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

Fourteen years after Mu Ling'er ran away from home, Mu An arrived at a small town called Ping'an, following the clues she left behind.

In this small town, Mu Ling'er left him a pawnshop with a rather strange name, "Pawnshop No. 9," and a seemingly simple but actually very complicated task.

When you have 99 items.

Since Mu Ling'er did not restrict the types of goods or make any additional requests, this task was not too complicated.

For any normal person, it can be achieved with just a little effort and a little more time.

But for Mu An, who had suffered a setback in Shuzhou City and couldn't even sell the simplest goods, this was undoubtedly a new challenge.

After all, this time Mu An was staying in an ordinary small town, and she didn't meet a warm and innocent young lady like Bai Ling.

Moreover, the work of a pawnshop can no longer be as simple as just setting a price and waiting for customers to come and buy. If you want to pawn an item, you will inevitably have to communicate with other people.

For Mu An, communicating with others on an equal footing was something that had been a very, very long time ago.

……

As expected, the pawnshop had no business for a full six months.

Time passed slowly, and because there was still no progress, Mu An gradually began to suspect that the problem might not be with the business environment in Shuzhou City, but rather that he really didn't know how to do business, and that he had misunderstood Ye Lin and the others before.

Between reading sessions, Mu An began to consciously recall how Bai Ling had managed to sell the items in Shuzhou City.

After much thought, Mu An decided to make some tentative attempts.

Let's start by answering these guests' questions.

……

Because of the unusually strong cold front from the north, which moved southward, the climate in the entire Tianqi Domain is colder than in previous years. Ping'an City, located at the northern end of Shuzhou City, has also seen snowfall early.

As the year draws to a close, heavy snow has already blocked the streets.

The sudden heavy snow made the already deserted pawnshop even more desolate, with not a single person in sight for several days.

In the empty pawnshop, Mu An held a cup of hot tea, staring blankly out the window.

Although he had made up his mind a month ago to learn from Bai Ling and communicate well with customers.

But reality is not so kind; in such a small county, news travels much faster than in big cities.

The good news is like this, and so is the bad news.

Because Mu An always speaks coldly and doesn't communicate with people, and her tone is quite frightening.

Various rumors spread throughout Ping'an County during the time he opened his shop.

The pawnshop owner is a wanted criminal by the imperial court and a notorious bandit who came here to rob and kill...

Similar rumors and gossip spread among the neighbors without them even realizing it.

As the word spread, more people believed it. Even those who didn't believe it would deliberately stay away from Mu An's pawnshop.

It's better to avoid trouble than to get involved. Whether you believe it or not, people will instinctively choose to stay away from risks and trouble.

Now, even the children in the city dare not approach Mu An's pawnshop, because it is a dangerous place that their parents have repeatedly warned them against. If they go near it and their parents see them, they will be beaten!

Rumors had already spread far and wide. Under these circumstances, even if Mu An tried to make changes, it had no effect, because there were simply no customers.

To this day, the entire pawnshop has not made a single sale.

Even someone as composed as Mu An couldn't help but feel somewhat helpless in this situation, and while drinking tea, she stared blankly at the snow falling on the street.

Mu An felt that this question might stump him for a long time.

……

On this desolate afternoon, just when Mu An thought that he would not gain anything today, five-colored light lit up the room, and a projection appeared in front of Mu An.

The projected Mu Ling'er was dressed in a five-colored robe, carrying the sword case of the Five Elements Creation Sword on her back, with a jeweled pendant hanging from her waist, a five-colored bracelet on her wrist, and cloud-stepping boots on her feet...

Despite being armed to the teeth from head to toe, Mu Ling'er's face still betrayed a hint of nervousness.

Upon seeing Mu An, Mu Ling'er in the scene finally breathed a sigh of relief. She coughed lightly, put her hands on her hips, and pretended to be arrogant.

"Hehe, I'm here to see you again! Did you miss me?"

"..."

Silence stretched between the two of them, and after a long while, Mu An finally spoke helplessly.

"You silly girl, all you do is spout nonsense... Coming to see me all of a sudden, are you preparing to ascend to godhood?"

In the projection, Mu Ling'er pursed her lips, gave Mu An a disdainful look, and muttered something under her breath.

"How boring, they don't even know how to cooperate with me..."

After making a comment, Mu Ling'er laughed. She looked at Mu An through the projection, her hands fidgeting restlessly.

"Are you nervous?" Mu An asked gently, noticing Mu Ling'er's unease.

Mu Ling'er didn't seem to have any intention of hiding her feelings from Mu An, and simply nodded directly.

"Well, as you know, I've never had much talent, so it's inevitable that I'm a little nervous about something as big as ascending to godhood."

Mu An nodded slightly and offered her concern, "If you're scared, I can come and keep you company right now..."

Before she could finish her words of concern, it seemed as if she had touched a nerve. Mu Ling'er instantly turned into a prickly hedgehog, baring her fur and yelling fiercely at Mu An.

"No! Absolutely not! What do you mean? Are you looking down on me? Let me tell you, I can handle things like ascending to godhood all by myself. You don't need to worry about it. Just stay here and mind the shop!"

Seeing Mu Ling'er suddenly get angry, Mu An also frowned.

It wasn't that he was angry because Mu Ling'er had yelled at him, but because he hadn't realized that even after so much time had passed, Mu Ling'er was still so concerned about his lack of talent.

Perhaps realizing she had gone too far, Mu Ling'er deflated immediately after shouting, lowering her head and whispering.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, it's just..."

Mu Ling'er didn't finish her sentence, and Mu An didn't hold it against her. He simply comforted her gently, just as he had done long ago.

"Don't overthink it. Talent and comprehension are important, but those are only for mortals. Once you ascend to godhood, you will enter a completely different realm. At that time, even if you rely solely on yourself, you will be no worse than anyone else."

As if remembering something, Mu An gave Mu Ling'er an encouraging gesture.

"It's alright, don't be nervous, it's just a divine ascension... Just like your old Grandma Green always said, our little Ling'er is the best! Believe in yourself!"

Hearing Mu An say this, Mu Ling'er raised her head again, her eyebrows curved and her smile was radiant.

The little figure in the picture clenched his fist and shouted loudly at Mu An.

"Look forward to it! When we meet again, I'll show you a completely different Ling'er!"

……

With Mu Ling'er's firm voice, the projection went out again.

Mu An, holding a teacup by the window, laughed as she looked at the falling snow outside.

The little guy is good at everything, but he lacks confidence in some areas. After he ascends to godhood this time and has power that is entirely his own, he will probably stop thinking he is stupid like before.

……

Thousands of miles away, Mu Ling'er, who had just been smug in the projection, was now squatting on the ground, her eyes red.

She almost couldn't hold back...

Since we've come this far, we really shouldn't have pulled this stunt.

But... as everything was about to come to an end, she really wanted to take a good look at Mu An, to see his face, to see what he looked like...

Even if you've already made up your mind and prepared everything, when the moment actually arrives, the emotions in your heart still surge like a turbulent sea.

Reluctance and longing overshadowed everything else, leading Mu Ling'er to risk the possibility of her plan failing by choosing to chat with Mu An for a while.

Even though it was only for a short while, it felt incredibly precious, offering a small comfort to Mu Ling'er's empty heart.