Chapter 287

When they reached the Imperial City, the night was pitch black!

The Night Sky sparkled with Stars, emitting Spiritual Light; a full moon hung overhead, pouring down crystal-clear silver radiance, as gentle as a River!

Xu Que had already stowed the vehicle outside the city and entered on foot with Er Gouzi!

Though night had fallen, the bustling Imperial City remained lively, the Night Market noisy with crowds coming and going!

Street vendors lined the roads, selling all kinds of sweet snacks and treats; the aroma filled the entire ancient street!

Er Gouzi walked while drooling, his big eyes bulging out as he kept urging Xu Que: "Young Lad, buy something to eat! This Divine Venerable just fought a battle and needs food to replenish his strength!"

Arriving at this place thick with the scent of mortal life, Er Gouzi was already ecstatic all over—after being locked up for so many years, he hadn't even had a sip of water!

Now standing beneath the Imperial City's myriad delicious foods, Er Gouzi had already drooled a puddle on the ground!

"Oh, over there they're selling steamed buns—go buy a few!" Xu Que pointed to a stall ahead.

Though the Night Market's food aromas were tempting, Xu Que wasn't the least interested—everything was too crude; the seasonings couldn't compare at all to those from his past-life Earth!

Besides, he was a heavy-flavor foodie who loved barbecue and Stinky Tofu, and occasionally treated himself to six-coin Spicy Hot Pot—so most of the Night Market's mild snacks couldn't stir his appetite at all!

"Steamed buns can't replenish much strength, Young Lad! Hurry up and get some silver or Spirit Stones—I'll go buy myself!" Er Gouzi, unable to resist the food's temptation, tugged at Xu Que's sleeve, urging him.

Xu Que chuckled and said: "Getting silver and Spirit Stones isn't impossible—but you've got to offer something in exchange. Hey, don't give me that look—I'm doing this for your own good! You can't develop the bad habit of expecting food handed to you—you've got to learn to earn money through labor! Don't you know labor is the most glorious thing?"

Xu Que felt Er Gouzi's habit of living off others' labor must be crushed decisively.

"Bullshit! This Divine Venerable has always earned money through labor! How dare you slander me?"

"When have you ever labored?"

"Right now! Can't you see I'm already working? I'm pulling your sleeve—that's labor!"

"Oh? So you're robbing me now? Even on me?"

"If you want to put it that way, fine—I get money by strength!"

"Hmm, that's not wrong. Alright, I've got all my money with the Sword Spirit. You want cash? Fine—I'll call the Sword Spirit out!"

Xu Que spoke, pulling a Sword from his System Storage Space!

Little guy!

If you're not happy, let's spar!

I've got a Sword Spirit—why should I fear you?

"Aaaah!"

Er Gouzi let out a shriek, tucked his tail, spun around, and bolted—vanished in a flash!

No choice—Xu Que had the Sword Spirit in hand, and Er Gouzi was like Sun Wukong with the Golden Hoop on his head: no tricks left, just a pounding headache.

Xu Que laughed and stowed the Sword again.

Er Gouzi absolutely needed a lesson—he was getting too arrogant, daring to demand money so brazenly!

"Tsk tsk, Er Gouzi, why run? Still want money?" Xu Que called out via Sound Transmission, spotting Er Gouzi crouched in a corner.

"Damn it, kid, you've got guts! Wait till I get back—I'll get my own food!" Er Gouzi, furious, turned and stormed off.

Xu Que grinned and said: "Don't leave—I was just joking! Fine, I'm hungry too. How about I roast you a few Roasted Chicken Wings?"

"Fuck! Chicken wings? That's dog food! This Divine Venerable won't eat such low-class stuff! Goodbye!"

Er Gouzi darted off, vanishing into a narrow alley!

Deep in the alley, a faint, fragrant scent drifted—like someone's Kitchen was cooking!

Following the aroma, Xu Que circled around and saw it was the back kitchen of a tavern—he couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

"I thought this dumb dog had finally grown some backbone—turns out he's still shameless, sneaking into someone's tavern kitchen to steal food!"

Xu Que turned away, deciding to cook something himself.

That idiot Er Gouzi actually looked down on Roasted Chicken Wings?

Roasted Chicken Wings are heavenly delicacies!

But first he needed ingredients—he hadn't hunted any Demon Beasts in a long time, and his System Storage Space had zero chicken wings; now he couldn't even eat!

So he walked down an entire street—and not a single stall sold chicken meat!

He finally found a stall selling meat pies—yes, they had chicken legs and chicken meat—but not a single chicken wing!

According to the vendor, chicken wings were too skinny, with more bone than meat, just like chicken necks—nobody wanted to buy them, so they were usually thrown out or given to the Poor Slums!

Xu Que was furious—how could these fools be just like the people of Fire Yuan Kingdom? Such a delicious ingredient, wasted like this!

He kept walking, determined to find chicken wings!

Finally, at the end of the street, Xu Que locked eyes on a small stall!

Whether ancient, modern, or in another world, land value always rose with prosperity!

Even stalls on this street required rent.

And rent for central locations was certainly higher than for quiet peripheral spots.

Xu Que had reached the street's end—far from the Night Market's center, even remote; few pedestrians passed by, and those who did didn't even glance at the stalls on either side!

This made business terrible here—partly because they couldn't afford rent for better spots, partly because their goods weren't unique enough to attract customers.

The direction Xu Que fixed on was a simple mother-and-son duo selling goods—the woman looked very young, pure and beautiful, with a five- or six-year-old son who quietly helped her.

They sold ordinary meat pies.

Perhaps due to insufficient funds, the woman couldn't even afford chicken meat—she sat quietly, picking scraps of meat from chicken wings to fill the pies!

"Mother, your meat pies are so delicious—even cheaper than candied haws—why don't people buy them?" the child asked, his innocent eyes fixed on his mother.

The woman smiled tenderly, stroking his head: "Because candied haws are tastier—you always drool when you see them, don't you?"

"No! I love your meat pies the most! From now on, I'll never eat candied haws again!" the child declared, fists clenched, as if making a monumental decision!

Watching this, Xu Que couldn't help but be amused—he stepped forward.