Ch. 74 – Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

“Guest, you’ve been staring at the menu for quite some time. Have you made your choice? If you can’t make up your mind, why not order our signature seafood porridge? It’s incredibly delicious.” The waiter made a suggestion to the cultivator in slightly tattered clothes, who was sitting by the window.

This person had been sitting here since early morning, staring at the menu. It was unknown what it was about the menu that mesmerized him so, but he still hadn’t made a selection.

Feng Ye glanced at the waiter. He could see the complaints hidden under that polite smile, and couldn’t help but reply silently, What else could I be mesmerized by but the prices on the menu?

The cheapest bowl of porridge here cost three spirit stones. Although the ingredients were said to contain spiritual energy, such a high price was still a bit of a rip-off.

If he had the money, Feng Ye wouldn’t mind being ripped off. Coming to North Sea City was a rare opportunity.

The problem was that he didn’t have the money.

In other words, if the sect wasn’t paying for his nightly accommodations, Feng Ye would have been sleeping on the streets last night.

But although the sect provided accommodations, it was not the same for food. Feng Ye had initially thought that since he still had two spirit stones, although he was poor, he at least wouldn’t starve to death.

However, this was before he saw the menu.

If a less-than-rich breakfast could be sold at such a high price, lunch and dinner were out of the question. He might actually starve to death.

Of course, it wasn’t actually that serious. Although those at Qi Refining stage had not yet adopted the practice of inedia, it wasn’t a big deal to skip a few meals. And Feng Ye wasn’t a Qi Refining cultivator anyway.

Eating was a small matter, but saving face was more important.

Feng Ye felt a little embarrassed after occupying a seat for half the day without ordering any dishes. But since he couldn’t afford anything on the menu, he just held it for a long time without making a selection.

But facing the problem of this waiter now, he had to make a decision.

Just as Feng Ye was about to stand up and say that he had something to do and would forgo a meal, he suddenly caught sight of a small line of words at the bottom of the menu. Because he had been holding the menu with his right hand, his palm had been covering it up. 

Feng Ye’s eyes lit up at the sight of these words: Pot of boiled water – one spirit stone.

They charged spirit stones for a simple pot of boiled water. This establishment was so blackened that no other colors could be seen.

But Feng Ye grasped at this straw in order to save face. There was finally something on the menu that he could afford, and he said to the waiter: “Give me one of these.”

Just when the waiter thought that this dawdling customer had made a decision and looked over happily, he saw the words Feng Ye was pointing to: “A pot of boiled water.”

“That’s it?” the waiter asked in disbelief.

“That’s it.” Feng Ye nodded affirmatively.

The waiter: “…..”

When he saw the cultivator wearing such tattered clothes, he had thought that it was some new fashion in the human world. Human trends were always changing, after all, forever mystifying these sea monsters.

Only now did he realize that it wasn’t a fashion trend at all; it was simply a lack of money.

With a thud, the teapot landed on the table in front of Feng Ye.

“Here is your boiled water.” The waiter maintained his excellent customer service, smiling as he delivered it and smiling as he retreated.

How much he complained about this unprecedentedly poor fellow in his heart, only he knew.

Feng Ye picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup. He wasn’t thirsty, but this pot of boiled water had cost him half his savings, so he should drink it before he left.

Although the prices at this restaurant were high, the quality of the dishes was excellent. It was called boiled water, and it was indeed boiling to the point that it was impossible to drink.

Feng Ye could only blow on the teacup, waiting for the water to cool while he observed the scenery outside the window with some boredom.

He was on the second floor of the building, and below him was the market, which was gradually becoming lively. As the sun rose higher, cultivators who had been resting once again went to the market in high spirits.

The beauty of shopping lay in the word “browsing.” It wasn’t necessary to buy anything, but one must walk around and have a look.

This was the case with Fang Yang and Cao Zirui. They belonged to the same sect, and had stayed at the same inn the previous night. As soon as dawn arrived, Fang Yang ran to wake Cao Zirui, and after an early meal, they went out browsing.

It must be said that Feng Ye was genuinely happy that Fang Yang had made a new friend in Cao Zirui. Otherwise, the person Fang Yang woke up early would have been him.

