CH 16

Several months passed in a hurry, and the weather turned cooler. Bai Xianzhi moved a chair and sat at the door, watching the drizzling rain in the alley. It had been about four or five months since he took over Three Thousand Food House, and gradually, he had gleaned some information from the conversations of the strange customers who visited daily.

For example, most of these customers came from the Orc World. They were different animals transformed into human forms, but they were not the monsters mentioned in Chinese legends. They were orcs, transforming from beasts into humans.

At the same time, Bai Xianzhi also noticed some customers who didn’t have orc features. Some were orcs who had completely shed their beastly characteristics, while others came from different worlds. However, such customers were rare, and to this day, Bai Xianzhi was still unsure how many worlds existed beyond Three Thousand Food House.

It was worth mentioning that he learned from these customers that the location of Three Thousand Food House was extremely unique, seemingly at the convergence of countless worlds.

The status of Three Thousand Food House seemed to be extraordinary in their hearts. These customers appeared to be capable of traveling between worlds. However, according to them, such travel required replenishing energy, and Three Thousand Food House was the only refueling station along the way.

Previously, the food at this refueling station was particularly difficult to swallow. Unless forced by necessity, no one was willing to come and eat. But now that the food at Three Thousand Food House has become delicious, naturally more people are willing to come.

After learning about the restaurant’s uniqueness, Bai Xianzhi felt completely at ease taking a break. Since its position was special and nearly irreplaceable, there was nothing to fear.

As the light rain fell diagonally in the alley, Bai Xianzhi set down his teacup and quietly watched. What would the guests from different worlds see when they stood at the entrance?

This world was truly marvelous. The existence of the orc world made him curious. If he had the chance, he really wanted to go and see.

A few days later, Bai Xianzhi got the opportunity he desired. Of course, it wasn’t an actual visit; he received the Tongtong communicator he had asked Tu Linlin to buy for him. Ever since he discovered the signal at Three Thousand Food House, he had been wanting a Tongtong communicator. He had asked Tu Linlin to buy it for him long ago, but he didn’t expect the complex process involved in purchasing one in the orc world. It took almost two months, and he finally received the Tongtong communicator in his hands yesterday.

Today was his day off, so Bai Xianzhi lay on the bed contemplating this otherworldly version of a cell phone. There is no problem in calling the Tongtong machine like this since, in his opinion, apart from the different appearance, it was almost the same in terms of functionality as a cellphone. In addition to basic calling functions, it had internet access. On the temporal forum, he could engage in cross-world communication. According to Tu Linlin’s introduction, there were users from dozens of worlds on the temporal forum, and there was an endless stream of fresh and interesting information. It was definitely the best place to learn about various worlds.

So, after briefly studying the various functions of the Tongtong communicator, Bai Xianzhi clicked on a black and white blended icon, which was the temporal forum.

The most popular post on the temporal forum’s homepage was #Breaking! Sensitivity Period of the Dragon Princess, Pursuit of the Godly Prince Feng Yan from the Divine Realm!!#

Bai Xianzhi clicked on it, and he guessed that most of the replies would be from women since the majority of the responses were like this:

【So sweet!! The relationship between Prince Feng Yan and the princess is really great! Prince Feng Yan is so gentle!!】

【Ah, there are more beautiful pictures of Prince Feng Yan! I need to save them quickly! Prince Feng Yan is truly the most beautiful person in the Three Thousand Worlds, no doubt about it!!】

【Sob, sob, sob. The princess is so lucky. That’s the Godly Prince from the Divine Realm, and he actually pursues her from afar. Sob, sob, sob, I’m going to drown in envy!!】

【I wonder if Prince Feng Yan has any brothers or younger brothers. I really want a divine realm husband too!】

【Ah, a divine realm gentleman, who wouldn’t want one?】

…

Bai Xianzhi quickly glanced at it and then backed out. Almost all the comments under this post were full of exaggerated compliments for the protagonist, Feng Yan, which gave him a headache. He continued scrolling down and saw many interesting things, such as the top ten beauties and top ten handsome men of the Three Thousand Worlds, as well as five secrets that must be mentioned about the Dragon Clan and how the Spirit Clan handles certain matters. Bai Xianzhi clicked on one of the posts and found a flood of criticism. It was clear that most of the comments came from passionate fans of the Spirit Clan who were heavily criticizing Feng Yan.

Of course, there was also some more serious news, such as real-time updates on the battle situation in the temporal battlefield. Bai Xianzhi realized for the first time that these magical worlds were not safe. They had a common enemy—the Stone Clan.

From a few sparse replies, Bai Xianzhi learned that the Stone Clan was tough and started wars for the abundant resources of other worlds. After all, the Stone Realm was barren, and the Stone Clan, with their high combat strength and numerous population (stone-transformed beings), felt no pain. They could only be killed by completely destroying their bodies, making them a very formidable opponent.

Various clans had sent their armies to the temporal battlefield, where they had been in a stalemate with the Stone Clan for decades.

Bai Xianzhi backed out and continued scrolling down. After reading dozens of posts, he came across a very familiar one: “New Menu at TimeMoon Hotel: Stuffed Cabbage, Crispy Meat, Braised Pork, Spicy Chicken Dices—Experience New Cuisine!”

Stuffed Cabbage, Crispy Meat, Braised Pork, Spicy Chicken Dices—these familiar names caught Bai Xianshi’s attention. If he remembered correctly, they wouldn’t call chili peppers “chili peppers” here; instead, they referred to them as “poisonous fruit.”

