Chapter 178: Chapter 178: My Milk Tea

The leader of the group had a booming voice, and he didn’t control his volume. After he spoke, the entire area fell silent.

Immediately, dozens of "infatuated" gazes shot in their direction, especially from the diners right behind them, who looked as if they wanted to rush over and plant a kiss on their cheeks.

The stares were relentless.

"Uh..."

Under the gazes of a pack of hungry wolves, the leader was speechless.

’Did I say something wrong? Why do I get the feeling this crowd of customers just mutated?’

Unable to figure it out no matter how hard he wracked his brain, the leader tightened his jacket.

’Oh, mama. I’m a little scared.’

"Brother, are you saying you have other business to attend to, so you’re not waiting in line anymore?"

A portly diner walked over, asking with a friendly grin and no hint of hostility.

"Mm."

The leader nodded, looking at him warily.

But the trio’s nervousness was completely unnecessary. After getting his reply, the portly diner started digging around in his sleeve and pulled out some Spirit Stones.

Thankfully, he’d prepared in advance by placing the Spirit Stones in his pockets. That way, even if his storage bag was inaccessible, he’d have enough Spirit Stones to buy out their spot.

"Here’s the deal. I’m willing to pay in Spirit Stones to buy your spot from you."

The portly diner offered the Spirit Stones to the three brothers.

With just one look, the three brothers were stunned.

That was a full three top-grade Spirit Stones! It was almost as much as the entire reward for their current mission.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

Their hearts began to pound.

’Is a spot in line really this valuable?’

"This is the price for one spot. You can sell the other two to someone else."

The portly merchant wasn’t greedy; he left the other two spots for others.

"That’s right! Young man, I’m willing to buy a spot too! But we can’t offer as much as him. If you’re willing, we can make a deal. No pressure."

Seeing the portly diner’s lavish move, some people gritted their teeth in frustration.

Not everyone could afford to be so extravagant, after all.

"This..."

The leader hesitated. Surrounded by the crowd, the three brothers found the situation rather intimidating.

"Second Brother."

Of the three, Second Brother was the sharpest and the best at making decisions.

Faced with such a huge temptation, Second Brother was also in a daze. But then, thinking of their mission, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Alright, we’ll sell. For the last two spots, you can all bid at once. Highest bidders get them."

’This way, they wouldn’t offend anyone and could even make a huge profit.’

The portly merchant, meanwhile, walked straight to the spot that had belonged to the leader. He stood there, squinting as he watched the others bid.

’It’s good to have money,’ he thought. ’Buy it early, and you get to watch the show early.’

"I bid ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones!"

"I bid thirty!"

...

The bidding was heating up. Some people deliberately waited a moment before shouting their offers, just to crush the bids of those around them.

"One hundred!"

"One hundred and ten!"

"Done!"

In the end, two big spenders snatched up the remaining two spots.

They had arrived late and weren’t even sure they’d get anything if they waited. For them, spending a pile of Spirit Stones to secure a spot near the front was actually a win.

They had money to burn anyway.

Once the spots were sold, the rest could only return to the line, dejected.

But in the meantime, the line had already grown much longer.

The open area in front of the Heavenly Buddha Temple was now completely packed with customers.

The Heavenly Buddha Temple, renowned throughout the Southern State, stood tall just a short distance away, but none of the customers had any desire to go sightseeing.

Even some of the monks had postponed their morning chants.

Thanks to Lu Wu’s favor, Little Monk Tianhui stood third in line. Ahead of him were the Buddha Son, Chan Yu, and the Demoness, Xia Yi.

He didn’t dare offend either of them.

"Boss Lu is here!"

Someone at the back of the line saw Lu Wu’s figure and yelled. The cry was passed down the line, wave after wave of voices piling up until the roar echoed through the clouds.

This was the scene that greeted Lu Wu when she arrived.

Lu Wu greeted her customers.

"Greetings, comrades!"

"Thank you for your hard work, comrades!"

With all eyes on her, she decided to play the part.

"Good morning, Boss Lu!"

"Boss Lu, I dreamed about you last night!"

"Is there a new milk tea today, Boss Lu?"

Amidst the chorus of greetings, Lu Wu arrived at her stall spot with a pinpoint landing.

The surging tide of people threatened to drown her.

But Lu Wu, right in the middle of it all, was perfectly at ease.

"Open for business! Today’s new items are the Fruit Family Bucket, Soy Milk Jade Qilin, Lemon Black Tea, and Jasmine Coffee. There’s a limit of two items per person, so choose your favorites!"

Lu Wu announced the rule.

It couldn’t be helped. There were simply too many people. On her way up, she’d seen another huge crowd still climbing the mountain path.

She had stocked up well, but she couldn’t possibly keep up with the massive number of customers. Without a purchase limit, many would go home empty-handed.

"Aww, there’s really a purchase limit."

"Look at that pathetic long face of yours. Let me tell you a little secret... I’ve been here since the first day, hehehe. I’ve already had a grand total of eight different kinds of milk tea, teehee."

Human joys and sorrows are not always shared, but a fist can certainly wipe a smirk off a face.

That smug customer was stealthily taken down by a few others, leaving him with lumps all over his head.

"Ow, ow! Stop hitting me! I was wrong, alright?!"

He yelled, but he refused to move even half a step out of line.

If he took a single step out, this pack of animals would have instantly swallowed up his spot.

So much for a little showing off; he was now covered in bruises.

The customer could only shrink down, clutching his wounds and nursing them in silence.

He wasn’t "teehee-ing" anymore.

"Don’t you people know the rule about not hitting the face?"

’My face is all swollen. What if I scare Boss Lu later?’

The scene was both chaotic and awe-inspiring.

Having sold their spots, the three brothers stood at the outermost edge of the crowd. Watching the joyous looks on the customers’ faces, a sense of loss washed over them.

’It feels like we missed out on something important.’

"I’m starting to regret this," Third muttered.

The rich, mellow aroma of milk tea had already begun to waft through the air.

The new milk tea flavors sent the customers’ enthusiasm soaring.

"Let’s go. We have a mission to complete."

Second Brother forced himself to look away, his voice cold.

’If we don’t complete the mission, we don’t get paid. We still have a lot to do.’

Third kept looking back over his shoulder, his expression forlorn.

Just then, a man in black passed by them. He wore a hood, revealing only the lower half of a cold, stern face.

After a quick glance, Second Brother froze.

He whipped his head around to look at the man in black, only to see him walk nonchalantly to the front of the line and take a place among the other customers.

And yet, the other customers acted as if they hadn’t seen the man in black cut in line at all; they had absolutely no reaction.

But Second Brother recognized him.

"Second Brother..."

The leader’s voice was thick with astonishment.

"Is that him?"

Second Brother didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled a portrait from inside his robes.

It depicted a young man with sharp, striking features, so handsome it was almost sinister.

When he covered the top half of the portrait, the remaining lower half of the face was an exact match for the man in black they had just seen.

"What is he doing up here?"

’Weren’t we told he only wanders the mountains behind the Heavenly Buddha Temple?’

Their mission was to find him, strike up a conversation, and convey their employer’s desire to cooperate.

And yet, while their target was now within arm’s reach, the situation had developed in a way the three brothers had never anticipated.

"What do we do now?"

The leader was at a loss, while Second Brother sank into deep thought.

’Could Boss Lu’s milk tea really be this appealing?’

"The guy we were looking for showed up on his own... Doesn’t that mean we sold our spots for nothing?"

Third was beating his chest and stomping his feet, overcome with regret.

"My milk tea!"

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