Tang Dynasty: Starting with Dimo, he was targeted by Li Shimin.

Chapter 12 Li Shimin's worldview collapsed

"Li Shimin???"

"tomorrow???"

"Come to my shop???"

Lin Luo stood in the center of the backyard, looking at Cheng Yaojin, who was beaming with excitement, and Yuchi Gong, who had a serious expression.

It feels like the sky has fallen.

It's not a metaphor.

It really felt like the sky had fallen.

He was just a nobody who, after three months in this world, finally managed to live a semi-retired life.

Now you're telling him—the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is coming to inspect his shop tomorrow?

(⊙﹏⊙) Did you pick up the wrong script?

"Don't be nervous, shopkeeper!" Cheng Yaojin patted his chest to assure him, "His Majesty is just here to see the spirit beasts; he won't give you any trouble!"

"The key issue isn't whether he makes things difficult for me!" Lin Luo pointed a finger at Abu, who was still trembling on the roof beam.

"The problem is, your shout just now scared this thing up again! What if it goes berserk in front of Li Shimin tomorrow?!"

Cheng Yaojin shrank his neck.

"Um... I'll definitely remember next time..."

"You always say that!!"

(╬Ò﹏Ó)

Yuchi Gong coughed beside him and said, "Manager, how about... we move this white spirit beast to the back tomorrow?"

Lin Luo calmed down.

Indeed, given Abu's current state, it's not appropriate for him to meet any strangers, let alone a man with an imperial aura.

"Okay, Abu and Xiaoxiao will stay in the backyard tomorrow and won't come out."

"Dimo and Shui Lanlan will greet us at the front."

He looked at Timo: "Will it work?"

Dimo puffed out his small chest, and his golden wings unfurled slightly.

"Mmm!"

He had a "leave it to me" expression on his face.

Shui Lanlan poked her head out of the water tank, her newly tied bow askew—

"blue!"

He had a "I can do that too" expression on his face.

it is good.

At least these two are reliable.

Lin Luo took a deep breath.

Ok.

Since we can't avoid it, let's face it.

Anyway, he's invincible in the store—that's what the system said.

σ(・ω・｀) The salted fish was forced to take the plunge and had no choice but to swim on its own.

The next day.

9:00 AM (巳时).

The door to the Magic Curiosity Shop was pushed open from the outside.

It wasn't Cheng Yaojin or Yuchi Gong who pushed open the door—

It is a hand.

A hand with well-defined joints and proper care.

After that hand pushed the door open, a man in his early thirties came into view.

He was dressed in a dark gold casual robe, with a jade belt around his waist.

With sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, his face was dignified yet tinged with weariness.

His eyes were as deep as an ancient well with no bottom.

Two people followed behind him—

The middle-aged civil official with a fair complexion, long beard, and refined demeanor was none other than Fang Xuanling.

And... Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong, each more nervous than the last.

Li Shimin stood at the entrance, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire shop—

The walls were adorned with sketches of various elves, and the display cases held colorful Goo-Goo Balls and glittering fruits.

On the counter sat a bronze mirror—a star mirror—its surface shimmering with a faint golden haze.

The air was filled with an indescribable, sweet scent that seemed out of place in this era.

This doesn't look like a shop.

It's more like...

The abode of a certain immortal.

Li Shimin's brow twitched slightly.

"Your Majesty—no, sir,"

Lin Luo stood up from behind the counter.

His expression was as indifferent as if he were greeting an ordinary guest.

"Welcome to the Magical Curiosities Shop."

He was wearing a plain blue robe, and his hair was casually tied up.

She was still holding a bowl of unfinished plum juice.

His entire being screamed three big words—

I don't want to go to work.

Li Shimin looked at the young man in his early twenties in front of him.

My first reaction was—

This is the mysterious shopkeeper who possesses magical powers, owns a spirit beast, and has the two dukes completely under his thumb.

He just looks like a... lazy young man.

"Are you the owner of this shop?" Li Shimin asked, his voice authoritative without being angry.

"It's me." Lin Luo put down the plum juice. "Lin Luo."

"I heard you have a kind of spirit beast called 'Elf' here?"

"have."

"May I—may I see it?"

Lin Luo glanced at him.

The change from "朕" to "我" feels a bit forced.

However, he didn't point it out.

"Can."

Lin Luo gently patted the counter.

"Dimo."

A tiny golden sprite slowly floated out from behind the curtain at the counter.

Dimo hovered in the air, his golden wings of light slightly unfurled.

It radiated a soft and pure light.

Two big eyes curiously sized up the strangers in front of them.

"Hmm?"

Li Shimin's pupils suddenly contracted.

this……

Is this thing floating?

Floating in mid-air?

And it's glowing?!

Fang Xuanling took a step back, his hand unconsciously reaching for his waist—even though he wasn't carrying his sword today.

"This is Dimo, a light-attribute spirit," Lin Luo introduced.

"It has a gentle temperament and doesn't bite."

Dimo tilted his head and gave Li Shimin a soft "Mmm."

Then it flew around him once and finally landed on Lin Luo's shoulder.

Li Shimin stood there, his expression filled with shock, but he was still trying to maintain the composure of an emperor.

"This...is indeed no ordinary object." His voice was slightly unsteady.

"There's more," Lin Luo said, patting the counter again.

"The water is so blue."

"blue!"

A round, blue elf with a crooked bow on its head hopped out from behind the curtain.

He hopped and skipped to the counter, tilting his head back to look at Li Shimin.

"Blue?"

It curiously stretched out its little paw and touched Li Shimin's sleeve.

