Young Master Xian Sure Has Changed

It takes a while for Meng Yi to pick a restaurant for us to eat, and I don’t know if it’s because she likes this place, thinks I’ll like this place, knows he liked this place, or, and this is probably way more likely than I’m comfortable with, if it just took this long for us to reach a place where the owners won’t kick us out.

Or poison us.

At this point, I don’t think I want to know.

The restaurant is nice enough, busy too, especially for this hour of the day.

It is single storey affair, with an open floor plan that leaves everyone in open view of everyone else.

This is one of those restaurants that if someone who knows you steps in, they’re likely to spot you from the door regardless of where you’re sitting.

Conversely, it is also the kind of restaurant where everyone who knows you can spot you from wherever they’re sitting the moment you walk through the doors, and a lot of people know Xian Qigang.

The establishment goes silent as Meng Yi and I step in, all eyes moving to us.

Expressions change.

They vary enough, but the predominant reaction to my presence seems to be the curling of faces in annoyance and irritation, all mixed in with an undercurrent of tension.

I suspect the sight of my face has that reaction on most people, especially when they’re just trying to have a meal.

A man, who I assume is the headwaiter, rushes towards us.

“Young Master Xian.” He bows. “Welcome. Please, come. Let me find you a good table.”

“One in the middle,” Meng Yi says.

The headwaiter stares at her for a moment, then nods again.

“Of course, Manager Meng,” he says. “As you wish.”

We’re led to a table near the centre of the restaurant, all eyes on us as we sit.

Some of the patrons are cultivators, all beast rank, and none, it seems to my slowly improving qi sense, higher than the third layer of the Weaving phase.

“Do people always stare like this when I come around?” I ask Meng Yi softly after the headwaiter takes our order and leaves.

“Not usually,” Meng Yi says. “Though, I suppose there’s nothing usual about your presence here today.”

She’s right on that one.

“I can’t imagine it has been easy for you,” I say, “being associated with me. I suspect not everyone has been understanding of your circumstances.”

Meng Yi gives me another one of her piercing looks, then graces me with a small smile. “The people who matter understand,” she says. “Besides, it’s not all bad, there are some perks to being associated with one of, if not the richest man in town.”

“I suppose,” I allow. “Wealth does have its privileges.”

“That it does,” Meng Yi agrees. “Its like my father said, ‘few things can shut people up like gold to the face’.”

“Yeah… because it knocks out all their teeth,” I say.

Meng Yi titters, and it’s like the little sound is a dinner bell in a chicken farm, as damn near everyone’s attention returns to us.

I literally feel their eyes on my skin.

What fun.

“You think it’s my cultivation that’s got them so interested, or the stories of my enlightenment?” I ask.

“Definitely the latter,” Meng Yi replies. “No one here is high enough in rank or layers for their qi sense to have the sensitivity to pick up such things.”

“Ah, so that’s why it’s been so easy for me to pick out cultivation ranks and levels despite not having any practice,” I say. “The higher the rank the better the… everything.”

“Indeed,” Meng Yi says. “The difference between you and a beast rank is a value of 125. There is no metric by which they are your equal. What will push a beast rank to the brink of death will be a mild strain for you. There is no comparison.”

Damn. Having it put into words like that does make clear the sheer gap between me and these people.

That explains all the interest and the tenseness. The thought of someone like Xian Qigang having such power honestly scares the dickens out of me.

With some effort, I shake away the thought.

“With a noble rank cultivation being so game changing, I can only imagine what divine rank must be like,” I say.

“They say the gap between divine rank and noble rank is like the gap between noble rank and beast rank,” Meng Yi says.

I roll my eyes. “Of course they say that, divine rank is for the elite of the elites, they have to say things like…” I trail off, actually thinking about it.

“Actually, I think it might be true. It’s simple mathematics; the greater the value being multiplied, the greater the effect of the multiplication. Like, for example, if you double a bucket of water, it doesn’t make much of a difference, but if you double a river—”

“You flood a valley,” Meng Yi finishes, eyes wide and bright. “I never thought of it that way before.”

I shrug. “That’s understandable, I have an… outside perspective,” I say.

Meng Yi smiles. “I must say, enlightenment looks good on you, Young Master.”

“Thanks,” I say, grinning back.

A waiter arrives then, not with our order, but with beverages to tide us over till our food is ready.

“Ginseng tea for you, Manager Meng,” he says, setting her teacup and pot down. “And goldendew mint tea for the Young Master Xian,” he says setting mine.

Meng Yi immediately pours me a cup of the golden liquid.

The golden liquid from which I sense beast rank qi.

“The tea has qi,” I say, no doubt needlessly, seeing as Meng Yi had ordered it for me and so must know that already.

She nods. “It’s the goldendew mint in it,” she informs me. “It’s a beast rank plant.”

Ah.

Taking the cup, I inhale the aroma.

It smells like the first ray of sunlight on a dewy morning.

Huh. Never knew that was a smell.

I take a sip.

“Oh, wow.” My eyes widen. “That’s delicious. You need to try this.”

“I’m still in the Ignition phase, Young Master,” Meng Yi says. “Beast rank tea might not be the best idea.”

Oh, right. Ignition phase means no cultivation method yet, and no cultivation method means no protection from the beast rank qi of the tea.

“There are cultivation resources I can use, but unfortunately, goldendew mint is not one of them,” Meng Yi adds.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait for you to taste it when you’re in the Weaving phase,” I say.

“I shall look forward to that, Young Master.”

I take another sip of the tea.

It does absolutely nothing for my cultivation, but, I suspect that if it were higher ranked it would be great for my cultivation meth…

Wait a minute.

I focus on the cup of tea, and—

1 – 500 (Beast Rank)

501 – 800 (Peasant Rank)

801 – 950 (Sage Rank)

951 – 999 (Noble Rank)

1000 (Divine Rank)

Roll: Yes || No

I blink. For tea!?

…Well, I mean, it’s clearly not just tea, and my power has proven time and again to work for all things cultivation related (exclusively), so, I guess…

It would actually be stranger if it didn’t work to be honest.

Anyway, strange or not, roll please.

Rolling…

964 (Noble Rank)

Reward: Prismatic Starlightdew Mint Tea (134ml)

Oh. Uh… okay. Definitely not bringing that out anywhere near here.

I go back to sipping my tea.

Our food arrives finally, and right as Meng Yi and I dig in, a presence more powerful than any I’ve ever felt steps into the restaurant. And, while it might be egotistical to think this, I just know that this 100% has something to do with me.