Chapter 30: A Mental Block

  Transtor: Krukist

  Lin Yu’s mind stirred, a bitter smile tugging at his lips as realization hit. If he lost, he hadn’t promised Situ Deng anything specific, but life in Heavenly Cloud City would turn grim. The Situ ’s influence alone might be manageable, but Situ Deng’s words hi more—even Nan Zhan backed this deal. Lose, and the whole city would grind him down.

  “So this is an ordinary man’s fate? Kind of funny.” His mouth twitched, face calm, but a scoff echoed in his chest. “oy with oners’ lives like it’s nothing—ironid pathetic.”

  He knew pining ged little. Powerless and resourceless, he was at their mercy. In a way, Situ Deng and his ilk weren’t pure evil—if they were, they could’ve quietly snuffed him out. With the Situ ’s sway, erasing one Lin Yu—or a hundred—was a mere whisper.

  Still, Nan Ziyan’s role loomed rge. As the only oo get her eating again, Lin Yu held value. If she relied solely on his food, the manor would owe him a debt—a favor from the Southwestern Marquis himself.

  That might expin Situ Deng’s open challenge—fair py over foul. Lin Yu’s eyes glinted as he grinned. “Let’s bet Spirit Stones.”

  “Spirit Stones?” Situ Deng ughed. “How many you got? A bumpkin like you might scrape together hundreds, maybe thousands. I toss around tens of thousands without blinking. Poverty caps your imagination.”

  Lin Yu didn’t flinodding instead. “True. I’ve got just a thousaerday’s gift from the Marquis. It’s my everything. To you? Pocket ge.”

  In truth, he had only a handful from the manor maid Xia Rahousand” was long spent recharging his system. This was a bluff, a white wolf with empty hands. But he knew Situ Deng would bite.

  Sure enough, Situ Deng’s eyes flickered, sizing him up. “Lose, and you’re broke?”

  Lin Yu feigned a shrug. “Yeah. I’d have nothing—not even tomorrow’s cash for my sister.”

  His expression shifted—three parts disdain, three parts mockery. “But I’m betting you’ll lose. I’m fident. You in?”

  “Heh…” Situ Deng wavered, then crity struck. So that’s Lin Yu’s game—absolute certainty? He g the Braised Pork on Lin Yu’s tray.

  “It smells , I’ll give him that. He’s got tricks—looks tasty—but it’s still pork. The stench is in the meat itself.” Situ Deng’s gaze steadied, cool aached. “He doesn’t get it. No matter how good it tastes, their mental blocks will never let them face this dish head-on. I’ve won… Bankrupting him? Tempting.”

  “If he’s broke, he ’t even flee Heavenly Cloud City—stuck cooking for Ziyan in the manor forever.” A smirk grew. “Yesterday’s meal she ate? Probably a fluke with some luck. Get his recipes, and I’ll break her barrier myself.”

  The more he thought, the brighter his mood. With a nod and a grand sweep of his sleeve, he said, “A measly thousand Spirit Stones? Fine, we’ll bet.”

  Lin Yu nodded back. Situ Deng wouldn’t cheat—pride mattered too much to these rich kids. Stepping to Nan Zhan’s spot, he used special wooden chopsticks to pce ks of Braised Pork on a pte.

  Qin Caiyun blinked. “This is pork?”

  The meat gleamed like polished gems—slick with entig sheen, fatty bits translut, lean parts promising tenderness. Its aroma hit hard, a primal meaty rush. Her throat bobbed, but her chopsticks stayed still. It ork.

  Lin Yu smiled, not pushing her, and moved to Situ g. He dropped a pieto his white por pte. Situ g burst out ughing. “Lin Yu, right? Not bad for a vilger—pork suits you.”

  A jab at his low birth via pork’s stigma. Everyone here was noble—except Lin Yu and Lin Ling’er, on-born.

  Before he finished, Situ g’s face twisted. He smmed the table. “But we’re kingdom nobles! You think we’d stoop to your level ahis?”

  Lin Yu met his gre, unfazed by the mountain-like pressure rolling off him. “How do you know pork’s taste without trying? Does eating it strip your atus?”

  Situ g’s fury spiked. “Hmph! You’re baitio taste it—to ditch my dignity for pork? I ought to end you!”

  Nan Zhan frow the outburst. He’d backed Lin Yu earlier, but now, fag the tempting Braised Pork, his owal block held firm.