Huo Yuhao followed Xie Huanyue out of the academy. The moment they stepped outside, Huo Yuhao was surprised. There were no more students registering now. On both sides of the main road outside the East Gate, a multitude of vendors had truly gathered. They sold everything, a dazzling array of goods. Among them, vendors selling various foods were the most numerous. The sound of their hawking was endless. Clearly, they had all gathered here to do business with the students of Shrek Academy.
Xie Huanyue naturally wouldn't linger at these small food stalls with Huo Yuhao. The two of them left the school gate, headed west, and arrived at Shrek City's food street.
The street was a blaze of lights and bustling with people coming and going, which gave Huo Yuhao a feeling of having returned to his previous life.
"Yuhao, let's eat at this one!" Xie Huanyue pointed to a self-service barbecue restaurant and shouted excitedly.
"Self-service?" Huo Yuhao smiled silently. He had to admit, the merchants of this other world had some business sense, to have even come up with the concept of a buffet.
Xie Huanyue was clearly not a first-timer. The business at this restaurant was booming, and both floors were already full. He directly went to the front desk with practiced ease, moved a folding table and two stools, and set them up at the entrance of the restaurant.
"The ingredients at this restaurant are quite fresh, and the seasonings they provide are also very good," Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection to scan the ingredients brought up from the back kitchen and immediately praised them.
"Hehe, let's not go home until we're drunk tonight, brother!" Xie Huanyue, from who knows where, brought over two jars of fruit wine and placed them on the table. He himself was the descendant of a soldier; drinking was a common affair for him.
"Isn't it a bit bad for us minors to be drinking?" In his previous life, Huo Yuhao had been averse to drinking due to health reasons. Especially the vulgar drinking culture at social gatherings, which made him very repulsed by alcohol.
However, the body of the original owner in this life was quite a wine barrel. In the subsequent plot of the original novel, because his legs and one arm were frozen by worldly primordial energy, Huo Gua had used drinking to promote his body's absorption of the energy. During that time, he was practically soaking in the wine cellar.
"If you don't tell, and I don't tell, who will know?" Xie Huanyue chuckled, immediately slapping off the seal on the wine jar. A rich, mellow aroma of wine instantly wafted over.
Sniffing the strange fragrance of the fruit wine, Huo Yuhao's body involuntarily became intoxicated. As expected, the original Huo Gua was a wine barrel!
"Alright, let's not go home until we're drunk tonight!" Huo Yuhao also fiercely slapped off the seal on his own wine jar, lifted it up, and laughed heartily.
At this time, the restaurant's waiter also brought over a large grilling station, along with several large plates of fresh meat. It was clear they were very familiar with the regular customer, Xie Huanyue.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Xie Huanyue had slimmed down. The glorious tale of him eating the portion of a hundred people by himself was still circulating in the restaurant.
"Fatty, do you like to eat roasted fish?" Huo Yuhao stared at the plates of fatty meat, and his stomach couldn't help but churn. He was no big eater. Besides, could an ordinary person handle eating such greasy food? So he thought of the original owner's roasted fish skill, which was carved into his bones, and couldn't help but ask.
"Roasted fish? I like that too, but this restaurant is self-service and self-grilling. My skills aren't up to par," Xie Huanyue said casually as he skillfully placed slices of fatty meat on the grill.
"If you like to eat it, then it's easy. I'm an expert at that," Huo Yuhao had actually made the original owner's specialty, roasted fish, quite a few times when he was in the Duke's Mansion. The taste was impeccable. He immediately called the waiter over and had them bring fresh bluefish.
The restaurant was well-prepared. They had metal grills specially made by craftsmen, as well as iron racks, various seasonings, and cleaned and gutted bluefish.
Huo Yuhao first checked the seasonings, then began to process the bluefish. There were quite a few seasonings, and the back kitchen was quite thoughtful, having even found some perilla. Huo Yuhao tore the perilla into pieces, then mixed it with some other seasonings, stuffed it into the belly of the bluefish, skewered it with a bamboo stick, and then placed it on the special grill to roast.
"I can't believe a disciple from a prestigious family like you has such skills," Xie Huanyue's eyes were almost popping out. Huo Yuhao's series of operations was like flowing clouds and water, such that even an expert couldn't find any fault with it.
What a joke. Back then, Huo Gua had conquered the taste buds of the Tang God-King's little princess with this very roasted fish skill.
Faint grease flowed on the golden-brown roasted bluefish, and a rich aroma constantly puffed out from the fish's belly. When his teeth made contact with the roasted fish, there was even a slight crunching sound. The fish skin had been roasted to a perfect crisp, yet it was not burnt in the slightest. Under the crispy fish skin was tender, juicy, and fully flavored fish meat.
Xie Huanyue's index finger twitched with desire. He even ignored the roasted meat on his own grill, drooling as he stared at the flipping roasted fish in Huo Yuhao's hand.
Xie Huanyue finally got the first skewer of roasted bluefish. He blew on the billowing hot air, and then, in front of Huo Yuhao's ghost-like expression, opened his mouth—which could expand at will after his martial soul awakening—and stuffed the entire fish in, leaving only a thin bamboo skewer.
After chewing a few times, Xie Huanyue's eyes instantly lit up. He chewed fiercely a few times, then swallowed it in one gulp, and then spat out a complete fish skeleton, which made Huo Yuhao's eyebrows twitch wildly.
Good heavens, with your eating speed, my roasted fish production efficiency is far from keeping up.
"So delicious! Another one!" Xie Huanyue shouted excitedly, causing all the diners to turn their heads. The aroma of Huo Yuhao's roasted fish drifted with the evening wind, also attracting the attention of many passersby.
