Chapter 3: Exchanging for Items

Li Si looked at the goods in the system shop, feeling glad that there were special-price goods. If there had been no special-price goods, he would not have been able to afford a single one.

Of course, even though he could afford them now, he still had to exchange lifespan for them.

Thinking of this, Li Si gritted his teeth and said in his mind, “Exchange 4 years of lifespan. Buy the Protective Talisman, Dead Jade, and Eight Trigrams Mirror.”

As for why he did not exchange for the long sword or The Black Tortoise Record, it was because he did not have much lifespan left and could only choose what he urgently needed.

The Protective Talisman could protect him. In this strange and eerie world, he definitely needed that.

Dead Jade could let him carry the Decapitated Ghost with him, and it could also make the Decapitated Ghost stronger. This was also something he urgently needed. That way, he could release the Decapitated Ghost at any time to save him.

As for the Eight Trigrams Mirror, there was even less need to say anything. With his mortal eyes, how could he tell whether something was human or demon? Without this thing, even having the Protective Talisman would be useless.

As soon as the words fell in his mind, a triangular paper talisman and a mottled black jade appeared in his left palm, while a palm-sized Eight Trigrams Mirror appeared in his right palm.

“Purchase successful. Your current lifespan is 1 year, 2 months, and 15 days. Soul points: 0.”

Li Si breathed out, sat up from the bed, and shone the Eight Trigrams Mirror toward the Decapitated Ghost while he looked into the mirror.

As a result, he found a pale face behind his forehead in the mirror, with a pair of pitch-black eyes shedding bloody tears and staring fixedly at him. Li Si instantly felt a wave of cold shooting from his tailbone straight up toward the top of his head.

Li Si stiffly looked behind him and discovered that the Decapitated Ghost had, at some unknown point, come to stand beside him, looking curiously at the Eight Trigrams Mirror.

“What a curious child.”

Li Si stretched the corners of his mouth. He had nearly been sent off by that move from the Decapitated Ghost just now.

“Go in.”

Taking out the Dead Jade, Li Si gave the Decapitated Ghost an order.

When the Decapitated Ghost heard his command, it immediately turned into a twisted streak of light and shadow and entered the Dead Jade.

Li Si looked at the Dead Jade. Seeing a child about 1.2 metres (~3.9 ft) tall enter Dead Jade the size of a jade pendant made him feel extremely uncomfortable. If Newton knew about this, his coffin lid probably would not be able to hold him down.

Li Si looked at the Dead Jade, and curiosity immediately arose. He placed the black jade before his eyes and examined it carefully. The black jade was somewhat rough, and the black colour inside it was quite dense.

Suddenly, the black colour inside shifted. Li Si immediately felt somewhat puzzled. He held the black jade up toward the moonlight outside and looked at it, wanting to see clearly what was inside. The black colour within the Dead Jade slowly condensed into a pale face that stared at him expressionlessly. It was none other than the Decapitated Ghost.

Li Si laughed softly. He discovered that he had already gained a certain degree of resistance to such terrifying things. He got out of bed, found a small cloth pouch in the cupboard, threaded it with a cord, placed the Protective Talisman and Dead Jade inside together, and hung it around his neck, carrying them close to his body.

Li Si sat on the bed and looked at the night outside the window, not knowing what he should do now. Generally speaking, at this hour, when he had nothing to do, he would usually be playing on his phone.

He stared blankly out the window. Li Si wondered whether a ghost head might appear at that window. As soon as he thought of this, his whole body turned a little cold. If this had been Earth, he would merely have scared himself a little and that would have been the end of it. He would also have known that ghosts and monsters could not possibly appear.

But in this world, it really was somewhat possible that a ghost might appear outside the window and stare at him.

Thinking of this, Li Si immediately did not dare to think any further. He got into bed, hid under the quilt, and wrapped himself tightly with it.

Several hours passed like this, yet Li Si still had not fallen asleep. Lying in bed, he kept feeling uncomfortable. At that moment, Li Si felt his mouth and tongue were dry. He wanted to get up, but he was also afraid there might be something strange outside.

Drip.

A drop of water fell from the roof and landed on Li Si’s face.

Li Si dabbed it with his finger and brought it before his nose to smell it. There was no strange odour, so the roof was probably leaking.

