Regardless of the scolding, Hao Yun knew very well that he probably couldn't escape this hotpot dinner. So, he could only endure the pain in his liver and harshly say, "Alright! Alright! You two stop pretending! It's just hotpot, can't I take you out for lunch?!"

After saying that, Hao Yun rudely stopped Master Gu, who wanted to operate the mouse: "Hey! I said, Master Gu, I saw you just wiped your saliva with your hand! You want to touch the mouse without washing your hands, is that dirty or not?!"

"Hey! Dao Lao! How long has it been since you washed your feet? Why do they stink so much?! What? You haven't washed them since the last time you fell into the water? And you didn't even clean your feet properly after falling into the water last time! Then all the crap you stepped on before—oh my god! The guest room's blanket can't be used anymore! No! I might as well just burn that room down!"

Hao Yun finished speaking and rushed into the guest room where Dao Lao lived with a bottle of air freshener and a bottle of disinfectant.

Especially the world-renowned dish in the butter hotpot—Double Pepper Beef Roll. The tender beef, which had been passionately beaten and carefully marinated with ancestral spices, was wrapped in a thick layer of chili powder chopped from two unique spicy peppers in Rongjin City. Just the appearance of it on the table was enough to make people drool.

Pouring the thick and tender beef into the boiling hot and spicy butter pot, letting it endure the training from the hot oil for over ten seconds, then serving it with secret sesame oil while it was still hot, the scorching hot oil and the fierce spiciness left a deadly pleasure from physical to psychological and even physiological aspects. Any diner would embark on a dangerous journey of pleasure after eating the Double Pepper Beef.

Dao Lao and Master Gu had never eaten such delicacies before. They continuously picked up slices of freshly cooked beef with their chopsticks and enjoyed themselves immensely. Since everyone was enjoying themselves so much, how could they miss out on beer to liven things up? So, the two of them, like the nearby diners, each grabbed a crate of beer under their feet, and with the delicious Double Pepper Beef, they enthusiastically toasted each other.

As the saying goes, "Brushing teeth with chili oil, beer as tea," the two divine officials were simply enjoying themselves too much. This was in stark contrast to Hao Yun, who sat on the side, accompanying them with a glass of beer.

Finally noticing Hao Yun's somewhat low mood, Master Gu, who was swaying a bit from drinking, put his hand on Hao Yun's shoulder and asked with concern, "Hey, Hao buddy, why are you feeling down? Is there something bothering you psychologically? We're all friends here, don't be shy, speak up and we'll all be happy together—uh, I mean, we'll help you out."

Before Hao Yun could reply, Dao Lao raised his hand eagerly and answered, "I know! Hao Yun must be thinking about his girlfriend again! Old Gu, you don't know, just a few days before I met Hao Yun, he was just dumped by his girlfriend. Now that he sees the hotpot, he's probably reminiscing about her again, right?"

Then, the two old men started whispering and gossiping about Hao Yun's love life, and Dao Lao even generously mentioned Hao Yun's childhood incident of peeking into the women's restroom to Master Gu.

("Oh my god! That was an accidental entry into the women's restroom! Who said it was peeking into the women's restroom! Didn't the novel say that at the beginning?! Why are you making up things here?" Hao Yun protested to the author as he couldn't stop Dao Lao from gossiping.

The author immediately corrected himself: "It's not me making things up, it's clearly Dao Lao deliberately saying nonsense! Why are you blaming me? Besides, what's wrong with accidentally entering the women's restroom? Don't you think it's quite glorious?"

Hao Yun felt extremely speechless and expressed that he didn't want to argue with the author about this matter anymore, lest the malicious author retaliate against him by deliberately writing the plot against him.)

Hao Yun put a large piece of freshly cooked beef into Dao Lao's bowl, interrupting angrily, "Hurry up and eat while it's hot, stop jabbering!"

Seeing this, Master Gu quickly intervened, "Hao buddy, don't be sad! Old Gu will take care of this for you! There are plenty of fish in the sea, and when we return to the Netherworld Realm, I'll immediately gather the best maids in the palace for you. You can choose as many as you want then!"

Hearing Master Gu's words, Hao Yun's chopsticks holding the beef couldn't help but tremble. At the same time, a group of tall, strong, and elegantly dressed maids with flowers all over them, twisting their sturdy bodies, ran toward him with a charming smile, immediately appearing in Hao Yun's mind.

"No, no need. Really no need! Judge Yan's maids are all as beautiful as fairies, meant to be admired from afar and not to be touched. I'm afraid I really can't enjoy such blessings. Those palace girls as beautiful as flowers, let them be enjoyed by Judge Yan and Master Gu!" Hao Yun trembled as he refused with a shaky voice.

Then, Hao Yun sighed again, "Actually, I'm worried about my business now. Due to the recent disasters, the several milk tea shops I invested in haven't been doing well. So, now I have to continue to work as a barista part-time while managing the milk tea shops to maintain daily expenses."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"But now, I unexpectedly became an assistant to the divine official of the Divine Realm—"

"Assistant to the divine official," Dao Lao reminded.

"But now, I unexpectedly became Dao Lao's assistant to the divine official, which means I don't have time to work and earn money. If this continues, I'm afraid that soon, I won't be able to afford to treat you to food and drinks anymore. I might even be unable to afford the rent. In that case, we'll be forced to move the base of the sword to the street. And what's even scarier is that I won't have the ability to help Master Gu buy souvenirs of the two goddess sisters!"

After saying that, Hao Yun pretended to sigh deeply, tilted his eyes up 45 degrees, and let a tear that he forcefully squeezed out fall down.

