Mortal: Traveling Between Two Realms with Mei Ning to Pick Up Trash

The three walked along the main street for about fifteen minutes before turning into a relatively quiet alley.

Deep in the alley, there is an inn. The storefront is not big, but it looks quite comfortable. The sign at the door reads "Haifengju".

The three of them went inside, and behind the counter sat a plump woman. Judging from her clothes, she seemed to be an ordinary person, but the aura she exuded indicated that she was at least a Qi Refining stage cultivator.

"Are you three here for a meal or to stay at the inn?" the woman asked with a smile as she stood up.

"Let's stay at a hotel," Mei Ning said. "Three rooms, for seven days."

"Alright! Three rooms, seven days' stay will cost you twelve spirit stones. Pay first, then check in."

Mei Ning took out twelve spirit stones from her storage bag and placed them on the counter. The woman accepted the spirit stones and handed over two wooden key tags.

"Second floor, the first two rooms on the left. Come down and find me anytime if you need anything."

The three went upstairs. The two rooms were next to each other. Mei Ning had one room by herself, while Mei Feng and Zhou Yu shared the other.

Zhou Yu pushed open the door and went inside. The room wasn't big; it contained a bed, a table, and a chair, and was fairly clean. The window faced the street, and he could see people coming and going as soon as he opened it.

He sat on the edge of the bed, let out a long breath, and thought about some things.

Based on the current timeline, Wen Siyue should be at Miaoyin Gate, but it's unclear whether this world follows the original storyline or the anime's plot.

He had read the first two parts of the time-travel series, but he had read the original novel a long time ago, and the details had long since become a blurry mess. He had only recently watched the anime, but there were some differences between the anime and the original novel, and he couldn't even tell which version was in his head now.

In his memory, Wen Siyue was quite different in the two versions, but Zhou Yu rubbed his temples and couldn't recall the specific differences.

Forget it.

Zhou Yu stood up, patted the wrinkles off his clothes, and pushed open the door to go out.

The corridor was quiet, save for the sounds of Mei Feng turning over and a muffled murmur coming from the next room. Mei Ning's room door was closed, and there was no sound.

Zhou Yu knocked on Mei Ning's door.

"Come in," Mei Ning's voice came from inside, clear and calm.

Zhou Yu pushed open the door and saw Mei Ning sitting on the edge of the bed organizing the things in her storage bag: several bottles of pills, a small pile of spirit stones, the short sword, and a few other small items that he couldn't name, all neatly arranged on the bed.

"Sister Mei Ning, I want to go out for a walk," Zhou Yu said.

Mei Ning looked up at him, put down what she was holding, and stood up.

"I'll stay with you."

"No need, no need," Zhou Yu waved his hand. "I'll just walk around nearby, I won't go far. Didn't Brother Mei Feng say he needed to rest for a while? Let him sleep, I'm fine on my own."

Mei Ning remained silent for a moment, her gaze lingering on his face for a few seconds, as if trying to determine whether he was being polite.

"Don't leave this street," she said. "Although Tianxing City has strict rules, it's not absolutely safe."

Zhou Yu nodded.

"understood."

He turned and went out the door, downstairs, and pushed open the door of the inn.

The afternoon sun shone brightly on the bluestone pavement. There were many more people on the street than in the morning, coming and going. Zhou Yu stood at the entrance of the inn and stepped into the crowd.

He wandered aimlessly, finding everything new and interesting.

In the window of a magic artifact shop, there was a long sword that was entirely silver-white, with fine runes flowing on its blade. It was priced at one hundred and twenty spirit stones. Zhou Yu glanced at the spirit stones he had left in his storage bag and silently walked away.

The entrance to a talisman shop was covered with colorful talisman papers, which rustled in the wind like little flags. The shop owner, a thin old man, was dozing on a low stool by the door.

The most bustling shop was a spirit beast shop, with a crowd gathered at the entrance. Zhou Yu squeezed in and saw a small, palm-sized beast in a cage, pure white and round like a cotton candy. It was holding a spirit fruit with its two front paws and munching on it, its face covered in juice. The people around were amazed. Someone asked the price, and the shopkeeper held up three fingers. The person shook their head and walked away.

Zhou Yu looked at it for a while and thought it was cute, but he didn't ask the price. He knew without asking that he couldn't afford it.

He continued walking and unknowingly turned into an alley that was narrower than the main street. There were shops on both sides of the alley, but they were much smaller in scale. Some were just stalls set up at the door with a few items on display.

At the end of the alley, a shop caught Zhou Yu's attention.

There was only a wooden sign hanging on the door frame, with a simple design carved on it: the outline of a hand, palm facing up, as if beckoning something.

Zhou Yu stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open and went inside.

The shop was larger than he had imagined, and the lighting was somewhat dim. Various items were displayed on the wooden shelves against the wall: jade slips, ores, dried herbs, bones of unknown monsters, and some other miscellaneous items that he couldn't name.

Behind the counter sat a middle-aged man wearing a gray robe, holding a jade slip in his hand. Hearing someone enter, he looked up, revealing an ordinary face.

