Chapter 55 Hello, My Name is Ying Ning
Looking at the flickering lights ahead and smelling the rich aroma of wine in the air, Luxianbei stood in the alley, hesitating to move forward.
Oh no, I was just kidding!
How could the Liao Zhai Tavern really just appear like this?
d*mn, if I have to help the Turtle Girl create human festivities and end up never being able to play “Love and Magical Girls” again, what a hassle?! Luxianbei thought.
After pausing to think for a moment and recalling several interview records regarding the Liao Zhai Tavern found in the Siye Society’s archives, Luxianbei’s expression deepened, she gently bit her lip, and stepped forward, heading toward the Liao Zhai Tavern.
From those interview records, not everyone who went to the Liao Zhai Tavern had the same experience as He Yong, who got to eat the dishes he wanted; some ordinary people were startled by the sudden appearance and lively atmosphere of the tavern and fled without dining.
However, even if they did not eat, they still lost certain hobbies or cherished items as payment.
Luxianbei suspected that the Liao Zhai Tavern might have a rule that after “placing an order,” whether one dined or not, they still had to pay.
So, even if it wasn’t for Huasang, she had to make a trip to the Liao Zhai Tavern to cancel her order or negotiate with the legendary Hu Boss about exchanging something else as payment.
She couldn’t live without Bai Xiaohua!
Although she had just joked about seeing the scenes on the street, which looked like the whole city was in love, stating “no one can’t live without someone else,” now she wanted to take that back.
Though leaving Bai Xiaohua wouldn’t be deadly, if she was still alive but her spirit was lost, what would be the difference from being dead?
Moreover, since she was already here, with her meal ordered, if she didn’t go, wouldn’t she end up with nothing to eat and lose everything? That would be a significant loss!
Hmm! If she had to eat, she not only wanted to eat but also wanted unlimited refills!
Luxianbei thought fiercely, quietly taking out her phone and opening “Love and Magical Girls.”
With a lively soundtrack and a dynamic opening animation, a girl in a dark green outfit, radiating charm, appeared on the mobile phone screen, smiling at Luxianbei.
[Hello, Captain, welcome back! What would you like to do today?]
Luxianbei looked at the girl on the screen, her smile like a blooming flower, her eyes brightened slightly, then she focused on the girl’s dark green hair, as if suddenly remembering something, she furrowed her brow.
She hadn’t noticed before, but the Stinky Sister actually bore some resemblance to Bai Xiaohua in her Chitose Ran form?
Should she get her to do a cosplay later?
If she could get the leader and the Stinky Sister to cosplay together, that would be even better. With Wu Wei and Chitose Ran, it wouldn’t just be double the fun!
Thinking of this, Luxianbei shook her head and dismissed the impractical thought.
She had to focus on the matter at hand.
Opening the card-drawing interface, looking at the 209 “Hero Licenses” she had accumulated over this time, Luxianbei silently sighed.
She had originally planned to save them until the next time she encountered Fang Ji, to draw them all at once.
However, if she went to the Liao Zhai Tavern, she might never be able to play “Love and Magical Girls” again. Before that, she had to draw all 209, even though this card pool was a toxic one, and she wasn’t too fond of the UP characters.
But what if she got what she wanted? Luxianbei pouted and lightly tapped on the [Ten Draws] option in the bottom right corner.
She had never considered using coercion to make that Hu Boss yield and force him to teach her how to cook “human festivities” in the Liao Zhai Tavern. Even Zhang Hainan spoke of it with added seriousness.
What could I do? Make a dish for tomorrow’s menu?
Thinking of this, Luxianbei looked down at her delicate little hands.
These soft and tender hands, like tofu, suitable for steaming or slicing.
Jingyi Apartment Complex, at Luxianbei’s home.
In front of the computer, Jumeng was pleading into the microphone of her headphones.
“Please don’t go, I beg you, let’s play one last round, just one more!”
After waking up at noon, she had sat in front of her computer, used up her stamina in a certain open-world game, then opened a MOBA game, thinking that if she won one match, she would play something else. As luck would have it, she encountered a low-tier god player.
Thus, she had been playing since noon and had won 11 out of 13 matches.
One could say that the god player who helped her achieve such a record was already quite impressive.
Of course, Jumeng thought this god player was still slightly inferior compared to Luxianbei.
This god player had decent awareness and exceptional operation, achieving impressive results in every match, while Luxianbei, on the other hand, used heroes who were sunny and capable of shifting morale; perhaps her results weren’t flashy, but she could still win.
What was even more outrageous was that, due to Luxianbei’s presence, in just ten minutes of the game, the opposing players would start arguing, shifting from lining up against Luxianbei to fighting with their teammates.
To win without fighting is the mark of a true master!
Jumeng had also tried to imitate Luxianbei’s playstyle, directly diving in, only to end up collapsing and getting reported by her teammates, leading to a three-day ban.
Since then, she hadn’t publicly admitted it, but she had already recognized Luxianbei’s skills.
