Chapter 42: A Lackey's Blade of the Immortal Realm

"Oh... This is undoubtedly a celestial artifact!" Lan Tianlei was the first to cry out.

Ignoring the Prince and the Eighth Imperial Prince by his side, he hurriedly picked up one of the machetes and drew it from its scabbard.

Zhou Heng also grew interested and drew Lan Tianlei's own saber.

When the two blades collided, Lan Tianlei's saber snapped in two with a crisp sound.

"This, this, this..."

Zhou Shicai, standing nearby, was so stunned he could no longer speak.

"Brother Chu, these three blades—no matter what, you must sell them to me."

Even Zhou Shicai's tone had turned respectful.

"Sell them? I'm not selling..."

"Ah, Brother Chu, I know this must be hard to part with. How about... just selling one?"

Zhou Shicai asked eagerly once more.

"Haha, I'm just teasing you. These three, I'll give them to you as a gift. They're just worldly possessions, after all."

*Give them to us? Just like that?* The three of them were immediately overjoyed.

"There is one condition, though. Since you are Brother Zhou's second uncle, you shouldn't call me 'Brother Chu' anymore. It messes up the family hierarchy," Chu Chen said, looking at Zhou Shicai.

Only then did Zhou Shicai realize that their generations indeed didn't match up.

So he immediately laughed awkwardly and said, "It was this old man's lack of consideration. From now on, I shall address you as Young Master Chu."

At that moment, Luo Yi and Xiaofang also walked out from the room.

"This humble maiden greets Master Zhou, Lord City Lord, and this young master."

Of the three guests, Luo Yi and Xiaofang currently only recognized Zhou Shicai and Lan Tianlei.

In Qingyun City, Lan Tianlei still held a rather good reputation; he was diligent in his administration and cherished the people, so most of the citizens of Qingyun knew him.

"You two young ladies are too polite. That Lai Er caused you quite a scare earlier. Blame this good-for-nothing for failing to handle his duties properly, which allowed that scoundrel to remain at large," Zhou Shicai said, pointing at Lan Tianlei.

Lan Tianlei had grievances he couldn't voice, but it wasn't the time to offer apologies.

"Master Zhou is joking. Lord City Lord has truly exhausted himself heart and soul for our Qingyun City. Lai Er comes and goes without a trace; the City Lord cannot be blamed."

*Finally, someone who knows her stuff. This young lady is quite good.*

With a grateful expression, Lan Tianlei bowed to Luo Yi.

Zhou Heng secretly sighed to himself, thinking that this Chu Chen was truly a role model for their generation—each wife he had was more beautiful than the last.

He couldn't help but think of the women in his own palace—*bah, what trash they were.*

With that thought, he also bowed to Luo Yi.

"Alright, Luo Yi and Xiaofang, tend to our guests. I'll go cook. Since such an incident happened today, we won't go to Cuiyun Restaurant; we'll eat right here."

***

When it came to food, Zhou Shicai and Zhou Heng once again wore expressions of excited anticipation.

One had to remember that the hot pot meal at Mashan Village was something they still reminisced about constantly.

"Brother Chu, we agreed that I would host tonight. How could this..."

Before Lan Tianlei could finish, Zhou Heng sent him flying with a kick.

"If you aren't willing, you can go home by yourself."

"Young Master, how could I? I swear to live and die alongside you, Young Master."

Seeing Lan Tianlei's wretched expression, Zhou Heng couldn't help but laugh out loud.

An hour later, Lan Tianlei finally understood why the Eighth Imperial Prince had kicked him.

This was unequivocally the most delicious food he had ever eaten in his life.

Inside a large simmering pot floated mutton, beef, various meatballs, green vegetables, and bean sprouts.

There were countless ingredients he had never even laid eyes on before.

Beside the pot sat two glass bottles filled with liquor.

This time, Chu Chen had not diluted the wine; when dealing with people of such high status, watering it down wouldn't do.

Throughout this meal, for the first time, Lan Tianlei cast aside all notions of monarch and subject.

