Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Clean and Hygienic
Su Ze slept until five in the afternoon before waking up.
He lay in bed, pondering a question. ’What’s next?’
His goal had always been to escape Mu Country. Now that he had, he suddenly felt a bit lost, unsure of where to go from here.
Evolving and growing stronger—that was a long-term goal.
In the short term, what he needed was a legal identity. No matter which country he lived in, a legal identity was essential.
Otherwise, he’d be stuck like this: a multi-billionaire forced to hole up in a small hotel.
However, Su Ze had neither the connections nor any leads on how to get one.
’I’ll ask Liou Wenxin later.’
Su Ze could tell that Liou Wenxin and Mrs. Yun had significant backgrounds; perhaps they could help him.
Once the identity problem was solved, with his billions, where in the world couldn’t he go—besides Mu Country?
Su Ze got out of bed, left his room, and knocked on the door next to his.
A mont later, Liou Wenxin opened the door and said to Su Ze, "You’re finally awake. Co on, go get sothing to eat with ."
Her words made Su Ze realize he was a bit hungry too. "Alright," he nodded.
’Anything we need to talk about can wait until after we’ve eaten.’
The two chatted as they walked. Su Ze asked, "How is Mrs. Yun? Is she feeling any better?"
"She’s rested for half the day, so she’s in much better spirits. But her body is so severely depleted that a natural recovery is almost impossible."
Liou Wenxin’s mood dampened at the topic.
"There’s got to be a way. Don’t worry about it for now; let’s fill our stomachs first." Su Ze changed the subject. "What do you feel like eating?"
Liou Wenxin gave him a strange look. "You probably don’t know much about Luofan Country’s food culture, do you? Here, it’s not a matter of what you want to eat, but what you can stomach."
"It’s that crazy?"
The two of them left the hotel and imdiately spotted a shop selling milk tea across the street.
Unlike the brightly decorated, stylish milk tea shops one might imagine, this was just a small stall set up at the storefront with two pots on it.
"Co on, I’ll treat you to so milk tea."
Su Ze walked toward the milk tea stall. Liou Wenxin hesitated for a mont, but her craving for milk tea won out over her reason, and she followed him.
When they got closer, they saw two large iron woks, blackened with a thick patina of gri. One was boiling milk, while the other contained a murky, brown liquid.
The inner walls of the woks were caked with a thick, yellow crust of unknown origin. As the liquid inside boiled, a large amount of white foam churned to the surface, mixed with black specks of dregs and debris.
The barefoot owner picked up one of the woks with one hand, and with the other, he held a small, blackened strainer over an equally grimy kettle. He then poured the unknown liquid from the wok through the strainer and into the kettle.
Finally, the owner tipped the dregs from the strainer back into the wok, added milk, and continued to boil it...
"So... are we still getting so?" Su Ze turned his head to look at Liou Wenxin beside him.
Without a word, Liou Wenxin grabbed him and walked away.
Luofan Country’s milk tea had successfully scared off a die-hard milk tea addict.
The two arrived on a bustling street lined with nurous stalls and small eateries where one could dine in.
However, after a lap around the area, they couldn’t help but marvel at what an eye-opening experience it was.
Crispy fried balls that slled like a public toilet.
Aloe vera juice with a dozen mystery spices that was too tough to even chew.
Fried chicken cooked in "heirloom" oil that had been used for generations.
Shaved ice that was just a little bit stinky.
atballs rolled by hands that had just been scratching feet.
Hand-shelled peanuts that were half peanut, half saliva.
...
It was all so... clean and hygienic!
After walking a huge circle, the only thing they bought was so fruit.
They simply couldn’t bring themselves to eat the food from the stalls; it was a hurdle their minds couldn’t overco.
The hygiene inside the eateries was slightly better, but for so reason, the Luofan people seed to love turning all their ingredients into pastes of various colors.
Yellow paste, red paste, green paste—the sight of it killed any appetite one might have.
"Let’s go. I’ll just have so fruit for dinner," Liou Wenxin said, completely unenthused.
"Wait, I’m going to buy a couple of roasted ears of corn."
A mont later, Su Ze returned with two ears of roasted corn covered in charcoal ash. It was the cleanest-looking cooked food he could find.
Back at the hotel, Su Ze didn’t rush back to his own room. Instead, he went into Liou Wenxin’s.
Su Ze gave one of the ears of corn to Mrs. Yun and ate the other himself. Surprisingly, it was quite fragrant.
After they finished eating, Liou Wenxin pulled up a stool and sat down across from Su Ze.
Seeing her posture, Su Ze knew it was ti for them to lay their cards on the table.
The shared hardship they endured in the Black Rock Mountain Range had built a foundation of trust between them. Moreover, they had confird that they shared a common enemy: the Filth Earth Organization.
Su Ze needed sothing from Liou Wenxin and the faction behind her. He wanted their help in obtaining a legal identity and gathering information about the Filth Earth Organization.
anwhile, Liou Wenxin clearly had her own intentions for him. Perhaps she saw his potential, or maybe she wanted to recruit him for other reasons.
But they knew too little about each other. This frank discussion was necessary.
Liou Wenxin spoke first. "What are your plans from here on out?"
"What plans can I have? I’m holess and being hunted by the Filth Earth Organization. I can only beg you to take
in," Su Ze replied, half-joking and half-serious.
"Why is the Filth Earth Organization hunting you?"
"They’re after a skill I have. They want to kill
and turn
into an extract."
Liou Wenxin nodded. She didn’t press him on what the skill was. Instead, she said, "When I first t you, I suspected you were the runaway young master of so powerful family. But after spending these last few days with you, I feel like you both are and aren’t."
"You’re indifferent to money, your skills are all top-tier and perfectly matched, and you know the secrets of Mu Country’s upper echelons like the back of your hand. All of this fits the image of a runaway young master. But there’s not a trace of naivety or immaturity about you. You’re ticulous, level-headed, and decisive. You don’t hesitate to kill. You’re nothing like a delicate flower raised in a greenhouse."
"Are you complinting ?" Su Ze chuckled.
"You can take it that way. But now I’m extrely curious. What is your real identity? Is Su Ze your real na?"
Su Ze mulled it over for a mont before asking, "Have you heard about the case from over a month ago, where Princess Zhuzhi of Mu Country was raped and murdered?"
"I’ve heard of it."
"The culprit was Zhao Lingxiao, the only son of Mu Country’s Minister of Finance, Zhao Yuanyi. Because I look extrely similar to him, the Zhao Family used
as a scapegoat. They wanted
to take his punishnt for him. But... I escaped. And Zhao Lingxiao is dead."
This was the only explanation Su Ze could give. His true origins involved being a clone and a transmigrator, which was simply impossible to explain.
Liou Wenxin was stunned. She hadn’t expected an answer like this.
Then, she stared into Su Ze’s eyes and said, "How can I be sure you’re not Zhao Lingxiao?"
Su Ze smiled, eting her gaze without flinching. "Do you think I am?"
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