Chapter 153: Top-Grade Spirit Stone Flower

Almost the moment the bill came up, Qingchengzi immediately began to play dumb.

He looked left and right, casually picked up a toothpick from the table, started picking his teeth, looked here, looked there, but simply refused to look at Lu Ren.

With this kind of behavior, there was definitely something fishy.

And it was extremely obvious.

Lu Ren, however, did not expose him on the spot, but instead casually picked up the menu the waiter had handed him.

After finishing the menu, Lu Ren did not show any signs of being upset.

He calmly reached out his hand and lightly tapped the price listed on the menu.

"... Is the price of the dishes in your shop a bit expensive?"

Following his calm question, the waiter who had brought the menu seemed to have been insulted.

He immediately began to shout in a rush.

"This guest, you can eat whatever you want, but you cannot speak nonsense!"

"The dishes in our shop all have clearly marked prices. The total is ten thousand and one hundred and two Spirit Stones. Tell me, how will you pay?"

"Our shop does not accept credit!"

He said it with extreme certainty, as if... Lu Ren were about to ask for credit.

Lu Ren gave the leisurely Old Beggar beside him a look.

Qingchengzi seemed not to notice at all, and even began to hum a tune.

It was not until Lu Ren had stared at him for quite a while that he seemed to realize it, and shifted his gaze over.

But this act.

Was a bit too fake.

And even a little exaggerated.

Qingchengzi slapped his thigh, his face full of exaggeration, and cried out, "Oh my! Look at my brain, Lu Family Head, you wouldn't happen to be out of money, would you?"

"That shouldn't be."

"How could the famous Lu Family Head be out of money?"

Lu Ren withdrew his gaze.

His mood remained calm throughout.

He had never intended to let Qingchengzi pay for him anyway.

This shop was definitely strange, though he did not yet know what exactly this strangeness was.

Lu Ren took out his Spirit Stone bag, and several Essence Souls appeared in his hand.

As if money were falling from the sky, they clattered onto the tabletop.

"Is this enough to pay the bill?" Lu Ren asked.

In any other shop, these Essence Souls would be enough to book the place for an entire day.

But the waiter standing beside the table did not even change his expression.

Oh no, his expression did change a little.

He went from frowning... to a face full of anger.

He said displeasedly: "This guest, you cannot joke with me like this. Where is the money here?"

As he spoke, he waved his hand and took out a Prismatic Top-Grade Crystal, placing it on the table. "This is what money is!"

The Prismatic Top-Grade Crystal placed on the table shone brilliantly, but it was not transparent; a light like fire flickered within it.

Every cut surface was extremely exquisite, as if it possessed a mesmerizing curve.

A single extra glance was enough to make one feel how profound the mechanical craftsmanship of the person who cut this top-grade crystal must be.

The waiter boasted: "This is money! You better look closely! If you don't have money... then we can only assume you are dining and dashing!"

Although he kept using polite forms of address, there was no respect in his tone, and his eyes were instead full of threats.

Qingchengzi leaned in with a cheeky grin at this moment.

He said craftily: "Lu Family Head! If you don't have money, this Old Beggar won't mind. Let this meal be my treat to you!"

As he spoke, Qingchengzi prepared to take out his Storage Bag, looking somewhat pained.

Before.

He had truly lost face on Lu Ren's turf.

Hmph, these Prismatic Top-Grade Crystals required extremely precise control of Spirit Power.

To say nothing else.

Qingchengzi usually traveled through the human world, tempering himself in the mortal dust.

His Spirit Power and Mental Power had long since been trained to an extremely profound level.

While begging, he had relied on his own strength to carve the prismatic crystals. He had barely saved over ten thousand.

... Although it was truly painful to part with them, it would be good to let Lu Ren lose some face by taking them out.

It would at least be a way to vent his own frustration.

Qingchengzi thought to himself.

But...

Lu Ren raised a hand to stop him.

Qingchengzi was stunned for a moment, then could not help but say: "Lu Family Head, don't underestimate the waiter in this shop. If we can't come up with the money, I'm afraid we'll really be treated as people who dine and dash."

"The consequences of dining and dashing..."

"Are not pleasant!"

Qingchengzi's words were full of hints.

Putting aside the embarrassment of dining and dashing, a place that could make him so wary was likely not something to be trifled with.

But he had gotten one thing wrong.

Lu Ren had no intention of dining and dashing.

Lu Ren merely picked up a Spirit Soul placed on the tabletop; this was the essence of a top-grade crystal, also known as an Essence Soul, and he asked the waiter, "If I were to pay with Spirit Souls of this shape, how many would be required?"

Once the matter involved money, the waiter's expression suddenly changed, and he smiled with extreme sycophancy.

"If you, honored guest, have this to pay with, then we are, of course, infinitely welcoming."

"I'll even waive the odd change for you."

"Just ten will do!"

"Honored guest, look... when do you intend to pay..."

He spoke slowly and deliberately.

Lu Ren gazed at the Spirit Soul in his hand, lost in thought.

Qingchengzi grew anxious at once.

He slapped his thigh hard, incredibly agitated, "Oh! You! You!"

Qingchengzi looked left and right, then said, "Lu Family Head, whatever you intend to do, you must at least discuss it with an old man like me; otherwise, doing something so sudden, you'll scare my heart into stopping!"

At this moment, Qingchengzi was truly suffering in silence, wanting to cry but having no tears.

He gritted his teeth.

"You just arrived here and don't know, but if you have made a promise and fail to fulfill it, then..."

Originally, he had wanted to tell Lu Ren just how grave a mistake Lu Ren's act of boasting had been.

However.

Before Qingchengzi could finish the rest of his words, Lu Ren was already holding the Spirit Soul, slowly closing his eyes.

At the same time he closed his eyes, a sharp sound of wind that made one tremble appeared in his palm.

No.

It was not the sound of wind.

It was Spirit Power! He was actually able to use Spirit Power to manifest wind!

Wind Blade turned into a knife!

One after another, blades formed from Spirit Power sliced into the round Spirit Soul in Lu Ren's hand.

Fine, powdery dust fell onto the tabletop, and a rhombic Spirit Soul appeared, just like that, right before Qingchengzi's eyes.

Qingchengzi was stunned instantly.

He opened his mouth wide in disbelief, then shook his head violently.

"No, it's impossible."

"Even I, the Old Beggar, have tried many times, but this Spirit Soul has an extremely demanding curvature."

"It is absolutely impossible to succeed in one or two tries!"

His words had barely faded before he was proven wrong.

After the waiter received the Spirit Soul in his hand, a face full of smiles appeared instantly.

He said obsequiously, "So the honored guest really has money! And the quality is so superior! What else does the honored guest need? Our shop's signature dishes are being prepared by the master chef himself today!"

The change in attitude...

It caught Qingchengzi completely off guard.

Qingchengzi widened his eyes abruptly, looking just like a frog that had been stepped on in the belly.

It was full of incredulity.

(End of chapter)