How come I was born a deity?

Chapter 29: Will you pay?

"You... I don't even know what to say to you, kid," Wang Shande now really felt that he should bring a ventilator with him next time he came to the bookstore, just in case. "You just have to say, you truly are Chen Fuzhou's son..."

Ring ring—

The wind chimes rang again, and Shen Nianxu and Hu Yao, carrying large and small bags, burst into the bookstore from outside.

"Quickly close the door, it's freezing, snoring..." Shen Nianxu threw her bags into the reading area, grabbed Hu Yao, and ran to the standing air conditioner to warm her hands, which were red from the cold.

Hu Yao's face was also flushed, and she stood in front of the air conditioner and started spinning around.

Chen Qi then noticed that Hu Yao had changed out of his thin Taoist robe and into normal clothes.

The off-white fleece-lined sweater featured a smiling fox, and a light-colored down vest was worn over it, making her originally petite figure look unusually bulky.

"Miss Shen," Wang Shande, who was sitting at the bar, stood up and said to Shen Nianxu, "I've finally waited for you to come back."

He thought to himself, "If you don't come back soon, and Chen Qi says something outrageous, my heart won't be able to take it today."

"Huh? Uncle Wang?" Upon hearing Wang Shande's voice, Shen Nianxu immediately smiled. "You've arrived, Xiao Yao, quickly say hello."

Upon hearing this, Hu Yao bowed respectfully, "Uncle...Uncle Wang, greetings."

"Hello," Wang Shande smiled kindly, then looked at Shen Nianxu, "Come here for a moment, I have something to tell you."

Shen Nianxu said "Oh," and gestured for Hu Yao to carry the things upstairs herself.

After Hu Yao left the crowd, Shen Nianxu rubbed her hands together and walked to Chen Qi's side, asking, "Uncle Wang, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Chen Qi complained, "The way you're rubbing your hands together looks like a fly."

Shen Nianxu frowned slightly, and her icy hands instantly slipped into the clothes behind Chen Qi's neck.

Chen Qi: "Holy crap!"

Wang Shande raised his hand to interrupt the two, saying, "This matter is quite important, stop fooling around."

"Oh." Shen Nianxu withdrew her hand, her expression returning to seriousness. "What is it?"

"You should be well aware of the recent surge in paranormal events in Qingcheng."

Upon hearing Wang Shande's words, Shen Nianxu immediately nodded, "I understand. After the previous boss died, many forces stopped managing their areas, which is why there has been a surge in paranormal events recently."

"In addition, with the lack of a 'person in charge' as a bridge between the official authorities and the cultivation world, it has become difficult to assign tasks, which has led to the current chaotic situation."

Although Wang Shande himself, as an official representative and a practitioner, should theoretically have a great deal of influence.

However, the official practitioners are appointed, which does not mean they have sufficient understanding of the local situation.

Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, so naturally an extra "city leader" emerged to serve as a bridge between the government and local practitioners.

"After the previous owner of the bookstore died, I have been handling this matter. To be honest, I haven't done a good job. I haven't been able to control the spread of the Qingcheng paranormal events," Wang Shande said frankly, without shirking his responsibility. "So now Qingcheng has entered a very troublesome vicious cycle."

"All local forces support holding a leadership election at the end of the year, during which time the entire Qingcheng will be basically leaderless. I need a person or a force to help me resolve these paranormal events in Qingcheng."

Shen Nianxu immediately understood Wang Shande's meaning, "So... you mean to say that Chen Qi should handle these troublesome matters?"

Although Chen Qi is weak, he has Chen Fuzhou behind him. Even the He family and Qin's firm have to give Chen Fuzhou face, not to mention the other forces.

Compared to Wang Shande working alone, it would definitely be more efficient.

"It's good that you understand," Wang Shande nodded, "but the most important thing is... although the previous owner of the bookstore is dead, you should still be in charge of handling these matters."

He looked at Shen Nianxu, clearly referring to her.

Shen Nianxu scratched her head sheepishly and gave an awkward laugh, "Oh dear... I just don't know how to do it either..."

"I won't talk about that with you," Wang Shande shook his head. "Anyway, I have a paranormal case to ask you at the bookstore."

Shen Nianxu: "Can we refuse?"

Wang Shande: "No."

Chen Qi: "Do you pay?"

Wang Shande: "Here you go."

Chen Qi: "Great! That gives me energy!"

In any case, this is at least the first proper job Chen Qi has done since joining the bookstore.

He realized that this bookstore was a losing business. Whether it was the previous owner or himself now, the majority of their income came from doing things for the government or acting as a leader and collecting "protection fees" from other forces.

Since I'm not strong enough to collect protection money, I can only work for the authorities.

Otherwise, before the year-end leadership election even takes place, the bookstore will have to close down because it can't afford the rent!

Shen Nianxu was somewhat speechless. To be on the safe side, she first asked about the details of the request, "What exactly do you want us to do?"

Wang Shande took something out of his pocket and placed it on the bar counter. "Do you recognize this?"

Chen Qi and Shen Nianxu both looked at the bar counter at the same time.

It was a purple sachet, embroidered with strange patterns that looked like clusters of flowers, but upon closer inspection, they resembled some kind of strange creature.

Chen Qi shook his head. "I don't know him."

But Shen Nianxu didn't say anything.

"Of course you, as a newcomer, wouldn't know her, but I think Miss Shen must have some ideas," Wang Shande said. "Some time ago, a man came to the police station to report that he was being haunted by a female ghost. The police investigated but found nothing, until a few days ago when the man suddenly jumped into the river and committed suicide."

"Based on the video footage before his suicide, it seems that he was indeed being followed by something unseen. He was acting strangely and was very erratic. There is a high probability that he was possessed by a ghost."

As he spoke, Wang Shande pointed to the sachet on the table, "And this thing was found on the body of the man who was pulled out of the water. The authorities gave it to me, hoping that I would investigate what exactly happened."

"And now, I'm entrusting this matter to your bookstore. I hope you won't let me down."

Shen Nianxu narrowed her cat-like eyes, staring at Wang Shande. "It seems you're just pushing a very troublesome matter onto us. There must be other supernatural events in Qingcheng, right? Could you perhaps change the content of your request?"

Wang Shande politely declined, saying, "Of course not. This was originally your bookstore's responsibility, but it's just been temporarily pushed onto me. I'm just returning it to its rightful owner."

Shen Nianxu: "..."

"In short, I'll leave this matter to your bookstore. I hope you won't let me and the authorities down."

After saying that, Wang Shande got up from the round stool and magically produced a small top hat from his hand, putting it on his head. "While you're resolving this matter, I'll also register Chen Qi for this year's newcomer evaluation. Let's get ready in advance."

"Wait a minute, Uncle Wang."

Chen Qi suddenly called out to him.

"What's wrong?" Wang Shande turned around and looked at Chen Qi. "Is there anything else you want to ask me?"

"No, that's not it," Chen Qi shook his head, "You haven't paid for the green tea yet."

Wang Shande: "...How much?"

Chen Qi stretched out his hand, and Shen Nianxu, as if sensing his thoughts, placed a calculator in his hand and had him press a few buttons.

A cold, female voice came from the calculator.

"That's fifty-two yuan."

"No, you're robbing me?"

Chen Qi put on an innocent expression, "How can you call it robbery? Didn't I give you a bottle of green tea?"

Wang Shande: "..."

Just like your father.