Chapter 132: Curiosity Kills the Cat

"You scoundrel! Shirk your duties to loaf around here, will you?!" The servant was only halfway through when a harsh berating suddenly rang by his ear!

"Yikes!" The book in his hand nearly tumbled to the floor. Just as he was about to curse whoever was so wicked, he caught sight of the manager's weathered face, his expression instantly freezing. "Manager... I don't know which guest left a book behind, but it really is remarkably novel..."

Watching the manager's face grow increasingly dark, the servant hurriedly offered a placating smile. "I'll get right back to work, right away."

"What book could possibly make this boy look so utterly entranced...?" Li Fusheng had run a restaurant his entire life; what grand storms had he not weathered? He contemptuously snatched up the exquisitely crafted scroll the servant had tossed onto the table. "Left behind by a guest?"

He casually flipped it open and cast a glance. "A biographical novel?"

"What interest could there be in this?" Just as he was about to toss the scroll aside, he suddenly recalled the utterly captivated look in the servant's eyes and muttered, "Is it truly that good?"

Since he had nothing better to do at the moment anyway, Li Fusheng immediately flipped to the first page.

Ten minutes later...

Li Fusheng's eyes widened in astonishment. "To think such a miraculous world actually exists?!"

"And a Lord of Destruction capable of destroying the world?!"

"A Paladin from the Western Cathedral? What manner of person is that?"

Shen Qingqing's prose was superb; her depictions of every character were exceptionally vivid—the ambitious adventurers from all corners of the land, the kind and wise Akara, the hearty and generous blacksmith Charsi, brought to life one by one.

The foray into the Den of Evil, the sorrow of Blood Raven... upon seeing how a former hero had now degenerated into a minion of evil, Li Fusheng slowly and involuntarily found himself immersed in this wondrous tale. The entire world was shrouded in darkness and despair, yet these humans deep within the shadows continued to search for that sliver of light which might not even exist.

"The night gave me dark eyes, yet I use them to seek the light." Thus it was written in the book at this moment.

"Brilliant! Utterly brilliant!" Li Fusheng slapped his thigh, shouting aloud as if no one else were around.

"This writing is truly magnificent!"

...

Shen Qingqing looked at Fang Qi with curiosity. "Owner, how did you think of these lines back then?"

She found it truly peculiar; this Owner Fang appeared even younger than her, yet not only was his strength formidable, he seemed to know how to do everything.

How could he come up with lines of such profound depth!

Fang Qi shrugged; lines like this had been overused to death before his transmigration. Had it not been for the fact that this world lacked such famous quotes, and that this particular line happened to fit the novel Diablo perfectly, he would have been too embarrassed to bring it out.

"But will people really read it like this?"

"Of course, curiosity killed the cat," Fang Qi remarked with absolute certainty.

"Curiosity..." The two women looked at Fang Qi with even greater perplexity. "...killed the cat? But there isn't even a cat in that shop?"

...

"Mister Yu." Inside the Fusheng Restaurant, Li Fusheng called out to the storyteller who had just stepped down from the stage, his throat parched from speaking.

"Take a look at this biographical novel." He handed over a copy of Diablo, his breath somewhat hurried as he asked, "Can you tell this story tomorrow?"

Though his restaurant was quite sizeable, the storytelling trade was absolutely indispensable; after all, given the choice between a tavern where one could only eat and one where entertainment was provided alongside a meal, most people would choose the latter.

And if that entertainment proved to be even more interesting, it would be all the more so.

The storyteller surnamed Yu flipped through the pages of the biographical novel, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

Having finished reading the volume, he asked, "Manager Li, where did this biographical novel come from?"

"It seems... to have been left behind by a few guests," Li Fusheng replied. "Could it be...? If someone comes looking for it, we will naturally return it to its rightful owner. But surely it is not too much for us to simply read through it?"

"True enough." Mister Yu stroked his beard. "If this old man narrates this biographical novel, I dare guarantee that Manager Li's establishment will see at least a thirty percent increase in patrons!"

"How could there be so many?" Li Fusheng was caught completely by surprise.

"Because one can absolutely never hear such a novel biography anywhere else!" Mister Yu explained. "The world described in this book is exceedingly novel, yet sufficiently rigorous, which is remarkably rare. It is only a pity that its author's penmanship is still slightly immature. If this old man were to narrate it..."

"Then everything shall rely on you, Mister!" Li Fusheng was overjoyed upon hearing this.

"However, even if the manager inquires about the origins of this book..." Mister Yu added, "please do your best to keep it a secret, Manager Li."

"Naturally!" He had not expected this biographical novel to be so useful, so he naturally wished to derive more profit from it.

...

"But even if it happens as you say, Owner Fang, that they will be curious and even have the storyteller narrate it, once it truly achieves better results than Martial Immortal, given how selfish these people are, they will surely hide the origin of this book to keep others from knowing, right?" Xu Zixin found it even more bizarre; this method seemed a bit too preposterous.

Fang Qi let out a laugh. "Is that not even better?"

"Ah?" Shen Qingqing asked. "Better? What do you mean?"

"Because by doing so, they will successfully transmit that curiosity onto all the listeners," Fang Qi explained. "If you came across an exceptionally splendid and novel biographical novel, yet did not know where it was sold, nor whether a subsequent volume existed, and could only hear it in one place, wouldn't your heart itch like it was being scratched? And wouldn't you then, intentionally or otherwise, inquire about it with others?"

"Oh—! It really does seem that way!"

"In that case, hasn't the curiosity been transmitted to the person being asked as well?" Fang Qi spoke.

"...To think it could work like that?!" Enlightenment dawned upon the two. "And then the person being asked will inquire with others in turn..."

"Oh dear!" Shen Qingqing suddenly felt a pang of regret. "If that's the case, won't a great many people want to buy the Diablo novel when the time comes? Did I print too few copies?"

"It is not too few," Fang Qi remarked.

"Not too few?" The two were nearly driven into circles by Fang Qi. "With so many people wanting to buy it, how can it not be too few?"

"Let me tell you a story. There was once someone who sold rotten apples. He clearly could have sold tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of them... yet he deliberately refrained from preparing that many rotten apples..."

"Owner..." Shen Qingqing and Xu Zixin were both amused and exasperated by Fang Qi on the spot, protesting, "What kind of rotten apples could sell by the tens of thousands? You are clearly talking nonsense!"

"Then let it be rotten spiritual fruits; do not fret over the details," Fang Qi said with an air of utmost seriousness.

"Then what happened to those rotten spiritual fruits afterward?" The two women clearly looked incredulous.

"As it turned out, before the rotten spiritual fruits even went on sale, long queues had already formed in front of the shop. Some people even rushed over to line up the night before. Those who managed to buy the rotten spiritual fruits wept with joy, while those who failed to do so even offered several times the price to purchase them from those who had."

As Fang Qi spoke, he glanced at their slender waists. "Later on, there were even people who traded their kidneys for those rotten apples."

"..."

"What utter nonsense!" The two immediately rolled their eyes at Fang Qi. "Forget it, we won't be going to your shop today, Owner Fang. We should lay low for a while to avoid the storm!"

.