Dai Mubai said irritably, "Shut your trap, fatty. You order. You're the one who knows how to eat best."
Ma Hongjun played along readily. "So are you treating today? Your subsidy is the biggest — you're the rich one here."
Dai Mubai smiled faintly. "Treating is no problem. It's fate that we're all studying at Shrek Academy together. I'm the oldest, so this meal counts as a welcome dinner for Tang San and the others."
The fatty burst into hearty laughter, the flesh on his round little face jiggling with each chuckle. "Great, that's great. Don't worry, Boss Dai — I won't go easy on your wallet."
Before long, the fatty put on a full demonstration of why Dai Mubai had called him someone who "knows how to eat." He called over the waiter and rattled off over a dozen dishes in rapid succession — many of them by names Tang San had never even heard. The fatty, however, was positively beaming.
"Not bad, not bad. The place may not be much to look at, but the selection is surprisingly complete. If the taste is up to par, that would be even better."
Dai Mubai said helplessly, "This fatty spends his subsidy on two things — women and food. Anything left over goes straight into his stomach. I honestly believe that if you weren't a Soul Master, you'd have become a chef."
Though all seven of them sat around the same table, the atmosphere was far from harmonious. Zhu Zhuqing sat with her face cold as ice. Ning Rongrong had her head lowered, lost in thought. Fortunately, the fatty was there to crack jokes and liven things up, keeping the mood from going completely stiff.
The restaurant was already about sixty or seventy percent full when, suddenly, a group walked in from outside. In a fashion somewhat similar to Tang San's party, they too numbered eight.
At their head was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties, reasonably handsome, with hair slicked back to a brilliant sheen. He wore an immaculate Soul Master robe of moonlight white, elaborately tailored and embroidered with silver thread that shimmered with every step.
Behind him followed seven young men and women — six males and one female — all appearing to be around twenty years old. They wore the same moonlight-white Soul Master robes, though without the silver embroidery of the middle-aged man's garment. However, whether it was the middle-aged man or the seven youths behind him, each bore a teal circular emblem on the left shoulder, within which were embroidered two characters of the same color: Canghui.
Their attire made it immediately obvious that they were all Soul Masters. Tang San's group, by contrast, had dressed casually and blended in with ordinary folk. These newcomers were far more ostentatious.
The moment the restaurant owner saw them enter, he hurried over to greet them, bowing and scraping with exaggerated courtesy. Just as Oscar had said, this small town made its living off the Star Dou Great Forest — which was to say, it made its living off Soul Masters. Soul Masters were not only a noble profession but a wealthy one, and the owner naturally dared not be careless.
"That girl is pretty good-looking. Boss Dai, those must be from Canghui Academy, right?" The fatty's small eyes were locked onto the sole young woman in the eight-person group. Truth be told, the girl was indeed quite attractive — at least above average in looks. Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong were all beautiful, of course, but they were still only around twelve years old, which made them look quite young and tender compared to a fully developed girl of seventeen or eighteen. For boys of the fatty's age, a slightly older girl was far more appealing — and with that evil fire of his coursing through his veins, his eyes practically glowed as he stared at her without restraint.
Dai Mubai curled his lip. "Just the piddling little Canghui Academy. What is there to show off about?"
Neither the fatty nor Dai Mubai had made any effort to lower their voices. Soul Masters' hearing was sharper than that of ordinary people, and despite the general clamor of the restaurant, the middle-aged man among the group of eight glanced over, his brow furrowing slightly. When he saw that the table belonging to Shrek Academy was nothing more than a bunch of children, his expression grew noticeably darker.
Oscar sat beside Tang San and whispered with a grin, "Looks like there's going to be a show."
Tang San gave him a puzzled look. "What show?"
Oscar whispered, "This is part of our training too. Headmaster Flandre once said that a Soul Master who doesn't dare to stir up trouble is no good Soul Master. As the saying goes, those who fear trouble are mediocrities. And picking fights with other Soul Master academies is the safest kind — at worst, it's just a brawl."
Tang San couldn't help but laugh. "If you compiled all the Headmaster's sayings together, you could make a book of monster quotes. Judging by their age, this Canghui Academy must be a senior Soul Master Academy, right?"
Over at the Canghui Academy table, the eight of them had also taken their seats, separated from Shrek's group by two empty tables. From the corner of his eye, Tang San noticed the middle-aged man — clearly their teacher — lean in and murmur something to one of the youths. Soon after, that young man rose from his seat and walked straight toward their table. From his trajectory, he was heading directly for Dai Mubai.
A flicker of contempt passed through Dai Mubai's evil eyes. What Tang San could see, he certainly had no reason to miss — but Dai Mubai didn't so much as glance at the approaching figure.