Chapter 1183: 18.21 First Grey Star - Gourmet Hunters gather in Somatic Town.
Chapter 1183: 18.21 First Grey Star - Gourmet Hunters gather in Somatic Town.
Ye Jieye created a spell to keep air pressure from striking his group, and even their forms are stable on the top of the dragon's head, so they are currently having a picnic while flying through the skies while the other Heavenly Guardians are making their own preparations.
Since it would take several hours to get to the adjacent town, the group was currently gathered around the layered lunch boxes that contained sandwiches, rice balls, and desserts. They could only eat breakfast along the route before enjoying lunch at Somatic Town.
Mo Xuejing is now feeding little princess Anxia some mashed grapes and apples. The little girl didn't have rows of teeth yet.
"Hm? A'Ye look! Xiaxia is now teething?" Mo Xuejing said.
Ye Jieye was a bit startled and said, "For real? Let me see... Sweetie, open your mouth Baba~ Aah~"
Instead, thinking her father was playing a practical joke on her, Hei Anxia burst out laughing, opening her mouth wide enough for Ye Jieye to spot a set of teeth in her upper and lower gums, giving her a cute little hamster-like appearance.
"There is indeed a tooth growing. It seems I will need to make some changes in her diet," Ye Jieye mumbles as he gives Anxia back to Mo Xuejing and allows him to continue feeding the little girl.
Mo Xuejing said, "Maybe we can give her a bit of chilled melons to munch on. The not-sweet type."
"Hm. I guess I must go back to the orchard to get some melons. I don't know if they have some fruits in Somatic Town though," Ye Jieye said.
Mo Xuejing said, "Just send Guang and Lu Shang to find some when we get there."
"Eh? Me?" Doctor Guang appeared startled to hear his name shouted out of the blue; he had recently started taking care of the two cubs as babysitters rather than as a doctor, and now he suspected he would end up being their errand boy.
Ye Jieye glanced at the doctor and said, "That is also possible. He should at least pay for his food."
Doctor Guang who didn't know his boss had sold him off to become Ye Jieye's errand boy.
"Eh? What is it?"
Old Mu said, "It's nothing. Eat your food."
---
At the Somatic Town...
Following the news of the new ingredient appearing in the Tornado Mountain Ranges, a large number of gourmet hunters and their paired chefs arrived in this town. The hunters' ranks range from clover to diamond, hearts, and spades. Only a small number of hunters with a clover rank arrived, as rumors circulated that the ingredient might be a legendary or god-level one.
Hunters with a clover rank are limited to hunting ordinary and elite ingredients; only those with a diamond and heart rank are able to hunt rare and legendary-grade ingredients, though even for them, it is difficult to capture a legendary-grade ingredient.
When news spreads that a new ingredient in the Tornado Mountain Ranges may be a legendary or god-grade ingredient, even special-ranked hunters like Mo Xuejing and Ye Jieye become interested in it. Only spade-ranked gourmet hunters and some clover-ranked soloists are capable of hunting legendary-grade ingredients.
As for special hunters like Joker rank and five petalled blossom-ranked soloists, they might be able to hunt God-level ingredients.
Recently, Ji Yoonjun's cafe was only open for a few hours at midday when Lu Ming and Su Jin were not out scouting. Since the town does not have any restaurants—just a few food stalls that do not serve large meals—a lot of hunters are visiting his cafe, which is currently packed with patrons.
Ji Yoonjun was perched on the counter like a sluggish little cat, watching Su Jin and Lu Ming go around the cafe serving customers.
He said, "Wow~ so many customers. I'm so tired. I want to sleep, yawns~"
Su Jin and Lu Ming, who had been doing all the work, overheard Ji Yoonjun's words.
Lu Ming said, "Don't sleep! This is your cafe, right!?"
"A'Jun, the fruit tart base I placed in the oven is about to be done. Please take it out!" Su Jin said as he was suddenly called by a customer to order.
A customer shouted, "Little brother over here! You haven't taken my order yet."
"Hey! Us first! We came here first!"
"So what? I'm already hungry!"
"Please don't fight inside the store. A'Ming, stop them, ah!" Su Jin said.
"They are fighting again!?"
Fortunately, Lu Ming is a Spade-ranked Gourmet Hunter, and most of these hunters are less than him, so he had to intervene to break up the fight amongst the patrons. He had become accustomed to breaking up disputes in the cafe.
"Stop fighting in the store. I'm going to throw you all out!" Lu Ming declared
The two groups of hunters who were only at diamond and heart rank immediately recognized Lu Ming and instantly turned meek.
"Fuck! Isn't that the Flame-Wind Meister from the Lu Clan!?"
"What the hell is he doing here? Working as a cafe staffer?"
"Fucking hell! That's a Spade-ranked Gourmet Hunter! Stop fighting. Even if I'm hungry, I don't want to get kicked out without being able to eat!!"
"Disperse! Separate them! Or we wouldn't be able to eat at all!"
Peace resumed inside the cafe when Lu Ming showed his face. Suddenly, Lu Shang and Leica also came over, startling everyone in the cafe.
"Ming, are you here!? Come with me! Cousin and I are about to arrive. Didn't you say you wanted to meet him?" Lu Shang said.
Leica smiled and said, "I will take your place for a bit. Go with your elder brother to meet your cousin. They are about to arrive. Don't bring Su Jin first. You can bring him and Yoonjun at night after the cafe is closed."
"Okay." After agreeing to Leica's suggestion, he said to his beloved, "Xiao Jin, stay here for a bit. I need to ask my elder cousin's permission first. If I mentioned you helped me find this villa, he would definitely agree to meet you. Wait for me." Lu Ming decided to leave the cafe with his brother.
