《Am I the Evildoer?》Chapter 27 - Five Flavours Restaurant
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The rest of their time in the queue passed uneventfully, with Li Hua chatting about all things under the heavens and the other two quietly listening. As they reached the very front of the line, they felt a strong aura come in from behind them. A powerful pressure landed on the many people waiting to answer the city, causing them to kneel, and the rest bitterly stood underneath the pressure. The person releasing this awe-inspiring aura was a man in simple black robes, with an indifferent face and his black hair tied up in a bun.
He slowly landed on the ground in front of them and looked at the three of them curiously, "Do you not kneel?"
Xue Yueliang, thinking this was an invitation to kneel, was stopped by Lei Jian, "Grandmaster is a mighty expert. Why would we waste this chance to admire your might?"
"How eloquent," the man smiled, his fingers passing through his beard, "The young generation really is great."
The man then turned around to enter the city, and no one dared to stop him from entering. This was the respect granted to powerhouses. When the man entered the city gates, the trio's hearts relaxed as the innate reverence for powerful beings made it so that they did not even dare to breathe too loudly.
"What cultivation base do you think he is at?" Li Hua asked curiously, her gaze filled with the intent to gossip.
"He's at least at the Golden Core Realm," Xue Yueliang answered gravely, "Even when his pressure wasn't directed at us, we almost collapsed. We're much too weak." She sighed at this point, as even though she could be at the forefront of the younger generations, her power was still nothing.
"We still have a long time ahead of us." Lei Jian comforted. Then Lei Jian presented three mid-grade spirit stones for their entry, but Li Hua showed her identity token, leading the soldiers to return one.
After entering the city, the trio were stunned by their surroundings. Though they had been in many different cities, they were not like Misty City. Compared to the regal atmosphere of the capital or the flowery, soft feeling of Flower City, Misty City released a faint smell of bloodshed. It is not rare to see people wearing beast hides or leather armour, carrying a heroic bearing that infected their surroundings. Beast cores were in abundance as they augmented various types of weaponry, increasing the fighting strength of its owners. Between the capital's citizens and the citizens of this city, Misty City's people were much stronger on average.
"This city really is comparable to Xiuqi Kingdom's north guard." Li Hua exclaimed, awe clearly visible in her eyes.
"What's a north guard?" Xue Yueliang asked.
"It's the war capital of the Xiuqi Kingdom. According to the rumours, I have heard, the north guard is inhabited by a race of barbarians that lived only for bloodshed. They feared nothing but not finding enough blood to satisfy their blades," Lei Jian answered. "Surprisingly, they are completely loyal to the crown." He added.
"Well, of course," Li Hua smiled, "Who else would lead them to battle?"
"That identity token does not belong to the Xiuqi Kingdom." Xue Yueliang stated. Although she did not know much about the continent, her training as a noble daughter made her at least be able to recognise the tokens of various kingdoms.
Li Hua bitterly smiled, "Not all of us stay in our homes." "After some unfortunate incident, I was recruited by a sect and joined. However, Xiuqi Kingdom will forever be my home." As she said her words, a painful look flickered in her eyes, but neither of them pried any further.
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Quickly after, her cheerful self returned, smiling, "Since we're in the city, why don't we try some delicious food? I'm sure you two are tired of eating your kills."
"We're at the Foundation Establishment Realm. We do not have to eat." Xue Yueliang reminded, wondering how Li Hua could forget her cultivation level.
"So? Do we only eat out of necessity?" She asked, leading the way to the Five Flavours Restaurant. Xue Yueliang hesitantly looked at Lei Jian and wondered if she should follow. Although making new friends was her plan, this girl was much too odd.
"She's nice and quite powerful too." He said, not directly stating his opinion.
"A man should be direct," Xue Yueliang grumbled, "You've made a mistake once. Stop letting it haunt you."
She then caught up to Li Hua, leaving Lei Jian to think over some things, "It's okay if my actions only harm me." He mumbled, "But I don't want to implicate anyone." His balled fists then relaxed as he caught up with the two ladies, promising himself he would not be too weak forever.
A fragrant smell wafted over into the trio's noses as soon as they entered the restaurant, exciting their stomachs as they felt saliva form involuntary in their mouths. A grumbling noise escaped from Xue Yueliang's stomach, causing her to blush as she quickly chose a seat.