He clicked into the post, and the homepage displayed photos of several dishes: cabbage stuffed with meat, crispy golden meat, braised pork covered in sauce, and spicy chicken dices with a fiery red color. Bai Xianzhi sneered. Even if these dishes weren’t leaked from his Three Thousand Food House, it was clear that TimeMoon Hotel was targeting his Three Thousand Food House. After all, these dishes were the best-selling items in his Three Thousand Food House.

As he scrolled down, he noticed that many people were comparing the TimeMoon Hotel with his Three Thousand Food House.

【”To be honest, when I went to the spatial rift, I always felt a bit dangerous at Three Thousand Food House. Now that TimeMoon Hotel has these dishes too, it’s much safer.”】

【”I’ve been to the TimeMoon Hotel, and the taste is not much different from the Three Thousand Food House. What’s more important is that the environment at TimeMoon Hotel is better. No need to stand while eating!”】

【”Another point to add: TimeMoon Hotel has more chefs, so you don’t have to wait too long to enjoy delicious meals!”】

【”If it’s really that good, I’ll go try it this afternoon!”】

【”The pictures really look similar. They should be delicious. I can eat at TimeMoon Hotel from now on. Three Thousand Food House is too far away.”】

【”Yes, last time I went to Three Thousand Food House, I waited for so long. By the time I brought the food back, my wife and children had finished eating, qaq.”】

【”Ah, Three Thousand Food House still has to close. It closes once every six days. Sometimes when I want to go eat, it happens to be closed. Tsk.”】

【”However, the things at TimeMoon Hotel are not cheap, right? And they probably don’t have the power of time and space, do they?”】

【”I’ve tried it. Indeed, they don’t. They are about one-third more expensive than Three Thousand Food House, but considering the environment and service, it’s worth a visit.”】

…

As the post reached the end, fewer and fewer people mentioned the Three Thousand Food House. Bai Xianzhi turned off the communication device, thinking that if other people from Huaguo (China) arrived in other worlds and made these dishes, he wouldn’t care. These dishes came from the heritage of the predecessors and didn’t belong to any specific person from Huaguo (China). Everyone had the right to make them.

But if it wasn’t someone from Huaguo (China), then it would be a different matter.

The next day, Three Thousand Food House opened its doors, but the only staff member, She Bobo, was absent. And for several consecutive days, She Bobo didn’t appear at Three Thousand Food House. Bai Xianzhi took out the communication device and dialed the contact number She Bobo left, but the device displayed “No answer.”

After a few more days, the number of customers at Three Thousand Food House visibly decreased. On the temporal forum, there were more and more posts discussing the new dishes at TimeMoon Hotel. Bai Xianzhi noticed that these people were not only from the Orc World, but rather, there were fewer people from the Orc World. Most of them were from other worlds, expressing their amazement at the new dishes at TimeMoon Hotel, saying that they were incredibly delicious.

He did come across a few posts from customers of Three Thousand Food House, stating that the things at TimeMoon Hotel still had a gap compared to Three Thousand Food House, but the attempts to draw parallels were unsuccessful. There was a chorus of criticism under these posts, after all, TimeMoon Hotel was a super-sized chain hotel present in every world, while Three Thousand Food House had a notorious reputation. Apart from those who had personally been to Three Thousand Food House, others simply didn’t believe it.

When Qing Shu saw the new dishes at TimeMoon Hotel, she knew things were not good. Later, she personally went to taste them and found that they couldn’t compare to the original versions at Three Thousand Food House. However, they did have a similar taste, which was quite impressive to those who hadn’t tried the new dishes at Three Thousand Food House.

Speaking of Qing Shu, although she was an orc, she had been active as a livestreamer online for a long time and was familiar with many unscrupulous tactics, just like the operation of TimeMoon Hotel this time. Anyone who had eaten at Three Thousand Food House in the past few months could tell that these dishes were undoubtedly imitating the cuisine of Three Thousand Food House, both in terms of flavor and appearance. But it was difficult to define such matters because there was no evidence, especially when facing a behemoth like TimeMoon Hotel, protecting one’s own rights seemed like an impossible dream.

There were rumors on the internet that Three Thousand Food House had the support of the Divine Clan behind it, but it was just a legend. On the other hand, it was true that TimeMoon Hotel had the backing of the Divine Clan, which was quite unfortunate. At the same time, Qing Shu also realized that Three Thousand Food House probably didn’t have the support of the Divine Clan; otherwise, how could TimeMoon Hotel dare to do such a thing?

The Divine Clan never concerned themselves with such trivial matters. The actual decision-maker at TimeMoon Hotel was said to be a member of the Dragon Clan. The Dragon Clan was the closest race to the Divine Clan, so they would never dare to offend the Divine Clan.

Now the owner of Three Thousand Food House had to bear this loss silently.

Indeed, that was the reality. Bai Xianzhi couldn’t find any evidence to prove the connection between TimeMoon Hotel’s new dishes and himself. Moreover, he had no way to go to the so-called TimeMoon Hotel. This matter could only be endured.

The only consolation was that although the number of customers had decreased, it hadn’t decreased significantly. Considering he was the only staff member, it was just manageable. However, to prevent the customer base from shrinking further, he decided to launch new dishes!

1 TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”