Yang Qing noticed that the discussion Feng Xin was having with the manager seemed to be going well as he was all smiles as he passionately patted the manager's shoulders repetitively.
"It seems he managed to trade something to get himself off the blacklist again," Yang Qing thought as he made his way over.
The manager was a middle-aged man of tall height and medium build with black hair tied in a top knot and red-fitting robes that had silver linings at the edge. Everything about him screamed excellence and immaculate. He rose up with a welcoming smile once he saw Yang Qing headed in their direction.
"Judge Yang Qing it's always a pleasure to have you grace us with your presence at our little establishment," the manager said as he cupped his fists. Every movement he made was matched with grace and elegance.
Yang Qing had long assumed before the manager worked here he was most likely under the retinue of some high noble or clan at some point in his life based on his mannerisms that could only have been acquired through rigorous practice. He didn't think his guess was that far off since the owner of the Thousand flavors restaurant was a former prime minister of a kingdom that later became a subordinate of a rank 2 empire.
Among the Thousand flavor restaurant employees, none has stayed longer than the manager who has been here since the very beginning. Other than that outside of the owner who rarely shows himself, the manager is also the strongest expert at the middle stages of the palace realm.
"I'm already off the clock Manager Wang Shan as you can see. So now it's just Yang Qing," Yang Qing said as he cupped his fist in greeting.
"Feng Xin good that you are here. I will be throwing a welcome party for Haishi and Bolin in an hour so make sure to bring them over. I think their registration and part of the verification process should have been done by now," Yang Qing said as he sat down on one of the seats by Feng Xin's side with Manager Wang Shen on the other side.
Feng Xin's eyes glowed once he heard of the party accompanied by a small rumbling of his stomach.
"I will bring them by. What did you get?" He hurriedly asked getting to the most important part.
Yang Qing dutifully told him what he had ordered. Feng Xin's eyes were at first glowing as he nodded his head with an approving grin but at the end when Yang Qing finished his look turned to one of worry.
"Yang Qing there's no way that would be enough considering all the other warm bodies you have added to the list," Feng Xin worriedly said.
"I know it isn't enough but you know my financial situation well. This is the best I can afford within my budget. I haven't been paid in three months all thanks to Lei Weiyuan's diligent efforts," Yang Qing angrily said as he gnashed his teeth.
Manager Wang Shan could only shake his head at this. The quantity Yang Qing bought was suitable to feed a village of 500 people and leftovers remaining considering the ingredients used were all at the peak of the foundation establishment. But these two were acting like the quantity was barely enough to fill the gap between their teeth.
Feng Xin seemingly on the fence about something finally relented.
"You remember the matter I told you I will need your help with. I have a mountain-size babirusa with me. We can use part of the meat for the party. A leg should be enough. Remember you will owe me one for this," Feng Xin reluctantly said.
"Owe you one? You still owe me a lot and that is even without counting the primordial lotus dew favor. The nerve of you, Feng Xin. We should split the babirusa half just to make up for it," Yang Qing snottily said.
"YANG DON'T GET GREEDY or I'll take back even the leg. Just so you know the babirusa is a variant so it has excellent flavors," Feng Xin said.
"By the way, I think we will need to carve it up away from Haishi's eyes. It may have been her friend or something though I'm not too sure," Feng Xin added. He had noticed the faint ripples in Haishi's emotions when he beheaded the green-flowered babirusa.
"Okay. My backyard is big, I'll activate some of the illusion arrays in there. I hope Yi Jie brings the wine. His wines would pair well with the babirusa," Yang Qing said as he voraciously licked his lips.
"I know," Feng Xin said as he mimicked his actions too.
"By the way manager Wang is Jiang Fu around or has he left already?" Yang Qing asked as his persona changed into a serious one. Finding Jiang Fu was one of his goals for coming to the restaurant.
"He already left a few hours ago. It will be quite a while before we see him again as you're well aware he has gone into seclusion to breakthrough to the palace realm. His absence will be felt considering his oolong tea is one of our best sellers. Luckily Qi Shan is making strides in her cooking so we will be able to maintain our numbers before master Jiang Fu comes back," Manager Wang Shan said.
On one side he was happy and ecstatic since Jiang Fu's oolong tea would have improved by leaps when he comes back. They could even have to consider altering the price because of it but on the other hand, because of his seclusion, they faced a potential drop in the revenue stream till he got back. Despite the tea being produced in small quantities due to resource and technique constraints, it was one of the biggest earners of the restaurant.
