Yama Reborn-Chapter 529 - 526 [The Starry Sky Empress is not a Fool]
Chapter 526: The Star Sky Empress Is No Fool
"Fu Jia Fruit Supermarket."
This was a shop located less than fifty meters to the left, just outside the community gate. It wasn’t very large. On regular days, only the owner and a young clerk worked there, with the owner’s wife occasionally coming over to help. The owner was an old resident of the community and quite good at business, with excellent salesmanship. Most nearby residents purchased their fruit here. Additionally, there was a counter outside the store selling drinks, candy, and the like. During summer, a freezer would be added, selling ice creams and cold drinks too. This was just the kind of small shop you would see on any street.
Since Chen Nuo wasn’t home, and Ou Xiuhua’s work schedule was irregular, the everyday shopping was left to Lu Xixi. Lu Xixi stopped by almost every other day to buy candy that the children at home liked, and occasionally some fruit. As a frequent customer, she had become acquainted with the shop owner couple. Besides, with the Star Sky Empress’s exceptionally striking looks and her frequent visits, it was impossible for the couple to forget her even if they wanted to.
The note with "enemy" was found this morning. After dropping off the children at school, Lu Xixi had returned and bought some oranges from the store. She hadn’t noticed anything at the time. It was only when she got home that she saw one of the oranges had been torn open, with a small, rolled-up note stuffed inside. Upon opening it, she saw the two words: "Enemy present."
Having spent many years in the Underground World, despite having a somewhat airheaded nature, the Star Sky Empress wasn’t foolish enough to consider this a mere coincidence. A note stuffed inside an orange meant at least three things.
First, the adversary had obviously been observing her in secret. They knew she frequently bought fruit and, specifically, that she often bought oranges!
Second, the adversary had determined her usual time for visiting the store! Thus, they had managed to sneakily tamper with the oranges just before her arrival. The timing couldn’t have been too early. If it were, someone else might have purchased the tampered oranges before Lu Xixi, rendering the adversary’s efforts pointless.
Third, it was even possible that the adversary was located nearby, secretly scrutinizing her movements for quite some time.
After discovering the secret message in the orange at home, Lu Xixi made no commotion. Instead, she went about her day as usual, doing what she needed to do. Even when the three little girls came to visit, she didn’t show the slightest hint of anything unusual.
It wasn’t until the afternoon, after sending everyone else in the house away, that Lu Xixi sat down for a drink of water before leisurely leaving her home.
When she reached the fruit store at the entrance of the community, Lu Xixi chatted casually with the owner’s wife, who was minding the store. She pretended to select a few pounds of grapes.
The owner’s wife was very enthusiastic. Firstly, Lu Xixi was incredibly pretty, and good-looking people are naturally likable. Secondly, Lu Xixi was the kind of premium customer every shop owner loves—she never haggled and preferred to buy the more expensive fruits.
Moreover, the owner’s wife had a heart for Bagua. After becoming familiar with Lu Xixi, she would often chat about domestic life, as she liked to inquire about Lu Xixi’s family affairs.
"Are you married? What does your husband do? Where are you from?"
Normally, Lu Xixi wouldn’t engage in such Bagua chatter and would leave shortly after politely concluding her purchase. Today, however, she intentionally lingered, chit-chatting with the owner’s wife for a few minutes. Then, she casually broached the topic of the store’s business that morning—had it been good, were there many customers, and so on.
Eventually, she learned something she wanted to know.
When the owner’s wife complained about the poor business in the morning, she mentioned incidentally that just before Lu Xixi came to buy oranges, two customers had visited the store. These two customers had made a strong impression on the owner’s wife.
They were a man and a woman. The woman was tall and wore a hat and a down jacket. She was dressed in what the owner’s wife considered a very fashionable manner, and her clothing looked expensive. The high-collared down jacket was paired with large sunglasses, making her face difficult to discern.
The man’s characteristics were very distinct; he was robust and tall—like Schwarzenegger from the movies.
"’Standing in front of you, he was like a mountain.’ —Those were the owner’s wife’s exact words."
Moreover, when these two customers came in, the woman clearly wasn’t very interested. She just stood by the door, idly looking at the cigarettes and snacks at the counter. It was the man who walked into the store, looked over the fruit, picking and choosing for a while, and eventually bought a box of oranges. The woman bought a pack of cigarettes—foreign ones, Marlboros.
