, where the beautiful widow had stolen many hearts.
As usual, Zheng Shouhe hid under the bed early, waiting for nightfall to enjoy a night of passion with the widow.
"I'm so sleepy." Zheng Shouhe had never felt as sleepy as he did today. Usually, he became more alert as he waited, but today he couldn’t shake off the drowsiness.
His eyelids were heavy, and despite trying to keep his eyes open, he eventually fell asleep.
A scream woke him up, sounding like someone was shouting about a ghost.
Zheng Shouhe opened his eyes wide and saw Lu Zhi crouching under the bed, looking terrified at him. He quickly covered Lu Zhi's mouth with one hand, crawled out from under the bed, and pulled out a dagger with the other, pressing it against Lu Zhi's neck.
Zheng Shouhe then noticed Wen Xiangyu curled up on the bed, trembling.
Clearly, she had also been awakened by Lu Zhi's scream.
"You too! What a terrible day!"
Zheng Shouhe cursed as he grabbed some rope to tie up Lu Zhi, thinking he would enjoy Wen Xiangyu and then kill both of them.
Just then, there was a knock on the door downstairs.
"Is anyone there? I’m here to deliver food."
Zheng Shouhe clicked his tongue; his luck today was terrible. He tied up Lu Zhi and took Wen Xiangyu downstairs with him.
He threatened her with the dagger and whispered, "You tell the person outside to leave!"
Everyone in Yanjiang County knew that the beautiful widow lived alone. If she told the person outside to leave and they heard a man’s voice, they would definitely become suspicious.
"Just put the food at the door. I’ll go out and get it in a bit," Wen Xiangyu called softly.
"That won't work; you haven’t paid yet," the person outside replied.
Zheng Shouhe's face darkened. Since you’re looking for trouble, don’t blame me!
(End of Chapter)