Chapter 169: Vegetarian restaurant

Reclining in the rocking chair with a slender figure in his arms, the chair sways back and forth gently as a melodious, baritone voice paints a vivid picture with his words, speaking of an ancient world and days gone by.

“In the world of Immortals, the dragons are a revered and majestic race. I was born as the ninth son of the Dragon King, and my Imperial mother is his first wife, a shrine maiden to the Divine Dragon God. The gestation period of a dragon is a full hundred years, after which an egg is laid. The child within the egg has to absorb the brilliance of both sun and moon before they are able to gain consciousness and break their shell. When I was born, I broke the norm. My shrine maiden Imperial mother carried me for two hundred years, and when I finally exited her womb, it was not via an egg. I directly ripped through her womb and crawled out, causing her to die on the spot. Soaked in her blood, I looked like a human infant, except?inverted black scales covered every inch where skin should be. Hence, the entire dragon race dubbed me the Inverse Heretical Dragon. A harbinger of disaster. As dragons cannot kill their kin lest they invite the wrath of Heaven, the Dragon King can only exile the one day old me from the Holy Dragon Sea, driving me to the edges of the Immortal Realm. Sealed beneath the spring pool, I was forbidden to see the light of day until my soul scatters and my body rots..”

“I was given no name. Surrounded by the ice-cold waters of the spiritual spring pool, I was left alone in the darkness for ten thousand days and nights. In the end, I met a human for the first time in my life. Or should I say..a Taoist disciple. He was young, only about five or six..”

“Clad in dirty, grey robes and carrying a basket of bamboo shoots on his back, he clutched a scroll of astrological phenomenon records in one hand. For nine days and nights, he rested at the edge of the pool, reading the contents of that scroll aloud. On the tenth day, the child left behind four sentences: Nine divided by nine is one, what is meant to be will be, what is meant to disappear will disappear, from the end a new beginning..”

“Initially, I dismissed it as a child’s nonsense. Never would I have imagined that within these four sentences lie the answer to breaking the Dragon King’s seal. By the time I freed myself, I was drowning in loneliness, hatred and bitterness. These emotions overwhelmed my reasoning, resulting in wanton murder, plundering of treasures and willful destruction. The Taoist sects thereby labelled me as the Heretical Dragon.”

“As my strength grew, I attacked the Taoist sects, killing many disciples and masters, only to find that the Heavens placed a ‘nemesis’ capable of subduing me in the world,” As he speaks, Long Zhanye’s hand strokes Huo Zaiyuan’s long hair, a warm and tender smile playing on his lips. “In order to destroy this ‘nemesis’ of mine, I slaughter five sects.. In the end, I forced him out, faced him several times in battle..and unknowingly fell in love with him..”

“You ah, indeed my ‘calamity’.” Huo Zaiyuan smiles, reaching up to pinch the man’s nose playfully before cupping that handsome face. “You will never be lonely again. You have me, grandfather, as well as a lot of friends. You have a name, not just a label of ‘Heretical Dragon’. You are Long Zhanye.”

“Un, your Long Zhanye.” Intertwining his fingers with Huo Zaiyuan’s, a fond smile pulls at the corners of his lips as he tightens his arms around his beloved. “Little Yuan, I am blessed to have fallen in love with you.”

Leaning back against Long Zhanye, Huo Zaiyuan allows his eyes to drift shut, a gentle smile plastered on his face. “I am also blessed to have fallen in love with you.”

~~~

Along with the expansion of the safe zone to accommodate all survivors before the migration, the entire A City is constantly bustling with activity. Slowly, after a few changes and minor shifts, the city itself is separated into nine sectors, divided by the perimeter walls built after nine expansions.

With the military district as the core of the safe zone, the first layer is where the command centre, army barracks, hangar and military dormitory building is. The second layer is the manufacturing sector where buildings like the weapons and equipment factories are located. The research centre, experiment laboratories, mechanic workshops, medical bay and the ‘School of Taoism’ are all located in the third district. The fourth consists of training grounds for both Ability Users and normal troops. The fifth is where most residents of the safe zone stay, with the sixth layer being the bank for transaction points and bartering market. In the seventh layer, miscellaneous stores are set up, like restaurants, hair salons, tailors, etc. Plantations and pastures for livestock?are located in the eighth layer. The ninth is reserved for parking vehicles, and is also where the mercenary squad mission hall is located, as well as the separate temporary housing to observe all entering survivors.

~~~

“You, this fellow, if your luck is any worse, I will be frightened to death one day because of you,” Clad in a full body mechanic overalls with a baseball cap on his head and a toolbox on his back, Li Qing complains as he tries to keep pace with Huo Zaiyuan.

