325: Chapter 325 Golden Crow Grass

"What?!"

As this exclamation rang out, the guests in the room subconsciously turned their heads, craning their necks like geese awaiting slaughter, their eyes filled with curiosity and urgency.

Yet all that met their eyes were ordinary grey-blue roof tiles, dull and weathered under the afternoon sun—let alone the three-legged Golden Crow Grass that could stir Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, they couldn't even find a wilted blade of foxtail grass.

In the blink of an eye.

The little girl moved.

Her movements were impossibly fast; where was the fragile, teary-eyed appearance from just a moment ago?

She was clearly like a startled spirit cat, twisting her waist with wind under her feet, and with a "whoosh," she darted to the side of the waiter passing by with a tray.

Her chubby little hand was fast as lightning, precisely reaching for the whole roasted chicken on the tray—glistening with oil, skin crispy and meat tender, its fragrance so rich it could Soul-snatch—and with a flip of her wrist, she gathered the heavy roasted chicken into her arms.

Chicken grease dripped through her fingers, shimmering with an amber luster in the sunlight, but she didn't care at all, her eyes shining like a little mouse that had stolen lamp oil.

"Revered Master! The Golden Crow Grass ran away! This Disciple will go help you chase it back! Please cover the bill for this Disciple first!"

She babbled nonsense, but her feet seemed greased with slippery sesame oil.

With a "whoosh," she slipped through the gaps of the stunned crowd, her small figure reaching the restaurant entrance in two or three steps, her movements incredibly nimble, just like a wild cat that had stolen a fish.

"Hey! Little girl! My roasted chicken! That was our freshly roasted signature chicken!"

Only then did the waiter snap out of his daze. The tray in his hands wobbled with a "clatter," splashing soup all over him and breaking him into a cold sweat. He hurriedly shouted in pursuit, but his footsteps were a beat too slow.

The little girl suddenly turned back at the entrance, clutching the oily roasted chicken tightly to her chest. Grease smeared her cheeks, making her look dirty, but she winked playfully at Chu Changsheng.

The aggrieved expression from earlier was completely gone; her little face was full of a cunning smile from a successful prank, like a little fox that had stolen honey, her eyes curved, brimming with spirit.

She held the greasy roasted chicken leg high and waved it at Chu Changsheng, oil droplets from the leg dripping onto the bluestone floor, splashing into tiny specks of grease.

She shook her head and shouted loudly: "Many thanks for your generous hospitality, Revered Master! Xiao Jiu is off! I'll come to see you again next time!"

Before the words had even faded, she kicked off with her feet and, like a nimble shadow, vanished in a flash, leaving behind only a string of laughter as crisp as silver bells, swirling in the wind and gradually dissipating at the end of the street.

The restaurant fell into dead silence.

Everyone was stunned, their movements of turning to look out the window still frozen in mid-air, completely unaware of the soreness in their necks.

After a long while, they slowly turned back, their gazes focusing on Chu Changsheng once more, filled with a mix of sympathy and the anticipation of a good show.

The looks clearly said: Immortal Venerable, you have been played by your own Disciple.

The shopkeeper stood behind the counter, the corners of his mouth twitching violently, his meticulously groomed goatee trembling slightly, his face turning from blue to white like an overturned palette.

The waiter who had just had his roasted chicken snatched away stared at the empty tray with a pained expression, his eyes red—this was the signature roasted chicken that the head chef in the back kitchen had spent two hours roasting; one chicken was worth three days of his wages, and it had just been snatched away like that!

The surrounding diners had varied expressions: some slapped their thighs in sudden realization, laughing softly.

Others covered their mouths to suppress their laughter, their shoulders heaving slightly.

Still others, the meddlesome types, stroked their beards with great interest, waiting to see how this "Revered Master" with such ethereal temperament would clean up this mess.

Chu Changsheng stood silently, his gaze falling on the street outside that had long been empty.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows on the bluestone road like shattered gold, but where was there any trace of the little girl?

Turning back to look at the room full of gazes—some astonished, some mocking, some stifling laughter—he suddenly felt it was absurd, yet also couldn't help but laugh.

How long had he lived?

So long that even he could not remember.

He had experienced the Reincarnation of life and death as the Three Realms overturned, blood and fire soaking his Daoist robes, with bones piled like mountains paving his path to immortality.

He had witnessed billions of stars born and die before his eyes; the vast galaxy, the primordial Universe, all within the snap of his fingers.

He had stepped onto the Peak of the immortal path that no one could reach, sharing longevity with Heaven and Earth, shining as brightly as the sun and moon, receiving the worship of ten thousand immortals.

He had also tasted eternal loneliness, watching the people around him turn to dust one by one, while he alone guarded these long years, like an old tree withered and standing at the end of time.

But now—

He had actually been thoroughly played by a five or six-year-old little girl using such a crude yet damnably effective trick, and in the end, he even had to pay her bill?

A faint, almost imperceptible smile quietly crept onto his lips, melting the coldness between his brows.

This smile was very light, as light as a spring breeze brushing over a frozen surface, yet it rippled with a warmth he himself hadn't noticed in those eyes that had experienced the vicissitudes of eternity.

Chu Changsheng withdrew his gaze, meeting the shopkeeper's hesitant and complex inquiring look, a smile of helplessness mixed with indulgence appearing on his face.

His fingertips moved slightly, and a trace of imperceptible Divine Thought quietly flowed—

Hum!

Tens of thousands of Top-Grade Spirit Stones suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Each of these Spirit Stones was crystal clear, like ice crystals condensed from the essence of Heaven and Earth, with Spiritual Qi surging within, emitting a soft and rich spiritual light that illuminated the entire dim restaurant like a gemstone palace under daylight, so bright it was blinding.

