He looked at Lu Yang, then glanced at Meng Jingzhou, and asked slowly, "Are these the names you came up with?"
Lu Yang nodded. "Mine was 'Try Again Barbecue Shop.'"
Meng Jingzhou nodded as well. "Mine was 'Thank You for Playing Barbecue Shop.'"
Man Gu felt that his own choice, "Sheep Sheep Sheep Barbecue Shop," was still far too ordinary after all.
The first slip Man Gu had opened was Lu Yang's submission. According to the rules, the shop was officially named "Try Again."
"By the way, do either of you have a technique to conceal one's presence?" Lu Yang asked.
While walking the streets earlier, Lu Yang had noticed how many passersby breathed with varying affinities for spiritual energy. They were definitely cultivators, yet when he swept them with his divine sense, he had been unable to discern their cultivation levels.
For one or two to be stronger than him was reasonable enough, but it was patently impossible for every single person to outrank him.
Yanjiang Commandery was unlike Taiping Township. Cultivators were fairly common, but it had hardly reached the absurd extreme where every last soul was at Foundation Establishment.
A moment's thought made it clear to Lu Yang: among cultivators, strength dictated standing. To wander the pugilistic world without being bullied, one had to either possess overwhelming power or know how to hide one's cultivation so others wouldn't dare act rashly.
Walking around without any concealment was practically announcing to the world that they were three greenhorns fresh out of the nest.
If they wanted to infiltrate a demonic cult, they had to act like seasoned veterans.
"I do have one. It's what we use back home for hunting." Man Gu retrieved a roll of parchment from his robes.
"Prey in the wilderness is exceedingly cunning. The moment the wind stirs the grass, they bolt. If you want a successful hunt, you have to conceal your aura and lie in ambush beforehand."
The Barbarian clan Man Gu belonged to was a major power in the wilderness, and he possessed the highest bloodline status among them.
In the Barbarian clan, it wasn't just Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment clansmen who went hunting; even Golden Core elders capable of fasting had to head out into the wilds.
To the Barbarians, prey was not merely food to fill the belly, but carried benefits comparable to heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
"The catch is that you can't move while using my secret technique. Moving breaks the effect."
The greater the restriction, the greater the potency. In terms of pure concealment alone, the method recorded on this parchment ranked among the very best.
"I have an ordinary concealment art here. Someone has to be a full major realm higher than you to see through your cultivation." Meng Jingzhou produced a bamboo scroll from his jade pendant. Though it had been stored away for who knew how long, it still carried a faint, crisp bamboo fragrance.
The exceptional quality of the bamboo alone hinted at how extraordinary the recorded spell must be.
Meng Jingzhou's jade pendant held a vast collection of spells and divine abilities brought from home—far too many for him to ever find time to learn them all.
Lu Yang gave Meng Jingzhou an odd look. "Didn't you run away from home? Where did you get so many good things?"
"My little sister snuck them to me."
"Fair enough."
The three of them set about studying the concealment techniques. All three possessed extraordinary natural talent, and small arts like these were simple and intuitive. Learning them proved completely effortless; in barely an hour, they had grasped the essentials, leaving only practice to achieve mastery.
Lu Yang cupped his fists in thanks. "Once I learn some new spells, I'll definitely teach them to you!"
Though Man Gu and Meng Jingzhou had offered them up casually, Lu Yang knew without being told that both techniques were exceedingly rare. It was clear proof of how much the two trusted him.
Meng Jingzhou burst out laughing, telling Lu Yang not to take it to heart, and Man Gu chimed in with something similar.
***
"Huh? I could have sworn this was a teahouse. When did it turn into a barbecue shop?"
Under the cover of night, two wandering martial artists happened to notice that the former teahouse had vanished, replaced by an amusingly named barbecue joint.
"'Try Again Barbecue Shop'… Smells incredible!"
Martial Artist A twitched his nose. The mouthwatering aroma of grilled meat washed over them, utterly irresistible and making their mouths water.
