Chapter 198: The Owner of Jinmu Cafe

South Sea City was short on everything except coffee shops.

It was hard to say if people genuinely liked them, or if they just needed a place to while away the afternoon.

The owner of Rose Cafe on Anxiang Street, Xu Wei, was a member of the Witch Association.

The street was also crawling with undercover agents from the Anomaly Investigation Bureau, so Jiang Chaosheng decided to find somewhere else to hang out.

There was no signal in Antique Shop Zero, making his phone and laptop nothing more than decorations.

Besides, he’d grown tired of Anxiang Street.

As for why it had to be a coffee shop…

Most people willing to spend a few dozen yuan on a cup of bitter water to kill time were the type who preferred peace and quiet.

Jiang Chaosheng loved the buzz of everyday life, but he couldn’t stand the clamor.

South District, Jinmu Cafe.

It wasn’t far from Anxiang Street—just around the corner, really.

Jiang Chaosheng sat in a corner, the latte beside him long gone cold. The milk foam had dried on the rim of the cup, like a hired singer at a karaoke bar left on the sidelines—unnoticed and forgotten.

He was looking into Dream Island Resort.

The screen showed that the resort was located in Peng City, the “Capital of Innovation,” renowned for its urban high-tech.

The owner had leased an entire island to create a high-end, exclusive experience.

Business had been booming until eight months ago, when it suddenly announced a shutdown for “restructuring.” It had only reopened a few days ago.

The online rumors were all over the place: some said the owner had offended someone powerful, while others claimed he was deep in gambling debt.

“Mister, are you going to eat that cake?”

A timid voice piped up beside him.

Jiang Chaosheng snapped out of his thoughts and glanced down.

It was a little girl, not even knee-high to him.

She was dressed in rags, her face smudged with dirt. She looked just like Helian had when he’d first met her.

He pushed the cake toward the edge of the table.

The little girl’s eyes lit up. She snatched the cake and took a huge bite. With her cheeks puffed out, she mumbled indistinctly,

“You’re a good person, mister. Thank you.”

Jiang Chaosheng watched her, his eyes softening as the corner of his mouth curved into a subtle smile.

“It’s fine. It’s yours.”

The little girl froze for a moment, her face blushing. Clutching the cake, she turned and ran.

She had only taken a few steps when a hand shot out from behind, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and hoisting her into the air.

“Hey, you little brat. Come to my shop to scrounge, have you?”

Jiang Chaosheng looked up.

He saw a young man in a black hoodie and black sweatpants. He had short hair and a somewhat roguish look about him.

The little girl’s eyes went wide, and she flailed in terror.

“Boss, the mister gave it to me!”

The man in black ignored her, his hand reaching into her clothes.

The little girl flew into a full-blown panic and shrieked,

“What are you doing?! You pervert! Help me!”

The other customers in the cafe turned to look.

Some frowned, others pulled out their phones. A man in a blue suit shot to his feet, strode over, and said in a cold voice,

“Hey, man. She just took a piece of a customer’s cake in your own shop. You don’t have to go this far, do you?”

The man in black said nothing.

He pulled his hand from the little girl’s pocket. Pinched between his fingertips was a wallet, which he dangled in front of the man in the blue suit.

The man in the blue suit froze, staring at the little girl in disbelief.

The little girl hung her head and said nothing.

A flush of embarrassment crept up the man’s face. He mumbled an apology and hurried out of the cafe.

The man in black shouted to a woman in a red dress behind the counter,

“Honey, remember his face! Next time he comes in, his order is on the house!”

The man in black released his grip, setting the girl back on the ground. He glared at her fiercely.

“You little brat,” he growled, “next time, I’ll break your legs.”

Tears streamed down the little girl’s face.

“I won’t do it again… C-can I go now?”

“Get lost.”

Wiping her tears, the little girl bolted out the door.

Jiang Chaosheng watched her small figure disappear through the doorway.

‘He’d actually known she was a thief.’

‘Although he was still a mere mortal, after practicing the Spiritual Concentration Divine Art for so long, his perception had sharpened somewhat.’

‘That’s why he had let her take the wallet.’

He watched as the little girl reached the door. The woman in the red dress came out from behind the counter holding a few pieces of cake, bent down, and handed them to her.

The girl paused, stunned, before taking them. She gave the woman a deep bow and then ran off.

Jiang Chaosheng smiled and shook his head.

‘A few pieces of cake for a wallet… The owner’s wife took a loss on that one.’

“Hey man, your wallet.”

The man in black placed the wallet on his table.

Jiang Chaosheng took it and said earnestly, “Thank you.”

The man in black glanced at the coffee beside him and smiled.

“You’re not much of a coffee drinker, are you, man?”

Jiang Chaosheng nodded honestly.

“I like the atmosphere in your cafe.”

“My wife designed it.”

The young man beamed, his features softening. A classic case of a man who doted on his wife.

He extended a hand. “Meng Xing.”

Jiang Chaosheng shook it. “Jiang Chaosheng.”

Meng Xing was the type to warm up to people quickly. His gaze swept over Jiang Chaosheng’s phone screen, and his eyes lit up.

“Whoa, Dream Island Resort? You thinking of heading there for a vacation?”

“You’ve been?” Jiang Chaosheng asked.

Meng Xing gave a sheepish smile and waved his hands.

“Nah, couldn’t afford it. A single ticket is a hundred thousand yuan. Way out of my price range.”