"Order whatever you want," she laughed sheepishly, "My treat."
"How could that happen," Li Hua asked, lifting her finger as a frown appeared on her doll-like face.
"As your seniors, how could we take your money?" Xue Yueliang felt that Li Hua's reasoning was flawed; she was only older by a few months, which was not enough to be considered a senior. Besides, she was the richest out of the three.
"I plan on ordering a lot," Xue Yueliang said, and both her tone and expression were grave, giving her one chance to step down.
"If Liang'er insists, then I won't argue too much," Li Hua smiled, turning her gaze away slyly.
Liang'er? What am I? A baby? She grumbled inwardly, as not even her master addressed her so familiarly.
"What is it that Young Nobles wish to order?" A waiter asked politely.
Though he did not know their origins, he could clearly feel the noble aura surrounding Lei Jian and Xue Yueliang. As for Li Hua, her different style of dressing made it obvious she was a foreigner.
"What are your signature dishes?" Xue Yueliang asked.
"We are known for our Blazing Bear stew, roasted Carnivorous Pheasants, fried Spirit Rice... As for drinks, we're most known for our Five Flavoured Wine, the namesake of our entire restaurant..."
As the man went through the menu, highlighting specials and giving descriptions, the trio almost felt like dozing off, but as soon as alcohol was mentioned, Lei Jian and Li Hua sat up straight.
"Get us one dish of each and three jugs of wine." Li Hua said excitedly, forgetting she was not the one paying. The waiter contentedly left, thinking of the tip he would get later, and the trio happily chatted, learning more about each other as time went on.
Li Hua talked about herself the most, mentioning she had joined a sect by the name of the Silver Armour Sect. As the name indicated, the Silver Armour Sect was martial, focusing specifically on the Martial Dao. Its warriors were known for their strong sense of justice and overprotectiveness of the weak.
Along with the Hidden Ocean Sect, the Black Throne Sect and the Poison Forest Sect, it is considered one of the continent's top four sects.
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"On this continent, only a few powers are worth mentioning, the twelve kingdoms, four sects, three empires and two temples. Of course, these aren't all the powers on the continent. Many other powers are either in seclusion or not strong enough to be mentioned in this phrase. A kingdom cannot compare in power with an empire, and a sect cannot be compared to a divine temple." Li Hua explained the various powers on the continent even though Xue Yueliang had only asked her about her sect. This Li Hua was indeed too chatty.
"What do you know about the divine temples?" She asked.
Her master's enemies belonged to a divine temple, but he had never told her anything more than that, so when Li Hua mentioned it, it caused curiosity to rise up in her heart.
"The temples are the Rising Buddha's Temple and the Immortal Mother's Temple. Both divine temples do not usually participate in other cultivators matter and spend their days doing whatever nuns and monks do." At this point Li Hua rolled her eyes, "Wha's the point of holding power if you won't use it. Is the point of cultivating, just sitting on your butt all day?"
Xue Yueliang was happy that she had already activated the inbuilt isolation formation, so no one heard her words.
"You should really learn to watch your tongue, or it will get you in a lot of trouble." Lei Jian smiled bitterly, wondering how she could be so fearless.
"If anyone had a problem with what I'm saying, they can directly fight me. Who's fist is mightier is the one who is in the right."
"Can you win against a divine temple?" Xue Yueliang coldly asked, "If you want to die, it's okay, but don't implicate us."
"Right." Li Hua replied, not accepting their words.
Before the atmosphere could turn stale, the food arrived, causing Li Hua to forget about their scolding. The waiter filled two tables with delicious food, looking more like a meal for two dozen people rather than just three, leading to many eyes converging toward them. Chopsticks manifested in Li Hua's hand as she began eating with vigour, looking like she had been starved for many days.
Lei Jian and Xue Yueliang picked up their chopsticks as they tried to eat, but the speed at which Li Hua ate startled them. They were both the children of nobles, and it would take them a while to get rid of proper etiquette. This meant that most of this food would ultimately end in Li Hua's stomach.
