A Bite of Douluo Continent

Fuya and Ji Yunruo had strange expressions on their faces, but the one with the most interesting expression was Ying Shuangshuang.

A month ago, Ying Shuangshuang broke through to level 40 in soul power thanks to a jade dragon tendon. However, due to the food festival, the cold food business was very busy, and she was too embarrassed to take leave at this time to obtain her fourth soul ring.

Even after the food festival ended, the lingering heat lasted for a full week, so she naturally didn't mention it. But now that the business of the cold food festival was gradually returning to normal, it was the perfect time for Ying Shuangshuang to take a day or two off to acquire a soul ring.

In the afternoon, she was still discussing with Fuya about taking leave to go and return quickly, hoping to obtain the soul ring and come back within a day.

And now... it seems I don't need to ask for leave, nor do I need to worry about making other employees busier.

Because her boss took leave first…

This was naturally a good thing for Ying Shuangshuang, but the boss's leave was a bit too long, a full twenty days.

Her beautiful eyes secretly glanced at Ye Lingqing.

Does this mean I won't see Ye Lingqing for twenty days?

"Teacher, should I go with you?" Ye Lingqing had only just learned about this, and after a moment of surprise, she couldn't help but ask.

"No need. The place I'm going to this time is probably not suitable to take you with me, so you can stay at the shop and help me watch it." Qi Han smiled. "I hope that when I come back, you will be able to knead the dough perfectly."

“Okay, teacher.” Ye Lingqing nodded emphatically.

The teacher must not have included me because I can't help the teacher with cooking skills.

Therefore, I need to practice my cooking skills even harder!

Ying Shuangshuang blinked upon hearing this.

Ye Lingqing stayed in the shop.

So it's reasonable for me to come to the store every day, right?

After all, I'm a staff member at Hanshi Restaurant, and I wanted to see if the boss had returned.

Hmm...that makes perfect sense! Ying Shuangshuang, you're such a little genius!

Chapter 330 Buying a Horse?

For many diners in Shrek City, especially the long-time customers who are used to queuing up for meals or ordering takeout during the Cold Food Festival, this is destined to be a dark lunchtime.

The Cold Food Festival is closed again.

And they were locked up for twenty days at a time.

The food festival has just ended, and now is the golden period when the reputation of Hanshi (Cold Food Festival) spreads throughout the continent. If other restaurants were in this situation, they would probably want to work around the clock.

Although everyone was annoyed by Qi Han's decision, no one thought he was foolish.

This isn't the first or second time that the amazing owner of Hanshi Restaurant has made such an unexpected move.

Fuya, who was responsible for informing the diners of the specific situation, and the two deliverymen also gave the corresponding explanation: the store needs to be renovated and expanded to accommodate more and more diners. The renovation will take twenty days. During these twenty days, the owner will go out to study the dishes and try to launch a few new dishes when he returns.

The renovation and expansion will allow Hanshi to accommodate more diners, which means that more diners will have the option to dine in, and there will be more people queuing up. This is naturally good news for the diners. The fact that they can have more new dishes after their leave is even more delightful for them.

This kind-hearted owner, Mr. Qi, even went so far as to forgo such a precious prime time to expand his shop so that more customers could enjoy the delicious food of the Cold Food Festival. The customers were all deeply moved and touched.

So it wasn't quite what Qi Han had expected. Before the satellite called "Hot Pot" could even be launched, the diners had already very easily accepted the reality of taking leave.

This made Qi Han sigh, the diners in Shrek City are really...

The people there are so kind and honest.

...

After a night of business, the four women were somewhat reluctant to part because they needed to take twenty days off. However, it was already getting dark, and they left after Qi Han persuaded them to.

Qi Han and Ye Lingqing quickly returned to the second floor to rest.

The night passed, and early the next morning, Qi Han quickly packed his luggage and threw it all into the storage space provided by Ruyi. Then he woke up Ye Lingqing and gave her some instructions.

