Chapter 52: As a Little Brother, One Must Strictly Execute the Boss's Commands

“It’s true, the most common cooking method for barbarians is grilling.”

Man Gu’s pupils blazed with fire, his fighting spirit soaring.

Lu Yang: “…”

Why are you getting pumped up here? We’re supposed to be infiltrating the Demonic Cult, not opening a branch for your family!

Lu Yang sighed. If Man Gu refused to compromise on quality, then they would just have to increase the price.

“What can I get for you two, sirs?”

The two jianghu martial artists were also boisterous individuals. One shouted boldly, “The stronger the better! In the jianghu, I’m known as ‘Cannot Get Drunk Even After a Thousand Cups’!”

The other also yelled, “And I’m known as ‘Cannot Fall Even After Ten Thousand Cups’!”

Lu Yang thought, *You two better stop bragging. Can you handle two pots of pure alcohol?*

Finally, Lu Yang served them two pots of strong *laobaigan*, hoping their alcohol tolerance was as good as their boasts.

Lu Yang stood at the entrance, calling out to guests, his voice booming, “Please take a number and wait in line, no cutting! We’ve prepared free tea and snacks, so please be patient. A table will be ready for you soon!”

“Also, there are no discounts for introducing new customers to our establishment, so please stop bringing new people over!”

Lu Yang wasn’t sure if it would work, but he yelled it out anyway. They couldn’t really open a chain restaurant.

The queuing guests were restless, and questions came one after another.

“Can we make reservations in advance?”

“Do you offer home delivery?”

“Can we book the whole place?”

Among the waiting customers were not just martial artists, but also cultivators who were immensely wealthy.

“Yes, you can make reservations. If the distance isn’t too far, we can offer home delivery, but there will be an additional service charge. Booking the whole place is also fine.”

Lu Yang hoped someone would book the whole place so he could have an easier time.

“Everyone, pay attention, Qin Yuanhao has left his residence.” Lu Yang and Man Gu simultaneously received a telepathic message from Meng Jingzhou. Lu Yang actually felt a sense of relief.

“I’ll go track him. You come down and replace me. Also, Man Gu, keep an eye on him; don’t let him cause any trouble.” Lu Yang mastered both Shrinking Ground and Inch Shortening techniques, giving him a great advantage in combat and tracking.

Lu Yang couldn’t just shrink into the ground in broad daylight. He went to the backyard, where only two *chang* ghosts were present.

The two *chang* ghosts were busily grilling, sweating profusely, their movements so fast they appeared as blurs, as if they wished they had eight arms to work with.

Presumably, they had never lived such fulfilling and busy lives before.

By the way, the two *chang* ghosts were wearing the clothes they wore when they were itinerant merchants in life. To prevent any drunken customers from wandering into the backyard and noticing the ghosts’ inappropriate attire, the three of them spent half a day trying to figure out how to change clothes for ghosts.

From Daoist rituals and Buddhist chanting to poring over ancient texts and verifying legends, they fussed over it until the two *chang* ghosts were utterly exhausted.

Fortunately, Lu Yang discovered the simplest method: just burn the clothes for the *chang* ghosts.

The two *chang* ghosts were so engrossed in their work that they didn’t notice Lu Yang’s arrival. Lu Yang smoothly shrank into the ground and cautiously began tracking Qin Yuanhao.

Meng Jingzhou quickly changed clothes and replaced Lu Yang, all while skewering lamb. He said, “Here are your lamb skewers, distinguished guest. Please enjoy.”

“Speaking of these lamb skewers, they have quite a story. Let me tell you slowly. One day, golden light shone in the northern grasslands, and an infant was born…”

***

Qin Yuanhao moved through the shadows, his figure seeming to merge with the night. Even passing pedestrians didn’t notice his presence.

“Is it a cultivation method related to shadows, or perhaps darkness?” Lu Yang observed secretly, trying to gather as much information as possible.

To create his own cultivation method, he had extensively read various books and understood all sorts of techniques.

Lu Yang continued to track Qin Yuanhao.

Qin Yuanhao trod along a muddy path, entering a winding alley. The sour stench emanating from it was strong enough for Lu Yang to smell even while hidden underground.

Lu Yang heard Qin Yuanhao’s footsteps quicken, knowing that the man was not in a good mood.

Qin Yuanhao frowned, disliking this place. His face was grim as he kicked open a door, startling his sleeping subordinate awake.

“Still sleeping!”

The subordinate quickly got up, trembling, unsure why his boss was angry.

They had worked diligently and never dared to be lazy. Was it wrong to sleep at night after a day of work?

On the contrary, their boss stayed up every night and slept all day. Their work schedule was much more regular than his.

Qin Yuanhao kicked his subordinate against the wall and roared, “Why has no one reported to me these past few days? Where are the people I told you to find?!”

The subordinate felt as if his chest had been struck by a giant hammer. He said aggrievedly, “Boss, you were the one who said that if we couldn’t find the person, we shouldn’t come to see you.”

“We couldn’t find the person you mentioned, so we didn’t dare to see you. How is it wrong to follow your orders?”

The subordinate cried out in injustice. He did whatever his boss told him to, yet his boss was still unhappy. He was truly difficult to please.

Qin Yuanhao: “…”

He actually felt that what his subordinate said made perfect sense, but he still wanted to hit him. What should he do?

“If you can’t come to see me, can’t you write a letter?!”

“But you also said that important matters must be reported in person.”

“Didn’t I also say to handle special situations specially?!” Qin Yuanhao fumed.

“You did say to handle special situations specially, but you also said that what constitutes a special situation needs to be discussed internally by us, and then you would personally make the decision.”

“Then did you discuss it?”

“We discussed it two days ago and unanimously agreed that this is a special situation that requires your decision.”

“Then why didn’t I see you let me decide?!”

“You said important matters must be reported in person, and we couldn’t find the person spreading rumors, so we couldn’t come to see you.”

Qin Yuanhao: “…”

Am I going to be driven to my death here today?

Qin Yuanhao took two deep breaths, repeatedly telling himself not to kill, not to kill. Although these subordinates were inflexible, they were loyal to him and strictly executed his orders without the slightest deviation.

Killing subordinates would make the others below him feel disheartened.

Besides, he didn’t have many trustworthy subordinates to begin with; if he killed more, there would be none left.

“So, how is the search for this person going? If you can’t find the person, there should at least be some clues, right?” Qin Yuanhao stared at his subordinate. If he dared to say there were no clues, he wouldn’t be alive today!

*Does he really think I won’t kill him?!*

The subordinate mumbled softly that there were none, but seeing his boss’s murderous gaze, he quickly added, “Big Brother, you know how distinctive the person you’re looking for is. They’d attract attention just by showing their face on the street. Four days have passed, and our brothers’ feet are covered in blisters from running, but we still haven’t found anyone.”

“Aside from anything else, just the condition of being eight feet wide and eight feet tall—we’ve inquired everywhere and only found one person who fits that description, but they don’t have pockmarks on their face and don’t eat children. They’re quite pleasant-looking, in fact.”

“Who is it?” Qin Yuanhao thought, *Forget about whether they look the same; I’ll kill someone with a similar physique first, as a warning, so those hidden in the shadows don’t look down on me!*

“It’s the tofu vendor’s mascot on Qianmen Street.”

“I’m going to kill you!”