Chapter 40: The Fish Thief

“Is… is it really this crazy?”

Bian Chunzhou stared at the flood of customers that was nearly wearing down the threshold. He was even beginning to wonder whether he had somehow hired a million-spirit-stone marketing team to drum up publicity for him. Otherwise, why had so many diners shown up the moment he opened?

Even if his hotpot restaurant really did smell amazing, there still shouldn’t be this many customers! They could barely keep up!

But who cared? Only a fool would turn down money. Boss Bian flitted around like a butterfly in bright clothes, so busy that even the time he had to entertain his friends kept shrinking.

After finally struggling through half a day, they had used up every ingredient prepared by the kitchen. Whether they could even open for dinner had become a serious question.

“I’m exhausted. I’m seriously exhausted!”

The moment Bian Chunzhou sat down, he gulped down an enormous cup of water. Only then did he begin speaking with animated delight.

“I never expected a cultivator’s name to be so useful. It turns out all these customers came because, when I hired people to hand out flyers a couple days ago, I happened to mention…”

Wen Xu silently refilled his cup. “Talk less. Your voice is already hoarse.”

“…It really is hoarse,” Chen Zui agreed from the side.

He was a tough man who could practice his saber for an entire month without stopping, yet he had somehow tired himself out just sitting there and watching Bian Chunzhou talk.

His mother had been right. Earning spirit stones truly was difficult.

Bian Chunzhou himself seemed completely unaware of his condition. “It’s not that bad. For the sake of my precious money, I can keep fighting for another whole day!”

“If you worked this hard at cultivation, you would never have—”

“My voice suddenly gave out. It hurts.”

Boss Bian clutched his chest and slowly collapsed onto the table in feigned weakness.

That acting could not even fool an honest man like Chen Zui. More accurately, after being fooled several times, even an honest man had learned better.

The Shared Toast Tavern opened as usual for the dinner service. With their experience from lunch, however, the manager and servers had already begun getting the hang of things, so Bian Chunzhou was not nearly as busy as before.

That was one good thing about the cultivation world. When ingredients needed to be transported urgently, they could use teleportation talismans and replenish their stock in minutes. Aside from consuming a painful number of spirit stones, everything about it was excellent.

Even so, he had made an enormous profit today. No wonder people said that anyone who remained a capitalist for long enough deserved to be strung from a streetlamp. Seriously, who could look at profits like these and not be tempted?

Of course, today’s revenue was also so high because he had launched all sorts of opening promotions. Customers received complimentary milk tea and other drinks, could earn a fifteen-percent discount by winning small games, received coupons after spending a certain amount, and could obtain a gold VIP card by depositing enough money in advance.

Basically… he had used every trick he knew.

With cultivators lending their prestige to the business, quite a few generous patrons had actually deposited money.

“Hm? Takeout? Wouldn’t it be more convenient to eat here? Eating hotpot alone is so lonely.”

Bian Chunzhou rapidly tapped at the abacus in his hands. In truth, he did not really know how to use one, but holding it made him look the part.

Wen Xu said, “…It’s for my master.”

He had meant to bring it up much earlier, but then they had begun researching the Layered Wind Array, while Chunzhou had remained busy preparing to open the restaurant, so the matter had been delayed.

Bian Chunzhou’s abacus instantly went silent.

Not only did it stop clicking, he nearly dropped it.

“F-for… for who?”

Surely he had misheard.

“…Chunzhou, you’re stuttering,” Wen Xu pointed out sharply.

“N-no, I’m not!”

“You are,” Chen Zui said.

Wen Xu leaned closer. “Do you perhaps feel something toward my master—”

“N-no, absolutely not! I would never harbor the slightest disrespect toward the divine dragon!”

He had finally managed to say an entire sentence smoothly.

“Wen Xuxu, don’t misunderstand. I’ll personally go fry the hotpot base right now!”

“You’re doing it yourself? Isn’t there some extra in the kitchen?”

“How could that be acceptable?”

The divine dragon deserved a custom-made batch! How could he possibly be served the same base as everyone else?

Wen Xu fell silent.

Chunzhou truly did worship his master.

“All right. Then would you like to come with me and meet him? I think the two of you—”

Before Wen Xu could finish, Bian Chunzhou shook his head like a rattle drum.

“No, no, no, no! There’s no need. I’m not mentally prepared yet.”

He was still a complete weakling. At the very least, he needed to wait until after next year’s inner sect competition. Otherwise, he would only embarrass his friend.

The divine dragon might be wonderful, but Wen Xuxu was his closest brother. There was no reason for a tiny Qi Refining Realm weakling like him to visit the mountain peak of a mighty Integration Realm expert.

Absolutely no reason at all.

“Mentally prepared?”

“That’s right, mentally prepared! Don’t ask. I’m going to fry the hotpot base! Just wait—I’ll definitely surpass my usual limits!”

Wen Xu fell silent again.

Forget it. As long as you’re happy.

When Xia Ying arrived at the Shared Toast Tavern, Bian Chunzhou had just finished frying the finest hotpot base of his life.

He was neither boasting nor exaggerating. His water and fire spiritual roots were simply perfect for frying hotpot base. His control over the heat was precise beyond belief.

“Senior Sister Xia Ying, what an honored guest. Please, come inside.”

Xia Ying glanced at the crowded restaurant and said, “Could we speak somewhere private?”

Bian Chunzhou nodded. “Of course. Wen Xu and Chen Zui are both upstairs. Would you mind if…”

“I don’t mind. I happen to have something to discuss. Perhaps all of you can help me think it through.”

What?

Think through what?

Surely this was not about Listening Crane Manor again.