Although Ye Lingqing was a thrifty and good kid who didn't need much money, Qi Han still left him a thousand gold soul coins to cover his food and other expenses for the next twenty days.

After confirming that nothing had been missed, Qi Han, with Gulu in tow, left Hanshi under Ye Lingqing's watchful gaze.

Gulu still needs to be brought along. This little guy is quite strong. He eats cat food made with the best ingredients every day. Although he hasn't reached the level of a thousand-year-old soul beast yet after absorbing the nutrients, he already has power that is no less than that of a thousand-year-old soul beast and can be of great help to me.

As for the harsh weather in the far north snowfield, Gulu can hide in Qi Han's windproof and cold-proof suit to keep warm and will not be greatly affected.

The far northern snowfield is located at the northernmost point of the Douluo Continent. Geographically, it should be considered within the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire.

However, it is clear that the Heavenly Dou Empire does not dare to regard it as part of its territory. Not only that, but it also has to heavily guard the border of the far northern snowfield, on the one hand to prevent people from accidentally entering it, and on the other hand to guard against the powerful soul beasts in the far northern snowfield running out and causing trouble in human towns.

However, Qi Han was not very lucky this time. His old friend Feng's Escort Agency did not have any escort teams heading to the far north snowfield in the short term. There were some that were going in the same direction, but the most ideal escort team could only take Qi Han for half the journey. As for the other half, Qi Han would probably have to take care of it himself.

Something is better than nothing. After hesitating for a moment, Qi Han paid to join the caravan, intending to get through half the journey first before making any further decisions.

...

"Mr. Qi, Mr. Qi?"

A shout snapped Qi Han out of his reverie as he was engrossed in studying the ingredient encyclopedia. He looked toward the direction from which the voice came from and saw a rugged-looking middle-aged man, one of the escorting soul masters of this caravan, named Liu Youjie.

"Uncle Liu, what's wrong?" This middle-aged man was quite honest and kind, and had been very friendly to him along the way, so Qi Han had a good impression of him and asked curiously.

"We're almost at South India."

"Okay, I'll get ready right away." Qi Han nodded, his face showing little surprise.

Yesterday I traveled with the caravan all day, and now it's noon on the second day. Judging by the time, we should be arriving at our destination soon.

This South India City is the last stop on the same route that this caravan follows with Qi Han. After this stop, Qi Han will leave the caravan and head to the far north snowfield on his own.

After giving the instructions, Liu Youjie did not leave immediately. He hesitated for a moment and then asked softly, "Boss Qi, I heard... you're going to the far north snowfield? That's a very dangerous place."

“I know, but I have my own reasons for needing to go there.”

Qi Han smiled slightly. Although the soul beasts in the far north snowfield may not be as powerful as those in the Star Dou Great Forest, the extremely harsh environment there makes the far north snowfield almost a forbidden zone for human soul masters.

Liu Youjie nodded, and seeing that Qi Han was aware of the dangers involved, he stopped reminding him.

However, Liu Youjie's words gave Qi Han a few more thoughts.

Soul Masters who travel all over the country like this may not necessarily have high cultivation levels, but they usually have quite extraordinary knowledge. I just happen to be worried about how to get to the next part of the journey. Otherwise... I might as well ask this Uncle Liu?

Thinking of this, Qi Han quickly grabbed Liu Youjie, who was about to leave, and asked, "Uncle Liu, I'd like to ask you, what's the most convenient way for me to get from Nanyin City to the far north snowfield?"

This question was no challenge for Liu Youjie. After a moment's thought, he quickly gave his answer: "Boss Qi, why don't you buy a Red Blood Steed and ride it yourself? Traveling alone might be a bit risky, but if you follow the city and avoid staying in the suburbs, it will be relatively safe."

"Furthermore, if you no longer need this Red Blood Steed and there is no irreparable damage, you can sell it."

This… Qi Han’s eyes lit up. To be honest, he had never thought about getting a horse himself.

