Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on your Golden Core Great Accomplishment

Chapter 12 - Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on Your Golden Core Great Accomplishment

"...Smoked pork knuckle, sauerkraut, white sausage, Black Forest ham, German apple strudel..."

Li Bai stared blankly as she fluently rattled off the menu items without even glancing at it. Clearly, this girl was a loyal regular at this restaurant, or else she wouldn't know it so well.

Noticing Li Bai's strange look, Dong Keyan smiled shyly and said, "I love German cuisine, so I come here often. Don't worry, I can finish it all, and I won't get fat."

"Awesome!"

Li Bai had to give her a thumbs up. Almost eighty percent of the dishes she ordered were heavy on meat, obviously intending to eat her fill.

Having such a good appetite while still keeping a slim figure was truly enviable.

After ordering, Dong Keyan pushed the unopened menu toward Li Bai and said, "If there's anything you like, order some too. The smoked pork knuckle is a single serving, so I suggest you get one as well."

"Sure!"

Li Bai followed her advice and ordered a few more items.

Soon, the table between them was piled high with plates, as lavish as a grand feast. Other diners nearby kept glancing over, both surprised and skeptical—probably more of them doubted whether the two could finish it all.

The golden, crispy pork knuckle weighed at least two or three jin, but Dong Keyan tore into it without changing her expression, like a ferocious carnivorous dinosaur.

Only after the plate was left with nothing but bones did she let out a satisfied groan. "So delicious!"

"You really like German cuisine?"

Watching her eat so heartily, Li Bai's own appetite was stirred. He cut into the smoked pork knuckle in front of him with his knife and fork, the mouthful of meat feeling truly satisfying.

"Of course, I love Germany!"

Dong Keyan didn't hide the fact that she was a German fangirl.

"Is it because of the food?"

Li Bai could roughly guess a carnivore's longing for Germany—that was indeed a good starting point.

With nearly eighty percent of its food structure being meat, Germany was a paradise for meat-eaters. Chinese civil servants were banned from alcohol, while German civil servants were banned from meat—that alone said something.

In the category of sausages, Germany was the only Western country that could rival China's five-thousand-year culinary heritage, with at least 1,500 varieties. Scared yet?

As for pasta and pizza? Those were trash.

"That's only part of the reason!"

Maybe because he hit the mark, Dong Keyan covered her mouth with a light laugh and said, "I also love the Bavarian castles, the Black Forest, and the Alps scenery. So I plan to immigrate to Germany and settle down. If we can establish a relationship, I hope you'll come with me. Even though I earn a decent amount each month, I'd still like you to earn more too. After all, it's the Eurozone—expenses aren't low. Ideally, you'd be making a million in no time."

Huh?

The girl's sudden directness caught Li Bai off guard. A million in no time? Why not just rob a bank?

Ding-dong! The sound of a text message alert rang out. He looked down.

Bank card deposit: One million RMB.

Li Bai looked up in shock. Could this girl be some ancient great power, speaking laws into existence—saying a million and getting a million?

Terrifying!

"What's wrong?"

Dong Keyan noticed Li Bai's strange expression.

"N-nothing. Why don't you just find a German?"

Li Bai quickly changed the subject. The sudden million-yuan transfer info he dismissed as a scam text. Who would just randomly transfer that much money to someone else? If there was a real problem, he'd let the police handle it.

He couldn't understand—if she liked Germany that much, why not marry a German? Why bring a husband along?

"Even though I love German culture, architecture, scenery, and food, that doesn't mean I want to marry a German white guy." Dong Keyan stated her standards openly. After a moment's thought, she added, "Besides, every German I've met loves saying 'wang ba dan'! That's so rude."

Constantly saying "wang ba dan"—anyone would find that unbearable. It was no different from having "NMD" or "TMD" on your lips all the time.

With at least a master's degree, and since modern experimental psychology originated in Germany, Li Bai had read plenty of original German materials and had some understanding of the language. He said helplessly, "It's probably not 'wang ba dan'? It's 'wang dan ba'—translated into Chinese, it means 'very good, fantastic,' synonymous with 'wonderful' in English."

In modern times, due to convenient information transmission and dissemination, many new words across different language families had almost no difference in pronunciation and meaning, making European and American languages more and more like regional dialects. For example, the word "family"—in English it's "family," in German it's "Familie"—almost the same.

That's why many Westerners, besides their native tongue, could easily master two or three, or even more, other languages.

It was like how Chinese people could speak both Shanghainese and Northeastern dialect without needing a separate language course.

