Mo Dao Zu Shi: Astray

The Pursuit of Knowledge, Part Eight

Chapter Warnings: Bullying and xenophobia, tense inter-Asian country relations

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Gusu City was bustling as usual.

Pan Wukun walked through the streets, craving some food outside of the GusuLan sect's kitchens.

She had to admit that Wei Wuxian was right about the GusuLan sect's food being too bland. It wasn't too bad at first. But she craved outside food after some time. Excluding the mushrooms, she didn't like much else.

Pan Wukun spotted a conspicuous restaurant that she hadn't tried eating at yet.

Seated at a table by a waitress, Pan Wukun was shocked to see Vietnamese dishes listed on the menu.

The waitress rubbed her hands nervously as she saw Pan Wukun silently stare at the menu with intense concentration. "Is something wrong, sir?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just can't help but notice that these are dishes from Nanyue."[1]

The waitress's eyes lit up. "Oh yes! It's one of our specialties to serve dishes from Nanyue! The owner traveled there once and she absolutely loved the food! So she learned some of Nanyue's recipes! Have you traveled to Nanyue before, sir?"

"I am actually one of the Hundred Yue."

The waitress's mouth dropped open in wonder. "Wow! You're actually all the way from Nanyue? What are you doing this far up north?"

Just before Pan Wukun could respond, she was interrupted by a booming voice outside.

"Ha! See? I knew there was something off about him!"

A trio of guest disciples barged into the restaurant and stood in front of Pan Wukun's table.

Pan Wukun waved at the waitress to back away. She had no doubt that this could potentially turn ugly.

The other restaurant patrons noticed the tension in the air and left quickly, leaving their payment on their tables.

The guest disciples wore sect emblems that Pan Wukun didn't recognize. They must've been from minor sects.

"Never thought we'd see any cultivators from Nanyue around here!" The guest disciples laughed, towering over the still-seated Pan Wukun. "Look at how short he is! Barbarians from Nanyue really do run in smaller sizes!"

Pan Wukun sighed. "Can we handle this business later? I'm hungry and want to eat."

One of the guest disciples pounded his fist into Pan Wukun's table. "No! We speak right here and right now!"

The unruly guest disciples didn't even bother giving their names so Pan Wukun was just going to call them Bully#1, 2, and 3.

Bully#1 pointed an accusing finger at Pan Wukun. "You're not one of our countrymen. You're just an outsider! You must've cheated your way into the Cloud Recesses!"

Bully#2 pointed at Yuyun. "And why use a jian? Don't cultivators from Nanyue have their own type of sword?"[2]

Bully#3 said, "You're just some commoner drudged up from some backwater village!"

Pan Wukun was unfazed. "Yeah. So? It was commoners who gave me a good upbringing."

Bully#3 sniffed. "Not only are you a wild peasant, but you are also a barbarian from Nanyue."

Bully#2 growled. "How come you are the center of everyone's attention?! No one ever stops talking about the mysterious rogue cultivator who showed up at the Cloud Recesses one day and became a guest disciple!"