Chapter 293: Hua Munan

His mysterious behavior confused the Wolf Daoist. But Li Yunxin left without hesitation—soon he was chatting with the wolf about other trivia as if he hadn't just cared about that scene.

The Wolf Daoist walked with him for a while. Finally, seeing the yellow-brown wooden sign of "Wood South Residence" across the street, he couldn't help but ask cautiously: "Great King... you are actually... a Human Cultivator, right?"

Li Yunxin turned his head as he walked and smiled: "What makes you say that?"

The Wolf Daoist was terrified of that smile—it looked harmless, but it made it impossible to guess his thoughts. He didn't know if it was a real smile or a cold one hidden under the skin.

He watched Li Yunxin’s face and said submissively: "You speak like a human, and you have a magic tool of a Human Cultivator... no matter how I look, you don't seem like a monster."

Li Yunxin looked at him: "I think you don't look like a monster either."

"You are a monster from elsewhere after all—" the wolf paused and thought, "Our Sword Palace in the Kingdom of Yu is no ordinary gathering place for monsters. My Palace Master's cultivation is profound..."

He began speaking cautiously again. Li Yunxin understood his meaning—he wanted to make him realize how powerful the Sword Palace was so he'd back off.

The wolf guessed he was human probably because he had been watching that woman.

Li Yunxin ignored him and walked a few more steps, stopping in front of the Rong City branch of Wood South Residence.

The storefront looked exactly like the one in Weicheng, and the decor was typical of the Kingdom of Qing. It stood out significantly on the streets of Rong City.

Li Yunxin watched for a while and frowned. Not because it looked out of place, but because it actually existed in Rong City.

This wasn't his era, where restaurant chains were common. In this age of low productivity and purchasing power, the business environment was incomparable. He thought it was impressive enough that the main shop was in Weicheng and had branches in the four prefectures. Now hearing from the wolf that it had opened in Rong City, he was truly surprised—how did they handle logistics, labor, and management?

He walked inside and found the layout identical to the Wood South Residence he often ate at in Weicheng.

There were no customers, just two waiters sitting by the counter, napping lazily—a sharp contrast to the weary people on the street.

They looked up at the sound of footsteps. Seeing Li Yunxin and the wolf, they snapped to attention, but they weren't terrified. One waiter tapped the counter, and the manager stood up from behind, rubbing his sleepy eyes: "Oh, you two have arrived."

"You two have arrived" was a common greeting—regardless of whether they were regulars.

But when the manager rubbed his eyes and looked closely at Li Yunxin, he was stunned. Then, a look of genuine joy appeared on his face as he said heartily: "Oh, it's you, young master!"

Li Yunxin was also stunned.

He recognized this manager.

Back when he had shocked the Prefect of Li to death in the Liuhe Prefecture Office, he had gone to Wood South Residence with Old Daoist Liu.

After eating, he found Head Constable Yin Pingzhi waiting for him downstairs. The manager at the time, thinking he and the old Daoist were "nobles" known to the Head Constable, not only waived their bill but sent another feast to the Dragon King Temple.

Li Yunxin had an excellent memory, so he remembered the man. He also remembered Head Constable Yin calling him "Old Wang," so after a moment’s shock, he laughed and cupped his hands: "Manager Wang. Long time no see—how did you end up here?"

Yes. How did he... end up here?

He hadn't looked closely at the waiters before. Now that he did, they also looked familiar. They should be from the Weicheng shop as well.

It was understandable if one of them had been out of town when the Daoists of Langya Grotto-Heaven entered Weicheng, sealed it, and burned it.

But now it looked like... they had all escaped?!

Li Yunxin scanned the shop. This time, he saw the person behind the wine cabinet in the corner.

Another... familiar face.

He had planned the death of Young Master Nine and Lingkongzi, then talked with Qingliangzi (who was possessing a beggar) at another branch in northern Weicheng—and the man now behind the wine cabinet...

Was the manager of that branch!

The man behind the cabinet nodded and cupped his hands to Li Yunxin from afar.

Li Yunxin let out a slow breath, remaining calm. He glanced out the door.

Manager Wang returned the greeting, smiling kindly. It truly felt like meeting an old friend in a strange land, his voice warm: "Thanks to your luck, young master, we all happened to be heading to the main shop to settle accounts when it happened, so we escaped. When we looked back, whoa, the fire was terrifying! Where could we go? Heading north was too risky, and it just so happened this branch was short on staff, so we all came here—luckily the Wolf Daoist looked after us."

He cupped his hands to the Wolf Daoist.

The wolf looked from the manager to Li Yunxin and stayed silent.

Li Yunxin thought for a moment, walked to a table by the window, and sat down. He looked at Manager Wang with a smile: "Where is your main shop?"

"Ah, in Jinghua. The capital of our Great Qing Dynasty," Manager Wang replied, while ordering the waiters to prepare food—listing a dozen dish names in one go.

Li Yunxin realized they were all the dishes he and Old Daoist Liu had ordered that day.

Then the manager walked over, invited the silent wolf to sit, and sat down to accompany them: "The water route from Jinghua to Weicheng wasn't safe back then. We had some business to do here anyway, so we took a detour—it was a stroke of luck."

Li Yunxin was silent for a moment, then said: "Your business is so large; it seems you have branches everywhere?"

Manager Wang laughed proudly: "Exactly. Wherever there is a major city, there is a Wood South Residence."

The first dish arrived: Stir-fried Pork Hibiscus, along with a bottle of Mu Nan Chun Wine. Li Yunxin had liked this dish at the Dragon King Temple. But now he just watched and didn't touch his chopsticks.

