Chapter 25: Day Twenty-Five of Slacking Off
“Tongtong, don’t eat it.” Fu Shuangxue stopped Xu Tongtong’s hand as she reached for another bite, “Come, let’s go help you remove the spell.”
Although Xu Tongtong didn’t understand, she also didn’t understand why the senior brothers and sisters who had been eating with relish just now had all stopped eating, their faces ashen, as if they were suppressing the urge to vomit. But she believed that whatever Senior Brother Fu told her to do was the right thing!
“Okay.” Xu Tongtong nodded, “I won’t eat. Let’s go.”
With that, Xu Tongtong stood up and unhesitatingly followed Fu Shuangxue towards the kitchen.
…
Wen Ying, Fu Shuangxue, and Xu Tongtong were on the same path, arriving at the kitchen’s back door one after another.
The kitchen door wasn’t closed. Through the slightly ajar crack, one could see a man dressed like a chef, with his legs propped up on the stove, half-lying in a rocking chair, humming a cheerful tune, a straw in his mouth, and a storybook in his hand, swaying leisurely as he read.
He was clearly enjoying himself.
But his figure was unlike the stereotypically fat and pot-bellied chef; instead, he was as thin as a bamboo pole.
Fu Shuangxue went to the door, but instead of rudely pushing it open, he knocked.
Apparently disturbed in his reading, the chef clearly showed displeasure, saying in a rather unfriendly tone: “Come in.”
“Chef Wang.” After entering, Fu Shuangxue bowed respectfully to Chef Wang.
In the continent, Culinary Cultivators were few and far between, and those who broke through to the丙 (bǐng) rank were virtually nonexistent. Chef Wang had reached the 丁 (dīng) rank as a Culinary Cultivator, and it had taken the master a long time to find him. Even the master treated Chef Wang politely; before the master made a decision, he couldn’t be impolite or offensive.
Such unpalatable food, and he’s at the Ding rank?
Wen Ying found it unbelievable.
Surely he hadn’t been relying on the mind-dulling technique all this time, had he?
“Chef Wang.” Although Xu Tongtong had never seen the chef before, she obediently followed Fu Shuangxue’s example and bowed.
Perhaps seeing their respectful attitude, Chef Wang finally put down his book and glanced at them: “What do you two want?”
Fu Shuangxue was about to speak, but Chef Wang saw Wen Ying outside the door.
“That one at the back, is she with you two? So rude, she can’t even say hello.” He interrupted Fu Shuangxue directly, full of impatience, his tone filled with displeasure and arrogance.
Behind?
Fu Shuangxue and Xu Tongtong turned their heads together, and only then did they see Wen Ying standing behind them.
“Senior Sister Wen? Why…” Fu Shuangxue frowned slightly.
Could it be that Senior Sister Wen had been behind him all along?
But why didn’t he notice…? Fu Shuangxue remembered that Senior Sister Wen’s cultivation should be much lower than his…
Was it because he was worried about Tongtong, and his concern clouded his judgment?
“I was curious and wanted to see what a Xun Xian Sect Culinary Cultivator looked like.” Wen Ying also walked inside, answering frankly, “I happened to be walking behind you, so I came to the kitchen too.”
Wen Ying didn’t think there was anything she couldn’t say.
There were two sides to every road; Wen Ying merely happened to be walking behind them, she wasn’t sneaking around.
Fu Shuangxue remained silent, his brows furrowing even more.
Clearly, Senior Sister Wen wasn’t surprised by his purpose. She already knew that to lift the spell, they needed to find the kitchen.
In other words…
Senior Sister Wen’s glance earlier was no coincidence.
She had noticed the source of the spell before him, and even reminded him.
Thinking back, that question was certainly no coincidence either. She was helping him realize how to lift the spell!
Fu Shuangxue had always had a very bad impression of Wen Ying. She didn’t put effort into her daily cultivation, and despite being a high disciple of Master Lin Yu, her cultivation was extremely poor. She was arrogant and rude to the disciples. It was fine that she was always bothering him, but she also repeatedly deliberately made things difficult for Tongtong.
But now…
Two misunderstandings, two reminders…
On the one hand, he felt guilty, and on the other, he was also astonished.
No, that question was a coincidence.
She merely simply and casually raised a common question…
Wen Ying really wanted to object to Fu Shuangxue’s judgment, but she couldn’t say that it was because she heard Fu Shuangxue’s thoughts.
Wen Ying hesitated, but couldn’t say anything.
Fortunately, the chef spoke again at this time, breaking the awkward silence.
“Are you two finished chatting!” The chef, clearly more displeased by the cold shoulder, said, “You, aren’t you here to see me?”
