Chapter 70: The Dinner Gathering

Inside the restaurant, Xiaomei, Wang Baolong, Lingmei, Music, and the others chatted excitedly about the exquisite dishes they had just tasted, while Wu Ming sat to the side, glaring at these creditors from his past life as if they were mortal enemies.

"This dish is West Lake Supreme Pot, one of our restaurant's signature specialties." A beautiful waitress in uniform brought over something resembling a clay pot.

"You all have excellent taste. The West Lake Supreme Pot belongs to the Zhejiang cuisine, and is one of Hangzhou’s traditional Han dishes. It is made with rehydrated shark fin, rehydrated sea cucumber, dried scallop, abalone, fish maw, native chicken, cooked ham, winter bamboo shoots, West Lake lotus seeds, greens, and seasoned with scallions, ginger, and a special rich broth. The soup boasts an abundance of fine ingredients, with a delicate yet crisp texture, rich and fragrant, and highly nutritious. Please enjoy..." The waitress described the dish vividly, and as she spoke, Lingmei, Xiaomei, and Music listened wide-eyed and salivating, practically drooling onto the floor. Yet each word stabbed at Wu Ming’s heart like a needle, sounding especially harsh to his ears.

"Hey... Junior Brother, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Sick?" Lingmei glanced at Wu Ming, deliberately teasing him.

"Huh? No, no... You all go ahead and eat, I’ll just wait for my shredded potatoes," Wu Ming interjected.

Music, clearly unable to wait any longer, said, "Senior Sister, Senior Brother, stop chatting, let’s eat first. I’m starving to death!"

"Yeah, I can't hold out much longer either, let's dig in!" Baolong echoed impatiently.

"Let’s wait until all the dishes are served, or else..." Xiaomei chimed in, whether out of concern or a desire to torment Wu Ming.

"Just eat, I’m not hungry..." Wu Ming’s face was ashen as he forced out the words, channeling his inner miser. Unfortunately, he hadn’t even finished speaking before his debtors began sampling the delicacies one bite at a time.

"Mmm... Crisp and fragrant, so delicious!" Music closed her eyes, savoring the West Lake Supreme Pot.

"Yes, yes, so smooth and tender... It feels wonderful!" Xiaomei looked at Baolong with a surprised expression.

"This is so flavorful, it must be very nutritious, great for our skin..." Lingmei kept eating, one bite after another.

"Save some for me, I haven’t had any yet!" Baolong cried out anxiously.

"Look at you, you’re already so chubby. Diet!" the girls said in unison, then shared a laugh. Baolong had no choice but to put down his chopsticks, frustrated, and cast a glance at Wu Ming.

"Don’t look at me. The shredded potatoes are mine! Hmph!" Wu Ming grumbled, prompting another round of laughter from everyone.

...

"Supreme Plum Blossom Sea Cucumber—this sea cucumber is imported from the Maldives, the flavor is exquisite, and it’s especially beneficial for ladies..." The same waitress brought in another dish, placing it on the glass turntable. In the center sat a long plum blossom sea cucumber, surrounded by walnuts, sea cucumber, figs, and various medicinal ingredients—a luxurious yet elegant sight that made Wu Ming ache with every glance. Meanwhile, his voracious companions watched as drool trickled from their chopsticks.

Once the waitress left, Wu Ming shook his head and slapped the table. "Class! Maintain some class!"

"Oh, Junior Brother, invite us out for a few more meals in the future, and your senior sister will adore you!" Lingmei blew him a kiss, causing everyone present to shudder. Wu Ming could only cover his face with both hands and mutter, "I’m waiting for my shredded potatoes!" But as before, no one listened; they were already discussing the plum blossom sea cucumber.

"This is braised camel’s paw in abalone sauce."

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"This is river shrimp and shredded radish pot."

"This is secret recipe duck in wine sauce."

"This is Jade Water Gourd Head."

"This is supreme honey-glazed yam..." One by one, twenty dishes were brought to the table...

...

As everyone commented on the flavors between bites, suddenly a person fell from the void into their private room, causing Wu Ming to knock over his only plate of shredded potatoes.

"Ah!" Music was the first to stand. "What happened?"

"Who is this? Is it a demon beast?" Baolong’s first reaction was to suspect a demon beast.

"Come on, Director, did you eat so much your head turned into a pig? Demon beasts are humanoid?" Xiaomei calmly continued enjoying her honey-glazed yam.

"Go, you go check..." Lingmei ordered Baolong to investigate.

Baolong complained, "Why me! Why don't you go?"

"Tsk. Would we ladies handle this? It's a man's job, right? Besides you, only the sect leader is here. Would you make Junior Brother go?" Lingmei pressed him with her status as sect leader.

"Unlucky!" Baolong grumbled as he got up to check the person lying on the floor.

Wu Ming also got up to have a look.

The person had white hair and a youthful face, blood covering his body—clearly the aftermath of a fierce battle. He clutched a mirror tightly in both hands, much larger than Wu Ming's unnamed Mountain and Sea Mirror, glowing all over with golden light. But the man himself was fading fast.

"Senior Sister, come quickly, he’s a cultivator..." Wu Ming called back to Lingmei, but she was too busy tasting another delicacy, her mouth full of broth, infuriating Wu Ming who barked, "Senior Sister..."

"Huh? You’re calling me? What’s up? I’m coming!" Lingmei remembered that one shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds.

"Look at this mirror!" Wu Ming took it from the man's hands and handed it to Lingmei, who walked over while wiping her mouth.

"This is a magical artifact from the One Qi Dao Sect. Is he from there?" Lingmei asked, drawing everyone else away from their meal to gather round.

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"Who is he? Never seen him."

"I haven't either. Senior Sister, have you?" Music blinked at Lingmei.

"Haha, how could I possibly have? Junior Brothers, do you know?"

"We don’t know either..."

"Hey, Sect Leader, wake him up and ask. That’ll do." Xiaomei was clever.

"How do we save him? Feed him spiritual energy. I just ate so much, I haven’t recovered yet." Lingmei was completely irresponsible.

"Enchantress! You’re so lazy! I’ll do it..." Xiaomei glared at Lingmei, and the close friends from the meal were suddenly rivals.

After channeling spiritual energy, the man slowly opened his eyes.

"...I am..."

"This is a restaurant, we’re eating! You just fell in! Where did you come from? Who are you? How did you end up like this? Your hands are pretty beat up, who did this? What happened? Are you going to answer?" Music fired off a barrage of questions. Liu Lang, lying on the floor, was about to break down. "Can you give me a chance to answer?"

"Go on, speak!"

"Finally... I am Liu Lang from the One Qi Dao Sect..." His voice was weak.

"Looks like you found the right people. This is our sect leader... and this is our sect leader's wife..." Music proudly introduced Wu Ming and Lingmei, only for Lingmei to smack Music on the head.

"I’m the sect leader’s senior sister. Who are you? How did you get the Time-Space Divine Mirror?" Lingmei clearly recognized the artifact.

"Save Qin Qing..." Liu Lang gripped Wu Ming’s hand, speaking his last breath. Wu Ming immediately recognized him.

"How did you end up like this? Hey, hey... Don’t die!" Wu Ming hadn’t finished his question when Liu Lang breathed his last. He had clearly expended all his spiritual energy.

With his spiritual energy depleted, Liu Lang left only the mirror behind, then departed this world. His body faded into dust, disappearing from the space.

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