Chapter 26: After the Waiter, Comes the Chef

"Is he insane? He’s even going after the waiter!"

Bai Yichen stood up, intending to intervene. "If he kills the waiter, it might draw out the manager. At that point, no one will be able to save him."

Bai Jingjing quickly pulled him back. "It’s too late to go now. He has already triggered the death rules."

"That guy is a mad dog. Even if he manages to leave this place alive, I wouldn’t recommend our family recruit someone like him."

"Quiet. Let’s keep watching and see what he’s actually trying to do."

On the other side, the waiter hesitated to strike. It was merely a low-level wild ghost and knew it was no match for Xia Tianqiong. However, according to the restaurant’s rules, as a waiter, it was obligated to deal with anyone who triggered the rules, or else it would be annihilated by the power of the rules themselves.

Just as it wavered, Xia Tianqiong suddenly offered a gentle smile. "Sign a contract with me. I’ll take you out of here, and there will be underworld currency for you to spend in the future."

The waiter’s ghostly art was called "Flower Snatching." With a mere tap on the shoulder, it could plunge a person or ghost into a state of temporary stupor and briefly control their body. It was a very practical ability, and Xia Tianqiong, quite interested, wanted to attempt to contract the waiter.

The waiter froze, then a look of delight appeared on its face. "So, the guest has taken a fancy to me? That is truly my honor."

It was no longer afraid. The fawning smile returned to its face, and it took two steps forward voluntarily.

The humans and ghosts watching were all astonished. The waiter had agreed to the contract so easily! Other ghosts looked on with disdain, thinking it lacked backbone, while people like Bai Yichen felt that Xia Tianqiong had just stumbled into a stroke of blind luck, even considering if they should try the same.

The waiter was only a step away from Xia Tianqiong, its smile still fixed, but its eyes were cold. It suddenly raised its hand to strike at Xia Tianqiong’s shoulder.

Unfortunately, Xia Tianqiong had been prepared. His figure vanished instantly, reappearing in the shadow behind the waiter. He then repeated his previous tactic, using the "Mirror Swallowing All Things" technique to suck the waiter into the mirror dimension.

"Beat it. Beat it until it agrees to sign a master-servant contract with me," Xia Tianqiong commanded before turning his attention to the other waiters.

The first floor was quite large, housing four waiters in total. The other three stood nearby, their expressions twisted, looking at Xia Tianqiong as if he were an idiot. Although the waiters weren't powerful, they were ghosts belonging to the Wujian Restaurant. Under normal circumstances, no human or ghost would dare take the initiative to attack them for fear of angering the manager, or the even more terrifying owner. To put it mildly, one could be evicted by the manager and never allowed to dine there again; to put it seriously, one could be targeted by the owner and intercepted and killed the moment they left the restaurant.

Xia Tianqiong looked at the other three waiters but didn't intend to strike. After all, he didn't really want to offend the manager or the owner.

He sat back down to continue eating and drinking, as if nothing had happened. Two minutes later, the waiter, beaten until its ghostly essence was weak and on the verge of dissipating, finally agreed to sign the master-servant contract.

Another minute passed, and the restaurant manager descended from upstairs, radiating a terrifying aura as he walked over to Xia Tianqiong.

"It has been a long time since I’ve encountered someone who dared to kill my waiter. You are the first human to do so in five hundred years."

The manager was dressed in a purple robe with gold-threaded python patterns. He looked rather portly, like a wealthy master from ancient times, exuding an air of nobility. He squinted at Xia Tianqiong, a subtle pressure bearing down, making the surrounding diners feel stifled.

"The manager really came out. I’m afraid this won't end well," Bai Yichen said, his earlier contempt replaced by concern. "Can your 'Dog Brother' save him from the manager?"

"Are you joking? Do you want me to die?" Bai Jingjing shook her head quickly. "According to the rules, the manager cannot attack guests without cause. At most, he will be evicted. As long as he doesn't provoke the restaurant owner, he shouldn't be in mortal danger."

Other ghosts watched with schadenfreude, waiting to see how Xia Tianqiong would end up. This human had challenged every ghost on the first floor, and most had been too afraid to accept—which was a humiliation for them. Humans were historically food for ghosts; to see one bullying them in return was simply outrageous. Now that the manager had appeared, he would surely kick this man out, which would serve as some satisfaction for the other ghosts.

Xia Tianqiong sat calmly, showing no signs of panic. "How much for a waiter? I’ll pay for it."

To him, the waiters were like commodities—buyable if he wanted. The manager was stunned by his tone, then grew even angrier, feeling insulted.

"The waiter is the property of my restaurant. You killed it, so you must pay ten times the value. Hand over five hundred thousand underworld notes, then get out of here and never return."

The manager demanded an exorbitant sum, thinking he had set a very high price. Ordinary ghosts didn't have that much, let alone humans. He had been upstairs and hadn't seen Xia Tianqiong produce the fifty or sixty taels of gold earlier, otherwise, he would have demanded even more.

"This gold ingot is nearly sixty taels. Keep the change as a tip!" Xia Tianqiong produced a gold ingot and slammed it onto the table with a clatter.

The manager’s eyes widened. Shock, greed, and confusion flickered across his fat face. This was gold! Although one tael of gold was equivalent to ten thousand underworld notes, no ghost would ever exchange gold for underworld notes. Usually, people used underworld notes or silver to exchange for gold, and one had to pay a huge premium to acquire even a small amount. Almost no ghost treated it as currency; they treated it as a cultivation resource.

In the thousand years since the Wujian Restaurant opened, they hadn't received much gold. Losing one wild-ghost-level waiter in exchange for nearly sixty taels of gold was a massive profit for the manager. He had recently reached a cultivation bottleneck, and with this gold, he could break through smoothly. This human was practically a walking gift!

The manager, whose face had been tense and his aura intimidating, suddenly changed. His smile became humble, his tone softened, and he retracted his aura.

"It’s just a waiter. If the distinguished guest likes them, our restaurant has plenty more!"

When these words were spoken, many ghosts were stunned. The three remaining waiters on this floor trembled in fear. They were property of the restaurant, and the manager had the authority to sell them off.

Xia Tianqiong was delighted; he hadn't expected that waiters could actually be bought and sold. This was a business opportunity!

"Fifty taels each. I’ll take as many as you have."

The manager was overjoyed, his face blooming like a chrysanthemum. He had only spoken casually and hadn't expected the man to actually want to buy them. He calculated quickly. The restaurant had nine floors, with four waiters on each. Without affecting operations, he could spare one per floor. He had already sold one, so there were eight more he could sell to this man.

"I can sell you eight."

"Deal."

Xia Tianqiong shook hands with the manager. Both man and ghost laughed heartily, each feeling they had made a killing. To the manager, waiters could be trained over time, so trading them for gold was a huge win. To Xia Tianqiong, killing a wild ghost earned him five hundred taels of gold, and buying eight only cost four hundred—meaning he had "tearfully" profited three thousand six hundred taels. Plus, this was a legitimate transaction, avoiding any rule-breaking.

"By the way, Manager, are your cooks for sale?"

After buying the waiters, Xia Tianqiong suddenly thought of the ghost chefs.

"This..." The manager’s smile stiffened. Why did this person want to buy the cooks too? Was he planning to open a restaurant?

"The cooks cannot be sold. They are different from the waiters; I don't have the authority to sell them."

"Are you sure?" Xia Tianqiong was slightly disappointed, then a thought struck him. "Is this restaurant for sale?"