Chapter 3

Looking at the gold ingot pushed in front of him, Xu Yan was stunned — the golden ingot in front of him was finely textured, emitting a soft golden glow under the light — Xu Yan had never seen a gold ingot, but he had seen gold jewelry in gold shops. By visual estimation, he felt that the golden ingot in front of him was real gold, and of high quality.

"Listen, classmate, you shouldn't joke like this. It's just a small matter of a dozen or so yuan. Is it worth bringing out something like this? Quickly put the gold away. You're a girl, and it's not safe to carry such valuable things... What if bad people see it?"

The girl smiled, and Xu Yan couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but he felt a piercing pride in her smile.

"No need to worry, sir. I have my own means of self-protection."

The girl said confidently, gazing at Xu Yan. "Sir, money is a vulgar thing and cannot repay your kindness. If it's not too much trouble, I have a favor to ask. Would you be willing to help?"

"Ah, just say it."

"Just now, I heard the shopkeeper say that the local currency used here is called 'RMB.' I don't know what this is. Could you help me exchange some?"

Xu Yan frowned. He heard every word the girl said clearly, but when put together, he didn't understand what she meant. He asked, "You mean you don't know what RMB is? You want to exchange gold for it?"

The girl nodded seriously, "Yes, so please help me."

Xu Yan sized up the girl, the more he looked, the more he felt uneasy.

Exchanging gold ingots for money? This seemed familiar, it sounded like an old scam he had seen on CCTV's 'Today's Law' — but he was obviously a poor college student, who would scam someone like him?

Moreover, the girl's demeanor and appearance didn't seem like a scammer's — in our society, many people are mistreated, but not beautiful women. This girl could easily become an actress, and with a bit of luck, she could easily find a wealthy tycoon. Why would she need to scam a poor student like him?

Besides, although Xu Yan wasn't very knowledgeable about clothing, the ancient robe the girl was wearing was very delicate, with fine texture, intricate pleats, and patterns. The edges of the sleeves and hem were adorned with fine gold, clearly not something bought wholesale. This was definitely a high-end, custom-made outfit. Xu Yan didn't know how much it cost, but he had heard that a high-end Japanese kimono could cost tens of millions. This outfit probably wasn't cheap either.

A thought suddenly popped into Xu Yan's mind — could this be a TV prank show? Xu Yan looked at the gold ingot on the table, then turned to look around — good, no one with a camera jumped out to shout, "You've been tricked!"

Xu Yan had already made up his mind. He smiled, "Beautiful lady, are you joking with me? You can't really be from the past, right? Uh, you must be from a TV entertainment show, right? Haha, your show is really creative. But I won't fall for it, you can't trick me — by the way, where is your camera hidden?"

The girl's eyebrows furrowed slightly. She asked seriously, "Sir, what is '穿越' (穿越)? Where is that place? And what is a TV station? Why do you think I am from an entertainment show? What is a camera?"

"You dress like this, and you only have gold and silver, not RMB. This is clearly a costume drama —" Xu Yan turned his head to look around, shouting, "Hey, who is the director? I've seen through it, why hasn't anyone come out to call it off?"

"Sir, I really don't understand what you're saying."

"Really not a TV show? Really not? Then... there's only one truth!"

Xu Yan covered his face, he was sure that the girl in front of him was mentally unstable.

He muttered, "I told the fat guy yesterday that watching too many TV dramas can lower your IQ, and he didn't believe me. He should really come and see this living example — look at her, it's so sad, her IQ has dropped to a negative number!"

Meeting a beautiful girl was pleasant, but meeting a beautiful girl with mental issues wasn't so pleasant. Xu Yan, a kind and good student, especially when it came to beautiful girls, asked, "Miss, where is your home? Do you have a phone number? I can call them to come and pick you up."

"Sir, my home... uh, is in Qin'an Prefecture, SX Province, which is very far from here. Do you know my hometown?"

"SX? Of course I know. From SX to Shudu, it's indeed very far. Does no one from your family come with you? Their phone numbers?"

"No one from my family came with me... But, sir, what do you mean by 'phone number'?"

"A phone is... never mind, this is too complicated to explain. Miss, what year and month do you think it is now?"

"Sir, have you forgotten the date? Today is the 23rd of December, the 37th year of Hengxing."

"Oh," Xu Yan propped his chin with one hand, thinking it was indeed as he suspected. He blinked his eyes and asked with interest, "The 37th year of Hengxing, which dynasty is this?"

Hearing Xu Yan say this, the girl's expression changed. She first looked around cautiously, then straightened her body and said sternly, "Sir, as a citizen of the empire, even in the remote border regions, some things cannot be joked about, or you might bring disaster upon yourself. Our great Ming dynasty has a wise emperor, a court full of virtuous officials, a prosperous country, and a strong nation. The country's power is like the sun and moon in the sky, known to all. Asking what dynasty it is now is clearly... cough, sir, if the Jinyiwei (Imperial Secret Police) heard such reckless words, even if they don't charge you with treason, the lightest punishment would be disrespect to the royal family!"

Xu Yan nodded as he listened, saying seriously, "Thank you for your advice, I understand." But in his heart, he thought, "So she's a Ming dynasty fan. Good, this is still a salvageable case. If she were a Qing dynasty fan, it would be beyond help."

He considered how to deal with this Ming dynasty fan he had encountered — report it to the police? Would the police handle this? The girl looked very spirited, spoke clearly, and wasn't a ragged homeless person. Would reporting it be making a big deal out of nothing? But leaving her alone didn't seem right...