After leaving Yonglu Mountain yesterday, Xia Ying had gone to find He Minzhi, the Foundation Establishment cultivator from a collateral branch of the He family.

He Minzhi possessed four spiritual roots. His aptitude could only be considered average, but within the He family, he naturally held a position second only to He Qian.

Xia Ying, however, was the city lord’s niece. Unless He Minzhi was extraordinarily foolish, he would never wish to offend her.

That was precisely why Xia Ying had gained nothing from the visit.

He Qian had no intention of marrying Ah Qing to He Minzhi. He Minzhi had also married and fathered children long ago, and his affection for his wife appeared deep and genuine.

Yet Ah Qing truly had vanished. Even the protective talismans Xia Ying had left on her had stopped working.

“Senior Sister, do you suspect something happened to the young lady of Listening Crane Manor?”

Xia Ying desperately did not want to entertain that suspicion, but she could think of no other possibility.

“Exactly. Today, I made a special trip to Tianji Pavilion and asked the senior brother on duty to perform a divination. The result was far from clear.”

“What did it say?”

“That’s why I want all of you to think back carefully. When you went to deliver the pills, was there truly nothing unusual about Listening Crane Manor?”

Xia Ying knew she was asking too much of them. But three months ago, she had been absolutely certain that Ah Qing was still at Listening Crane Manor. At the time, she had even received a congratulatory gift and a handwritten letter from her.

Xia Ying had an instinct that her friend had not been lured away by some wild man.

And even if such a wild man existed, she wanted to see exactly how handsome he could possibly be. Could he truly be more elegant and striking than the Junior Granduncle-Master standing before her?

Compared with seeking information from those who maintained friendly relations with Listening Crane Manor, she naturally trusted her fellow sect disciples more. So although she knew her visit was somewhat presumptuous, she had still come.

Chen Zui spoke first. “Sorry. I don’t remember.”

He had never cared about anything unrelated to his saber.

“I don’t have anything else to add either.”

Bian Chunzhou was the second to raise his hand.

Xia Ying could not help turning her hopeful gaze toward Wen Xu.

Wen Xu, meanwhile, really had noticed something.

He simply was not sure whether he should say it.

In truth, Wen Xu was a self-interested person inclined to protect himself and avoid unnecessary trouble. In the past, he would have chosen silence without hesitation. After all, even if he said nothing, no one would blame him.

But if he spoke carelessly despite barely knowing those involved, then the situation might later take a turn for the worse, and someone might redirect their anger toward him. It would not have been the first time something like that had happened.

“Someone at Listening Crane Manor was probably suffering from a grave illness beyond the reach of ordinary medicine,” Wen Xu said after organizing his thoughts.

“The medicinal scent that day clearly contained very old ginseng. When my adoptive father was bedridden, he also used two slices of life-saving ginseng. Most of the other medicinal scents came from remedies used to prolong life, restore vitality, and relieve pain.”

Wen Xu listed several medicines he could identify with certainty. None of them were cheap.

Listening Crane Manor’s only proper masters were its lord, He Qian, and his sole daughter, He Qinqing.

Xia Ying had already suspected yesterday that her friend might be unwell. Now that she had heard his deduction, the worry in her eyes had nearly become tangible.

The cultivation world was different from the Mortal Realm. Although many spiritual pills and miraculous medicines could only be endured by a cultivator’s body, a small number could still be used to cure illnesses and dispel harmful influences in ordinary people.

Listening Crane Manor possessed immense wealth and maintained friendships with cultivators. If the young lady of the He family had fallen ill, why would they prioritize ordinary mortal treatments when money was no concern?

It made no sense.

Wen Xu had noticed that inconsistency on the day of their visit, which was why he had signaled Chunzhou to leave early.

He simply had not expected the matter to circle back and find them today.

“You mean Ah Qing has some kind of grave illness, and it may even involve cultivators?”

What could have forced He Qian to conceal the truth from her by every possible means? He had even fabricated the ridiculous claim that his only daughter had eloped with someone.

To keep the news hidden, he had apparently not dared invite a mystic physician and had used only ordinary medicinal treatments.

Where exactly was Ah Qing?

Xia Ying was frantic with worry, but she forced herself to think calmly.

Cultivators had many ways to locate an ordinary person. But if He Qian had deliberately hidden Ah Qing, then ordinary methods would be useless.

She had already tried.

The senior brother at Tianji Pavilion had told her that he needed either the person’s birth details or blood to use as a medium. Xia Ying possessed neither.

“Junior Granduncle-Master, you’re clever. Could you help me think of something?”

Xia Ying had considered asking her uncle for help, but he had recently entered seclusion and would not meet anyone without good reason.

She had also asked Aunt Bing to keep watch for information. But Listening Crane Manor was not a cultivation clan, so the city lord’s residence rarely paid attention to intelligence concerning ordinary mortals.

Wen Xu shook his head apologetically.

“I’m sorry. I have only been in the cultivation world for half a year, and I don’t know Langyuan City very well.”

Just then, the manager’s anxious voice came from outside the door.

“Boss, something terrible has happened!”

Bian Chunzhou immediately leaped up and opened the door. “What happened?”

“All the fish in our kitchen have been stolen! There isn’t a single one left! What are we supposed to do?”

“The fish? There were three enormous barrels of them!”

Bian Chunzhou’s eyes widened.

No way. Was competition between businesses in the cultivation world really this underhanded and deranged?

They had stolen his fish?

“Exactly! Those wooden barrels are half a person tall. The workers need a ladder just to reach in and scoop out the fish, but now they’re completely empty! Please think of something quickly. The customers downstairs are already demanding their orders.”

Bian Chunzhou fell silent.

I seriously cannot deal with this!

Whoever stole those fish had better pray he never caught them!

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