Chapter 543: Chapter 540: My Identity
Having said his piece, Xiao Zhang watched Mo Qi nervously, terrified he would refuse.
Mo Qi pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright."
In any case, he had already taken Xiao Zhang as his disciple. It was only natural that the boy’s father would want to meet him.
Besides, the Demon Sect had approached him with goodwill.
When he had been surrounded by the Northern United Army, the Demon Sect had been willing to risk starting a war just to protect him.
This gave Mo Qi a rather favorable impression of the Demon Sect.
He had been well-prepared, of course; even if the Demon Sect hadn’t intervened, the Northern United Army would have been powerless against him. Still, Mo Qi was grateful for the gesture.
Seeing Mo Qi agree, Xiao Zhang was overjoyed.
"Thank you, Master."
Mo Qi smiled and patted Xiao Zhang’s shoulder. "I’m the one who should be thanking you. But then again, I don’t know the first thing about the Demon Dao, so I can’t teach you anything. Are you sure you really want me as your master?"
Xiao Zhang’s heart leaped into his throat. With a pained expression, he said, "Master, you’re not going back on your word, are you? You promised you would accept me as your disciple!"
With that, he moved as if to kneel and cling to Mo Qi’s leg. Mo Qi hurriedly stopped him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s just talk. Don’t do anything crazy. I’ll accept you, alright?!"
"Thank you for accepting me, Master." Only then did Xiao Zhang breathe a sigh of relief, a smile returning to his face.
’Don’t know the first thing about the Demon Dao?’ he thought. ’Master, why are you being so modest in front of your disciple? Given your way of handling things, if that’s not the Demon Dao, then nothing is!’
Mo Qi’s series of actions in the Desperate Mountain Range—his confident demeanor, his clear-cut approach to debts and grudges, his use of Array Formation for extortion, his feigning weakness for a counter-kill, and his ultimate displays of badassery—were, in Xiao Zhang’s eyes, the epitome of the Demon Dao. They were classic, textbook examples.
In any case, he planned to latch onto Mo Qi for good. He wouldn’t leave even if someone put a knife to his throat.
"Xiao Zhang," Mo Qi said, "since you’ve decided to stay, from now on you’ll be the Waiter for this tavern." Mo Qi suddenly felt that taking on Xiao Zhang might not be such a bad thing after all.
At the very least, once the tavern opened, he wouldn’t have to serve food, wipe tables, and wash dishes himself.
"Fine. Whatever you say I am, Master, that’s what I’ll be," Xiao Zhang agreed, nodding eagerly.
What was being a Waiter? He was already more than satisfied just being able to stay.
"Alright then, spend the next few days getting familiar with the tavern. Business is going to be booming, so you’d better not get overwhelmed and flustered."
"Rest assured, Master! Leave everything to me!" Xiao Zhang accepted without a second thought, taking full responsibility.
But a second later, he realized something was off. "Master, you’re actually serious about this tavern?!"
He’d always assumed Mo Qi’s talk of opening a tavern was just a joke—at most, something to dabble in to experience a mortal’s life.
But now it seemed that wasn’t the case. Mo Qi was playing for keeps!
Mo Qi’s smile faded. "Xiao Zhang," he said seriously, "I need you to understand and remember one thing. My true identity is actually..."
Xiao Zhang didn’t dare let his guard down. He quickly focused his mind and listened intently.
’Here it comes! It’s finally happening! The Master is surely about to reveal the true essence of the Demon Dao!’
’He’s going to reveal his identity!’
’Is he from the line of an Ancient Demon Venerable, or a descendant of the Ancient Demon Divine Beings?’
’Wow, this is so nerve-wracking! So exciting! Am I, Xiao Zhang, about to witness a historic moment—the dawn of the Demon Dao’s resurgence?’
Xiao Zhang clenched his jaw, his body beginning to tremble uncontrollably. He even forgot to breathe.
"My true identity is actually... a chef!"
HUH?!
