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Chapter 471: I'll Go Call Him Back for You

After being poisoned by the Blood Puffer, he was given the best emergency treatment. Thanks to their thorough preparations and the fact that the poison was relatively mild, he was able to clear the toxins from his body swiftly.

In fact, if the ingredient had contained obvious toxins, the Whale Gang would never have brought it up on the table. It must have gone through basic inspections before being sent over.

The Blood Puffer of Mount Yue was a strange creature. Its flesh was not poisonous while it was alive, but after it died, it slowly became toxic. That was how Lackey B got poisoned.

When Lackey B woke up after being treated, the first thing he said was, "I think it's still safe to eat... it just needs to be prepared right."

"Let's not think about eating just yet..." the group said, looking at him with concern. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," Lackey B said, shaking his head calmly. "We can continue."

"Continue?" The others were surprised.

"It's just a Blood Puffer. It's nothing worth mentioning," Lackey B said, flicking his hair with the confidence of a master.

Even Chu Liang couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up.

Nice, you're really cut out for this task.

That day, Lackey B tested nearly thirty different ingredients. He eliminated thirteen of them and found seventeen that were good for the menu. With some basic ingredients, the hotpot restaurant was ready to open.

Even though these spirit plants and spirit beast meats were rare, their large sizes were a big advantage. A single spirit beast could be several zhang tall, and some were even as big as a small mountain.

As long as they were safe to eat, they could keep the restaurant running for quite a while.

This also gave them another benefit: the ingredients at Red Moon Pavilion could change regularly or even daily, giving customers a fresh experience. When premium ingredients were available, they could be promoted heavily.

For ingredients with great flavor, the Whale Gang could focus on buying them and restocking them regularly for the menu.

The next morning, Red Moon Pavilion officially opened its doors to customers.

Jiang Yuebai didn't want to use her influence to attract customers, so the new shop's opening was rather low-key. She didn't even show her face, quietly observing from a private room on the second floor with a few others.

But in this world, there was no such thing as a secret.

During the store's preparation days, word had already spread around Mount Shu that Fairy Jiang was about to open a shop on Red Cotton Peak.

Additionally, Xu Hongqiu had been very high-profile in her actions. All the people handling the deliveries were members of the Whale Gang. And so, the reputation of the Young Lady of the Whale Gang helped boost the business.

Thus, many people showed up on opening day to show their support.

While many came just for the social occasion, they were pleasantly surprised by the service as soon as they entered.

To the left, a dozen burly Whale Gang men stood, all smiling enthusiastically in their rolled-up aprons, loudly shouting, 'Welcome to Red Moon Pavilion! Three gentlemen here!'"

On the right stood a dozen elegant women in flowing red robes. As soon as they noticed female guests arriving, they sprang into action, stepping forward with warm smiles. "Welcome! How many are in your party?" they asked, guiding the guests to their seats. "As for our menu, in addition to the basic ingredients, we have something special today: Yellow-Scaled Tiger and Spirit-Spotted Deer. What would you like to try?"

The shop had only two floors, yet both upstairs and downstairs were packed with people.

The slow opening day that they had worried about never happened.

However, most of the guests came because they had some connection to the owners. Therefore, if the experience wasn't good, there was no chance they would keep returning just for fun.

But once the first group of diners finished their meals and left, word of mouth started to spread like wildfire.

"A hotpot restaurant just opened on Red Cotton Peak! I heard it's co-owned by Fairy Jiang and the Whale Gang's eldest daughter, so I had to check it out," one person excitedly told their friends. "It's absolutely authentic—truly top-notch!"

"Unbeatable!" another friend chimed in.

"..."

Chu Liang watched the bustling scene from the second floor and turned to say, "As long as we keep up this level of service, I believe Red Moon Pavilion's reputation will spread quickly. It might even become another signature spot on Mount Shu before long."

"It's not that simple," Jiang Yuebai replied calmly. "If we become popular, other shops around here will definitely try to copy us, and they might even offer lower prices. This excitement won't last forever."

"Who dares to copy us?" Xu Hongqiu boasted confidently. "I'll make sure they can't stay on the Red Cotton Peak!"

Given the Whale Gang's history and status, she certainly had the right to be arrogant, but...

