Chapter 45, Spiritual Tavern
Zhou Lifen stood at the gate and welcomed the guest in. "Welcome to The Spiritual Tavern. We are glad to have you. " He greeted each guest with a bow.
Some of them nodded towards him, while others ignored him completely. They all had different opinions on Zhou, which he didn't particularly care about either way. They are here for food and drinks, not for company. His job is just to welcome them in and guard the gate.
When Yan Wenzheng entered, he was amazed by the scenario that lay before him. It was nothing like any kind of tavern he had ever seen. The walls were covered in white paint with a bamboo forest design. It looked very warm inside, but at the same time it felt cold. It gave off a sort of atmosphere to it that made the patrons seem more menacing than normal. The air inside was very different from the one outside, it was fresh and clean at the same time mind calming.
Yan Wenzheng didn't give much thought to this Spiritual Tavern. If it wasn't for his father forcing him to come, he wouldn't even bother coming. He felt his father was exaggerating on how good the food here tastes. In his opinion, there isn't much difference between this place and any other restaurant. But his father insisted and insisted on bringing him here. And now, he's here. Yan Wenzheng was shocked when he saw the carriage of other famous young masters waiting at the gate, this changed his impressions of the restaurant a little.
When the guests inside were all seated, Hou Mingyu welcomed them and introduced them to their restaurant. "Welcome to the Spiritual Tavern. We have three sets of seats, VIP seat, Secluded seat and General seat. The menu is on the wall, you'll be able to access it by injecting your spiritual sense into it. Each table has a bell on it, once you've decided on your order, ring the bell and someone will attend to you. Today is the official opening of Spiritual Tavern, therefore everything is ten percent off. Please enjoy." When he finished talking, he stood on the side
The guest followed his instructions and injected their spiritual sense into the menu, then proceeded to select a dish. There were a lot of rare dishes listed and the prices weren't bad either.
A few people chose to eat some of the expensive delicacies as they were curious about. A blond-haired man dressed in yellow robe, sitting at the left corner rings the ball.
Hou Mingyu immediately walked towards him. "I'll take your order. What would you like?" He asked politely.
The blond hair man named Wu Yuan scanned the list of dishes, and said, "Let me try the crispy rainbow fish with broccoli, bamboo shoots with mushrooms and mixed vegetables in brown sauce, and one cup of red fruit wine."
Hou Mingyu took down the order and prepared it, then turned back to look at the blonde man, asking if anything else was needed.
"No, thank you." The blonde man replied calmly, then continued scanning through the list again.
Other customers also rang their bells one after the other. Hou took their orders one by one. The book he was recording the orders on, is made of talisman paper by Li Jain. He named it the twin copy. Li Jain has the other copy with him in the kitchen, so when Hou Mingyu writes the order, it also appears on the book with him. It was quicker in this way.
"Father, there are lots of orders coming in, Hou Mingyu wouldn't be able to do the serving at the same time taking orders all at once. Let me help out." Li Yujian offered, standing behind his father.
Li Jain agreed to let Li Yujian assist him, "That'd be nice of you. But be careful not to burn yourself."
He instructed.
"Of course, dad, I know what to do." Li Yujian replied and took the food on the serving tray. He placed it neatly into the cart of the waiter and head to the dining hall to serve the customers. As he passed by the blonde man, he stopped, and placed the food carefully in front of him. "Here you go." He smiled gently at the other man.
"Thank you." The man answered him quietly. Li Yujian bowed and turned around to return to the kitchen.
Wu Yuan cut a piece of the crispy rainbow fish and put it in his mouth with some doubts and excitement. This restaurant truly was something special, he mused. He had heard a legend about the rainbow fish. It is known for its enchantment power, and many cultivators came from far and wide seeking its blessings.
It was also known that it only appeared under specific circumstances and no ordinary person could catch it unless the person had an incredibly pure heart or soul. But how can there be such a person? That's what everyone thought of. But the record is true and few people had eaten it before. Therefore, when he saw rainbow fish on the menu, he wanted to try it despite its cost.
He chewed slowly and savored every taste. The flavor was really sweet yet not too sweet at the same time, the texture was smooth and juicy but the fish bones were a bit tough, making sure not to break them. There was an unusual sweetness in the middle.
Wu Yuan ate until he finished the first plate. "This is indeed extraordinary," he murmured in approval. He felt that his strength had improved and the attack skills were also sharpened.
Wu Yuan felt the urge to test it out, but considering his current location, he decided to wait. He ordered another plate from the server.
Li Yujian brought another dish of Crispy rainbow fish and placed it on Wu Yuan's table. "Sir, my dad said it would be better for you not to order another dish of crispy rainbow fish."
"Why is that?" Wu Yuan asked curiously. He wondered which restaurant would tell their customer to stop ordering.
"He said that after two dishes, is the maximum your power can enchant to. You need to balance it. Else, another dish won't have as much impact on you." Li Yujian explained.
"Ah," Wu Yuan nodded, "Who's your dad?" He asked.
"Mr. Li, the owner of this restaurant." Li Yujian said respectfully.
"Hmm, interesting. Thanks for the advice." Wu Yuan thanked him and went back to eating his fish.
The customers were all satisfied with the dishes and ate more than they intended. While the people inside were enjoying themselves, outside was a bit frenetic.
"What do you mean ordinary people can't enter? Are you looking down on us because you're A cultivator?" A man wearing purple robes said angrily.
"It's impossible for normal mortals to enter. Even if they did manage to get in, the price is still too high. Only cultivators are allowed to go in." Zhou Lifen said with a headache. They've been going on like this for about an hour now.
"If it wasn't for my dantian being blocked, I would've been a cultivator by now. You guys are discriminating against us because we are mere mortals? How low." The purple robed guy replied.
Zhou Lifen messages his forehead with his fingers, "Are you done yet? Sir, this restaurant is for cultivators only. Even if you enter, you might not be able to afford food which requires mid-grade and high-grade spirit stones. And even if you can afford it, why waste your money on something that won't be useful to you?" Zhou Lifen pleaded.
The man was stunned and felt that what Zhou Lifen said made sense. But if he backs down now, he would be seen as a joke in the eyes of the bystanders. His pride as a rich second generation was already at a breaking point.
Just as he was about to say something, A young man dressed in elegant robe descended from the sky on his flying equipment, descended gracefully and wanted to fly over the gate and land himself inside.
Before he could make it in, Zhou Lifen scratched out his hand and summoned the spiritual vine, and threw it directly onto the man, and pulled him down before he could make it closer. "You can't just enter here, sir." Zhou Lifen shouted.
The man was confused as he was suddenly brought down by Zhou Lifen, before he could get angry, Zhou Lifen quickly apologized: "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. There's a protective barrier over this building which prevents unauthorized people from entering. If you please, I'll trouble you to use the gate."
Seeing that the man wasn't convinced, Zhou Lifen picked a rock from the ground and threw it over the barrier. The second the rock touched the barrier, it exploded with white light and vanished from their sight.
The man looked suspiciously at Zhou Lifen and then at the barrier. He entered the gate angrily and an air of arrogance enveloped over him, as he walked confidently in without even sparing another glance Zhou Lifen.
Zhou Lifen... Humans are really difficult creatures. He sighed. Just a moment ago there was a young man with such unreasonable behavior. Now there was someone who was even more arrogant and conceited.