Xiao Zhang was so startled that, for a moment, he couldn’t process it.
He was still thinking that in all the records of the Demon Sect, he’d never heard of a Demon Dao titan named "Chef."
’Could it be because the era is too ancient? Or maybe this titan named "Chef" is simply far beyond the Demon Sect’s sphere of influence?’
’Wait!’
’A chef? A CHEF!!!’
’Holy crap!’
Xiao Zhang finally got it.
Then his jaw dropped, and he stared at Mo Qi in a daze.
’Master, you’ve got to be kidding me, right?’
Mo Qi paid no mind to Xiao Zhang’s thoughts and continued, "See the ’Uncle Niu’s Kitchen God’ sign outside? Uncle Niu is something of a mentor to me, which makes him your grandmaster. If this tavern flourishes in the future, Uncle Niu will be our founding patriarch."
"Since we’re on the subject, and you’ve taken me as your master, how about this: after you finish your duties as a Waiter, you’ll start practicing the fundamentals of the culinary arts. You can begin with washing dishes, wiping tables, mopping floors, and chopping firewood."
"Now, go and clean the entire tavern. I want it spotless."
"Oh, and you’re not allowed to use your Cultivation!"
With that, Mo Qi left, leaving Xiao Zhang standing there in a stupor.
’What was that all about?’
’This is nothing like what I imagined!’
’Practicing the fundamentals of culinary arts, my ass!’
’If I go back and tell my father I’ve apprenticed myself to a chef, and that my training consists of washing dishes, wiping tables, mopping floors, and chopping firewood, is he going to break my legs?’
’No!’
’This can’t be the truth!’
Xiao Zhang found this hard to accept.
’The Master must be testing me!’
’Yes, that must be it!’
’Otherwise, why would he make such a moronic request like cleaning the entire tavern without using my Cultivation!’
’The Master wants me to back down in the face of hardship! Hmph! My heart, which seeks the Demon Dao, is unshakably firm. How could a trivial difficulty like this defeat me? It’s just manual labor. I can do it!’
With this in mind, Xiao Zhang first sent a message to his father, who was far away in the Demon Sect, informing him that Mo Qi had agreed to a meeting.
Then, lost in his own delusions, the dignified Young Master of the Demon Sect took out a priceless golden silk cotton towel to use as a cleaning rag, and took his first step toward becoming a chef.
With a look of pure enjoyment, Elder Ku Mu finished off the last of his dessert. He glanced at Xiao Zhang, yawned, and leaned back in his chair to doze off.
The second floor of the tavern housed the living quarters. It wasn’t open to the public, reserved only for Mo Qi and his companions.
Gu Peng finally managed to coax his sister, Gu Lele, to sleep. He slumped to the floor, and as he reminisced about the past and thought about his current situation, the corners of his mouth curled up into a long-overdue, relaxed smile.
Although he had left the Gu Family to follow Mo Qi—a man considered an enemy by the entire North District—Gu Peng felt a strange sense of relief, as if a weight he’d been carrying for a long time had suddenly vanished.
If he had to describe that pleasant feeling in one word, it would be: freedom!
"Gu Peng, come out here a moment."
Gu Peng froze when he heard Mo Qi’s voice. Without hesitation, he stood up and walked out of the room.
Mo Qi was waiting for him outside.
"Brother Mo, you were looking for me?"
Mo Qi nodded. "I wanted to talk to you about your sister’s condition."
Gu Peng’s eyes lit up. He had personally witnessed Mo Qi’s miraculous abilities. Perhaps he had a way to make his sister well again!
"Brother Mo, my sister wasn’t like this when she was a child. It was an accident. She fell from a high wall, and ever since then, her body has grown weaker by the day. She’s so weak that her meridians can’t even withstand the faintest trace of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy."
"She’s so obedient, so sweet, and so considerate... really, so considerate!"
As he said this, Gu Peng’s eyes reddened.
It was clear he cared for his sister very deeply.
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