Chapter 709: Where were You Last Night?

Tang Wulin walked out of the hotel. Moonlight shone down on the quiet town, silvering the stone-paved streets. A cool breeze was blowing in from the mountain, carrying the light scent of earth and trees. He took a few deep breaths. The air was fresh and clean and sweet, but he couldn’t live on air alone.

It was a small town, but it had a good number of different restaurants. He found a shop that sold cooked meats and a bing[1] restaurant. He wondered what it would taste like if he folded a bing around cooked meats. It would definitely be divine with some sauce! Hunger often made people fantasize about eating all kinds of delicious food. Each and every shop on the street had the Tang Sect’s emblem on their door. This town had been built by the Tang Sect, he judged. He walked and walked, but couldn’t find a single restaurant that was open.

He looked around and spotted a large wood not far from the town. Maybe I can catch a boar or a pheasant there. He moved through the woods as silently as a cat. A cool wind whispered out of the south, making the trees rustle like living things. He thought he heard the rush of water in the distance.

He summoned the Bluesilver Emperor and had planned to make a net, but the vines started dancing wildly as soon as they appeared, as if they had found their long-lost friend. He had been so preoccupied with looking for something to ease his hunger pangs that he hadn’t noticed the rich natural energies floating in the air until now. Exulting, he quickly sat cross-legged on the ground and started meditating. The natural energies began to flow into his body through the thick vines so fast that he thought he could even feel his soul power growing.

When he woke up from his meditation, he found the morning had dawned, and he had missed the time to train his Purple Demon Eyes. Nonetheless, he was as happy as the birds chirping in the trees, because his soul power had grown significantly after a night’s meditation. I should be able to reach rank 50 in a year or two, if I can train in a place such as this every day.

He stretched, feeling invigorated, jumped to his feet, and made his way through the woods to the town.

It was very early and the hotel was still sleeping. He strode towards the cooked meat shop he stumbled across last night, his face lighting up when an aromatic smell tickled his nose and made his stomach clench with hunger.

He broke into a trot. When he arrived at the shop, he saw a large cauldron sitting on a wood fire outside the door, big chunks of beef swimming in bubbling brown gravy.

Tang Wulin could feel his mouth watering. “Excuse me, I’d like some meat!” he shouted to a fat man inside.

The man walked out with a smile. “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait. The meat won’t be done for another half hour or so,” he said, adding some spices into the cauldron.

“Can I order some now and pick it up later?”

“Sure! How much do you want?”

“How fast can you cook?”

The owner of the shop thought a moment. “I can have 800 pounds of beef ready in about four hours.”

“Great! Just cook as fast as you can, I’ll come back in a few hours and buy all of it.” 800 pounds can last me 20 days.

“All of it?” the fat man echoed, incredulous. “Beef here is expensive, just so you know. We raise livestock in the woods, and we give them plenty of space to roam. The land is rich here, the grass sweet and extremely nutritive, and the water clean. So their meat is delicious and low in fat, and very popular in Star Luo City.”

“That’s good to hear.” Tang Wulin smiled. “Don’t worry about money. I have money,” he said, handing a thick wad of bills to the fat man.

The owner took the money, as shocked as he was happy. “What do you need so much beef for, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I like beef,” Tang Wulin answered, snatching up a large chunk of beef with his hand from the cauldron. “Smells good!” he said, stuffing it into his mouth. “Mmm, you sure know how to cook beef!” With that, he walked off to buy more food.

Life in this small town was clearly slower-paced than that in Star Luo City. The sun was up, but still there were not many people on the street. Tang Wulin wasted no time hitting other restaurants and bought as much food as his storage ring could carry; he didn’t want to go hungry again.

By the time he went back to the hotel, he was stuffed, and many agents were already waiting outside.

When Black One stepped out of the gate, the 30 white-class agents quickly lined up in three rows. After they numbered off, Black One said, “Go buy what you need. Gather here again at noon! Dismiss!”

Tang Wulin collected the food he had ordered and judged it could last him a month at least. On his way back to the hotel, he heard restaurant owners tell his fellow agents that they had to wait for their orders. The early bird catches the worm, he thought, grinning.

When he was leaning on the wooden wall of the hotel, thinking about the mission, he saw White Seven walking towards him. He wasn’t harboring a grudge against her; a girl had to protect herself, after all.

“Where were you last night?” she asked casually, holding a glass of juice.

“In the woods, meditating,” he answered.

White Seven nodded and walked into the hotel.

Judging from the way she talks, she might be a highborn lady, Tang Wulin thought.

1. Bing is a wheat flour-based Chinese food with a flattened or disk-like shape.