Chapter 160: My Name is Shang Liuli

Upon hearing the black-robed woman’s critique, Xu Mo immediately realized that she was someone who both understood and had high standards for food. If that was truly the case, her extreme anger just a moment ago suddenly became somewhat understandable.

The innkeeper, the waiter, and the cook all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the black-robed woman’s words, breaking into smiles as they thought that this incident could finally be put behind them.

By this time, the black-robed woman had become utterly captivated by the flavor of the scallion oil braised chicken. She ate it piece by piece with her rice, looking as though she had completely forgotten about the unpleasantness from earlier.

However, the three staff members were still waiting for the black-robed woman to utter a word of forgiveness, yet they did not dare to disturb her, so they could only wait quietly off to the side.

Seeing how heartily the black-robed woman was eating, Xu Mo suddenly felt his own stomach rumble. He instructed the cook to prepare two small dishes so that he could eat his own lunch as well.

Before long, the tavern returned to its usual tranquility.

Xu Mo, Qin Mutou, and the black-robed woman each sat at a separate table, intently enjoying their respective meals.

It wasn't until the black-robed woman finished eating that the innkeeper cautiously stepped forward and asked, "Miss, are you satisfied with the dishes?"

The black-robed woman glanced at the innkeeper, then turned her gaze to Xu Mo at the neighboring table, and said, "If not for him, you would have been in deep trouble today!"

With that, the black-robed woman fished out a piece of broken silver, placed it on the table, and waved her hand dismissively, signaling the innkeeper not to bother her anymore.

How could the innkeeper dare to accept money from the black-robed woman? He hurriedly urged her to take it back, but a single glare from her frightened him into silence, leaving him too terrified to utter another word.

After finishing her meal, the black-robed woman did not rush to leave. Instead, she shouldered her bundle, picked up her precious sword, and walked over to Xu Mo's table.

Before Xu Mo could even speak, the black-robed woman pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down.

"What is your name?" the black-robed woman asked Xu Mo.

Xu Mo was in the middle of eating. Hearing this, he glanced at the black-robed woman and retorted, "Why should I tell you?"

The black-robed woman frowned slightly. After a brief moment of thought, she immediately adjusted her tone and attitude, cupped her fists in a formal salute, and said, "My name is Shang Liuli. May I ask the young master's honorable name?"

Xu Mo was somewhat taken aback, not expecting the other party to react this way.

Qin Mutou was equally surprised, his hand freezing mid-motion as he was about to pick up some food.

Seeing the sudden shift in her attitude, Xu Mo put down his chopsticks and bowls, cupped his hands back, and said, "I am Xu Mo."

"Xu Mo?" Shang Liuli murmured the name softly, then asked, "Which *mo*? Is it the *mo* of desert, the *mo* of foam, or perhaps the *mo* of a millstone?"

Xu Mo thought to himself, *You're the one who's a millstone*, and promptly replied, "It's the *mo* of desert."

Shang Liuli nodded and asked again, "Xu Mo, who did you learn your culinary skills from?"

Xu Mo casually replied, "Self-taught."

"Self-taught?" Shang Liuli immediately shook her head and said, "Impossible! Cooking like yours must have been passed down from a renowned master!"

Shortly after, Shang Liuli asked, "Xu Mo, what other dishes can you make?"

Xu Mo thought to himself that they weren't even that acquainted, yet she was tossing about his name with such casual familiarity.

"Miss Liuli, if you have nothing else to attend to, you should go do whatever you need to do. We still have to finish our meal," Xu Mo said with a polite smile.

Although Shang Liuli was exceptionally beautiful with a striking figure, her temperament and disposition were not quite to Xu Mo's liking.

In fact, back before his transmigration, Xu Mo had always harbored a certain romanticized longing for the "fierce girlfriend" trope. But after transmigrating and spending a long time with Chen Maoyi, he gradually realized that fierce girlfriends weren't quite as appealing as he once thought.

Upon hearing Xu Mo say this, Shang Liuli's expression instantly darkened a little.

"This young lady does happen to have things to attend to!"

With that, Shang Liuli stood up and looked at Xu Mo with a look that clearly conveyed, *What's so great about you?*

Xu Mo acted as though he hadn't noticed.

Following that, Shang Liuli picked up her sword and headed toward the entrance.

Just as she stepped outside the shop doors, Shang Liuli turned back around and asked, "Innkeeper, have you seen a blind man around here recently?"

