Chapter 46 Pudding and Dreams

In the kitchen of Wangshu Inn.

The fire roared loudly, and water flowed through the sink little by little. Yan Xiao dipped a bundle of vegetables into the water, rubbing them gently to clean the almost invisible dirt.

Suddenly, there were footsteps behind him. Yan Xiao turned around, his expression suddenly changed to surprise. He didn't even bother to wipe his hands and said:

"Oh, Mr. Ran is here. Thank you for taking the trouble to come here."

The white-haired man smiled, his eyes fixed on the stove and vegetables, then looked back at Yan Xiao: "I know that Wangshu Inn is doing very good business, and Chef Yan must be very busy, so it won't be a problem."

Yan Xiao turned around and laughed: "Mr. Ran, please don't bother me. What chef? I invited Mr. Ran here this time just to ask him some advice on slime desserts."

"This little girl is..."

Xiangling followed behind Yiran, and when she heard about cooking, she became excited: "Hello, my name is Xiangling, and I'm the chef of Wanmintang in Liyue Harbor. Can I stand by and listen while you teach Mr. Ran about the dishes?"

Yan Xiao suddenly realized: "Wanmintang, I have heard of it. The chef Xiangling has been famous for a long time. I didn't expect to see her in this situation."

He shook his head and said, "Of course I have no problem with that. Just look at what Mr. Ran means."

Chongyun and Xingqiu had just experienced a fierce battle and had already gone to their residence to rest. Only the little girl Xiangling became full of energy again when she heard about food.

Yiran was helpless: "Isn't it the dessert of Slime Almond Pudding that you want to ask about?"

Yan Xiao was stunned for a moment: "Mr. Ran is really as good as a god. The thing is, we have a special guest in Wangshu Inn. He has always liked almond tofu. Suddenly one day he said he wanted to try slime almond pudding... But I made it several times and felt that it was not to the guest's taste, so I thought of asking Mr. Ran for some advice."

When Wangshu Inn and Slime Ranch cooperated before, Yiran also provided a lot of related recipes and cooking suggestions. It was natural that Yanxiao could find him this time.

Yiran knew everything, including what kind of slime almond pudding that special guest wanted, but... it might be a little difficult to teach him.

He thought for a moment and said, "How about this? I'll make one myself and you can watch from the side. Then you can taste the difference yourself."

He added helplessly: "Just because the chef has a lot of cooking experience doesn't mean that I can cook better."

Yan Xiao waved his hand and said, "That's not necessarily true. Every chef is best at the dishes he often makes. He can't be the best at everything. So I'll leave it to you, Mr. Ran."

After the dessert was ready, Yan Xiao looked at the finished product carefully and repeated all the tedious and detailed steps as much as possible. He couldn't help but sigh that whether it was the amount of sugar, whipped cream, almond powder, slime gel or the temperature of the water, the filtering container and method were very different from what he was used to.

Some of the utensils that Mr. Ran brought with him were indeed exquisite and convenient, and they were much more useful than filtering through a coarse mesh. The pudding made in this way would definitely have a more delicate and smooth texture.

It also needs to be baked at a fixed temperature to ensure that the pudding solidifies, and finally refrigerated in a small freezer wrapped in ice slime gel to improve the taste.

After all, I am still a gangster. I am good at cutting meat, but I can't pay attention to so many details when making desserts like this.

Finally, Yan Xiao decided not to destroy the artwork that the gentleman had spent so much time on, and planned to take it directly to the immortal to let him taste it and see if it suited his taste.

Xiangling was also very satisfied and planned to borrow Mr. Ran’s kitchen utensils to try them herself.

I have to say, the way Mr. Ran filled the measuring cup with warm milk and stirred the ingredients with his hands was so comfortable and beautiful that it didn't feel like he was in the kitchen, but rather like he was in a clean and bright dessert shop.

His eyes were incredibly focused and gentle, and the crackling sound of the burning fire nearby did not affect his movements at all.

Perhaps this attitude is also a necessary step to making a good dessert, Xiangling thought.

…

The top floor of Wangshu Inn.

The immortal crossed his arms, his face a little cold, but looking at the particularly persistent gaze of the chef in front of him, he still silently took the plate of dessert.

"Thank you. The one I made this morning was already very good. There's no need to send it."

After all, the humans in front of us don’t have God’s Eyes, and too much contact with ourselves is always harmful to the body.

Knowing that immortals don't like to interact with mortals, Yan Xiao still smiled innocently and said a few more words:

"But this pudding was made by Mr. Ran from Liyue Harbor, the provider of the recipe. He paid a lot of attention to the details. Please try it."

Xiao pursed his lips and took a breath.

This time the pudding looked more delicate than the one in the morning, and the presentation on the plate was more exquisite. There were also a few tiny white flowers and a leaf in the center of the pudding, which made me feel better just by looking at it.

He hesitated for a moment, then cut a spoonful from the side and tasted it.

The taste is indeed more special, not as light as Yanxiao's, with an extra subtle sweetness, but also cool and not greasy.

