Chapter 13: Food Problem Solved

After waiting about ten minutes, the steaming hot dishes were freshly out of the oven.

Qian Duoduo pulled Tang Wulin to sit at the table, enthusiastically saying:

"Come, eat quickly; I guarantee the flavor."

Looking at the table full of delicacies, Tang Wulin's stomach growled with hunger, yet he dared not move his chopsticks at all.

"Um, Dean Qian, how much would this whole table of food cost?"

He had no doubt about the quality of this table of food; the question was how many gold soul coins he would owe Dean Qian after eating it all.

If the price of this table of food required him to do a year of hard labor to pay off, he truly would have nowhere to cry.

Qian Duoduo was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help laughing out loud.

"You kid are quite cautious; rest assured, treat this as my treat—you don't need to pay."

At that moment, the chef called Xiao Lu walked out of the kitchen and said softly:

"That's right; the price of any dish on this table is over a thousand gold soul coins; even if you had to pay, you couldn't afford it, so just eat with peace of mind."

"..."

Tang Wulin's face turned even paler.

Was this comforting him? Was this comforting him? He kept feeling as if eating this meal would mean working for Qian Duoduo for the rest of his life.

Qian Duoduo glared dissatisfiedly at Xiao Lu.

"Look at you, blurting out nonsense—this has scared the child."

After saying that, he turned back to Tang Wulin and spoke kindly:

"Kid, you don't need to worry. There's no such thing as a free lunch; you having this awareness is good. In fact, this lunch is indeed not free; I hope that in your future studies and life, you can set aside some time each day to forge in the Soul Tool Experiment Area, turn in the finished products to the Academy, and as compensation, I will cover all your meals—I guarantee the quality won't be worse than today's. What do you think?"

"Huh."

Tang Wulin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A transaction with clear pricing is undoubtedly more comfortable than inexplicable flattery; at least Tang Wulin knows Qian Duoduo treats him well for profit, not for anything else.

After confirming there was no deceit, Tang Wulin finally set his mind at ease, picked up his chopsticks, and began eating.

When he put the first bite of food into his mouth, he was shocked.

Tang Wulin said: He had never eaten anything this good in his life.

The moment the food entered his mouth, endless deliciousness burst forth; an endlessly lingering flavor occupied all his taste buds, giving him an experience as if ascending to heaven.

Xiao Lu beside him spoke again.

"What you just ate was thousand-year-old earth dragon meat; to make this dish, I——"

Before she could finish, Qian Duoduo impatiently waved his hand, signaling her to shut up.

"Go away, don't announce the dish names; neither I nor Wulin want to hear that."

Xiao Lu had no choice but to shut her mouth helplessly.

However the information she revealed was already enough to shock Tang Wulin.

Just as the Douluo Continent ten thousand years later has forging techniques that didn't exist ten thousand years ago, the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago also had something that is extremely scarce in the Douluo Continent ten thousand years later.

That is soul beasts.

In Tang Wulin's memory, before he transmigrated to this era, he had never seen a true soul beast.

Even ordinary soul beasts are like that, let alone thousand-year soul beasts.

At this moment, he truly understood why Xiao Lu just said each dish on the table is worth thousands of gold soul coins; is what he's eating food? It's all money!

Seeing Tang Wulin's astonished expression, Qian Duoduo secretly gave Xiao Lu an approving look.

Yesterday while eating, he had mentioned Tang Wulin to Xiao Lu, so the moment he brought Tang Wulin here, Xiao Lu guessed his identity.

The two of them were just playing good cop, bad cop—Xiao Lu responsible for announcing dish names to give Tang Wulin psychological pressure, Qian Duoduo responsible for scolding her to gain favor. Their sole purpose was to by any means increase Tang Wulin's favorability toward the Soul Tool Department, so that when he makes future choices he'll be more inclined toward it.

For this purpose, let alone dishes worth thousands of gold soul coins; as long as Tang Wulin agrees to join the Soul Tool Department, letting Qian Duoduo stake all his family assets, he would willingly do so.

Tang Wulin has that worth.

Afterwards, nothing else happened, and Tang Wulin quickly finished his meal.

This time he unusually didn't eat too much, not because he restrained his appetite, but because he genuinely couldn't eat more.

The energy contained in the meals Qian Duoduo provided is incomparable to what Tang Wulin usually eats; a single dish could equal ten dishes from the student cafeteria.

Even so, he finished all the five-person portions Xiao Lu prepared for him, leaving nothing; this appetite is undoubtedly abnormal.

In response, Qian Duoduo nodded satisfiedly.

"Hmm, not bad, young people ought to eat more."

To say whether he feels heartache—definitely he does, after all he's not just in charge of this meal; from now on all of Tang Wulin's food will have to be provided by him.

But these are necessary sacrifices; if in the future Tang Wulin really hands over his forging skills to the Soul Tool Department, the resulting benefits would be immeasurable.

Tang Wulin lowered his head gratefully.

"Thank you, Dean Qian."

Regardless of Qian Duoduo's motives, he solved Tang Wulin's biggest current problem.

His impression of Qian Duoduo is now much better than before.

Qian Duoduo laughed hahaha: "Haha, it's fine, don't be so polite; you still have class this afternoon, right? Are you going back to the dormitory or not?"

Tang Wulin thought for a moment.

"I'll go back then."

"Understood."

Qian Duoduo hehe laughed while placing his hand on Tang Wulin's shoulder.

Then, once again the familiar sensation of the world spinning; when his vision cleared, Tang Wulin had already arrived at the dormitory entrance.

Qian Duoduo waved at him.

Go inside and rest, don't forget to come for forging tomorrow as well.

Yes.

Tang Wulin gave Qian Duoduo a slight bow, then walked into the dormitory.

This trip to the Hun Dao Qi Shi Yan Qu truly exceeded his expectations; not only was the food problem solved, but thereafter every meal he could enjoy what could be called heaven‑priced delicacies, and before setting out he never imagined things would go so smoothly.

His impression of Shrek Academy is quite good now; aside from Dai Huabin making him furious, Wang Yan and Qian Duoduo left him with a very favorable impression.

I wonder how Wang Dong is doing, but with Shrek Academy's teaching resources being so excellent, I believe the teachers in his class must also be outstanding.

However, upon opening the dormitory door, what met Tang Wulin's eyes was Wang Dong with a face full of ashen despair.

I constantly feel as if half of this guy's soul is about to escape from his mouth.

?

A big question mark appeared above Tang Wulin's head.

What's wrong with this guy? Speaking of which, I suddenly recalled that Zhang Peng was initially judged to be an Evil Soul Master because his cultivation required absorbing the blood of soul beasts.

Heh, I was thinking that Shrek Academy also uses plenty of soul beast meat in its meals, and there's that sort of secret‑method soul bone—all of which harm soul beasts to boost oneself; who could be more noble than that?

I've finished giving them a double standard.

(End of chapter)