What should we eat? With i Guyu's temperant, we should go for sothing light and elegant to match, as the saying goes, especially expensive, but this food street doesn't seem to have such restaurants, so let's not even think about it.
In this weather, in this setting... let's go for so ice-cold beer and small grills, have so skewers, kidneys, oysters, and the like.
This food street has a very high flow of people, but a high turnover rate for shops as well. The place where Xiaowu and I ate skewers two years ago has changed owners and now sells vermicelli pots.
I heard that recently, a new barbecue restaurant opened here, with traditional charcoal grills and iron skewers, feeling very flavorful. He Kao had already heard several colleagues ntion it in the office; everyone often cos here to eat at night.
Which restaurant was it again? There is more than one barbecue spot on this street. He Kao expanded his divine sense and scanned the area. Hmm, found it; it should be the one not far ahead, just a few steps to the entrance.
The barbecue shop had set up a few small tables outside in the open air. He Kao glanced around and then turned to look at i Guyu.
He was about to ask if this place was okay, but as their eyes t, i Guyu nodded and said, "Alright, let's eat at this barbecue place."
Casually choosing a small table to sit at, scanning the QR code at the table corner to order the food, i Guyu surprisingly asked with a smile, "He Kao the second, did you actually inherit a box of gold bars?"
Such words coming from i Guyu's mouth didn't upset He Kao. He wasn't angry; rather, he was quite surprised that Elder i could joke and tease people.
But then he thought about it and chuckled.
i Guyu is neither a deep-mountain monster nor an alien species; she's just a girl in her twenties, educated in modern society, who attended university, and now works at a big company.
He Kao explained with a smile, "Gold bars do exist, but I only have a pair of paperweights, each weighing ten pounds, totaling twenty pounds."
i Guyu said, "I heard that pair of paperweights could be refined into a rough magical treasure embryo, and you gave them to Qian Guran."
He Kao said, "It wasn't a gift; he paid five million to buy them from . At the ti, he had just broken through to high-tier cultivation, needed a personal magical artifact, and fancied those paperweights. He took them to have them refined into a rough magical treasure by seniors in the sect."
i Guyu said, "They are clearly treasures of heaven and earth, yet you sold them at the price of gold."
He Kao shook his head and said, "Given the situation then, they were just a pair of ordinary paperweights in my hands, not even as useful as wood or marble ones since they are too heavy.
And I didn't know about treasures of heaven and earth; it was Old Qian who told . Old Qian didn't deceive ; he said those paperweights could be made into magical artifacts. He wanted to offer more, but how much is more? I insisted on only charging the price for gold.
At that ti, Old Qian was still a VP, having just switched jobs from a previous public sector role, unable to co up with five million in cash. So he paid monthly, and he hasn't finished paying to this day; by the end of the year, it should be almost settled."
At this point, He Kao leaned forward slightly and said, "Later, Old Qian got promoted, but every month his salary, including the end-year bonus, had to go more than half to repaying . Every day at work, I feel like— my boss is working for !"
Qian Guran's purchase of He Kao's pair of paperweights happened in October of the year before last, and now it's early July, less than two years past, with so remaining balance from that five million.
This conversation amused i Guyu; although she didn't say anything, He Kao clearly deciphered another layer of aning from her laughter—
"You couldn't even recognize that those paperweights could be refined into a rough magical treasure, indicating your cultivation was nowhere near high-tier, probably not even Tier Three, having not yet mastered spiritual senses.
Thus, your cultivation progress can be described as extraordinarily rapid."
This feeling is like divine thought but not quite; it can only be said to be more brilliant than ordinary divine thought thods. It doesn't transmit a piece of thought directly to the primordial spirit but naturally allows one to decode the information, similar to intuitively grasping the point.
But she happened to say nothing explicitly, only chuckling softly—is this the legendary accomplishnt of audible recognition?
He Kao didn't expect i Guyu to view the problem from this angle, briefly at a loss on how to respond, then after so thought, replied, "Speaking of rapid cultivation progress, how dare I compare to you."
i Guyu said, "I laid my foundation from an early age."
He Kao also laid his foundation early, but he sensibly didn't pursue the topic further, instead asking, "Why did you suddenly think of inviting today?"
i Guyu said, "For that matter, you find it difficult to co to , so I had to co to you."
This sentence seed rather enigmatic, but upon hearing, He Kao could still decipher another layer of aning—"I'm here to invite you to take the Pure Yang Pill together; let's arrange a ti based on your convenience, as soon as possible."
So straightforward? He Kao nodded and said, "Okay."
i Guyu also nodded and said, "Thank you!"
