Chapter 138: Spiritual Food

After leaving the shop together, the two walked onto the street and came to a stop. Lin Xin halted, looked at Ye Junze, and asked with a smile, "It's almost noon now. Are you hungry, Junior?"

Hearing this, Ye Junze nodded gently and replied somewhat bashfully, "A little bit."

Seeing Ye Junze's reaction, Lin Xin couldn't help but smile even more brightly, and quickly teased, "Haha, why are you still getting shy?"

Immediately afterwards, Lin Xin continued, "It doesn't matter if you're hungry. To thank you for coming out shopping with me specially today, I'll treat you to lunch today. And you are not allowed to refuse, Junior!"

Hearing what Lin Xin said, Ye Junze initially wanted to decline, but the moment her final words fell, he stopped himself from saying anything more and simply nodded to show he understood.

It wasn't that Ye Junze didn't want to refuse; having interacted with Lin Xin many times before, he knew that once she had made up her mind, nothing he could say would change it.

Seeing that Ye Junze did not refuse, Lin Xin smiled and said once more, "Then let's go. We'll eat right here in the commercial district."

Hearing this, Ye Junze felt a bit puzzled. His eyes filled with curiosity, he asked, "Don't spiritual commercial districts usually sell all sorts of cultivation materials and cultivation techniques? Are there places to eat here too?"

Hearing this, Lin Xin chuckled. Looking at the perplexed Ye Junze, she patiently explained, "Then you are seriously underestimating our academy's spiritual commercial district, Junior. Although most places here sell various cultivation goods, there are indeed a few eateries. Moreover, the food in these restaurants is vastly different from what we've eaten before."

Hearing this, Ye Junze's curiosity was piqued once again. He asked with a puzzled expression, "Oh? What kind of difference?"

Seeing Ye Junze like this, Lin Xin smiled mysteriously and deliberately kept him in suspense. "As for that... once you experience it yourself later, you'll know. I won't tell you just yet."

Watching Lin Xin, who hadn't teased him with suspense in a long time, Ye Junze couldn't help but shake his head. Feeling a bit helpless, he had no choice but to nod and say, "Alright."

Seeing Ye Junze's somewhat thwarted expression, Lin Xin covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

Seeing her reaction, Ye Junze felt even more helpless. He rolled his eyes and didn't say anything further.

Lin Xin smiled unconcernedly and said, "Alright, let's head over now, or if we go too late, we won't even find a table."

Hearing this, Ye Junze nodded and replied, "Okay, then I'll have to trouble you to lead the way, Senior."

Lin Xin waved her hand dismissively and said with a smile, "What trouble is there to speak of? You're being polite to your senior again. Alright, let's set off."

With that, Lin Xin turned and walked toward the distance.

Seeing this, Ye Junze immediately followed, keeping close by her side.

As they walked, Ye Junze noticed that in the short span of time they had spent inside the shop, the number of people in the commercial district had increased significantly.

Some people were walking alone, others were traveling in pairs like the two of them, and some groups of three to five were shuttling continuously between various stalls and shops.

Lin Xin naturally noticed that the street had become much more crowded, so she said, "There are more and more people now. Let's quicken our pace, Junior."

Ye Junze nodded and replied, "Alright."

Then the two of them picked up their pace and hurried toward Lin Xin's destination.

...

After a while, having intentionally quickened their steps, the two finally arrived, under Lin Xin's guidance, at the place where she intended to treat Ye Junze to lunch.

Lin Xin stopped her hurried footsteps, stood still in front of the storefront, and looked at Ye Junze beside her, saying, "Junior, we've arrived. This is it."

Hearing this, Ye Junze raised his head and looked at the storefront before him.

He saw that the storefront in view was not much different from the other shops in the commercial district. Hanging above the entrance was a signboard bearing four simple, bold characters: "Delicacies of the Mortal Realm." Furthermore, it was a moderately sized shop, and the interior was already filled with quite a few seated patrons.

Seeing Ye Junze sizing up the shop, Lin Xin hurriedly urged him, "Junior, what are you standing there daydreaming for? Hurry up and come in, there are already quite a few people inside."

Hearing Lin Xin's voice, Ye Junze snapped out of his daze, scratched the back of his head, and said apologetically, "I got a bit distracted looking at the place. Right, let's go in."

Hearing this, Lin Xin smiled faintly without saying anything more, and took the lead by stepping into the shop.

Seeing this, Ye Junze quickly followed her inside.

As soon as the two entered, a waiter warmly greeted them, "Welcome, please take a seat anywhere over here. What would you like to eat? The spiritual food at our place is definitely of high quality and reasonably priced, ensuring you a satisfying and affordable meal."

Hearing this, Ye Junze developed a new question, but instead of asking it immediately, he kept it to himself to ask Lin Xin later.

Lin Xin smiled and replied to the waiter, "The two of us will take a look around first. Go ahead and get busy; we'll call you once we've chosen. You can go and attend to other customers."

