Her Grace the Saintess had indicated that she did not want to be called out by that fellow who owns this body—such was the pride of a Saintess.
Wu Guodong: "…"
What on earth?
Though he was already in his forties, those three words appeared in his mind right then.
Paying for a lunchbox?
At a loss for words, he said, "You don't have to pay for the lunchbox. We can claim it on expenses."
"Claim?"
Qi Zixiao did not understand what that meant and insisted, "No way, I have to pay for my food. Wouldn't it be robbery otherwise?"
"…"
Wu Guodong rolled his eyes in understanding then—it felt like the kid was trying to throw a tantrum. Between laughter and tears, he said, "Oh, save the robbery and whatnot. My treat—just consider it my treat, and didn't you say that you haven't had your fill? I'll give you a treat at a restaurant, how about that?"
"At a restaurant?"
Qi Zixiao did not fully understand that, but she did get the gist of it and could not hold back a twinkle in her eye. "Does that count as robbery?"
Wu Guodong: "(⊙o⊙)…"
What is it with you and robbery?
"No, of course not!"
"Very well, then…"
Qi Zixiao agreed to it cheerfully. Since it was no robbery but a 'treat', that fellow can't scold her for that, could he?
Moreover, Qi Zixiao had divined that there would be other 'money dealings' with Wu Guodong, and it would be soon…
As they spoke, the other police had slowly dragged Qiu Shufeng out of the dirt.
He was fine—he was still in one piece, at least, even if he was unable to stand due to his head ringing.
He especially could not help wanting to vomit blood after hearing the exchange between Qi Zixiao and Wu Guodong…
Is that a dimwit?!
I actually got done in by a dimwit?!
He immediately felt miserable and utterly helpless.
The death penalty was light for his list of crimes, but he simply could not understand: how did he run into such a freak of a dimwit?!
Now that he was fully paralyzed, he could not even off himself…
***
Having invited Lin Fan to the restaurant, Wu Guodong returned to check on Xiao Li and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Xiao Li's condition was not too severe.
"Someone should stay behind with Xiao Li and wait for the ambulance. Everyone else, escort Qiu Shufeng back to the station—the recovery efforts at Swan Lake will be placed on hold."
"After that, let's await further orders from the station…"
Having made that series of arrangements, Wu Guodong brought 'Lin Fan' away from Swan Lake and drove him personally to a restaurant.
The standard of the restaurant was just average—neither too good nor too bad.
After all, it would be considered as corruption if it was too good, and Wu Guodong would never have the guts to do that.
On the other hand, Qi Zixiao appeared composed when she entered the restaurant, although the truth was that everything felt new to her, since it was the first time she had ever visited such a place.
She could not resist taking a deep breath especially when various sweet aromas wafted over.
"Here, you can decide on what to order."
Wu Guodong handed Qi Zixiao the menu. "Thanks for your help today. Order anything you like and don't hold back!"
He was quite pleased.
Though Xiao Li suffered a minor injury, it was great for him both personally and publicly, which was why he was quite happy.
"I'll order?"
A lot of thoughts crossed Qi Zixiao's mind then.
Luckily, while she had no idea what Wu Guodong was saying, the menu in her hand and the name of the dishes was enough for her to connect the dots.
And then…
She realized that she's never had any of those, and wanted everything.
"What's with that look?"
Noticing that 'Lin Fan' was suddenly staring at himself and with a weird look at that, Wu Guodong raised an eyebrow. "Don't hold yourself back. Order anything you like."
"Then…"
Qi Zixiao gulped. "I want everything."
Wu Guodong: "…"
The waiter nearby: "…"
"Alright, one of everything! Please wait for a moment~"
Before Wu Guodong could say a thing, the waiter promptly ran off after recovering from her own shock.
There were big bucks to be earned!
"Fine!"
Wu Guodong can't decide if he should laugh or cry when he came to his senses. Still, he did not stop the waiter and simply said, "I was wrong about you, kid. Here I thought you would hold back… Really, I didn't expect this…"
The dishes were served soon enough.
Being a restaurant of Sichuan cuisines, the aromas were fresh and spicy and the dishes appeared palatable, leaving Qi Zixiao's lips dripping with oil…
Fortunately, she does show restraint—she appeared refined, at least, but her voracious appetite still startled Wu Guodong.
Both the waiter and the restaurant owner were casting her sideway glances as well, their mouth hanging so wide open a swan's egg could fit inside.
Over thirty-dishes and six soups…
Wu Guodong himself could no longer eat anymore after having two dishes and one soup, whereas Qi Zixiao ate every last dish, leaving no scraps!
Burp~
The Saintess belched then, her cheeks blushing faintly.
That was so embarrassing!
"You, well…"
On the other hand, Wu Guodong did not care about the belch, because he was staring at 'Lin Fan's belly as if he had seen a ghost.
"What is your stomach made of?!"
"How could you eat so much? Not even competitive eaters could match you! Are you actually a ghost?!"
At first, Wu Guodong was positive that there was nothing wrong with 'Lin Fan' and not a spooky thing, but he could not help thinking that way now that he had seen these.
How could anyone normal eat so much?!
"It's quite delicious… I accidentally ate a little too much," replied Qi Zixiao in slight embarassment.
Hmm.
I mean, real embarrassment.
Still, there was a simple answer as to why she could eat so much.
Physique refinement was a cultivation too, and the control of physique cultivators over their own bodies were much more formidable than immortal cultivators of the same tier!
Having gained a novice's grasp over Fluid Body and becoming a physique cultivator, she needed a substantial amount of energy to maintain that in the first place, increasing her metabolism and providing her with more control over the pace of her digestion.
Wu Guodong was naturally not aware of any of those things. His eyelids were simply twitching when he heard 'Lin Fan' say that he accidentally ate a little too much.
That's a little too much?!
Oh my god…
No wonder you wanted to earn money so badly. Most people could never be able to support you with such an appetite now, could they?!
Once he remembered that, Wu Guodong's thoughts drifted back to business.
"Right, I have something to ask you."
Seeing that there's nobody around, Wu Guodong softly asked, "I won't pursue the matter of you jumping into the lake, but how did you know where Qiu Shufeng was?"
Wu Guodong was very curious!
Qiu Shufeng was as bold as he was careful, not to mention that he was a martial artist with a frightening mastery in stealth as nobody had even noticed his presence before!
But what about 'Lin Fan'?
He simply showed up and pointed out Qiu Shufeng. Who would believe that there was no reason behind that?
So what was the reason?!
And how did 'Lin Fan' managed it?
Wu Guodong really wanted to know.