He paused, a hint of pride entering his voice.

“But my wife’s a master designer. She was the one who did the original designs for Dream Island.”

Jiang Chaosheng hadn’t expected such a coincidence.

‘I come out for a cup of coffee and just happen to run into someone with inside information on Dream Island?’

Jiang Chaosheng said,

“I heard it reopened and was thinking of checking it out, but…”

Jiang Chaosheng paused.

“I was wondering why it shut down in the first place.”

Meng Xing chuckled.

“Then you’ve come to the right person. There’s quite a story behind that.”

Jiang Chaosheng listened intently.

Meng Xing continued,

“The owner had a child late in life, so he hired a master to read the fortune of his unborn baby.”

“The master said that Dream Island is a natural ‘Feng Shui Dragon Gate.'”

“And the people who visit Dream Island are all the cream of the crop, right? ‘Dragons and phoenixes among men,’ so to speak.”

“The master claimed their powerful fortunes would suppress the fortune of the unborn child.”

“But if he closed Dream Island and waited until after the child was born to reopen it, the baby could borrow the luck of all those future tourists. It would be like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, and he’d grow up to be a major figure, famous throughout the Xia Kingdom!”

As Jiang Chaosheng processed this tale, steeped in old-world superstition, his mind began to turn.

‘Eight months ago…’

‘If the baby was born prematurely, it could have been delivered after eight months.’

‘And if Dream Island Resort reopened after the birth, there would no longer be any question of ‘competing for the Dragon Gate’s Dragon Qi.”

‘If the Evil Qilin is the one pulling the strings at Dream Island Resort, then this superstitious reasoning might actually be the real cause of the shutdown.’

‘Doesn’t the Evil Qilin pass himself off as a disciple of the Buddhist Sect?’

‘Calling him a ‘master’… isn’t much of a stretch.’

‘But why would the Evil Qilin care so much about an infant?’

‘A Taboo Item?’

‘What could an infant possibly have to do with Taboo Items?’

A slow smile spread across Jiang Chaosheng’s lips.

“I’m rather looking forward to seeing what kind of surprises he has in store for me.”

Meng Xing blinked, then laughed.

“Oh, there’ll be surprises, all right. After all, my wife designed the place. If you end up going, could you take a picture for me? I’ve never been there myself, so I don’t even know what the place she designed looks like.”

Jiang Chaosheng looked at Meng Xing, nodded, and said with sincerity,

“I’ll be back in a week. I’ll show you the photos then.”

After all, the cafe owner, Meng Xing, had done him a favor.

As someone who struggled with emotions, he took debts of gratitude very seriously.

…

The boat moved slowly, its motor chugging laboriously.

The deep blue of the sea gradually gave way to shallower water, so clear he could see the ripples in the sand on the seabed.

Jiang Chaosheng stood at the bow, gazing into the distance.

Sunlight shattered on the crests of the waves, glinting like scattered shards of glass.

“Amitabha Buddha.”

The aged chant of a Buddha’s name sounded beside him.

Jiang Chaosheng turned to see an old monk in kasaya robes.

This was one of Dream Island Resort’s ferries, the Dream Ship.

There were about twenty people on board.

The monk was the most peculiar one of the lot.

One man on board was clearly nouveau riche, speaking in a boorish tone as he bragged to his young mistress about how he’d spent over two hundred thousand on this trip.

‘Let’s see…’

‘Over a hundred thousand… for one person… for a week’s vacation.’

‘Where would a monk get the money to vacation at Dream Island?’

“You know, baby, only three kinds of people come to vacation on Dream Island.”

“The first are the cultural elites invited by the Island Lord. They’re here to add a bit of class to the island—which, to be blunt, just means they’re here to work.”

The middle-aged man, who wore a thick gold chain and had a gold tooth, had his arm around a slender young woman. He glanced at the old monk as he spoke.

“In my opinion, ‘cultural elites’ my ass.”

“If they really had any scholarly integrity, why would they be drooling over a chance to enjoy themselves at a resort?”

“So classless!”

The old monk kept his eyes closed, his expression impassive.

The young woman blinked her big eyes.

“What about the second kind?”

The nouveau riche man sneered, his eyes flicking pointedly toward Jiang Chaosheng.

“Then there are the paupers, who save up for years just to get a glimpse of what high society looks like.”

The young woman covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, a hint of pride in her eyes.

“And the third?”

The nouveau riche planted a loud SMACK of a kiss on the young woman’s cheek.

“That’d be the real upper crust, like us, wouldn’t it? A ticket costs over a hundred grand, and we spend it without a second thought. We don’t feel the sting at all. We’re just here to have fun!”

Suddenly, a wave of cold air washed over the nouveau riche.

He shivered, pulling his clothes tighter around himself and looking around.

“Damn, the wind off this island is strong.”

The young woman teased,

“Getting a little frail on me, are you, darling?”

The man gave her a lecherous look, pulling her toward the leeward side of the stern.

“So classless. Tonight, you’ll find out just how ‘frail’ I am.”

Jiang Chaosheng gently touched his own chest and murmured,

“Settle down.”

Tucked inside his shirt, against his chest, was the Nine-tailed Fox Demon Core.

In the distance, the small island slowly grew larger.

White houses were clustered tightly along the shore, their whiteness so pristine it looked almost unreal. That had to be the resort.