The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 489 Rejection?
"Squeak..."

With a soft sound, Xie Rui tiptoed and opened the door a crack, peeked inside, and then spoke in a low voice to Qin Lang and the others who were following closely behind.

"The Spirit Arena is closed today. Given the teacher's past personality, he's probably still fast asleep. Wait here for me while I go and try to wake him up, then I'll call you in."

"Okay." Qin Lang mimicked him, lowering his voice to a minimum. "But Xie Rui, do we really have to be this stealthy?"

"I can't help it," Xie Rui sighed, half-laughing and half-crying. "The teacher's morning grumpiness is really bad; if I were to..."

Before he could finish speaking, a large hand grabbed Xie Rui by the back of his collar and lifted him up.

Xie Rui flailed in the air a few times, then resignedly let his limbs hang down, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Teacher, you weren't asleep..."

"Hmph~" The man who had been holding Xie Rui let go and put Xie Rui on the ground. "Not only did you not sleep, but I also heard you talking bad about me."

After saying that, the man looked at Qin Lang and the other two, and gave them a hearty smile, "You must be Xiao Rui's friends, right? Come in!"

"Hello, Mr. Zhang Hui!" Qin Lang greeted him quickly, but instead of moving forward, he couldn't help but take a step back.

There's no other reason than that this person's physique is just too intimidating.

With an astonishing height of over 2.2 meters and a muscular physique, he looked like an iron tower standing in front of you.

Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian, who were following him, were completely dumbfounded.

This...this height...

What an exaggeration!
Zhang Hui also realized that his physique caused some inconvenience, so he took a few steps back and made way for the entrance to the Spirit Arena.

Incidentally, his gaze fell back on his disciple.

"Xiao Rui, didn't you go to participate in some competition today?"

"Yes!" Xie Rui nodded emphatically, taking out the winner's medal from his pocket. "Teacher, look, I won the prize!"

"Qin Lang is a friend I met during the competition. He's an amazing cook, and we ended up tying for the win!"

"The way you're talking makes me think you're praising yourself." Zhang Hui grinned, and seeing Xie Rui's embarrassed expression, he patted him hard on the shoulder. "But good job!"

"You truly are worthy of being my disciple!" Zhang Hui shook his head, looking quite proud. "Although I didn't teach you cooking, I always gave you serious feedback on the dishes you cooked for me to taste every day!"

"By the way, I was just wondering what to eat tonight."

"Since you're here, why don't you stay and cook for us!"

"Okay." Xie Rui nodded with a smile and introduced himself to Qin Lang and the other two, "Among the fellow disciples in the Spirit Battle Hall, my cooking skills are the best, so I often cook all kinds of my signature dishes for them."

"For this reason, everyone takes extra care of me."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lang couldn't help but laugh as well.

What an enviable and heartwarming teacher-student relationship!

Although they hadn't had much contact, Qin Lang could tell from the way the master and apprentice interacted that Mr. Zhang Hui was a warm and easygoing person whose personality was different from his appearance.

If that's the case, then why did Meng Yan leave in the first place?
Remembering his purpose, Qin Lang took a deep breath. "Mr. Zhang Hui, I apologize for disturbing you by coming with Xie Rui this time."

"I have a question I'd like to ask you." "Go ahead," Zhang Hui said with a smile, waving his hand. "You're too kind to ask me anything. If I know the answer, I'll tell you."

"It's like this." Qin Lang composed himself. "I heard that you were Meng Yan's teacher, I wonder..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Lang saw Zhang Hui's expression change.

The smile that had been on his face gradually faded, replaced by a deep seriousness. Combined with his astonishing physique, an overwhelming sense of oppression from a Spirit Master instantly washed over him.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you." Zhang Hui shook his head. "I don't want to answer this question."

After saying that, Zhang Hui turned to leave.

"This..." Qin Lang was stunned for a moment, and regretted that his direct question was too rash.

Just as he was at a loss, Xie Rui quickly patted him on the shoulder, "If it were that easy to find out about Meng Yan, we wouldn't have been unable to get any information from him for so long."

You need to ask it differently!

"What method?" Qin Lang hurriedly asked.

“A wager.” Xie Rui looked at his teacher’s back in the distance and lowered his voice. “The teacher likes to fight, and he likes to add some stakes to the fight. More importantly, he values ​​promises very much.”

"This is the only way to get the teacher to say it."

"Back then, we fellow disciples also came up with this idea, but..." Xie Rui's expression was somewhat helpless, "We couldn't beat our teacher."

"I see that your Food Spirit is very strong, so perhaps you have a chance."

"A bet..." Qin Lang understood Xie Rui's meaning, nodded thoughtfully, and quickly came up with an idea.

He strode up to Zhang Hui, who was preparing to leave, and said loudly, "Mr. Zhang Hui, you are a Level 1 Spirit Holder in Xianyu City. I would like to conduct a Spirit Holder assessment."

"Furthermore, we'll add some prizes to the Spirit Master assessment."

"Hmm?" Zhang Hui stopped in his tracks. "You mean if you pass the test, I'll tell you about Meng Yan?"

“Yes!” Qin Lang nodded emphatically, his expression becoming serious. “Meng Yan’s matter may be closely related to what we are investigating, so if I win, please tell me.”

"That's a good idea." Zhang Hui glanced at Danbao beside Qin Lang, having gained some understanding of Qin Lang's strength. "So, if you lose, what kind of prize can you offer to entice me?"

"I'll take care of your dinner tonight." Qin Lang's eyes were full of confidence. "I may not be very good at cooking, but I am the champion of this year's Tianhua Prefecture Youth Cooking Competition. I believe my culinary skills will satisfy you!"

"Hmm?" Zhang Hui turned around and glanced at Xie Rui.

"Teacher, Qin Lang's cooking skills are really amazing." Xie Rui nodded repeatedly. "I used my family's secret recipe to fight him to a draw."

As he spoke, Xie Rui himself looked enlightened, "I was wondering where such a skilled spirit chef came from. Turns out he's from Tianhua Prefecture. In that case, Qin Lang will definitely have a lot of different dishes!"

Different dishes…

Zhang Hui swallowed hard, glaring at Xie Rui who was clearly cooperating with Qin Lang. "I'll settle the score with you later!"

He wasn't stupid. The two whispered to each other behind his back, and then Qin Lang chose the method that his fellow disciples had tried.

There must be Xie Rui guiding him behind the scenes!
(End of this chapter)