LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 199: The Hidden Snake
Meanwhile, just as Garrett's Skill was mere inches away from obliterating Hervy, a sudden blue light erupted from the necklace hanging around his neck, instantly surrounding his figure in a protective barrier.
The barrier absorbed the impact of the attack before it dissipated into fragments of light.
Garrett snorted, silently cursing Hervy's powerful family. If not for them providing Hervy the Artifact, his attack would have taught him a good lesson to keep his mouth shut.
"Go back to perving."
Without turning his eyes away from the fantastic view, Hervy replied, "It's called appreciating worldly affairs."
Just then, Lily said via Voice Transmission, [Thank you, Hervy.]
Startled, Hervy raised an eyebrow.
[Hmm? Why are you thanking me for?]
With a blush across her cheeks from the earlier intimate display, Lily replied. [For distracting my brother.]
[Don't overthink it. I was using the opportunity to mess with Captain. You know how I am.]
Lily smiled sweetly. Despite Hervy's weirdness, he like every one of her brother's friends, always looked out for her. It was like she had five older brothers, instead of one.
Lucian's eyes then briefly shifted to Fenwick. Surprisingly, he was calm. Or at the very least, he was not showing any outward aggression.
'Interesting… Did he finally accept me, or did he realize it's impossible to stop the inevitable?'
'Either way, it's good for me.'
'But… for Lily's sake, it would be better if they accepted me.'
Lucian did not want to place Lily in a position that required her to pick between him and her family. For a young girl, a decision as big as that would be traumatic, lasting a lifetime.
However, for Lily's family to fully accept him, it would take a while, which he did not mind. Time was irrelevant to him.
With a future plan in mind, Lucian looked behind his shoulder and smiled at Lily.
"Let's sit down." He said gently, his voice full of tenderness and affection, instantly melting Lily's tiny heart.
Lily smiled up at her Big Brother Lucian, her cheeks blushing pink behind her mask.
Once they sat down in their chair, it was at that moment that James finally asked what had been on his mind for the past ten minutes, "Senior, if you don't mind me asking, why did it take so long? Did something happen"
Lucian glanced to his right, where James sat, and briefly paused to collect his thoughts, then informed him and the others, who were keen to listen about what transpired without hiding any detail.
As Lucian recounted the events that unfolded, astonishment flickered in the eyes of everyone present. Even Hervy, for once since Meng Ruo appeared on stage, tore his eyes away and looked at Lucian. However, it was only for a brief moment as he quickly returned his attention back to Meng Ruo.
Once Lucian finished his retelling of the events, a deep frown formed on James' face. "Ghouls…"
Lily, meanwhile, scrunched her brows together with a thoughtful look on her face.
"I'm more worried about the Ghouls' Master," Fenwick said with his arms crossed.
James nodded and breathed out through his nose.
"A Ghost. What a troublesome individual."
"Sir James, have you heard about a Ghost running rampant in Harmony City?" Garrett asked, while secretly gulping in fear at the prospect of a Ghost somewhere nearby.
James shook his head.
"Unfortunately, I have never seen or heard of a Ghost appearing in Harmony City."
After a moment of pondering, he continued, "This is my first time hearing about it. But I don't think we need to worry about the Ghost. I'll handle the situation."
A rotund middle-aged man covered in gold appeared in his mind. 'I'm willing to bet my entire fortune it was him.'
"Why do you say that?" Lucian furrowed his brows, but he was eager to know. "Do you know something?"
"I can't guarantee it, but I'm pretty sure Su Kuan is behind the sabotage."
Lily adorably blinked her eyes, not expecting James would think the owner of the Dragon's Feast Restaurant would be behind the sabotage.
"Why would it be him? It doesn't make sense."
The others; however, exchanged a glance, noticing the look of realization on the other's faces.
James continued, "This is Senior's first…" He suddenly paused, remembering Lucian had tagged along with Lion's Liver during the escort quest. "No. This is Senior's second time visiting Harmony City. That is unless Senior came before. Anyway, what I am trying to say is Senior hasn't offended anyone from Harmony City. There's no logical reason for anyone to target you out of personal vendetta.
Therefore, why would someone choose to sabotage Senior's food? And what would they achieve from it? Fame? Money?"
