“Sorry, Aunt, but we’re all single, probably have no use for this potion,” Winnie spoke up before anyone else could.

“Au…nt?” The woman tightened her grip on her smoking pipe slightly, yet her customer-service smile remained. “Little boy, you’re calling me ‘Aunt’?”

“Well, there’s no one else here who could be called Aunt, right?” Winnie asked, puzzled. “All of us who came are guys, and since you called us little boys, shouldn’t we politely call you Aunt in return?”

“Oh my~ Little boy, do I really look that old to you?” The woman’s smile didn’t waver.

“I don’t know. Probably not, but… you just don’t feel young,” Winnie answered bluntly. He was someone who always spoke the truth. Although the shopkeeper wearing the large witch’s hat looked only in her twenties, her prime, something about her demeanor and appearance felt overly mature. Combined with her tone, which carried that stereotypical ‘wicked woman’ vibe, Winnie couldn’t shake the feeling that she was actually quite old.

After all, a supernatural being’s true age couldn’t be judged by appearance alone. The higher one’s cultivation, the stronger they were, the less they aged, some even achieved ageless immortality, greatly extending their lifespan.

With sufficient power, even someone over a hundred years old could still appear in their early twenties.

Furthermore, descendants of the [Saints] possess lifespans far longer than ordinary humans. Take Varelis, who carried the blood of the Blessed Angel, or Pavone, who carried the blood of the Wrathful Golden Dragon, though they still had a limit to their lives, as long as their strength was great, their appearances were hardly aged.

Among all races, elves had the longest lifespans. For humans, the only way to extend their lives was by walking the path of the supernatural.

Winnie’s intuition told him that this beautiful woman, who should technically be addressed as “Sister,” was actually very old, possibly even ancient.

But that wasn’t unusual. As long as one’s cultivation was high enough, especially for alchemists who specialized in self-care, they often concocted longevity elixirs and supplements to maintain their youth.

Clack.

Huh??~

Winnie’s brow twitched. What was that sound just now? Had he imagined it?

“Oh my, that’s not quite proper, little boy,” the woman exclaimed, tapping her pipe against the table. “It’s always very impolite to mention a lady’s age, you know?”

“But Aunty, you’re not exactly a ‘lady’ anymore, are you?” Winnie’s innocent, bewildered expression landed another blow, as if he wasn’t being malicious, just truly confused and honestly stated his thoughts.

The woman fell silent for a moment, slowly softening her pipe before tapping it once more against the table.

“Ow!?” Winnie suddenly felt something light but firm strike the back of his head, startingling him. “Who… who threw a secret weapon at this young master?!”

“Winnie, are you okay?” Shikondell asked in concern.

“Ah… n-nothing. Just… felt something hit the back of my head,” Winnie rubbed his head, glancing up. There was clearly nothing there.

“Young man, there’s an old saying: ‘Heaven watches above, speak no slander,'” the woman said lightly, blowing out a smoke ring.

“But I didn’t say anything bad! This young master only spoke the truth!” Winnie pouted.

“…Oh my. Truly incorrigible.”

Whether it was his imagination or not, Winnie could’ve sworn her voice paused for a split second.

“No wonder the blue-haired little boy doesn’t have a girlfriend. With that mouth of yours, I’d say you’ve pretty much eliminated any chance a girl might ever like you for the rest of your life,” the woman sitting on the counter said with a meaningful smirk.

“Huh??” Winnie narrowed his eyes.

Oh, so we’re doing personal attacks now? Is that it??

Everyone saw it, Winnie had been standing here minding his own business, not provoking her at all. She was the one who kept instigating and provoking him!

Don’t blame him then.

Winnie felt his battle spirit rising.

Had he been too quiet for too long, causing everyone to forget his title as the Notorious young master of Camella??

“So, miss, is this potion really effective? I doubt it. If it actually worked, wouldn’t you have found a boyfriend by now? Still single? Do you enjoy being single, or do you get paid when you hit fifty?” Winnie shot back suddenly.