Hearing this, the waiter nodded and responded, "Understood. Then please make yourselves at home, guests. Just call whenever you need anything, we'll be right there."

With that, the waiter turned and left to attend to other customers. In this brief moment, more and more new customers were continuously walking in.

After the waiter left, Lin Xin and Ye Junze turned and chose a vacant table to sit down.

"Alright, this should be the menu for this place," Lin Xin said after taking her seat, looking at a menu on the table. She pushed it across to prompt Ye Junze to check it out, adding, "Have a look, Junior, and order whatever you'd like to eat."

Ye Junze didn't decline either. After glancing through the menu casually for a moment, he voiced the question he had kept in mind earlier, "Senior, what was that 'spiritual food' the waiter mentioned just now?"

Hearing this, Lin Xin smiled and said, "Ah, you must have seen it when you were looking at the menu just now."

Ye Junze nodded and replied, "Yes, but I still didn't quite understand it."

"Actually, it's nothing much. This is the difference between the restaurants in the spiritual commercial district and those outside that I mentioned to you earlier," Lin Xin explained with a smile, waving her hand. "The difference lies in the fact that everything sold here is prepared using various ingredients cultivated with spiritual energy. In other words, the cooked dishes here contain a massive amount of spiritual energy. For cultivators like us, eating these dishes composed of spiritual energy is immensely beneficial to our personal cultivation. Moreover, the most important point is that these spiritually cultivated ingredients, once cooked, taste vastly superior to the ordinary food we used to eat."

With Lin Xin's explanation, Ye Junze immediately understood. He nodded and said, "So that's how it is. Thank you for clearing that up, Senior."

Lin Xin waved her hand and smiled, "No problem, there's no need to be so polite. Go ahead and order from the menu. Remember, it's my treat!"

Nodding, Ye Junze said nothing more and began to seriously examine the menu before him, making his selections.

At the same time, as he made his choices, he continuously asked for Lin Xin's opinion on what she might like to eat.

Hearing this, Lin Xin pondered seriously for a moment before offering her own suggestions.

And so, chatting and laughing, the two of them finished ordering their spiritual food lunch.

Once the order was placed, Lin Xin called out, "Waiter, we're ready to order."

Soon, the same waiter responded and walked over quickly, saying as he approached, "Coming right up."

When the waiter drew closer, he picked up the menu that the two had pushed toward him and looked it over. After checking for a moment, the waiter asked, "These are the items the two of you ordered, correct?"

Lin Xin nodded and replied, "That's right, just these. Sorry to trouble you."

The waiter waved his hand and said, "No trouble at all. Please wait a moment here, your dishes will be ready shortly."

With that, the waiter turned and walked toward another area, presumably to submit the dishes ordered by Ye Junze and Lin Xin.

After the waiter left, Lin Xin looked at Ye Junze and smiled, "Just wait for it, Junior. I can guarantee you that today's spiritual food will be absolutely delicious."

Hearing this, Ye Junze nodded and replied with a smile, "I naturally trust your word, Senior."

Lin Xin waved her hand and then continued with a mysterious air, "Actually, there's something you might not know yet, Junior."

Hearing this, Ye Junze immediately looked puzzled and asked curiously, "What is it?"

This time, Lin Xin didn't keep him in suspense and smiled, saying, "The meals at our school actually contain trace amounts of spiritual energy as well, but those are only made using a tiny fraction of spiritual ingredients."

"There's even such a thing?" Ye Junze asked in surprise.

Lin Xin nodded and replied, "Of course. According to the grapevine, the school is planning to start mass-producing spiritual meals in the near future."

Then, Lin Xin shook her head and continued, "However, with so many people in our school, it probably won't be feasible to supply everyone in the short term. In other words, whether you'll be able to eat spiritual food in the future still depends a bit on luck."

Hearing this, Ye Junze nodded, indicating his understanding.

After all, what Lin Xin said was a fact. Although Ye Junze was not clear on the specific details, so-called spiritual ingredients were presumably not that easy to cultivate. With the population of Anze Academy growing increasingly large, it was naturally impossible to provide open supply to everyone, so a bit of luck was indeed required.

While the two of them were chatting idly, the dishes they had ordered began to be served one after another.

They saw the same waiter approaching with trays of food.

Placing the plates on the table, the waiter said, "These are your dishes, please enjoy. The remaining dishes will arrive shortly. I hope you both have a pleasant meal."

Hearing this, Lin Xin and Ye Junze simultaneously replied, "Thank you."

The waiter waved his hand and responded politely, "You're welcome, it's my duty. Please enjoy your meal."

With that, the waiter turned and left.

Lin Xin looked at Ye Junze and smiled, "Shall we dig in as well, Junior?"

Ye Junze nodded and replied, "Alright."

After that, the two said no more and began to enjoy the spiritual food before them.