Spirit Cultivation

While the guards gossiped, Xuefeng looked from left to right with great interest. Thanks to the previous owner of this body, he could recognize the things around him. However, the blurry remnants of memories were nothing compared to actually seeing the things with his own eyes— the clothing people wore, the infrastructures similar to the ancient times back in his world, and the way people conducted themselves while they mingled with each other. They were all familiar, and yet, strange at the same time. 

"Young Master, is there anything you're looking for?" Wuying asked. 

It seemed she had noticed his peculiar actions— movements akin to a child who had seen the world for the first time, and mistook his curiosity with him searching for something specific. He shook his head. 

"Nothing. I just want to look around," he answered sheepishly as he scratched the side of his head. "After waking up, I feel I had to familiarize myself again with everything."

Wuying stared at his face as if to study him carefully, and he felt nervous. Based on his memory, the previous Liu Xuefeng never really asked her any questions and didn't act the way he just did. But there was no helping it. After all, he was a different person. Despite the inherited memories, there were bound to be differences between him and the previous owner. He hoped she would just jot this strange behavior as an effect of his injury. Behavioral and psychological changes were normal phenomenon after life and death situations, after all. 

"Hmmmnnn," Wuying hummed but didn't say anything else as if she accepted his answer.

Relieved that she didn't press him further, the two of them continued to walk around the city. Since he told her he wanted to familiarize himself with everything again, Wuying took it upon herself to act as his guide, showing him many interesting places such as the hidden park between some of the buildings they passed and other places with amazing view. They were able to walk leisurely without getting much attention from people as they were all busy rushing to their own businesses around that time. They blended among the crowd easily. 

Soon, they reached a grand-looking establishment that seemed to be a restaurant. Xuefeng looked at the huge sign hanging at the front. If it weren't for the inherited memory, the symbols and lines there would not make sense to him. Thankfully, he could read them clearly. 

Golden Phoenix.

It was how the sign was read. As he recalled from the owner's memories, it was the fanciest restaurant in the city, but he'd never set foot there before. Aside from being always crowded and expensive, the previous Xuefeng was not really someone who liked to come to this kind of place.

He frowned. More than twenty people were standing in front of the restaurant, waiting for their turn to eat.

"There's a long queue. We will have to wait a while," Xuefeng said with a sigh making Wuying smile as she reached out and patted him as if to reassure him before tugging at his arm and pulling him with her. "Where are we going?" he asked in confusion as he reluctantly followed her lead. 

"You are Liu Xuefeng, the Young Master of the great Liu Clan. You don't need to stand in the queue," she answered and he just found that they were already standing right in front of the main entrance with intimidating doors. 

A young lady garbed in fancy traditional clothing stood before them and bowed in greeting. "Welcome to the Golden Phoenix. Do you have a reservation?" she asked them politely with a practiced smile.

"No, we don't," Xuefeng replied with a sheepish smile of his own. As expected, this was one of those fancy places someone needed to make a reservation before going. But Wuying sounded confident that they would be able to make it inside so he asked. "Are there any tables available?"

"I'm sorry. All of our tables are occupied. You will have to wait for someone to finish their meal first and stand in the queue," the waitress apologized.

"How about the other floors?" Xuefeng asked curiously, looking at the upper stages.

He had noticed earlier that the people who lined up were only led to the tables on the first floor.

"Uhm, the second floor is also full, while the third floor consists of private rooms only. I'm afraid they are exclusively reserved for the big families in the city," the waitress explained with an apologetic smile, probably hoping that they'd understand and go to the line with the other patrons afterwards.

But Xuefeng didn't mind nor did he move away. "That's alright. Since the third floor is for the big families, then we'd like to take one of the private rooms, please. Thank you."

He didn't know if he said something strange, but Xuefeng felt a sudden change from the people around them. With a small frown, he glanced around and found the others looking at him with a sneer. 

Er… Was there something wrong? Xuefeng wondered, but he didn't have to wonder long. People started gossiping around them and his ears picked up some of their words. 

"Do they think that getting into the third floor is that easy?"

"I heard that yesterday a youngster from the Liu clan tried to enter the third floor but even he was denied entry."

"Only geniuses can have a chance. I would love to taste the dishes on the third floor."

"A friend of my cousin said that you can even eat a rank three wild boar meat there."

The buzzing around made Xuefeng feel as if he was a clown on the spotlight. He heard different insulting words accompanied but equally demeaning stares targeted at his person and he clenched his jaw as his hands balled into fists on his sides in anger.

"What's wrong with these people?" he muttered with a scowl as the buzzing escalated, getting the attention of the others from within the establishment. 

"May I ask if there's something amiss?" a mature woman in a more elaborate clothing who appeared to be the superior of the other lady asked a soon as she arrived. 

"Manager Wu," the serving lady greeted politely before explaining what happened. "This gentleman would like to dine on the third floor." 

"Oh," Manager Wu commented as elegantly as she covered her mouth with a hand. Her eyes rounded in surprise as she looked at both Xuefeng and Wuying. "My apologies for being rude, but could this servant hear the gentleman's name so we could properly accommodate you?"

"My name is Xuefeng, and this is Wuying from the Liu Clan," he answered, feeling awkward.

He'd never experienced having to introduce himself before entering a building before. In all honesty, he was not really confident he'd be recognized either.

Seconds passed as Manager Wu seemed to try to recall who he was in her head, but when she finally seemed to, the light in her eyes flickered in recognition. 

"Young Master Liu? Is this sir the son of Master Liu Xiao Bei?" she asked and Xuefeng smiled at her in embarrassment. 

"Yes, that's me," he confirmed, and the manager quickly gave a more accommodating smile than she did earlier when she greeted them, surprising everyone around them, most especially the busybodies who had ridiculed them earlier. 

"My apologies Young Master Liu for not recognizing you," she said afterwards, and Xuefeng raised both his hands as he gestured for her to calm down. 

"It's alright. I don't go out often so you don't have to apologize for not recognizing me," he assured her and the manager and the serving girl looked at him gratefully. 

"This servant will take you to your room then. Please follow me," Manager Wu said, and much to the people's envy, she personally led them inside. 

This created another wave of buzz amongst the crowd. Xuefeng and the others hadn't yet gone far when they all started talking again. 

"Did you hear what Manager Wu said? This kid is the Liu Clan's Young Master."

"Are you talking about that kid with a broken dantian?"

"Yeah, because of that he doesn't go out often from the Liu clan's territory."

"He didn't look like he had a broken dantian. Is he really a cripple?"

"Of course he is a cripple— or rather he was. It was big news back then."

"Do you know what this might mean? The Liu clan's leader might have finally gotten a rank three medical pill for his son."

"You are right, else why would he finally show his face like that in the city? I heard he was so ashamed he lived like a hermit before."

"We have to go inform our clan about it. If it turns out to be correct, this is some big news."

"Yeah, let's go. Our city is quite far from here. We need to hurry."

Listening to them, Xuefeng's ears reddened and he let out a frustrated sigh. Whether there in the new world or in his original one, there were really so many people who liked discussing other people's businesses. With a snort, he decided to ignore the rest as he went upstairs with the others. 

Unknown to him, the buzz continued on and spread like fire even to the others who were dining on the first and second floors. Similar conversations about the revival of the crippled Young Master of the Lius were ongoing on several tables. Many groups who were from foreign cities on a mission even went as far as to leave their tables or left the restaurant to inform their own clans about the news.

Why? Because everything that the Liu Clan did in Phoenix City was worth mentioning— especially this miraculous news about the Clan Leader's only son recovering from his broken dantian.

Back in the room, the oblivious Xuefeng and Wuying were already seated on the table and was about to order food. Since this was his first time dining at the establishment, he was at a loss as to what to have, but Manager Wu was very helpful with her recommendations. Soon, he and Wuying had finished placing their orders and were left alone. 

With a smile, Xuefeng leaned back on his chair as they waited, that was until he realized something very important and he sat up straight with horror on his face. 

"Young Master, what's the matter?"Wuying asked in alarm and Xuefeng looked at her nervously. 

"Wuying, I completely forgot." He reached for his pocket trying to feel it but lo and behold, it was empty, and his horror intensified. "I didn't bring any money…"

Seconds passed and Wuying who was at first alarmed continued to stare at him without blinking as if absorbing his words. Xuefeng then felt so bad and wondered if they could cancel the order and leave. But before he could even utter a single word, she threw back her head and laughed. 

Ha? Xuefeng was confused as he watched her giggle until tears appeared at the corner of her eyes. 

She must have noticed that he was not finding anything funny and so she pulled herself together. She cleared her throat and wiped her eyes before speaking. 

"I'm sorry, Young Master. I thought something else was wrong. I didn't realize you were worrying about that," she explained and Xuefeng finally relaxed. 

If she's not worried then it meant they had means to pay for their meal. 

"Do you have money with you then?" he asked as he scratched the side of his head in embarrassment. He would just pay her back when they returned to the house.

But Wuying shook her head. 

"Eh? How do we settle our bill then? Should I call the manager and cancel?" he asked urgently, but Wuying reached out from across the table to hold his hand in assurance. 

"Relax, Young Master. You don't have to worry about money. The receipt for this meal will be sent to the clan later, and the clan will pay. This is how the families allowed here to dine on the third floor settle the bill," she explained and Xuefeng finally relaxed. 

He placed a hand over his fast beating heart as he let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I was scared for a while," he said and Wuying smiled at him apologetically. 

"It's my fault, Young Master. I should have paid more attention to this. You didn't go out often previously so it's only expected that you didn't remember to bring money with you. But don't worry; I will make sure to check everything before we go out next time."

Er…

Xuefeng wanted to tell her that it's not her fault. It was his. He should have remembered this since he wanted to go out. It was something he'd always done in the other world. Also, he planned to go out and wander around alone next time. But he couldn't say anything. Wuying sounded sincere and she looked at him with a very determined expression. Even if he really didn't want to depend on her too much, he decided to just smile and shifted the topic to something else as they waited for their meal. 

"Wuying, you know so much about cultivation. Do you also cultivate?" he asked as he scanned his memories but could not remember anything about her.

"Everyone in the Liu clan is a cultivator. I'm no exception," she replied simply.

"Oh, then do you have a Spirit Artefact?" he asked curiously.

Spirit Artefacts— weapons, armor, and tools from spirit beasts were not automatically granted to cultivators. Some had them, some didn't. Since seeing them at the training grounds earlier, he'd wanted to examine one, and so he looked at Wuying eagerly. However, the girl looked rather embarrassed as if he asked her to show something intimate like her underwear. 

 "Er… is there something wrong?" he asked innocently and Wuying blushed further. 

"Young Master, it's not really nice to ask people to show their Spirit Artefacts, you know? It's like asking someone to bare their soul," she told him seriously, and he was stunned.

"Oh… I'm sorry. I was just curious. I didn't mean to be rude," he apologized, but Wuying shook her head and then laughed.

"I'm sorry Young Master, I'm just joking with you," she said, making him pout. 

The girl just made fun of him…

Wuying smiled apologetically and Xuefeng sighed in frustration. He really ought to familiarize himself with everything immediately to avoid getting teased all the time. 

"How about this, Young Master: I will show you mine if you can get at least a rank three Spirit Artefact during your Spirit Awakening Ceremony," she proposed with a grin.

Although artefacts didn't come automatically during awakening, in big clans such as his, every awakened cultivator was given a chance to get one as a gift. They were allowed to walk into the clan's treasury to get it. However, picking was not that easy. If the artefact did not resonate well with the person, he wouldn't be able to take it out. This meant that one couldn't really choose the one he wanted. Instead, it would be the artefact choosing its owner. 

"I will try my best," he answered, but he was not really that confident. His dantian was just repaired and he had no idea how good his aptitude was with cultivation. Even if he could cultivate but it's not really that strong, he'd be lucky to even have the lowest grade artefact choose him as a master. 

"Don't sound so glum, Young Master. I feel you can pick a good one," Wuying cheered. "And if you're lucky enough, you may even get more than one artefact!"

WHAT ? 

Xuefeng's eyes rounded. "You mean it's not limited to one artefact per person?" he asked in wonder and Wuying shook her head. 

"There's no limit to how many you can get actually, although the normal is one artefact per person. If you get more than one it means that your talent for cultivation is really good."

"Oh! Does this mean that even if I didn't get something good this time, I can try again in the future?" he asked and Wuying looked thoughtful. 

"I'm not sure about that— but you can ask the clan leader for more details. Since he arranged for someone to explain things to you tomorrow morning, you can ask about this as well," she suggested and Xuefeng nodded. 

Soon, the door to their room opened, and servers came in with their dishes. The delicious aroma spread into every corner of the room, and Xuefeng fought hard not to drool then and there as they placed the food on the table one after another. 

There were grilled pigeons, peas and mushroom, coated pheasant, and fried bear paws. Those were all rank one dishes. They also had one rank two greenhorn deer meat, and the specialty rank three wild boar meat. These were all recommended by Manager Wu.

Xuefeng was glad that he asked the manager to pick the dishes. This was the best meal of his life so far. Each time he took a bite, he could feel warmth spreading through his body. Although the dishes were not big in size, they were very filling. Wuying on the other hand only nibbled a bit from every dish and watched as he ate to his heart's content.

"Young Master sure is enjoying his meal," she casually commented.

"Yes! It's so good. We should come here more often from now on," he stated with a grin as he massaged his full belly.

"Young Master, are you planning to bankrupt the clan over food?" she teased and they both laughed just as the door opened again and Manager Wu came back.

"Young Master Liu, is everything good?" she asked politely, and elegantly as ever, though the glint in her eyes told them that she knew that they enjoyed the meal thoroughly without asking.

"Yes, we liked it very much. Thank you," Xuefeng replied. 

Satisfied with his answer, Manager Wu's smile widened and she politely handed something to Xuefeng with both hands. It was a golden card. 

"What's this?" he asked as he examined it in his hands. 

"Young Master, this is our company's special membership card. It will give you twenty percent off not just in this restaurant but also in all our shops, as well as priority in services," she explained. 

Xuefeng was surprised— but it was a happy kind of surprise. He thanked the manager, and Manager Wu gave them an elegant bow before taking her leave. 

"This is nice," Xuefeng uttered as he continued to inspect the golden card and saw the words engraved on the surface. 

Trade Union.