When Tuoba Xi's voice, brimming with boundless longing and resolve, faded away, everyone's gaze instinctively converged on him.
Lin Feng was already celebrating inwardly.
Well, well.
This leek had a keen sense of enlightenment!
He'd ordered a dish with all the epic gravitas of a pilgrimage.
Yet Lin Feng's face remained as impassive as ever.
His gaze casually swept over Tuoba Xi's old face, etched with nervousness and anticipation.
"Fine."
The single word was tossed out lightly, yet weighed a thousand jun.
It seemed to contain the heavenly principle that words could shape reality. In an instant, it settled Tuoba Xi's heart, which had been hanging in midair, safely back into his chest.
After speaking, Lin Feng didn't spare him another glance.
He turned and walked straight toward the kitchen at an unhurried pace.
In everyone's eyes, his retreating figure seemed increasingly inscrutable, as though it bore the karma and fortunes of the entire world.
Tuoba Xi let out a long breath.
It trembled with unmistakable relief.
He slowly sat down, his back ramrod straight. All the tension and unease vanished from his aged face, leaving only absolute reverence and anticipation.
Meanwhile, Spirit Kite Douluo finally set down her bowl and chopsticks.
She contentedly wiped her little mouth.
Her pretty, disheveled face was flushed from the exquisite flavor.
That ultimate delicacy seemed to plaster a thick layer of cast over her soul, which had just been publicly executed and shattered into pieces.
She still creaked when she walked, but at least she'd been put back together.
Good food really was the cure for everything.
But when she unconsciously raised her head and her gaze once again met that inscrutable figure heading toward the kitchen, another scene surfaced in her mind against her will.
That dark-gold Soul Bone, suspended in midair.
And Demon Bear Douluo's near-mad delight and prostration.
A thought, like a demonic claw reaching out from the abyss, silently coiled around her soul.
"I... spent money too."
In her heart, she murmured in a voice that even she barely recognized.
Since I spent money...
Then, according to the rules here...
Could I also try my luck at the lottery?
Draw... a Soul Bone like Magic Bear's?
The moment the thought was born, it was like a demonic seed dropped into a still lake. It instantly took root and sprouted, its vines growing wildly until they covered her entire heart!
It greedily devoured her "pure foodie" composure, squeezing into every inch of space that belonged to reason.
Yes, the food here was so delicious she was willing to abandon everything for it.
It was her only solace.
But!
But!
If...
If she could enjoy this unparalleled delicacy and, while she was at it, get a Soul Bone powerful enough to drive every Title Douluo on the continent mad...
Wouldn't that make her even happier?
No!
That would be double the happiness, multiplied by double the happiness!
Spirit Kite Douluo's breath turned hot and ragged.
Against her will, her mind conjured Yan's face, twisted with laughter, then Tuoba Xi's strange expression as he tried to laugh but didn't dare...
Finally, the scene froze on her own vacant, despairing face, with two glistening noodles dangling from her nostrils!
But with a Soul Bone, everything would be different!
If Spirit Kite Douluo could get a Soul Bone rarer and more powerful than Magic Bear's!
Who would dare gossip behind her back about the disgraceful incident with noodles hanging from her nose?!
Who would dare remember that ridiculous scene?!
Power!
Absolute power, enough to crush all the rumors!
At the thought, a new and even more blazing fire lit the Phoenix-like eyes that had only just regained their sparkle!
She clenched her teeth and made up her mind almost instantly.
The next moment, she began counting her Gold Soul Coins from her Storage Soul Tool without the slightest hesitation.
Her movements were swift, even touched with impatient reverence.
She would wait.
Wait until Tuoba Xi was done.
Then she would go straight to the counter—right away, this very moment—and stand before that mysterious senior...
To welcome the tremendous fortune that was hers!
The simple curtain at the kitchen entrance was gently lifted by a hand.
Lin Feng emerged once more, unhurried.
In his hands was an ordinary wooden tray, yet it seemed to carry three suns, blazing so brightly that no one dared look directly at it!
The first dish was Golden Dragon Whisker Noodles.
The strands were fine as hair, pure flowing gold, each distinct, as though they'd been drawn from divine metal.
Even just sitting in the bowl, they exuded a faint draconic majesty that seemed to freeze the air!
The second dish was Holy Light Qilin Arm.
It was a beast's forelimb, roasted to a perfect amber hue. Holy light shimmered across its skin, and one could just make out mysterious runes, appearing and disappearing within.
The rich aroma of meat and the sacred aura blended perfectly, forming a contradictory temptation that made even the soul tremble!
Last came a jug of wine.
Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Brew.
The jug was ordinary celadon, but the liquid within was a viscous dark red, like molten lava, radiating a surging vitality!
When Lin Feng set the three dishes down one by one before Tuoba Xi,
Tuoba Xi's weather-beaten old face went completely rigid.
He didn't even dare breathe!
He feared his breath might blow away the divine light lingering around the dishes!
But this solemn atmosphere lasted less than three seconds.
Then a sudden, muffled crash, mixed with the clink of Gold Soul Coins, brutally tore it apart!
"Bang!"
A fiery figure practically swept to the counter on a gust of fragrance, charging forward without a care.
It was Spirit Kite Douluo.
Still flushed, she set a heavy, bulging money pouch down on the counter!
Her chest heaved, her breathing was ragged, and her beautiful Phoenix-like eyes fixed on Lin Feng, still lounging in his rocking chair.
Her gaze was no longer mere longing. It was a mixture of humiliation, unwillingness, and the frenzy of a gambler staking everything she owned!
She would use an even greater victory to wash away the disgrace that had just been etched into history!
Her voice trembled with excitement, yet rang out with startling clarity for everyone to hear.
"Senior, I want to try my luck too!"
Lin Feng opened one eye a sliver. His gaze was as calm as an ancient well as it casually swept over the woman at the counter, breathing hard, her face practically screaming, I'm going to win it all back.
But inside, a different scene was unfolding.
[Tsk, already broken?]
[So much for being a pure foodie. I thought this leek was some noble variety, but she still couldn't escape the irresistible allure of a Soul Bone.]
Sure enough, the next moment, the system's cold, snide voice rang out in his mind, carrying a trace of delight.
[ Ding! Host, you little nobody, see that? ]
[ This system told you long ago: in the face of a fortune capable of defying fate, so-called principles and restraint are as fragile as a sheet of toilet paper. ]
[ Look at her now. Doesn't she look like a gambler who's lost every last chip and is about to wager even her underwear? ]
The corner of Lin Feng's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly, then he forcibly suppressed it.
[Shut up and count the money.]
He replied lightly in his heart.
Facing Spirit Kite Douluo's practically smoldering gaze, Lin Feng merely raised his chin languidly.
The movement was almost imperceptible.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the heavy money pouch on the counter vanished into thin air without warning.