# Chapter 29: The Magical Store (Seventeen)
Qi An's slender hand was cradled in Gu Wang's honey-colored palm, the milky white and honey tones暧昧ly intertwined. It was an extremely simple gesture, yet the seriousness in the boy's eyes infused it with something sensual.
A flicker of complexity crossed Qi An's gaze, and within those jet-black pupils, a layer of inscrutable mist seemed to appear.
[System, besides the transmigrators from the Crossing Bureau and the Fast-Passing Bureau, is there anyone else who can cross multiple worlds?]
[Huh? Why are you asking about this?] The system froze, then after some thought, continued, [No, I don't think so. The Spacetime Bureau only has these two divisions. When we cross over, we're relying on the Spacetime Bureau's laws. Besides the Spacetime Bureau, no person or thing should be able to control the laws of time and space.]
Looking at his host—weak and docile with no signs of resistance—and then glancing at the ungrateful brat taking advantage of him, the system felt aggrieved. Remembering his host's recent emotional fluctuations, he quickly added, [Even with the Spacetime Laws, there are countless people within the Bureau responsible for maintaining the stability of the crossing gates, so absolutely no one should be able to cross through time and space.]
This ungrateful brat definitely has no connection to that character from the last world!
[En.] Qi An lowered his head as if nervous, and his slender, fragile neck was partially revealed from among the soft fine hair at the back of his mind. His skin was very fair, intertwined with his dark ink-black hair, like a fresh and elegant Chinese ink painting.
Exquisitely beautiful enough to make hearts flutter, yet so fragile that with just a gentle stroke, the entire painting's artistic conception could be destroyed.
This appearance showed absolutely no signs of anything amiss, but the system clearly knew that his host had simply given a perfunctory agreement, not having truly absorbed a word of what he said.
How infuriating.
"...What should we do now?" Qi An fluttered his crow-feather-like lashes, saying to Gu Wang with a hint of helplessness. As he spoke, he also secretly glanced toward the direction of the roof.
As if afraid the sound from the roof would come again.
In the low, dim room, the surroundings were almost entirely in ruins. Beyond the decrepit, short partition door, countless blood-red eyes watched covetously. It was filthy and chaotic to the extreme, with every corner seemingly filled with unspeakable sins, yet it was here that a frail young man who belonged nowhere near this place arrived.
The dim, gloomy lamplight shone on Qi An's face, and the refracted light caused the youth's cheeks to develop an unusually faint blush. This red forcibly added a touch of mortal warmth to this fragile young man, making him appear almost delicate and enchanting.
"We..." Gu Wang faltered.
He came back to his senses from Qi An's slightly dilated pupils, then thinking over the young man's question, his expression subtly twisted.
A miscalculation.
Right now, he was supposedly an ordinary high school student. What could he possibly do? The entire room was filled with debris and fragments. The only exit beyond the partition door led outside to monsters he currently had no way to deal with, and there was no food or water either.
How was he supposed to let this young man live comfortably without exposing his true identity?
And ideally, he should arrange a few scenes of hero saving the beauty, letting the young man see his mighty, heroic, and brave side, and then fall in love with him.
Thoughts churned in his mind, but the young man still maintained his sunny, brilliant expression. His face retained the youthful greenness particular to young men. Though he had no golden hair, he possessed the same temperament as a prince from an ancient kingdom. Equally warm, and equally exuding a noble quality that was subtle yet unmistakable.
"We could walk around first and see if we can find any clues." The boy finally said this.
[Act, act, act!] The system's voice suddenly rang out, shouting with some anger. He needed a way to make his host see the evil true colors of a certain person.
Qi An said nothing, merely nodding obediently. He wandered about the shop in one direction, then spoke with a hint of playfulness, [Don't you find it strange?]
His voice was very pleasant, the same light and gentle tone as in the real world. But because of the lingering interest in the尾音 of his thoughts, it displayed a completely different charm from the norm, like threads of lingering attachment.
Yearning and pensive, like a lover's murmur.
Yet completely devoid of any emotion.
[What seems strange?]
[Why is the second world also a horror world?]
When they transferred bureaus, the Crossing Bureau offered excellent terms. Not only did they agree to Qi An's demands, hiding all his previous mission records and disguising him as a newcomer to the Crossing Bureau, but they also told him that his previous worlds were merely vacation worlds. However, when the actual crossing occurred, what they faced was a horror world completely unlike the description.
After the first world, they reported the issue, and the Crossing Bureau quickly issued compensation. Logically speaking, that should have resolved the problem.
But the second world was still a world with supernatural events. At first, Qi An could attribute the cause to the fact that he and Zhang Zhaoqi had formed a team mission, so the world selection was influenced by Zhang Zhaoqi.
