BXBX NOVEL Chapter 78 - 77 - Shop’s owner, come out! 1
“So tired, I really don’t want to work.” The three of them yawned in unison, their eyes struggling to stay open.
What a rotten idea the Rudder Master had to come eat here.
They were on their way back to the barbecue restaurant, having managed to infiltrate the enemy’s ranks after a day of witty contest, and now all they want is to eat a big meal and have a good sleep.
The Eternity Sect managed to focus everyone’s thoughts on the Mountain and River Tripod, a process that resulted in great exhaustion.
“Thank goodness I had the ghoul prepare the skewers before we left so we can start business right away once we get back,” Man Gu said with some relief.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the barbecue shop, Lu Yang recognized a familiar face.
“Guard Captain Wei? What are you doing here? Anything important?”
Guard Captain Wei had been knocking at the restaurant door for quite some time, no one answered, he thought no one was there.
In fact, the restaurant was indeed empty, save for the two hardworking ghouls who were too scared to open the door when they heard Guard Captain Wei knocking.
Just as Guard Captain Wei was about to give up, Lu Yang showed up.
Guard Captain Wei was overjoyed: “Mr. Little Lu, you’re finally back.”
Lu Yang nodded, and came up with a quick excuse: “We saw that the weather was good this morning, so we all agreed that it’s a perfect day for an outing. We just came back from a little wander.”
“So, are you open for business today?”
Lu Yang thought for a while, figuring that Rudder Master and his gang of about twenty people were on their way, so they could be counted as open for business- “Yes.”
Guard Captain Wei said in as gentle a tone as possible: “Mr. Little Lu, here’s the thing, your barbecue restaurant is quite famous around here. I often bring some of my brothers here, don’ 11? ”
“I know you love running the barbecue shop and have no interest in expanding or being publicized.”
Lu Yang nodded.
Guard Captain Wei lamented, “My brothers seemed to overshare about how good your food was after eating, and now, everyone else is drooling over your food. They said they’ll come over to eat after today’s shift ends, and the brothers who are on the night shift at the yamen asked for some food to be brought back to them.”
Lu Yang looked at Guard Captain Wei’s expression and thought, surely it wasn’t just your brothers spreading the word, you did it too, didn’t you?
“So?”
“Well, there are quite a few constables in Yanjiang County, nearly enough to fill all the tables. The head constable is coming too, so I was wondering if we could book the entire restaurant tonight, just for us.”
Lu Yang finally understood and pretended to be hesitant: “But I have a few friends coming over tonight, I’m afraid…”
Guard Captain Wei hastened to assure him: “No problem, no problem. A few more people won’t matter, it’ll be livelier with more people.”
Guard Captain Wei had already assured his colleagues beforehand that they’d certainly have a meal here; it would be embarrassing if it turned out to be untrue.
Lu Yang agreed: “Alright, let us prepare, and we’ll open in an hour.”
Having received a definite response, Guard Captain Wei happily left.
When it was almost the time agreed by the Rudder Master, various groups of people gathered at the entrance of the barbecue shop from all directions, including the Rudder Master, eleven managers, and seven new members.
Chi Xulong and Shen Jinyi even brought several jars of wine.
“I was worried that the wine in this small restaurant wouldn’t be strong enough, so I brought a few jars of thirty-year-old spirit wine.” Chi Xulong and Shen Jinyi said.
The spirit wine was very strong, even those at the Foundation Establishment Stage would not be able to dissolve it.
The other five new members also had intentions of bringing wine to show respect, but being at the Qi Refinement stage, they couldn’t offer anything of value.
The Rudder Master had changed his mask to one that revealed the lower half of his face, in order to eat.
Lu Yang and the other two came out of the barbecue shop, inviting everyone inside: “Please come in, everything is ready. We originally had the whole place booked tonight. It took much begging and pleading before the people who reserved it agreed to leave us a table.”
The Rudder Master nodded, initially he was worried that Lu Yang and the others would be unruly and disobey orders, and thought about teaching them a lesson. Now it seems these three were cooperative enough to reserve seats in advance.
‘No more standing, let’s go in.” The Rudder Master beckoned the others.
The barbecue restaurant was empty. The Rudder Master naturally sat at the largest table in the middle, befitting his status.
Lu Yang cautiously reminded him, “Master, this table has been reserved.” Before the Rudder Master could say anything, Chi Xulong interjected, “Let them move aside. How dare they try to compete with us for seats?”
Seeing that the Rudder Master did not object, Lu Yang said no more. Everyone sat down and Man Gu handed out the menu, “What would you like to eat?”
Shen Jinyi handed the menu to the Rudder Master, “Master, please.”
The Rudder Masterwaved his hand, “Order whatever you like.”
“Since you are hosting, naturally you should order.”
“No need, order as you please.”
Everyone at the table went in circles refusing to order, and in the end, the menu returned to Man Gu. He snorted, finding these people to be quite bothersome even when ordering skewers.
Man Gu didn’t have the habit of refusing. After making his selections, he took the menu to the backyard and had two ghouls start grilling.
Soon, Man Gu returned with plates of tantalizingly fragrant skewers. Everyone could tell they were delicious just by the smell.
“Come, come, the skewers are here. Pour the drinks!” the Rudder Master exclaimed, signaling everyone to pour drinks.
Meng Jingzhou laughed, “There’s no need for alcohol. I prefer tea and don’t like drinks.”
The Rudder Master chuckled, “Little Meng, when you’re in our world, you need
to drink. You’ll get used to it after a few rounds.”
Meng Jingzhou continued to refuse.
The Rudder Master didn’t want to lose face. He frowned slightly, and Chi Xulong seized the opportunity to chastise, “What’s the matter with you? The Rudder Master offers you a drink and you refuse, not giving him face?”
Meng Jingzhou smirked, “What does having a drink have to do with saving face? If the Rudder Master insists on me drinking, isn’t he not giving me face?”
Chi Xulong was about to retort when he was interrupted by the Rudder Master.
Knowing Meng Jingzhou’s vast potential, the Rudder Master didn’t want any quarrels.
Only the Rudder Master knew the Master’s evaluation of Lu Yang and the others. Even they didn’t know.
‘There aren’t many formalities for a welcome meal. Let me introduce myself
first. My surname is Chu, and you can call me Master Chu.”
Once the Rudder Master finished, everyone made their introductions. While it was said to be an introduction, it was merely the announcing of their own names, revealing nothing more.
Trust is rare among demonic sects, they try to conceal as much about themselves as possible.
Like no quarrel had happened, everyone enjoyed their meal.
“These skewers are surprisingly good.” After having several skewers, Chi Xulong was pleasantly surprised. They were the best skewers he’d ever eaten.
He was tempted and quietly asked the Rudder Master, “Should we coerce the restaurant owner into revealing the recipe? Even if we sell these skewers for
Spirit Stones, they would still be popular. We can make a fortune!”
The Rudder Master was also tempted. He’d done plenty of killing for profit and extortion before and didn’t mind one more.
Lu Yang asked, “What if the owner doesn’t agree to give the recipe?”
An icy glint flashed in Chi Xulong’s eyes, and he smirked, “Then he has to choose between his life and the recipe!”
He slammed the table, ready to make trouble, and shouted, “Where is the owner! Come out! We have food here but the owner hasn’t shown up, don’t you know the rules!”
Then, Guard Captain Wei’s voice followed from outside the door, “Hahaha, where’s the owner, I’ve brought my brothers here.”
A group of constables swarmed in, including the head constable at the Golden
Core Stage, circling the Rudder Master’s table.