When he was about to put down the spoon, a slight warmth instinctively melted into his body, and then... he seemed to have had another beautiful dream that he hadn't experienced in a thousand years. It was like he was soaking in a hot spring with the delicate fragrance of apricot flowers, or like drinking a cup of hot milk in the cool morning...

He slowly came back to his senses, his gilded pupils staring blankly at the pudding decorated with flower petals.

Mei Meng...is that immortal?

Xiao didn't say anything, but quickly dug out another piece with the spoon.

If he ever liked almond tofu, it was because of its smooth and crumbly texture that was like a dream.

But the slime almond pudding that also amazed him was different. Although it had a smooth texture, it was also a bit tougher.

Just like the beautiful dream it brought, peaceful and gentle, like a breeze that brushes away the snow and heralds the blooming of flowers, it also remained in his mind longer and more deeply.

He looked up: "Is Mr. Ran still here?"

If there really was an immortal visiting Wangshu Inn, there was no way he wouldn't have noticed it.

Yan Xiao didn't react and answered subconsciously:

"Yes, he just finished making dessert. He should still be downstairs now."

The next moment, there was a flash of light, and Xiao disappeared.

Only Yan Xiao was left standing there with eyes wide open, blankly.

Xiangling happily left the kitchen with the measuring cup and mixer borrowed from Yiran, intending to say hello to her partners and go back early to try out her own sudden dessert inspiration.

After she went downstairs, Xiao quietly appeared near the stairs.

When he looked towards the kitchen, he saw Yiran leaning on the edge of the table, gently shaking a cup of milk, waiting for Yanxiao to come back to discuss the details of the operation.

This was the man in white whom I had just seen in Ogihua Island some time ago, who could kill countless enemies with a wave of his fan.

Two strands of her soft, long white hair restlessly entangled along her raised arm, then slid down obediently. The white milk in the glass reflected the color of her hair. The light blue bracelet rested on her slender wrist, making her look clean, holy, and untouchable.

The table behind him filled with kitchen utensils and piled up vegetables and fruits inadvertently neutralized the alienation, making him appear gentle yet down-to-earth.

Xiao paused, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He asked in a low voice:

"You are... the Mr. Ran that Yan Xiao mentioned?"

He raised his head and looked at the young immortal whom he had just met not long ago.

He stood up straight and smiled: "It's me, my name is Bai Yiran, nice to meet you, Xiao."

“…”

Guessing that maybe Liu Yunlishui and the others told the person in front of them their names, Xiao did not ask much, but just sorted out his impression of Yiran since he first met him in Ogihuazhou.

It turns out that he is the immortal that the traveler had told me about before but I had never heard of him?

Thinking of that extraordinary strength and purification methods, everything seemed to make sense.

He was silent for half a second, then quickly spoke:

"Thank you for the slime almond pudding. I like it very much. It gives me a very warm feeling."

Yiran took a half step closer and said slowly:

"You're welcome. If you still need it, I can ask someone to send it to you often."

Xiao hesitated for a while, then shook his head:

"No need. The fate of the Yasha clan is to fight. Too much comfort and sweet dreams will make people lazy and not conducive to fighting."

Although he could see the struggle hidden in the other party's expression, Yaksha, who had the duty to take up the butcher knife to protect all the people, ultimately rejected this tempting proposal.

Yiran let out a breath.

"It's okay once in a while, just give yourself a break..."

As if he recalled something, he was a little absent-minded and spoke in a very low voice.

Xiao had just pulled himself away from temptation and didn't notice Yiran's sudden words that he didn't want anyone to hear. He raised his head slightly and looked at Yiran with a puzzled look on his face.

"Nothing."

Yiran smiled helplessly: "In that case, I will give the detailed method of making pudding to Yanxiao. If Xiao wants to try it, he can go find him."

Although Xiao's expression was still cold, judging from his attitude, perhaps because of Pudding and the fact that he thought the other party was an immortal, Xiao was obviously much more relaxed and less distant towards mortals, and nodded naturally.

Hearing the sound of someone coming downstairs, Xiao glanced at Yiran and added again: "Thank you."

Then he disappeared in a flash.

Yan Xiao came down from the building and saw Yi Ran standing there with his mouth curled up. He asked:

"Mr. Ran, did you see anyone?"

Yiran looked at Yan Xiao with amusement:

"Well... the special guest you mentioned came here last time. He said this dessert tasted very good. Maybe I'll have to trouble you to make more in the future."

"ah……"

Realizing that the identity of the guest should have been known to Mr. Ran, Yan Xiao felt a little embarrassed:

"It's not a problem, it's not a problem. Actually... it was the boss who told me not to reveal the identity of that guest. He is not very happy about human visits."

Yan Xiao continued, "But after all, they are immortals, so it's normal for them to dislike the mortal world."

Yiran didn't reply immediately. He took a sip of the milk in his hand and then slowly spoke:

"Maybe it's not that he dislikes the mortal world, but he just doesn't know how to interact with humans."

Like a trapped beast that longs for the fire but dares not get close, it just carefully surrounds it and guards it so that it will never be extinguished.