Wait a minute, where is my master?

The woman with the bamboo hat stopped in her tracks as she saw the little Taoist turn his head.

Jin Xu looked at her with a calm expression on his face.

At that moment, however, the call of the roasted cake shop owner reached his ears.

"Taoist, and the two young ladies, the batch of roasted cakes you requested is ready," the owner called out.

Upon hearing this, the little Taoist turned back and saw the owner skillfully lift the hanging oven. Then, he quickly picked the roasted cakes out of the oven with bamboo tongs and placed them on the freshly spread greaseproof paper on the counter.

"Thank you very much," Jin Xu said politely, picking out four cakes with the best appearance from the twelve golden-brown, tempting cakes sprinkled with white sesame seeds.

He then asked the owner to pack the remaining cakes.

Of the four cakes, the little Taoist promptly bit one and held it in his mouth.

Two were given to the two women who had been eagerly waiting.

As for the last one, Jin Xu turned around and handed it to the woman in white robes wearing the black gauze bamboo hat.

The female cultivator took the roasted cake, and the corner of her mouth under her hat seemed to lift slightly.

After taking a small bite of the cake, she suddenly seemed to remember something and said with a tone of resentment,

"Uncle, have you fallen out with Yunzhao? Why did you return to Shangjing City and not even let me know?"

After speaking, Xia Yunzhao bit fiercely into the roasted cake, as if to vent her frustration.

Indeed, the person who came here in disguise was none other than the Empress of Great Xia—Xia Yunzhao—who had received news of Jin Xu's arrival in the city.

Upon hearing her question, Jin Xu paused in his eating.

Then, without giving the little Taoist any chance to interject, Xia Yunzhao continued with her plaintive tone,

"What have you been busy with after purifying the filth in the Nine Provinces Sea Eye, uncle?"

"These past few days, Yunzhao has sent quite a few messages to uncle, but you haven't replied to a single one. Could it be that Yunzhao has done something unsatisfactory, not meeting uncle's expectations?"

After finishing her sentence, she observed the little Taoist in front of her from under her bamboo hat.

This self-pitying tactic of "retreating in order to advance" was something new Xia Yunzhao had learned.

Just to utter these words in front of Jin Xu without any hint of acting today, she even practiced hundreds of times in front of a bronze mirror.

And that wasn't all.

Apart from this tactic, Xia Yunzhao had also learned three different responses to the Taoist's potential reactions.

Whether the little Taoist responded with kind words, harsh words, or remained silent,

she had a clear strategy for each.

Of course, no matter which approach Xia Yunzhao used, her ultimate goal was to strengthen their relationship and promote harmony.

Just as she was silently waiting for the little Taoist to react so she could determine which strategy to use,

she was taken aback to discover that Jin Xu wasn't answering her question. Instead, he patted the two girls who were focused on eating their cakes.

"Little Yu, Little White, you can continue eating later. Miss Yunzhao has arrived, aren't you going to greet her?"

The two girls turned around with delight and rushed towards the bewildered Empress of Great Xia.

"Yunzhao, here, have a cake,"

"Sister Yunzhao, when did you arrive? How did I not catch your scent?"

"Ah, eat the cake, eat the cake... cough, this bamboo hat on my head has the ability to conceal my presence."

Xia Yunzhao hurriedly coped with the two enthusiastic girls, and before long, she was immersed in their narrative of the "Trio's Overseas Travelogue."

Meanwhile, Jin Xu ate his cake and took the opportunity to glance at the Communication Jade Tokens in his storage treasure.

"Hmm... when did Miss Yunzhao send me so many messages.

"Eh, why did Brother Zhao also send me one?"

...

With a blink of the eyes,

a night had passed.

As I opened my eyes, the sky was already brightly lit.

The morning air was always refreshing to the heart and soul.

At the royal venue's entrance, the vermilion gate studded with nails was pushed open.

Jin Xu, with two women whose eyes still bore traces of sleepiness, walked out.

They hadn't eaten those exotic fragrance buns yesterday because they ran into Xia Yunzhao and ended up having a royal meal in the capital. (The two ladies contributed some ingredients from the Mountain and Sea Realm)

Thus, they set out early today with the intention of enjoying some buns with a hint of Little Hong's flavor.

"Young master, do we really need to get up this early?"

Yu Yaoer spoke as she stretched a big lazy stretch, her "prosperous" chest standing proud and impressive.

"Little Yu, you don't understand. Eating a steaming hot basket of buns in the early morning and having a bowl of hot porridge is indeed a great pleasure."

Jin Xu said this and took the lead in stepping down the stairs and onto the exceptionally quiet street.

The Little Fish Demon blinked in confusion and turned her head to look at the Husky beside her, who also seemed not fully awake.

"Little White, do you understand?"

"Hmm... I don't understand the pleasure the temple master speaks of, but Little Fish Sister, I'm now craving it. Slurp~"

Little White swallowed saliva and with a light leap, jumped down the stairs.

Yu Yaoer, seeing as such, couldn't help but yawn again and muttered something like,

"Not having enough beauty sleep might lead to scales falling off..." and walked onto the street.

No words were exchanged on the way.

The trio reached the street Jin Xu had discovered with his Spiritual Sense.

As soon as they entered the street,

a five-story tavern with a plaque that read "Yixiang Building" came into their view.

"The name is indeed fitting," Jin Xu chuckled appreciatively and then led the two women towards the entrance.

As the three approached the hall, a waiter with a white handkerchief over his shoulder respectfully came forward and asked,

"Distinguished guests, do you have the reservation token issued by our establishment yesterday?

"If so, please present it so I can escort you to the top floor."

"Token?"

"Reservation?"

A flicker of confusion passed in the eyes of the three Taoists. However, the waiter continued to explain respectfully without finding this reaction strange.

"Distinguished guests, you must either be from afar, attracted by our reputation, or have not been to Shangjing City for quite some time, right?

"You might not be aware.

"The 'Exotic Fragrance Twins' from our Yixiang Building are selling incredibly well. When we first opened, every day countless esteemed customers came knocking. However, due to the production process, we have a limited daily yield.

"Therefore, the proprietress devised this reservation system.

"Customers who want to taste the Exotic Fragrance Twins only need to obtain a reservation token the evening before, and they can ascend to the top floor the next day to savor our Exotic Fragrance Twins.

"Of course, if you don't have a reservation token, that's no problem. Our other dishes and drinks are also exceptionally delightful."

The waiter spoke smoothly as if he had rehearsed this speech many times before.

Jin Xu was somewhat surprised to hear this.

He hadn't paid close attention when he had surveyed the tavern with his Spiritual Sense yesterday and didn't expect that one now needed to make a reservation just to eat buns.

"Well, since we're here, let's have breakfast anyway. Oh, waiter, is there any particular method for this reservation token?"

The Taoist, figuring they were there already, led the two women to a table on the first floor and sat down.

Then he began to inquire.

But before the waiter could respond, an exceedingly joyful voice came from the second floor at the stairway entrance.

"Benefactor?!"