One after another, the roasted fish came off the grill. Huo Yuhao roasted them very seriously, not lowering the quality of the roasting just because Xie Huanyue ate quickly. Every time he got a roasted fish, Xie Huanyue ate with extreme satisfaction. The roasted meat he had originally loved the most had also turned to charcoal because it had been grilling for too long.
After continuously eating more than a dozen roasted fish, Xie Huanyue finally realized that Huo Yuhao had barely eaten a single one. He couldn't help but raise his wine jar and punish himself as a sign of apology.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but laugh. This fatty was a man of true character. He also raised his wine jar and took a swig in response.
Just as the two were feasting on the roasted fish and meat, several female students in purple uniforms walked over from the direction of Shrek Academy. The female student walking at the very front attracted countless gazes the moment she appeared.
She looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, with a slender and well-proportioned figure. She had long, golden hair in large waves that cascaded down her back. Her skin was whiter than snow, and her eyes were like a pool of clear water. As she looked around, she naturally exuded a clear, elegant, and noble temperament. Like a new moon giving off a halo, like a flower tree piled with snow, in her delicate and graceful moments, her beauty was beyond description. Her nation-toppling beauty seemed to dim everything around her.
"Sister Nan, it smells so good! What is that smell?" another female student beside the stunning beauty asked in surprise. Her appearance was also not bad, but what brilliance does a firefly have next to the bright moon?
The stunning beauty had clearly also smelled the aroma. The group of girls couldn't help but turn their gaze towards Huo Yuhao's grill.
Perhaps it was because the beauty of the leading girl was too striking, the passersby who had been lingering in front of Huo Yuhao's grill actually parted on their own to make a path. She and the other few female students walked straight to the front of the grill. Seeing everyone proactively make way, the stunning beauty was not arrogant. She smiled gently and nodded to the passersby who had made way. Anyone who saw her smile couldn't help but have their face flush red, full of infatuation.
Seeing the face of the stunning beauty, Huo Yuhao was also stunned for a moment. He instantly guessed the identity of the visitor in his mind. The world line has converged again!
This female student in purple before him was not only not inferior to Ning Tian and the others in appearance, but she also had a gentle and warm temperament. Coupled with the trace of sorrow between her brows that could never be smoothed away, she was truly pitiful.
Of course, perhaps due to her age, she was still a little bit inferior to a peerless beauty like Zhongli Yu.
"Junior Brother, did you make this roasted fish?" the stunning beauty glanced at the outer court uniform on Huo Yuhao's body and asked softly.
"This was made by my brother using the ingredients from the barbecue restaurant. Senior Sister, would you like to share a table with us? That way you can taste my brother's skills," Xie Huanyue shook the roasted fish in his hand. He was clearly the type who was not interested in women. He did not, like some simps, wag his tail and offer the roasted fish with both hands. Instead, he told the girl the rules of the self-service barbecue restaurant.
"How much is a spot for the self-service barbecue?" the girl's eyes were fixed on the greasy fish in Xie Huanyue's hand, and she subconsciously asked.
A waiter at the side hurriedly came forward and answered, "Hello beautiful, besides this Student Xie, every self-service spot in our restaurant is fifty gold soul coins."
You certainly can't eat without paying, especially in a self-service restaurant like this.
The stunning beauty's brow furrowed slightly. In the end, she still shook her head and said, "That's too expensive. Never mind."
"Fatty, add a seat for her," at this moment, Huo Yuhao spoke up. He didn't have any good feelings for Jiang Nannan, who had the same rabbit martial soul as that sword scabbard of the Tang Buddha. In the original novel, she could even be considered a self-righteous 'common-confidence' girl. Not only did she string along a simp, but she also didn't help him completely awaken his martial soul after taking his money, having no sense of honor at all.
However, her future husband, the Xuanwu martial soul's Xu Sanshi, setting aside his simp attributes, would not be brainwashed by Shrek's honor due to his family's connections. If his character was acceptable, Huo Yuhao wouldn't mind using Jiang Nannan to get in touch with Xu Sanshi and make a friend.
"Little brother, you're pretty good," just then, a low, deep, yet frivolous voice suddenly sounded. Huo Yuhao's eyes moved slightly, and he saw a figure who had appeared behind him at some point.
This person was wearing a black uniform, and was actually a sixth-year student. He looked to be about the same age as the Bei Bei he had met once before. He was tall, with thick brows and tiger eyes, a straight nose and a square mouth, and a handsome appearance. His fair skin was slightly flushed because of someone's presence, and his slightly baby-fat face was full of smiles.
"You're following me again!" The girl named Jiang Nannan's shapely brows instantly stood on end.
"Not at all, Nannan. Life is full of chance encounters. It just so happens that this discerning little brother has spoken up. Why don't we share a table? This one's on me!" Xu Sanshi shook the folding fan in his hand, leaned on Huo Yuhao's shoulder, and put on the look of a dandy.
"Xu Sanshi, you really appear and disappear like a ghost," at the same time, a slightly helpless, scholarly voice also came out. The group followed the sound and saw two figures slowly walking towards them from the side of the street.
It was none other than the two great gods of plague from the Tang Sect, Tang Ya and Bei Bei.
Bei Bei and Tang Ya were purely passing by coincidence. Seeing Jiang Nannan here, they didn't have to think to guess that the licking dog Xu Sanshi was lurking nearby.
Tang Ya was actually attracted by the aroma of the roasted fish, but when she slowly moved her gaze upwards and met Huo Yuhao's helpless face, she couldn't help but blurt out.
"It's you?"
---
Author's Note: Dear readers, please don't ask me why I always say these two are gods of plague. With the great Tang God-King's ability, it's very easy to notice the existing members of the Tang Sect on the continent through some means. If the protagonist gets too close to Tang Ya, his fortune as the Son of Fortune will inevitably be discovered by the Tang Buddha, and then it's all over.