That night, they stayed at a nearby hotel. With no financial worries, Mu Anqi experienced a four-figure-per-night hotel for the first time. She also enjoyed a buffet dinner with Ji Huaichu. Thanks to the VIP discount, she exchanged 0.7 points for 50,000 in local currency. Aside from basic expenses like food, clothing, and accommodation, Mu Anqi couldn't think of any other major costs for the seven days… It seemed like this would be completely manageable?
Of course, this was probably because this was an ordinary world. If it were a world of spirits, ghosts, cultivation, or fantasy… the currency exchange rate would likely be much less favorable. After all… players could gain growth or enhancements in those kinds of worlds.
Early the next morning, after washing up and changing clothes, they had a simple breakfast. Mu Anqi then purchased the time selection. "Which version of me would you like to see?"
"You once told me that you met a fortune-teller when you were eight years old." Ji Huaichu looked at Mu Anqi and said slowly, "Since you've always remembered it, let's go see when you were eight. I'll have him tell my fortune too."
"Ah, okay." Mu Anqi tried to recall the events of her eighth year, but it seemed the fortune-teller was all she could remember. Probably because she'd experienced constant minor misfortunes ever since, the memory of that person was particularly vivid. But when she tried to recall the details, she couldn't remember what the fortune-teller looked like or the specific circumstances of that day.
140 points deducted!
Transporting to her eighth year…
The time changed, but their location remained the same. Mu Anqi was stunned for a moment; it wasn't until she saw the surrounding roads and shops transform that she realized the time travel was complete.
Ha, Nirvana Space, truly living up to its name! Did you really have to skip including a location transfer too?
Resigned, she hailed a taxi. Sitting in the car, a sudden thought struck Mu Anqi: If her parents from this time saw her now, would they recognize who she was? Probably not, right? Her childhood self and her twenty-year-old self should look quite different.
"General, do you have a way to make us invisible?" Mu Anqi asked quietly. As strangers… it would be difficult to just go to her childhood home to see her younger self and her parents. They couldn't exactly claim to be distant relatives paying a visit. As for bribing…
This was a parallel world. Her parents weren't beings from the Escape World, so her skills were completely useless here!
However, this problem was solved as Mu Anqi got out of the taxi and passed by the residential complex's park.
—It wasn't her who found the solution, but Ji Huaichu.
"It seems you don't need to find a way into your home after all." Ji Huaichu slowed her pace, gently pulling Mu Anqi, who was walking ahead, back. Then she looked towards the garden area beneath the apartment buildings. The fitness equipment here looked very new, and the open space was quite large, as if it had been built not long ago.
Following Ji Huaichu's gaze, Mu Anqi was still somewhat confused. Suddenly, she spotted her parents sitting on a bench, but they hadn't noticed her. It wasn't until Ji Huaichu led her towards the sandpit that Mu Anqi whispered in disbelief, "Is that… me?"
Did she wear bright red little dresses like that when she was eight? And why were her front teeth missing!? Yes, children around that age are in the teething phase, but why did it have to be the front teeth?
The little girl in the red dress had fair, tender skin, with two small buns tied in her hair. She was sitting unselfconsciously in the sandpit, playing with the sand. Perhaps sensing Mu Anqi's gaze, the child also looked over. Her large eyes were dewy and bright, and she gave Mu Anqi and Ji Huaichu a big, brilliant smile—completely unbothered by her missing front teeth.
"Very cute." Ji Huaichu looked at the little girl, her expression extremely soft. She wasn't smiling, but said quietly, "She's a very lively little girl."
"Children are always lively, of course…" Mu Anqi covered her face. The little girl had sand all over her face and clothes, her smile sunny and radiant, completely different from what she had imagined herself to be like. Was she really like this as a child? Mu Anqi couldn't remember clearly. She definitely hadn't worn little dresses later on…
"Pretty sisters, do you want to play together?" The child's voice was tender and still carried a hint of babyishness. The little girl climbed out of the sandpit, patted her dress carelessly, and ran over. Standing in front of Mu Anqi and Ji Huaichu, she looked up at them, revealing her gap-toothed smile. "Sisters, you're so pretty!"
Mu Anqi's first thought was: "Ah, even my childhood self had good taste." But then she immediately realized: Didn't this just expose the fact that she'd been a beauty chaser since she was little! She looked at Ji Huaichu. The General was smiling too, though not to make fun of her. She crouched down, rubbed the head of her younger self, and said softly, "Okay, what would you like to play?"
…This tone was something Mu Anqi had never expected.
When the younger her said she wanted to build a sandcastle, Ji Huaichu agreed without hesitation. She followed the little Mu Anqi into the sandpit and seriously started piling up sand.
Mu Anqi watched for a while, thinking to herself, 'How are you going to build a castle without using water to solidify the sand?' Then she saw General Ji actually use Yin energy to fix the sand in place. Taking advantage of the fact that ordinary people couldn't see Yin energy, she was determined to build a castle out of this pile of loose sand. Mu Anqi couldn't help but laugh. She turned and went to the convenience store to buy two bottles of water, then joined them in the sandpit to build the castle.
