A Barbecue Branch All the Way Out Here?

Lu Yang couldn't help recalling how excited he had been when he first became an apprentice. Back then, he had known nothing about the cultivation world. When he learned he had a Sword Spiritual Root and could study under the Sect Master of the Dao Seeking Sect, he had been so thrilled that he didn't sleep a wink all night. Only later, as time passed and he grew to understand the Dao Seeking Sect better, did he realize that his master was a bottomless pit of trouble. Not only did he refuse to cultivate properly and constantly get locked up in confinement by Eldest Senior Sister, but he also made enemies everywhere he went. Lu Yang had heard that the officials of the Imperial City had a tradition of forming factions. He had assumed it was like in his past life, divided along regional lines into cliques of hometown peers. Then Meng Jingzhou told him the factions were actually divided by whether or not they had a grudge against Daoist Buyu. Lu Yang could not fathom what kind of knack his master possessed to antagonize so many people. Had the man slapped every single one of them across the face during the imperial examination? Lu Yang had figured that even if the officials in the Imperial City harbored grudges, the Five Great Immortal Sects shared common ground against external threats, so surely none of them had a vendetta against his master, right? Now it seemed he had been far too optimistic. By comparison, Eldest Senior Sister was infinitely more dependable. Exquisitely beautiful, she guided his cultivation and stepped in to help whenever he faced mortal peril. "By that standard, doesn't that make this immortal extremely dependable too?" The Immortal Fairy beamed with immense satisfaction, thinking Lu Yang was finally seeing the light. She, the leader of the Ten Ancient Beauties, was of flawless appearance, a peerless beauty fully worthy of comparison to Yun Zhi. She had also taught Lu Yang spells, guided him in forming the Invincible Core, and helped establish his renown. When someone tried to seize Lu Yang's body, she had personally intervened to keep him safe. Every single condition was met! Lu Yang stared at the Immortal Fairy with a faint, hollow gaze. *You're not going to mention a single word about how my senior brothers and sisters lined up to beat the daylights out of me, are you?* ... Yan Tianzhi felt that what he had said earlier had been ambiguous, making it sound as though he bore some profound grudge against Lu Yang. After pondering for a moment, he decided to convey some goodwill, adding, "Master... and... your sect's... Grand Elder... are particularly... close... They often... communicate." "Is that so?" Lan Ting and Bai Ming were surprised. Lu Yang wore a peculiar expression. Communicate about what? Discussing what kind of coffin was most comfortable to lie in? Yan Tianzhi wanted to explain further, but finding speaking too exhausting, he decided it was better to show them the real thing. Taking advantage of the lull before the dishes arrived, he pulled a scroll of blueprints from his identity jade tablet and spread it out on the table. The blueprint depicted numerous rectangles linked together into a honeycomb pattern. The more Lu Yang looked at it, the more it resembled a floor plan for a three-bedroom apartment. "This... was designed... by the two of them... They said... it's comfortable... to sleep in." "Also... it's portable... to carry around... If you can't... find lodging... anywhere... you can sleep... here." Lu Yang: "..." So Grand Elder, you dumped all the Mission Hall's affairs onto Senior Brother Dai Bufan just so you could design coffins all day? Does Senior Brother Dai know about this? Just then, the waiter called out, "Dishes arriving! Pardon me, honored guests, please make a bit of room!" Hearing this, Yan Tianzhi rolled up the blueprints, and mouthwatering delicacies were set down upon the table one after another. Not a single dish was familiar to Lu Yang, but the aroma alone confirmed they were top-notch. Bai Ming said, "Everyone, eat as much as you like. The provincial governor said he's covering all our food, clothing, lodging, and travel expenses for the duration of the festival." Lu Yang smiled and raised his teacup. "To the governor." "To the governor." "To the governor." They clinked cups and dug in. While eating, Lan Ting asked, "By the way, there's a discernment fair later on. Are you interested in going?" "What's a discernment fair?" "It's