However, recently, Luxianbei hadn’t had time to play games with her, causing Jumeng’s mental state to be about to explode.
Today, she finally encountered a god player who could carry her; how could she let them go so easily?
For Jumeng, losing such a fantastic teammate was more painful than losing a long-time lover.
“I’m really sorry, but I have to log off. If I don’t finish my homework, my mom will definitely scold me.”
Finally, the aloof god player spoke for the first time after being cold all day.
He sounded like a little boy, voice soft like he hadn’t gone through voice changes yet.
Jumeng fell silent for a few seconds, “Homework? Bro, how old are you?”
“Eleven! What’s the matter?” the god player replied, “By the way, want to be friends and form a CP? I could carry you every day!”
Jumeng, “”
+One year older? Fifth grade? What the hell, a little kid!
And still wanted to form a CP with me?
Starting today, you can forget about finding a CP in games for the rest of your life!
Jumeng thought fiercely, hung up the mic, exited the game, leaned back on the sofa, and then turned her head to glance at Wang Ying, who had accompanied her all day, extending her hand to stroke Wang Ying’s soft body.
“Hey, why hasn’t that guy come back yet? Didn’t he say earlier that the matter was handled?”
Wang Ying,
“Ugh—!” Seeing Wang Ying not responding at all, Jumeng sighed heavily and turned her gaze away, “Sigh, talking about these things is useless with you; you don’t understand anyway.”
Just as she was talking to herself, a breeze blew in from the window, causing the white curtains to flutter, bringing with it a familiar aroma of food and spirit energy fluctuation.
“Eh!?” Jumeng let out a light gasp, turning her head to look out the window, surprise flashing in her eyes, “This feeling… is it the Liao Zhai Tavern?”
“But I didn’t order anything? What is Hu Boss doing around here?”
At this point, she lowered her head and rubbed her empty stomach.
She hadn’t eaten in several days, neither human food nor urban legends, not even a crumb had passed her lips. Just as she caught a whiff of the food aroma drifting from the Liao Zhai Tavern, a wave of hunger overwhelmed her.
“Forget it, since I ran into it, I might as well go have a meal.”
As she spoke, she stood up, waved her small hand in the air, and countless dazzling red dots flew in from the void, gathering in her palm, forming a fierce black bird-like mask resembling a shamanistic ritual, which she then donned on her face.
Stepping forward, a loose feathered robe materialized silently, wrapping around her body.
The Liao Zhai Tavern was a melting pot, filled with various spiritual ability users and urban legends, Jumeng never presented herself in her true form to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Walking through the narrow alley, Luxianbei proceeded cautiously, attentively observing her surroundings.
The alley, less than three meters wide, was surrounded by rather old residential buildings, with quirky little advertisements posted on the walls on either side.
The path beneath her feet had become pitted from rain and wind, and in some cracks in the concrete, even wild grass peeked out. Occasionally, a telephone pole appeared at the roadside, making the already narrow alley feel even more cramped.
From her vantage point, Luxianbei saw a scene similar to her memories, with everything in its place, yet more added items — lanterns.
Illuminated with a warm yellow glow, the lanterns, each adorned with a wooden plaque inscribed “Liao Zhai Tavern” were spaced about two meters apart, floating on either side of the alley as if guiding her forward, extending to the end of her line of sight and illuminating the entire alley.
The wind blew, causing the candle flames to flicker, adding an element of surreal dreaminess to the light.
Moving forward, she soon saw the brightly lit Liao Zhai Tavern, with a vague clamor reminiscent of a gentle stream swelling abruptly into a tsunami that filled her ears.
From those interview records, the Liao Zhai Tavern had always been quite popular.
Though the witnesses had witnessed different scenes at the Liao Zhai Tavern, they all saw the bustling gathering of spiritual ability users and urban legends within.
Seeing this, Luxianbei frowned slightly and took out [Xuan Ying Luo Fu] to hold in her hand.
She wasn’t fond of crowded places; the more people there were, the easier it was to get into trouble.
Fortunately, [Xuan Ying Luo Fu] existed to deal with troublemakers.
“Miss, is this your first time at our tavern?”
Just as Luxianbei paused in front of the Liao Zhai Tavern, a soft voice came from beside her.
Looking toward the sound, a girl in a crimson dress, about twelve or thirteen years old, tilted her head, revealing an innocent and cheerful smile. There were two shallow dimples on her fair face, quite enchanting, and behind her was a fluffy white tail that swayed gently.
Luxianbei sensed a strong spiritual energy fluctuation from her.
You might not believe it, but spiritual ability users or urban legends with slightly lower levels might not even be able to defeat this little girl.
“Hello, my name is Ying Ningning, and I’m the waitress at this tavern. Since we’ve coincidentally met, let me serve you!”
Ying Ningning? Isn’t that one of the characters from “Liao Zhai”? Luxianbei raised her eyebrows slightly.
A guess suddenly formed in her mind.
Is it possible that Mr. Liu Quan drew inspiration from this tavern’s waitress when writing “Liao Zhai”?
