"Young master, you're back!"
At the Drunken Immortal Tower, a famous restaurant in the capital, the shopkeeper was overjoyed the moment he saw a young swordsman walk in. He hurried out from behind the counter to greet him.
The newcomer was none other than Leader Zhao, who had brought Wang Hao back to the capital.
"Uncle Wang, have you and my father been well these past two years?"
"Thanks to you, young master, this old man has stayed hale and hearty, and the master is doing even better. It's just that for the past two years, the master has kept saying he wants you to hurry back and marry Miss Sun and consummate the marriage, so he can hold a grand-"
Uncle Wang replied with a smile, but before he could finish, Leader Zhao impatiently cut him off.
"Take this lad to the back to wash up, and have him change into some presentable clothes while you're at it. I'll take him to see my father tonight."
Leader Zhao pointed at Wang Hao, who was standing behind him. This was the main reason he had brought Wang Hao here first.
After all, they were dusty and travel-worn, hardly fit to meet anyone.
"Xiao Dezi, take this honored guest to a room in the back to wash up, then go to the Elegant Comfort Pavilion across the street and have a few sets of clothes tailored for him."
Uncle Wang said nothing more and gave the order directly to a waiter following behind him.
"Honored guest, please follow me!"
The waiter gestured to Wang Hao and headed toward the back of the restaurant. Wang Hao glanced at Leader Zhao, then set down the bundle on his back and followed close behind. He did indeed need a wash.
"Uncle Wang, prepare him something to eat in a little while. Oh, and don't serve him wine and dishes. Some steamed flatbread will do; he loves it most."
Leader Zhao specifically told Uncle Wang not to prepare expensive wine and dishes for Wang Hao, or he would be eaten out of house and home.
Although this was his family's restaurant, it was under his eldest sister's name. Eating a few small dishes was fine, but if he spent too much, he would still have to pay.
With that, Leader Zhao didn't wait for Uncle Wang to speak. He hoisted the large bundle Wang Hao had put down onto his shoulder and strode out of the restaurant. He really was afraid of hearing the old man nag him about his marriage.
Naturally, he intended to return to the Blood Robe Tower first to report what had happened and sound things out. Then he would discuss Wang Hao with his father and try to bring him under his father's command.
After all, the Blood Robe Tower was no monolith. It was divided into nine major halls, and his father was the master of one.
A person with heaven-defying talent like Wang Hao naturally had to be brought into his own hall.
And there were those local specialties... Well, they could be called local specialties for now. He had to deliver them too. After all, he had accepted the swords people had given him, so naturally he had to get the job done for them.
Otherwise, once that lad grew up and learned of it, a rift might form between them.
"Ah, this feels great!"
Wang Hao lay in the enormous bathtub, his face full of bliss.
Earlier, they had not stopped for even a moment in their rush to reach the capital. Leader Zhao had been fine, riding a fine steed, but Wang Hao had been another matter.
With his build, there wasn't a horse in all of Chaoyang City that he could ride, while a carriage would have been too slow.
In the end, he had no choice but to run at full tilt. Fortunately, his body-hardening skills were formidable, and with a few little tricks inherited from his past life in the Primordial Wilderness, he had managed to keep going.
He had raced a hundred li in three hours and reached the capital.
By then, he had been covered in foul-smelling sweat, which had stuck to him most uncomfortably in the summer heat. Now, soaking in a hot bath, he felt indescribably comfortable.
Little Erha floated happily on the surface too, paddling away with four little paws.
That's right, he hadn't entrusted Little Erha to Qing'er and Wu Tai. He had decided to raise the little one himself.
He had already gathered so many local specialties that his personal crisis could be considered resolved. Things would surely be much more peaceful for a while, so bringing the little one along was no trouble.
"Honored guest, these are the clothes and food prepared for you. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave!"
The waiter who had led him in earlier came back into the room and set several folded outfits and a basket of steamed flatbread on the table.
"Mm, wait. What's in that basket?"
Wang Hao turned his head and immediately spotted the basket of steamed flatbread, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.
He knew what steamed flatbread was. His predecessor had even eaten it often. It was one of the cheapest foods around, somewhat like the guokui of Huaxia on Earth.
But the Drunken Immortal Tower seemed to be famous throughout the capital. Serving something like steamed flatbread was beneath its standing, wasn't it?
"Steamed flatbread! The shopkeeper specifically told me to go out and buy it. He said it was your favorite."
The waiter looked utterly baffled, unable to understand Wang Hao's expression.
"..."
Black lines covered Wang Hao's forehead. After a moment's thought, he understood what had happened.
That cheapskate Leader Zhao was definitely behind it.
"All right, you can go."
He waved the waiter away in frustration, no longer in the mood to continue his bath. He got up, dried himself off, and changed into one of the outfits.
It had to be said, the waiter had a good eye. He had taken Wang Hao's measure with just a few glances, and the clothes fit him quite well. The materials were all excellent, top-quality goods too.
Once dressed, Wang Hao picked Little Erha up in his arms and left the room, heading toward the restaurant at the front.
As for that basket of steamed flatbread, whoever wanted it could eat it. He certainly wouldn't touch it.
It wasn't that he was a picky eater. Flour-based foods simply contained too little energy. Even if he ate the whole basket, the energy he got wouldn't equal that of a single chicken leg. His brain would have to be on the fritz for him to eat that stuff!
"Rumble..."
But after he had taken only a few steps, a thunderous rumble suddenly came from his stomach, bringing him to an abrupt halt.
After a moment's silence, he turned back to the room, picked up the basket of flatbread, and walked out again.
Though the stuff didn't contain much energy, it could at least take the edge off his hunger.
