Chapter 2: My friend, this bagel and tea are marvelous!

  Jin Kai did not feel happy when he saw the expression of fear on Lin Feng’s face. On the contrary, his patience was wearing thinner and thinner.

  Another lash of the whip split the air, leaving a searing pain radiating across Lin Feng’s rear.

  Smack! – Another lash of the whip!

  Smack! – Yet another lash landed on his rear!

  Whip strikes coming from an unknown direction pounded Lin Feng’s backside, and Lin Feng was desperately trying to shield it! But no matter what he did, he could not fend off these blows!

  "Are you repentant? Will you pay your debt?!" Jin Kai asked in an authoritative tone.

  Smack!

  "Ahh! I—"

  Smack!

  "Ahh! I will pay!!"

  Smack!–

  The final lash halted impossibly midair with a slight wave of Jin Kai’s hand, just before it could touch Lin Feng.

  It was only then that Lin Feng was able to see the whip that had struck him.

  It was as thin as a rope!

  ("What in the world is this?!")

  He quickly followed the source of the whip and realized that it had extended from the fingers of a wooden puppet.

  ("Fuck, did I just get beaten by a puppet?!")

  In shame and tears, as he rubbed the pain in his rear with his hand behind his back, that thought echoed in his mind.

  Then he looked at Jin Kai and saw that the latter was still waiting impatiently.

  Jin Kai’s eyes were fixed on Lin Feng’s coin purse, as if he could see the Qi Stones inside!

  Shivering under Jin Kai’s gaze, Lin Feng hastily pulled the coin purse from his pocket. He counted 13 Qi Stones and extended them to Jin Kai.

  The impatient look on Jin Kai’s face vanished like melting ice in snowy mountains after a meteor strike the moment he saw the Qi Stones Lin Feng offered. In its place, his expression turned gentle and friendly once again.

  He served the bagels and tea to the table with a smile:

  "Thank you for choosing my shop. Enjoy your meal."

  And Lin Feng stood there dumbfounded like an idiot.

  ("Fuck… what is with that expression?!")

  ("How can he act as if nothing happened?!")

  ("Is this... the Tao of Shamelessness?!")

  Yet he could not voice these thoughts. After all, his dick wasn’t that big.

  So, while rubbing the pain in his rear, he forced a smile and sat down on a chair.

  At that moment he was so terrified that he could have paid all his money just to get out of there.

  But seeing Jin Kai’s strange behavior, he decided not to deviate from his words.

  He sat where he was told and began consuming the bagels and tea.

  For about a minute he drifted into thought.

  Then, the exquisite aroma of the tea and bagels filled his nostrils. It almost touched his soul.

  The scent was so wonderful that, for a moment, it even made him forget the pain in his rear.

  Grulll!

  A rumble from his stomach echoed in the shop.

  Lin Feng lowered his head in embarrassment.

  While one hand rubbed his stomach, he glanced at Jin Kai.

  But Jin Kai didn’t even seem to care.

  He had moved to the front of his counter, eagerly looking toward the door.

  ("He must be waiting for another customer…")

  ("He’s forgotten about me the moment he started making a sale...")

  Lin Feng furtively cast a glance at the wooden puppet.

  It stood unmoving in place, fixedly watching the door.

  Beside it was… a rooster staring at him with a strange expression.

  Lin Feng’s eyebrow twitched.

  ("I swear that damn rooster is looking at me with disdain!")

  He took a deep breath.

  And shook his head in despair as if to say, “Where have I fallen?”

  Then he closed his eyes and focused.

  ("What’s done is done.")

  ("They don’t seem like they’re going to harm me.")

  ("Besides, they didn’t steal my money. They didn’t even injure me.")

  ("If they meant to do something to me, they would have already done it.")

  But when he recalled the 13 Qi Stones he had just given,

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  a sorrowful smile appeared on his face.

  However, the exquisite aroma of the tea and bagels transformed his sorrowful smile into one filled with hope.

  ("Maybe it was worth it?") he mused mockingly to himself.

  He reached for one of the bagels.

  His fingers immediately felt the crisp texture of the fresh dough.

  He gently squeezed it.