Lu Xixi specifically asked; the woman’s features weren’t very clear, but the man had a Huaxia face. Also, both of them had a distinct scent of perfume on them.
The owner’s wife’s Bagua nature also provided her judgment: these two obviously weren’t a couple. Although they walked side by side, there was no affection between them.
After getting the information, Lu Xixi left with a smile, taking the grapes with her.
Standing at the entrance of the community and thinking it over, Lu Xixi didn’t head home. Instead, carrying the bag of grapes, she strolled leisurely to a noodle shop at the community gate. It was the same one that Boss Guo used to run—though it had changed hands by now.
Lu Xixi walked in and chose the table closest to the outside, facing the street. She casually ordered a bowl of wontons, then opened the bag of grapes. Leisurely picking a few, she skillfully peeled them with her slender fingers and popped one into her mouth. Her eyes narrowed, and she casually gazed across the street.
I can be certain of one thing, Lu Xixi thought. The person spying on me in secret isn’t using spiritual power to probe. With my strength, if someone had been using spiritual power to spy on me, there’s absolutely no way I could have remained unaware. Since I didn’t notice anything, they were probably using a line-of-sight method, like direct observation, or a telescope, or something similar. They know my routine of going to the fruit shop... So, judging by the likely vantage point, they’re probably in one of the buildings directly across the street. A quick visual scan... across the street, suitable spots for observing the fruit shop... there are about six or seven residential buildings, all older complexes.
If she were to investigate, with Lu Xixi’s capabilities, it wouldn’t be difficult. Enveloped by spiritual power, she could release numerous Spiritual Force Tentacles and conduct a thorough search, rendering everything in the area exposed.
But Lu Xixi didn’t do that.
Because this method of stuffing a note into an orange... it’s a bit peculiar, she mused. According to the owner’s wife, the one who touched the oranges was that tall, burly man. This person probably means me well. But if he means well, why not warn me directly? He knows where I live, even my daily routine... Getting my phone number wouldn’t be hard. A simple phone call to warn me would do, right? If he didn’t want to expose himself... he didn’t need to do something as complicated as stuffing a note in an orange. When no one was looking, he could have come to my building and slipped a note into my mailbox. That wouldn’t be hard either. Going to my regular fruit shop to stuff a note in an orange—it’s discreet, sure, but isn’t it unnecessarily convoluted? Unless... he couldn’t warn me directly! Or rather... someone was watching him, so he couldn’t reveal his intention to warn me? Hmm, the owner’s wife said he had a companion, a woman. So, he has at least one companion, possibly more. He couldn’t call, couldn’t text, couldn’t come to my building and put a note directly in my mailbox. He had to resort to this seemingly unnecessary act of stuffing a note into an orange at the fruit shop—it wasn’t to avoid *my* detection! He was afraid his *companions* would notice! And the note only had two words, ’Enemy present.’ He couldn’t write more information. That must have been the most he could do; he probably didn’t have the space or time to write anything more. And those two words were very hastily scribbled. Which means... there’s a group of people targeting me, spying on me in secret. They probably know my strength, so they don’t dare use spiritual power. Instead, they’re using direct visual observation. It’s a crude method, but it’s safer and harder for Ability Users like me to detect. And in this group, one person is secretly helping me. So, I can’t search for them brazenly. That would let them know I’m onto them, and it could expose the person who’s secretly helping me. And... this person is tall and burly...
In the time it took Lu Xixi to finish her bowl of wontons, she quickly pieced together these lines of thought.
Alright... Who said Empress Lu was a fool? She merely has a naturally airheaded and cute disposition, but she’s not dimwitted! When she first arrived in Jinling, to bait the "arsonist with a burning passion," she even set up a few dummy accounts, laying traps that nearly ensnared Chen Nuo. If Chen Nuo hadn’t been so sleazy as to trick Old Jiang into being an unpaid laborer, Lu Xixi might have already caught him back then.
A sneer tugged at Lu Xixi’s lips, while her gaze turned very serious.
So... they know who I am, know my powers are formidable, so they’re using crude methods to spy, trying to avoid my detection. Then... they clearly know I’m the Star Sky Empress, yet they still dare to come after me as an enemy. These opponents... are definitely not simple.
