Where's the Owner? Get Out Here!

"I'm so tired, I don't want to work at all," the three said in unison, yawning, their eyelids drooping.

What terrible idea did the leader come up with to come here for a meal?

They were on their way back to the barbecue restaurant. After a day of wits and courage, they had finally infiltrated the enemy's ranks. Now all they wanted to do was have a big meal and a good night's sleep.

The Immortal Cult focuses everyone's thoughts on the Mountain and River Cauldron, a process that generates immense fatigue.

"Luckily, I had the ghosts prepare the skewers before we came, so we can open for business as soon as we get back," Man Gu said with some relief.

Upon arriving at the barbecue restaurant, Lu Yang spotted a familiar face.

"Officer Wei? What are you doing here? Is there something you need?"

Officer Wei knocked on the door of the barbecue restaurant for a long time, but no one answered. He thought no one was inside.

There was indeed no one in the shop, only two hardworking ghosts skewering the food. The two ghosts were so frightened by the head constable's knock that they dared not open the door.

Just as Constable Wei was about to give up, Lu Yang arrived.

Officer Wei beamed with joy. "Manager Lu, you're finally back!"

Lu Yang nodded, and the lie came out without hesitation. "I saw the weather was nice this morning, and the three of us discussed it and decided it was a good day for an outing, so we went out for a walk and just got back."

"Are you still open today?"

Lu Yang thought for a moment. The leader and his group were coming, a total of twenty people, so it should be considered a successful opening. "Open."

Officer Wei said in as gentle a tone as possible, "Manager Lu, it's like this, your barbecue restaurant is quite famous in the area. I often come here to eat with a few of my brothers."

"I know you just like running a barbecue restaurant, you don't intend to expand, and you don't like others promoting you."

Lu Yang nodded.

Officer Wei said regretfully, "My brothers couldn't keep their mouths shut. After they finished eating, they went back and praised how delicious the food was. Now, the others are getting hungry too, and they said they'd come here for a meal after their shift ends. The brothers on night duty at the yamen even said they'd bring some back for them after we finish eating."

Looking at Constable Wei's expression, Lu Yang thought to himself, "It's probably not just your brothers who said it; you, Constable Wei, have spread the word too, haven't you?"

"So?"

"We have a lot of constables in Yanjiang County, enough to fill almost all the tables. The chief constable is also coming, so I was thinking if we could book the whole place tonight just for us."

Lu Yang suddenly realized, then looked troubled. "But I also have a few friends coming over tonight, I'm afraid..."

Officer Wei quickly said, "It's alright, it's alright, a few more people won't make a difference. Everyone can eat together; it's more lively with more people."

Before arriving, Chief Constable Wei had confidently assured his colleagues that they would definitely get to eat; it would be a slap in the face if they didn't.

Lu Yang agreed, "Alright, let's get ready, we'll open in half an hour."

Officer Wei received an affirmative reply and returned home satisfied.

When the time the leader had agreed upon arrived, people from all directions gathered at the entrance of the barbecue restaurant, including the leader, eleven stewards, and seven new members.

Chi Xulong and Shen Jinyi even carried several jars of wine, showing great understanding of the situation.

"I was worried that the wine in this small shop wouldn't be strong enough, so I specially brought a few jars of thirty-year-old Lingjiu Nu'er Hong," Chi Xulong said to Shen Jinyi.

This spirit wine is extremely potent; even Foundation Establishment Realm cannot neutralize it.

The other five new members also intended to offer wine as a token of their respect, but since they were all in the Qi Refining stage, they couldn't offer anything of high quality.

The leader even changed his mask to one that revealed his lower half, just so he could eat.

Lu Yang and his two companions walked out of the barbecue restaurant and invited everyone in. "Please come in quickly, everything is ready. Originally, the whole place was booked out for today, but we had to plead with them to finally reserve a table for us."

The leader nodded. He had originally worried that Lu Yang and the other two were troublemakers who wouldn't listen to discipline and that he would have to give them a hard time. But now it seemed that the three of them were quite sensible and knew to reserve their seats in advance.