  The exterior was crunchy… yet the interior was soft as could be.

  He took a bite.

  And his pupils dilated.

  The sesame-coated outer surface of the bagel created a burst of flavor on his palate.

  The roasted taste of the sesame spread over his tongue.

  Then, the slightly salty and incredibly delicious texture of the dough caressed his mouth.

  Unbidden, a pair of tears welled up in his eyes.

  He chewed the bagel with immense delight.

  And the tears streamed down his cheeks.

  These were tears of happiness!

  "Extraordinary…" he murmured.

  As the muscles in his jaw worked, an indescribable satisfaction appeared on his face.

  He had tasted many foods in his life. He had even eaten beast meat when he had the means.

  But this bagel?

  This seemingly simple round thing?

  No…

  This was something entirely different.

  He took another bite.

  This time, he paid even more attention to the inner part of the dough.

  The outside was crunchy, while the inside was as soft as clouds.

  ("The exquisite harmony of crispiness and softness…")

  Before taking a sip of tea, he placed the bagel on the table.

  He stared at the cup.

  For a moment, he hesitated.

  He did not know what this tea was.

  Moreover, the two sugar cubes beside it only complicated the matter further.

  But…

  The aroma was so delightful that he could no longer resist.

  He lifted the cup and took the first sip.

  The warm liquid spread over his tongue and palate.

  And for a moment he closed his eyes.

  It was an entirely different experience.

  So rich, so powerful in flavor that…

  For a moment, he compared it to that exquisite beer he had never forgotten throughout his life.

  Yes…

  That beer had aged in bottles for years.

  But this tea?

  This simple tea?

  It did not fall short of that exquisite beer in any way!

  "Hm?" With great astonishment, as if witnessing a miracle, he looked at the bagels and tea before him.

  ("The pain in my rear is gone!")

  A surge of excitement spread across his face, but he quickly suppressed it.

  ("Fuck, my xiulian foundation is solidifying! Normally, it would have taken days, perhaps even weeks, to achieve this! But these simple foods… They can be compared to alchemy pills!")

  Author’s Note: In xiulian practices, cultivators must solidify their foundation when they make a minor or major breakthrough. This is somewhat akin to allowing a freshly baked food to cool down.

  He cast an admiring glance at Jin Kai.

  ("These are definitely worth the money! No, they are even more valuable than 13 Qi Stones! Both an exquisite taste and the effect of an alchemy pill!")

  He stood up, gathered his courage, and addressed Jin Kai with an expression full of admiration.

  "Sir–"

  Seeing him rise, Jin Kai became a bit excited and cut him off.

  "Would you like another cup of tea?"

  The admiration on Lin Feng’s face froze. He forced a smile.

  "No. I–"

  Jin Kai’s smile faded slightly.

  "Would you like a bagel?"

  Sweat appeared on Lin Feng’s forehead.

  "No–"

  This time, Jin Kai’s smile almost completely disappeared, replaced by an expression full of suspicion.

  "Is there a problem with the bagel or the tea?"

  For the first time in his life, Lin Feng looked at Jin Kai with a foolish expression. His mind raced and he could only murmur a single word.

  "No–"

  But having completely lost his patience, Jin Kai interrupted him once more.

  "WHAT?! Then why the hell are you bothering me?!"

  Then, once again with excitement, he turned to the door, waiting for the next customer.

  Lin Feng was uncertain, but he noticed once again that the rooster was giving him a disdainful look. This time, it even seemed to be laughing at him. Moreover, the puppet now appeared to be joining in with the rooster!

  With his cheeks reddening in shame, Lin Feng sat back down in his chair and, while eating another bagel, mumbled, "I only wanted to know your illustrious name…"

  But this time, something miraculous happened that he had not expected at all.

  Without breaking his composure, as if he had heard Lin Feng’s mumbling, Jin Kai replied,

  "My name is Jin Kai. You may call me Boss Jin. The puppet that beat you is named Picockyo. And the rooster’s name is Zamazingo. You may call them by their names."

  Lin Feng glanced at Zamazingo and Picockyo in bewilderment.

  ("Why on earth did he give names to a rooster and a puppet? And more importantly, why did he say I can call them? How can a rooster understand me? Also… doesn’t he control that puppet himself?!")

