"Oh, Big Bear, master has an arduous task for you. Tonight, we will be depending on your performance!"
Xiong s.h.i.+ rubbed Big Bear"s belly and smiled. This bear was his most beloved spirit beast. He felt that the big bear was similar to himself, and for that, he had a strong affection toward it.
Big Bear growled, raised a paw, and patted its chest. The growling didn"t stop, which made it seem as though it had understood Xiong s.h.i.+"s words.
Xiong s.h.i.+ narrowed his eyes and curled the corners of his lips into a sarcastic smile.
"The compet.i.tion is not limited to the arena alone; while outside, some other methods are required." Xiong s.h.i.+ laughed.
…
As night fell, the crescent moon emerged and hung in the sky. The clear and cold moonlight shone down, covering the ground with its luminance, causing it to glow.
At night, the Cloud Mist Restaurant was absolutely quiet and peaceful. The surrounding elixir stores had their doors shut, having closed for the day. The elixir stores under the area controlled by the Nangong Family had undergone extensive repairs and had, once again, reopened for business. Nangong Wuque now had a firm hold on the family business, so the Lin and Zhang families did not cause any more trouble.
Hence, many elixir store owners were finally able to breathe sighs of relief.
Boom!
The ground trembled slightly as a huge shadow walked beneath the moonlight, with a terrifying aura emanating from its body.
This shadow belonged to a big bear—Xiong s.h.i.+"s spirit beast. Why had the big bear come all the way out there in the middle of the night, while giving off a terrifying aura?
Big Bear"s figure was enormous, and every step it took caused the ground to tremor.
Roar!
It stopped at a location not far from the Cloud Mist Restaurant. It beat its chest with its paw and growled. After walking around the Cloud Mist Restaurant once, Big Bear let out a deafening roar. The sound waves swept past the Cloud Mist Restaurant, and the store shook.
In a location far away from there, Xiong s.h.i.+ was hiding in the dark. When he saw what happened, his lips curled upward into a smile.
"You have done well, my precious! Keep roaring just like that! Let us test the defensive capabilities of the restaurant! Let"s disturb the chef"s sleep! Without a good night"s sleep, let see how you are able to cook!"
Xiong s.h.i.+"s smile widened. Although the compet.i.tion was just two more days away, he was in no hurry. He planned to use these two days to drain this chef"s energy using devious methods. Without sufficient energy, how would a chef be able to cook delicious dishes?
Xiong s.h.i.+ had a plan. He would not have Big Bear attack the restaurant directly. Although Big Bear"s strength was by no means little, this was not the time for destruction; roaring like this was much better.
Roar!
In the middle of the night, an enormous bear roared without pause, and the more it roared, the louder it got; the roars were almost deafening.
They caused the entire district to tremble.
Within the restaurant, Lord Dog was sleeping soundly under the Path-Understanding Tree. Its doggy ears were covered, and its nose twitched slightly.
Beside Lord Dog was the black Netherworld s.h.i.+p. Nethery was sleeping within the cabin of the s.h.i.+p.
Suddenly, the floor trembled slightly, causing the leaves on the Path-Understanding Tree to sway and rustle.
A single leaf fell off the tree and slowly floated down, and it landed on Lord Dog"s nose. When Lord Dog took its next breath, it felt a slight itch.
"Roar!"
Big Bear roared once more. Without any intention of stopping, it continued to beat its chest with its paws and emit ear-splitting roars.
Bu Fang, who was sleeping on the second floor, was still breathing normally, with no sign of waking up anytime soon.
Since Nethery was sleeping inside the Netherworld s.h.i.+p, she was not affected by the roars.
Lord Dog slowly opened its eye, and with a slight huff, it blew away the leaf resting on its nose.
Lord Dog"s ears twitched slightly and suddenly perked up, in high alert, and it immediately raised its head; then, it began to scan its immediate surroundings.
Finally, Lord Dog eyes twinkled as it fixated a spot on the wall of the restaurant; it was as though it could see through solid objects, seeing as it was looking directly at the spot where Big Bear"s back was.
Big Bear stopped roaring. After roaring for so long, it was tired and had to slowly return to its master.
Lord Dog rolled its eyes at this development. Where did such a silly bear come from?
Although it was frustrated that its sleep was disturbed, the bear had fled and Lord Dog was too lazy to deal with it, so it lowered its head and went back to sleep.
...
On the following day, after breakfast, Bu Fang opened for business, as per usual.
As soon as he opened the restaurant"s bronze gates, he paused for a moment because he saw the burly man from the previous day, who used a cloth to cover his face, at the front of the queue. The burly man was, of course, Xiong s.h.i.+.
When Xiong s.h.i.+ saw Bu Fang, his eyes glittered. He stared at Bu Fang"s face so intensely, it was as though he wished to see through the chef.
"Owner Bu? How was your sleep last night?" Xiong s.h.i.+ asked in a low, hoa.r.s.e voice.
Bu Fang was stunned; he had no idea why this person would ask him such a question.
"I had a good sleep; thanks for asking. What do you want to order?" Bu Fang calmly replied.
Had a good sleep? How was that possible? With Big Bear roaring in front of your gate the whole night, when even pigs would wake up?!
Xiong s.h.i.+ was in disbelief as he stared at Bu Fang facial expression. Bu Fang had to be lying. He would definitely find the dark ring around Bu Fang"s eye!
However, he was soon disappointed because Bu Fang"s complexion was as good as his eyes were clear. He looked to be in tip-top shape.
This meant... Bu Fang really did have a good night"s sleep!
