Lü Zhong could smell the fragrant aroma of wine and meat wafting from Jiangwei Pavilion before he even reached it.
As the most high-class restaurant for miles around, Jiangwei Pavilion had always been the top choice for cultivators in Qingliu Ruins to entertain friends and host banquets. It was famous for many of its dishes and could also provide a steady supply of meals and wine made with Spiritual Food.
Spiritual Food, as the name implied, was food that contained Spiritual Qi.
For example: Spirit Rice, Spirit Chickens, Spirit Ducks, Spirit Fish, Spirit Pigs, and so on...
Cultivators had more ways to increase their cultivation than just absorbing Spiritual Qi through arduous meditation. They could also consume certain Spiritual Objects to increase their Spiritual Power. Compared to the accumulation of Pill Poison from consuming Pills, or being perpetually drunk and unconscious from drinking Spirit Wine, enjoying Spiritual Food could not only advance one's cultivation but also served as a welcome diversion from the tedious life of cultivation.
When Spiritual Food was meticulously prepared by a Spirit Chef, its side effects were all but nonexistent.
At the same time, the ingredients' inherent effects would be harmonized to their peak, making them immensely beneficial for cultivators to consume.
Many cultivators stuck at a bottleneck, unable to break through on their own, would grit their teeth and spend a sum of Spirit Stones on a meal brimming with Spiritual Qi—Spirit Rice, spiritual dishes, and Spirit Wine—hoping it would help them achieve a breakthrough.
However, before Lü Zhong could even get to the entrance of Jiangwei Pavilion, he was stopped.
Three figures emerged from the side, blocking his path. The one in the lead was a burly man in practical black clothes. His muscles bulged, making him look like an iron tower, and his cultivation had reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
The man in black was a Tributor hired by Jiangwei Pavilion named Wei Tie. His duty was to maintain order, so when he saw Lü Zhong approaching with a large, ragged cloth sack over his shoulder, he was naturally obligated to step out and question him.
After sizing Lü Zhong up and down and deciding the man posed no threat, Wei Tie spoke in a deep, rumbling voice:
"Stop. What's your business here?"
Hearing this, Lü Zhong quickly forced a smile. "I just caught a large fish and was hoping to sell it to your esteemed restaurant!"
As he spoke, he lifted a corner of the ragged cloth, revealing the strange fish head inside.
Wei Tie's curiosity was piqued when he saw the strange fish head, but the moment he sensed not a trace of Spiritual Qi from the fish, his interest vanished completely.
To someone like him, who was engrossed in cultivation, any mortal thing without Spiritual Qi was no different from dust.
"Go on, get out of here. How dare you bring a fish that isn't even a Spirit Fish?"
Lü Zhong couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment at those words, but he had only come to try his luck anyway.
Now that he couldn't even get into Jiangwei Pavilion, selling the fish was out of the question.
Just then, a familiar voice called out from behind him.
"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"
Lü Zhong turned his head and saw that it was the same Steward Li from yesterday.
The position of Steward could be one of great or little importance.
'He didn't know how much influence this Steward Li had, but since the man had called out to him, what was the harm in waiting a moment?'
The sound of footsteps approached. Steward Li politely cupped his hands in a salute to Lü Zhong and said, "Fellow Daoist, would you mind if I took a look at your fish?"
Seeing Lü Zhong nod, he unceremoniously lifted the ragged cloth.
"Hmm, a rare Snake-Patterned Fish," Steward Li muttered to himself, his expression not exactly pleased. "It's just a mortal fish, but for it to grow to five feet long is quite unusual. I imagine the meat will be exceptionally firm because of it..."
Steward Li's full name was Li Yuan, and he was a steward at Jiangwei Pavilion.
Recently, he had finally managed to get into the good graces of an important patron. This patron was a true gourmand, with a particular fondness for fresh delicacies from the river.
After tasting the Peach Blossom Mandarin Fish from yesterday, the patron had been full of praise.
'One must strike while the iron is hot.' Li Yuan had been worrying about how to continue currying favor when, unexpectedly, another strange fish had just been delivered to his doorstep.
This Snake-Patterned Fish was found only in the Lio River. Although it wasn't a Spirit Fish, its rarity was no less than that of the Peach Blossom Mandarin Fish.
A specimen this large was even rarer.
'Sometimes, it's not all about the taste. Trying something new and novel is good, too.'
