166: Chapter 167 I just can't figure it out!

She said it so easily.

But the people in the room were all stunned.

The tray was placed on the table.

Once their gazes landed on it, they couldn't look away.

A large bowl of rice, every grain crystalline and steaming, possessed a delicate fragrance that no ordinary grain could have.

It's Spiritual Rice!!

They were absolutely certain.

Although Spiritual Rice was rare in small cities, it wasn't impossible to see.

They still had that much discernment.

However, the dishes next to it...

For example, that plate of meat had bright, fresh colors and fine textures; just by getting close, one could smell a rich, vital energy fragrance that ordinary beast meat simply couldn't compare to.

As for exactly what Demonic Beast meat it was, they couldn't say.

However, although the team leaders couldn't identify the specific Demonic Beast, they could tell from the aura that the grade was definitely not low.

At least Silver Rank!

Looking to the side again.

Their eyelids twitched slightly.

A crystal-clear purple fruit was sitting quietly there, with a halo flowing over its skin and Spiritual Qi wafting towards them.

It was exactly the kind of fruit they had seen on the road.

The purple jade glazed fruit that the Little Boy had taken a bite of and then casually handed to City Lord Qin Fang.

The room was silent for a full two breaths.

The team leader from Nanchang was the first to snap out of it, but he found his own voice drifting: "Is... is this really our lunch?"

"Yes," the young woman looked at them with some surprise, "Is it not to your taste?"

"No, no."

The team leader waved his hands hurriedly, waving so fast he almost knocked over a bowl with his sleeve.

He quickly pulled his hand back.

How could it not be to their taste?

This was too perfect!

The problem was, was such a thing really for them to eat?

Seeing them just stunned, the young woman didn't ask further, only instructed, "Just leave the tray at the door when you're finished," before turning and leaving.

The door closed again.

The people in the room were still standing there, none of them moving their chopsticks first.

The Qinghe City team leader stared at the bowl of Spiritual Rice, his throat bobbing, and after a long while, he said in a hoarse voice: "Is this treatment... a bit too high?"

"High?" The stubborn envoy from Liefeng City stared at the purple jade glazed fruit, his eyes fixed, and upon hearing this, he actually chuckled, though the smile looked dry no matter how you looked at it,

"This is no longer a question of whether it's high or not. When our City Lord has a birthday back home, I'm afraid we might not even be able to eat like this."

No one refuted this.

Because this was the truth.

City Lord Qin Fang stood by the table, his hand pressing on the back of the chair, momentarily lost in thought.

He knew better than anyone what that purple spiritual fruit meant.

When the Little Boy had casually handed it to him on the road, he had only been shocked.

But now, this thing was openly placed in their lunch, like an ordinary after-meal fruit.

What this represented behind the scenes was truly terrifying.

The group was silent for a moment longer, and in the end, City Lord Qin Fang was the first to sit down.

"Let's eat."

He didn't say it loudly, but it seemed to give everyone a boost.

"Regardless of whether Flower City's hospitality is out of etiquette or if this is just how it is here, at least for now, they have no intention of treating us poorly."

Once these words were spoken, the others finally seemed to find a reason to move, and they all took their seats.

The moment the first mouthful of Spiritual Rice entered their mouths, everyone's expressions changed.

It wasn't just simple fragrance.

The rice grains were just the right texture, and when swallowed, a gentle wave of Spiritual Qi slowly spread down their throats, as if washing away some of the fatigue from the journey.

Picking up a chopstick of Demonic Beast meat, pressing it between their teeth, the savory flavor and vital energy flooded out simultaneously, almost making their scalps tingle.

For a time, only the light sound of chopsticks hitting bowls remained in the room.

No one spoke anymore.

Just a moment ago they were shocked and dazed, but once they actually started eating, all superfluous thoughts were pushed aside by their appetites.

After all, no matter how shocked they were, they had to eat their fill first.

When the meal was finished, their movements slowly slowed down.

The bowls and plates on the table were almost empty.

The moment the fruit flesh finally entered their mouths, the whole room went quiet.

Some closed their eyes, some had fingers trembling slightly, and others simply held the fruit pit in their hands, staring at it for a long time, as if wanting to confirm what they had just eaten.

In the end, they even carefully put the fruit pit away.

After the meal, the warmth and sleepiness in the room surged up all at once.

It was too comfortable.

So comfortable that it made people lazy and heavy, as if their bones were slowly melting.

A guard leaned against the head of the bed and couldn't help but mutter in a low voice: "Is this really an F-Rank small city?"

"You ask me, who should I ask?" The person next to him took off his boots, half his body already slumped into the bed, "I actually feel now like we've accidentally stumbled into the guest courtyard of some Intermediate large city."

"Intermediate large city?" The Liefeng City envoy twitched his mouth, "It's not like I haven't been to an Intermediate large city; the accommodations there might not even be as comfortable as this."

Once these words were out, none of the people in the room refuted it.

Indeed.

Although they hadn't been to any truly high-level cities, they had been fortunate enough to encounter Intermediate cities a few times.

In terms of scale and pomp, they might be larger than Flower City is right now.

But when it comes to this kind of comfort that is soothing right into one's bones, they really might not compare.

How was this done?

Just can't figure it out!

Since they couldn't figure it out, they simply stopped thinking about it for now.

The bed was too soft, the room too warm, the faint scent of wood drifting, and it felt as if their whole bodies were being cradled by an invisible pair of hands.

Before long, light snoring sounded one after another in the room.

...

City Lord Qin Fang was also sleepy.

After eating his fill, that sleepiness surged up even more.

But just as he sat down on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes, he opened them the next moment.

No.

Did he come to Flower City to enjoy himself?

Naturally not.

The more he couldn't understand, the less he could just focus on being comfortable.

He sat quietly for a while, suppressing the sinking laziness in his body bit by bit, then rose, tightened his robes again, pushed the door open, and walked out.

The wind outside carried a bit of chill, and once it blew on him, his mind was indeed much clearer.

City Lord Qin Fang walked slowly along the path between the tree houses.

Walking all the way to the main street, he discovered that there were actually even more people on the street than before.

Coming and going, all heading in the same direction.

Some people were talking as they walked.

"Hurry, hurry! If we're late, all the good tasks will be snatched up!"

"I say, what are you rushing for? Isn't there another batch of new tasks to be posted today?"

"Posted is posted, but that herbal medicine gathering line is definitely popular!"

"What's 'popular'? I'm eyeing the Demonic Beast hunting tasks in the west; those points are what you call high!"

...

Voices rose and fell, it was very lively.

City Lord Qin Fang's footsteps paused slightly, and looking along the flow of people, he saw a huge building not far away with a crowd surging in front of it, and a plaque hanging above the door.

Mercenary Guild.

Four large characters hung there upright, black background with gold lettering, extremely conspicuous.

City Lord Qin Fang's heart stirred, and he was no longer in a rush to go elsewhere, so he simply followed the flow of people and walked over.

The closer he got, the more chaotic the voices became.

"Make way! Let me see first if there are any escort tasks today!"

"Escort my ass, with your leg speed, you'd better just go mine."

"Get lost! I just made the team leaderboard yesterday!"

"You barely made the tail end and you have the nerve to brag!"