Old Chef
The imperial concubine dragged the third princess away in a hurry, leaving even the once orderly ceremonial procession looking somewhat disheveled...
I turned my head to look at Ah Shi: "Go, tell the imperial kitchen to make more osmanthus sugar, and pick all the osmanthus flowers in the entire palace. Let's see who dares to say a word against it!"
“Okay,” Ah Shi replied in a very cheerful tone, “I’ll go right now.”
After Ah Shi left, I walked over to the little devil who was still squatting on the ground eating osmanthus candy, patted its head, and it was now fully awake. It just grinned at me, and I put my hand under its mouth: "Spit it out!"
It pouted and spat out the osmanthus candy it had just put in its mouth. I quickly dodged away: "I wasn't talking about the candy, I was talking about the blood you had on your face when you bit them!"
"Huh?" it exclaimed. "The blood just went into my body all at once, how can I vomit it up?"
"Find where they are, gather them all together, and then exhale them while they are enveloped in ghostly energy."
"Is it really that complicated? Do I have to throw up?"
"You have to vomit, hurry up."
"Oh," it nodded, began to feel the blood in its body, and didn't react for a long time. Then it opened one eye and glanced at me. I pretended to raise my hand to hit it: "Hurry up, don't think about slacking off, or you won't be able to eat a single piece of the osmanthus candy from the imperial kitchen!"
"Oh..." it responded listlessly. I looked at Muli standing beside me, looking somewhat lost, and said, "You should go out first. Don't let anyone else in. It'll probably take it a while!"
“Okay,” he nodded after a pause, then asked me, “And what about you?”
"I have to stay with it and let it bleed out first."
"Okay!" came a drawn-out reply, followed by the sound of footsteps turning and leaving...
When it was completely dark, Ah Shi returned with a new wooden box. The little devil still hadn't found the blood... I peeled a piece of candy and put it in my mouth, just as I was thinking that the candy was going to fall out. But then the osmanthus candy melted in my mouth and turned into a light, ethereal energy that replenished my body...
"Huh..." I sighed, then peeled another candy and put it in my mouth. Sure enough, it melted into my body as well...
"This is amazing!" I asked Ah Shi. "Who made this candy?"
"It was made by the old chef from the Imperial Kitchen! You wouldn't believe it, Auntie, the whole garden smells amazing!"
I need to see this person. I patted Ah Shi on the shoulder and said, "You stay with it until it spits out that mouthful of blood before you give it candy. If it misbehaves, come find me. I have to go to the imperial kitchen..."
After saying that, I strode out, leaving Ah Shi standing there bewildered in the wind: "Ah... Auntie..."
Muli was surprised to see me come out: "Is the one inside ready?"
"No, Ah Shi is guarding it. I have to go to the Imperial Kitchen!"
"Then I'll go with you!"
"Huh? Aren't you going to keep watch? What if someone breaks in again?"
"No," Mu Li smiled, "Ever since the Imperial Concubine and the Third Princess left, no one in the entire palace has come near here anymore. There's no need for anyone to stop us!"
"Alright, let's go!"
We arrived at the imperial kitchen shortly after. Even before we got close, we could smell a wonderfully sweet aroma. My eyes lit up, and I stepped over the threshold. I sensed a fluctuation in energy... much like a protective barrier...
Could it be that there's a master chef in charge of the imperial kitchen?
As I approached the courtyard, I saw an elderly man with white hair squatting there, smoking a pipe... When he saw me, he knocked the remaining tobacco out of his pipe and asked me with a smile, "You've come?"
"You know me?" I tilted my head in confusion.
The old man shook his head and said only, "You must be the same kind of person as the one who wants candy!"
I paused, reaching out to stop Muli: "You wait here, I need to talk to him alone."
“Okay,” Muli obediently stood still. I stepped forward and looked at the old man: “Shall we have a chat?”
"Okay, please..." he said, and led the way.
I followed the old man to the courtyard where the imperial kitchen staff lived. As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I felt another wave of energy, stronger than the energy in the imperial kitchen, but I still crossed it without any hindrance.
The old man smiled and said, "The fact that you were able to come in means you have great fortune and are not an ordinary person."
I don't know about fate or anything like that, but I'm definitely not human, or rather, I'm not like a human.
"Whether it is similar or not doesn't matter. All living beings in the three realms need to eat and drink. There's no difference."
That makes so much sense! "You're so wise."
After saying that, he led me into the house. The first thing I saw when I entered was a statue of the Kitchen God. The old man took three incense sticks, lit them, and stuck them in the statue, asking me, "Would you like to try offering incense?"
"Great!" I've never tried using this body to worship ghosts and gods before. After saying that, I lit three incense sticks and inserted them into the burner. It went in very smoothly, and the incense burned brightly in the burner, which looked very nice.
"Yes," the old man nodded, "you are indeed a good person."