Thinking of this, Li Yuan decided to take the Snake-Patterned Fish. He turned to Lü Zhong and said, "Jiangwei Pavilion will take this fish. As for payment... I'll give you fifty talismanic coins. How does that sound?"
'Fifty talismanic coins?'
Lü Zhong froze for a second, then began nodding furiously in his excitement.
He had never imagined that a mere mortal fish could fetch such a high price!
Fifty talismanic coins was no small amount. Normally, he would have to sell at least twenty-five Cleaning Talismans to earn that much.
But now, he could get it just by selling a single fish.
'That being the case, how could he possibly refuse?'
Soon, the transaction was complete.
Holding the fifty talismanic coins, Lü Zhong felt a sweet warmth spread through his heart, as if he had just drunk honeyed water.
He hadn't walked far from Jiangwei Pavilion when he heard a vendor's cry in the distance.
"Spirit Rice for sale! Get your Spirit Rice!"
A pushcart was slowly making its way from the end of the street. On it sat a large wooden barrel, from which warm white steam was still rising, carrying the unique, sweet fragrance of Spirit Rice.
The vendor was an old man with graying temples. He wore linen clothes that were faded from washing but still very clean.
The old man's cultivation was the same as Lü Zhong's, also at the Qi Refining First Layer.
'If things were as they seemed, the old man probably had Five Spirit Root Talent.'
Seeing Lü Zhong looking his way, the old man stopped his cart and chuckled. "Fellow Daoist, would you like to try my Spirit Rice? It's not expensive, just one talismanic coin per bowl."
"One talismanic coin?" Lü Zhong found that hard to believe.
The price of Spirit Rice wasn't cheap. Even the lowest quality Cyan Rice Spirit Rice cost at least ten talismanic coins per jin.
By that calculation, there was no way a bowl of Spirit Rice could sell for just one talismanic coin.
As if sensing the doubt on Lü Zhong's face, the old man smiled and explained, "I mix this Cyan Rice Spirit Rice with an equal amount of Mortal Rice, which is how I can lower the price to one talismanic coin. Plus, with the skills I learned as a kitchen helper at Jiangwei Pavilion, this rice can just barely be considered a Spiritual Food."
Hearing this explanation, Lü Zhong's interest was piqued.
He pulled a sheet of Talisman Paper from his pocket and handed it to the old man, chuckling. "I'll have a bowl!"
"You got it!" The old man's face lit up as he took the payment. He immediately lifted the lid of the large barrel, revealing three barrels inside: one large and two small.
He first took a clean wooden bowl from a white cloth pouch, then used a wooden spoon to scoop out a ladleful of pale green rice from the larger barrel. He then added toppings from the two smaller barrels: fragrantly stir-fried preserved greens with cured meat, and pickled radishes that looked wonderfully crisp.
Taking the bowl of rice, Lü Zhong's mouth watered just from the smell alone.
He shoveled a mouthful of rice in and his eyes widened.
"Delicious! It's chewy and glutinous, but also rich and slightly sweet..."
Lü Zhong had heard people say that this Cyan Rice Spirit Rice tasted like grass seeds—coarse, gritty, and hard to swallow.
If it didn't contain Spiritual Qi, probably no one would eat it.
But to his surprise, after the old man had used his learned skills to turn the Cyan Rice Spirit Rice into Spiritual Food, the flavor of the rice had changed so dramatically.
'To turn something foul into something magical... there's a good reason why Spirit Chefs are ranked among the Hundred Skills of Cultivation.'
Lü Zhong felt he could eat his fill of just the rice alone.
When paired with the two excellent side dishes, the taste was simply incredible. The skills he learned from Jiangwei Pavilion were truly impressive.
Lü Zhong finished the entire bowl in a flash, a look of wanting more on his face.
He thought about buying another bowl but held himself back.
'Money was hard to come by right now. If he couldn't scrape together enough for rent by the end of the month, he'd be kicked out of Qingliu Ruins and become a destitute Loose Cultivator with nowhere to go. His situation then would be even more miserable than it was now.'
Smiling sheepishly, Lü Zhong returned the bowl and chopsticks.
He continued walking toward his humble little shack, but after just a few steps, he slapped his forehead in frustration.
'My brain! I forgot the fish!'
He hurried back to his small sampan at the docks. Thankfully, no one had discovered the fish in the hold.
He carried it back, ready to cook a pot of fresh fish soup.