Even the System was impressed with Zhao Xing. It said tactfully, “Host, the Dragon-Patterned Cloud Shirt is made from a dragon scale. Isn’t it a bit much to use it to wipe a wall…?”

“It’s a bit too useful, you mean!” Zhao Xing retorted. “A rag has to be washed, but this thing doesn’t even need washing!”

System: “…” That’s the extent of your ambition!

Ling Yuan listened silently from the side for a long moment. So, this was the new owner of the Myriad Realms Guesthouse… He looked again at the robe, which was crumpled messily in the other’s hand, and his brow furrowed slightly once more.

Silver dragons were fastidious about cleanliness. It was one thing for his scale to be made into clothing, but to be used as a rag was just too…

He pondered for a moment, and his figure slowly vanished.

Zhao Xing inexplicably sensed something and glanced in that direction, but found nothing.

The System, however, let out a little “Huh?” “Host, another otherworldly guest has arrived.”

Zhao Xing was excited. “It’s a day of double happiness! When will the guest arrive?”

“It seems… they’ve already arrived?” the System replied.

It was a bit strange, too. The moment it detected the guest’s presence, it sent out an invitation.

Normally, there should be a short wait, but the other party appeared at the guesthouse entrance the very next second… It couldn’t figure it out, so it decided to schedule a diagnostic with the main system.

Zhao Xing eagerly ran to the door, where a tall, elegant man was waiting.

Hearing his footsteps, the man turned around.

Zhao Xing’s steps faltered. This man’s aura was a little intimidating.

The new guest was dressed in a silver robe, his black hair neatly tied up with a crown. His features were striking, his bearing as profound as an abyss and as steady as a mountain.

Zhao Xing wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a flash of gold in the man’s amber eyes, and his hair seemed to have a faint silvery sheen. But when he looked closely, the light was gone.

Zhao Xing snapped back to reality and greeted him with a smile. “You must be tired from your long journey, guest. Why don’t you come in and rest for a bit?” While speaking, he was secretly trying to pull up the guest panel.

But after several tries, nothing appeared.

Zhao Xing was confused. “What’s going on? System, are you broken?”

“It seems there really is a problem,” the System said frantically. “I’ve already requested a diagnostic from the main system. Please be patient, Host!”

Just as the man and the system were having their internal dialogue, the new guest’s movements paused for a second, and the guest panel suddenly popped up.

“Okay, okay, it must have just been lagging,” Zhao Xing said.

【Name: Ling Yuan

Reception Points: 100 Points/Visit

Favorability: 0

Experience: A scholar traveling the world.

Likes: Unknown】

Zhao Xing stroked his chin. “Is the introduction really this simple? And this guest doesn’t look like a scholar.”

He led Ling Yuan into the main hall.

The other guests, who had been chatting, instantly fell silent and all turned to look.

Zhao Xing led the man to a seat and served him tea, thinking to himself, Crap, I forgot to separate them. I hope nothing bad happens.

“Rest assured, Host,” the System said. “Guests from this world and guests from other worlds can communicate normally. Any conversations involving inter-world secrets will be blocked by the System.”

Zhao Xing relaxed.

He glanced at Ling Yuan again. Of all the people in the hall, this man was the quietest, but also the most conspicuous. It was as if his mere presence transformed the dilapidated hall into a magnificent palace.

Zhao Xing stroked his chin again. “He must come from a very good background. Choosing to travel the world probably means he’s indifferent to fame and fortune. How am I supposed to farm favorability from him? Tsk, if only all guests were like Xue Yu, whose favorability just shot up without me having to do anything.”

He didn’t notice that as he was whispering to the System, Ling Yuan’s movements seemed to pause ever so slightly.

Immediately after, 【Guest Ling Yuan’s Favorability +30】

【Congratulations, Host, on receiving a reward!】

“Huh?” Zhao Xing was stunned. What was going on? Speak of the devil and he shall appear?

The System started scrambling again. “W-wait, the system didn’t detect the favorability increase just now. The reward is still on its way… Please wait a moment, Host!”

Zhao Xing clicked his tongue. “System, you’re having a lot of problems today. You’re not slacking off, are you?”

System: “QAQ We artificial intelligences don’t slack off…”

After a moment, a system notification popped up: 【Reward has been delivered. Please check.】

Zhao Xing tapped it open. 【Congratulations on receiving the reward: Guesthouse Sign: Winding Wisteria】

He shot to his feet. “System! We have a sign! We finally have a sign!”

The System was also excited. “Congratulations, Host!”

While no one was looking, Zhao Xing slipped out the back door. “I can’t wait to see what the new sign looks like. System, can you check if anyone is around?”

The System also whispered, “There’s no one within a hundred-meter radius. Quick, install it, Host.”

Zhao Xing immediately clicked “Apply.”

A few vines had been growing on the roof of the building, which Zhao Xing had later cleared away. But now, new, tender green vines sprouted, intertwining and growing at a rapid pace…

Finally, the vines formed three large characters: “Immortal’s Rest Inn.”

Zhao Xing watched the whole process with a huge smile. “This sign is great! It has a unique rustic charm and fits the surroundings perfectly. But it won’t wither in the autumn, will it?”

He opened the item description.

【Guesthouse Sign: Winding Wisteria: This sign is made from Will-o’-the-Wisp Grass and can be formed into any name at the Host’s will. Will-o’-the-Wisp Grass is a perennial herb whose leaves change color with the seasons and will never wither.】

Zhao Xing nodded in satisfaction. “Being able to change color is great too. There are maple trees on Immortal’s Rest Mountain. In autumn, when the maple leaves turn red, the sign will turn red too. How fitting!”