Indeed.
Fu Shuangxue turned back to Chef Wang.
He would talk to Senior Sister Wen later; right now, lifting the spell on Tongtong was more important.
“Chef Wang, the fact that you used a mind-dulling technique on the food has been discovered by the disciples.” Fu Shuangxue’s tone was calm, neither accusatory nor pleading, “Please lift the mind-dulling technique on Tongtong.”
After all, Fu Shuangxue was just a junior disciple. Even if Chef Wang’s methods were despicable and his attitude arrogant, it was up to the master and elders to deal with him. He was only here to lift the spell from Tongtong.
Normally, the mind-dulling technique would only take effect for a short time, but some people with special physiques couldn’t naturally lift it. Judging from Tongtong’s current situation, she was the latter. If she was trapped in the mind-dulling technique for a long time, she would become a mere puppet, manipulated at will.
Wen Ying listened to Fu Shuangxue’s meticulous inner analysis: “…”
No, Xu Tongtong is just simply too stupid.
“What?!” The wiry Chef Wang’s eyes widened instantly, hastily putting his legs down, standing up abruptly, grabbing Fu Shuangxue’s shoulders, “You actually found out? How did you find out!”
“Chef Wang, even the wisest person makes mistakes.” Fu Shuangxue shook his head, “Please lift the mind-dulling technique on Tongtong. I won’t help you cover this up, but I can help you make the senior and junior disciples say less about how the food tastes bad.”
Fu Shuangxue was naturally prepared.
With his popularity, he had this kind of influence.
It’s just Wen Ying…why does she want to laugh so much.
“Bad…they actually dared to say my food was bad…how is that possible, I’m a Ding-rank Culinary Cultivator, how could anyone see through it…” Chef Wang looked at the ground in a daze, muttering to himself.
After a long time, Chef Wang looked up and asked Fu Shuangxue, “Or, could you get them to say it’s delicious?”
Chef Wang’s tone had long lost its earlier arrogance.
Fu Shuangxue shook his head: “Not saying it’s bad is already the limit.”
“No, they have to say it’s delicious!” Chef Wang shook his head, “Otherwise, I won’t lift it for you!”
Listening to their serious bargaining back and forth, Wen Ying finally couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing at!” Chef Wang glared at Wen Ying ferociously.
He thought Wen Ying was just an insignificant disciple, who was curious to see his true appearance…she must be unsophisticated, so he vented his frustrations on her laughter.
“Well, whether or not they can say it’s delicious, you can try it yourself.” Wen Ying walked to Chef Wang’s side, finally able to put down the tray she had been carrying, “I only ate one bite of food, if you’re really curious, you can try some other clean dishes.”
As a good citizen, Wen Ying couldn’t litter, so she had been carrying this broken tray all the way…
Now, she could finally dispose of it.
“I don’t believe it, what’s so hard about saying it’s delicious…” Chef Wang picked up a pair of chopsticks unwillingly, picked up an egg from the tray, and put it in his mouth—
“My god, what is this thing, is it shit? Can this kind of thing really be put in the mouth!” Chef Wang exclaimed, then quickly covered his mouth.
He only showed his eyes, but he didn’t dare to say another word.
Among Culinary Cultivators, there was a rule. If one Culinary Cultivator fed another Culinary Cultivator, it meant a “Culinary Battle” (斗厨 – dòu chú).
The moment it entered the mouth, the winner would be decided.
If the other person said “delicious” after eating the food, it meant the other person’s victory.
But if it was their own food, and they said “disgusting,” it meant their defeat!
And now, not only did he say that his food was disgusting, but he also said it so badly!
In other words, he lost, and he lost terribly, completely!
The person who gave him the food…the girl in front of him…
Who exactly was she!
Wen Ying: “…”
Wen Ying had heard of the most absurd fighting method before, namely a “dance battle” (斗舞 – dòu wǔ). But now, something even more absurd had appeared—
A “culinary battle.”
Seriously, regardless of this world’s setting about Culinary Cultivators, Wen Ying felt that what Chef Wang had just said was simply the unadulterated truth.
Author’s Note:
The “dance battle” is the “Stop fighting!” meme.
—This won’t kill anyone!
Finally, thank you to the little angels who gave me landmines and nutrient solution! Love you!!
.
Thank you for throwing landmines and irrigating nutrient solutions during 2022-04-23 21:46:25~2022-04-24 20:27:08!
Thank you to the little angel who threw a landmine: A Squirrel 1;
Thank you to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: Yun Qi 1;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
i feel like it’s reaching gintama levels of comedy (compliment)
LOL. It definitely made me laugh.