Li Si licked it, then caught a few more drops, feeling that the dryness in his mouth had eased a great deal. He shifted aside, thinking to himself that he would patch the roof another day. As he thought and thought, he sank deeply into sleep.

Nothing happened overnight.

A rooster crowed, and Li Si woke up from bed. Half-asleep, he groped beside him, wanting to feel around for his phone, only to come up empty.

Li Si instantly startled awake. He abruptly sat up and looked around, only to discover that he was inside an old house. Only now did he remember that he was no longer on Earth.

Seeing that there was still some darkness outside, Li Si lay down again, wanting to sleep a little longer. But at this point, no matter how he tossed and turned, he could not fall asleep.

Gurgle.

A long sound came from Li Si’s stomach.

Li Si helplessly got out of bed, went to the rear courtyard, picked up a porcelain bowl and a willow branch, and rinsed his mouth. In this era, people had already begun using willow branches to rinse and clean their mouths. Those with better conditions could use green salt as toothpaste to rinse with.

After rinsing his mouth, Li Si felt around beneath the bedding and took out several dozen copper coins, then left the house. At this time, some vegetable farmers could still be seen carrying vegetables on shoulder poles toward the market entrance. Voices sounded from time to time, carrying far through the quiet early morning.

As Li Si walked along the road, people who knew him respectfully called him Scholar Li from time to time. He also nodded and responded politely.

The original owner had also been a particularly good person. He did not have the sort of pedantic stubbornness one might imagine. He treated his neighbours very kindly and would occasionally teach the nearby children, giving them their first lessons. However, he did not take money, at most accepting some vegetables or rice and the like. If not for the provincial examination approaching and disturbing his state of mind, he would not have gone to that ruined temple to pray for a wish.

Li Si finally arrived at a small shop several hundred metres from his home. This was a nearby breakfast shop, and it sold tofu pudding.

“Uncle Zhou, give me a bowl of tofu pudding, no coriander.”

Li Si entered the shop, found a table, sat down, and then spoke to the busy middle-aged man.

“Coming right up.”

The middle-aged man answered. With practised ease, he dipped a large ladle into a wooden bucket and poured it into the bowl in his left hand, the amount exactly filling one bowl. Then he took the large ladle from another bucket, lifted and poured, covering the bowl with sauce-coloured seasoning liquid. Finally, he sprinkled on some peanuts and chopped scallions, then brought it over to Li Si.

The middle-aged man approached Li Si, placed the tofu pudding on the table in front of him, and asked with some concern, “Scholar Li, has your health been much better recently?”

Li Si knew that the original owner often came here for breakfast, so he was rather familiar with this owner. He was afraid that if he said too much, he would reveal a flaw and let the owner notice something, so he gave a perfunctory answer: “It’s fine. Much better.”

Hearing Li Si say this, the middle-aged man smiled in relief. Then he gave a little heh and said with gloating satisfaction, “That Doctor Zhang even said you didn’t have long to live. Looks like even his family’s three-generation medical inheritance can be wrong sometimes.”

Li Si felt somewhat helpless. He had not expected that Doctor Zhang, who had treated the original owner, would go around saying such things. Then he found a reason for the matter: “A few days ago, I really did think I was going to die. I only survived because my life was tough.”

Heh, I knew Scholar Li was an auspicious man protected by heaven. I imagine you will also gain fortune from disaster, and this year’s autumn provincial examination will definitely have your name on the list. This bowl of tofu pudding is on me. No money. Consider it a celebration of your recovery.” The middle-aged man laughed. Then he heard someone calling for tofu pudding, hurriedly answered, and went back to work.

Seeing him walk away, Li Si quietly began eating the tofu pudding. The tofu pudding here was still a little different from that of his previous life. The salt was coarse salt, and there was not much oil. However, he ate very attentively. He did not know how long it had been since he had eaten breakfast so seriously.

In the past, he had always eaten while playing on his phone. But now, as he seriously ate the tofu, he felt very comfortable. Perhaps it was because only the feeling of food sliding down his oesophagus could let him know that he was truly alive.

“Have you heard? The Zhang household is haunted. More than ten people have died already.”

A voice suddenly came from behind him.