He happily returned to the main hall. A few of the regular guests smiled and asked if he had good news. He didn’t hide it. “The sign I ordered arrived. I just hung it up.”

The regulars had been telling Zhao Xing to get a sign for a long time, but he had never agreed (mainly because he had no money). Hearing that the sign was up, they all went out to see it, praising it for being beautiful, interesting, and full of life.

It wasn’t that no one had made signs like this before, but those vines always looked unnaturally bent with iron wires. For some reason, Zhao Xing’s sign looked as if it had grown that way itself, which was fascinating.

In the main hall, Ling Yuan, the only one who hadn’t moved, sighed. It wasn’t a cleaning-type item.

Zhao Xing, however, had a good impression of him. He had been desperate for a sign. What kind of business opens without one?!

So, he felt particularly favorable toward Ling Yuan, who had delivered a sign right upon arrival. He thought to himself that he would have to make something special for this guest tonight; it wasn’t right to eat from the communal pot every day.

Just then, the editor-in-chief, Hou Ling, and their team came to say goodbye. They had interviewed Zhao Xing in the morning and shot some more footage in the afternoon, including the newly hung sign. They had just finished their work and were now leaving.

That wasn’t the most important part. The most important part was that this group of five had contributed a total of two hundred and fifty yuan in room fees and one hundred yuan for food.

A big sale of three hundred and fifty yuan!

Zhao Xing saw the guests off with a beaming smile, his eyes shining as he looked at the payment confirmation page. “We can have fish tonight! Uncle Zhao’s new batch of cured fish is ready. I’ll buy some eggplants, and we’ll have stewed fish tonight. I know how to make that!”

Cured fish was another local specialty. Fresh fish was cleaned, rubbed with salt and other seasonings, and then sealed to cure for about two months.

Because it was sealed, it would have a stinky smell when it was ready. However, once pan-fried, it was incredibly fragrant—the kind that smells bad but tastes amazing.

If you could add eggplant and tofu and stew it for half an hour, it would become a salted fish and eggplant clay pot, unbelievably delicious.

This was one of the few dishes Zhao Xing knew how to make. The only problem was that the main ingredient was hard to find, mainly because he didn’t know how to cure the fish himself. If you didn’t do it right, it would be truly stinky.

Zhao Xing wasted no time and went back to the village to buy the cured fish, as well as some eggplants and tofu, and started making dinner upon his return.

Ling Yuan had been watching him the whole time. Although the first item wasn’t a cleaning one, he didn’t plan on increasing his favorability again so soon. That would be too unnatural.

At this thought, he planned to take his leave for the day and try again in a few days.

But before he could stand up, he saw Zhao Xing in the kitchen, expertly lifting his robe and wiping his hands, which had just touched the salted fish, all over it.

Ling Yuan silently closed his eyes.

This time, even the System couldn’t watch anymore. “Host, don’t you think wiping salted fish on your clothes will leave a smell?”

“Huh?” Zhao Xing was confused. “I’m using the robe to wipe them because I’m worried about the smell. Cured fish has a strong odor that’s hard to wash out. Good thing this robe is self-cleaning.”

He spread out the robe he had just wiped his hands on. There wasn’t a single stain on it. It looked just as it did when he first put it on. If you got close, you could even smell a faint, unidentifiable fragrance.

【Guest Ling Yuan’s Favorability +30】

【Favorability has reached 60. Congratulations, Host, on receiving a reward!】

“Huh?” Zhao Xing looked over and found that Ling Yuan was facing the kitchen. Nothing special seemed to be happening.

Zhao Xing looked at the other man, then at himself, and suddenly had an epiphany. “System, does he like to eat cured fish? His favorability went up as soon as I took it out!”

“I don’t think so…” the System began.

“Then I have to make more so he can eat his fill tonight!” Zhao Xing declared.

The System was silent for a moment. “The Host is truly wise. Perhaps the Host should check the reward first?”

No need for it to say anything; Zhao Xing had already opened the system page.

【Congratulations, Host, on receiving the reward: Super Kitchen Knife.】

【Super Kitchen Knife: Originating from a certain culinary civilization, it comes with a built-in cutting program. Holding the knife allows you to automatically cut ingredients as desired.】

Zhao Xing was pleasantly surprised. “You guys have items like this? This is amazing!”

He had been quite embarrassed when Xue Yu pointed out his poor cutting skills with the cooked meats last time and had been thinking about practicing his knife skills when he had time.

Now, this was a one-step solution!

He eagerly brandished the knife at the cured fish, not seeing Ling Yuan behind him open his eyes.

Ling Yuan looked at the Super Kitchen Knife with a complicated expression. Is it really this hard to get a cleaning-type item…

But he had already raised his favorability twice. There was absolutely no way he could do it a third time in such a short period.

At least… at least not until tomorrow.

Ling Yuan rose to leave. He was tall and carried himself with grace, standing out like a crane among chickens in the main hall.

The gazes of the surrounding guests were involuntarily drawn to him.

Just as he was about to step out, Ling Yuan couldn’t resist looking back one last time.

He saw Zhao Xing wipe the knife he had just used to cut the cured fish on his sleeve and say cheerfully, “This knife works great!”

Ling Yuan slowly sat back down.

Zhao Xing: “Hey, hey, hey? System, his favorability went up again! He really does love cured fish!”

Zhao Xing: “Let me see the reward… Whoa, it’s a Welcoming Flower! You put it by the door and it actively welcomes guests! This is useful! Our luck is pretty good today!”

Ling Yuan silently closed his eyes, leaned back, and was enveloped by a faint aura of despair.