More than a year’s experience under General Long caused this once-ignorant baby to grow into the safe zone’s most promising young master mechanic. Not only did his mechanical skills increase, his physical aspects also improved quite a bit. Now, he can even carry a ten kilo toolbox on his back and run everywhere without becoming out of breath.

“I’ve always had the luck of a devil, isn’t that right? So your worry is superfluous,” Huo Zaiyuan replies. Although his expression remains tranquil, one can tell from the slight curve of his lips that he is in a good mood.

“Yes, yes. You are a cat with nine lives. You can even resurrect again if something happens to you,” Li Qing scoffs.

Li Qing’s mocking words cause Huo Zaiyuan to pause in his steps and stare.

“What’s up?”

Aiyo..this fellow is really getting more and more anti-social. He obviously always treats eldest brother Long with gentleness, but why does he (HZY) always look at him (LQ) so coldly?

“Nothing.” Turning away, Huo Zaiyuan continues onwards, a trace of impatience in his tone. “Where is this store you were talking out? Are we there yet?”

So annoying, interrupting his meditation early in the morning and dragging him all the way from the dormitory to the marketplace in the seventh district.

“It’s just up ahead. Little Yuan, you’re getting more impatient.” Li Qing snickers, wrapping an arm around Huo Zaiyuan’s own before pulling the latter towards a small, simple but elegant store. As he walks, he explains, “This restaurant opened not too long ago. Every dish served is a vegetarian one, so it totally suits you!”

Li Qing knows that ever since his best friend started cultivating, he gradually avoids eating meat and fish. Which is why as soon as he discovers this vegetarian restaurant, he immediately drags Huo Zaiyuan out.

“Isn’t it just because you are a glutton?” Huo Zaiyuan resigns himself to being pulled along by a cheerful and hyper Li Qing.

The name of this restaurant is rather grandiose – The Fragrant Lotus. If it wasn’t for the small word of ‘resturant’ stuck on the name plaque, no one would begin to think this is a family restaurant.

Although it is still rather early in the morning, there are quite a few partons already eating inside, with most of them being women.

Pulling Huo Zaiyuan towards the nearest available seat, Li Qing hands the simple menu laying on the table over and says in a generous manner, “Order whatever you like. Older brother will treat you to this meal.”

Wah, such princely words.

If this was still before the apocalypse, for Li Qing who likes to have more extravagant meals than even Huo Zaiyuan of the past, they wouldn’t have taken even a single glance at this type of vegetarian restaurant, let alone enter it for a meal.

However, after the end of the world, when food is in short supply, having something to eat is already a blessing. Being able to have a meal in a reastaurant is even more amazing because, in every restaurant, a plate of the simplest dish already costs at least a hundred green points. Ordinary folks wouldn’t even dare to think about entering one..

“So generous.” Huo Zaiyuan takes the offered menu and flips it open. “Then I wouldn’t be polite.”

Scanning the menus, his eyebrows rise. Little did he imagine so many dishes are listed on this simple-looking menu.

As he doesn’t know how good the taste of these dishes will be, Huo Zaiyuan eventually decides on a mixed vegetable dish with fried rice, kalian with mushrooms, stir-fried potatoes and boiled peanuts.

The service in the restaurant is very good. While they wait for their food to arrive, a steaming teapot of bamboo tea that Huo Zaiyuan is extremely familiar with is placed on their table. Before ten minutes passed, the first dish served is the peanuts. Not too mushy or hard, the adequate amount of salt and pepper sprinkled on top makes it rather tasty.

“What do you think?” Li Qing questions as he pops another peanut into his mouth.

“You expression is my answer,” Huo Zaiyuan replies as he takes another sip of his bamboo tea.

Next, the waitress serves up the mixed vegetable and fried rice together with the stir-fired potatoes, followed closely by the kalian with mushrooms. Every dish is full of flavour and unique, leaving the two youth very satisfied.

As the two childhood friends eat and chat, neither of them take much notice of other matters, up until a shadow falls over their table.

The stranger’s hair is streaked with grey and tied with a shredded piece of cloth, clad in a shabby old woman’s attire. The colour of her clothes is faded from being washed too many times, and the cloth shoes on her feet is filled with holes. Her dark, calloused hands are clamped tightly around a plate of greasy leftovers. Large, angry eyes are fixed unerringly on Huo Zaiyuan.

“Huo..Huo Zaiyuan!” Her raspy voice carries that faintest tremor, causing said youth to lift his head as soon as he hears his name.

Staring at the unfamiliar woman, his brow wrinkles. “Who are you? I don’t think I know you.”

He doesn’t recall this person at all.

“Haha..who am I? You actually dare to ask who am I? Haha..”