Chapter 1177: 18.15 First Grey Star - Gourmet Hunter Hall
Chapter 1177: 18.15 First Grey Star - Gourmet Hunter Hall
The residents of Numen notice two unusual visitors: one is a beautiful waiter at Ye's Treehouse who is being held as a slave by the old mayor for his lack of respect for the elders; the cubs of the Ye family adore him, and it appears he also resides on the second floor where the family resides; as a result, gossip in the town began to circulate that the waiter is the other father of the young cubs.
The town knew the identity of the young man, but no one refuted the rumors; they wanted Xiao Ye to have a partner who would help him in the family as well as accept the two cubs; they treated Mo Xuejing as Ye Jieye's future partner; they knew that Ye Jieye's other half was rumored to have passed away a few years ago, not long after the Ye Family was also expelled from the house; the old mayor took Ye Jieye in as his grandson and helped this family move into a new house.
In the kitchen, Mo Xuejing helps Ye Jieye remove his apron and even hangs it for him. Ye Jieye is wearing a black tracksuit, which would allow him to move without hindrance. The two cubs also see their father out, as they know he will be leaving for quite some time, like the last time their father left for a day to hunt ingredients.
On the third day after Mo Xuejing arrived in this town, after cooking the special set meal for that day, Ye Jieye left the store for Mo Xuejing to handle. Mo Xuejing agreed without a problem.
Ye Jingxia said, "Come home soon, papa."
"Bhaba, karepul!" Anxia said.
Ye Jieye hugged and gave a kiss to the little cubs while saying, "Listen to your Uncle Mo and Grandpa, okay? Papa will be back as soon as possible."
"Okay (Ohkay)!!"
After bidding farewell to the cubs, Ye Jieye looked at Mo Xuejing and said, "No need to worry much about the restaurant. You can close it when there is nothing to serve anymore. The locals will not bully you since gramps are here. As for the visitors, if they don't follow the rules of the place, feel free to dispose of them accordingly."
"Um. Leave it to me. I will also water the plants and feed the chickens in the backyard. Don't worry," Mo Xuejing said.
It was his first time living such a mundane life, but Mo Xuejing liked this kind of simple living quite a bit. He had grown accustomed to the carefree and simple life in this town, even to the taunting of the old men and aunties in the restaurant. Numen Town had treated him as one of them ever since he started living in the Ye Family's Treehouse.
Ye Jieye helped him clip a stray strand of his hair to the back of his ear, making Mo Xuejing a bit startled.
"Your hair..."
Ye Jieye tried to deny and separate himself from Mo Xuejing, but sometimes he would act in this way out of instinct. There were even times when the God of Void surprised himself. Just now, he withdrew the hand that he had just extended towards Mo Xuejing, acting as though it had not been his hand at all.
While Mo Xuejing never questioned Ye Jieye's rationale for keeping a distance from him, he does occasionally regret how he reacted to it since that makes Ye Jieye's action of putting distance between them even more evident—so evident that even outsiders can see them.
Ye Jieye said before leaving, "I'm going now."
"Um. Be careful on the way," Mo Xuejing said awkwardly
Meanwhile, the melon seed eater at the side...
Doctor Guang mumbled, "Just what is wrong with these two? They are so awkward and tense that it makes even me, who was just watching, so uncomfortable. They are interested in one another. How come the owner is indecisive?"
The old man sitting beside him who knows the current situation commented, "Don't you know that Xiao Ye had no memories of his past, including everything about his late partner?"
"For real, Senior?!" Doctor Guang exclaims.
The Old Mayor said, "I don't know the details. I'm sure you already know his strength as a soloist."
"Of course! The owner insta-killed all of the boss's bodyguards that night. They all died with one hit!" Doctor Guang said.
"On the night Xiao Ye appeared in this town, he was covered in wounds while carrying a sleeping Xiao Jing and Xiao Xia in his embrace. Even so, his aura is full of murderous intent and hatred for someone. He left his children with me that night and headed somewhere else. I asked him that day where he was going and what he was going to do.
He said, 'I want to kill one and want to save someone.' Then he left and returned with a single white flower without a core in his hand." The old man looked serious and angry as he retold a story of the past.
Mo Xuejing was quietly listening on the side while Doctor Guang was showing eagerness to hear more about Ye Jieye's past.
"What flower is it, Senior?" Doctor Guang asked.
The old man didn't reply right away and gave a glance towards Mo Xuejing, "A flower made of ice crystals, but the core is missing. I don't know what it was called. So stop asking you damn brat!" He hit Guang on the back of his head and shut the boy up.
Thoughts of Doctor Guang who was hit: 'There is no need to hit me if you don't know the answer. So unreasonable.'
Mo Xuejing thought in his heart, 'Lost Memories. Hatred and loyalty A flower made of ice crystals without a core. Just what is this old man hinting at me about?' He was about to ask about this topic when suddenly some people entered the restaurant. They seem to be customers.