"Take a look," he said, his tone indifferent.

Zhou Yu nodded, looking at the document while pondering it in his mind.

Something's off about this store.

In a normal shop, the goods would at least have price tags or be categorized, but the shelves here were messy and disorganized, with jade slips and ores stacked together, herbs and bones mixed together, not at all like something that was ready to be sold.

Moreover, the middle-aged man's attitude was also wrong. How can a business owner be indifferent to customers? He didn't offer any introductions, quotes, or even care what the customers wanted to see.

It's less of a shop and more of a hideout, a bit like an undercover police officer from my past life, who could tell at a glance that the other party was unprofessional.

He stood in front of the shelf for a while, then casually picked up a jade slip, pretending to sense its contents. In reality, his attention wasn't on the jade slip at all, but rather on listening to the sounds coming from the next room.

Someone is talking.

The voice was very soft, and it was difficult to hear clearly through a wall, but Zhou Yu's hearing was many times better than it had been in his mortal days. If he listened carefully, he could still catch a few fragmented words.

"...Have you found everyone?"

"...Two more are needed. The sect leader said to wait a little longer..."

"...This shipment must be delivered before the end of the month..."

The sect leader? Could it be the Myriad Sounds Sect?

Zhou Yu paused for a moment.

He put the jade slip back on the shelf, his heartbeat quickened slightly, but his expression remained unchanged. Was he short-handed?

"Boss," Zhou Yu said, his voice not loud.

The middle-aged man looked up at him.

"Do you know any places where I can earn spirit stones?" Zhou Yu asked.

The middle-aged man sized him up for a while, his gaze sweeping over him twice.

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "I'm new to Tianxing City and a bit short on cash, so please excuse my poor appearance."

The middle-aged man stared at him for a few seconds, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.

"How old are you?" he suddenly asked.

"Twenty-one."

"What level of cultivation?"

"Qi Refining Level 5".

The middle-aged man was silent for a few seconds, then stood up, walked to the door, glanced outside to make sure no one was in the alley, and then closed the door.

He turned to look at Zhou Yu, his tone lower than before.

"You've got some nerve, a mere Qi Refining Level 5 outsider, daring to walk into a random shop in an unfamiliar place and immediately ask for work. Aren't you afraid I'm a shady business?"

"It might be difficult for the boss to make a move in Tianxing City," Zhou Yu said.

"Rules are rules, but people are flexible," the middle-aged man said. "If I really harm you, a mere Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator, and the city guards come, and I say you're a thief, who do you think they'll believe?"

Zhou Yu paused for a moment.

"Boss, are you running a shady business?"

The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then laughed—this time, it was a genuine laugh.

"You've come at the right time. I'm short-handed. It's nothing big, just delivering some goods, running errands to the designated location." He pulled a thin piece of paper from under the counter, with an address and a few lines of instructions written on it. "The journey isn't far, all within Tianxing City. The reward is five spirit stones. Want to do it?"

Zhou Yu took the paper and glanced at the addresses on it. There were three or four addresses, located in different neighborhoods. One of them read "Miaoyinmen Liaison Office in Tianxing City".

"What should we send?" Zhou Yu asked.

"Deliver some low-level supplies," the middle-aged man said. "Pills, talismans, spirit stones—these are all small items. You deliver them to the destination, someone will meet you, you hand the items over to them, get a receipt, and then return them to me."

"No danger?"

"What danger could there be in Tianxing City?" The middle-aged man smiled. "The city guards' knives are not to be trifled with. Even if someone wanted to steal something, they wouldn't dare to do it in the city."

Zhou Yu thought for a moment, folded the paper, and put it into his storage bag.

"Okay, I'll do it."

The middle-aged man took out a small gray cloth package from under the counter, about the size of two fists. A talisman was affixed to the sealed end. "This is the first batch of goods. Deliver it to this address."

He pointed to the first address on the paper. "When you get there, knock three times, pause once, then knock twice more. The person on the other end will ask, 'Where does the tide rise?' You answer, 'Where the tide ebbs.' Got it?"

Zhou Yu silently repeated the code twice, memorizing it.

"Where does the tide rise, and where does it fall?"

"Yes." The middle-aged man nodded. "Once the goods are delivered, they will give you a receipt. Bring the receipt back, and I will pay you with spirit stones."

Zhou Yu put the gray cloth bundle into his storage bag and turned to leave.

When he reached the door, he stopped, turned around, and asked a question.

"Boss, what kind of organization is this?"

The middle-aged man smiled but did not answer.

"Go, be back before dark."

Zhou Yu pushed open the door and went out into the alley. The sunlight was still so bright, and the streets were still so noisy. Everything looked no different from a quarter of an hour ago.

The Gate of Wonderful Sounds.

Zhou Yu didn't know if accepting this commission was the right or wrong thing to do, but he knew one thing: in this world, opportunities don't just come to you; you have to reach out and grab them.

As for whether what we've caught is a windfall or a trap, we'll see after we catch it.