He had ridden the Crimson Steed many times, including this time. It seemed that he rode the Crimson Steed every time he went on a mission. He had even ridden the Crimson Unicorn many times.

It would be much more convenient to buy one yourself.

With his current strength at the third ring level, and soon at the fourth ring level, traveling across the continent should be relatively safe as long as he doesn't provoke anyone.

Isn't it a bit troublesome to have to sell horses every time?

"Thank you, Uncle Liu. I will seriously consider this suggestion." Qi Han nodded and then watched Liu Youjie leave.

"You want to get a horse?" Ruyi suddenly spoke in Qi Han's mind. "You don't necessarily have to sell it. I can help you allocate an area in the system's small world and adjust it to a one-to-one time flow. After that, you can leave the horse in the small world when you don't need it. I can even feed it for you. How about that? Isn't that thoughtful?"

Ah this...

"Tell me, how much?" Qi Han's face showed a wary expression. Ruyi's sudden words made him feel that things were not simple.

"Hey, it's not expensive at all. We're practically family, I'll give you a friendly price." Ruyi said excitedly, "How about two hundred gold soul coins a day?"

"Okay, deal."

Chapter 331 The Cat Scheme

Two hundred gold soul coins were not much for Qi Han.

The storage space provided for him costs 100 gold soul coins per day. It also involves setting aside an area in the small world to adjust the flow of time and feeding him. It sounds like the cost would be much higher. Yet, it only costs 200 gold soul coins. Compared to that, it's very reasonable.

However, Qi Han thought for a moment and couldn't help but ask, "You're not planning to feed the horses some really bad feed, are you?"

After all, it felt a bit too cheap.

"How could that be!" Ruyi said disdainfully. "Let me list for you the feed I use to raise horses in the small world."

Immediately afterwards, a variety of impressive-sounding descriptions, such as "hybrid corn irrigated with spiritual spring water and carefully crushed into powder" and "oat varieties that have undergone further processing to reduce starch content through hybridization," came out of Ruyi's mouth.

Finally, Ruyi added, "It's a good thing you're not a horse, or you'd be drooling by now."

Qi Han: "..."

Okay, thinking about it, it makes sense. Although Ruyi is a little greedy, she never cuts corners in this area. If you entrust the horses to her care, she will definitely take better care of them than you would yourself.

Hmm... I've decided, I'll buy a horse.

If you're only using it as a temporary means of transportation, you don't need to overthink buying a horse. Just pick any healthy red-blooded steed, since you'll be selling it after you're done with it.

But if they were raised by Ruyi, that would be a different story.

Such horses are essentially pets and are not easily sold or replaced, so Qi Han needs to choose a better one.

It would be even better if we could just buy a decent blood-red unicorn.

After all, Redblood Colt is just a hybrid offspring of a blood-red unicorn and an ordinary horse.

The caravan soon arrived at Nanyin City, and Qi Han parted ways with the caravan at the city gate.

Looking at the city gate before him, which was far less impressive than Shrek City's gate but still quite magnificent, Qi Han smiled slightly and walked over to a guard holding a long halberd, asking, "Brother, may I ask where I should go if I want to buy a horse?"

The city guard was clearly well-trained, standing still without moving. He glanced at Qi Han out of the corner of his eye and, seeing that Qi Han was dressed in extraordinary clothes and was holding a cat, knew that he was probably no ordinary person.

Without turning his head, a somewhat muffled voice came from the soldier's helmet, "After entering the city through this gate for 500 meters, turn left, and there is a horse market."

"Thank you, brother." Qi Han smiled and followed the direction the soldier pointed out.

Nanyin City is considered a medium-sized city in the Tiandou Empire. It is not large in scale, but it is quite lively at midday.

Touching his empty stomach, Qi Han followed the flow of people to see if there was anything to eat along the way, hoping to fill his stomach.

Qi Han bought some local snacks from a roadside stall and ate them as he headed toward the horse market the soldier had indicated.