That naive, innocent child still didn’t realize that the God-Summoning Token was a scam, and had no idea that he’d taken out a loan to purchase a hunk of scrap metal.

This bought Feng Ye more time to come up with a story. This wasn’t actually difficult, but Feng Ye couldn’t break past the psychological barrier. After all, he wasn’t as shameless as Hao Chen.

Had Hao Chen been the one to encounter Feng Ye’s ordeal, it wouldn’t have been a problem for him. He would have simply deceived that silly person, taken the money, and left without another word.

Speaking of Hao Chen, there had been no news of the fish since he was taken away by the crab squad the day before, allowing Feng Ye a rare night of peace and quiet.

I wonder if the crabs discovered his true identity…..

Just as Feng Ye was thinking this, he suddenly spied a familiar face among the crowd walking down below.

Speak of the devil. The moment Feng Ye thought about Hao Chen, he appeared.

Feng Ye didn’t call out to him, but almost at the same time Feng Ye noticed him, Hao Chen raised his head.

Hao Chen smiled when their eyes met, and he turned to walk inside the building.

As his figure disappeared from Feng Ye’s sight, the thump, thump, thump of ascending footsteps reached his ears.

Feng Ye turned his gaze from the scenery outside the window to the stairs.

“Is Fellow Daoist Feng Ye having breakfast?” Hao Chen greeted him immediately upon arriving on the second floor. 

As he spoke, he went straight toward Feng Ye’s table by the window.

Then, without an invitation, he directly took the seat opposite Feng Ye.

Feng Ye sent him a glance, then lowered his head to blow on the teacup of boiling water with an unhurried “En.”

At this reply, Hao Chen was quick to ask: “What did Fellow Daoist Feng Ye eat?”

The table was clear apart from a pot of boiling water. It looked as if he had either finished eating or hadn’t started yet. Hao Chen actually didn’t care much about breakfast. As soon as he exited the hall, Proprietor Crab had treated him with great care and prepared the most luxurious of dishes for him. Naturally, he was well-fed and satisfied.

He was just asking for fun. Some of the most common ways for humans to greet each other were “Have you eaten” and “What did you eat?” He had picked this up to use casually, laying the groundwork before getting to the main topic.

Faced with this question, Feng Ye didn’t raise his head, continuing to stare at the boiled water in the teacup. Seeing that it was almost cool, he gulped it down and looked up, replying seriously: “Boiled water.”

Hao Chen: “……”

He was briefly taken aback before something occurred to him. He then recalled that while he himself was satiated and well-fed, Feng Ye was still struggling to make ends meet.

Hao Chen couldn’t help but tap his mini fan. Now that he had discovered that North Sea City belonged to him, Feng Ye was visiting his territory for the first time and he, as the host, had not been the most hospitable.

Although Feng Ye most likely didn’t know his identity, Hao Chen was very aware of his own position. He knew that he must show courtesy to this person no matter what, so he immediately called the waiter over and glanced at the menu, directly ordering: “Bring all of your signature dishes.”

Thinking that he had run into a big customer, the waiter happily took the menu and went downstairs.

And Feng Ye looked expressionlessly at the smug, praise-seeking look on the fish’s face. He couldn’t help but take a stab at Hao Chen, reminding him: “Fellow Daoist Hao Chen ordered so much. Do you have the money for it?”

Hao Chen: “……”

Silence.

In reality, he had much more than enough. North Sea City belonged to him. How could he be broke?

It was just that…..he had been penniless before, but today he was spending money like water. There was no legitimate excuse for him suddenly becoming rich.

But this didn’t bother Hao Chen. After a moment of silence, he swiftly came up with a reason: “The owner and I hit it off downstairs. He and I got along very well, so he said I can eat as much as I want for free.”

Feng Ye: “…..” How long had this guy been downstairs? Less than a few seconds. Could this lie be any more half-assed?

However, in spite of this perfunctory attitude, Hao Chen’s lie actually received the cooperation of the store owner.

Thanks to the efforts of the crab clan, news of Hao Chen’s arrival had spread throughout North Sea City overnight. Of course, this was limited to the monsters native to the North Sea. The humans were completely unaware.

All shops big and small had been given instructions, and had seen the portrait of their Lord. Therefore, the shop owner noticed him as soon as he walked into the establishment.

