Mukbang

After trying the meat of dozens of common demonic beasts that were easy to catch, Shen Leyan selected five varieties that tasted the best and were still affordable to serve as the restaurant's signature Hot Pot dishes.

With Qingli supervising and generous pay on offer for helping renovate the Restaurant, the Outer Sect disciples worked eagerly. In just three days, the entire Two-Story Bamboo House had been transformed.

The second floor was set aside for private dining rooms, while the first floor and the waterfront area outside were paved with Bluestone Slabs and furnished with tables and chairs.

The Hot Pot Seasoning station stood outside the kitchen, stocked with dozens of different seasonings.

Next came designing the menu.

Shen Leyan sat cross-legged on the bluestone slabs, working out names for the dishes with Zheng Ziheng and Qingli.

"Let's give the condiment station a name first."

Qingli blinked in confusion. "Can't we just call it the condiment station?"

Shen Leyan shook his head. "Let me ask you something. What's the difference between the vegetable and tofu soup in a Restaurant in the capital and the same soup in a small county town?"

"...The one in the capital costs more?"

"Why does it cost more?"

"Why?"

"On the one hand, land and goods cost more in the capital.

"On the other hand, Restaurants in the capital call vegetable and tofu soup 'Jade and White Jade Soup.' Scholars, poets, high officials, and nobles who like to put on cultured airs hear that name and think it's something special, so they're willing to pay."

"That makes sense..." Realization dawned on Qingli. "So our Restaurant's offerings need to stand out too. The Cloud Radiance Sect is a famous major sect in the cultivation world, after all. We can't let people look down on us!"

"Exactly!"

Zheng Ziheng, who had remained silent beside them, suddenly spoke. "I haven't thought of a name for the condiment station, but how about calling this Seven-Colored Luan Bird meat 'Peacock Flies Southeast'?"

Shen Leyan nodded and swiftly wrote it down.

Qingli was a quick learner and immediately grasped the essence of naming dishes.

"Then the Black-Armored Earth Dragon and Three-Eyed White Tiger platter can be called 'Dragons and Tigers in Contest'!"

In less than an hour, they had named every dish and written them on a large wooden board to hang at the counter as a menu. They also made several menus out of bamboo slips and placed them on the tables.

Shen Leyan hung the wooden sign reading "Delicious Enough to Dip Your Shoe Sole In" on the condiment station, then dusted off his sleeves in satisfaction.

They had tables and chairs, staff, and ingredients. Now they could prepare to open.

"Senior Brother Zheng, I'm planning to open the Restaurant the day after tomorrow, between nine and eleven in the morning. Before that... I'd like to include the opening announcement in the Cloud Radiance Sect's first newspaper."

Zheng Ziheng agreed. "I'll bring you a copy of the printed newspaper to look over later."

"There's one more thing."

"Go ahead, junior brother."

Shen Leyan gathered his words, then spoke quietly.

"Senior Brother Zheng, when you go back, could you ask Sect Master Lu to come for a meal at the Restaurant on opening day—the kind where he makes a big, conspicuous entrance in front of everyone?"

Zheng Ziheng seemed a little surprised. After a moment's hesitation, he said gently, "Knowing Master... I'm afraid he won't agree."

"Senior Brother Zheng..." Shen Leyan caught Zheng Ziheng's sleeve. The boy's dark eyes curved, a bright smile lighting his lips and brows with a touch of affectionate familiarity.

"Senior Brother Zheng... just ask Sect Master Lu for me. Think of it as giving it a try. If he says no, we'll leave it at that."

Getting Lu Yuanyi to eat at the Restaurant would be like hiring a celebrity spokesperson in the modern world—one who precisely matched their target audience, at that.

Zheng Ziheng coughed lightly. His ears reddened a little as he looked away from his junior brother's handsome face and down at his own sleeve, now wrinkled from being tugged.

"...How about this? Repeat what you just said, junior brother. I'll record it with a Reflection Stone and take it straight back for Master to watch. Would that work?"

A Reflection Stone could store images and sound, then replay them when activated with Spiritual Power, much like the video recording function on a modern phone.

Shen Leyan gritted his teeth.

For the Restaurant's revenue, for silver, and for a happy future of traveling wherever he pleased without worrying about food or drink, he would go all out!

Cicada Song Pavilion.

A clear spring bubbled up, its waters flowing slowly down the mountain along a natural stone channel untouched by human hands.

Here and there, fish flicked their tails and frolicked merrily in the clear stream.

Lu Yuanyi sat reclining beside the stream, holding a green bamboo fishing rod. His snow-white silver hair fell loose to his waist, and his phoenix eyes rested on the shimmering water. Something seemed to stir in his dark gold pupils, leaving his expression unreadable.

Zheng Ziheng bowed formally and reported on the restaurant and the newspaper, then presented the Reflection Stone.

"Master, junior brother... he has something to say to you."

"What requires a Reflection Stone? Has he left the Cloud Radiance Sect?"

"No..." Zheng Ziheng's expression was complicated. He only said, "You'll understand once you watch it, Master."

As Spiritual Power activated the Reflection Stone, a screen of light immediately appeared in midair, showing Shen Leyan.

Shen Leyan sat behind a wooden table with a large copper pot on it. Half the pot held a red beef-tallow broth whose pungent chili-oil aroma seemed almost to waft through the screen. The other half held pork-bone stock with a few goji berries floating on top, looking rich and fragrant.

Beside the copper pot stood several plates of prepared ingredients: fish sliced as thin as cicada wings, vegetables freshly picked from the garden with frost still clinging to them, and marinated slices of meat streaked with fat...

The boy on the screen beamed, his peach-blossom eyes tilting upward like those of a crafty little fox.

"Sect Master Lu, you've gone without food for so long. Let this disciple taste some delicious things on your behalf."

Lu Yuanyi's thin lips curved slightly. He glanced sideways at his disciple. "What is he up to now?"

Zheng Ziheng lowered his head and pressed his lips together to hide his smile.

"I... shouldn't say."

The scene on the screen continued. Shen Leyan picked up a slice of meat and began explaining with great solemnity.

"This meat is sliced very thinly, so it doesn't need to cook for long. Just dip it into the pot seven times and lift it out eight times, and it's ready to eat."

"All right, the meat's cooked. Dip it in plenty of sesame paste and chili oil, and—mmm, delicious!!!"

"This fish is tender, fresh, and silky. The slices are delicious, but these handmade fish balls are even springier and chewier..."

"You can also wrap the meat in vegetables. It's refreshing and not greasy..."

"If it gets too spicy, have a cup of taro milk tea or this herbal tea. One sweet, cool mouthful, and you'll be ready for another ten plates..."

The boy polished off his Hot Pot meal in a whirlwind, then grabbed a cloth to wipe his mouth.

"That's all for today's mukbang. My little restaurant opens the day after tomorrow, between nine and eleven in the morning. Would you like to come and try it, Sect Master Lu?"

"If you come, Sect Master Lu, every dish is free! Since Restaurant splits its earnings fifty-fifty with the sect, you simply have to come!"

After saying that, Shen Leyan made several heart gestures, and the Reflection Stone's recording ended.

For a moment, Cicada Song Pavilion was frighteningly quiet.

Zheng Ziheng looked up to check his master's expression. He was still as impassive as ever, his gaze lingering on the stream without any sign of a reaction.

"...Master?"