After saying that, he led me to a table next to him and made me a cup of tea. The tea leaves smelled very fragrant. With the osmanthus sugar in front of me, I drank it down in one gulp. Sure enough, the tea became a light and refreshing drink that blended into my body.
I exclaimed in admiration, "Your craftsmanship is truly exquisite!"
The old man shook his head: "It was passed down from my ancestors. My family has always been cooks, and we've been worshipping the Kitchen God since our ancestors' time. Over time, we've gradually learned some other cooking methods. Humans eat grains, and ghosts absorb their breath. It's just that the cooking methods are different, but in reality, it's all food, so there's no difference."
That's so well said! "You're practicing Taoism through food!"
"The Great Dao has three thousand paths, but they are all the same."
I'd heard this phrase once from the supervisor, and hearing it again from the old man made a very different impression...
My eyes lit up: "Then could you cook something for me? I haven't tasted food in so long!"
The old man sighed: "I'm old now and don't have the energy to do it for you every day."
"Can't do it every day?" "Then how often can you do it? I can only rely on you for food now!" I clasped my hands together and looked at him pitifully.
He chuckled twice: "Seven days, I'll try my best to do it for you every seven days, how about that?"
"Okay, okay!" I nodded quickly. "As long as it's edible, or if you need anything to boost your energy, I'll try my best to find it for you, okay?"
"A person's life and death are predetermined. I will not force you to do so, and you should be the same!"
"Okay..." I nodded dejectedly, "Do you have any successors?"
"Sigh... My good-for-nothing son doesn't want to be a cook... I've taught a few apprentices, but they all think it's useless and gradually gave up..."
"Huh?" I was puzzled. "Then this skill will be lost?"
"Alas, the truth is unpredictable!"
I sighed, then thought of another solution and suggested, "Why don't you record this skill and seal it in the library and the Imperial Observatory? If someone is willing to follow this path in the future, wouldn't that mean there's someone to carry on the tradition?"
“I’m afraid that even if I write it, no one will study it; besides, the Imperial Library and the Imperial Observatory are not easy to get into.”
“Are you worried about improper storage? Don’t worry,” I patted my chest, “I can guarantee that. The library and the Imperial Observatory will definitely be able to access it. I will also have them make several copies and store it properly. I will make sure this book is never lost, okay?”
The old man's eyes lit up: "You can?"
"I can do it! I absolutely can!"
Unexpectedly, the old man stood up abruptly, and I quickly followed suit. He bowed to me, and I quickly stepped aside, saying, "Please don't be so polite, I can't accept this..."
“You can do it, you deserve it. I was just afraid that this family craft would be lost to me, and you have really taken care of my worries... Now I can finally face my ancestors with a clear conscience!”
"Alright, alright, if you think it's okay, then it's okay." After saying that, I stopped dodging and actually accepted the bow.
I drank tea with the old man for a long time and learned that his surname was Deng, and that his son had joined the army to bring honor to the family. He also asked me to take care of his son if I could in the future, and of course I agreed.
As I stepped out the door, I handed Mu Li the detailed information about Chef Deng's son that I had written down: "Find out where this person is. Don't give him any special treatment, just keep his affairs quiet and try to prevent him from being treated unfairly."
“Okay,” Muli accepted the note.
Thank you.
"No need, you're too kind, Princess Changling."
Uh... luckily I don't have any shame right now, so I can't show it. I just chuckled awkwardly and was about to let it go when I saw Ah Eleven running in, sweating profusely.
"Auntie, go and see! The little devil has found the blood, but he just can't catch it. He's covered in black energy and is on the verge of going berserk!"
"Huh?" I quickly ran towards the well...
From afar, I could see wisps of black, ghostly energy rising above the well. I hurried over and saw the little ghost clenching its fists, howling in great pain...
I quickly ran over and shook the little guy's head: "What's wrong? What's wrong?"
It opened its eyes and saw me, and several tears welled up in its eyes: "Waaah, they're running around inside my body, I can't catch them, what should I do? Waaah..."
"Don't rush, don't rush, chase slowly, catch slowly, no need to hurry."
"But I can't catch it, I can't catch it... Waaaaah..."
"You'll definitely catch it, you can definitely do it, it just takes some time. Don't be discouraged, you absolutely can do it!"
The little devil looked at me with hazy eyes and asked timidly, "Is it really okay?"
"Of course, absolutely! You can definitely do it!" I encouraged him, "Why don't you try again?"
"Okay, I'll try again." After saying that, the little ghost closed its eyes again, and its aura slowly returned to calm. The surroundings became quiet again. I breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Ah Shi behind me, and walked over to him and said, "Go, go to the Imperial Observatory and find a few people who know how to form formations. Use a formation to surround the well to prevent it from accidentally releasing its ghostly energy."
Ah Shi nodded, glanced at the little devil sitting quietly behind me, and then ran to the Imperial Observatory.
I pointed to the area around the well and said to Muli, "Seal off this whole area. No one is allowed to pass through, not even the emperor."
"good."
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