"This dish is called Fire Tree and Silver Flowers, and it's our signature dish. Sir, take a look! This fiery red tree is made from the leg tendons of the second-tier demon beast, the Fire Wolf, and is cooked through dozens of steps. It's fragrant, crispy, and full of spiritual energy. The white flowers on the tree are carved from the silver-tailed rainbow carp, a second-tier spiritual fish from the East China Sea
. The delicious fish melts in your mouth and has a calming effect. It's truly the most spiritual of spiritual foods, the most delicious of delicacies!" the waiter explained enthusiastically.
Zhou Shu and Yang Mei, one large and one small, had no interest in listening to the waiter. They were busy devouring the silver flowers at their desks, and most of the tree's silver flowers had already been eaten.
With such delicious spiritual food, who would have the patience to listen to someone's nagging? It's best to get them in as soon as possible.
"Wow, delicious..."
"Not bad. Would you like another plate?"
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
The waiter's face was furious. All his efforts were in vain.
"Waiter, give me another plate of each of these."
"Okay, right up..."
the waiter drawled.
Plate after plate of spiritual food arrived. Yang Mei simply toiled away, head bowed. Zhou Shu would occasionally take a piece, savoring it carefully. He was quite surprised. The spiritual food here was clearly much better than the ones from Wuwang Sect's Tianyun Peak. He
presumably thought it was because the cultivators in the sect were pure and unconcerned, focusing primarily on cultivation, not on such matters. Secular restaurants were different; if the food wasn't good, no one would buy.
"Yang Mei, how was it?"
Zhou Shu took a sip of the supposedly secret-brewed spiritual fruit wine and smiled at Yang Mei.
Yang Mei raised her head, then lowered it again. "Mmm, delicious..."
Her delicate face, now stained with grease, looked like a tabby cat, a sight to behold.
Zhou Shu said with some concern, "You've eaten too much. You can't eat any more."
"If it's delicious, eat more. Senior Brother, you said so, hehe."
Yang Mei took two more bites, reluctantly leaving the plate.
Seeing her expression, Zhou Shu was both angry and amused. "It's not like you won't be able to eat it in the future. If you come to the market again, I'll treat you."
"Okay, senior brother, don't let me go back on my word."
Yang Mei quickly stretched out her greasy little hand. "High five as a pledge ."
Zhou Shu smiled and clapped his hands, then used the cleansing technique to cleanse her hands, restoring them to their usual white and tender appearance.
"Don't wash my hands! I still want to eat!"
Yang Mei muttered in protest.
Zhou Shu smiled. "Yang Mei, what are you buying the snow-white flowers for?"
"To make an elixir," Yang Mei replied casually, picking up her chopsticks again and scanning the table with her eyes.
Zhou Shu was a bit skeptical. "You're making alchemy?"
Yang Mei blinked her clear eyes. "Yes, I want to learn alchemy. A first-level Qi-restoring pill requires Snow-Glitter Flower, Crane Bone Grass, Alpinia officinalis, and Mustard Root... Ah, this is the recipe I stole. Don't tell anyone I'm peeking at it. No one is allowed to."
Zhou Shu nodded. "Okay, I won't tell anyone. But doesn't alchemy only start at the Foundation Establishment stage? It's difficult to learn at your current level, and you're learning it secretly without anyone to teach you. It's not going to be easy."
Alchemy is a very difficult subject.
The extraction and refining of various medicinal herbs, as well as the order of combining the formulas are all very difficult. Even a Qi Refining Stage 2 cultivator like Yang Mei probably can't even master the basics of fire control, let alone alchemy.
Yang Mei shook her head. "Just keep trying. You'll eventually learn. I buy ingredients whenever I have time, and I've saved up a lot! Besides, you're the same way, senior brother. You started learning talisman drawing at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm. I'm learning from you!"
Zhou Shu smiled, not trying to discourage her. "Well, it's good to have ambition. Work hard."
"I definitely will! So many things I can accomplish rely on alchemy. I must become a very, very famous alchemist!"
Yang Mei's face was stern, and she pumped her clenched fists vigorously.
Her expression revealed a genuine determination, as if she had already made up her mind. It's rare for a thirteen-year-old girl to have such a persistent dream and work so hard for it.
But this determination only lasted two breaths. She quickly picked up another meatball and stuffed it into her mouth, devouring it with relish.
Zhou Shu smiled and stopped interrupting her.
After a long while, the two, having satisfied their appetite, left Deyue Tower and headed towards the Yan family shop.
The meal had instilled in Yang Mei a fonder impression of Zhou Shu. They laughed the entire way, mostly Yang Mei chattering while Zhou Shu listened quietly.
Yang Mei didn't have many friends in the sect, and her friend Yan Yue was a calmer person who didn't talk much. Meeting Zhou Shu, a listener, made her feel at ease.
"We're here. Let's go see Senior Sister Yan!"
Yang Mei spotted the sign for Yan's shop from afar and broke into a trot.
Zhou Shu held up his hand to block it, his eyes flickering. "Wait, something seems off. Let's take a look."
Many cultivators were bustling around in front of the shop, forming a circle.
Yang Mei glanced ahead and curled her lips. "What's wrong? There are always so many customers thronging the shop every day."
"Not customers,"
Zhou Shu shook his head.
As the two of them approached, Yan Yue's slightly cold voice rang out, "Second Uncle, what do you mean by blocking the door with these people?"
"You ask me what I mean, and I want to ask you what I mean!"
The cultivator who spoke loudly was none other than Yan Mengchu, the second master of the Yan family. He stood among a large group of cultivators, gesticulating and pointing.
He was about forty or fifty years old, with a handsome face, and somewhat similar to Yan Yue. However, there was a vulgar air in his eyes that could not be concealed.
Yan Yue said calmly, "Oh? Then please explain clearly, Second Uncle."
Yan Mengchu put his hands on his hips, spit flying as he said, "My Yan family doesn't have a single talisman master, so how could we possibly have water-therapy talismans for sale? Yan Yue, it must be you who gave the Yan family's water-therapy talisman drawing method to other talisman masters, and then colluded with them to profit! You're so capable of giving away a family heirloom, are you worthy of being a member of the Yan family?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the onlookers around him became a little noisy, pointing and talking at the two of them.
"I heard that the Yan family only has two cultivators, so the origin of this water-therapy talisman is indeed a bit suspicious."
"Others can hire talisman masters, so what's so strange about that?"
"But that drawing method is a Yan family treasure. Giving it away to others is a bit embarrassing, right? It's normal for the other members of the Yan family to object."
"Well, no matter how much they object, they shouldn't cause a scene in the street. Do you think the Yan family has lost face?"
"This is someone else's family affair. Why are you interfering? Just buy the talisman."
Yan Yue looked at Yan Mengchu coldly, memories of the past surging into her mind, hatred lingering.
She expected Yan Mengchu to bring up the method of drawing the hydrotherapy talisman, but she didn't expect him to make such a big fuss and let everyone know about it.
"Second uncle, this is the Yan family's family affair. Since you don't care about it, there is no need for me to explain to you. If you have any opinions, you can come in and raise them. Don't make a fuss outside and make people laugh at you."
Yan Mengchu shook his head vigorously, "Why can't I say it here? I want to say it outside so that everyone can see justice." "
If you want to say it, go ahead. I won't accompany you."
Yan Yue said coldly, turned around and left.
"Stop!"
Yan Mengchu shouted, took out a pitch-black token, raised it in the air and shook it a few times, "Who said I don't care about it! Look at what this is?"
Yan Yue turned around and looked, her body suddenly shook, her face pale, "You, how come you have the family head's token?"