Chapter 413: Ling Shuang

Welcome, how many in your party?

Just as when he came here last time with Senior Fan Ren, Xu Jingming and Ling Shuang had barely entered Shunxingyuan Restaurant.

A waitress in a qipao stepped forward to greet them.

When she noticed Ling Shuang beside Xu Jingming, she was secretly astonished by her exquisite, mature beauty and stunning figure.

She also felt slightly puzzled—guests bringing a female companion here to dine were quite rare.

"Two people, find us a quiet private room," Xu Jingming said.

"Of course, please follow me, esteemed guests."

Under the waitress's guidance, Xu Jingming and Ling Shuang ascended the stairs.

"Shunxingyuan has changed so much—I left three years ago and it wasn't this well-serviced back then."

Looking at the dancers and singers performing in the center of the hall, Ling Shuang remarked with admiration.

"Still, it looks good—full of ancient cultural charm. We should come here to eat more often."

After a casual glance, she turned her gaze away.

Under the waitress's guidance, the two entered a private room near the restaurant's inner garden, surrounded by serene quiet.

"The menu is on the tablet on the table—just select your dishes and tap confirm."

After reminding them, the waitress bowed respectfully and left.

Before departing, she even thoughtfully closed the room door, as if afraid of disturbing them.

"Teacher, pick whatever you'd like to eat—order freely."

Xu Jingming smiled and handed her the tablet on the table.

Taking the tablet, Ling Shuang flipped through the menu briefly, then furrowed her delicate brows.

"Three years since I last came—Shunxingyuan's dishes have become much more expensive, especially these sets; the prices bear no relation to the food quality."

"The sets really aren't worth it—I noticed that last time with Senior Fan Ren. Teacher, just order à la carte."

Xu Jingming cleared his throat, laughing it off.

He couldn't possibly admit these sets were priced high because of the special services.

"How could that be? This is your treat—you can't skip trying their specialties."

Ling Shuang smiled brightly as she browsed the tablet, then soon pointed to one item.

"This one—the 168 set, priced at 168,000. Should be enough to eat?"

Ling Shuang clearly knew Xu Jingming's appetite and directly chose a ten-person set.

Still, for safety's sake, she added casually.

"More than enough."

Xu Jingming nodded, secretly relieved.

Just a 168,000 set—surely there wouldn't be any special services?

As Xu Jingming had expected, the 168,000 set had no special services at all.

The only difference was that the serving staff wore slightly more revealing attire.

Ling Shuang didn't think it was a big issue—she assumed it was just a new restaurant feature.

"Jingming, are you still planning to go to Myanmar alone?"

After finishing most of the meal, Ling Shuang turned her beautiful eyes toward Xu Jingming and asked.

"Yes, it's more convenient alone," Xu Jingming replied with a nod.

"Going alone into the wilderness isn't a problem.

But since you're taking on the Martial Arts Hall's S-rank mission this time, I suggest bringing someone with you."

"Why?"

"Simple—finding the culprits who destroyed the branch hall requires tracking clues.

For clue-hunting, spiritual-type adepts are naturally better suited.

You also need people to handle other tasks—if you do everything yourself,

it's normal if you can't find a lead in one or two months."

After hearing Ling Shuang's words, Xu Jingming finally realized.

Indeed, if he handled everything himself, he'd never finish the mission.

"I notice you get along well with Lin Hui.

You could take him along—and have him recruit some experts in clue-hunting.

Xia Lan is also a good candidate. Though she's only high-level fourth-rank,

after my training, she can handle most fifth-rank adepts.

And her spatial ability could prove crucial at key moments."

Ling Shuang sipped her tea slowly.

"Lin Hui, Xia Lan? I understand, Teacher," Xu Jingming nodded.

He'd only been in the Talent Training Camp for a month—still unfamiliar with most trainees.

With Lin Hui's connections, he could surely find experts in clue-hunting.

At the very least, he could get a spiritual-type adept to join.

As for Xia Lan, her strength was low, but as Teacher Ling said,

her ability might be invaluable in certain situations—bringing her along posed no problem.

"Good."

Ling Shuang nodded slightly, then a faint glow flashed from her space ring—a pure white bone appeared in her hand.

"The place you're going is exactly 600 kilometers from the Martial Arts Hall's headquarters—the limit of my teleportation.

Even if you shatter your space talisman, I might not be able to teleport to you.

Take this space beast bone for now—return it to me when you come back."

Space beast bone?

Xu Jingming's eyes lit up—he bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Teacher Ling."

An eighth-rank peak protective talisman, plus a Beast Emperor-grade space beast bone—unless a ninth-rank Martial Saint came after him, no one could kill him!

"Your Master Su gave you a life-saving artifact—how could I, your teacher who's trained you longer, fall behind?"

Ling Shuang blinked, smiling faintly.

The faint playfulness in her tone made Xu Jingming pause slightly.

This version of Teacher Ling—seductive, yet somehow... cute?

"Alright, let's end the meal here—I'm heading back."

Ling Shuang rose from her seat, and a faint spatial gate shimmered beside her.

Before leaving, she added:

"By the way, though the state encourages rare awakened adepts to leave descendants, you should still avoid places like this.

If you truly have needs, return to Magic University—or come straight to me."

With that, she stepped forward on her long legs and vanished into the spatial gate.

"So she noticed something..." Xu Jingming quickly realized.

Then again—with an eighth-rank Grand Master's immense spiritual power,

she'd been in this private room long enough—she couldn't possibly have missed the waitresses' oddities.

"Also, why do I feel Teacher Ling's words carried some hidden implication?"

Shaking his head, Xu Jingming didn't dwell on it.

He called the waitress to settle the bill, then rose to leave.

After all, it was an S-rank mission—he'd need to study it carefully once back at the villa.

He'd also need to contact Lin Hui and Xia Lan—see if they'd be willing to join him in Myanmar...