The manager looked at him, picked up his own chopsticks: "This is the Rong City branch, but the taste hasn't changed. Look—"

He apologized, took a bite, then wiped his beard: "Not a bit of difference."

Li Yunxin poured himself a cup of wine. He sniffed it and drank: "Who is the head manager of your establishment?"

Manager Wang smiled: "Our Big Manager is a heroine among women. Her name is Hua Munan. The name Wood South Residence is taken from her name."

"Good." Li Yunxin said only that one word and stopped speaking.

The manager sat for a bit longer, said a few words to the wolf, then got up and went back behind the counter... appearing to go back to sleep.

The Wolf Daoist blinked and looked at Li Yunxin, who was bathed in the evening sun: "Uh... this is..."

"What is the background of these people?" Li Yunxin suddenly frowned and asked.

The wolf was stunned: "It's... just like he said?"

Li Yunxin looked at him: "There was already a branch here, then this group arrived, and you let them stay?"

"Uh... exactly," the wolf replied hesitantly. "The Rong City branch has been here for over a hundred years. Back then, I hadn't even opened my Spiritual Wisdom. Our Palace Master said he loves the flavor here, so no one dares touch them—"

He suddenly stopped, fearing he'd say too much. He saw Li Yunxin didn't follow up, so he asked: "Great King... are you really a Human Cultivator?"

He had suspected it before. Now hearing he knew people from Wood South Residence in Weicheng, his theory seemed confirmed.

However, to Li Yunxin... the Wolf Daoist didn't seem to find these people strange. Perhaps because, as he said, their Palace Master liked the food, so the lower demons didn't need to know "why," only "how to act."

But on the other hand—

The people from the Weicheng branch "happened" to escape together. That could be explained by extreme coincidence and luck.

But the manager remembering him, and specifically remembering the dishes he ordered long ago—this could not be explained by "coincidence" or "a good memory."

Manager Wang was almost explicitly telling Li Yunxin, "I am watching you, and with extraordinary focus."

Li Yunxin thought for a while, narrowed his eyes, and stopped talking.

This made the wolf even more anxious—he turned to look out the window.

It had been half a month since the start of autumn. In just a dozen days, the weather had cooled, and the days were shorter. Now the sun was setting behind the mountains, casting its final glow.

The wolf seemed impatient but didn't dare rush Li Yunxin.

The dishes from Wood South Residence were served one after another, soon filling the table. But Li Yunxin looked at the full table and frowned.

Manager Wang peeked from behind the counter. Seeing Li Yunxin hadn't touched his chopsticks, he came over to ask.

Li Yunxin pointed at a dish: "What is this?"

Manager Wang looked and blinked: "Phoenix Eye White Jade Threads, sir."

"It looks like it. But the one in Weicheng uses dried longan and chicken silk. Why are you using mushroom strips to fool me?" Li Yunxin leaned back and gestured to the table: "A full table of dishes, yet they're all vegetarian masquerading as meat—do you take me for a rabbit, Manager Wang?"

Manager Wang laughed and clapped his hands: "The young master is truly an expert. This vegetarian feast... most people can't even see the difference, let alone taste it. Since you saw it at a glance, you are truly a man of taste."

Li Yunxin smiled: "What's going on?"

Manager Wang glanced at the Wolf Daoist and smiled: "It's like this. In the Kingdom of Yu, we have the 'Sword Palace Law.' It says Palace Master Yang Jianzi cares for all living beings; he feels that humans and monsters are all living things of the world. And since monsters come from birds and beasts, he promotes equality—so we shouldn't eat each other."

He stroked his beard and paced: "Initially, the law said humans could only eat grains. Monsters too. But the nobles in the capital of Zhanghua felt meat tasted better and ignored it. Since Yang Jianzi is the National Teacher, he had to tolerate it. So in the capital, people can eat whatever they want—just not in front of monsters."

"But here, we don't have nobles from the capital—so we follow the Law. Therefore, Wood South Residence shouldn't break the rule; we have to consider the big picture and the feelings of the monster cultivators."

Li Yunxin was stunned for a moment, then looked at the wolf: "Is this true?"

The wolf hesitated and said, "Uh... well, we don't care if you eat at home. Just don't do it in front of us..."

Li Yunxin sighed and pointed at the wolf: "You're a fundamentalist. This kind of fundamentalism is bad—if humans respect your feelings, why don't you respect theirs? Look at what this shop has become. Does the chef not need time and energy to research these fake meat dishes? By doing this, you're wasting resources—why not use them to build a harmonious human-monster society?"

The wolf didn't dare speak and looked around.

Li Yunxin clapped his hands: "Great. When I arrived, I saw you raising chickens in your yard—and you told me there's pufferfish in the Rong River..."

Manager Wang interjected: "Oh, it seems the Wolf Daoist is a man of taste! We aren't lucky enough to enjoy that pufferfish, but the Masters often have us cook it and send it to them privately—I think the Wolf Daoist means well for the young master, you should try it."

The wolf couldn't sit still and glared at Manager Wang: "This—this—this is a distinguished guest, why serve a vegetarian feast? Take it away, take it away! Bring chicken, duck, beef, and mutton! Hurry!"

Manager Wang ducked his head and scurried away.

Li Yunxin narrowed his eyes and looked the wolf up and down: "So you're the boss in Rong City? Is there a government here?"

The wolf quickly said: "...There is, there is, they're all living... uh, staying here!"

"So there are laws in Yu too," Li Yunxin smiled, pouring another cup of wine. "But it seems the Sword Palace Law is more effective than the national law."