Completely ignoring Zhou Shicai and Zhou Heng beside him, calling his eating speed "scavenging" would actually be insulting to the word.

The sight of this made Chu Chen's jaw nearly drop to the floor.

"Lord City Lord, the food at the City Lord's Mansion doesn't seem very appetizing, does it?"

"Don't mention it, Brother Chu. Can I come over to eat often from now on?"

"As long as I'm here, you're always welcome... Come, come, don't just focus on the food, drink up!"

With that, Chu Chen raised his cup, and Luo Yi and Xiaofang raised theirs as well.

The six of them drained their cups in one gulp.

"Hsss... Excellent wine! Incredible wine! Such wine must belong in the heavens; how often does one get to taste it in the mortal realm?"

Lan Tianlei immediately revealed an ecstatic expression, bursting out in verse.

At that moment, Chu Chen looked toward the guards still standing watch outside and asked, "Lord City Lord, they..."

"Ah, Brother Chu needn't mind them. It's their duty. They can eat when we head back later."

As a modern person, Chu Chen estimated it was probably around two or three in the afternoon by now.

If he wanted to get along in Qingyun City in the future, these people couldn't be neglected—petty officials are notoriously hard to deal with.

So, taking advantage of the others drinking, he instructed Xiaofang to go to the kitchen and boil some water.

As for himself, he retrieved a carton of cup noodles from his spatial storage.

Before long, an unprecedented fragrance wafted into everyone's senses.

Among the guards, there was one person he recognized—Little Six, the very fellow who had arrested him previously.

***

So Chu Chen called out toward the outside, "Brother Liu, time to eat!"

With that, he instructed Xiaofang to carry bowls of steaming cup noodles outside.

"Oh? May I ask, Brother Chu, what is this item? Just smelling it makes one's appetite soar."

Zhou Shicai, already slightly intoxicated, asked with glowing eyes as he looked at the bowls of instant noodles before him.

"This? It's called instant noodles. Not only is it delicious, but it also fills you up, though it doesn't have much nutritional value," Chu Chen introduced, before turning around to head back out.

Seeing that the young master inside was calling him, Little Six walked over with a beaming smile.

"Young Master, it's fine even if we don't eat. What are you doing this for?"

He was merely a garrison soldier of the City Lord's Mansion, and furthermore, he had personally arrested Chu Chen. Not only was this person not holding a grudge, but he was even mindful of how hard the brothers were working.

This left Little Six deeply moved.

Looking at the fragrant food before him, he desperately tried to suppress the urge to swallow his saliva.

"Alright, Brother Liu, there's enough for everyone. Your body is being entirely honest—dig in."

With that, he signaled the others to hand out the dozen or so cups of noodles.

"Mmm... Delicious! What kind of divine food is this? This is way too good!"

Immediately, more than a dozen soldiers began devouring their food with gusto.

Having smelled the aroma of the hot pot from inside, all of them had been starving with rumbling stomachs.

To think this stuff tasted just as good as the hot pot.

This Young Master Chu was definitely someone worth associating with.

Chu Chen had no idea that a single cup of instant noodles had just won him over a dozen more loyal companions.

Watching Little Six devour his food outside, the people inside the room instantly cast longing gazes toward Chu Chen.

Naturally, this included Luo Yi and Xiaofang.

They thought to themselves: *This fellow, how could he not have prepared more of such delicious food?*

Yet none of them had the nerve to bring it up. They hadn't helped with anything to begin with, so making demands would be asking too much.

How could Chu Chen not know what was on their minds?

As for these items, there were still plenty left in the supermarket inside the mall, as well as the convenience stores down the street.

So he instructed Xiaofang to boil more water, and he himself brewed five more cups and brought them out.

As for himself, he had eaten far too much of this stuff in his past life. Now that he finally had money, asking him to eat instant noodles was out of the question.

So he raised his glass and said to everyone, "Come, everyone, eight or nine out of ten things in life do not go as desired—why not pair instant noodles with fine wine?"

Chu Chen raised his cup, but the only response he received was a chorus of loud slurping sounds.