Lin Feng was dozing in a rocking chair inside the shop, in an especially good mood after the day's earnings.
Thirty Gourmet Points wasn't much, but at least it was a start. That was a good sign.
If things kept going this way, it wouldn't be long before he met the basic requirements to unlock the System Mall!
That's right!
The truth was, Lin Feng hadn't even unlocked the System Mall yet. According to the system:
[This useless host is completely broke (in points). Even if I unlock the mall for you, you won't be able to afford a thing.] [Therefore, this system has set the most basic requirement for unlocking the mall: one hundred thousand points!] [So do your best to earn points from those leeks!]
Lin Feng was thinking about the rewards in the mall and just about to drift off to sleep.
Suddenly, he heard some commotion outside, along with the voices of the three little leeks from that afternoon.
"Don't break down the door!"
Hearing Yan's anguished roar, Lin Feng's eyelid twitched. What the hell was going on?
The panic and fear in that voice made it sound as if someone were about to tear his shop apart.
A jumble of noises followed: crashes, arguments, and Hu Liena's breathless attempts to stop someone.
"Grandpa Ju... you... you really can't act on impulse..."
Grandpa Ju?
Could Chrysanthemum Douluo have come?
At the thought, Lin Feng sprang up in his rocking chair, secretly delighted.
It looked like his performance that afternoon had been a success. The three little ones must have gone back and told someone what happened, then brought him along to see for himself.
The thought of a big client at the Title Douluo level arriving nearly made Lin Feng burst out laughing.
But then he started to have doubts. From what Hu Liena and the others were saying, it sounded like Chrysanthemum Douluo had come to cause trouble.
Judging by Yan's earlier cry of "Don't break down the door!" and Hu Liena's anxious attempts to stop him, Chrysanthemum Douluo probably didn't believe them and had come to smash the place up.
Still, Lin Feng quickly relaxed. Inside the shop, he was absolutely invincible. Nobody could be his match.
So what if the man was a Title Douluo? On Lin Feng's turf, even a god had to line up and order.
But as a "mysterious senior," he couldn't act too eager.
He still had to maintain his aloof persona. His future pricing authority depended on it.
Just imagine: if the customers saw him rush out in excitement like some country bumpkin who'd never seen the world, wouldn't his image collapse completely?
Suppressing the urge to get up and take a look, Lin Feng stayed in his rocking chair and pretended to sleep.
The noise outside gradually died down. It seemed they were discussing something.
Outside the shop, Hu Liena and the other two were a little afraid, seeing that Chrysanthemum Douluo was getting angry.
In the end, Hu Liena gritted her teeth and summoned her courage to step forward. "Grandpa Ju, please don't rush into anything! How about... how about going inside to see what's going on first?"
"If that senior really is a fraud, you can smash up the shop afterward!"
She was a nervous wreck.
If Chrysanthemum Douluo really fought that mysterious shopkeeper, it wouldn't matter who won. They'd never be able to eat at the shop again.
That was a magical place where they could directly increase their Soul Power!
Xie Yue hurriedly chimed in, "That's right, that's right! You have to catch the adulterers in the act and the thieves with the stolen goods!"
Yan, who was lying on the ground, heard that and struggled to prop himself up. His face still bore the pain from the kick Chrysanthemum Douluo had given him.
"Exactly, Elder Ju. It won't take long to go inside and have a look!"
Hearing all three of them say the same thing, Chrysanthemum Douluo decided it was a pretty good idea.
If he smashed up the shop without a word, people might think he, Chrysanthemum Douluo, was bullying someone.
Besides, Spirit Hall had always insisted on having a just cause. Even when teaching a fraud a lesson, he'd need to catch him in the act.
"Fine. I'll go meet this so-called 'senior.'"
Chrysanthemum Douluo straightened his collar. "If he really is a fraud, just watch what I do to him!"
With that, Chrysanthemum Douluo pushed open the door and entered.
Even in the night, his graceful figure looked especially alluring. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk's as it swept over every corner of the shop.
The old-fashioned decor, clean tables and chairs, landscape painting on the wall... everything seemed perfectly normal. It was just an ordinary little restaurant.
But when his eyes fell on the young man reclining in a rocking chair behind the counter, he froze.
Was... was this the mysterious senior Hu Liena had been talking about?
Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes widened as he carefully sensed the man's aura.
No Soul Power fluctuations!
Not a trace!
This young man, who looked barely over twenty, had no Soul Power that he could sense at all!
"This can't be..." Chrysanthemum Douluo murmured, unable to believe his own senses.
According to Hu Liena and the others, this young shopkeeper had suppressed Yan's Martial Soul Possession with nothing but his pressure. That was something only a high-level Soul Douluo could do.
But the person in front of him...
Chrysanthemum Douluo turned to look at Hu Liena and the others behind him, suspicion in his eyes.
Hu Liena understood his look and nodded, confirming that this was the man.
At that moment, Chrysanthemum Douluo caught that exceptionally tempting fragrance again. It was exactly the same as the one he'd smelled on the street.
"I see."
Chrysanthemum Douluo suddenly understood, stroking his chin with a delicate, orchid-pointing finger.
This guy was probably a mental-type Soul Master, just like Hu Liena.
And he wasn't weak. He could conceal his Soul Power fluctuations perfectly.
Chrysanthemum Douluo sneered inwardly.
He was good at putting on an act, all right. Too bad he'd run into Chrysanthemum Douluo!
Of course, Chrysanthemum Douluo knew there was another possibility.
Perhaps the other man had reached the level of the Grand Elder of Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu, returning to the natural state of simplicity. That would explain why Chrysanthemum Douluo couldn't sense his Soul Power fluctuations at all.
But seeing that the man looked no more than twenty, Chrysanthemum Douluo immediately dismissed the possibility.
Noticing someone had entered the shop, Lin Feng half-opened one eye and glanced at Chrysanthemum Douluo, just as he had when Hu Liena and the others came in.
"The menu's on the table. Order whatever you want."
Then he closed his eyes again and went back to dozing, showing no special reaction at all just because the customer was a Title Douluo.
The only slight flaw was the faint upward curl at the corner of Lin Feng's mouth...
Seeing Lin Feng's calm, unruffled demeanor, Chrysanthemum Douluo nearly laughed in anger.
Ignoring Hu Liena and the others frantically signaling him, he sneered, "You're quite good at putting on an act. Let's see how long you can keep it up!"
As he spoke, Chrysanthemum Douluo walked straight to the table and snatched up the menu.
But in the next moment, he froze completely.
Golden characters were slowly appearing on the menu, which had been blank just a moment ago:
"Level 9 Menu (Mid-Grade)"
Staples:
Cloud Marsh Thousand-Silk Silver Thread Noodles: 8,000 Gold Soul Coins.
Dragon Blood Glutinous Coral Rice: 8,500 Gold Soul Coins.
(Omitted below)
Vegetables:
Glazed Heart Fruit Salad: 8,500 Gold Soul Coins.
Flawless Pure Lotus Root: 8,800 Gold Soul Coins.
(Omitted)
Meat dishes:
Grilled Thunder Rhino Ribs: 10,000 Gold Soul Coins.
Icebound Valley Frostwolf Heart Stew: 11,500 Gold Soul Coins.
Starlight Mottled Pheasant: 12,000 Gold Soul Coins.
(And so on)