"A blind man?" The innkeeper wore a puzzled expression.

Shang Liuli described, "A man in his fifties with quite a bit of white hair, usually keeping his eyes covered with a black cloth..."

Shang Liuli gave a detailed description of the old man's appearance and features, asking, "Have you seen this person?"

The innkeeper rapidly shook his head and said, "Never seen him."

"You really haven't seen him?" Shang Liuli frowned.

Startled, the innkeeper hurriedly waved his hands and shook his head, "Miss, we truly haven't. I often see people who are lame, deaf, or mute, but a blind man? No, never!"

With that, Shang Liuli pressed no further, turned on her heel, and strode away.

At this moment, Xu Mo couldn't help but cast a glance at Shang Liuli's retreating figure, thinking to himself that the person she described sounded remarkably like the Blind Swordsman.

However, Xu Mo had no intention of calling out to Shang Liuli to clear things up.

He was worried that if the person Shang Liuli was searching for truly was the Blind Swordsman, and she happened to be his enemy, wouldn't that just be making a mess of things with good intentions?

Meanwhile, seeing that Shang Liuli had walked far away and was out of sight, the innkeeper approached Xu Mo, cupped his hands in gratitude, and thanked him profusely: "Young master, thank you so much for your help just now. Thank you, thank you so much..."

With a stern expression, Xu Mo said, "Innkeeper, I didn't help you today because I approved of your actions. I simply felt that her methods were even more unreasonable. If you continue to deceive guests like this in the future, watch out, for today's events will repeat themselves!"

"No, no, young master! I will definitely turn over a new leaf and never do this again," the innkeeper repeatedly assured him.

To show his gratitude, the innkeeper not only waived the charge for the dishes but also insisted on refunding Xu Mo for the fodder he had bought earlier.

However, Xu Mo refused the refund for the fodder, stating that waiving the meal charge was quite enough.

Feeling that simply waiving the meal wasn't enough, the innkeeper instead gifted Xu Mo a jar of the tavern's most expensive and strongest liquor.

Seeing that the innkeeper was insistent, Xu Mo did not refuse further and simply told him to load the jar onto his cart.

After the meal, a light drizzle suddenly began to fall from the sky.

With nowhere else to go, Xu Mo and Qin Mutou had no choice but to continue sitting by the tavern entrance, waiting for Mason Kuang.

During this time, the limping cook came over several times to consult Xu Mo on the cooking details of the scallion oil braised chicken, clearly eager to master the dish thoroughly so he could make it his own signature specialty in the future.

Since Xu Mo had nothing better to do, he explained the process in full detail. Once the limping cook had memorized everything, he expressed endless gratitude, nearly dropping to his knees to acknowledge Xu Mo as his master.

Right at that moment, two men carrying heavy loads of stone appeared in the distance along the village path.

Xu Mo immediately pointed at the two figures and asked the cook, "Look over there. Is that Mason Kuang returning?"

The cook hurriedly nodded and said, "Yes, yes, that's Mason Kuang, and the one behind him is his son."

Disregarding the light drizzle entirely, Xu Mo immediately walked out to meet Mason Kuang and his son.

Seeing this, Qin Mutou quickly followed behind him.

Reaching Mason Kuang, Xu Mo cupped his hands and said politely, "Mason Kuang, we are from Gushan Village and would like to ask you to take on a commission."

Without even sparing Xu Mo a glance, Mason Kuang replied, "Go find someone else. I'm very busy lately and have no time."

With that, Mason Kuang continued walking toward his home with a basket full of stones strapped to his back.

Perhaps because the rain had made the path slippery, only a few steps after speaking, Mason Kuang's footing suddenly slid out from under him.

Fortunately, Qin Mutou happened to be right beside Mason Kuang and immediately reached out with both hands to steady him.

Seeing this, Xu Mo rushed forward to support Mason Kuang as well, preventing him from taking a fall.

"Dad!" Mason Kuang's son, who was trailing behind, also scrambled over and helped support his father.

However, due to the slip, a couple of stones tumbled out of the basket on Mason Kuang's back.

Seeing that Mason Kuang's son had securely caught his father, Xu Mo and Qin Mutou released their grips and bent down to help retrieve the two fallen stones.

At that moment, the rain suddenly began to pour harder...

Seeing this, Mason Kuang spoke up, "You two, come to my house to take shelter from the rain."