"That doesn't make sense. If they wanted fame, targeting Chef Lucian, an unknown person, makes no sense. And if they wanted money, they would have robbed Chef Lucian of his treasures." Garrett said thoughtfully, then chuckled. "However, had they openly targeted Chef Lucian without using tricks, they would have been killed."
James nodded with a chuckle and then continued, "The only reason someone would go after Senior is if they wanted to undermine your success. And who benefits from that? The only person I can think of is Su Kuan, the owner of the number one restaurant in Harmony City — Dragon's Feast Restaurant. He's held onto the number-one restaurant position for many years now.
But a new talent like Senior threatens his lofty position. In fact, it has already started since Senior served his Garlic Butter and Herb Popcorn. Those who tasted it already know of Senior's superior culinary skills. Fearing more heads will turn in Senior's direction, Su Kuan planned such a ploy."
"And once my dish outshines his, it will be disastrous to his reputation," Lucian said, finally realizing the source of his trouble.
"Su Kuan's always been a snake, using underhanded methods to get what he wants. Unfortunately, he never offended anyone with real power. Those he went against were weak and powerless to realize the snake hidden in the shadows."
"But to go as far as using Ghouls and a Ghost to sabotage someone? That's too dangerous. Does he have the power to handle them? What if they rebel against him?" Fenwick brought up a good point, causing all eyes to turn to James.
James thought for a moment and then shook his head.
"I don't know. He was just a nobody when he came to Harmony City, who sold ice cream to make a living. As for his Mage Rank, it's pitifully weak. He's merely a Tendon Tempering Realm Mage."
"But we should be careful. From this attack, it's obvious Su Kuan is desperate, and desperate men can easily throw caution to the wind."
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Before anyone could respond, Lily's voice sounded out, "It's good that Big Brother Lucian saw the Voidtear Essence. If not-" Lily paled after speaking, worried about what could have happened if not for her Big Brother Lucian's eye Skill.
Gulping nervously, Garrett glanced at Lucian and asked, "Are you sure the Voidtear Essence has been purified?"
"Of course. I'm confident." Lucian nodded confidently. He had seen it with his Dragon's Graze, and on top of it, received System Notifications congratulating him.
James nodded.
"If Senior says so, then I believe in Senior."
The others also nodded. They trusted someone as mysterious and powerful as Lucian could easily purify the Voidtear Essence. Furthermore, lying would bring him no advantage.
"Now that we are assured of our success." James paused as he glanced at Lucian with an intensely strange expression, causing the latter to shiver, feeling his innocence was about to be stolen.
Coughing, Lucian hurriedly asked, "What is it? Is there something on my face?"
On the other hand, unbeknownst to everyone in the room, Lily was glaring at James.
'He's mine! Big Brother Lucian is mine!'
Oblivious to Lucian's discomfort and Lily's jealous thoughts, James replied, "Senior, it's about Duan Mu. I don't understand why you would take someone like him as your disciple. Did he not explain his situation to you? Or even worse… did he lie about it?"
"I know he's a cripple," Lucian affirmed, then continued with a shake of his head. "But that doesn't matter to me."
"That's not want I mean, Senior." James smiled wryly and opened his mouth to explain about Duan Mu's parents and his restaurant on the verge of being taken away by Su Kuan, but before he could get a word out of his mouth, a seductive voice resounded out:
"Esteemed Guests, I would like to start off by saying thank you for patiently waiting."
After hearing Meng Ruo's words, the guests all started clapping and cheering, understanding it was finally time.
"It's finally time for the main dish."
"I can't wait to see what it looks like."
"I'm starting to feel envious of the 553 people who ordered the Siren's Melody Poached Egg."
"Me too. The dishes from Dragon's Feast Restaurant were already so good then how good will a dish priced at 5 Low-Grade Mana Stones?"
"I might die happily just from the smell alone."
However, despite their words, the atmosphere in the venue was weird.
They only spoke such words because like how they could not afford to offend Su Kuan, James was the same.
But although the majority spoke only for the sake of protecting themselves, there was a minority who thought differently. Genuine excitement could be seen on the faces of those who were fortunate enough to taste Lucian's Garlic Butter and Herb Popcorn.
Even someone like Peng Ting, who despised Lucian, was uncontrollably salivating.