Chapter 84: Came Here Fine, Can’t Go Back

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Came Here Fine, Can’t Go Back

The green Sichuan peppercorn broth was finally ready.

The numbing flavor of the green Sichuan peppercorns had been brought out by the hot oil, and the peppercorns themselves playfully hid in the crevices of the ingredients, waiting to give the customers a little surprise.

At that moment, the tingling numbness would spread from the tip of the tongue until it took over their entire mouth, a feeling people both loved and hated.

The customers were still waiting.

The young man took out his One World Communication and, hiding it from view, began tapping away.

「In the City Lord Mansion」

Cang He Guang was also awake.

He was looking through some dossiers, all of them containing information on an Evil Cult called the Fallen Immortal Association.

This Evil Cult was massive in scale, with traces of its presence found in all the major provinces.

They had appeared in Hong’an City a few months ago, and by the time Cang He Guang noticed something was amiss, they had already established a casino and put down deep roots.

Countless gamblers had been lured in, stepping into a bottomless abyss from which there was no return.

But some innocent people had also been used and driven to desperation.

Through his recent investigations, he discovered that the members of the Fallen Immortal Association were using a special method to make people in the casino lose all reason, their minds singularly focused on gambling.

He had even tried detaining the gamblers to cut them off from this influence.

But it had no effect.

The gamblers couldn’t be reasoned with. No matter what was said, they just frantically screamed about wanting to go back to the casino.

Cang He Guang wasn’t concerned about the degenerate gamblers, but some of Hong’an City’s citizens were innocent, and among them was no shortage of people with truly hard lives.

As the City Lord, he had to take them into consideration.

So he sent an undercover agent to infiltrate the casino, hoping to find out what method they were using to control the gamblers and thereby resolve the issue.

To avoid exposure, he had instructed the agent not to contact him unless it was absolutely necessary.

Who would have thought that two days after entering the casino, the agent would lose contact completely.

Just as he was contemplating whether he should go in and extract the agent, a message arrived.

"City Lord, the Fallen Immortal Association is using an Evil Technique called ’Insect Descent’ to control these gamblers. From what I’ve found, there is no cure for this Evil Technique."

The agent was panicking.

His heart was still pounding uncontrollably.

To investigate the situation while undercover, he couldn’t afford to blow his cover, so he had to blend in with the other gamblers.

At first, he placed a few small bets here and there while trying to gather information.

He should have reported to the City Lord as soon as he discovered this information.

’Just one more bet. One last bet.’

As if possessed, the thought had popped into his head. He hadn’t realized something was wrong; instead, he succumbed to the desire and kept gambling.

After that, his memories were a blur.

He only knew that he was drifting through the games, like a lost soul without a mind of his own.

He’d been fine when he came in, but now he couldn’t get out.

Gamble.

All he could think of was gambling.

If nothing had changed, his fate would have been a grim one.

Until that aroma rescued him from the haze.

The young man reported his experience in full detail to Cang He Guang, making sure not to omit the part about Lu Wu.

"Skewers that can break the Insect Descent Evil Technique. The owner is a young woman who runs a small stall."

"Night Fragrance Skewers. Eating them feels amazing."

Back in his study, the more Cang He Guang read the description, the more familiar it sounded.

He knew Lu Wu had come to Hong’an City and purchased a lot of ingredients. He had assumed she was here to serve the Evil Dragon, but it turned out she was running a food stall.

And she’d set up that stall right at the entrance to the Heaven and Earth Casino.

Selling skewers at the main entrance of an Evil Cult’s headquarters... Even Cang He Guang had to admire Lu Wu’s audacity.

But on second thought, he realized Lu Wu probably had no idea there was anything wrong with the Heaven and Earth Casino. After all, from what he knew of this Boss Lu, her choice of stall locations was always completely random.

’If she can set up a stall in a Secret Realm, why not at a casino’s entrance?’

But what really caught Cang He Guang’s attention was the effect of her skewers.

’The ice powder in the Secret Realm, the skewers in front of the casino... It feels like the food this Boss Lu sells is always suspiciously targeted.’

’A person of great fortune... Her reputation is well-deserved.’

Without dwelling on it further, Cang He Guang decided to go see Lu Wu’s business for himself.

He could also pick up this month’s rations for the Evil Dragon while he was at it.

Unwilling to admit he was just curious about what the skewers tasted like, Cang He Guang transformed into a somewhat sleazy-looking brute and vanished from the room.

Lu Wu had just seen off a few customers.

[Mission Progress: 13/200]

’Looks like I’m still a long way from finishing this mission.’

"Sigh!"

Lu Wu sighed, gave her dog a good head-scratch, and then played with the little bird, Huohuo.

"Hey, little boss, how much for these skewers?"

A flippant voice called out. Looking up, she saw a new person standing before her stall: a sleazy-looking middle-aged man.

’Looking at that greasy smile on his face,’ Lu Wu thought, ’I really want to call the cops—no, the Law Enforcement Team.’

’This is the kind of guy who gets his kicks from bullying innocent young women.’

’Good thing I’m not innocent.’

Snarking internally, Lu Wu put on a polite, eight-toothed smile.

"Sir, the prices are written over here."

She pointed at the sign.

’Are you blind? Can’t you see the giant words?’

The brute—that is, the disguised Cang He Guang—felt that she didn’t seem too happy to see him. Her tone was rather passive-aggressive.

’An illusion. It must be an illusion.’

’The renowned and mighty Lord City Lord should be beloved by all.’

"Ahem, can I buy you out for the night?"

Cang He Guang asked.

That was a term he’d learned from Lu Wu’s other customers.

"You can, but are you going to eat all of it?"

’I worked hard to make all this food. Wasting it is a crime punishable by a lightning strike from the heavens.’

"Of course."

’It’s not just for me, but also for the Evil Dragon and those mindless gamblers currently locked in the cells.’

He wanted to run an experiment.

If these skewers really worked on the gamblers, perhaps he could rescue those poor souls from the casino without any casualties.

However, the matter was highly risky, and for now, Cang He Guang didn’t want Lu Wu to know about it.

After all, being targeted by the Fallen Immortal Association was no small matter.

But Cang He Guang forgot that by setting up her stall at the main entrance of the Fallen Immortal Association’s base of operations, Lu Wu had already caught their eye long ago.

"Alright, then."

’There aren’t many customers tonight anyway, so waiting around is pointless.’

’Business is business, and I’ll make money either way. There are still six days left for the mission, no need to rush.’

As she thought this, Lu Wu followed Cang He Guang’s order and placed the skewers into the broth.

"Boss, your knife skills are impressive. Everything’s so evenly sliced."

Seeing Lu Wu completely absorbed in her work, Cang He Guang tried to find a topic to break the ice. He rubbed his hands together and asked in what he hoped was a familiar tone.

"I used the Wind Cutting Technique."

Lu Wu glanced at him and replied offhandedly, her tone making it clear she didn’t want to chat.

’Mister, please stop smiling.’

’We really don’t know each other.’

"Ahem..."

"Do you want dipping sauce?"

Cang He Guang was about to say something else, but Lu Wu cut him off.

"Yes, the..."

"Spicy, sweet, or savory."

Lu Wu interrupted him again with practiced efficiency.

"All of them. You..."

"Okay, that’ll be eight Mid-grade Spirit Stones in total. No haggling."

Another interruption. A critical shutdown, combo x3.

Cang He Guang silently took out the Spirit Stones and wisely shut his mouth.

’Got it!’

’He really got the message.’

’Boss Lu, how can you be so two-faced?’

’You weren’t like this before.’