Chen Miemie stepped out of the [Door Gap] carrying the [Forbidden Fruit Compendium].
The street had once again become lively.
Following the guidance of the [Forbidden Fruit Compendium], Chen Miemie walked into the shop at No. 5 Fairy Tale Road.
It was a candle shop.
“Welcome, young man. What can I get for you?”
The shopkeeper was a man somewhere between middle-aged and elderly. He had a ruddy complexion, fair skin, and neatly combed hair. He appeared well-maintained, though the few silver strands on his head gave away his age.
“I need some candles with the five lights.”
“Coming right up. So you’re a Mystic, I see. Please, look over here.”
The shopkeeper led Chen Miemie to the counter at the very back.
Inside the glass counter were several candles with visibly exquisite carvings.
Before Chen Miemie could nod, he suddenly realized something was off: candles are meant to be burned, so why add all this fancy carving on the surface? Wouldn’t carving them just reduce the material and slightly shorten the burn time? That’s purely a downgrade.
“Boss, I’m also a neighbor on this street. You shouldn’t try to fool me.”
“Oh? You are? Just arrived?”
“Yeah, you know Old Song? I inherited his place.”
“Ah, why didn’t you say so earlier! Old Song’s nephew, right? My name is Liu Gui. If you don’t mind, you can call me Uncle Liu.”
“Uncle Liu, I’m Chen Miemie.”
“Since you’re one of us, and this is your first time, just pick whatever candles you need and take them. But I wasn’t trying to trick you earlier. I run my business honestly, dealing fairly with everyone. I just charge outsiders a bit more, but the goods are always genuine.”
“Oh, Uncle Liu, why do these five-light candles have these raised patterns on the surface?”
“They store a faint five-light within them, so they’re different from ordinary candles.
Making these five-light candles is no simple process.
First, you have to prepare a special oil-wax blend.
Second, a Mystic skilled in the power of ‘light’ must painstakingly infuse the corresponding light into the oil-wax.
Third, as soon as step two is done, another Mystic skilled in engraving formations must immediately carve a seal on the candle’s surface to prevent the light’s power from leaking out.
Only then is it a proper five-light candle.”
Just hearing this process, Chen Miemie knew five-light candles couldn’t be cheap.
“So how much are they?”
“The Golden and Silver Sun Candles are 3 years apiece; the Rainbow Moon Candle is 9 years; the Frost Moon Candle is 30 years, and I only have one Frost Moon in my shop. That’s my price to you. For outsiders, I add half a year to a full year on each type.”
“Uncle Liu, why are the moon ones more expensive, and the Frost Moon so much more? Is it because there aren’t as many Mystics with the corresponding powers?”
“No, that’s not it.
The number of Mystics is about the same. It’s the difficulty and cost of making the candles.
The sun gives off light and heat, which matches the nature of candles, so they’re easy to make, and almost never fail.
The Rainbow Moon represents chaos, and rainbow-moon light isn’t very stable.
The Frost Moon represents cold and probability. Probability alone makes the success rate a gamble, and storing cold light in a candle meant for burning is extremely hard.
Over time, fewer people make moon candles, and it’s a vicious cycle, so the candles have gotten more expensive.”
“Uncle Liu, with prices this high, do you actually sell many?”
“They really don’t sell well anymore,” the man said. “Ordinary people hardly have any use for them. Back when Colorful Mailboxes were popular, this was a thriving business. Now it’s a sunset industry.”
“I’d like to buy some of that special oil wax you mentioned.”
“What, you want to make them yourself?”
“Yeah, I’m interested.”
“No problem, I can sell it separately. One portion of special oil wax costs one month. Buy ten, get one free.”
“Alright, give me ten portions. And three of each type of Sun Candle.”
After some back-and-forth, Chen Miemie paid with eighteen years of time.
Even though Uncle Liu said she could just take them for free, a sum worth over a decade from someone she’d never even met... Chen Miemie wasn’t about to take it without paying. Only, after the haggling, the oil wax ended up being free anyway.
