“Spiritual chef? What’s a spiritual chef?”
“No way, no way! Boss, aren’t you one yourself? Otherwise, how can your food have effects like those of alchemical pills?”
Xiao Yu could more or less guess what that profession was about—probably something like a support class in a video game.
“I’m not a spiritual chef.”
“Oh… okay. Still, boss, you’re amazing. It’s just that your menu is a bit too limited!”
Xu Shaoyun glanced at the menu on the wall and shook his head.
Forced by the system to become a chef… kid, you wouldn’t understand that feeling.
“There might be more dishes in the future.”
“Really?”
“Mm…”
Xu Shaoyun’s eyes lit up. He made a mental note to return to this shop often—he couldn’t miss out on either cultivation or gourmet food!
“Boss, give me a bowl of tomato and egg noodles!”
“One spirit stone. Xiaobai, handle the payment.”
With that, Xiao Yu walked straight into the kitchen. Tomato and egg noodles were simple to make, and quick too. The current menu only had the most basic dishes, so preparing a bowl took just a few minutes.
Xu Shaoyun slurped happily, paying no attention to how hot the freshly cooked noodles were.
“Boss, this sweet and sour ingredient—this is the so-called tomato? How come I’ve never seen it before?”
Xiao Yu wasn’t entirely sure either. He only knew that his magical fridge would always produce whatever he needed, in seemingly infinite supply.
“System, do tomatoes exist in this world?”
“‘Heavenly Fragrance Fruit,’ a Tier-2 spiritual ingredient, with taste and texture very similar to tomatoes.”
Xu Shaoyun noticed Xiao Yu had fallen silent and waved a hand in front of his face—only to get it swatted away.
“Boss! What’re you spacing out for?”
“Nothing…”
“Oh!”
In just a few bites, Xu Shaoyun finished a large bowl of noodles. He let out a satisfied burp, smiling contentedly.
Still savouring the flavour! This is what true delicacy tastes like. Compared to this, those so-called fancy dishes at major inns are no better than pig slop!
Then he felt it—the ambient spiritual energy in the air had grown noticeably more active!
Indeed, his affinity with spiritual power had improved!
Increased affinity meant faster reaction and casting speed when using spiritual energy, plus quicker recovery times!
Xu Shaoyun secretly gave Xiao Yu a big mental thumbs up.
Boss, you’re seriously awesome!
—
Before long, noon arrived. Still no new customers in the morning—and Xiao Yu was glad for it!
After hosting just one guest, he already found it a bit troublesome. Everything here was new to people from this world—many things had to be explained step by step.
Thankfully, Xiaobai was there to help. Otherwise, he’d be run ragged.
And that’s just one customer!
Out here in the wilderness, opening an inn without providing food would make no sense at all!
And now he had to cook too!
Xiao Yu sighed. I’m gonna be real busy in the future…
Xu Shaoyun reluctantly checked out, ready to leave.
“Boss, I’m off. I’ll be back again!”
“Mm. Take care.”
“Boss, with your skills, why open a shop in such a remote place? If you moved to a busy area, business would be booming!”
Xiao Yu could only respond with helplessness. The system had chosen this location—it couldn’t be changed. Nothing he could do about it.
“Peace and quiet is nice.”
Xu Shaoyun immediately got a dark expression. You open a shop and care about peace and quiet?! Everyone else fights to be where the crowds are, where rent prices are through the roof!
But you? You’re in the deep forest because it’s quiet?!
Then what’s the point of your shop at all?!
—
After the boy left, Xiao Yu was about to tell Xiaobai to clean the room when—
“Host, reminder: rooms are automatically cleaned and reset at noon after checkout.”
Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up. What? That’s amazing—so much less work!
System, I’m giving you a thumbs up!
—
Xu Shaoyun sped through the Wilderness Forest. He was a student at Sky Soar Academy under the Divine Martial Empire, and had gotten separated from his group during their training expedition—hence his overnight stay in the forest.
“Shaoyun! You’re finally back! If you’d taken any longer, Instructor Zhu was going to go out and find you himself!”
“Wait, Shaoyun… you—you broke through?”
“No way! Shaoyun, you’re incredible!”
—
Back at the inn, Xiao Yu lay in the sun at the doorstep, leisurely enjoying the peace. After lunch, the menu had gained another dish:
Braised Fish
Effect: Heals internal injuries
Price: 5 spirit stones
Ingredient: Tier-3 Spirit Beast – Redscale Carp
…All because he cooked a fish for lunch.
Xiao Yu felt a bit speechless. So if I don’t cook new dishes, the menu won’t expand?
But then he dismissed that thought.
As a seasoned food lover, he couldn’t eat just tomato noodles and egg fried rice every day. That would make anyone go crazy!
Plus, he got a cut of every spirit stone earned. In any world, wealth was essential.
So yeah, making money was still necessary!
—
Just as Xiao Yu was spacing out again, a voice came from the entrance.
“Huh? There’s actually someone living out here? And what a strange-looking building!”
A man and a woman walked in together—they looked like a pair of cultivator lovers.
Xiaobai was already at the entrance with her signature smile.
“Hello, would you like to stay at the inn?”
The man looked surprised.
“Stay? This place is an inn?”
“Yes, honored guests.”
Xiaobai’s warm and polite smile was incredibly soothing.
“Little miss, please prepare two rooms for us!”
“Certainly. Please follow me.”
The two followed Xiaobai into the lobby, looking around at all the strange and modern decor—completely different from any other inn they’d ever seen.
“This way, your room cards. That’ll be 20 spirit stones, please pay here.”
“20 spirit stones?!”
The man was stunned. The woman also looked shocked.
“Little miss, this price is outrageous! Is this some kind of scam?”
The man’s expression turned cold the moment the woman said that.
“A scam? I’d like to see who dares scam me, Chen Mo!”
With a snort, his aura flared up as if he were ready to fight.
Xiao Yu heard the commotion and walked over, arms folded, frowning as he looked at the pair.
“Xiaobai, what’s going on?”
“Hello, boss…”
Before Xiaobai could answer, Chen Mo pointed at Xiao Yu.
“You’re the boss?”
“Indeed, I am.”
Chen Mo scoffed. “You look so young, and already you’re running scams?”
Xiao Yu raised a hand, cutting him off.
“Hold on, honored guest. May I ask how I’ve scammed you?”
“This inn of yours, though it has a unique look and feel, charges ten spirit stones a night! And you dare say it’s not a scam?”
Xiao Yu chuckled softly.
“If the price is too high for you, you’re welcome to leave. I won’t stop you.”
The woman furrowed her brows…
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