Both of them were stunned by Huo Yuhao's sales pitch.
"Still buying, miss?" Huo Yuhao prompted.
"Yes, of course! We'll take two."
The girl came to her senses, but instead of reaching for any money, she turned to the boy beside her, eyes wide and face full of pitiful, wounded pleading.
The blue-haired boy sighed helplessly and handed Huo Yuhao a silver coin.
"Thank you for your patronage! It's an honor for my humble little business~"
Huo Yuhao took the money with one hand and passed over the two grilled fish with the other, though inwardly, he was grumbling.
No wonder she didn't even haggle. She's not the one paying...
Still, Huo Yuhao had more or less figured out what sort of people they were. He had a clear idea of where each product at his barbecue shop stood in the market. Five copper coins for a grilled fish was already a steep price, and he had few commoner customers.
Judging by their generosity, they were probably higher-level Soul Masters with some wealth and social standing, giving them plenty of spending power. (Honestly, the original novel's currency system was a complete mess, so this story can only try to make it as logical as possible...)
"Mmm, this is delicious!"
The girl parted her lips and bit off a piece of fish, then her eyes widened, and she began devouring it without a care for appearances.
"Bei Bei, you have some too."
Even as she ate, she remembered to hand the other grilled fish to the boy.
"Yes, yes, Teacher Xiaoya."
Bei Bei smiled helplessly, took the grilled fish bought with his own money from Tang Ya, and began eating.
"This really is good." Bei Bei's eyes lit up.
He had tasted plenty of delicacies from the mountains and seas, yet the grilled fish in his hand held its own against all of them.
He checked again. This really was just an ordinary black carp.
"It's so delicious! Little brother, what did you add? How can ordinary grilled fish taste this good?"
Tang Ya quickly polished off her fish and licked her fingers, still craving more.
"Huh? Thirteen Spices. Haven't you heard of it?"
Huo Yuhao held a grilled fish in one hand and used the other to take another cleaned black carp from his belt to grill over the fire. After all, selling two meant he no longer had enough for himself.
Of course, he could have chosen not to sell them, but Huo Yuhao knew very well that reputation mattered in the food business.
A Storage Soul Tool?
Bei Bei raised an eyebrow, having noticed that detail.
"What's Thirteen Spices?" Tang Ya looked puzzled.
"Oh, you're not from the Star Luo Empire, are you?" Huo Yuhao caught on, realizing he was no longer within the Star Luo Empire's borders.
"No."
"All right." Holding his grilled fish between his teeth, Huo Yuhao took a flyer from his belt and handed it to Tang Ya.
Tang Ya accepted it. "Brother Hao's Barbecue" was emblazoned across the top, followed by advertisements for various promotions.
"Our shop's exclusive secret recipe. Number 40, Sky Star Street, Star Luo City, Star Luo Empire. Thank you for your patronage."
Tang Ya: "..."
"Haha, little brother, we'll definitely stop by if we get the chance," Bei Bei said with a hearty laugh.
"Thank you for your patronage. It's an honor." Huo Yuhao was very pleased with his viral marketing.
Each little sale wasn't worth much, but a reputation was built up bit by bit like this.
Bei Bei finished his grilled fish too, smiled faintly, and asked, "Little brother, let's introduce ourselves. I'm Bei Bei, and she's Tang Ya. Your name is...?"
"Huo Yuhao."
"Little Brother Huo, we're out in the wilderness here, so close to the Star Dou Great Forest. You said you're from the Star Luo Empire, so where are you headed?"
"Just passing through. My destination is Shrek City."
"What are you going to Shrek City for?"
"To open a branch."
Huo Yuhao had a formidable innate skill-talking nonsense.
He could spout nonsense with utter conviction and effortless ease, making it sound like the truth.
Still, this didn't really count as concealment. He was merely telling half the story and keeping his plan to hunt for a Soul Ring to himself.
"Really?"
Hearing Huo Yuhao's answer, Tang Ya cheered.
"Now I'll be able to eat grilled fish this delicious in Shrek City every day!"
Bei Bei: "..."
Apparently still unsatisfied, Tang Ya put on another pitiful expression and looked at Bei Bei.
"Ah..." Bei Bei shook his head helplessly and handed Huo Yuhao several more silver coins. "Little Brother Huo, give us a few more skewers."
And so Huo Yuhao ate as he grilled, only stopping after cooking another seven or eight fish.
"That was delicious! Brother Huo, I'll definitely come support your business in the city every day." Tang Ya stretched contentedly.
Beside her, Bei Bei reminded her, "Teacher Xiaoya, now that you're full, we need to get down to business."
"What's the rush? I'm coming, aren't I? Goodbye, Brother Huo!"
Tang Ya and Bei Bei headed toward the forest.
My upperclassmen, huh.
After chatting with them for a while, Huo Yuhao had learned who they were. They were third-year students at Shrek Academy and would become fourth-years if they passed the tests at the start of the new term.
They had come to the Star Dou Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring for Tang Ya.
Huo Yuhao, however, hadn't revealed that he was a new student himself.
Taking out a serving of homemade milk tea, Huo Yuhao lay on the ground, chilling it as he thought.
He needed to hunt for a Soul Ring too, but Soul Beasts with a mental attribute were so rare. What would he do if he couldn't find one?
Or should he cultivate ice as his primary martial soul and find an ice-attribute Soul Beast?
"Forget it. No point thinking about it. When the cart reaches the mountain, a road will appear!"
Huo Yuhao finished his milk tea, released a chill from his right hand to extinguish the fire, and headed toward the Star Dou Great Forest as well.
"Wow! That was delicious. I really want to recruit Brother Huo into our Tang Sect!" Tang Ya sighed, recalling the lingering flavor of fish on her tongue.
Bei Bei couldn't help quipping, "Teacher Xiaoya, your recruitment standards really are strange."
"Says who? It's not because his grilled fish tastes good!" Tang Ya denied it, blushing. "I noticed he has some Soul Power. It isn't very strong, but the Tang Sect can only recruit disciples like that these days."
Bei Bei wore a meaningful expression. "You might want to recruit him, but he might not think much of us!"
"What do you mean?" Tang Ya sounded displeased. "My judgment can't be wrong. His Soul Power is definitely only around rank ten."
"This Little Brother Huo isn't ordinary." Bei Bei began thinking back. "His Soul Power may be unremarkable, but his physical fitness is far beyond that of Soul Masters at his level. And I'm certain he's hiding secrets."
Two things about Huo Yuhao showed that he wasn't an ordinary person.
The first was his Storage Soul Tool. A commoner family could never afford something like that.
That point alone, however, wasn't particularly convincing.
Bei Bei looked at the flyer Huo Yuhao had given them.
With Brother Huo's knack for making money, buying a few high-grade Storage Soul Tools wouldn't be a problem. It was the second point that truly interested him.
The design on Huo Yuhao's clothes.
A roaring White Tiger stretching over his shoulder.
This Little Brother Huo was presumably from the Star Luo Empire, so there was no way he didn't know what the White Tiger meant there!
Ordinary people, and even the vast majority of Soul Masters, wouldn't dare wear clothes bearing a design like that!
"He really isn't ordinary..."
Bei Bei sighed in admiration, then returned to his languid demeanor.