Clack. Another identical creak of wood.

“Pfft-” Fred and some of the other card players behind him burst into suppressed laughter at Winnie’s retort, trying to hold it in out of politeness, but ultimately failing.

“Little boy, someone as reckless, disrespectful, and impolite as you tend to invite great misfortune wherever you go,” the woman finally spoke after a few seconds of silence, her tone now carrying a distinct edge of fake sweetness.

“Aunty, don’t tell me something I don’t know,” Winnie said with a face that screamed, “I already knew that.”

The sheer amount of bad luck he’d endured forever, well, those who knew, knew. He’d experienced several disasters that most people wouldn’t see in a lifetime, all within less than two semesters, and every single time, he was the protagonist.

All he had left was his life, everything else was nearly gone.

“Oh? Then… Do you want to change your luck?”

“Aunty, you’re not trying to sell me some kind of lucky magic charm or potion, are you? Thanks, but no thanks. Keep it for yourself. I don’t buy health supplements,” Winnie waved dismissively.

Under the brim of her hat, another hashmark appeared above the beautiful woman’s head.

This was the second time recently that Christine had experienced significant emotional fluctuations, and both times were because of these brats. The first was because of that little demon Aesphyra, but Aesphyra was understood; she wasn’t an ordinary child. But now, some random brat could make her angry too??

What taboo had she broken lately??

“How about it? What do you all think?” Winnie ignored the woman and asked the others.

“Uh… too expensive, and we don’t even know what it does,” the other card players clearly showed no interest in the alchemical potions.

Earlier, they’d all complained loudly about being single, but when it came to spending money on something, none of them were willing. They were all saving their allowances for the next card booster pack.

“Fine. If no one’s interested, let’s go,” Winnie said, then glanced at Shikondell, noting she was still staring blankly at the batch of potions labeled “Love at First Sight.”

This kid was just too innocent. She couldn’t actually believe this, could she??

Winnie walked over, but instead of saying something like, “It’s all fake, don’t look, we’re not falling for this,” he simply picked up a bottle.

“Ah, Winnie, do you want to buy it?” Shikondell snapped back to reality and asked.

“Yeah, I do,” Winnie replied without further explanation. “Let’s go.”

With that, Winnie headed toward the counter to pay.

Did Winnie really have someone he liked? Is that why he’s buying it?

Shikondell couldn’t help but start overthinking.

‘Virtue + 80.’

‘Current Virtue: 1784.’

“Aunty, I’ll take this potion. Thanks,” Winnie placed the vial on the counter.

“Oh? Didn’t the blue-haired little boy just say he didn’t believe in it?” Christine raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I don’t. But that doesn’t stop me from buying one out of curiosity, right? Collecting oddities is fun, isn’t it?” Winnie said dismissively.

“Heh. Of course. That’ll be one silver coin and five copper coins,” Christine said.

“Here.” Winnie placed the money on the table and turned to leave, but was stopped by Christine.

“Wait a moment, little boy.”

“What now? Still trying to sell me supplements? Aunty, I’m really not interested.”

“Of course not. Little boy, since this is your first time shopping in my store, I’d like to offer you a complimentary additional service,” Christine said with a charming smile, adjusting her graceful figure.

“Huh? What additional service?” Winnie looked truly confused.

“A glimpse into your fate,” Christine explained. “Don’t you want to know what kind of destiny you carry?”

“Goodbye.” Winnie didn’t even turn back.

“Oh my. Is there truly someone who isn’t the slightest bit curious about their own fate? Or perhaps, little boy, you just don’t believe in such things? Or do you think I’m deceiving you, doubt my ability?” Christine wasn’t in a hurry. She simply stared at Winnie’s back.

“None of the above,” Winnie stopped walking.

“Oh? Then what is it?”

“What good would knowing my ‘destiny’ do for me?” Winnie turned to glance at Christine. “If you tell me something good, it might not be true. If you tell me something bad, it’ll mess with my mindset, and even if it’s false, it might become true just because I believed it.”