Right now, he was utterly penniless. He had given all his money to Wu Tai and Qing'er so they could head south and establish themselves.
He had thought that once he followed Leader Zhao to the capital, he wouldn't have to worry about food or drink. Who could have guessed the man was such a cheapskate?
If he had known, he should have kept a banknote for food expenses.
Full of frustration, Wang Hao carried the basket to the restaurant at the front. As he listlessly gnawed on a steamed flatbread, he looked around for a sucker to fleece for a meal.
Before long, Wang Hao found a suitable target!
At a table near a window on the restaurant's third floor sat a handsome young man dressed in luxurious brocade. His table was laden with dishes, but he paid them no attention. He merely drank the fine wine from his flask, a troubled look on his face.
Without being told, Wang Hao could see that this had to be a man wounded by love.
"No, as a new man of the new era with the four virtues, I have to go over and counsel him, lest he do something foolish later. Besides, drinking harms the body. I can't let him keep drinking!"
After a few righteously delivered words of self-hypnosis, Wang Hao tossed aside the basket in his hand and walked over with Little Erha in his arms.
"Brother, you seem troubled. But drinking alone only means drowning your sorrows in wine; drinking with someone else can dispel them. You don't mind if I join you for a drink, do you?"
He sat down across from the handsome young man and put on the gentle smile of a caring man, though his eyes had long since fixed on the table full of food and wine.
The man wasn't eating it anyway, so the food and wine would only go to waste. Wang Hao might as well use them to fill his stomach.
"You want to drink with me? Good, drink!"
The handsome young man, his eyes already bleary with drunkenness, gave Wang Hao a bewildered look. Without another word, he handed him a flask.
"Good, drink!"
Wang Hao took the flask of fine wine and drained it in one gulp. When he saw the handsome young man opposite him pick up his own flask for another drink, Wang Hao hurriedly reached out and snatched it away. "You've already had so much. It's my turn to drink!" he declared righteously.
With that, he lifted the lid and drained the flask in one gulp.
"Good, drink!"
The handsome young man was too muddled to react. Instead, he pushed every flask beside him over to Wang Hao.
Wang Hao refused none of them and drank every drop of wine in the flasks.
This sort of thing was nothing to him. The Qi-circulation Secret Method for accelerating digestion that he had inherited from his past life in the Primordial Wilderness could not only speed up the digestion of food, but also the breakdown of things like wine.
So, if he wished, he could drink wine as though it were plain boiled water.
Of course, while he drank, his other hand wasn't idle. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks and fell upon the dishes, his chopsticks flying. Before long, every last scrap of food and drop of wine on the table had disappeared.
"Brother, the food and wine are all gone. You should head home now!"
Wang Hao wiped his mouth and prepared to leave in search of his next sucker.
But before he could go, the handsome young man grabbed his sleeve and slurred, "Don't go. Food and wine... there's more!"
He then called to the waiter bustling about on the third floor, "Waiter, bring another table of food and wine!"
"Right away, honored guest. Please wait a moment. Your food and wine will be here shortly."
The waiter promptly agreed, displaying excellent professional conduct, then dashed off to the kitchen.
Before long, he came running back with a large wine jar and set it on the table. Smiling, he said, "Honored guest, please enjoy the wine first. The dishes will be ready shortly."
"Come on, drink!"
He shoved the wine jar in front of Wang Hao. It seemed he had grown addicted to drinking with him.
"Brother, too much wine is bad for your health. It's not good to drink too much."
Looking at the wine jar before him, Wang Hao felt conflicted.
It wasn't that he couldn't drink it. Rather, the Drunken Immortal Tower's prices seemed quite high. Earlier, he could use the excuse of preventing waste to help the man clear the table, costing him nothing, but that wouldn't work a second time.
"Clang!"
"Drink, or die!"
The handsome young man seemed to have gotten angry. He drew the longsword on the table and pressed it against Wang Hao's neck, cutting a gash into it. Blood immediately welled up.
"Brother, isn't drawing your sword going too far?"
Wang Hao was secretly annoyed. He was only trying to scrounge a meal and hadn't hurt the man. Bringing out a weapon was going too far.
He had only held back because the man was likely wounded by love and in a bad mood, and was drunk besides. Otherwise, he would have kicked him long ago.
Did he really think Master Hao was made of clay?
"Less... less talk. Drink!"
The drunken handsome young man still insisted that Wang Hao drink. He even pressed a little harder with his longsword, deepening the wound on Wang Hao's neck.
"Fine, I'll drink. As long as you have enough money, I'll swallow down however much food and wine you bring!"
This time, Wang Hao was truly angry. Laughing in fury, he sat down, tore the seal off the wine jar, and drank it down in one go.
"Hmph! The famous-hic-the famous Sun... Sun Commercial Firm in the capital belongs to my family. I can't af... afford the wine? What a joke!"
Seeing that Wang Hao knew what was good for him, the handsome young man put away his sword and spoke disdainfully of his family's considerable wealth.
"Oh! So you're a rich second-generation heir! But having wine without food just won't do!"
Wang Hao smiled, a very happy, somewhat wicked smile.
He was setting a trap for the man!
"Waiter, I'm... I'm booking your whole restaurant today. Have every... every... one in the kitchen cook for me!"
"Right away, honored guest. Please wait a moment. Your dishes will be brought up shortly."
The waiter bustling about on the third floor was overjoyed. He loved generous customers like this most.
"Since you say so, I can rest easy!"
Wang Hao smiled once more and secretly asked Xiao Mengmeng in the System Space, Xiao Mengmeng, are you sure this dog blood can let me awaken my Bloodline Power and condense a Bloodline Divine Ability?