Upon learning that Hao Yun's already struggling life had become even more difficult due to fulfilling the duty of hunting down a spirit energy fugitive divine official, Dao Lao and Master Gu fell into a brief silence. Reflecting on Hao Yun's generosity in treating them to meals despite his financial difficulties, and even helping Master Gu purchase souvenirs for the goddesses, both elders felt guilty.

After exchanging glances, Dao Lao and Master Gu agreed that they should find a way to help Hao Yun, at least to relieve his financial worries in this world. Only then could Dao Lao continue to enjoy fine dining with Hao Yun, and Master Gu could continue to have Hao Yun assist in collecting souvenirs for the goddesses.

For Master Gu, this was especially important. Because Dili Reba is about to release a collector's edition photobook next month! Oh, right! Gulnazar will also release a special edition New Year's photobook at the end of the year! What if Hao Yun's finances collapse, and there's no money left to buy the photobooks for the two sisters? The thought made Master Gu's heart tighten, feeling as if the whole world was about to collapse.

With this in mind, Master Gu immediately straightened his chest, solemnly pledging to help Hao Yun through his difficulties. Dao Lao suggested that they quickly finish the food on the table, as it wouldn't taste good if it stayed heated for too long. Of course, Dao Lao also assured Hao Yun that as his appointed assistant, he wouldn't be treated unfairly. So, after finishing the meal, he would help Hao Yun find a way out of the financial crisis.

Seeing the two divine officials promising to help him with his financial issues, Hao Yun couldn't help but secretly rejoice. He had exaggerated his plight to gain sympathy from Dao Lao and Master Gu, hoping to benefit from them. Fortunately, treating them to these meals wasn't in vain. These two old guys were really good at freeloadin', but at least they weren't heartless freeloaders.

However, although he celebrated his successful scheme internally, Hao Yun pretended to be hypocritical on the surface. "Ah-ha! If you two are willing to lend a hand, then I can put my worries aside for now! No rush, no rush! Let's eat first, and then we'll talk. Master Gu, would you like some more beer? Dao Lao, would you like to try the shaved ice here?"

Fortunately, this hotpot restaurant would close for a midday break after lunch, giving Hao Yun an irresistible reason to forcibly end this wallet-bleeding hotpot feast. Though he was bleeding inside, Hao Yun pretended to regret on the surface, "Oh no! What a surprise, this place is closed for lunch break. If only we had known, we would have come earlier! We didn't even get to eat our fill?!"

Dao Lao and Master Gu, on the other hand, patted their bulging bellies contentedly, saying, "Oh, it's okay, it's okay. We're very satisfied with this meal. Let Hao buddy foot the bill! Besides, we're inexperienced this time. I heard this place stays open until late at night. Let's come earlier next time and eat until late at night in one go, we'll definitely enjoy it! Hahaha!"

Upon hearing this, three black lines appeared on Hao Yun's head. Damn it, with your appetites, if you two open up your stomachs and eat here all night, I'll have to file for bankruptcy on the spot!

However, since the two elders had spoken, Hao Yun could only nod and reluctantly accept their proposal. At the same time, Hao Yun rubbed his hands together, wearing a flattering smile as he said, "Oh, look at the two lords. It's just a meal, nothing to worry about! As long as you two can help me come up with some money-making ideas, anything is possible. Hehehe! My requirements are not high, as long as I can earn some money to support myself, and have enough to treat you two to food and drinks, and buy souvenirs for Master Gu's goddesses! Hehehe!"

"Well—although your current status is a divine official in the Divine Realm, you haven't completely detached from the mortal realm yet. So, if we directly give you a way to make money, it might be suspected of interfering with your natural development in the mortal realm, which could have a negative impact on the stability of this timeline," Dao Lao thoughtfully explained.

"In that case," Dao Lao continued, "Hao Yun, give us a rough overview of the situation of your milk tea shops. Or, tell us the addresses of your shops. Master Gu and I will go there to check them out, diagnose the problems in each shop, and maybe offer some advice to revive their business."

"No problem!" Hao Yun was delighted to hear this, then asked, "Shall I send you the coordinates of my shops through the system? But are you sure you don't need me to take you there?"

"No need. We'll go as ordinary customers to explore, making it easier to spot the issues inside," Dao Lao waved his hand.

"No need. We'll go as ordinary customers to explore, making it easier to spot the issues inside," Dao Lao waved his hand.

"However, these shops seem quite far apart, and it's inconvenient for Master Gu to frequently use teleportation spells here. So, if we go on foot, won't the shops close before we finish exploring? Also, since we're exploring the shops, we'll still have to consume some milk tea, right? You know our situation, so this research fund—maybe you—" Dao Lao said, smiling awkwardly and making a counting gesture towards Hao Yun.

Geez, you're just waiting here, aren't you? So I have to fork out money to treat you to your own milk tea in your shops? But there's no choice, since Hao Yun wants to squeeze some money-making ideas out of Dao Lao and Master Gu. So, although he felt unhappy, Hao Yun reluctantly took out three vibrant banknotes and handed them to Dao Lao.

Seeing that both elders pocketed a banknote each and were about to leave, Hao Yun hurriedly asked, "Hey, Old Dao, if you two are going to investigate the milk tea shops, what should I do?"

"Oh, you, just go and tie up the loose ends of Liu Erwa's case," Dao Lao replied.

"Tie up the loose ends? Hasn't Liu Erwa already reincarnated?" Hao Yun asked.

"I know. That's why I want you to go and check on the situation of Xu Fang and Xiao Yong, to confirm whether Liu Erwa's reincarnation process is going smoothly," Dao Lao said.

"So, you mean, I have to check if Xu Fang is pregnant? Didn't Liu Erwa just reincarnate yesterday? It can't be this quick, right?" Hao Yun doubted.