"What if it's a sect from the Divine Nine or the Terrestrial Ten?" Chu Liang said with a helpless smile. "What if they open a shop in Taotie City or the capital of Yu? We can't always rely on brute force to solve our problems."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Xu Hongqiu asked, sensing he had an idea.

"I think..." Chu Liang began, "we could summarize our ingredients, recipes, and business methods into a business model and promote it. If someone wants to open a similar store, they can franchise with us, and we'll support them as much as we can."

"Franchise?" The women exchanged puzzled looks, clearly hearing the term for the first time. "Isn't that just helping our competitors?"

"Yes," Chu Liang continued with a smile. "As long as they pay a franchise fee, they can use the name, experience, and resources of Red Moon Pavilion. We can't avoid competition, but I believe more shops would prefer this arrangement than a cutthroat rivalry. After all, it's all about making money.

"Imagine our name spreading across the nine provinces! The main store here on Mount Shu will thrive even more. And even if our main store's business slows down, we'll still earn from the franchise fees.

"Isn't that wonderful?"

While Chu Liang was busy at Red Cotton Peak, unexpected visitors arrived at Silver Sword Peak.

A whirlwind touched down, revealing over a dozen figures clad in the official uniforms of the Imperial Supervisory Bureau. Leading them was a man with a graceful presence, dressed in flowing white robes—none other than Li Chengfeng, the chief of the Four Celestial Officials.

As they arrived at Silver Sword Peak, Li Chengfeng glanced around while his subordinates dispersed to search the area.

Li Chengfeng approached the pavilion where Di Nufeng resided.

Di Nufeng obviously sensed the intruders immediately, but she remained seated with her arms crossed, her expression hostile as she watched them enter her pavilion.

"What's this about?" Di Nufeng narrowed her eyes slightly. "You didn't even give a heads-up before barging into my Silver Sword Peak. What are you here for?"

"Big Sister Feng..." Li Chengfeng looked a bit troubled as he slowly explained, "The Imperial Supervisory Commissioner has already sent a letter to Venerable Wen Yuan. There's indeed a case that requires Silver Sword Peak's cooperation."

Di Nufeng fell silent for a long moment.

Her mind raced, thoughts buzzing as she tried to remember. After almost half a day, she finally asked, "Which case?"

"Huh?" Li Chengfeng was surprised by her tone.

"No matter what the case is, I won't say anything until our Discipline Master arrives," Di Nufeng replied firmly.

"It's not about you," Li Chengfeng quickly said upon noticing her reaction.

"You should've said that sooner!" Di Nufeng exclaimed, finally breaking into a smile.

Earlier, she went through all the crimes she'd committed in her mind, wondering which might show she was guilty. She hadn't even made it through ten percent of them, and it had already taken nearly half a day.

There were just too many.

Since it wasn't her own case, she felt relieved and chuckled as she asked, "Who else at Silver Sword Peak could have committed a crime? That big dumb Hou or the little silly fish?"

"Neither," Li Chengfeng replied. "It's your one and only disciple, Chu Liang."

"Chu Liang?" Di Nufeng was genuinely surprised.

After all, her disciple was arguably the most dependable person at Silver Sword Peak. She had thought of everyone else, but Chu Liang hadn't even crossed her mind.

It wasn't that he couldn't commit a crime, but if he did, it was unlikely he would leave any evidence behind...

"What crime did he commit that makes it necessary for you, a celestial official, to come personally and arrest him?" Di Nufeng's smile faded, replaced by a serious expression.

"Well..." Li Chengfeng began explaining the situation.

"I see." After listening to the explanation, Di Nufeng nodded casually. "Then have a seat... I'll go call him back for you."

Boom—

With that, Di Nufeng suddenly transformed into a blaze of fire, shooting through the air with a loud whoosh.

"Huh?!"

Seeing this, Li Chengfeng realized something was wrong and turned into a whirlwind to chase after her.

A peculiar scene unfolded on Mount Shu.

Di Nufeng's fiery trail shot across half of the mountain, closely pursued by a swirling wind, faint shouts echoing in the distance.

"Big Sister Feng...

"The law is like a vast net that doesn't miss! You shouldn't try to challenge the law!"