Chen Miemie left the candle shop carrying six candles and a large bundle of oil wax.
Once outside, the [Forbidden Fruit Atlas] finally spoke up. “You want to make Colorful Candles yourself?”
“Yeah, but I can’t do it yet. I’m missing an assistant who can carve the sealing formation.”
“So why don’t you go back and try the ‘Two-Radiance’ level for mailing?”
“No way. I’m Chen Miemie. If I don’t use it at all, I’ll go for the ‘Five-Radiance’ level.”
“Hah.” The [Forbidden Fruit Atlas] let out a cold laugh, clearly unconvinced.
As they talked, Chen Miemie passed by the café at No. 16 Fairy Tale Road.
The owner, Qiu Tian, was out front tidying up the outdoor tables and chairs.
Their eyes met.
Qiu Tian stopped what she was doing and smiled slightly. “Want a cup of coffee?”
Chen Miemie glanced at the sign behind her—[Four Seasons Café].
“Sure, I’ll have one.”
Chen Miemie followed Qiu Tian to the counter.
On the eye-catching blackboard menu were only four items:
[Spring Cherry], [Summer Cicada], [Autumn Moon], [Winter Snow].
Judging by the names alone, Chen Miemie had no idea what flavors they were.
“Can these four tastes really make people feel like they’re tasting different seasons?”
“Oh, that,” Qiu Tian said. “I just made those up. Actually, the café can only make four types of coffee: sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy.”
“I’ll have a spicy coffee,” Chen Miemie declared on the spot. She’d tried sour, sweet, and bitter before, so she had to sample the spicy one.
Qiu Tian looked at Chen Miemie. Chen Miemie looked back.
Neither of them moved.
“How about you go sit over there? I’ll bring it to you when it’s ready.”
Chen Miemie refused. “No, I want to see how you make spicy coffee.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.”
Then Qiu Tian began her magical mixing process.
Chen Miemie had imagined it would involve grinding, brewing, latte art, and so on.
In reality, Qiu Tian’s approach was to slice open a pack of instant coffee, dump in a huge amount of black and white pepper, chop up some Devil’s Red chili peppers with a fruit knife, and finally pour in boiling water, stirring everything together roughly.
“Ah-choo!” The excessive pepper made Chen Miemie’s nose itch.
“All done.” Qiu Tian was all smiles.
Chen Miemie stared at the bubbling black liquid with occasional chili seeds floating on top. She hesitated. “Boss—”
“Call me Qiu Tian.”
“Qiu Tian, are you sure this is drinkable?”
“Of course. My skills are unbeatable. If it’s not good, you don’t have to pay.”
Chen Miemie took the cup and carefully moved away from Qiu Tian to a small table.
It wasn’t a matter of payment anymore. The real question was whether her Level 9 [Indestructibility] could withstand this terrifying liquid.
She probably wouldn’t get hurt, but she honestly couldn’t bring herself to take a sip.
Lifting his head slightly, he saw Qiu Tian not far away, looking at him with eyes full of anticipation.
"Forget it, die or be damned."
Chen Miemie steeled himself and took a small sip from the rim of the cup.
Huh?
Chen Miemie was a little taken aback.
This flavor was surprisingly good!
Within the richness of the coffee, two kinds of spiciness occasionally emerged, making it feel like a volcano erupting inside his mouth and between his teeth.
Where did the volcano come from? Scooping with a spoon, he found popping candy inside!
Bitter, spicy, explosive—under the dual stimulation of taste and touch, he felt as if his whole being was elevated.
"Delicious!"
Before he knew it, the cup was empty.
"Boss Qiu Tian, your craft is incredible. The seemingly bizarre ingredients you paired together produced an astonishing effect. I'll come again to try other flavors, but do you only have four kinds?"
Qiu Tian was still grinning.
"You flatter me. Don't worry, every cup of my coffee tastes different.
People call me a 'coffee artist'—no matter how randomly I mix things, it is destined that I can brew delicious coffee."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