Seeing the obvious disbelief on Feng Ye’s face, Hao Chen called up the store owner to testify on his behalf.

Hao Chen repeated what he’d said to Feng Ye, then asked the shop owner: “Am I right?” There was an inexplicable undercurrent of danger in his tone, as if he would turn hostile if the other party denied it.

“Right, right, we hit it off right away.” The shop owner got the hint and nodded hurriedly.

It was just that…..his tone was still overly deferential.

Feng Ye: “……”

“Okay.” Feng Ye held his forehead and didn’t expose this fish’s act.

It would take a while before the food was served, so Feng Ye asked casually: “How did you deal with your wrongful arrest yesterday?”

He knew he wasn’t going to hear the truth, but it was still entertaining to listen to Hao Chen’s stories.

Hao Chen smacked the edge of the table with his fan. He had been waiting for Feng Ye to ask!

Before coming to see Feng Ye, he had already prepared an excellent, detailed story, mainly consisting of how much injustice he had suffered after being arrested in Feng Ye’s place yesterday, and how much effort he put in to escape.

Although he hadn’t been wronged, and Proprietor Crab had been so earnest that he almost cooked himself into a dish to entertain him. And Old Crab Nine’s target had been Hao Chen in the first place. It was purely coincidental that he’d appeared during Feng Ye’s dispute with the sea otters.

But Feng Ye was unaware of this, and Hao Chen wasn’t going to enlighten him. He planned to use this tale to trick Feng Ye into feeling guilty.

Just like he was in the Floating Island Secret Realm. When Hao Chen thought about it later, Feng Ye letting him hold onto him throughout the night was a product of his soft-heartedness, but it also contained an element of guilt.

As long as Feng Ye felt a bit guilty toward him again, it would allow Hao Chen to take advantage of him with justification.

Hao Chen’s animated expression was like that of a storyteller in a teahouse. While a storyteller held a clapping board, Hao Chen held his fan. The sounds they made were equally loud.

Just as he was about to begin telling his carefully-prepared story, the words on the tip of his tongue, he was suddenly interrupted by a thump, thump, thump sound.

Someone was walking up the stairs, very quickly and loudly.

Hao Chen chose to wait for the noise to stop before he spoke.

Feng Ye subconsciously glanced toward the stairs, and found Fang Yang standing there with a serious expression.

Needless to say, the naive, innocent boy must have come to the restaurant to ask his shixiong for an explanation.

Before Fang Yang actually came upstairs, Feng Ye’s short-lived excuses had been sabotaged by his guilty conscience.

All of a sudden, he asked Hao Chen an extremely asinine question: “Where is your fan?”

“Why?” Hao Chen lowered his head to glance at the fan he was holding.

Feng Ye followed his gaze and said directly: “Lend it to me.”

Having said this, he grabbed Hao Chen’s wrist and raised the fan in front of his face, as if no one could see him if he was hiding behind it.

Hao Chen was briefly stunned. Then he looked toward the stairs and noticed Fang Yang’s unusually serious face, and realization hit him in an instant.

Although he didn’t know what had happened between Feng Ye and this naive boy, he reacted very quickly.

Slowly fanning himself a couple of times, he considerately raised his sleeve to shield Feng Ye behind it. His sleeve wasn’t very wide, and the fan only covered a portion of Feng Ye’s face, but everything important was concealed. Except…..Fang Yang recognized him solely by his ragged clothing. He walked straight to the table where the two of them were sitting, placed his hands on the table, and called out sternly: “Shixiong.”

Feng Ye made one last attempt, continuing to shield his face as if Fang Yang had recognized the wrong person.

Hao Chen also cooperated very well, covering Feng Ye’s face with his fan and sleeve as he asked Fang Yang: “Young xiongdi, I’m afraid you’ve recognized the wrong person. In fact, he has an older brother who looks exactly like him…..”

Fang Yang: “……” His serious expression fractured in the wake of this fantastical lie.

Feng Ye, blocked behind Hao Chen: “……”

This person was even less reliable than him, so he had to take up the reins again.

Feng Ye’s reasoning returned to him, and he gave a dry cough, reaching out to press down Hao Chen’s sleeve that was concealing him.