Li Shimin looked down at the blue sprite.

Water could be faintly seen flowing slowly inside its body.

It's like a living, breathing droplet of water.

"This is just Aquamarine, a water-type spirit," Lin Luo said.

"It's the one that sprayed Duke Cheng's face with it before."

"Blue!" Shui Lanlan puffed out her chest triumphantly.

Cheng Yaojin muttered under his breath, "I still remember..."

At this moment, Li Shimin had completely lost sight of maintaining imperial decorum.

He squatted down and looked Shui Lanlan in the eye.

An emperor of the Tang Dynasty squatted in a small shop in the West Market, gazing at a blue elf.

"You...can you understand me?"

"Blue!" Shui Lanlan nodded vigorously.

"Can you make water?"

Shui Lanlan tilted her bow and opened her little mouth—

"Whoosh—"

A small stream of clear water spurted from its mouth, drawing an arc in the air.

It landed precisely in an empty teacup on the counter.

The teacup is full.

The water flow has stopped.

Shui Lanlan patted her little belly, looking very proud.

"Blue~" (ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)

Li Shimin stared at the bowl of water that had appeared out of thin air and remained silent for a long time.

Then he reached out and dipped his hand into the water in the bowl.

It's real water.

Clear, cool, and real water.

He slowly stood up, turned around and looked at Lin Luo.

"Shopkeeper."

"Um?"

"How many of these...water-type Pokémon do you have?"

"There's only this one right now."

"Can you have more?"

"Yes, but it will take time."

"how long?"

Lin Luo paused for a moment.

"I'm not sure. It could take ten days to two weeks at the fastest, or... maybe one or two months at the slowest."

He didn't boast or make any promises.

Since the Water-type Pokémon Fruit Fragment is only 6/10, it's not guaranteed to drop even with daily draws.

Li Shimin looked into his eyes and saw neither flattery nor fear.

It's not even about caring about one's own identity.

It was just a simple, honest, and frank statement.

This look reminded Li Shimin of Fang Xuanling—

Speak frankly and say what you think.

"Alright," Li Shimin nodded.

"I...I will wait for you."

He paused.

"But the drought won't wait."

"Just tell me what you need. Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong will do their best to cooperate."

After saying this, Li Shimin took one last look at Dimo and Shui Lanlan.

He turned around and strode out of the shop.

Fang Xuanling followed behind, his steps still a little unsteady—clearly, his worldview had not been fully restored.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he quickly chased after them.

The shop became quiet again.

Lin Luo leaned against the counter and picked up the teacup filled with Shui Lanlan's tea.

I took a sip.

Yes, purified water.

It tastes pretty good.

"Hmm?" Dimo tilted his head and looked at him, touching the back of his hand with his little paw.

How was it? Did I do well just now?

"You did a great job." Lin Luo rubbed its head.

"Blue!" Shui Lanlan also came over, her bow tie askew, looking like she wanted credit.

"You're great too, especially that precise water injection, it was really cool."

"Blue~" Water Blue exhaled a bubble contentedly.

Little Owl's voice came from the backyard:

"Has the boss... left?"

"They're gone."

"Can I get out now...? Abu's asleep on my head... It's so heavy..."

"...Just bear with it for a moment."

"Boss!!"

(っ°Д°;)っ

Lin Luo smiled.

Then I opened the system panel and clicked on the daily lottery.

[Daily Lottery - Congratulations on winning: Water-type Spirit Fruit Fragment x1]

7/10.

Three more are needed.

He closed the panel and opened the encyclopedia recording function.

This chapter should include some basic historical information.

"...A brief introduction to official history, Part 2."

"The Reign of Zhenguan."

"Many people believe that the Reign of Zhenguan simply meant that the world was at peace as soon as Li Shimin came to power, but that's not the case at all. The Tang Dynasty at the beginning of the Zhenguan era was a far cry from its golden age—it had just experienced the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty, and the population had plummeted to less than three million households, leaving the entire country in a state of desolation."

"Even more critical was the problem of powerful clans. The five prominent families and seven influential clans of the time—the Li family of Longxi, the Li family of Zhaojun, the Cui family of Boling, the Cui family of Qinghe, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Zheng family of Xingyang, and the Wang family of Taiyuan—controlled vast amounts of land, population, and political resources. Many policies that Li Shimin wanted to implement were thwarted by these powerful families."

"The guest who came today is facing these very problems. On the one hand, the drought is causing immense suffering to the people; on the other hand, powerful families are taking advantage of the situation to hoard grain and raise prices, profiting from the national crisis. He wants to provide disaster relief, but the national treasury is insufficient; he wants to borrow grain, but the powerful families refuse; he wants to write an edict of self-reproach to pray for rain, but he feels this is superstition and cannot solve the practical problem."

"But history tells us that he ultimately pulled through. It wasn't his own strength, but the support of a group of people willing to stand by him—Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Wei Zheng, Changsun Wuji… and those two military generals who sparred and fought outside every day."

"Of course, if he had a Water-type Pokémon back then, he probably wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble."

"However, it is precisely because there were no shortcuts that the Zhenguan Era was so highly valuable."

"But what if... a shortcut becomes available?"

How will history be rewritten?

"—The above is purely my personal speculation; please do not take it seriously."

Lin Luo clicked "save".

[The historical background information has been recorded. Reward: 1 Magic Fruit.]

He turned off the panel and looked out the window.

The setting sun painted the skyline of Chang'an City orange-red.

Li Shimin said, "Drought won't wait."

Yes.

The drought won't wait.