522 Big Bear, It Up to You! (1/2)

”Oh, Big Bear, master has an arduous task for you. Tonight, we will be depending on your performance!”

Xiong Shi rubbed Big Bear's belly and smiled. This bear was his most beloved spirit beast. He felt that the big bear was similar to himself, and for that, he had a strong affection toward it.

Big Bear growled, raised a paw, and patted its chest. The growling didn't stop, which made it seem as though it had understood Xiong Shi's words.

Xiong Shi narrowed his eyes and curled the corners of his lips into a sarcastic smile.

”The competition is not limited to the arena alone; while outside, some other methods are required.” Xiong Shi laughed.

…

As night fell, the crescent moon emerged and hung in the sky. The clear and cold moonlight shone down, covering the ground with its luminance, causing it to glow.

At night, the Cloud Mist Restaurant was absolutely quiet and peaceful. The surrounding elixir stores had their doors shut, having closed for the day. The elixir stores under the area controlled by the Nangong Family had undergone extensive repairs and had, once again, reopened for business. Nangong Wuque now had a firm hold on the family business, so the Lin and Zhang families did not cause any more trouble.

Hence, many elixir store owners were finally able to breathe sighs of relief.

Boom!

The ground trembled slightly as a huge shadow walked beneath the moonlight, with a terrifying aura emanating from its body.

This shadow belonged to a big bear—Xiong Shi's spirit beast. Why had the big bear come all the way out there in the middle of the night, while giving off a terrifying aura?

Big Bear's figure was enormous, and every step it took caused the ground to tremor.

Roar!

It stopped at a location not far from the Cloud Mist Restaurant. It beat its chest with its paw and growled. After walking around the Cloud Mist Restaurant once, Big Bear let out a deafening roar. The sound waves swept past the Cloud Mist Restaurant, and the store shook.

In a location far away from there, Xiong Shi was hiding in the dark. When he saw what happened, his lips curled upward into a smile.

”You have done well, my precious! Keep roaring just like that! Let us test the defensive capabilities of the restaurant! Let's disturb the chef's sleep! Without a good night's sleep, let see how you are able to cook!”

Xiong Shi's smile widened. Although the competition was just two more days away, he was in no hurry. He planned to use these two days to drain this chef's energy using devious methods. Without sufficient energy, how would a chef be able to cook delicious dishes?

Xiong Shi had a plan. He would not have Big Bear attack the restaurant directly. Although Big Bear's strength was by no means little, this was not the time for destruction; roaring like this was much better.

Roar!

In the middle of the night, an enormous bear roared without pause, and the more it roared, the louder it got; the roars were almost deafening.

They caused the entire district to tremble.

Within the restaurant, Lord Dog was sleeping soundly under the Path-Understanding Tree. Its doggy ears were covered, and its nose twitched slightly.

Beside Lord Dog was the black Netherworld Ship. Nethery was sleeping within the cabin of the ship.

Suddenly, the floor trembled slightly, causing the leaves on the Path-Understanding Tree to sway and rustle.

A single leaf fell off the tree and slowly floated down, and it landed on Lord Dog's nose. When Lord Dog took its next breath, it felt a slight itch.

”Roar!”

Big Bear roared once more. Without any intention of stopping, it continued to beat its chest with its paws and emit ear-splitting roars.

Bu Fang, who was sleeping on the second floor, was still breathing normally, with no sign of waking up anytime soon.

Since Nethery was sleeping inside the Netherworld ship, she was not affected by the roars.

Lord Dog slowly opened its eye, and with a slight huff, it blew away the leaf resting on its nose.

Lord Dog's ears twitched slightly and suddenly perked up, in high alert, and it immediately raised its head; then, it began to scan its immediate surroundings.

Finally, Lord Dog eyes twinkled as it fixated a spot on the wall of the restaurant; it was as though it could see through solid objects, seeing as it was looking directly at the spot where Big Bear's back was.

Big Bear stopped roaring. After roaring for so long, it was tired and had to slowly return to its master.

Lord Dog rolled its eyes at this development. Where did such a silly bear come from?

Although it was frustrated that its sleep was disturbed, the bear had fled and Lord Dog was too lazy to deal with it, so it lowered its head and went back to sleep.

...

On the following day, after breakfast, Bu Fang opened for business, as per usual.

As soon as he opened the restaurant's bronze gates, he paused for a moment because he saw the burly man from the previous day, who used a cloth to cover his face, at the front of the queue. The burly man was, of course, Xiong Shi.

When Xiong Shi saw Bu Fang, his eyes glittered. He stared at Bu Fang's face so intensely, it was as though he wished to see through the chef.

”Owner Bu? How was your sleep last night?” Xiong Shi asked in a low, hoarse voice.

Bu Fang was stunned; he had no idea why this person would ask him such a question.

”I had a good sleep; thanks for asking. What do you want to order?” Bu Fang calmly replied.

Had a good sleep? How was that possible? With Big Bear roaring in front of your gate the whole night, when even pigs would wake up?!

Xiong Shi was in disbelief as he stared at Bu Fang facial expression. Bu Fang had to be lying. He would definitely find the dark ring around Bu Fang's eye!

However, he was soon disappointed because Bu Fang's complexion was as good as his eyes were clear. He looked to be in tip-top shape.

This meant... Bu Fang really did have a good night's sleep!