"Sir, can you help me with what I asked? Can you help me exchange these gold ingots for the local currency?"

Xu Yan snapped out of his thoughts and was slightly startled by the scene in front of him: on the table in front of him, a row of ten small gold ingots was laid out, emitting a soft yellow glow, dazzling to the eye.

Xu Yan was shocked, "Are you crazy? Bringing out so much gold in such a place, put it away quickly!"

Xu Yan quickly looked around — indeed, what he feared had already happened. The ten gold ingots the girl had taken out had already caught the attention of many people in the KFC. People were discussing:

"Hey, look at that table over there, there are so many gold ingots on the table!"

"Is this fake?"

"Huh? This doesn't look like fake ingots. The texture and luster... it seems to be real gold!"

"So much real gold? That must be worth a lot of money!"

"The girl in the ancient costume has so much gold? Which family's child is this, being so reckless?"

The crowd buzzed with discussion, and more and more people were paying attention. Among them were a few young men with dyed yellow hair, earrings, and non-mainstream clothing. They were bare-chested, with tattoos on their arms, smoking, and looking like troublemakers. Seeing so much gold, they were already moving closer, their eyes gleaming with malice — Xu Yan was sweating, and he said urgently, "Miss, put it away quickly. Don't show off your wealth in a crowded place, or you might attract bad people."

"It's fine, I have my own means of self-protection," the girl said, but seeing Xu Yan's tense expression, she listened to him and swept her long sleeve over the table, and the row of gold ingots disappeared.

"Huh?"

Xu Yan stared at her sleeve, examining it carefully — even if each gold ingot was five taels, ten of them together should weigh about five to six pounds. But looking at the girl's flowing, cloud-like sleeve, where did the heavy gold go?

But regardless, seeing the gold disappear, Xu Yan breathed a sigh of relief and warned, "Don't take these things out casually in the future. They are worth hundreds of thousands, and it could cost you your life."

As he spoke, he glanced around — with the gold gone, most people were no longer paying attention, but the few yellow-haired troublemakers were still whispering to each other, occasionally glancing over, their eyes filled with unhidden greed and malice.

Xu Yan realized that the girl with the gold was likely being targeted. He felt a sense of urgency and looked around — fortunately, the KFC had cameras, and there were many people, so the troublemakers probably wouldn't dare to act rashly, but once they left the store, it would be a different story...

His face changed, and the girl asked curiously, "Sir, why do you look so strange and tense?"

"Shh — look to the right quietly, those brain-damaged non-mainstream guys by the table, yes, them — shh, don't look, they've been staring at you."

The girl turned her head, her eyebrows furrowed, and her face showed disgust — although the clothing and appearance were different from the Ming dynasty, the lazy and thug-like demeanor of these troublemakers was the same.

She said calmly, "Just a few troublemakers — why did you point them out to me?"

"You're right, these are troublemakers. They are used to doing bad things and are very bold. They saw your gold and probably have bad intentions. Where are your family members? You should contact them to come and take you away."

"I came alone, my family is still in SX Province —" seeing Xu Yan's surprised expression, the girl smiled, "Sir, don't worry. Since I dared to come alone, I have my own means of self-protection. A few troublemakers are no threat. But, stealing is a serious crime, doesn't the local government handle it?"

"Well, the police will handle it — uh, I mean the government will handle it, but sometimes the government is far away, and the troublemakers are close. We shouldn't suffer a loss right now. Besides, for small theft cases, the government might not have the time to handle them."

"Is that so? As long as no one dies, stealing a little money, the local government won't handle it?"

The girl frowned, looking at the yellow-haired troublemakers again, deep in thought. Then she asked Xu Yan, "Sir, you haven't told me how to exchange the currency you use."

Xu Yan lowered his voice, "Miss, if your gold is real..."

"It's definitely real, standard gold cast by the Ministry of Revenue, how could it be fake?"

"Alright, if your gold is real, it's worth a lot, probably hundreds of thousands. For such a large exchange, it's best to go to a bank, where transactions are safer."

"Only the government can exchange it?"

Xu Yan spread his hands, "I don't have that much money, so it's safer to go to a bank."

After hesitating, Xu Yan took out his wallet from his pocket, "Uh, you don't have any money, and I have about two hundred yuan. If you save it, it should last you two days, maybe until your family comes to pick you up."

The girl was silent, her eyebrows furrowed, clearly thinking about something. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she smiled and bowed to Xu Yan, "Sir, your chivalry is admirable. When I was in trouble today, you helped me out. Although this might be a small favor for you, I will never forget your kindness. This small gift is not enough to express my gratitude, but please accept it."

She didn't take Xu Yan's money but instead pushed a small gold ingot into his hand. Then she smiled at Xu Yan and nodded, "Sir, this small gift can serve as a memento of today. Goodbye, we will meet again."

Before Xu Yan could react, the girl had already left gracefully. What surprised Xu Yan was that she deliberately walked past the troublemakers, and as she passed, a gold ingot fell from her sleeve onto the ground. She slowly picked it up, looked at it for a moment, and then put it back into her sleeve, walking out the door and disappearing into the night.

The troublemakers exchanged glances and followed her out.

Xu Yan watched the entire scene, feeling tense and thinking:

"This girl has a beautiful face, and except for her strange choice of words, she speaks logically and doesn't seem abnormal. But why does she insist that it's the Ming dynasty? And those guys are clearly not good people. I warned her to be careful, but she didn't listen and even went near them. If they follow her, they probably have bad intentions."

"Should I follow them?"

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