However, after everything that had happened in this world, his suspicion was growing larger.
The mission in the first world was to find the General's Treasure.
As the treasure that was defined as such, if the world didn't have Qi An's presence within it, the transmigrators going to that world would have absolutely no possibility of completing the mission. Without the substitute talisman produced by the system, their outcome could only be erasure.
This was extremely unreasonable. Since a mission was issued, it was impossible not to provide the possibility of completion.
So...
Qi An's eyes narrowed slightly as he placed his gaze on the only intact mural within the shop. Within the depths of his eyes, an unyielding coldness flashed briefly.
In the previous world, he had been deliberately placed into that world. That mission had been specially designed for him.
Could it be... for what reason?
And what connection did this have to his former fiancée from his previous life?
"What are you looking at?" Gu Wang suddenly noticed that the young man who had been quietly following him had suddenly stopped moving. A strange feeling passed through him, so he also stopped his searching and followed Qi An's line of sight to the mural on the wall.
A landscape painting of beauty that seemed not to belong to this mortal realm.
A swift dark light crossed his eyes. Gu Wang said nonchalantly, "This painting is actually quite nice-looking."
It was a beauty as if from a fairy tale. Elegant surroundings, vast and vibrant grasslands, an ancient and refined palace hall.
But one thing was missing.
Since it was a palace, there should be a princess within.
A princess whom a demon had fallen deeply in love with and cherished above all else.
To prevent his beloved princess from being afraid, the demon could only disguise himself as a prince suited to her. He would retract his bloodthirsty fangs, suppress his violent nature, and disguise himself as a handsome, sunny prince.
He would weave a path to the abyss with tenderness, cover his ugly heart with his handsome appearance, and stay by the princess's side without parting. Once this shackle-like tenderness had wound around the princess, once the princess had been unconsciously trapped within this picturesque wonderland—the demon would completely... reveal his true nature.
Qi An turned his head to glance at the bright-smiling young man, then gently shook his head. "N-nothing. It's just that the scenery in this painting... I... am very familiar with it."
As he spoke, a hint of confusion appeared in the young man's eyes. His gaze kept drifting over there, as if through this painting he was seeing something else entirely. His entire body subtly retreated a few steps.
As if facing some ferocious beast.
"Look at this diary." Zhang Zhaoqi handed the somewhat aged notebook in his hand to Zhao Qizhu, then lightly waved his hand. The yellow talisman paper that had been pressed against the door trembled slightly, and the talisman slowly peeled off from the decrepit iron door.
A trace of black tinged with flickering fire spread from one corner of the talisman and then completely turned the entire paper to ash.
This action caused the door that had regained its sturdiness to become shaky once more. The ghosts outside also noticed the change in the door. They seemed to be snarling something, and the sounds of impact and collision became even more violent.
"The energy source?" Zhao Qizhu glanced at it roughly, then after pondering for a moment, lightly yawned and asked with a smile, "So, you want to destroy that mural."
"En." Zhang Zhaoqi nodded, his cold gaze flicking toward the door outside. "My strength alone might not be enough. I need your help."
"Hehe, sure." Zhao Qizhu blinked her bright, shiny eyes, then with an ambiguous smile, stood leisurely before the iron door as if casually waiting for the door to be breached by the ghosts.
Ji Xiaoyu watched the two people talking in utter confusion. She secretly glanced at the tottering door, then quickly ran to the girl's side, lowering her head to read the diary. Afterward, she once again raised her head in confusion.
Could that energy source be the mural at the front of the shop?
Why did her teammates all seem to know about it, while she had no idea at all.
They... really had come in together, right?
By the time Ji Xiaoyu's brain finally managed to catch on, she discovered that she had followed the two experts and escaped from the ghosts pursuing them, running back into the shop. Moreover, the familiar low-pressure aura of Zhang Zhaoqi had begun to spread once more.
Squinting her eyes to survey her surroundings, Ji Xiaoyu saw Qi An and froze. So this frail young man really hadn't come to any harm after all.
"Are you alright?" Zhang Zhaoqi completely ignored Gu Wang standing before Qi An, walking straight up to the young man and asking in a flat tone.
"En." Qi An nodded, revealing an extremely faint smile. "Are you guys alright too?"
Zhao Qizhu glanced at the mural that now only had its background remaining, a deep meaning flickering in the depths of her eyes. With a cunningly sweet smile, she spoke first, "We're fine, big brother. We're still quite capable."
"Just没想到 big brother is also quite impressive. Didn't get hurt either." The girl giggled, then said word by word, "Big brother is really interesting indeed."