The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 498 - 289 11111

So 15 minutes later, they were already standing in front of what was purported to be the best local eatery. The sign here wasn’t the largest, nor was the facade the most ornate; even the walls inside the dining hall were somewhat shabby. However, the place was indeed packed with diners, most of them eating so heartily that they were sweating profusely.

They just managed to snag the last private dining room. The view here was actually quite nice—a breeze traveled through the hall, bringing with it a gentle coolness, and outside the window was a clear pond with lotus flowers as large as bowls in full, vibrant bloom.

No sooner had they taken their seats than Ning Xiaoxian said to the clerk, "Bring us one of each of your specialty dishes to start with."

The clerk blinked, thinking he had heard wrong: "Miss, we have over twenty signature dishes here."

"Right. One of each for now, and I’ll order more if it’s not enough." She pulled out two gold leaves from her purse and placed them on the table, then took out two ingots of broken silver and stuffed them into the clerk’s hand. His round face immediately got even rounder.

Wealthy patrons like to make a grand display. Not to mention the two of them dining, even if the little bird on this young lady’s shoulder came in to eat on its own and ordered every dish in the eatery, it wouldn’t matter.

With the gold leaves thrown down, the dishes indeed came to the table like a flowing stream. After a couple of bites, Ning Xiaoxian knew that the ruffian had indeed not led her astray. The spicy, skin-on snake dish they made here even had chili sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, green and red peppers all braised fiercely; and after a big flame, they still needed a low flame to thoroughly infuse the flavor. Drizzled with sauce and placed on the table, the plump sections of snake glistened bright red, and as you followed the texture and took a bite, the tender snake meat dissolved into aroma on the tip of the tongue.

Another signature dish here turned out to be simply sliced duck, said to be the top dish on the private menu of a chef from Bing State. You see, this city is surrounded by mountains but lacks water, so raising ducks is no easy feat. And the ducks used for this dish need to eat fresh-water fish, shrimps and small insects when they’re young. Once they start growing feathers at two months old, they’re cooped up and made to eat a lot without much exercise, akin to force-feeding, so that after another twenty days, they become qualified meat ducks, with a thin layer of fat between the skin and meat. Once cooked simply sliced, the meat is "rich and thick, with skin white and crisp," a description that truly fits. Served with a dipping sauce of ginger and green onions, it leaves an infinite aftertaste in the mouth. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Just this one dish alone costs fifteen silver taels.

The rest of the dishes, including rabbit head stew, roasted lamb leg, crispy pork in soy sauce, preserved vegetable pork belly and so on, added up to indeed over twenty dishes. There was even a fried sweet dish called "Honey Three Cuts"; the table was almost too small to hold it all. Knowing that the White Tiger was fond of meat, she couldn’t be bothered to order any vegetarian dishes for him, serving up nothing but big fish and meat.

As they ate and drank, a clamor suddenly came from outside.

First came the crisp sound of a slap, followed by the indignant scolding of a young man: "How daring! The ’A’ private room has always been reserved for me. How could you rent it out to somebody else today?" Although the man was cursing out loud, his voice clearly lacked inner strength; at the ends of his sentences, his intonation frivolously rose, causing Ning Xiaoxian to frown at the sound.

The clerk responded with a mournful tone, "Mr. Wu, you usually arrive by evening. Today, by the time the moon was high, you still hadn’t come, and the shopkeeper thought you weren’t coming at all, so we let someone else in to have a seat."

The ’A’ private room? Could it be the one they were sitting in?

Indeed, a string of footsteps approached their direction. She counted silently in her heart, one two three four five... Yes, there were six people.

A few moments later, the curtain to the private room was lifted, and several people came in. The lead figure was a young man in his early twenties, frail in stature. Though he had a clear and handsome face, his steps were faltering, clearly just a mortal.

"I’ve booked this room for a year, you all..." He began to speak and exhale, confirming to Ning Xiaoxian that this was indeed the person who was beating someone up outside. But then, as soon as he got a clear look at the people in the room, his words "you, you" repeated several times, but he couldn’t continue further.

Ning Xiaoxian caught sight of Mr. Wu’s gaze landing on White Tiger, who was indulging in gluttony, and it simply wouldn’t leave him. With her keen eyesight, she could even see the man swallowing a gulp of saliva.

Though he was captivated by the beauty before him, the beauty wasn’t her, but a "he"! This kind of gaze has a name: "stunned as if seeing a Heavenly Person." However, she had only seen this expression when men gazed at women, unaware that men could cast such a look upon other men. She was enlightened.

Turns out he’s a playboy smitten with spring fever.

Ning Xiaoxian fought hard to suppress the urge to burst into laughter, and gave White Tiger a kick under the table. The one who was intently focused on his food and drink looked up obliviously, still with a chicken leg in his mouth. She clenched her teeth to hold back the laughter and transmitted to him, "You’ve gained an admirer."