Lu Shang warned the hunters in the cafe with coercion, "If you made it hard for my lover, you are going to get it from me."
"Yes sir!"
Leica took Lu Ming's place and helped in the cafe; after learning that he is Lu Shang's lover, the customer turned like a scared mouse in Leica's presence. The customers all nodded their heads in agreement to Lu Shang's threat, and even after the Lu Brothers left the cafe, the order in the cafe continued.
The customers started whispering with one another,
"That's Young Lord Lu Shang right? He is Flame-Wind Meister's elder brother."
"Didn't they say that Young Lord Lu Shang serves Lord Satan before?"
"Wait, they said they are going to meet someone. Don't tell me it's Satan for real?! Fuck! That's amazing!"
"I want to see Satan in the flesh. Shit! This will be an amazing scene!"
"Let's go! Let's go!"
"But I'm hungry!"
"Eat later!"
With a phony smile on his attractive face, Leica stops the door before the hunters can flee the cafe. His eyes appear kind, but there is a terrible coldness there.
"Dear customers, please wait for your food to arrive. Pay first before leaving. It's not allowed to waste food in this cafe. Didn't you see the rules on the wall? Hm~" Leica said.
The man standing at the door appears very nice, but his aura is actually very limiting and ominous, making most of the patrons so terrified that they have backed off.
"Little brother, I want to take out my order. I will pay first!"
The other client saw this and thought the same thing; Ji Yoonjun, who had heard everything from the kitchen, had anticipated this and had packaged the orders appropriately; Su Jin could only assist in delivering them to the customers after they had paid.
"Y-Young lord, I paid and got my food. Can I take my leave?"
"Please have a nice day." Leica said as he moved away from the door.
The customers were only allowed to leave after they had paid for their food, and as soon as their foot touched the ground outside the cafe, they all started running out, not understanding how a man with an ordinary appearance like Leica could have restrained them.
They assumed Lu Shang's lover was just like everyone else, but apparently not, and in an instant the cafe was empty and they all ran out to find the Lu Brothers eager to meet Satan.
Of the three guys left behind in the deserted cafe, two were exhausted and slumped over tables, while Leica removed his apron with grace and set it on the closest table.
Ji Yoonjun said, "So tired~. They really come as they go. I want to sleep~"
"I wonder if A'Ming would be alright?" Su Jin mumbled in worry.
Leica said, "Even though I can't help you meet the Lords, allowing you to see them like those customers is still allowed. Do you want to go?"
Su Jin and Ji Yoonjun looked at each other and said, "Go!"
The three of them closed the cafe and went out to join the fun, but instead of following the large crowd, Leica guided them to the alleyway road and into the backyard of the villa, which was now rented under Ye Jieye's name. Since Leica was present when Lu Shang signed the contract, the housekeeper allowed the three of them to pass.
"Sir Leica, Sir Shang is waiting at the gates with his younger brother." The housekeeper said.
Leica said, "I see. Continue cleaning. Keep the whole villa dust-free."
"Yes."
When Lord Ye and Lord Mo would climb the mountain range to hunt, the people who stayed in this villa would use these cubs alongside them; thus, everything in the villa was made to cater to the children instead of the adults. There are also lots of toys and books for the cubs prepared by Lu Shang and Leica.
The entire villa was renovated, and all pointed edges in the house were wrapped with something soft to prevent toddlers and children from getting hurt.
Instead of escorting Su Jin and Ji Yoonjun to the gates with the Lu Brothers, Leica dropped them off at the secret corner, where a clearer view of the spectacle at the gates could be obtained without having to blend in with the throng that was obstructed from view.
"We can see them here. There are also fewer people. The only problem is that if the Lord notices our presence we can only show ourselves but I don't think they would mind it much with me here," Leica said.
Su Jin asked, "Brother Leica, why didn't you meet the guest with Brother Shang?"
"I work in the shadows and it's my duty to support A'Shang. Unless the lords ask for me, I can't show myself. Because I am an information broker, my face must not become well-known," Leica said.
Ji Yoonjun said, "Moreover, an information broker has lots of enemies. It's only right for Brother Leica to hide."
"I see. I wonder if they are going to be alright?" Su Jin mumbled as he was truly worried about Lu Ming.
Ji Yoonjun said, "You worry too much about your man. If he is weak, would you still like him?"
"I would. To me, as long as he is Lu Ming, even if he isn't the strongest, I will still like him," Su Jin said.
Ji Yoonjun mumbles, "Too loyal to your love so much that man feels he isn't worthy of coming between you two."
He refers to the first Ji Yoonjun, who, even as the main character and beloved son of his world, was not permitted to choose the person he would love. Instead, he went to the God System after death and begged for his wish to let his friend and his beloved to be together.
In the end, he regrets going between these two people he loves the most because the God System had pulled his soul over to approve his wish in exchange for his soul. The world had chosen him and Lu Ming as protagonists, and he had no choice but to live the script the heavens had provided him. Although he likes Lu Ming, his love is not as possessive as Su Jin's feelings are.
"What do you mean, A'Jun?" Su Jin asked.
Cough!
Leica feigned a cough to silence Ji Yoonjun, who claimed not to hear Su Jin's query, while Su Jin appeared perplexed by Ji Yoonjun's words.
Ji Yoonjun said, "Ah! Look, they are here!" He pointed at the dark figure in the sky that was getting closer and closer until they saw the form of the dark figure in the sky.
The audience that came to partake in the fun was scared and horrified by the presence of the enormous dragon, which was even larger than Somatic Town itself and had the individuals they were waiting for on its head. After all, such a giant beast might easily devour any of them right there.
ROOOOAR~