“…” Christine lifted her hat brim slightly, giving Winnie a rare, serious look.

“Little boy, you’ve got some wisdom after all.”

“So don’t tell me anything. I’ll find out what my future holds on my own. I’ll experience it myself. I don’t need anyone telling me,” Winnie said, then walked toward the exit of the alchemy shop.

“Well then… I suppose you misunderstood me, little boy. I merely wanted to give you a warning.”

“Be careful in the days to come,” Christine said mysteriously.

“I don’t need you to tell me that,” Winnie said without turning back.

“Hey Winnie, what did that shopkeeper say to you?” Fred and the others, who had been waiting at the door, asked as Winnie finally stepped out.

“Oho, getting secret messages? How come Winnie gets all the luck? Too bad though, she was really pretty.”

“Get real, man. She’s wearing that huge witch hat, how could you even see her face?” someone joked.

“My intuition tells me she’s got a beautiful voice and an amazing figure! That’s the truth!” the card player insisted.

“Hey Winnie, why’d you even buy that thing? Are you planning to give it to Isatia as a gift?” Fred couldn’t help but ask when he saw the potion in Winnie’s hand.

“Of course not. What are you even thinking?” Winnie shot Fred a glare. “Didn’t you hear? It’s meant to be exchanged between couples. What use would I have for one? Drink it myself?”

“Alright, alright. It’s getting late. Everyone head home,” Winnie called out.

“Hey, wait, Winnie, I need to talk to you about something,” Fred called out just as most of the group had extensively and Winnie and Shikondell were about to leave.

“What is it?” Winnie asked, confused.

“Haha, hey, Dell, mind giving us a second?” Fred gestured for Shikondell to step away.

“Huh?”

Although Winnie had no idea what Fred was up to, he signaled Shikondell to wait ahead.

“Alright, spit it out. What is it?” Winnie looked at Fred’s shifty expression with exasperation.

“Hehe, Winnie, buddy, we’re the closest of friends, right?” Fred grinned.

“If you keep beating around the bush, I’m leaving,” Winnie said, turning to go.

“Wait, wait! I need your help!”

“Tch. Always something with you. Fine, what is it?” Winnie said impatiently. “Just so you know, if it’s too hard, I’ll charge.”

“No, no! It’s just a little advice, that’s all.”

“What advice?” Winnie was baffled. “Fred, what kind of advice do you want from me? Have you ever listened to my advice before?”

“Ah, that was then, this is now! Back then I thought everyone was just boasting, but now I see, Winnie, you’re really something. You actually pulled off getting the Crown Princess Tyrell? Wow, wow.” Fred whistled in admiration.

“So what are you getting at?” Winnie felt a bad premonition rising.

“Oh, nothing much. Just a small favor. Winnie, you’re really good at chasing girls, winning their hearts? Never would’ve guessed. You’re an old player, huh.”

“Shut up! Who’s an old playboy? You have no idea how deep my romantic soul runs!” Winnie said irritably.

“Ah, I know, I know, Winnie, you’re a deeply passionate and faithful guy. So, could you give this old brother some guidance when the time comes?”

“Huh? Wait, Fred, do you have someone you like?” Winnie asked, skeptical.

These card players were something else. Outwardly, they seemed obsessed only with playing cards, but secretly, every single one of them was desperate to escape bachelorhood.

Unbelievable.

“You should really be asking Aesphyra for advice,” Winnie said with a strange expression. She was the real queen of the game, flirting skills maxed out.

“Ah, come on, Winnie, only you can help me!”

“Fine, fine. But don’t blame me if it doesn’t work. Who is she? Do I know her?”

“You haven’t met her. You weren’t there that time.”

Wait, what do you mean “that time you weren’t there”??

Suddenly, Winnie remembered the fan card incident and felt a chill run down his spine.

No… it couldn’t be.

That can’t be right.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep