Translator: Anubis Translations
After Gu Feng and Yan Xixi left their seats, in order to keep the atmosphere lively, someone mustered the courage to offer a toast to Chu Youhuan.
To everyone's surprise, this fifth-ranked inner sect prodigy did not turn them away, which greatly encouraged Wu Qi and others, reigniting the fervor of the gathering.
Unnoticed, time slipped by as starlight shone through the windows into the hall, and the outer sect of the Sunset Glow Sect became unusually quiet.
"Why hasn't Former Brother returned yet?" someone suddenly called out, and instantly, the hall fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone exchanged glances, a sudden ominous feeling welling up in their hearts, spreading throughout their bodies.
This was too unusual. Even if one were attending to personal matters, it shouldn't take a whole hour!
While it was undeniable that Former Brother had excellent physical fitness, taking this long was clearly unreasonable.
"Could he have run off?" someone joked.
Silence, an extremely eerie silence.
This joke was not funny at all.
Everyone present was not a fool; the possibility was quite high.
In a flash, all eyes turned to Chu Youhuan, the person of the highest status and strength present.
Her smile froze on her face, and she stood up abruptly, then slowly sat back down, "That scoundrel really did run off."
Her white fist slammed onto the table, her face turning grim, "Why are you all looking at me? Do you expect me to foot the bill?"
She was well aware of the expense level of the First Restaurant. With over a hundred people indulging in the most expensive items, the bill would easily amount to tens of thousands of spirit stones.
Though she was the fifth in the inner sect and quite capable of earning money, her resources were all converted into cultivation materials, leaving her with little actual wealth.
Seventy to eighty thousand spirit stones were no small sum. Whether she could afford it or not, she certainly wasn't going to be the sucker to pay it.
"Senior Sister Chu, we're all broke!" Tuoba Lei said with a bitter smile, opening his storage pouch to show it was emptier than his own face.
"I'm broke too, just got robbed recently, and the spirit stones from home are still on the way."
"Not only are we broke, we also owe Former Brother a large sum of spirit stones."
"Senior Sister Chu, could you please cover the bill for us? Otherwise, none of us can leave."
"Consider it a loan, we'll pay you back once we get the spirit stones from home!"
"..."
Everyone present had a pained expression, looking at Chu Youhuan with pleading eyes.
"This is infuriating," Chu Youhuan gritted her teeth, her beautiful face filled with rage. At this moment, she regretted coming to mooch off the meal.
Now, she had managed to get a 'free' meal, but had also gotten herself into a mess.
As the fifth-ranked inner sect disciple, if word got out that she dined and dashed in the outer sect, she would be the laughing stock of the entire Sunset Glow Sect. She had her pride too!
"Damn Gu Feng, no bottom line at all, I curse you to be a 'former' forever!"
Chu Youhuan's teeth ground audibly, her heels stomping the floor as she led the group, who were all hanging their heads, down to the first floor.
"Third floor hall, the bill!"
Her cold voice rang out, startling the waiter. Paying the bill shouldn't be this unpleasant, why did she look like she had just been robbed?
Clack clack—
The sound of the abacus made Chu Youhuan even more irritable, "Hurry up!"
"Alright, the total is 163,000 low-grade spirit stones, rounding down, it's 160,000."
Hearing this, Chu Youhuan's expression froze, then a fierce look appeared in her eyes:
"Has the First Restaurant turned into bandits? 160,000? Why not just rob us!"
Though she hadn't spent much time in the outer sect, she was a regular here and had a rough idea of the restaurant's pricing.
Even with inflation, this meal shouldn't cost over 100,000 spirit stones.
How did the waiter come up with 160,000?
This was no different from robbery.
"Senior Sister, please calm down, I'm just an employee, getting angry with me won't help," the waiter said with a bitter smile, perhaps sensing Chu Youhuan's extraordinary status.
He started recalculating in front of her.
"Braised deer antler, 688, 12 portions; roasted deer meatballs, 799, 18 portions..."
The waiter calculated slowly, ensuring Chu Youhuan could see clearly. Her expression softened a bit; the prices of these dishes were reasonable.
When all items were accounted for, she crossed her arms, ready to see how the total came to 160,000 spirit stones.
The waiter spoke up: "The man and woman who dined with you took away over a thousand portions of various dishes, totaling 80,000 spirit stones.
Plus the previous 83,000, the total is 163,000!"
Thud—
As soon as the waiter finished speaking, everyone, including Chu Youhuan, felt like they could spit out a mouthful of blood.
This guy was really outrageous; not only did he dine and dash, but he also took away food, over a thousand portions at that.
Chu Youhuan was angry, annoyed, and embarrassed. She could afford 80,000 spirit stones, but 160,000 was beyond her.
The waiter looked at her expectantly, and so did Wu Qi and the others behind her, making her cheeks burn with shame.
She turned sharply and scolded the group, "Why are you all standing here? You're disturbing the owner's business, have you no sense? Go wait outside!"
Hearing this, everyone shrank back and scattered.
Once they were gone, Chu Youhuan forced an alluring smile, "Waiter, can you give us a discount?"
Though the senior sister was beautiful, the hotel wasn't his, and he was just an employee. The waiter coldly refused Chu Youhuan's request.
In the end, Chu Youhuan, with a dark face, took out 100,000 spirit stones and several treasures as collateral to barely cover the bill.
Outside the restaurant, Chu Youhuan didn't even glance at Wu Qi and the others, heading straight to the Jade Maiden Sect's headquarters.
"Listen up, tomorrow you're going to collect the debt from that scoundrel Gu Feng!"
Her abrupt statement left the Jade Maiden Sect members puzzled.
"That despicable guy, he ran off halfway through the meal, and the rest of those rascals are all broke, not a single spirit stone among them, forcing me to cover the 160,000 spirit stone bill!
You must get this money back for me."
Seeing Chu Youhuan's gritted teeth, the female cultivators perked up.
After understanding the situation, everyone burst into laughter.
"Truly worthy of being a former junior brother, his behavior is exactly why he'll be single forever, no one could stand him."
"Too shady, dining and dashing, probably only he could pull that off."
"And taking away food, over a thousand portions at that, how shameless!"
"Leader, why not consider the 160,000 as a dowry and have him come over to serve you?"
"..."
Meanwhile, the protagonist of the event had just returned to his courtyard and was about to lie down when he was summoned by Elder Liu.
(End of the Chapter)
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