  He looked at Jin Kai in confusion.

  ("Secret experts really are eccentric…")

  Then he smiled faintly and shook his head.

  "Thank you for answering my question, Boss Jin."

  He brought his hand to the bagel, and just as he was about to shove it into his mouth, he added with a small hesitation, "I will remain under your supervision, Great Master Picockyo, Great Master Zamazingo."

  ("Fuck, dealing with secret experts is really hard. I can never figure out what I should say…")

  Lin Feng was uncertain, but he felt that the puppet and rooster, addressed as "Great Master," had become slightly proud.

  He shook his head helplessly, laughed internally, and brought his hand to his tea.

  Just as he was about to take a sip, two sugar cubes caught his attention.

  He did not know what they were, but since they were served next to the cup and accompanied by a spoon, they must be something meant to be added to the tea. Therefore, he cast a secret glance at Jin Kai, ensuring that he wasn’t being watched. He did not want to appear as a villager who had just come down to the city for the first time.

  So he took one sugar cube, lowered his head, secretly broke off a small piece, and put it into his mouth. Sweetness immediately spread across his tongue.

  ("So it's sugar... Fuck, it's so sweet! But if Boss Jin put it there, he must know what he's doing…")

  He dropped the sugar cube from the tea coaster and the missing piece into his tea. As the sugar dissolved, he took the metal spoon and slowly stirred inside the cup. As the tea and sugar merged, the sound emanating from the cup was soft, yet it resonated like a soothing melody in one's soul.

  He took a sip.

  ("Fuck, it's so sweet!")

  He grimaced and cursed under his breath. The pleasure he had just received from the tea had completely vanished.

  ("But I must drink it all. If Boss Jin added the sugar, he must know something. Otherwise, why would he place sugar beside the tea?")

  He consoled himself in this way and reached for another bagel from the table. He took a bite.

  The sweetness from the sugar had also tainted the flavor of the bagel.

  With an expression filled with sorrow, he murmured once again inwardly, ("Boss Jin must know something…")

  At that very moment, Jin Kai turned to Lin Feng and noticed that the man who had just consumed the bagel and tea with great pleasure was now struggling to eat them with evident distress.

  With a confused look, he asked,

  "Hey, you were eating so happily just a moment ago. Why do you now seem to be forcing yourself to eat?"

  Lin Feng’s heart skipped a beat at this sudden question.

  ("Fuck, since when is he looking at me like that?!")

  Quickly regaining himself, he replied as if nothing had happened,

  "Forcing myself to eat? Why would I force myself to eat these exquisite flavors? They’re so delicious!"

  He even smiled and took a sip of tea to prove his point.

  But the twitch in his eyelids and lips betrayed how fake that smile truly was.

  Jin Kai furrowed his brows:

  "Hey, I don’t like liars! Tell me what’s going on!"

  In pain, Lin Feng looked at him and mustered the courage to say,

  "Well… at first I drank the tea without sugar and everything was fine, but when sugar was added, the taste in my mouth was ruined."

  Jin Kai’s brows raised.

  "If you don’t like it sweet, then why did you add sugar?"

  Lin Feng lowered his head and, looking at the table, replied,

  "Boss Jin, if you put sugar beside the tea, it means that the tea is meant to be drunk sweet."

  Jin Kai was stunned by this answer for a brief moment. Then he looked at him as though he were an idiot.

  "If you believed that tea should be drunk sweet, why would I put the sugar beside the tea? I would have mixed it directly into it before serving."

  Lin Feng lifted his head and looked at Jin Kai. And… he saw that Jin Kai was indeed looking at him like an idiot.

  What kind of expression was that?!

  What a stupid expression indeed!!

  Immediately after, he glanced at Zamazingo and Picockyo. And he realized that they too were looking at him with the same expression.

  With a huge smile plastered on his face as if nothing had happened, he gulped down the entire tea in one go. Then he stuffed all the bagels into his mouth and marched out exclaiming,

  "YDADS LDLS SLSDPSSL" (Thanks for the food).

  Before leaving through the door, he could have sworn that the rooster and the puppet were laughing at him…