All Great Families

By the time Li Yangyi arrived at the store, his face was as black as the bottom of a burned pan. He stared at the sign hanging outside and sneered, "Store of Fates? What a grand name for something so small. Does the one operating not fear the wrath of heaven?"

"I think the name is pretty apt though," Li Yinyi silently commented. Truth be told, it might be somewhat lacking compared to what it contained. She remembered the mysterious glowing cube, the fantastical world, the undying shop owner and the dominating magic technique; Her thoughts couldn't help but make her shudder.

With little regard for what was inside, Li Yangyi violently slammed the door open. "Where's the owner that scammed my little sister? Show yourself and name your excuses, though I won't believe them anyway!"

He looked at the interior of the store, and seeing the ambiance, he was inwardly impressed. The layout was clean and sturdy. The color scheme was pleasing to the eye, and he realized the moment he entered, the temperature seemed to have changed into a cozy warm one.

"Those scams are turning more elaborate by the year. What's the point of heightening security in this city, when these despicable people still get away?"

Li Yinyi slipped through her brothers arms and jumped forward. "Shou, I'm back, do you still remember me?"

A drowsy, but pleasant-looking youth lifted his head. "Miss Li Yinyi, Of course I do."

"I see you have renovated the store!" Li Yinyi shouted in amazement. When she entered, she could hardly believe she was at the right place. Only by recognizing Shou did she realize it was the same store she had visited yesterday. "It looks really good. I love how it retains the heat now. And that soft couch over there looks very comfy. I'd totally fall asleep there."

"..." Li Yangyi, seeing the girl that was supposed to be on his side happily praising the enemy, fell into a loss of words.

Li Yinyi saw the painting hanging above Shou. "Oh, that's the masked woman! She looks so cool!"

Li Yangyi followed Li Yinyi sight, his eyes falling on the painting. It instantly mesmerized him. The brush-strokes were like fangs, adhering themselves on him, and not letting him go. The vibrant colors soothed his mind, and the woman was like a water in a desert, rattling his core. 'Deadly Witch Hunt' it read. If someone told him it wasn't a painting, but portal to another- a better world, he would believe it.

It was only when he saw the boldly written '15 spirit stones', did he remember what he was here for.

He vigorously shook his head and slapped his cheeks. "Damn it, I need to focus. You, the boy sitting at the counter. Who's that bastard boss of this bandits shack? Tell him to come out and eat my sword."

"..." The sudden question loaded with heavy implications stumped Shou mute. 'Brother, we just met. Can you please not?'

Li Yinyi answered for him, "He's the owner of this store."

Li Yangyi knitted his brows. "What, but he's so young."

"Actually, he is older than me," Li Yinyi said gloomily.

"I understand. Then I won't feel any guilt with my decision." He stepped forward. "So, shop-owner, I will make it easy for you. Return the money you took from Li Yinyi, or I will smash this store up."

Si, who had started paying attention the store, broke into a lovable grin. "Yes, another one! This time, I will show my prowess. What should I do? Since it's the first time for me to punish someone, it should be something memorable. Should I disintegrate him? Or burn him down? Freeze him in a time-rift? Send him to hell? Break all his limbs? Oh, there's so much to do! Shou what do you think?"

"I think you should calm down. Or else someone might close our shop down."

"It's fine, we can kill them too."

"Ah, stupid brother! What are you doing," Li Yinyi cried out in alarm. What gave him the guts to threaten the shop-owner? It may only be her that knew, but that's the place where the dominating magic originated from! How could he dare go against that absolute offensive spell? And when it comes to defensive spell . . . was there a need for that, when Shou couldn't die? Anyway, it's a different level. "Don't cause trouble!"

Li Yangyi was so stunned by his sisters loud voice, he did not even realize she had called him 'stupid brother'. "Li Yinyi, what's going on? I am trying to help you here."

"Well, if that is so, then answer me, how much money did you bring today?"

"Uhh, about twenty-six crystals, two-hundred gold and maybe some silver."

Li Yinyi nodded in satisfaction. "Shou, open a glowing core-thingy for me and my brother! It's his first time, so fifteen crystals, plus my reentry which costs five, that equals twenty crystals, right?"

"Correct," Shou answered.

"Wait, Li Yinyi, we are here to seek justice! What you're doing is the exact opposite."

"Just trust me."

"You... know I can't." Li Yangyi sullenly looked down.

"Hmph. Fine then. Suit yourself." Li Yinyi didn't reply anymore.

Li Yangyi, seeing his sister upset, felt his heart lurch in great pain. He stared at the young youth in hatred and placed all the blame on him. He pondered on whether he should just raze this place down.

"Did someone say justice?" A sudden voice appeared, and from the other room, Zhang Yong walked out. As he saw the new customers, his eyebrows shot up. "Oh, it's the kids from the Li family."

Li Yangyi's eyes opened wide at the unexpected encounter. "U—Uncle Zhang Yong? What brings you to this place? Yinyi, hurry up and greet uncle."

"Li Yinyi greets Uncle," she said and bowed down, also rather surprised.

"Ah, could it be, did you come to enforce justice on this shop?" Li Yangyi's eyes faintly glimmered with hope. The man in front of him was from a different family and an older generation, but he still knew some things about him, since he was rather famous. For example, he had an unwavering faith of justice.

"Justice?" Zhang Yong gasped. "Why would I do that? This store is the greatest place I ever entered. You better watch your mouth! Even if we both are from the great families, some words I cannot forgive!" He frowned harshly. What a joke, if this store wasn't fair, then no one was. He didn't wait here all this time for some brat to ruin his chances.

Li Yangyi felt the world had turned upside down. That was the second time he had been reprimanded today. "I—I cannot believe this..." He gasped for air.

"Brother, you need to get better lines. It's turning repetitive." His sister rolled her eyes.

"What?" Another voice—a familiar one—soon joined the fray. "For esteemed members of the Li family to visit a shabby place like this, a truly shocking discovery."

Wang Jing entered with an elegant stride, while hiding his mouth behind his fan.

"I knew you followed us," Li Yangyi shouted, "did you think you weren't deplorable enough already?"

"Don't be silly, it was merely coincidence. Or one might even say fate. Think of it like this, as a peach tree invariably bears peaches, me and Li Yi—eh? Uncle Zhang Yong?" Wang Jing removed the fan over his lips and revealed a gaping mouth. 'What is he doing here?'

Zhang Yong was similarly surprised. "Now it's someone from the Wang family, what's going on here?"

Li Yangyi face turned dark. "I would like to know that too."

Usually, seeing one member of the three big families was already rare. Seeing two together was reserved for only grand festivals and under courtship. Randomly meeting all three was akin to being hit by lightning thrice—it happened only when the Emperor willed so, or in times of war.

The air turned stiff as they looked at each other with vigilance, as if caught in a stand-off. Their sight jumped around each other like a grasshopper on a heated pan.

Shou and Si, witnessing the whole thing, only tilted their head in confusion. 'So, will we earn any money today?'