Little Frost was the first to calm down, asking a more critical question.
“Can you see White Night? Are you an Ability User?”
“I am an Artisan. An Artisan can be considered a type of Ability User, I suppose,” Granny Qian replied.
“I am an Artisan who repairs vehicles, so of course I can see her, since her true form is a bicycle.”
Granny Qian held the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl, her gaze falling upon White Night.
The look made White Night feel uneasy. Little Frost stepped forward to shield her, eyeing Granny Qian warily.
Granny Qian withdrew her gaze and did not pursue the topic.
She placed the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl back onto the stool.
Standing up, she walked to her workbench, found a rag, and wiped her hands.
“You came from the outside. What is it like out there now?”
Little Frost gave a brief explanation: Weirdness was rampant, many people had died, and ruins were everywhere.
Granny Qian nodded as she listened, appearing unsurprised.
“It is the same everywhere.”
She walked back to White Night, squatted down, and examined the break in the front fork again.
Having repaired vehicles her entire life, the old woman couldn’t help but check whenever she saw one broken, even if she was being viewed with suspicion.
“You said you were a repairman. Can you help Little White Night fix it?” Mu Yingying asked hurriedly.
“I am an Artisan. If it is a vehicle, of course it can be repaired,” Granny Qian answered.
White Night’s Soul Body brightened slightly.
“But I have one condition,” Granny Qian continued, her gaze sweeping over the two girls and the bicycle.
“There is a pawnshop at the end of the street. It used to be the largest one in this area. My granddaughter left a Silver Bracelet inside. That place is currently occupied by Lantern Ghosts, and an old woman like me cannot get in. If you retrieve the bracelet for me, I will repair her.”
Mu Yingying couldn’t help but press further. “Where is your granddaughter?”
Granny Qian’s movements paused. Her fingers tightened around the rag for a moment before loosening.
“The day the world collapsed, she went missing. I do not know if she fell through or drifted off to somewhere else. But she will definitely come back.”
Granny Qian’s dry voice echoed through the shop. Silence hung in the air for a few seconds.
“Why haven’t you gone to look for her?” Mu Yingying asked, her hand instinctively squeezing the Black Chess Piece in her pocket.
Having grown up in an orphanage and suffered much, she couldn’t help but ask after meeting the Chess-playing Old Man, who might be her own relative.
“I do not know where to look, so I will stay here and wait for my granddaughter to return.” Granny Qian tossed the rag back onto the workbench and turned around.
“If she finds her way back and I am not here, she will surely be worried.”
Mu Yingying fell silent and asked no more questions.
Little Frost glanced at White Night. White Night watched Granny Qian’s back, feeling that the old lady did not seem like a bad person.
She wondered how long Granny Qian had been waiting here.
“We’ll go,” White Night said.
Little Frost was more cautious. She didn’t agree immediately, nor did she refuse. She looked into White Night’s eyes and then turned to Granny Qian.
“How many Lantern Ghosts are in the pawnshop?”
“Three.”
“Where is the bracelet located?”
“On the second row of shelves behind the counter, on the bottom level, wrapped in a red cloth.”
Little Frost mentally reviewed the behavioral patterns of the Lantern Ghost Weirdness. “Before we act, I need to observe the situation first. Then I’ll decide whether to do it.”
“Suit yourself.” Granny Qian sat back on the bamboo stool and picked up the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl. “This old woman isn’t going anywhere. I’ll stay here and wait for your good news.”
She raised the bowl and lowered her head to take a sip of water.
Only then did White Night notice that the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl looked like an antique that didn’t fit this era. Perhaps the old woman was telling the truth—this place might truly be a product of another world.
Mu Yingying leaned toward White Night, her voice very low. “Little Bicycle, do you trust her?”
White Night thought about it. “We can trust her.”
“Why?”
“Because of her hands. Look at them. Her knuckles are covered in calluses, and the oil stains under her fingernails can’t be washed away. Those are the hands of someone who has truly worked for a lifetime. Besides, she has clearly been waiting for her granddaughter for a long time. She doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
Mu Yingying looked down at her own hands, which were covered in calluses from knives, cracks, and the bandages from yesterday.
She quirked her lips into a smile.
“Fine. We’ll trust her, then.”
When Little Frost went to scout, she only took White Night with her.
Mu Yingying remained in the shop, her official excuse being that she needed to rest her old shoulder injury.
In reality, Little Frost wanted her to keep a close eye on Granny Qian.
“The moment something happens on our end, secure the old woman first before coming to meet us.”
Mu Yingying rolled her eyes. “My dear Frost, when you’re guarding against a thief, could you at least not say it right in front of them?”
Granny Qian sat on the bamboo stool, completely indifferent. She drank from her Blue and White Porcelain Bowl without even looking up.
Little Frost carried White Night’s frame out of the shop and walked 200 meters down the street.
The pawnshop was located on the corner of a T-junction.
It was an old-fashioned building with a sign hanging over the door that read “Hengtong Pawnshop” in gold letters on a black background, though most of the gold paint had peeled off.
The main doors were wide open, and the interior was pitch black.
Little Frost crouched in the shadows across the street, leaning the bicycle frame against a wall.
“Auntie Frost, I’ll take a look.”
White Night’s Soul Body floated slightly higher, peering into the pawnshop.
Inside the Main Hall on the first floor, two Lantern Ghosts were pacing around, while a third stood motionless behind the counter.
After watching for several cycles, White Night whispered, “When the eyes of the two in front turn away at the same time, there’s a short window of time. It’s enough for us to rush in and grab the item. The eye of the one behind the counter turns very fast, only for the blink of an eye, and it’s not synchronized with the ones in front.”
Little Frost closed her eyes and visualized the plan in her mind.
“Let’s go back.”
When they returned to the shop, Granny Qian was still there. Mu Yingying spread her hands toward Little Frost. “See? I told you. You’re being too cautious. The old lady is fine.”
Little Frost ignored her and explained her plan.
Mu Yingying would be responsible for throwing stones to lure the two front Lantern Ghosts away, while Little Frost would climb in through a side window to retrieve the item.
White Night would stay outside the window to call out the timing.
Granny Qian suddenly interjected. “Lantern Ghosts have poor hearing. After they hear a noise, their eyeballs turn first, then their bodies move. There is a delay of one or two beats.”
Little Frost looked at her. “You’ve observed them?”
“I’ve lived here so long; I see them every day.”
That extra gap of one or two beats lengthened the window of opportunity in Little Frost’s mind.
“When are we going?” Mu Yingying asked.
“Right now.”
Once the plan was settled, they arrived at the location. Mu Yingying threw the first stone against the doorframe.
Thud.
White Night watched the interior intently. “Both of them are facing the door. The one at the counter hasn’t reacted.”
Little Frost vaulted through the window and landed silently.
Hugging the wall, she moved quickly behind the counter and ducked down.
Her fingers brushed through the clutter on the bottom shelf until she felt a bundle of red cloth. Inside was something hard and round.
She grabbed it firmly.
“The eyeball of the one behind the counter is turning back — “
Little Frost had already stuffed the item into her shirt and stood up.
She looked toward White Night, but White Night had vanished from her original position.
Little Frost’s heart skipped a beat. Her footsteps faltered as she whipped her head around.
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