Chapter 56: A Lackey Must Strictly Follow the Boss’s Orders

    Trantor: yikaii Editor: yikaii

    This was a fact, as barbecue was the primary cooking method of the barbarians.

    Barbarian Bone’s pupils ignited with a zing fire, full of fighting spirit.

    Lu Yang: “…”

    Why ignite your fighting spirit here? We’re here to infiltrate the demonic sect, not to open a branch for your family!

    Lu Yang sighed. If Barbarian Bone was unwilling to lower the quality, then they would have to raise the prices.

    “What kind of liquor would you gentlemen like?”

    The two wandering heroes, being hearty and bold, dered loudly, “The stronger, the better. I’m known in the jianghu as the man who never gets drunk after a thousand cups!”

    The other boasted, “I’m known in the jianghu as the man who never falls after ten thousand cups!”

    Lu Yang thought to himself, stop bragging; can you handle two pots of ethanol (pure alcohol)?

    Eventually, Lu Yang served them two pots of Lao Bai Gan (TL Note: This is a real alcohol brand that has been brewed for over 2000 years https://baike.baidu/item/%E8%80%81%E7%99%BD%E5%B9%B2/3064104), hoping their tolerance matched their boasts.

    Lu Yang, greeting customers at the door, shouted, “Please take a number and line up, no cutting. We’ve preparedplimentary tea and snacks for you to enjoy while you wait. A table will be avable shortly!”

    “And, bringing new customers doesn’t get you a discount, so please stop bringing in new people!”

    Lu Yang wasn’t sure if it would work, but he decided to announce it anyway to prevent the real possibility of opening a chain.

    The waiting customers were restless, bombarding him with questions.

    “Can we book in advance?”

    “Do you deliver?”

    “Can we reserve the entire ce?”

    Among those lining up were not only wandering heroes but also cultivators, all with deep pockets.

    “You can book in advance, and we can deliver if you’re not too far away, though there will be an additional service fee. Reserving the entire ce is also possible.”

    Lu Yang hoped someone would reserve the entire ce for a quieter atmosphere.

    “Attention, Qin Yuanhao has left his house.” Lu Yang and Barbarian Bone received Meng Jingzhou’s message simultaneously, and Lu Yang felt a sense of relief.

    “I’ll follow him. Youe down and take my ce. And keep an eye on him, Barbarian Bone, don’t let anything unexpected happen,” Lu Yang, proficient in the arts of Ground Shrinking and Inch Turning, had the advantage in bothbat and tracking.

    Lu Yang couldn’t just shrink into the ground in broad daylight, so he headed to the backyard, where only two specters were.

    The two specters were busy barbecuing, sweating profusely with movements so fast they nearly left afterimages, wishing they had eight hands to work with.

    They must have never experienced such a fulfilling and busy life before.

    By the way, the two specters were dressed in the clothes of traveling merchants they wore in life, to prevent any drunk customers from discovering something amiss if they wandered into the backyard. The trio spent half a day figuring out how to change the ghosts’ clothes.

    From Daoist rituals and Buddhist chanting to consulting texts and verifying legends, the ordeal nearly drained the specters of their spirits.

    Fortunately, Lu Yang discovered the simplest method—burning clothes for the specters to wear. (TL Note: In chinese culture, burning offerings is thought to send them to their rtives in the after life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_paper)

    Busy with their work, the specters didn’t notice Lu Yang’s arrival. He easily shrank into the ground and carefully followed Qin Yuanhao.

    Meng Jingzhou quickly changed clothes to rece Lu Yang, casually flippingmb skewers while saying, “Lamb skewers ready, enjoy your meal, sir.”

    “As for thesemb skewers, theye with quite a story. Let me tell you slowly. There was a day, on the northern grasnds, when a radiant light shone, and a baby was born…”

    …

    Qin Yuanhao moved through the shadows, his figure blending seamlessly with the night, even bypassing pedestrians without their notice.

    “Could it be a technique rted to shadows or perhaps a technique associated with darkness?” Lu Yang observed in secret, trying to gather as much information as possible.

    He had read extensively to create his own techniques and had a good understanding of various techniques.

    Lu Yang continued to follow Qin Yuanhao.

    Qin Yuanhao walked through the muddy path to a winding alley, emitting a sour stench that even Lu Yang, hiding underground, could smell.

    Hearing Qin Yuanhao’s footsteps quicken, Lu Yang knew his mood wasn’t too good.

    Qin Yuanhao frowned, disliking the ce. With a grim face, he kicked open a door, startling a sleepingckey awake.

    “Still in the mood for sleep!”

    Theckey hurriedly got up, trembling, unsure why his boss was angry.

    They had been working diligently, never daring to ck off. Was it wrong to sleep at night after working all day? Unlike their boss, who stayed upte and rosete, their schedules were much more regr than his.

    Qin Yuanhao kicked theckey against the wall, angrily demanding, “Why hasn’t anyone reported to me these past few days? Where are the people I asked you to find?”

    Feeling as if his chest had been struck by a giant hammer, theckey said grievously, “Boss, you were the one who said, ‘Don’te to see me if you can’t find the person.''”

    “We couldn’t find the person you mentioned and dared not see you. How can following your orders be wrong?”

    Theckey felt wronged. Whatever the boss said, theckeys would do. Yet, the boss was still not satisfied, making him hard to serve.

    Qin Yuanhao: “…”

    He actually found theckey’s argument reasonable but still felt the urge to hit someone. What to do?

    “Couldn’t you have written a letter if you didn’te to see me?”

    “But you also said important matters must be reported in person.”

    “Didn’t I also say special situations require special treatment!” Qin Yuanhao roared.

    “You did say special situations require special treatment, but you also said what constitutes a special situation needs to be discussed internally, and then you would make the final decision.”

    “Did you discuss it?”

    “We discussed it two days ago and unanimously agreed this was a special situation that required your decision.”

    “Then why didn’t I see you for my decision!”

    “You said important matters must be reported in person, and since we couldn’t find the person spreading rumors, we couldn’t see you.”

    Qin Yuanhao: “…”

    Am I going to be talked to death here today?

    Qin Yuanhao took several deep breaths, reminding himself not to kill anyone. Although theseckeys were rigid andcked flexibility, they were loyal to him and strictly followed his orders without any deviation.

    Killing ackey would dishearten those below him.

    And he didn’t have many trustworthy subordinates to begin with; killing more would leave him with none.

    “So how’s the search for this person going? If you can’t find the person, there should at least be some clues, right?” Qin Yuanhao stared at theckey, who dared to say there were no clues, might not live to see another day!

    Do they really think I dare not kill?

    Theckey muttered quietly about not finding anyone, but seeing his boss’s murderous look, he quickly added, “You know the person you’re looking for stands out, easily attracting attention on the streets. It’s been four days, and despite our efforts, we haven’t found him.”

    “Not to mention, we only found one who fits the description of being eight feet tall and wide, but he doesn’t have pockmarks on his face nor does he eat children, and he’s quite pleasant-looking.”

    “Who is it?” Qin Yuanhao thought, never mind if the appearance matches or not, just kill someone of the same size to scare the others, so they wouldn’t underestimate him!

    “It’s the mascot of the tofu seller on Qianmen Street.”

    “I’ll kill you!”

    (End of the chapter)