hosted by the Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce. They'll display all sorts of strange and curious objects for people to inspect. Whoever can correctly state an item's origin gets to keep it." "The items aren't worth all that much; it's mostly for the lively atmosphere." "Sounds interesting, count me in," Lu Yang was the first to respond. "Count me in too," Meng Jingzhou followed immediately. Bai Ming thought it over. Since the task assigned by the provincial governor was already complete, joining the gathering sounded fine. "I'll go as well." "Going," Yan Tianzhi said, concise as ever. All five wanted to see what the discernment fair had to offer, so their eating speed naturally picked up, and they finished before long. Leaving the restaurant, Meng Jingzhou nudged Lu Yang's arm and gestured in a particular direction. Lu Yang followed Meng Jingzhou's gaze and spotted a bustling barbecue shop with a queue trailing down the street. The shop was named the Try Again Barbecue Shop. In the lower right corner of the signboard, a small line of characters read: *Grand Qingzhou Festival Temporary Branch*. "Has the Nine Nether Cult moved this fast, opening a shop all the way out here already?" Meng Jingzhou asked via voice transmission. Lu Yang shook his head. "Probably not. It hasn't even been a month; how could they be opening branches everywhere? The fire seeds we gave them wouldn't be enough. They're probably just taking advantage of the Grand Qingzhou Festival's crowds to drum up publicity." Noticing the strange looks on Lu Yang's and Meng Jingzhou's faces, Bai Ming smiled and said, "Are you interested in that barbecue shop? Lan Ting wasn't around last night, so Tianzhi and I gave it a try. The shopkeeper claimed their craft has been passed down since ancient times, even bragging that it's a three-hundred-thousand-year-old establishment." "I don't know if that's true or false, but the flavor is genuinely good. It easily ranks first among all the grilled skewers I've ever eaten." Yan Tianzhi nodded in agreement, endorsing the shop's flavor. Lu Yang thought to himself, *You Nine Nether Cult folks sure know how to brag. A three-hundred-thousand-year-old shop? Why didn't you just say the fire seed has been burning for three hundred thousand years?* Then again, claiming the craft was passed down from antiquity wasn't entirely a lie, given that Man Gu had provided the foundational barbecue recipe. "Want to eat there after the discernment fair?" Bai Ming asked. "Never mind, we just thought the shop's name was amusing." There was no need for Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou to eat there; the skewers they made themselves were the most authentic. Lan Ting noticed the shop's name as well. She was among the second batch of employees at the original main branch, making her a veteran of the establishment. The first batch had been chang ghosts. The exact same name, coupled with extraordinary taste—could it be a coincidence? Suspecting there was more to this, she sent a voice transmission to Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou: "Does this barbecue shop have anything to do with you?" Lan Ting was remarkably clever; there was no hiding it from her. Lu Yang explained, "There's a bit of an inside story. Keep it to yourself; there might be demonic cult moles in your immortal palace." Hearing the words "demonic cult," Lan Ting realized the matter was grave and promised, "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul—not even my master." Reassured, Lu Yang said, "Through the tireless efforts of Meng Jingzhou and myself, we improved the skewers' flavor. With the completion of the Automatic Skewering Array and the automatic barbecue grill, the foundation for opening a chain was established. To prevent the Nine Nether Cult from causing destruction everywhere, our Dao Seeking Sect partnered with them. The plan is to spread Try Again Barbecue Shops across the entire continent, and we're currently in the initial stages." "Of course, we didn't use the Dao Seeking Sect's name when partnering with the Nine Nether Cult." Lan Ting: "..." The Immortal Cult had been wiped out only a few months ago, and your Dao Seeking Sect has already set its sights on the Nine Nether Cult? Even if slaying demons and eliminating evil was the duty of righteous cultivators, isn't your efficiency a bit too terrifying? How many months are you planning to take to destroy the Nine Nether Cult this time? One month, or two?