Ding~ Ling~
"Owner! Three Special Sets!"
"Eh? The owner seems to not be around?"
"Brother Mo, where is the owner?"
"He left for some business. He should be back later. Three Special Sets, right?" Mo Xuejing said.
"What's for the special set today?"
"Shrimp Tempura, Golden Fried Rice, and Crab dumpling soup." Mo Xuejing answered.
The ingredients for the Golden Fried Rice are gold grains made from gold itself, an edible gold that makes each grain glow with an aureate hue; these are 2nd Class, Rare-grade ingredients; the Shrimp Tempura is made from the Jade Shrimp from where Ye Jieye caught the Gemstone Crabs; and the Crab Dumpling Soup is made from the Gemstone River Crabs.
The color of the dumplings is based on the river crab flavor.
Ruby: Spicy
Amethyst: Cinnamon
Emerald: Organic
Sapphire: Basil
Obsidian: Pepper
Diamond: Garlic
Amber: Cumin
"Give me a spicy one."
"I want a sweet version."
"Garlic for me."
Ye Jieye steamed a lot of gemstone-river crab-filled dumplings. The menu was left on the wall, so it was easy to choose. The soup is made from the broth of stewed blue seaweed, a 5th-class, rare-grade ingredient most commonly used as soup-based. Mo Xuejing filled the soup bowl of the first customer with red-colored dumplings, with the crab inside made from ruby river crab.
He chose amethyst-colored dumplings for the second customer who requested a sweet soup, while choosing white dumplings for the one who requested a garlic flavor.
After a few hours of being busy serving customers, Mo Xuejing forgot about what he was going to ask the old mayor. The restaurant was getting more and more patrons, and even Doctor Guang, who was simply there to rest, had no choice but to wear a spare apron and help his employer serve clients.
---
Meanwhile, at the Gourmet Hunter Hall...
Lu Shang sent Ye Jieye to this hall after arranging for his hunting license to be renewed. Given that most Gourmet Hunters would dress in bulky clothing with camouflage features to improve reconnaissance, Ye Jieye stood out from the other hunters in the hall thanks to his black tracksuit.
So when they saw Ye Jieye walking around in the gourmet hall with a black tracksuit on, they could not help but look down on him, thinking he was another one of those gourmet hunters who got his license by using the backdoor. What they did not realize, though, was that clothes had no bearing on a powerful hunter; all they needed to kill their prey was their weapon or limbs.
This was something that some lower-class hunters, like the Clover-ranked Gourmet Hunters, had overlooked.
They started talking loudly as Ye Jieye walked past them.
"What is this another fake gourmet hunter you buy for his license card!?"
"Oi. oi. How is this fair? Can money buy anything!?"
"Listen rich bastard! Even if you use money to buy your license out in the wild you are still nothing. The only use you can use is to be a bait. Hahaha~"
He was laughing heartily at Ye Jieye, a muscular gourmet hunter with beast fur all over his body, as he attempted to poke Ye Jieye with his index finger, not realizing that the man he is poking is a dangerous man who does not see any difference between his life and the ingredients he used to cook.
When Ye Jieye saw that the man's fat, thick finger was getting close to his forehead, he immediately grabbed hold of him and broke it. In one swift motion, he even dislocated the man's entire body, causing the hunter's agonized cry to echo throughout the hunter hall.
As the man twitched on the ground, his bones dislocating one after another, Ye Jieye looked down at him apathetically, as if he were staring at a wiggling corpse beneath his feet.
Ye Jieye said, "I would have ignored you if you just spoke, but to think you dared to touch me~. Humans have 206 bones in their body, enjoy the process of dislocation for 206 times."
The Gourmet Hunter Hall fell silent at this moment, with the exception of the man's cries, which resound so vividly in the silent hall. The other two partners, who had fallen to the ground for some time and urinated in fear, are not far from the man in agony; their embarrassment and fear increased when Ye Jieye's gaze fell upon them.
Ye Jieye's expression turned cold at this scene and said as he walked away, "Boring~"
The other hunters gave Ye Jieye's back a terrified look, not believing that an expert in a tracksuit could put down a large man who was groaning in pain on the floor with a single move. Many staff members from the hall had also seen this kind of thing and had immediately reported it to their president, who was so shocked by Ye Jieye's appearance that he got up from his seat.
"Are you sure it is him!? You really saw him in the Hall!??" The president urgently asked.
"I'm sure, president. This man came here to renew his license. I haven't checked what rank his license is though."
"No need to check. I know his rank. It's a five-petalled blossom. He is a top-ranked Soloist Hunter. His other name is the King of Hell, Satan."
"Satan. That Satan who hunted 10 Legendary grade ingredients 10 years ago!?"
"It's him. I can't believe he is back. If he is interested in the unknown ingredient in the Tornado Mountain Ranges then... the outcome would be different from what others thought. Hide his existence for a while. It's better to avoid the conflict arising until it cannot be controlled anymore." The President of the Gourmet Hunter Hall declared.