As Gu Weiwei finished her sentence, she became stunned as Shen Lian grabbed her hand. Unlike a human hand, Shen Lian's hand was ice cold and delicate, just like a piece of jade.
She wanted to scream at him but he was just staring at her. Gu Weiwei sighed as she looked at his eyes. She wondered which girl would not fall for such gaze.
Shen Lian responded, "Apprentice-sister, you are right. I did not want to teach someone a certain skill and that was why I ended up forgetting about the past."
Gu Weiwei was too confused to bother about Shen Lian's issues. Unconsciously, she let out a 'ouch' and said, "Shen Lian, it hurts."
Shen Lian looked confused and said, "But I did not insert any strength."
Gu Weiwei was embarrassed. She raised her voice, "Who on earth would grab a girl's hand so casually?"
Shen Lian noticed her anger and retracted his hand. He shook his head and said, "Apprentice-sister, have you forgotten that we are cultivators and we are not confined to customs?"
Gu Weiwei was irritated. She said, "Just because you are a cultivator does not mean that you can behave like a hooligan."
Shen Lian responded with a serious tone, "The cultivation of the heart is more important than anything else. I wanted to hold your hand and you did not reject it. How could you pretend like you were against it. This has nothing to with behaving like a hooligan as I would not grab on other girl's hand.
Gu Weiwei did not expect Shen Lian to come up with such horrible excuses. But he was right. She did not detest him holding her hand. It was strange because she only met him recently but it felt like she had known him for ages.
As her thoughts were running wild, Shen Lian had let go of her hand. Gu Weiwei noticed that she was feeling more relaxed but also somewhat upset.
Three days went past and Shen Lian was nicely settled down in the restaurant. However, Restaurant Drunk and No Return had no business at all. Although Gu Weiwei was anxious, the gold cup could last them for about six months if they manage their expenses wisely.
Since then, Gu Weiwei has told Shen Lian to never turn rocks into gold anymore. This was because she did not want Shen Lian to get involved in something that he was innocent of and his psyche seemed affected after giving his midas touch. He slept for one whole night and showed no signs of breathing. If he did not wake up, Gu Weiwei would have thought that he was dead.
It was a while later that Shen Lian told her that it was unnecessary for him to breath and he could not feel cold and heat.
Gu Weiwei concluded that Shen Lian could really be someone with superlative skills. Something bad must have happened to him and that was why he ended up at her restaurant. She worried that he might leave once he regained his memory as Shen Lian did not belong to this little Baijia Town.
Her parents were no longer around, she had no siblings and had no friends because of her reputation as a jinx. She really had no idea what to do when the day where Shen Lian would leave comes.
Shen Lian may be strange but he would never judge her like every other people in this town.
Fortunately Shen Lian stayed behind and would accompany her during meal times. It was a simple life but to Gu Weiwei, it was fulfilling. The only setback was that Shen Lian was not willing to help with work. But it was not a big deal as the restaurant did not have any business anyway.
Gu Weiwei set her worries aside and a voice coming from outside could be heard, "Dao Master, you looked pretty idle. Why don't you perform a reading for me?"
The person speaking was a delinquent named Bai Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu was his given name and also his nickname as he was slick like a little fish.
"What would you like me to read?" Shen Lian asked.
Bai Xiaoyu chuckled, "How much money do you think I will make today?"
Shen Lian glanced at him and picked up a branch. He swept the fallen leaves away and wrote on the soil "Your pocket will be cleaner than your face".
Bai Xiaoyu was slightly educated and could recognize the characters. However, he was not angry at Shen Lian. In the past two days, he had chatted with Shen Lian and felt that this Daoist was pretty interesting. That was why he asked for a reading. He did not expect Shen Lian to be an accurate reader but he thought it was a fun idea to get a reading. He was a playful person and wanted to tease Shen Lian.
Who knew that Shen Lian did not play along with him and wrote a message that said that Bai Xiaoyu would not make any money and would even lose every cent that he had in his pocket.
Bai Xiaoyu would have scolded if it was another person who did the reading. But Shen Lian was different. Bai Xiaoyu was a delinquent and most people of the Baijia town looked down on him. Shen Lian was one of the very few people who was patient with him and would entertain his nonsense.
Moreover, Shen Lian may have fallen but his demeanor was very classy. Bai Xiaoyu knew Big Boss Bai, a powerful man who operated the gambling house. But Big Boss Bai's demeanor was nothing like Shen Lian.
It was a satisfying feeling to have someone so patiently hearing you out.
As the day was coming to an end, Bai Xiaoyu smiled, "I still have nine dollars with me. I will go and find something to do and I'll be back tonight to treat you a meal."
He kept Shen Lian's reading in his mind and wanted to tease Shen Lian later at night.
Shen Lian smiled, "I am telling you that you would not have the money to treat me."
Bai Xiaoyu chuckled, "Dao Master, you wait for me." He was not worried that Shen Lian might be provoking him intentionally. He just wanted to have some fun.
He then took off after finishing his words.
Gu Weiwei then came out. With a slight disapproval, she said, "Why are you dealing with delinquents like that? What if he failed to earn a penny today and decided to take it out on you?"
Shen Lian did not agree with her and said, "He would not do that."
Gu Weiwei responded, "You will understand once it happened." She was a little annoyed with Shen Lian's attitude. She continued, "Since you are so idle, why don't you come up with some ideas on how to improve the restaurant's business?"
She was not happy that Shen Lian looked so free for the entire day.
Shen Lian said, "The people in this town view you as a jinx. No matter how delicious our dishes are, they would still not patronise."
Gu Weiwei could not help but felt dejected. She then angrily asked, "So you knew about it? Was it Bai Xiaoyu who told you about it?"
Shen Lian pointed at his ears and said, "When I move my ears, I can hear everything in a thousand miles, crystal clear. I knew everything about the Baijia Town."
Gu Weiwei responded, "Is this the best you can do?"
Shen Lian smiled faintly, "Apprentice-sister, please don't be angry. This restaurant is not worth your effort. But this is sentimental to you and if you don't detach yourself from it, it would not help your cultivation. That was why I came with an idea that would guarantee the prosperity of the restaurant."
Gu Weiwei questioned, "What idea is that?"
Shen Lian responded. "Mortals are foolish and it is a waste of effort and labour to service them. Let's not operate a normal restaurant."
Gu Weiwei asked, "Then what should we do?"
Shen Lian said, "Let's provide our services to the divines and the demons. They may be detached from the earthy life but they would still eat. Furthermore, these businesses come with great rewards."