Unparalleled Duo
Chapter 54 - 54 36 A Word_2

54: Chapter 36 “A Word”_2 54: Chapter 36 “A Word”_2 Therefore, the riddle he posed, at least in his own eyes…

was unsolvable.

But to his surprise, Huang Donglai only hesitated for a moment before calmly responding, “Alright, then let me tell you the story of ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’.”

“Ah?” Xue Tui was stunned; he never imagined that the other party would actually take up the challenge.

However, after the initial shock, he steadied his mind and silently told himself, “No worries…

this kid is probably just making something up on the fly…

hmph, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, still wet behind the ears, improvising a story, what kind of sense could it possibly make?”

Then, Huang Donglai recounted the tale of The Tortoise and the Hare in plain language.

Xue Tui was astonished after listening.

After Huang Donglai finished, Xue Tui sat there pondering for a long while, looking for all the world like he’d never heard of “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

“Mr.

Xue?” Seeing him silent for an extended period, Huang Donglai asked tentatively, “What do you think?

Are you going to say something?”

“Uh…” Xue Tui came back to his senses, speaking somewhat awkwardly, “Dare I ask…

where did Mr.

Huang learn this story from?”

Huang Donglai certainly couldn’t tell him it was a tale from “Aesop’s Fables,” so he blurted out with a puff of his cheeks, “I made it up on the spot.” He even put on a carefree look and added, “Stories like these…

I can come up with a couple while taking a dump, don’t believe me?

How about I tell you ‘The Three Little Pigs’ next?”

Now Xue Tui was really dumbfounded, he hurriedly got up and bowed deeply, “Mr.

Huang has unfathomable knowledge and boundless talent, while I, Xue Tui…

oh no…

student Xue Tui, have been looking at the sky from the bottom of a well, with a narrow view.

I am truly ashamed!

I have offended you earlier, please forgive me.”

“Jeez!

I just told a Tortoise and the Hare story…

was it really necessary?” Sun Yixie was also somewhat surprised by the reaction and couldn’t help but comment, “If I were to do a monologue ‘One Piece’ for you…”

“Hey!

Hey!

Brother Sun!” Huang Donglai quickly raised his voice and gently nudged Sun Yixie, reminding him, “The world today doesn’t even have storytelling yet, don’t cause trouble!”

Sun Yixie laughed and said, “Ah~ just a joke, no need to panic.”

The few words they exchanged were gibberish to Xue Tui, who assumed it was some private joke between them and didn’t mind.

Huang Donglai quickly changed the subject and spoke to Xue Tui, “Mr.

Xue, if that’s the case, then we’ve passed the ‘First Grade’, ‘First Look’, and ‘First Word’ challenges, haven’t we?

Can we eat now?”

“Oh!

Yes, yes!” Xue Tui was now exceedingly respectful, as if he’d encountered an immortal from beyond this world, “I will make the arrangements right away.

Please, gentlemen, follow me…

this way to the private room.”

…

Long story short, after roughly the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Sun and Huang finally sat down to eat the first round of cold dishes that were served in the private room.

By this time, more than half an hour had passed since they had entered the doors of Bogui Building.

In fact, it wasn’t too late, just 9 p.m.… According to the current time, it was not even 10:30 p.m., but they were already starved.

The fish that Sun Yixie had worked on earlier, because of its small quantity, they mostly shared with Xue Tui, Yuan Fangzhi, and the other four, so they had hardly had a few bites for themselves; one could say…

it not only didn’t serve as a “belly pad,” but also further whetted their appetites.

Luckily the second and third challenges were completed swiftly, taking only about fifteen minutes altogether; hence, before eleven o’clock, they had started on the dishes served from the kitchen of Wisdom Immortal Pavilion.

The “Culinary God” was in high spirits that day — frying, grilling, poaching, steaming, braising, there were sweet tastes from the south, salty flavors from the north, spiciness from the east, sourness from the west — Mr.

Yuan had managed to showcase all of his expertise; anyhow, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai had made it clear when they sat down that money was no object, they just wanted the chefs to unleash their creativity and serve the dishes posthaste.

Of course, the dish “Spring Rain Brings with It an Urgent Evening” wasn’t on the menu that night, since it was a spring seasonal dish, and it was now autumn.

Even if it was made forcedly, the flavor wouldn’t be right.

The highlight dish that Yuan Fangzhi prepared that night was called “Gold Spent on a Mural”; if “Spring Rain Brings with It an Urgent Evening” was a magnum opus from his age of twenty-five, then “Gold Spent on a Mural” was proof that Yuan Fangzhi’s culinary skills had reached the Transformation Realm after he turned fifty-five.

Just a piece of tofu, once in the mouth, could make one feel the bohemian spirit and sadness of a legendary figure, the talent and melancholy of a beautiful lady…

It was as if you were Gao Shi, you were Du Fu, standing there, witnessing the romance unfold, yet also vaguely perceiving the slightly sad ending to the story…

That night, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai both got drunk because the spread was exceptionally good…

it was the kind of delicious they had never tasted in their entire lives.

The service for private room guests at Bogui Building was also impeccable.

Before they were completely drunk, Xue Tui came in to inquire about the location of their inn, so that he could arrange for someone to take them back when they passed out.

As for the dinner bill, Xue Tui didn’t charge them.

He merely left a note in their inn room to let them know that the meal had been charged to their account.

They could send someone to pay whenever it was convenient, or settle it the next time they came.

This, was all about respect…

The problem with guests defaulting on payment was with the guest, but people at Bogui Building…

would never dream of searching through a guest’s belongings while they were unaware, and taking the money for the meal when a guest was unconscious.

That was something the staff at Bogui Building would never do; should anyone dare to do it, the boss would never let them off, because that would not be a guest’s issue, but an issue with the integrity of Bogui Building itself.

…

The next day, well after dawn, it was Huang Donglai who woke up first — he had a good foundation in Inner Strength.

Upon awakening, he discovered that he was lying in Sun Yixie’s room, with Brother Sun’s trident resting at the foot of the bed.

Enduring a slight headache, Huang Donglai recounted how he had returned to the inn the night before and thought to himself, “Oh…

it must’ve been the Bogui Building staff who carried us up and mixed up the rooms, threw Brother Sun in my room and me here.”

As he pondered, he also took a chamber pot out from under the bed and relieved himself.

Afterwards, he yawned and stretched, prepared to go next door and wake Sun Yixie.

Since he had been carried back and thrown directly onto the bed, he had neither undressed nor covered himself with a blanket; however, in this season, being a martial artist, sleeping like that would not lead to a cold.

Huang Donglai walked to the door in his wrinkled, reeking-of-alcohol clothes, and casually opened it.

But…

at that moment, someone was already waiting for him outside.

The person, dressed in black even in broad daylight, was tall and strongly built, with dark skin, sweeping eyebrows that met at the temples, a straight nose, and square mouth.

The most striking feature of his face was a pair of bright, bulging eyes like those of a bull, as if they were always glaring at you.

When Huang Donglai opened the door, this man with the black face was already standing a few feet away, staring intently at the door.

As soon as Huang Donglai appeared, the burly man greeted him with a clasped fist and a powerful voice, declaring, “Sun Yixie, I challenge you to a martial arts duel!”