As lunchtime approached, her young parents called out for Mu Anqi from nearby, causing Mu Anqi to almost respond instinctively. But she quickly lowered her head. The little Mu Anqi was stroking the "little castle" reluctantly, seemingly ignoring her parents' calls.
"Good children should go home to eat now," Mu Anqi said with a smile. She rubbed her younger self's head, couldn't resist giving the two little buns a gentle pinch, and then continued, "If you don't eat properly, you won't grow tall!"
"Hmm… Then I want to grow as tall as this sister!" The child took it seriously. She waved her little fist, looking at Ji Huaichu. After saying this, her parents called again. She reluctantly touched the sandcastle once more, then stood up, brushed all the sand off her dress, and trotted towards her parents. But halfway there, she suddenly stopped, ran back, and said loudly, "Thank you, pretty sisters, for playing with me!"
"Ah, you're welcome." Mu Anqi was stunned for a moment. She truly hadn't expected her childhood self to be… this cute.
"Goodbye." Ji Huaichu, however, bid farewell very seriously. She waved her hand, and saw the child wave back even more vigorously. Then the little girl ran to her parents, took her mother's hand, and kept chattering about something as she skipped her way home for lunch.
They didn't leave immediately but quietly followed them.
The young parents stopped at the entrance of their building. Only then did Mu Anqi notice that a small stall had been set up right by the entrance. A thin, elderly man dressed in Tangzhuang sat in front of the stall, with a fortune-telling flag planted beside him, very much resembling an ancient fortune-teller.
"I want to try this! I want it!"
Mu Anqi heard her younger self say this.
Her parents looked at the old man. Perhaps they felt it was not easy to earn money for someone of his age to be out doing this, or maybe it was because their child wanted a reading, or perhaps the price was cheap? In any case, they agreed. Mu Anqi watched as her younger self happily bounded over to have her fortune told by that fortune-teller.
Mu Anqi: "…"
Where would a child understand complex predictions? She only remembered the fortune-teller saying with a smile, "This means that after you turn twenty, you will have a great destiny!"
"So, I was the one who asked for it…" Mu Anqi scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed. But she truly remembered having constant bad luck ever since that day. Unwilling to admit that she was genuinely unlucky, she could only blame the fortune-teller.
The family of three went upstairs back home. Ji Huaichu, however, led Mu Anqi to the fortune-telling stall.
"Tell my fortune too," Ji Huaichu said.
The fortune-teller looked somewhat puzzled. He glanced at Ji Huaichu, then revealed a shocked expression, as if he had seen something extraordinary. His expression turned grave. He looked more carefully, then became so frightened that his face turned pale and his hands trembled uncontrollably. He repeatedly said, "No, no, I can't, I can't read you…" As he spoke, he began to pack up his stall.
"Wait, we mean no harm." Mu Anqi said urgently, stepping forward to block his path slightly. She then pointed at herself. "Then, can you read my fortune?"
"You?" The fortune-teller's hands were still trembling. He forced himself to calm down and looked at Mu Anqi, only to discover that this person's fate bore a striking resemblance to the child from before. Moreover, she seemed to be at the peak of her life's journey. Yet, strangely… her fate appeared to have solidified, with no discernible trajectory for the future. He glanced at the expressionless woman beside her, then whispered to Mu Anqi, "You… I cannot see through you either."
Having said that, and ignoring Mu Anqi's attempts to stop him, he packed up his stall and left.
"Quite interesting," Ji Huaichu said, watching the retreating figure. "He could indeed perceive something, though not very clearly."
Of course, if an ordinary person could truly see clearly, they would inevitably suffer some backlash.
"…So, did he figure out or not that I would have constant minor misfortunes until I was twenty?" Mu Anqi let out a deep sigh. However, judging by the fortune-teller's expression when he read her younger self's fortune, he probably hadn't seen that part.
"The younger you was very cute." Ji Huaichu glanced upstairs, as if she could see through the window the little girl leaning against it, looking down. That little girl's pigtails swayed, and the red dress was utterly adorable, making her look even more fair and cute. Ji Huaichu raised her hand and pulled Mu Anqi into an embrace. "You really have been cute since you were little."
"Hmm, maybe it's because I ate a lot of 'Cute More' when I was little?" Mu Anqi felt a bit embarrassed by the praise and suddenly remembered this pun.
But Ji Huaichu clearly didn't understand it. "'Cute More'?"
Soon, they walked out of a convenience store. Each held a Cute More ice cream.
Dimensional travel still had five and a half days left.
"Let's go traveling!" Mu Anqi said. "There are so many places domestically I haven't been to! Let's book flights and travel now? Shouldn't the Nirvana Space be able to provide ID cards?"
[Identity documents have been issued to the special store. Please proceed with the purchase.]
Mu Anqi opened the special store and indeed found IDs for herself and Ji Huaichu. The price… 0 points, free. Besides that, there was a "Custom Documents" service for just 1 point, but they didn't need that for now.
"Shattered Mirror Continent also has many scenic places. After we return… I can take you to see them slowly." Ji Huaichu thought for a moment and said