"Sizzle—"

The intense, pungent aroma of the Flaming Mandolin peppers filled the small kitchen with a fiery red glow.

Mo Xuan couldn't eat spicy food, but even with his eyes bloodshot from the spiciness, he refused to leave, constantly inhaling deeply, as if he wanted to greedily absorb all the spiritual energy permeating the air into his lungs.

"Mine! Suck—mine, all mine—suck—"

"Clap clap clap! Clap clap!"

The wisteria vines clinging to the kitchen window were flailing wildly, many of their leaves having fallen off due to the spiciness. They were falling down with a "rustling" sound, as if frightened by the smell. One branch suddenly slid out and disappeared into the ground, refusing to come out again.

The fire spirit was extremely excited, seemingly wishing for as much spiciness as possible, and the flames above its head grew even more intense.

—Only Ah Chou, who was huddled in the basin and hibernating, seemed unresponsive.

Xu Milu was already used to such spiciness and calmly stir-fried the snails in the pot.

River snails with their tails cut off absorb flavor very well. After stir-frying them in a pot for ten minutes, add half a cup of Shaoxing wine, sprinkle in a few perilla leaves and chili threads, cover and simmer. Soon you can smell the faint aroma of wine wafting out.

Through this period of experimentation, Xu Milu summarized a pattern.

The dishes that are said to have spiritual energy are made from seeds from the Gourmet World that were transplanted to Earth and grown from those seeds. If you cook directly with ingredients from the Gourmet World, the dishes may taste a little better, but they won't have the "spiritual energy" that people talk about. On the other hand, if you cook with ingredients from Earth, the dishes will be just ordinary dishes.

The flamed mandolin peppers used for these stir-fries were all reserved for her by Zhang Cang. Zhang Cang was indeed a very capable assistant. Despite the many strange things about "Ren Honghe", he pretended not to see them as long as Ren Honghe didn't speak.

So Ren Honghe's situation is very delicate now. The authorities know she has problems and big secrets, but they won't touch her. Zhang Cang also knows his boss has secrets, but he chooses to turn a blind eye.

Xu Milu was in a daze when the fire spirit in the stove flickered, and the firelight brought her back to her senses.

She quickly lifted the lid and saw that the snails inside were cooked through, each one coated with an enticing red sauce. The unique aroma of perilla wafted up, giving her another burst of excitement.

"This is super spicy stir-fried snails with perilla. You only eat the snail meat. Just suck from the tail and pull from the front, and the snail meat will come out. If that's inconvenient, we've also prepared silver needles for you two. Just use the silver needles to pick it out."

Xu Milu washed her hands, then took a river snail and demonstrated for the Black and White Impermanence. The snail shell was hard, but the tail had been cut off. The shell was filled with a delicious, spicy sauce. She put the snail in her mouth, closed her mouth, and gently sucked on it—

The scalding hot broth dripped down, spicy and fragrant, with hints of Shaoxing wine and perilla. With a flick of the tongue against the shell, the snail meat landed on the tongue, chewing it with a crisp and delicious taste, without any muddy flavor.

After smelling the fragrance for a while, the Black and White Impermanence could no longer restrain themselves. One of them put his long tongue on his shoulder, picked up a snail with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, while the other waved his thick, radish-like fingers, pinched the snail and sucked it out.

While holding a snail in his mouth, Bai Wuchang's forehead was covered with a fine layer of sweat, just like a human's.

First, imitate Xu Milu by slurping up a mouthful of broth, then use your long tongue to pick out the small snail meat, chew it several times, and the explosively spicy heat surges into your throat, like a flame bursting out, followed by a mouthful of the icy-cold "fairy drink"—

"Sizzle—"

Although Black Impermanence was not good with words, his fingers were nimble. He first took a delicious sip of the soup, and once the fresh taste entered his mouth, he used a silver needle to carefully pick out the snail meat and feed it into his mouth.

Although the snail meat was small, he gradually discovered its charm. His fingers never stopped; he sucked the broth, ate the snail meat, and then took a sip of the icy "immortal's drink." His dark face, unusually, didn't look ferocious as before.

"well!"

"Delicious! Spicy and stimulating, even more intense than the spiciness of dogwood! What is this thing called? After eating it, it made my whole body warm up. If I had this treasure on my journey to the underworld, I wouldn't be afraid of the eerie winds at all!"

The White Impermanence was so affected by the spiciness that his tone of voice became somewhat normal. As if he had found some enjoyment in it, he curled his long tongue and the snail fell into his mouth. With another flick, the cleanly eaten snail shell fell to the ground.

Xu Milu inexplicably felt that hanged ghosts and stir-fried snails were a good match.

"It contains chili peppers, so it's quite spicy. I've heard that the road to the underworld is cold and damp, so eating this will help you on your journey."

She explained with a smile:

"In summer, you have to eat stir-fried snails, the spicier the better, the more flavorful it is, and it's best to pair it with a pot of ice wine, ah—this taste, even a god wouldn't trade it for it."

"What's so good about those banquets? They're just a bunch of fresh fruits and vegetables. How can they compare to the delicious taste of these river snails?"

White Impermanence, sweating profusely from eating, almost forgot the mourning staff he had placed to the side. He glanced up and saw the mountain spirits and wandering souls lurking around, eager to try their luck, and burst into laughter:

"We brothers aren't man-eating demons, what are we afraid of? The young lady's cooking is superb, it's delicious!"

Hearing Bai Wuchang say this, the guests who had been scared away could no longer resist their cravings and rushed in to buy some food. For a moment, it was noisy and bustling, as if it were broad daylight.

"Young lady, I have some Polygonum multiflorum and Polygonatum sibiricum that I dug up from the mountains. Could you exchange them for a meal?"

"Madam Xu, I don't have any novel seeds, but I have a set of sword techniques passed down from my ancestors. I'll trade them with you!"

"My lady, please give me some food! The aroma is so enticing, it's making my soul almost leave my body!"

"Young lady..."

...

...

At the Shan Hai Restaurant, people were enjoying a late-night snack in the night breeze, having a wonderful time. But across the street, the Huasheng Temple remained solemn and dignified, exuding Buddhist solemnity.

The Cleansing Altar Messenger, who had concealed his form and was sitting cross-legged on the altar, sniffed and faintly caught a mouthwatering aroma. He couldn't help but open his eyes:

"What a wonderful aroma! It's so intense!"

He quickly calculated with his fingers, a hint of surprise on his face:

"It's actually that mortal girl from that day. How did she end up opening a restaurant in Chang'an?"

He couldn't help but touch his belly, then his eyes lit up and he said:

"Every day it's just this bland vegetarian soup and rice. My old pig's stomach is getting a bit smaller. Why don't we go see what special skills that mortal woman has and make a bowl of delicious vegetarian food for us to eat!"

The messenger acted immediately. He glanced at Master Xuanzang, who was still sitting cross-legged on the lotus platform, giving a sermon with his eyes closed. He then simply flipped off the offering platform and tiptoed out of the temple.

Suddenly, a hairy hand landed diagonally on his shoulder from behind, and the owner of the hairy hand was looking at him with a half-smile:

"You idiot! I told you to keep a close eye on your master! What are you doing here?!"

This familiar title sent a chill down the spine of the Cleansing Altar Messenger:

"Hehe, hehe, senior brother, I've been sitting on this altar for a long time and I was just thinking of going out to relax and loosen up my bones! I wasn't thinking of slacking off, and I don't know anything about any mortal woman's restaurant!"