Free Web NovelChapter 71: Chapter 71: An Expensive Late-Night Snack
When Lin Yi returned to Jingnan Hualu after turning in his mission,
it was already past ten o’clock at night.
With a soft DING, the elevator doors slowly slid open.
Lin Yi took out his key and opened the door to the apartment.
The lights were off inside.
Only a sliver of light shone in through the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows. freeweɓnovel.cøm
He could vaguely make out the shapes of things.
’Tang Qinru has probably gone to bed already, right?’
Afraid of waking her up, Lin Yi tried to be as quiet as possible.
He had just changed his shoes in the entryway and was about to head to his bedroom when a woman’s cool, clear voice called out.
"What took you so long?"
"Huh?"
Lin Yi jumped, completely startled.
He quickly looked back toward the living room and faintly saw a figure sitting on the sofa.
"Sister Qingru? You’re not asleep yet?"
CLICK...
As he spoke, the living room lights turned on.
Lin Yi quickly turned his head, and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light.
He saw Tang Qinru sitting on the sofa, watching him, dressed in a pink robe.
Her long hair was down, and she wore no makeup.
Her makeup-free face was even more pleasant to look at.
The pink robe accentuated her fair, smooth skin.
Being a few years older than Lin Yi, she exuded a mature woman’s charm and allure.
Tang Qinru smiled, getting up from the sofa and walking over.
"Don’t think I was waiting up for you on purpose. I just got back myself... You must be hungry, right? Have a bite with me?"
Reaching Lin Yi, she headed straight for the kitchen.
And just as she passed him,
the smell of alcohol filled the air, and Lin Yi’s brows furrowed deeply.
"Sister Qingru, have you been drinking?"
"Yeah, I had a business dinner, couldn’t get out of it. And I happen to be hungry too!"
Lin Yi nodded and didn’t say anything more.
At the end of the day, he was just a tenant, and Tang Qinru was his landlady.
Besides, their relationship wasn’t close enough for them to interfere in each other’s lives.
He still remembered something she said the first time they met.
The reason she was renting out a room was that she just wanted some company.
Now, Lin Yi was beginning to understand.
Perhaps she just wanted someone to be home when she got back from her social engagements, even if that person came home later than her.
At least there would be someone to talk to, or even sit down and share a meal with.
While Tang Qinru was in the kitchen,
Lin Yi quickly went back to his room and changed his clothes.
Just a moment ago, he had caught a faint, lingering scent of blood on them...
After changing, he also took a quick shower.
When he came out again, there were already four dishes and a bowl of soup on the dining table.
"Sister Qingru, when did your cooking get this good?"
Lin Yi stared at the dishes in amazement.
The woman who couldn’t even fry an egg in the morning without burning it could suddenly make four dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted perfect at night?
’Is she even the same person? Don’t tell me she’s a little...’
Tang Qinru came out of the kitchen holding two empty bowls and two pairs of chopsticks.
"You give me too much credit. If I had these kinds of skills, I’d have been married off long ago."
"I brought this back from the hotel. It’s not leftovers I packed up, I ordered it separately..."
Tang Qinru seemed afraid Lin Yi would misunderstand and think the dishes were leftovers, so she quickly added an explanation.
Lin Yi smiled, nodded, and sat down.
"To be honest, I’m starving. My stomach’s been protesting for a while now..."
"Then eat up!"
Tang Qinru also nodded with a light laugh.
Lin Yi didn’t stand on ceremony. He picked up his chopsticks and started wolfing down the food.
In his current state, he couldn’t afford to be polite or put on airs.
His empty stomach was begging to be filled immediately.
Before long, he had finished half the dishes.
"Slow down, no one’s going to steal it from you. Here, have some soup," Tang Qinru said, passing him a bowl.
Lin Yi nodded and mumbled a "thank you" through a full mouth.
But by the time he was about halfway through the meal, he started to feel that something wasn’t quite right.
The food in his stomach felt like it was turning into waves of heat,
surging through his entire body.
At first, the sensation wasn’t that strong.
But gradually, the surging feeling intensified until it felt like his blood vessels were about to explode.
Lin Yi stopped chewing and looked up at Tang Qinru in surprise.
After a long moment, he finally said, "Sister Qingru, is this... Demon Beast Meat?"
"Pfft..."
Tang Qinru couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
"I know you’re a martial artist, and your Martial Arts exam is coming up soon!"
"I had someone specially prepare this Demon Beast Meat for you. It’s good for your body, so eat up!"
Hearing this, Lin Yi was utterly astonished.
He was very familiar with the feeling of heat surging through his meridians.
He had eaten this kind of Demon Beast Meat at the Martial Arts Hall before.
It was just that the impact was much weaker compared to what he was feeling now.
In fact, the two couldn’t even be compared.
He’d heard Zhou Qi say before that the higher a demon beast’s cultivation level, the better its effects.
And this intense impact he was feeling now...
It was like a ball of fire was scorching his meridians from the inside.
His blood began to boil.
Lin Yi could feel waves of heat radiating through his body.
A searing sensation, burning from the inside out.
His Qi and Blood surged relentlessly, growing wild and restless...
This sensation lasted for nearly a full minute before it slowly began to subside.
Lin Yi was drenched as if he had been dunked in water.
The clean clothes he had just changed into were completely soaked through.
"Sister Qingru... This Demon Beast Meat, its cultivation level wasn’t low, was it?" Lin Yi asked in astonishment.
Tang Qinru shook her head. "It’s 2-star Demon Beast Meat. Is that considered high?"
"..."
The Demon Beast Meat at the Martial Arts Hall was generally unstarred.
At best, you’d get Tier 3 or Tier 4, and that was considered pretty good.
And yet, Tang Qinru had gone and arranged for 2-star Demon Beast Meat?
Shaking off his shock, Lin Yi quickly asked, "Then these dishes... they must have been expensive, right?"
"They were fine. It wasn’t that much money. All that matters is that it’s good for your body."
"Hurry up and eat. This Demon Beast Meat doesn’t taste as good when it gets cold!"
Tang Qinru said with a light smile.
Lin Yi nodded. After the turmoil inside his body gradually subsided,
he picked up his chopsticks and continued to eat.
This time, however, he couldn’t help but have some reservations.
He knew a little about the price of Demon Beast Meat on the black market.
The demon beasts he had hunted, for example, were priced between two and five thousand.
A 1-star demon beast could sell for over ten thousand.
And that was just the price for the raw materials.
He’d heard from the senior students before that if you hired a Culinary Master to process the Demon Beast Meat,
the cost would be more than three times the price of the raw materials.
For demon beasts above 1-star, the price would be even higher.
Because the higher the cultivation level of the raw material, the higher the difficulty of cooking it.
Needless to say, the 2-star Demon Beast Meat Lin Yi was eating now would be incredibly difficult to cook.
’Wouldn’t the price be at least five times higher?’
’In that case, didn’t these four dishes have a five-figure price tag?’
Arriving at this conclusion, Lin Yi was stunned.
They weren’t related, not even old acquaintances.
Right now, their relationship was simply that of tenant and landlady.
’She actually spent a five-figure sum to arrange such a grand demon beast feast for him?’
’What on earth is she after?’
’Don’t tell me she’s...’