Dong Keyan was stunned. She blinked her long-lashed eyes and took a while before speaking again.

"You're not lying to me?"

"Of course not!"

Li Bai nodded firmly.

"Ah! So embarrassing! Major embarrassment!"

The meat-loving girl covered her face, utterly mortified.

"Is it really that bad?"

Plenty of people confused "wang ba dan" with "wang dan ba"—it wasn't that shameful.

"I'm a live streamer. I told so many netizens that Germans love saying 'wang ba dan.' I'm doomed, doomed!"

Dong Keyan felt like hanging herself right then and there—she'd exposed her lack of education in front of the whole nation, embarrassing herself abroad, and she could already imagine a bunch of people secretly laughing at her behind their screens.

"Aren't you planning to settle in Germany? Didn't you learn German?"

Li Bai found it a bit odd; logically, this fangirl obsessed with Germany should have learned the language first if she wanted to immigrate.

Dong Keyan's face flushed bright red as she stammered, "Foreign languages are too hard. I studied German for a long time but could never get it."

Every time she'd traveled to Germany, she'd shelled out big money for a local translator as a guide or joined a tour group; otherwise, she'd have gotten lost on her own, and she never had the guts to try independent travel.

She talked about immigrating to Germany but couldn't even speak German—the thought was pretty ridiculous.

"Actually, Thailand's pretty good too. A lot of places you can speak Chinese, and Thai people are super polite. They meet you and say, 'Swip my card!'"

Li Bai had joined a hospital-organized tour to Thailand, visiting Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Rai, and Chiang Mai, and he had fond memories.

Even if she didn't want to stay in the country, there was no need to go all the way to Europe—it'd be a hassle for family visits during holidays.

"Pfft!"

Still stewing over her online anchor blunder, Dong Keyan couldn't help but burst out laughing. A country where people greet you by saying "swip my card"? Where did that even exist?

But as she laughed, her expression shifted, and the laughter cut off abruptly. She clutched her lower stomach, trembling all over.

"What's wrong?"

Li Bai noticed something off about Dong Keyan's state.

"Gall, gallstones acting up. I forgot my meds!" Dong Keyan's face went pale, cold sweat beading on her forehead as she groaned, "You, you're a doctor. Think of something, quick."

Though they'd just met, they weren't completely clueless about each other's basics.

Dong Keyan knew Li Bai was a doctor, and in her agony, she didn't care about much else—she'd try anything, even if it was a long shot.

"I'm a psychiatrist!"

Li Bai was dumbfounded. Treating gallstones should be the domain of hepatobiliary or gastroenterology specialists, not a shrink.

"I'm dying! I'm dying! Hurry up, I can't take it. Any method, just make the pain stop!"

Meat-lovers and gallstones were truly an inseparable, doomed pair. Dong Keyan's face was ashen, her pain unbearable.

The chance to gorge herself at Tuman Restaurant had made her completely forget about the stones in her gallbladder.

Others in the restaurant noticed the commotion between Li Bai and Dong Keyan, and a server started walking over to check.

"Alright, alright!"

Li Bai was like a duck forced up a perch. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Congratulations, fellow cultivator, on your Golden Core Great Accomplishment!"

It was a kind of mental victory—overcoming the body with willpower.

A psychiatrist's medicine mostly worked on the brain, and that wasn't something you could just hand out. Even if he wanted to, there was no pharmacy around, and hypnosis might temporarily make her forget the pain.

But here he was, on a date with a beauty anchor, sharing a meal, and hypnotizing her? What kind of move was that? How were they supposed to have a good time after?

What? The sudden joke caught Dong Keyan, writhing in agony, completely off guard. She stared at Li Bai, dumbfounded.

What the hell?

!!!

Gold, Golden Core!?

For a moment, she forgot the violent spasms and pain from the gallstone blocking her bile duct. She wanted to laugh but couldn't, leaving her even more miserable and conflicted.

"That's all I've got!"

Li Bai spread his hands helplessly. Besides his gift of gab, he had no other tricks.

Dong Keyan rolled her eyes hard. The pain hit again, sending her into fresh torment, and she gasped, "Take me to the hospital."

The mental victory method had worked, but for less than five seconds before it fell apart.

No question about it—the anchor girl was defeated by the psychiatrist, and it was a total KO.

"Fine!"

Li Bai decided to see it through. He waved over a server: "Check, please. Swip my card!"

What a headache. Those Thai people were something else!