Illogical! Could it be that Big Bear did not roar loud enough?
Xiong s.h.i.+ was in doubt. This time, he ordered Sweet "n" Sour Ribs, and after eating it, he was left feeling stunned. It was possible for one to get drunk on the taste of Sweet "n" Sour Ribs taste, which allowed them to fully immerse themselves in it.
The dish"s taste was much better than an elixir"s, and its effects were not any weaker than one. Xiong s.h.i.+ had finally realized how Bu Fang was able to fight his way into the top 50…
This was a miraculous chef!
No wonder even Sorceress An Sheng was not his match! At this point, Xiong s.h.i.+ began to feel a greater pressure… Tonight, it looked like Big Bear would have to roar much louder, and for much longer.
Sorceress An Sheng and her large bosom walked into the restaurant whilst dragging along a hapless Duan Yun.
Nangong Wuque, Nangong Wan, and the judge also came to the restaurant.
As the fame of the Cloud Mist Restaurant had spread, they had all become slaves to Bu Fang"s delicious dishes. How could they bear not coming over to try?
"Hmmm; doesn"t this dude seemed kind of familiar?" Sorceress Ah Sheng glanced at the burly figure of Xiong s.h.i.+, who she found quite familiar, despite Xiong s.h.i.+ concealing his face tightly with a cloth.
However, it was impossible to hide the burly figure.
Duan Yun was pondered because he, too, found the figure quite familiar.
Xiong s.h.i.+ inhaled a breath, his heart a little frustrated. Where did all these fellows come from? Bu Fang would obviously not recognize him. However, how could Sorceress An Sheng not recognize her old opponent? Please do not recognize me!
After eating the last piece of Sweet "n" Sour Ribs. Xiong s.h.i.+ paid his bill with crystal and quickly walked out of the shop with his faced still concealed.
"Hmm… the manner with which this dude moves, doesn"t it resemble Crazy Xiong"s?" Sorceress An Sheng spoke out loud, right as Xiong s.h.i.+ was about to take the final step out of the restaurant.
Xiong s.h.i.+ stumbled and almost tripped over. This woman"s eye is really sharp...
Being able to recognize him just like that.
Nangong Wuque was speechless. "Big b.o.o.b An, you cannot be that silly. That is only a piece of cloth. One look is enough for you to tell that this is Crazy Xiong, that clown…"
An Sheng and Duan Yun pouted. Nangong Wuque do you have the right to call someone else a clown?
When Bu Fang came out of the kitchen with some dishes, he spotted Xiong s.h.i.+"s figure leaving the restaurant, and a thought surfaced in his mind.
"So that person is Crazy Xiong, my opponent for the next round? Seems equally as silly as Big b.o.o.b An…"
...
That night, Xiong s.h.i.+ arranged for Big Bear to come within the vicinity of the restaurant to roar. He still did not believe that with a higher level of sound disruption, the chef would still be able to sleep peacefully.
However, Bu Fang still slept peacefully. Once asleep, Bu Fang could not be woken up by thunder, not to mention a bear"s roar.
However, Lord Dog"s eye was wide open, staring at the bear"s retreating figure from within the restaurant, and it muttered, "This bear… won"t you let your Lord Dog have a good sleep?"
The next day, Xiong s.h.i.+ was, once again, first on the queue outside the restaurant"s bronze gate. However, he was soon disappointed to find Bu Fang looking very energetic, without showing any signs of fatigue.
How could this be? Was this chef a pig that even the roars of the enormous bear could not wake up?
Xiong s.h.i.+"s eye was now bloodshot. After he ordered and finished a jar of Buddha Jumps Over The Wall Soup, the panic he felt in his heart intensified.
This chef"s skills… made him feel pressured!
"This cannot carry on! Tonight, I will directly have Big Bear flatten this restaurant. I don"t believe you can still have a peaceful sleep!"
A cold glint flickered in Xiong s.h.i.+"s eyes. As he was called "Crazy Xiong" by others, it was only natural that he would have crazy traits.
The next round of the compet.i.tion was tomorrow. If he could not adversely affect Bu Fang"s mental health, his chance of victory would decrease by fifty percent. Xiong s.h.i.+ would never do something he had no confidence in.
So... Big Bear, it is all up to you!
…
In the dark and windy night, the enormous bear came again!
Big Bear growled non-stop and beat its chests with its paw.
That night, Xiong s.h.i.+ was not around. He had complete faith in Big Bear, as it was an existence that had broken through three Supreme-Being shackles. Its cultivation was even higher than his own, so Xiong s.h.i.+ was not worried.
He had asked Big Bear to flatten the restaurant and return once the deed was done.
Tomorrow was the compet.i.tion, so he needed to maintain his peak condition for it; after all, he would be refining a three-mark spirit pill.
If he could not refine a three-mark spirit pill, then he was not confident he could defeat Bu Fang.
This chef was just too strange!
Boom!
The ground trembled as true energy surged from Big Bear.
Within the restaurant, Lord Dog, who was asleep, felt the ground tremble. A leaf from the Path-Understanding Tree fell on its nose, and this made the black dog open its eyes.
With a slight huff, the leaf was blown away.
Lord Dog gritted its teeth in frustration, and as the black dog slowly stood up, a cold glint flickered in its eyes.
"This bear hasn"t played enough yet? Does it have to come every day? Since it has come again tonight… this time, it will not be leaving! For disrupting your Lord Dog"s sleep for three nights in a row, I will turn you into Bear Sweet "n" Sour Ribs… Woof!"