"Grab a bite?"
"Come on, let's go in."
The two struck an immediate agreement and stepped inside.
The moment they entered, the deafening bustle took them aback. Diners clinked cups, wolfed down skewers, and gulped wine with broad grins, their laughter loud enough to lift the roof. A burly fellow darted back and forth carrying platters of skewers, clearly working as a waiter.
*A waiter that jacked—is he there to stop people from dining and dashing?*
"A brand-new shop is this popular?"
The two grew eager. For a place to be this packed, it had to have something special going for it. They simply had to try it.
Fortune was on their side; one empty table remained.
As soon as they sat down, another waiter named Lu Yang stepped up holding a small notepad, wearing a textbook customer service smile. "Good evening, gentlemen. What can I get for you?"
"Two pots of wine, a plate of boiled peanuts, thirty lamb skewers, thirty beef skewers, and two orders of grilled potatoes… All mild, please. Neither of us can handle too much spice."
Lu Yang nodded and jotted it down while sending a voice transmission to Man Gu: *"Can you tone down your recipe a bit? The barbecue is so good it's drawing hordes of people! How are we supposed to keep an eye on Qin Yuanhao like this?"*
Lu Yang had never expected Man Gu's secret recipe to be so effective. A handful of patrons had shown up on the first evening, followed by several full tables on the second, and by the third night, every seat was taken. Now, on the fourth night, after these two martial artists took the last open table, a line had already formed outside.
Lu Yang suspected that by the fifth day, customers would be booking reservations or sharing tables. By the thirtieth day, they'd be opening chain locations in neighboring commanderies. In a year, they'd have two hundred branches across northern Central Continent; in three years, they'd take the entire continent by storm; and in five years, they'd go public… assuming this world even had a concept of going public.
Could something be wrong with Man Gu's recipe? He hadn't slipped some contraband into the sauce, had he?
It was only a joke, of course. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had tasted Man Gu's cooking themselves; there was nothing illicit in it, just exceptional flavor. Still, they had never anticipated it drawing such an enormous crowd.
Later, Lu Yang figured it out. Back on Tianmen Peak, he had been fed the finest delicacies between heaven and earth, spoiling his palate completely. If someone used to top-tier delicacies thought it tasted fantastic, Man Gu's secret recipe truly was something extraordinary.
All in all, they absolutely could not let this place get any more popular.
"Sounds pretty busy down there. Need me to come down and lend a hand?" Meng Jingzhou's lazy voice drifted into their ears.
At present, Meng Jingzhou was alone on the second floor keeping watch on Qin Yuanhao.
"You stay right up there and watch Qin Yuanhao properly! Don't you dare come down and cause trouble!" Lu Yang warned. If Meng Jingzhou came downstairs, he wouldn't stop at just waiting tables.
Knowing Meng Jingzhou, he'd probably break into a solo crosstalk routine between serving dishes.
Meng Jingzhou let out an enormous yawn that sounded infectious enough to put anyone to sleep. "It's so dreadfully boring up here, though. Four whole days, and Qin Yuanhao hasn't shown the slightest intention of leaving his house. All he does day in and day out is meditate, meditate, and meditate. Not a shred of entertainment in his life.
"If you ask me, we'd be better off posing as itinerant street performers. I'll head into Qin Yuanhao's courtyard to do solo crosstalk, you can juggle heavy stone vats, and while we've got him distracted, Man Gu can plant an eavesdropping talisman or something."
Neither Lu Yang nor Man Gu paid Meng Jingzhou any mind.
The best way to deal with a relentless chatterbox was complete silence.
Seeing that no one was biting, Meng Jingzhou had no choice but to change the subject. "Man Gu, are you really not going to consider making the skewers taste a little worse?"
Man Gu stood by his principles. "My family is a barbecue dynasty! Eighteen generations of master grillers! I will never let the proud name of the Barbecue Barbarians be tarnished on my watch!"
Chapter 55