A small town came into Chu Feng's view, though from a distance, he noticed that a large number of people had gathered outside an imposing estate in the town, forming a long queue as if they were collecting something.
Having just arrived, and wishing to avoid unnecessary trouble, Chu Feng did not display his formidable cultivation. Instead, he quietly descended from the sky and walked into the town on foot.
At this point, Chu Feng realized that this was truly just an ordinary small town — not even as developed as Kaoshan Town, where the Chu Family had once scraped by. Most of the town's residents were commoners; there wasn't even a single restaurant.
However, the town did have one wealthy household. At this moment, several hundred commoners were lined up in a long queue outside its gates, receiving grain.
"Master Li is such a kind man — distributing grain to us poor folk every single month."
"There have been so many natural disasters this year, and grain yields have plummeted. If not for Master Li's generous support, we'd probably have starved to death."
From the commoners' chatter, Chu Feng learned that this was a free grain distribution. And judging by Master Li's estate, while it could hardly be called opulent, it was clearly the home of a wealthy man — at least far better than the thatched huts of the other townsfolk.
This meant that while Master Li's household might not feast on exotic delicacies, they certainly had their fill of chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Without bothering to join the line, and drawing countless bewildered stares from the crowd, Chu Feng walked straight to the front gates of the Li estate.
"Halt! You have to wait in line like everyone else! Who told you to cut in?" Several burly guards stationed at the estate pointed at Chu Feng and barked.
These muscular men all possessed a cultivation of the second level of the Spirit Martial realm. Though their cultivation was extremely low, they were still better off than the commoners who had no cultivation whatsoever.
"I'm not here to receive grain — I'm here to buy it," Chu Feng said with a faint smile.
"Buy grain?" At the sound of those words, a middle-aged man with a mustache and a lavish outfit stepped out from within the courtyard. Upon seeing Chu Feng's fine clothing and youthful face, his eyes lit up. He hurried over with an obsequious grin: "Young hero, how much grain would you like to purchase?"
"I only want enough for one meal. Bring out your finest wine and meat, prepare a proper feast for me, and I promise I won't shortchange you," Chu Feng said.
"Right away! Please come in, young hero." With that, the mustachioed man grinned slyly as he ushered Chu Feng inside, while barking at the burly guards beside him: "What are you standing there for? Hurry to the kitchen and have them prepare a top-quality spread to entertain our guest — the faster, the better!"
Who was Chu Feng? Despite his young age, he was the one who had turned all of Qingzhou upside down. He could easily see that this mustachioed man had pegged him as some wealthy young fool and was looking to fleece him.
But Chu Feng couldn't be bothered to quibble over it. Right now, he was starving and just wanted a good meal. As for money — Chu Feng was never short on that.
Soon after, Chu Feng was led into a respectable dining hall. Sure enough, the mustachioed man was efficient — dishes of fine cuisine quickly filled the table.
Whether it was because Chu Feng was famished or because the food was truly delicious, the sight of that table made his eyes sparkle and his mouth water. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to devour everything in a whirlwind.
"Wait." Just then, the mustachioed man suddenly spoke up, still grinning: "Young hero, it's not that I don't trust you, but this feast cost quite a bit in ingredients. Even our master wouldn't dare indulge so extravagantly on an ordinary day. If you can't produce the proper payment, it'll be hard for me to explain things."
"Damn it." Chu Feng was irritated. You think I can't afford a single meal? He reached for the Universe Bag at his waist, intending to casually pull out something to leave this mustachioed man thunderstruck.
"Wait—" But the moment his hand touched it, Chu Feng's expression changed. To his shock, his Universe Bag — aside from the Spirit Realm Compass and some spare tools — was completely empty. Not a single thing.
Only then did Chu Feng remember: back at the Myriad Bones Graveyard, when he had been sorting through his Universe Bag, he had given everything he deemed useless to Li Changqing. As for the Mystic Medicine he had kept, he had burned through all of it during cultivation.
Right now, Chu Feng genuinely had nothing of equivalent value to pay for this meal. Everything he had left was essential and worth a small fortune. Leaving aside the trouble it would cause him to hand it over, even if he did produce it, this mustachioed man probably wouldn't recognize its worth.
"So, young hero — you're planning to dine and dash, are you?" The mustachioed man's eyes narrowed. All the previous servility vanished from his face, replaced by a sinister look. At the same time, several burly men rushed in through the door, clearly ready to use force against Chu Feng.
At that moment, Chu Feng grew angry. Considering who he was and what power he possessed, to be looked down upon by a pack of nobodies like these — his first instinct was to raise his fist and blast the roof clean off, show them exactly what he was capable of, and drive the magnitude of their mistake straight into their skulls.
But after a moment's thought, Chu Feng realized that he was genuinely in the wrong here. Eating without the means to pay was a fact. Resorting to violence to settle this matter truly would be unjustifiable. Chu Feng was not afraid of trouble, but neither was he the sort of villain who committed atrocities without cause — he certainly couldn't bully the weak just because he could.
"What is going on here?" Just then, a sharp elderly voice rang out from beyond the dining hall. Moments later, a gray-haired old man walked in.
The old man was plainly dressed and rather rustic in appearance, looking for all the world like a night-watchman. But the moment he appeared, both the mustachioed man and the burly guards immediately became meek and deferential.
"Master, this fellow is trying to eat without paying!" The mustachioed man, clearly terrified of the old man, hurried forward to explain.
And at that moment, Chu Feng finally understood — this rather unassuming old man was none other than the owner of the estate, the benevolent Master Li the townsfolk spoke so highly of.
"Goodness gracious! A guest is a guest. It's only one meal — why demand payment from him? And you were going to get physical too?"
"Aren't you going to apologize to our guest?!" To Chu Feng's surprise, rather than siding with his household, Master Li grew even angrier upon hearing the mustachioed man's account. He pointed at their heads and let loose a torrent of scolding.
Under these circumstances, the mustachioed man and the guards had no choice but to apologize to Chu Feng one by one, which actually left Chu Feng feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"Young friend, you're not from around here, are you? Where are you headed?" Master Li sat down beside Chu Feng and asked with a smile.
By this point, Chu Feng had already dropped all pretense of courtesy and was eating with reckless abandon. Hearing the old man's question, he wiped his greasy mouth and replied: "You're right — I'm not from here. I came from Jiezhou. I'm heading to the Myriad Demon Mountain."
"What?! The Myriad Demon Mountain?!"
At the mere mention of those three words, not just Master Li — virtually every person present changed color, visibly shaken. Master Li himself swayed in his seat, nearly toppling off his chair. Had Chu Feng not been quick enough to catch him, he would have fallen flat on his back.