"Don't just stand there, let's go inside," the leader called to the group.

The barbecue restaurant was empty. The leader naturally sat at the largest table in the middle, the one with the best location, befitting his status.

Lu Yang cautiously reminded him from the side, "Master, this table has been reserved."

Before the leader could say anything, Chi Xulong interrupted, "Tell them to sit aside. What kind of trash dares to try and take our seats?"

Seeing that the leader did not object, Lu Yang said nothing more.

Everyone sat down, Man Gu took out the menu. "What would you like to eat?"

Shen Jinyi handed the menu to the helmsman. "Headsman, please."

The captain waved his hand. "Order whatever you like."

"Since you're treating, you should order."

"No need, please feel free to do as you please."

The people at the table declined the order several times, but it eventually came back to Man Gu. Man Gu pursed his lips, thinking that these people were really making a fuss, even ordering skewers was a long and drawn-out affair.

Man Gu didn't have the habit of refusing orders. After ordering, he took the menu to the backyard and let the two cougars start grilling.

Before long, Man Gu brought out plates of delicious-looking and fragrant grilled skewers. Just by smelling the aroma, everyone knew that the taste would be excellent.

"Come on, the skewers are here, pour the drinks!" the leader said with a smile, gesturing for everyone to pour drinks.

Meng Jingzhou smiled and said, "There's no need for wine. I prefer tea and don't like alcohol."

The leader chuckled and said, "Little Meng, how can you navigate the world without knowing how to drink? You'll have plenty of drinking opportunities in the future, so have three cups first to get used to it."

Meng Jingzhou still refused.

The leader, feeling humiliated, frowned slightly. Taking advantage of the situation, Chi Xulong scolded, "What's wrong with you? The leader asked you to drink, and you refused. Are you disrespecting the leader?"

Meng Jingzhou curled his lip. "It's just a drink, how does it relate to face? If the leader makes me drink, wouldn't that be disrespecting me?"

Chi Xulong was about to say, "Who do you think you are? What face do you have in front of the leader?" when the leader stopped him before he could finish speaking.

The leader knew that Meng Jingzhou had a bright future and was unwilling to argue with him.

Only the leader of the sect knows the sect leader's evaluation of Lu Yang and the other two; even Lu Yang and the others themselves are unaware of it.

"The welcome dinner doesn't need to be so formal. Let me introduce myself first. My surname is Chu, and you can call me Chief Chu."

After the leader finished introducing himself, it was the turn of the tall, thin man who had gone to the brothel with Qin Yuanhao: "My name is Wang He, but those who know me like to call me Wang Big Mouth."

"Bai Zifang."

"Peng Shuo."

The eleven deacons introduced themselves in turn. In reality, they simply stated their names, without mentioning their cultivation level, hobbies, or special skills, thus revealing no other information.

There is little trust among members of the demonic sect; they will hide themselves as much as possible.

As if no argument had occurred, everyone enjoyed the meal together.

"These skewers are really delicious." Chi Xulong ate a few skewers and was very surprised. These were the best skewers he had ever eaten.

Greed seized him, and he quietly asked the leader, "Should we force the shop owner to hand over the recipe? Even if these skewers are sold in Spirit Stone, there's a market for them, and we can make a fortune!"

The leader was also tempted. He had done plenty of murder, robbery, and extortion before, so one more time wouldn't make a difference.

Lu Yang asked from the side, "What if the shop owner doesn't hand over the recipe?"

A chill ran through Chi Xulong, and he grinned maliciously, "Then let's see if he wants his life or the recipe!"

He slammed his hand on the table, ready to cause trouble, and shouted angrily, "Where's the owner! Come out! All the skewers are served and you still haven't shown up. Don't you know the rules?!"

Immediately afterwards, Constable Wei's voice rang out from outside the door. "Haha, where's the shopkeeper? I've brought my brothers over."

A swarm of constables leaped in, including the chief constable who was at the Golden Core stage, and surrounded the leader's table of people.