"He has already left huh. I guess I will have to wait a couple of months or years before I see him. Hopefully, Deng Chao will be around then," Yang Qing said as he sighed.
"What's up?" Feng Xin asked once he noticed Yang Qing's weird reaction.
"I had a case today in which there is a chance he may have ties to one of the parties in that case. Though I'm not completely sure as it's just a wild hunch at the moment. I was hoping to meet with Jiang Fu to see if there's some truth to my guess. But now with him in seclusion that will have to wait and I'm not sure if the other party will be around then. We will just have to wait and see," Yang Qing said as he got up to leave to await his order by the counter as he left Feng Xin and Manager Wang Shang to their prior discussion.
"I'll leave you two to your discussions. Manager Wang, have a nice evening, Feng Xin later," Yang Qing said as he waved.
"Salutations Yang Qing and good festivities," Manager Wang replied in return with Feng Xin nodding toward Yang Qing in acknowledgment.
They swiftly went back to their discussion as Yang Qing made his way to the counter where he greedily breathed in the pleasant smell of dishes and spices that was wafting from the kitchen.
He didn't wait long as after ten minutes Cao Ying had already come back with his storage ring and card. Yang Qing picked the ring gladly but later frowned once he saw the decreased spirit stones in his card.
"10 middle-grade spirit stones. This is just barely enough for me to survive on for the whole week and that is only if I have a single cheap meal a day for the whole week. Kang Huilang better bring the amount he owes me tonight otherwise I'll have cold leek soup for a week," Yang Qing silently grumbled as he removed one spring roll from the storage ring to help lift his spirits.
The spring rolls seemed to have done its job as he was once again chipper, financial woes thrown into the backburner as he went to the stables where his carriage and the core formation dragon horses were kept.
He spotted Yi Jie already there harnessing the black horses to the carriage. These beasts who were normally arrogant to the stable caretakers acted like docile little lambs under Yi Jie's hands.
"Luo Meili and Zheng Hu will come once they finish up with their matters at the Order," Yi Jie said once he spotted Yang Qing coming over. He had changed his attire too. His robes had changed from the half-red half blue inquisitor robe to a light silver coat and robe. The silver robe accompanied by his calm demeanor and loosely tied bun made Yi Jie look like a detached seasoned expert.
"Okay. I have already bought the food as for the wine…" Yang Qing said meaningfully.
"You will have to settle for what I have on hand. If you want anything better then cancel our bet. As long as I stop being your carriage driver for the month I'll bring out my fine snow plum wine as opposed to the hundred-leaf cane wine," Yi Jie said as he tried his best to make the best pitch.
He lost a bet to Yang Qing about a month ago which landed him in his current state where he had to be a coachman for Yang Qing for the month. He was left with a few days but he couldn't wait to escape the endless torture of having to wake Yang Qing up both at his home and also when they arrived at work. Sacrificing his wine collection for an early release from Yang Qing was well worth it.
"Nice try Yi Jie. I admire your attempt but I happen to love sleep just a tiny bit more. I bet the hundred-leaf cane wine will taste just as good. Now then to your duties fine sir. Who knew you'd make a fine coachman? It's regrettable that only a few days are left. I wish the bet was longer," Yang Qing said with regret showing in his eyes as he looked at Yi Jie before disappearing into the carriage when he saw Yi Jie's vengeful look.
The carriage gently trotted away as it made its way out of the court grounds down through a special gate designated for the Order employees. The gate had a smaller line compared to the main gate used by the defendants and those with complaints. Since cultivators didn't need sleep the courts worked 24/7 and the traffic in and out of the grounds never stopped.
There were different reactions from the cultivators once they saw the dragon horses and the black carriage with the golden eagle symbol. Most were filled with awe since they knew inside the carriage was some Order bigshot especially with the fearsome late-stage core formation dragon horses driving the carriage. Yi Jie with his frosty expert-like demeanor added further charm to it.
The inviting night outside the gate swallowed the carriage whole. When next the carriage appeared it was half an hour later outside a massive gate that had two stone statues of an eagle with golden eyes by its side. Though the eagles were statues they seemed very lifelike.
There was a sign on the gate with the name Glowing respite valley written on it. The writing had a calming effect on anything within 500 meters of it.
