Chapter 3: Exchanging Items

Li Si looked at the items in the system store, feeling fortunate that there were special offers. Without them, he wouldn’t have been able to afford anything.

Of course, even though he could afford them now, he still had to exchange his lifespan for them.
Thinking of this, Li Si gritted his teeth and said in his mind, “Exchange 4 years of lifespan, buy the protective charm, death jade, and Eight Trigrams mirror.”

As for why he didn’t exchange for the long sword and the “Mystic Tortoise Record”, it was because he didn’t have much lifespan left and could only choose what he urgently needed.

The protective charm could protect himself, which was definitely necessary in this strange and bizarre world.
The death jade could carry the Beheaded Ghost with him and make it stronger, which he also urgently needed. This way, he could summon the Beheaded Ghost to save him at any time.

As for the Eight Trigrams mirror, it went without saying. With his mortal eyes, how could he distinguish between humans and monsters? Without this item, even the protective charm would be useless.

As soon as the words fell in his mind, a triangular paper charm and a mottled ink jade appeared in his left palm, while a palm-sized Eight Trigrams mirror appeared in his right palm.

“Purchase successful. Your current lifespan is 1 year, 2 months, and 15 days. Soul points: 0.”

Li Si exhaled, sitting up on the bed. He used the Eight Trigrams mirror to look at the Beheaded Ghost, then looked into the mirror himself.

In the mirror, he saw a pale face behind his forehead, with a pair of pitch-black eyes shedding bloody tears staring at him. Li Si instantly felt a chill running from his tailbone to his head.

Li Si stiffly looked back and found that the Beheaded Ghost had somehow stood beside him, looking at the Eight Trigrams mirror with curious eyes.

“What a curious child,” Li Si grinned. He had almost been scared to death by the Beheaded Ghost just now.

“Go in,” Li Si commanded the Beheaded Ghost, taking out the death jade.

Hearing his command, the Beheaded Ghost instantly transformed into a twisted light and entered the death jade.

Li Si looked at the death jade, feeling very uncomfortable seeing a child about 1.2 meters tall entering a jade pendant-sized death jade. If Newton knew about this, he probably wouldn’t be able to rest in peace.

Li Si looked at the death jade, his curiosity piqued. He held the ink jade up to his eyes to examine it closely. The jade was somewhat rough, with a deep ink color inside.

Suddenly, the ink color inside moved. Li Si was puzzled. He held the jade up to the moonlight outside, trying to see what was inside more clearly. The ink color in the death jade slowly coalesced, forming a pale face looking at him expressionlessly. It was the Beheaded Ghost.

Li Si chuckled softly, realizing he had developed some resistance to these horrifying things. He got out of bed, found a small cloth bag from the cupboard, strung it with a rope, put the protective charm and death jade together into it, and hung it around his neck, keeping it close to his body.

Li Si sat on the bed looking at the night outside the window, not knowing what to do now. Usually, at this time when he had nothing to do, he would be playing on his phone.

Staring blankly out the window, Li Si wondered if a ghost head might appear in this window. As soon as he thought of this, his whole body felt cold. If it were on Earth, he would just scare himself and it would be fine. He knew ghosts and monsters couldn’t possibly appear.

But in this world, it was really possible for a ghost to appear outside the window looking at him.
Thinking of this, Li Si didn’t dare to think more. He got into bed and hid under the blanket, wrapping himself tightly in it.

After a few hours like this, Li Si still hadn’t fallen asleep. He felt uncomfortable lying in bed. Li Si felt his mouth and tongue were dry, wanting to get up, but he was afraid there might be bizarre things outside.

Drip…

A drop of water fell from the ceiling, landing on Li Si’s cheek.

Li Si touched it with his finger and sniffed it. There was no strange smell; it must be the roof leaking.

Li Si licked it and caught a few more drops, feeling the dryness in his mouth and tongue ease a lot. He moved to the side, thinking he should fix the roof one of these days. As he thought about this, he fell into a deep sleep.

The night passed without incident.

A rooster’s crow sounded, and Li Si woke up. He fumbled around groggily, trying to find his phone, but came up empty-handed.

Li Si suddenly woke up, abruptly sitting up and looking around, only to find himself in an old house. Only then did he remember he was no longer on Earth.

Seeing it was still dark outside, Li Si lay back down, wanting to sleep a bit more. However, at this point, he tossed and turned but couldn’t fall asleep.

Gurgle~

A long rumbling sound came from Li Si’s stomach.

Li Si reluctantly got up from the bed, walked to the backyard, picked up a porcelain bowl and a willow twig, and started to rinse his mouth. In this era, people had already started using willow twigs to brush their teeth. Those in better conditions could use green salt as toothpaste to rinse their mouths.

After rinsing his mouth, Li Si felt under the mattress and took out several dozen copper coins before leaving the house.

At this time, he could still see some vegetable farmers carrying their produce towards the vegetable market, with occasional voices carrying far in the quiet early morning.

Li Si walked on the road, and from time to time, people who knew him would respectfully call out “Young Master Li.” He would nod and politely respond.

The original owner was also a very nice person, not as pedantic as one might imagine. He was very friendly to his neighbors and would occasionally teach the nearby children, enlightening them. However, he didn’t charge money, at most accepting some vegetables or rice. If it weren’t for the approaching provincial examination disturbing his mind, he wouldn’t have gone to that dilapidated temple to pray.

Li Si finally arrived at a small shop a few hundred meters from his home. This was a nearby breakfast shop that sold tofu pudding.

“Uncle Zhou, give me a bowl of tofu pudding, no cilantro,” Li Si said as he walked into the shop, found a table, and sat down, addressing the middle-aged man who was busy.

“Alright!” The middle-aged man responded, skillfully scooping with a large ladle from a wooden barrel into the bowl in his left hand, just the right amount for one serving. Then he took another ladle from another barrel and poured some soy sauce-colored seasoning into the bowl. Finally, he sprinkled some peanuts and green onions on top and brought it over to Li Si.

The middle-aged man approached Li Si, placed the tofu pudding on the table in front of him, and asked with some concern, “Young Master Li, has your health improved recently?”

Li Si knew that the original owner often came here for breakfast, so he was quite familiar with this owner. Afraid of saying too much and revealing his true identity, he casually replied, “It’s fine, much better.”

Hearing Li Si say this, the middle-aged man smiled with relief, then chuckled and said with a hint of malevolence, “That Doctor Zhang said you didn’t have long to live. It seems even his family’s three generations of medical knowledge can be wrong sometimes.”

Li Si felt a bit helpless. He hadn’t expected the Doctor Zhang who treated the original owner would spread such rumors. He then found an excuse for this: “A few days ago, I really thought I was going to die, but I was lucky enough to pull through.”

“Heh, I knew Young Master Li was blessed by heaven. I think you’ll turn misfortune into blessing, and you’ll definitely be on the list in this year’s autumn provincial examination. This bowl of tofu pudding is on the house, no charge. Consider it a celebration for your recovery.” The middle-aged man laughed, then heard someone calling him to serve tofu pudding. He hurriedly responded and went to attend to his business.

Seeing him walk away, Li Si quietly ate his tofu pudding. The tofu pudding here was a bit different from his previous life. The salt was coarse, and there wasn’t much oil. However, he ate very carefully, not knowing how long it had been since he had eaten breakfast so attentively.

In the past, he would always eat while playing on his phone. But now, as he carefully ate the tofu pudding, he felt very comfortable. Perhaps it was the feeling of food sliding down his throat that made him realize he was truly alive.

“Have you heard? There’s a haunting at Landlord Zhang’s house. More than a dozen people have died already.” A voice suddenly came from behind him.