Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

An unnamed shop in the fifth district of Shuzhou City, east of the city.

"Shopkeeper! Your book looks good, how much is it?"

Inside the somewhat deserted shop, a scholar wearing a turban picked up a book from the corner and asked the shopkeeper at the counter a question.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

The air seemed to freeze, and the scholar waited for a long time with his book, but received no reply.

The shopkeeper at the counter didn't even look up, as if he hadn't heard the scholar's voice, and went about his own business without showing any intention of welcoming customers.

Not getting the response he wanted, the scholar assumed it was because his voice was too soft.

She coughed twice, mimicking her teacher's mannerisms, deliberately raising her voice.

"Shopkeeper! Can you sell this book for a discount?"

Thirty breaths passed, and the question still hadn't been answered.

In the empty shop, only the scholar was performing a monologue, unsure whether to pick up the book in his hand or not.

For a moment, the scholar was a little angry. She felt that she was being looked down upon. How could someone who runs a business treat people so disrespectfully?

Just as she was about to rebuke him, she remembered the lessons her husband had taught her a few days earlier.

Before doing anything, you should observe and listen more to understand the whole picture as much as possible, and avoid generalizations or preconceived notions.

Upon closer examination, the shop owner may have some unspeakable difficulties.

Thinking of this, the scholar looked up and saw the shopkeeper in front of the counter flipping through something that looked like a letter.

Perhaps due to neglect, the table in front of the shop was a bit messy, with many small items that girls like displayed on it.

Deaf?

The scholar immediately had this thought in his mind.

But how can a deaf person open a shop?

Does this shop owner think that as long as they put a price tag on something, they can sell it?

That's not how you do business...

And these items on the table look like little girl's toys, but there's no trace of a girl living in the shop.

If the girl were still alive, she would never have allowed her deaf brother to run the shop alone.

Could it be that something unexpected happened and he left this world prematurely?

……

After staring at Mu An in front of the counter for a while, and considering the current situation in the shop, the scholar quickly came up with a whole story and even arranged a brand new character for Mu An.

A man whose family has fallen on hard times, who has lost both parents, whose younger sister died young, and who himself is ill.

A convoluted and bizarre plotline flashed through the scholar's mind.

The imagination that had been praised by the master at home came into play at this moment, and in the shortest amount of time, a whole story of love, hate and grudges was woven.

The scholar, lost in his imagination, felt as if he were carrying an immense mission, and his conscience, yet to be tempered by the harsh realities of life, was shining brightly.

When he came to his senses, the scholar glanced at the price tag in the corner and then looked at the bookshelf on the other side.

A book titled "Bathing in the Sunlight" was placed on one side of the bookshelf, immediately catching the scholar's attention.

This little shop actually has books that her elders and husband don't allow her to read!

Even without reading it, the author's name alone is enough to make a scholar blindly start reading.

Qishan Dao was a capable minister who brought peace to the world. He was the right-hand man of the Five Elements True Lord and the first prime minister of the Great Spirit Empire, Prime Minister Wang Le.

Even in the distant city of Shu, the scholar knew of Wang Le's name.

The fact that he was regarded as a pillar of the state by the Five Elements True Lord alone is enough to place Prime Minister Wang Le among the Ten Worthy Civil Officials.

Even though the Southern Frontier and Qishan Road are now enemy states, it does not diminish the respect that scholars have for Prime Minister Wang Le.

The scholars of the Southern Frontier look down on the present Great Ling Empire, but they hold the Qishan Dao under the rule of the Five Elements True Lord in high esteem.

Scholars throughout the land unanimously agree that the early Qishan Road was able to become a paradise on earth and a model of righteousness, thanks in no small part to the dedication and hard work of Prime Minister Wang Le.

Unfortunately, the elders in the scholar's family were somewhat overprotective, and they wouldn't allow the scholar to read any books published by Qishan Road.

Holding two books, the scholar approached Mu An step by step with an almost reverent attitude.

Stop, pay, and turn away gracefully.

The moment the scholar placed the money on the table, he clearly saw that the shopkeeper was looking through letters.

Everything matched her guess; the shopkeeper was indeed looking at "her sister's" letter.

The yellowed letter paper vividly reveals the traces of time.

At that moment, the scholar felt as if all the knowledge he had learned was now vividly present before his eyes.

What a beautiful sibling bond, what a touching and arduous story...

Thinking of his older brother who always treated him like a child, the scholar suddenly thought that this must be a test from heaven, and the first step he was taking towards his ideal.

Filled with joy and emotion, the scholar quietly left the shop.

Only after the scholar's figure disappeared from the shop did Mu An slowly raise his head and look at the silver coins on the table.

"Why did they give so much... What's wrong with this scholar? It's one thing for him to be dressed as a woman, but can't he even do basic accounting?"

"Never mind, if she can't calculate it, she can't calculate it. I'll just give her a few books next time she comes."

After muttering a few words to himself, Mu An's gaze swept across the entire shop, and finally he sighed softly.

"I've been here for a year now, and I've finally closed another deal today. It's really not easy..."

……

A year has passed since Mu An arrived in Shuzhou City, and the goods that he had imagined were not completely sold out.

According to Mu An's initial plan, he could easily sell goods worth five hundred taels in at most half a month.

Even with some unexpected events, this period will not exceed one month.

Then, he would see a Mu Ling'er who obediently submits to him.

The little guy will definitely try to coax me into doing something cute, hoping to escape the promised 100,000-word self-criticism.

Then another battle of wits and courage will inevitably follow.

But once Mu An actually took over the shop, he discovered that things were not as he had imagined.

Doing business seems to be much more difficult than he thought.

To this day, he has only sold five items, totaling less than five taels of silver, and his goal remains a distant prospect.

Mu An felt that this was a very abnormal thing.

The quality of the goods in his shop is beyond doubt; there are absolutely no products made with inferior materials or workmanship.

The prices of the items were also marked by Mu Ling'er, with each item clearly priced.

Because she suspected that Mu Ling'er was raising prices arbitrarily, which was why the goods were not selling, Mu An even went to other shops in the city to check, only to find that the prices of the items in the shop were about the same as those in other shops.

Strangely enough, when the store first opened, it had quite a few customers.

But for some reason, the products just wouldn't sell, and as time went on, fewer and fewer customers came into the store.

Nowadays, only a handful of people will enter the shop throughout the entire day.

They all love to ask all sorts of questions.

Mu An felt that these people were all out of their minds. These were clearly priced items, so why ask? Just pay, take the items, and leave.

It's such a simple thing, but these people insist on hanging around in front of him and asking questions that waste his time.

Mu An has always ignored people like that.

The result speaks for itself.

Sitting at the table, looking at the shop that was almost exactly the same as it had been a year ago, Mu An fell silent once again.

"Is it really that hard to do business in this shabby place?"

"I, a supreme being of heaven and earth, standing at the pinnacle of the nine realms, can't even sell this little bit of stuff?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

……