Transcending Dreams - D2 - Chapter 40

There were times when his physical age was at the front of his mind, and this was one of them.

With Lan Yang and Wang Xiaoling on either side of him, it felt like he was their much younger brother… or with how young most cultivators looked while centuries old, their son.

It also didn’t help that they kept giving each other looks filled with suspicion over his head, using him as a living divider. So, really, it looked like he was the son that was keeping a failed marriage together.

“Do you know what we’re having for lunch?” William cringed internally, his attempt to break the silence only making it worse. Now, it looked like he was the child asking what he would be given for food.

Wang Xiaoling understood his pain if the smirk she had on her face was anything to go by. Still, she spared him from further embarrassment, likely because Lan Yang was there.

“It’s a surprise for me, too,” Wang Xiaoling replied. “Fatty Xu tries to make dishes that I have never tasted before.”

“That sounds amazing,” William admitted, thinking about how luxurious it would have been if a cook like that followed him around. “Where did you find him, Sister Xiaoling. Fatty—Er, Brother Xu is very talented.”

“If you can believe it, I found him in the middle of the road,” Wang Xiaoling tilted her head in thought. “Come to think of it, it was just like how I found you, except I actually ran Fatty Xu over.”

William winced at the ending, but he could believe it. He could easily visualize Wang Xiaoling running Fatty Xu over due to some perceived insult, and he could also believe that somehow led to her gaining an unmatched cook.

It had to be her Luck playing a huge factor. Still, he had to ask. “How did he end up working for you?”

“To repay me for breaking my wagon, of course,” Wang Xiaoling replied, as if that was normal.

To her, it might be, but at least Lan Yang felt the same as him. They were both giving Wang Xiaoling puzzled looks.

“Merchant Wang,” Lan Yang cleared his throat, “where is your companion cooking for you?”

“Some restaurant,” Wang Xiaoling waved her hand at the nearing exit. “They begged Fatty Xu to take over the kitchen after he agreed to teach them a few tricks.”

“… What’s the name of the restaurant?”

“No idea,” she shrugged. “Must not be good if Fatty Xu is better than their cooks. He hasn’t even been trained by a master!”

William had a feeling it was very much the opposite. Everything Wang Xiaoling touched turned into gold, and this shouldn’t be any different. Besides, whatever the truth was, they would find out soon enough.

They passed through the exit of the auction house.

“Disciple Yang. Done already?” It was the elder who acted as a guard.

“We’ll return, Elder,” Lan Yang bowed. “We’re heading out for lunch.”

“Hm,” the elder glanced at William and Wang Xiaoling without a change in expression. “Be sure to have your junior accompany you.”

“Of course,” Lan Yang nodded his head. “Thank you for the reminder.”

Wang Xiaoling led them to the restaurant, which happened to be located the past the auction house. An area William had never seen.

Stolen novel; please report.

Unlike the entertainment district, with numerous small shops and Jade Healing Sect disciples making up the whole crowd, this was the opposite.

In place of small teahouses, there were restaurants many times their size; in place of the eateries, there were hotels that looked to be meant for the ultra-wealthy. While some people in the area belonged to the Jade Healing Sect, most were guests from other sects.

“So, the terrible restaurant is here?” William was proud that he asked that calmly.

Wang Xiaoling nodded, looking a bit lost. “It’s here somewhere. The sect placed me in a nice hotel. The restaurant was right in front of it.”

“The Celestial,” Lan Yang interrupted. “Is that the name of the hotel?”

“That’s it!” Wang Xiaoling clapped. “You know where it is?”

“You’re saying that your companion has replaced the head chef in the restaurant across from that hotel?” Lan Yang asked, ignoring her question and asking his own.

“I think so,” Wang Xiaoling frowned. “The man who saw Fatty Xu cooking said he was the head chef. Whatever it is, we’ll find out when you lead us there.”

Lan Yang grunted in agreement and took the lead. Restaurants and hotels weren’t the only buildings in the area. There were the occasional teahouses, some that resembled massage parlors, and small, fairly common shops that sold pills.

“Senior Yang, is this area only for the visitors?”

Lan Yang nodded as they arrived at a guard post. “Yes, this is where they are free to explore. That freedom ends at the auction house. Beyond there, a sect member will need to accompany them.”

“Show your pass.”

William glanced at the basic status of the guard who spoke to Lan Yang.

[Name: ? | Level: ?]

Another nascent soul realm cultivator acting like a common guard. He could only assume that this overkill protection would only be for the duration of the annual auction.

“I let a friend borrow mine, Elder,” Lan Yang said apologetically. “But you know me.”

“Hm,” the guard, who was also an elder, grunted, though it was with a small smile. “You can enter.”

“Thank you, Elder,” Lan Yang bowed before motioning for them to follow him.

“Not bad, Yang,” Wang Xiaoling spoke a few seconds later. “Looks like you’re someone of status. I was told not everyone could pass.”

Lan Yang’s eye twitched at the way he was addressed. He clearly didn’t like that she took his offer to just call him Yang. William hid the smile by pretending a plain-ish teahouse was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Of course I am, Merchant Wang,” Lan Yang stressed. “I passed the examinations to enter Sentinel Peak. There are few places in the sect I don’t have access to.”

“That’s amazing, Yang!” Wang Xiaoling stressed his name back.

William interrupted their needling, not wanting them to talk over him, literally, more than they already were. “This is the place, isn’t it?”

The Celestial didn’t have any signage showing the hotel’s name. However, there was only one extravagantly large building here, and it was easy to guess what it was. More than the building itself, he was surprised to see the massive spirit boats parked at the front of the hotel.

It was similar to what he had seen in his old world, but with expensive cars instead. He was curious about why they weren’t just stored away inside a storage bag or spatial stone, but perhaps that was the wealth of the Jade Healing Sect influencing his thoughts.

After all, such storage devices were usually far more expensive than a spirit boat.

“This is it,” Wang Xiaoling nodded before turning around. “Look! Fatty Xu has already started! Let’s go, Little Liang!”

William still wasn’t used to being called that, but it seemed to be the new normal with Lan Yang around. That quickly left his mind when he saw where she was speed walking to.

He had wondered why he hadn’t seen a stupidly luxurious restaurant on the opposite side of the hotel. He had expected something far more impressive than the only other restaurant he had visited in this world, the Phoenix’s Nest, but it was the exact opposite.

William was staring at the dinkiest of food stalls, with a small crowd waiting in line for food. He guessed it was either because of the food quality or the auction taking most potential customers. Perhaps a combination of the two.

He could see a large body move around behind the stall, cooking while a scruffy-looking man jotted something down. Li Jie was doing his part by taking orders.

“Looks like Sister Xiaoling found the worst—”

“Quiet,” Lan Yang ordered quietly. “That man cost the sect greatly to recruit. Do you know what immortal chefs are, Junior Wei?”

William shook his head, eyes wide as he stared at Fatty Xu with even more confusion than before.

“They are myths that can create dishes that rival the pills of the greatest alchemists. Of course, they aren’t real, but this is the closest our sect can hope for.”

He scratched his head as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening. “If Chef Yi is so amazing, why does Brother Xu look to be better?”

“I don’t know,” Lan Yang stared into the stall. “Let’s have a taste and see for ourselves.”