Faint ripples of Spiritual Qi spread outward in circles from Chu Changsheng, carrying a refreshing and crisp aura that brushed across everyone's cheeks, leaving them feeling refreshed and relaxed, as if even their Meridians were being nourished and soothed.

The restaurant, which had still been whispering and stifling laughter, instantly fell into dead silence.

Even the sound of everyone's breathing seemed to be forcibly suppressed by this sudden, almost tangible radiance of wealth, leaving only the slight humming of the light emitted by the Spirit Stones, vibrating in the air like countless bees flapping their wings by one's ears.

The shopkeeper's eyes were wide as saucers, as if they were about to pop out of their sockets; his goatee shot up, and his body swayed. If not for the counter behind him barely supporting him, he probably would have collapsed to the ground with weak legs.

He opened his mouth, but could not make a sound, only gasping "he-he" in his throat like a fish thrown onto the shore.

His mind was filled with the words "Top-Grade Spirit Stone" and "tens of thousands," and he was almost overwhelmed by the massive shock.

The empty tray in the waiter's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," making a crisp, loud sound, but he was completely unaware, merely staring with his mouth wide open at the mountain of Spirit Stones floating in the air, glowing with brilliant light, his face full of dullness and shock, drool almost dripping down.

These were Top-Grade Spirit Stones!

One was enough for an ordinary family to squander for a lifetime; tens of thousands... were enough to buy hundreds of Zuixian Towers, or even the entire Linyuan City!

The surrounding diners held their breath, not daring to take a deep breath, not even daring to move their bodies, fearing they might disturb this expert who was hiding his true depth.

The Mortals with lower cultivation only felt the rich Spiritual Qi rushing towards them, causing their Meridians to tremble slightly and making them dizzy, as if they were about to Breakthrough their Mortal bodies and step onto the path of cultivation in the next second.

As for those cultivators hiding in the marketplace with not-insignificant cultivation, they wore expressions of horror, staring fixedly at Chu Changsheng, their eyes filled with awe and fear, cold sweat breaking out on their backs layer after layer.

To be able to produce such a number of Top-Grade Spirit Stones so casually, and to be able to conceal one's own aura to the level of a Mortal—this cultivation, this background, was definitely not that of an ordinary person; it was likely a legendary Immortal Venerable figure!

Chu Changsheng, however, turned a blind eye to the uproar and shock around him, as if the tens of thousands of Top-Grade Spirit Stones before him were nothing more than pebbles on the roadside.

He reached out calmly, picked up the cup of tea on the table that had long since gone cold, rubbed his fingertips against the cool cup wall, and took a light sip.

The tea was slightly warm, carrying a hint of faint bitterness, but after entering his throat, it rippled with a crisp aftertaste, sliding down his throat into his abdomen, soothing his internal organs.

Just like his mood at this moment.

Being played by that little girl was indeed a bit helpless, but also a bit funny.

But this insignificant "loss," compared to the warm pulsation in his heart that had been silent for eternity but was now becoming increasingly clear, and compared to this vivid, bustling Mortal World he had stepped back into, was truly not worth mentioning.

He even felt that this sudden farce, this cunning and vitality filled with the smoke and fire of the marketplace, to some extent, made him feel more truly "alive" than the serious and cold Reincarnation of life and death he had experienced over millions of years, than the eternal and unchanging vastness of the galaxy, and than the lonely Peak of being worshipped by ten thousand.

He was "alive."

Not that Immortal Venerable Changsheng who sat high on the immortal throne, cold and ruthless, but just a "Mortal" who could feel the warmth and cold of the human world, taste the bitterness and sweetness of tea, and be teased by a little girl.

Chu Changsheng put down the teacup, tapped his fingertip lightly on the rim of the cup, and made a crisp "ding" sound.

The sound was not loud, but carried a strange penetrating power, as if it carried the rhythm of the Law of Heaven and Earth, clearly reaching the ears of everyone in the restaurant, every word and sentence branded into everyone's hearts, as if carved into the depths of their Soul.

"Shopkeeper."

The shopkeeper shuddered, as if struck by a thunderbolt, and hurriedly snapped out of his shock. His fat body trembled, he rubbed his hands together, looking at Chu Changsheng with a face full of awe, his waist bent like a shrimp, wishing he could stick his head to the ground: "Immortal... Immortal Venerable, what are your orders? This one... this one awaits your commands!"

"The meal money for my 'Disciple' from earlier, along with that roasted chicken, and the food and drink for all the guests in your establishment today—"

Chu Changsheng paused, his gaze slowly sweeping over the stunned crowd, a faint, warm smile rippling at his lips. That smile was like melting ice and snow, like a spring breeze brushing across the face, warming everyone's hearts, as if the eternal ice had melted at this moment.

"Put it all on my tab, it's my treat."

As soon as he finished speaking, a few strands of his Divine Thought moved slightly at his fingertips, his movements casual, as if he were just brushing dust off the rim of the cup.

From the tens of thousands of Spirit Stones floating in the air, a small portion—about a hundred or so—separated, as if guided by an invisible hand, and drifted lightly toward the counter, finally landing steadily on the accounting desk in front of the shopkeeper, piling up into a glowing little mountain, the Spiritual Qi overbearing, illuminating the shopkeeper's face, making it flicker in the light, as if in a dream.

The shopkeeper stared at the little mountain of Spirit Stones in front of him, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground with a "thump," his lips trembling for a long time before he squeezed a few words out from between his teeth:

"Immortal... Immortal Venerable is generous!"