Chapter 133: This Is the Wisdom of the Lord City Lord

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: This Is the Wisdom of the Lord City Lord

Despite the massive crowd, the sales went quite smoothly.

The men from Little Sea Village, who had been in the first group, all successfully got their pancakes. But once they returned to the village with the food in hand, they hesitated.

After all, not everyone could easily accept the fact that they were already dead.

"What now? You stood in line out there, only to come back to the village and stand around like statues?"

"Why aren’t you going home?"

An aged voice rang out as Uncle Xia emerged, leaning on a cane.

The skin on Uncle Xia’s hands was slack, with bulging veins. He gripped his cane so tightly that his fingertips trembled slightly.

His salt-and-pepper hair bore witness to a ten-year miracle.

In just a single day, Uncle Xia seemed to have aged a great deal. The crowd felt a twinge of guilt upon seeing him.

After all, Uncle Xia had previously forbidden them from buying the pancakes.

’Thinking about it now, Uncle Xia probably knew the pancakes’ purpose from the very first day.’

"What are you still staring at? You’ve got your food, so hurry home and eat it while it’s hot."

His cane thumped against the ground. THUMP. THUMP.

Uncle Xia seemed to be scolding them, but there was no real anger in his voice.

"You disobedient lot aren’t afraid of being ghosts, so what do they have to be afraid of?"

"Go on home. Have a good talk. This afternoon, everyone come and see me. I have something to discuss."

Uncle Xia urged them on.

"Alright, we’ll head back then."

Feeling the warm pancake against his chest, Uncle Hua was the first to take off, bolting for home. The others followed suit.

"The whole lot of them, so unobservant, so heartless. Not a single one thought to bring me a pancake."

’He’d refused the stall owner earlier, and to save face, he couldn’t bring himself to go buy a pancake personally. But damn, he was craving one.’

’When the villagers were gathered just now, the aroma of the pancakes wafted right under his nose. If they hadn’t left when they did, he wouldn’t have been able to maintain his dignified air.’

"Heh heh, Uncle Xia, I’m not like them. I was thinking of you. This pancake is for you."

The clever Cheng Yang knew just what to do. He snuck over from a corner, placed a pancake in Uncle Xia’s hand, and as the old man swung his cane to swat at him, Cheng Yang beat a hasty retreat.

The warmth from the pancake spread through his hand, and the smile on Uncle Xia’s face slowly faded.

After a long moment, he made his way to a stone at the village’s eastern entrance and sat down.

During his ten years of blindness, what he did most often was sit on these stones at the village entrance, sensing the outside world through the scents the wind carried.

But now, Uncle Xia peeled back the grease-proof paper around the pancake and, lowering his head, took a bite.

The crepe tore easily. The sauce inside was a new flavor—mayonnaise, which had a rich, eggy aroma and a subtle sweet-and-sour taste.

The mellow richness of the mayonnaise perfectly combined the unctuousness of the egg with the refreshing tang of lemon juice.

It enriched the mouthfeel without becoming overwhelming.

The moment the sauce touched the tip of his tongue, it melted away before he could even begin to appreciate its creamy texture.

It was a novel experience.

All the melancholy and bewilderment in Uncle Xia’s heart were soothed by that single bite. The furrows on his brow relaxed, and a light smile touched his lips.

’For him, persevering for ten years was the greatest thing he had ever done in his life.’

’Fortunately, when his villagers learned the truth, they held no resentment toward him.’

Catching this scene from the corner of her eye, Lu Wu raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement dancing in her eyes.

’Looks like even the most stubborn old man can’t refuse her pancakes.’

’If one pancake doesn’t work, try another. A guaranteed takedown.’

"Boss Lu! I want one pancake with mayonnaise, one with garlic sauce, one with ketchup, and one with sweet chili sauce. For the last one... Boss Lu, you can decide for me."

After queuing for an hour, it was finally Shan Hanzhi’s turn.

She looked quite distressed as she stood before the stall.

Her master had found out about the kidnapping incident. Not only did she get a good thrashing for it, but she was also ordered to personally come and buy pancakes from now on.

As someone completely devoted to her master, she was more than happy to take on a glorious task like running errands for her.

’But Boss Lu had a five-pancake limit per person!’

’Even buying for others counted toward that limit, which meant she couldn’t get any more pancakes than that.’

’Not to mention, her master had kicked her out of bed in the middle of the night. For a second, she’d thought the Sea Clan was attacking, but it turned out her master just wanted her to come get in line.’

’She’d arrived in a daze. The sky had been pitch-black, and the people in line were just dark shadows.’

’These customers are insane!’

’But when Shan Hanzhi thought about how much her master loved these pancakes—enough to willingly eat fewer of them as part of her punishment—she felt the bond between them was as strong as ever.’

’Ahhh... This is love...’

"Alright."

Lu Wu wasn’t surprised to see Shan Hanzhi. ’After all,’ she thought, ’isn’t that Cang, the City Lord of Hong’an City, furtively peeking around in the crowd?’

Cang He Guang was using his real face today, but Lu Wu recognized the ring on his thumb. It confirmed that he was the same person who had come yesterday in disguise.

’He’d even pretended to be a new customer and asked her if there were any special deals, which made all the other customers stare at her expectantly. It had taken her a great deal of effort to placate everyone.’

Cang He Guang, who was almost at the front of the line, keenly felt Lu Wu’s gaze on him.

He beamed at Lu Wu.

’Boss Lu must have seen me! She’s saying hello.’

’The bond I share with Boss Lu is something that harridan Dan Ji could never hope to match.’

Hmph!

As for why he was using his real face, his "business trip" had been unceremoniously cut from five days to just one due to protests from his subordinates.

Today, he was officially representing Hong’an City to procure rations for the Evil Dragon.

That’s right—the Evil Dragon had also protested.

Somehow, that Long had gotten wind of the fact that Lu Wu set up her stall several times a month, selling different delicious foods each time.

The agreement had been updated: now, every time Lu Wu set up her stall, they had to make a purchase on the Evil Dragon’s behalf.

’The workload has increased significantly,’ Cang He Guang thought. ’As the leader of Hong’an City, I suppose I must shoulder this noble mission.’

’Besides, as long as he didn’t say that he was the one who’d arranged for the news to be spread, who would ever suspect it was him?’

’Now he’d have several legitimate opportunities each month to pursue Boss Lu.’

’As for the rest of the time...’

’...no need to worry. He could always come in disguise.’

’As long as no one discovered he was Cang He Guang himself, he could handle any suspicions from his subordinates.’

’This was the wisdom of the Lord City Lord.’

"City Lord Cang, my master wants you to go see her in a bit," Shan Hanzhi said when it was Cang He Guang’s turn. She was standing behind the stall, munching on a pancake. "She said that since you’re here anyway, there’s something to discuss."

"What does she want with me?"

Cang He Guang frowned.

’There was fierce competition between the major cities of the Southern State, and that woman was his greatest rival.’

’While their relationship wasn’t outright hostile, they rarely had any dealings with each other.’

’Her actively seeking him out couldn’t be a good thing. Surely she wasn’t going to ask him to help supervise the Grand Tournament of Prodigies.’

’The tournament’s location rotated, and the next one, in ten years, was slated to be in Hong’an City.’

"She said it’s about... that."

Shan Hanzhi pointed east with one hand, a half-eaten pancake in the other.

In that direction was the sea.

Cang He Guang raised an eyebrow, a look of realization dawning on his face. He nodded.

"Fine. I’ll go after I finish my pancake."

’He’d better take precautions and eat his pancake first, lest that bandit Dan Ji try to snatch it from him.’