Escaping wouldn’t solve the problem, so Feng Ye decided to bravely face it head on. In a sense, what he’d done the previous night was the same as Hao Chen – both of them making up stories.

Before Hao Chen had a chance to tell the story he’d made up, Feng Ye told his to Fang Yang first. He gave a long speech about the miserable backgrounds of the two sea otters, how he couldn’t bear it and thus helped them sell counterfeit goods.

Fang Yang had to wipe his eyes after hearing this. Sniffling, he said to Feng Ye: “Shixiong, you did the right thing. If it were me, I would have helped them too. They’re just too pitiful. Not only do they have to take care of their sick second brother, but they also have a vicious stepmother and stepfather who don’t give them food.”

The two sea otters did have a sick second brother, but no stepmother or stepfather. The last part was all Feng Ye’s artistic embellishment in order to show that his selling of counterfeit goods was not unjust, but simply an act of helping the weak.

Although the logic behind it wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny at all, what mattered was that Fang Yang believed it.

Even when Feng Ye said that he would repay the one thousand spirit stones later, Fang Yang proactively refused: “This is my way of helping them too, Shixiong. You don’t need to pay it back.”

“Besides, I at least got a token,” Fang Yang sighed, taking out the God-Summoning Token.

Having said that, he still felt a little bad that he had spent a thousand spirit stones on a piece of scrap metal.

Feng Ye thought for a moment, then patted Fang Yang on the shoulder and comforted him: “Look at it this way. Although the chances of success when using a token without a god’s name on it are extremely low, what if you succeed?”

“That seems to make some sense…..” Fang Yang was slightly comforted.

After listening to Feng Ye’s story and gleaning the general truth, Hao Chen suddenly cut in with a smile: “This disposable magic instrument can only be used in a matter of life or death. Even if it fails, at least you would have prayed before you died.”

Fang Yang: “……” This sounded even more reasonable!

The three of them talked for a long time, and the dishes Hao Chen had ordered were delivered one after another. Although Fang Yang had already eaten breakfast, young people who were still growing tended to get hungry quickly.

Feng Ye invited him to eat with them, so he moved a stool over and joined their meal.

Before picking up his chopsticks, Fang Yang looked at the sumptuous dishes on the table and had to ask: “You ordered so many dishes…..isn’t it expensive?”

He had read the menu. Fang Yang, who was one hundred spirit stones in debt, was very frugal. Although he still had a few hundred in his pocket, he had only ordered the cheapest bowl of porridge that morning and wasn’t full at all, which was why he was hungry again so quickly.

The few hundred in his pocket, combined with the money Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage had…..was it enough to pay for even a fraction of the food on this table?

Thinking of this, it was a little difficult for him to use his chopsticks. This felt like a dine-and-dash, as if the owner would soon chase him down and beat him up. 

Fang Yang’s expression was easy to parse, so Feng Ye repeated Hao Chen’s words about being friends with the owner at first sight.

Hao Chen nodded repeatedly, and added once Feng Ye was done speaking: “Just like me and Fellow Daoist Feng Ye. We hit it off at first sight when we first met at Lingxiao Sword Sect.”

As Hao Chen spoke, he sent a smile at Feng Ye. Feng Ye poured himself a cup of water and pretended not to notice.

Neither of them noticed anything wrong with this sentence, but Fang Yang did.

“First met? Lingxiao Sword Sect?” Fang Yang wore a puzzled expression. “Weren’t you already close friends who’d known each other for a long time?” When the two of them saw each other at Lingxiao Sword Sect, hadn’t Hao Chen come to visit his close friend?

Feng Ye: “……”

Hao Chen: “……”

It was over. They’d forgotten about their deception.

Faced with Fang Yang’s puzzled expression, Feng Ye was momentarily unable to come up with a suitable excuse. Thus, he picked up his teacup with a guilty conscience and tried to divert Fang Yang’s attention by drinking.

After a moment’s thought, Hao Chen suddenly came up with an exceptionally wondrous explanation: “Reuniting after a short time is even sweeter than a newlywed marriage.”

Although they were old friends, they hadn’t seen each other for a long time and felt like newlyweds when next they met, full of freshness, as if they were meeting for the first time. Therefore, they hit it off at first sight.

Feng Ye spat out the water in his mouth.

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Chapter 73 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 75