Controllers are powerful, but they are also lonely. Someone like the Star Sky Empress, who is among the top ranks of Controllers, has another hidden characteristic: she doesn’t have many enemies. Because not every Tom, Dick, or Harry is qualified to be an enemy or opponent of the Star Sky Empress. To dare provoke a Controller, the opponent must have something to rely on. Because if there’s a difference of one whole realm in strength, even a hundred Destroyers wouldn’t be a match for a single Controller.
Therefore, among this group of enemies, there must be opponents capable of contending with my strength, Lu Xixi considered. And probably... more than one! I’m very clear about my strength among humans; I’m already at the pinnacle. Even among Controllers, there aren’t more than three qualified to oppose me. One of them is my own husband. So... a wizard?
Lu Xixi furrowed her brow.
Thinking it over, among human Ability Users, only wizards are qualified to take me on one-on-one. As for others... if I go all out, they would either flee, or if they stayed to fight to the death, I’m completely confident I could kill them outright! If there’s only one Controller in this group... then coming to provoke me is simply courting death. If we face off head-on, I can beat them so badly their own mothers wouldn’t recognize them. Even if there’s a wizard, against me, it’s at best a fifty-fifty chance... No, I don’t think even a wizard is a fifty-fifty match for me. In a fight to the death, the wizard wouldn’t want to die; he’d most likely run away. So, for them to be confident enough to come after me... they likely have two Controllers. Same realm, two against one. Only then would they have the confidence to face me.
Peeling another grape, she tossed it into her mouth and gracefully knitted her brows.
Hubby, who calls me a fool? I’m actually quite clever, you know.
However...
Having deduced that there was more than one Controller lurking with ill intentions, Lu Xixi wouldn’t take the situation lightly. Although the opponent had yet to make a move, and it was unknown what they were waiting for... her family—young and old—was still at home.
If a fight breaks out, I’ll have to protect my daughter, as well as Chen Nuo’s mother and sister. Battles at the Controller Realm are not something Little Candy’s level can intervene in; she wouldn’t be any help. So, I probably can’t handle this alone.
Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her contacts and found a name. Lu Xixi hesitated for a moment. She didn’t dial directly, thinking that since the other party was spying from the shadows, they might have high-tech eavesdropping devices.
Lu Xixi pretended to be casual, flicking a grape with one hand while she idly typed on her phone with the other. She quickly composed a text message:
"Need your help. Come to Jinling as fast as you can."
The message was sent. A reply came back swiftly.
"You need my help?"
Lu Xixi thought for a moment then texted back, "Ten million US dollars to help me with a fight."
"Your husband can’t take care of it?"
"He’s not at home."
"Twenty million. I’m short on cash recently. And if you’re asking for my help in a fight, the opponent is definitely a Controller."
"Right. When you come, don’t come straight to my place. Find somewhere nearby to hide and make sure you’re not detected."
"Someone’s been surveilling you in secret?"
"Yes! When can you be here?"
"Tomorrow afternoon—by the way, isn’t tomorrow your Huaxia’s Spring Festival?"
"Come on, I’ll treat you to New Year’s Eve dinner. Oh, and when you come, do something for me... like this... and also... hmm..."
"...Making things so complicated? Alright! I want another five million."
"Deal!"
The text exchange ended there, and Lu Xixi glanced at her phone interface. The name marked in her phone’s contact list for the other party was:
[Damn Fine Cookie].
「」
"So she just went out to buy some grapes, then sat there playing with her phone and had a bowl of... what do Chinese people call them? Wontons?" the Wizard rubbed his forehead.
"Yes," Lillian answered coldly.
"She didn’t notice anything?"
"With the Star Sky Empress’s temperament, if she’d noticed anything amiss, do you think she would remain so calm?" Lillian retorted.
"...You’re right. That woman is a lunatic," the Wizard muttered.
In the room, Vanel was sitting in a corner. Watching the two powerful figures converse, he had remained silent. He finally stirred.
From another corner, Davarishi lifted his head, clutching a half-eaten soy-sauce braised pork knuckle. "I think it’s pretty good."
"Shut up and eat your food!" Lillian glared at Davarishi. Vanel, who had stirred moments before, immediately lowered his head and fell silent again.
"Regardless of where Chen Nuo has gone," the Wizard said, "tomorrow is their Chinese Spring Festival. I hear it’s an incredibly important holiday for them, so I presume he will definitely return home for it!"