Before Xue Yueliang could complain, Hei Yu voluntarily left her mind palace and appeared at their table. He started devouring the food at a pace that rivalled Li Hua, leading their dishes to disappear at a visible speed. Lei Jian and her quickly began increasing their speed, hoping to get something other than their leftovers.
Sadly, this task proved more challenging than they had assumed. In less than an incense stick's worth of time, the feast in front of them disappeared, leaving only Hei Yu and Li Hua rubbing their bloated stomachs.
"You didn't even drink anything." Xue Yueliang said painfully, unable to understand how Li Hua could do this. She did not even have a drink to wash down the food. In this world, there were too many skills she was lacking in.
"Shouldn't we drink after?" Li Hua asked doubtfully.
The absurdity of this situation caused the other two to laugh.
Hei Yu, satisfied with the food he had just eaten, noticed Li Hua and walked up to her curiously, sniffing her palm. He circled her a few times and then finally sat on her lap, snuggling comfortably, even beginning to purr.
Lei Jian stared at this shocking scene and asked, "How?"
During his travel together, with Xue Yueliang, he had bribed Hei Yu multiple times with delicious meat, even endearing himself to it many times, but it only tolerated him. However, it liked Li Hua, who had done nothing for it. He was even beginning to feel a slight feeling of jealousy.
"Aren't I a good person? Why wouldn't he like me?" Li Hua replied smugly, not knowing how great a feat she had just accomplished.
"Good people don't eat out of others' wallets and finish the food from them," Xue Yueliang rolled her eyes but was also inwardly surprised. Perhaps, there was something special about Li Hua.
She called for the waiter and asked for their table to be cleared and a pot of dandelion root tea.
"Don't we already have the Five Flavours Wine?"
"I don't like drinking."
The waiter was very efficient as quickly after, their table was cleared, and the tea was served, along with three delicate cups. Hei Yu curiously got off Li Hua's lap and slowly walked to the teacup, sniffing it. Xue Yueliang poured him a cup, and after a few tastes, he yawned, falling asleep. The trio laughed at this show, and Xue Yueliang returned him to her mind palace, pouring herself another cup and the other two enjoyed their wine. The trio chatted for a while longer, enjoying each other's company as their laughter resounded.
For someone, who was adamant about drinking, Li Hua was wasted after only two cups, half-sleeping on the table. She dazedly asked, "Liang'er, why don't you have a cup too?"
As cultivators, they could easily dispel the intoxicating effect, but Li Hua opted not to do that, enjoying the feeling of being drunk. In her words, drinking was useless if one did not get drunk. Xue Yueliang placed her hand on Li Hua's shoulder and helped her expel some of the alcohol in her body, angering her.
"I'm only making it so that you can get drunk again. Remember, it's my treat." Xue Yueliang placated.
Li Hua bickered with her for a while longer, finally grumbling and drinking some more.
A warm smile appeared on Xue Yueliang's face as she enjoyed this scene. This was the first time she got out to eat with friends in both of her lifetimes. It was a simple thing in many people's eyes, but it was incredibly rare to her.
A simple life wouldn't be so bad, she thought. But before this thought could ferment in her mind, she heard a familiar voice yelling toward her.
"Uncle, it was that woman and her entourage. They humiliated me!"
"I'm no one's attendant!" The drunk Li Hua shouted, an angry expression on her face. "I should kill you for that insult." She was an unruly drunk.
She shakily got up, trying to retrieve her bow and arrow before Lei Jian hurriedly stopped her. He was about to help her expel the alcohol in her body, but Xue Yueliang stopped him, she did not wish to pay for another round.
"Fu Qian, that cut on your throat healed so quickly?" She taunted, "From how weak you are, I assumed you were a mortal."
"You..." He said, his shaking index pointing toward her.
"What about me?" She asked, walking closer to him, her hand on her hilt.
"You can't kill me!" He screamed, his hand clutching his neck as if she had already cut it. From how terrified he was, it seemed that he had forgotten that his uncle was with him, but this could not be helped. She had killed way too many people, and her bloodlust was not something a green flower like him could bear.
"Again, you are not worth it."
Her gaze then turned to his uncle, "Are you seeking justice for your nephew?" She asked, releasing the pressure of her cultivation base.
During the past month, her injuries had already healed and she was near the peak of the third level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
"Is he so weak that he cannot have revenge against a young girl?"
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