Today, communicating with i Guyu, He Kao found he couldn't quite describe the feeling. They clearly had lunch together last ti too, but why did today feel sohow different?
So words hadn't even left his mouth before i Guyu knew what he was going to say; it wasn't her cultivation of Spirit Awakening Skill, but Sword Heart Clarity, able to clearly see through many situations at a glance.
So things didn't require i Guyu to speak them, as He Kao could naturally grasp the aning, using not even divine thought but the legendary accomplishnt of audible recognition.
A person like i Guyu makes for a perfect ally with seamless cooperation, but if ordinary couples were to live together, it could be... a bit daunting.
But i Guyu portrays all this with utmost naturalness, possessing extraordinary skills yet doesn't overtly show them among ordinary people while not deliberately acting as an entirely ordinary person, even when losing her divine power.
Just then, the ordered dishes started arriving at the table.
The open-air setup with a small table even provides a grill, offering the advantage that if the skewers lack proper fire, one can continue grilling, and if the taste feels inadequate, one might sprinkle more cumin, salt, chili powder, and the like.
He Kao continued grilling and skewering, drinking half a pint of draft beer, reclining in his chair and watching the pedestrians on the walking street, feeling very comfortable and relaxed, and sighed, "Such ordinary people's life is also a kind of enjoynt."
i Guyu held a skewer in her hand and said faintly, "To you, it really can be a kind of enjoynt. But to real ordinary people, it's just life."
This statent is a bit roundabout, without audible recognition, simply a plain remark, but He Kao understood.
With He Kao's extraordinary cultivation realm, he cannot solely live a life of ordinary people, or true ordinary people are destined not to have a life like his.
With his skills and cultivation, he can choose to perceive ordinary people's life as a form of enjoynt, yet what he truly enjoys is another thing, the confidence brought by the extraordinary cultivation realm.
It was rely an offhand sigh, yet i Guyu implied he showed so hint of hypocrisy. Knowing he couldn't refute, He Kao raised his glass in a toasting gesture towards her, then downed the remaining half pint of draft beer.
When the charred, oily kidneys were served, He Kao continued sprinkling cumin while grilling, using spiritual sense gathering sound, "Taking pills needs assistance from the Yin Yang Tai Chi Array, requiring about twelve hours.
You won't be working overti on Saturday morning, then we'd start taking pills Friday evening and finish by Saturday morning."
i Guyu said, "Even if I don't work Saturday morning, leaving right after work Friday, we shouldn't make it to Phoenix Tail Town and take Pure Yang Pill per that timing."
He Kao puzzled, "Don't we have to go to Phoenix Tail Town?" Then he patted his forehead, "Oh, you didn't know; the Qihuang Spirit Garden has a small Yin Yang Tai Chi Array, which I brought out from Lingxi Grotto Heaven..."
He then briefly explained the arrangent of that Tai Chi Yin Yang Array... Those aware of the matter are all very conscious about maintaining secrecy and haven't leaked it to anyone, so i Guyu knows nothing up to this point.
Elder Gu and others didn't intend to hide it from i Guyu, thinking He Kao would tell her anyway. But He Kao couldn't find an opportunity to say it until now, advising i Guyu to keep it confidential.
i Guyu naturally agreed, and they agreed to head to the Qihuang Spirit Garden together after work Friday, with He Kao notifying Lin Qingshuang in advance to ensure no one disturbs the area.
He Kao inadvertently breathed a sigh of relief, realizing i Guyu wasn't all-knowing, then laughed at himself—how ridiculous this thought was—how could i Guyu possibly be all-knowing?
He then ordered another pint of beer, proactively clinking glasses with i Guyu. As the clinking sound resonated, i Guyu spoke faintly again, "Being able to see human nature doesn't equate to invading brain cells."
Oh gosh, she saw right through what he was thinking!
…
While He Kao and i Guyu are busy with skewers, the Xiao Alliance is in a eting.
Hu Weidong sits at the table, calmly observing everyone around, scrutinizing every person nearby. It's a large conference hall with an exaggeratedly large round table in the center.
How to describe it—if all seated were ordinary people, talking to soone across would require raising one's voice, and there would be echoes throughout the hall.
Thirteen chairs surround the round table, all of the sa size, except one with gold-trimd patterns on the back, defining the central position at the table, where Arthur sits.
Arthur is the first elder of the Xiao Alliance's Supre Council.
This na, this table, clearly imitating the legendary King Arthur and his twelve round table knights, yet it feels sowhat mismatched and incongruous.
**
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