The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Meng Xuejing followed Chen Dong into the restaurant, not quite knowing why. She felt she must be an idiot; even if she was overwhelmed with guilt, it shouldn't have come to this.

She no longer had the luxury of pity or guilt.

The main dining hall was full, so Chen Dong requested a luxurious private room.

Meng Xuejing pleaded softly with Chen Dong, "Let's go. How about I treat you to some instant noodles instead?"

Chen Dong shook his head. "I finally made it back. You think I'm going to let a little thing like money stop me from having a good meal? No way! Don't worry, I told you I've got this!"

For Chen Dong, the life-and-death struggles of the Wangyou Realm were in the past. He genuinely wanted to enjoy the food of his homeland and indulge his palate.

The three of them followed a waiter into the luxurious private room. As soon as they were seated, they began to order.

Osmanthus-Style Shark Fin, Sweet and Sour Sliced Pork, Soft-Fried Pork Tenderloin, Buddha's Hand Sea Cucumber, Braised Lotus Seeds... Chen Dong rattled off twenty-three dishes in one breath, then added two bottles of Maotai.

Then he passed the menu to the other two and asked if they wanted anything else.

Meng Xuejing was dumbfounded. There was no way they could finish so many dishes. Besides, everything was insanely expensive—even a simple vegetable dish cost over a hundred yuan. The food and liquor would easily cost twenty thousand yuan, at least! She quickly shook her head and said no.

But to her surprise, Li Zhixuan, looking curious, ordered ten more dishes.

This couldn't help but remind Meng Xuejing of news stories she'd read about people ordering tens of thousands of yuan worth of food and then getting arrested when they couldn't pay. The more she looked at Chen Dong and Li Zhixuan, the more they fit the profile. Then she remembered they were some kind of Martial Dao masters. If they decided to make a run for it, there was no way she could outrun them.

'Don't tell me they're going to leave me here to take the fall?'

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became. Why else would Chen Dong have insisted on bringing her along?

As soon as the waiter left with the menu, Meng Xuejing couldn't sit still any longer. She whispered, "You guys aren't planning to dine and dash, are you?"

Chen Dong paused, then smiled and shook his head. "Of course not!"

Seeing her distrust, he had no choice but to pull a gold bar from his Storage Ring and toss it onto the table.

THUD. The rectangular gold bar looked to be at least a hundred taels.

"This should be enough for one meal, right? Relax!"

This time, Meng Xuejing was completely floored. Who carries a gold bar—no, a gold brick—like that around? Besides, back at the hospital, she'd searched them for identification but hadn't found anything like this.

Of course, she wouldn't have found it; the gold brick was obviously in a Storage Ring. Chen Dong had three Storage Rings on him: Mu Qingzhu's, Li Zhixuan's, and Feng You's. All of their rings contained some gold bars and golden leaves. In the Wangyou Realm, gold bars and golden leaves were more useful than Spirit Stones in some of the smaller cities. Feng You's ring, in particular, was filled with the stuff, though Chen Dong had no idea what he planned to do with it all.

When Li Zhixuan saw this, he sent a wronged mental message: "Chen Dong, isn't it about time you gave me my ring back?"

Chen Dong thought for a moment before tossing a ring to Li Zhixuan.

Li Zhixuan caught the ring and frowned. "Where's my stuff? It's empty?"

Chen Dong sent a mocking reply, "You're lucky I'm giving you the ring back at all. You actually expect the contents too?"

"My cultivation has recovered. Believe it or not, I'll beat you up!"

"If you still want to go back and get your revenge, then you'd better drop those thoughts!"

Upon receiving this message, Li Zhixuan fell silent. The revenge for the Wangyou Sect was far more important than these baubles. Chen Dong could construct a Realm Passage, and Li Zhixuan needed him to get back to the Wangyou Realm.

So, Li Zhixuan just let out a cold snort and stopped sending messages, sitting off to the side with a grim look on his face.

Meng Xuejing stared at the gold brick, her heart a whirlwind of shock and panic.

'It can't be fake, can it?'

She reached out to pick up the gold brick but couldn't even lift it on the first try. "It's so heavy!" she murmured unconsciously.

Chen Dong watched her with a slight smile. "Alright, I'll let you go pay with it in a bit. You can keep the rest. I can tell you've run into some trouble, and I figure what's left over will be enough to solve it. But you'll need to make a trip to the hospital and pay the remaining balance yourself."

Meng Xuejing felt a little dizzy. It was all so sudden, like a dream come true. Although she wasn't sure if the brick was real, she was already fantasizing that it was.

A waiter came in carrying some of the dishes that were quick to prepare. Meng Xuejing, clutching the gold brick, asked sheepishly, "Excuse me, can... can we pay with this?"

The waiter had never seen anything like it. The sight of such a large gold brick made her panic, and she nearly dropped the tray of food. After managing to steady it, she gave a strained laugh. "Miss, you must be joking, right?"

The waiter looked at Meng Xuejing, who in turn looked at Chen Dong. Chen Dong said softly, "We're not joking. We'll be paying with this."

"Please wait a moment. I'll go get the manager!"

A short while later, a stout, middle-aged man walked into the private room. "Valued guests, I heard from my staff that you wish to pay for your meal with a gold brick?"

Chen Dong nodded. "That's right."

The middle-aged man gave a professional smile. "Normally, we don't have a precedent for this. However, here at Huayao Restaurant, the customer is always right. If the gold brick is genuine, we can convert it to its equivalent cash value for you. Of course, when we give you your change, we won't have any gold to give back, only cash."

His words implied that the manager didn't believe the gold brick was real either.

Chen Dong said nonchalantly, "That's fine."