Long Yuan / Yuan Long (3)

The suspense built from reading the bamboo slip scroll got Long Yuan hooked further. All of this made Long Yuan want to continue to study the scroll further.

He hadn't had the slightest idea when Yuan Ling came inside the house.

'Do he even know how to read?' Yuan Ling had the urge to push her brother back on the bed after seeing how studious he looked right now. From what she knew, her brother was illiterate. He even had a problem writing his own name, putting aside reading what was written on the bamboo slip scroll.

But for an unknown reason, Yuan Ling feels she should let Yuan Long do what he wants. Even if he was illiterate, there's nothing wrong with scanning the written content in the scroll if he feels like it.

After all, if it's not because of Yuan Long's painstaking effort to earn barely enough to send her to school, she would be the same as him.

Furthermore, Yuan Long was injured because he tried to protect the Sweet Emerald Grasses that were about to mature from the second-stage Foundation Realm Beast. He wouldn't be lying on the bed right now and recuperating from the injury if it wasn't done for the sake of his sister's school expenses.

But at the same time, the would he got resulted from his own recklessness. Even a fool would know when to move in and retreat against a powerful, ferocious beast.

And while the second stage of Foundation Realm does sound impressive, it was merely an introduction realm in the cultivation world. Still, the strength shouldn't be underestimated. Divided into nine different stages, the first is where it starts. The ninth is where an individual attained the peak level in Foundation Realm.

To reach the next stage in cultivation, the hurdle itself was akin to trying to climb to the peak of a mountain on foot. It was believed that the number of resources they required was astronomical.

And one would have to repeat the same thing for nine consecutive tries to reach the peak of Foundation Realm.

This is precisely why experts that could turn raw materials into something rich with Spiritual Essence were highly regarded in the entire Shiyuan Continent.

That also explained why alchemists and chefs were the experts' most sought people. Compared to the producer tier profession, which stops after obtaining, the alchemists and chefs is the one that brought them a step further.

To humanity, nothing could be better than having the Spiritual Essence in the form of edible goods. And even if this was a one-sided, biased point of view, not a single person would have anything to complain about in this regard.

Even the Ferocious beasts followed the same approach, heavily relying on edibles to increase their cultivation strength.

'I had no idea that chefs were actually one of the two most respectable occupations in this world. Was this my fate all along?' Long Yuan murmured to himself after finishing the bamboo slip scroll in his hand.

For a moment here, the pain he suffered was overshadowed by the excitement that slowly growing inside him.

"Did the fever gives you the ability to read? What are you doing alone over there while scanning the book you can't understand?" Yuan Ling said as she made her way closer to her older brother. In her hands were two bowls with evenly portioned food.

"Here, eat this. That's all we had left. Since you're injured, I'll be the one going out to harvest some wheat on my way home. Just rest in the house until you're much better." she added and passed one of the bowls to Yuan Long.

Inside the bowl were two hardly fermented while bun. As it was just out of the steamer, the piping hot smoke was still escaping from the bun when the bowl was placed in Yuan Long's hands.

After leaving a bowl to her brother, Yuan Ling then seated on the side of the bed and took a bite on her own portion of the white buns.

"Should I read it out for you?" Yuan Ling asked. Her tone seems to be gentler than before. Perhaps, her voice before this was harsher because she's worried about Yuan Long's wellbeing.

"I'm fine. I'm just taking a look to clear all the mess inside my head." Long Yuan replied. He just realized that the original Yuan Long was actually illiterate, and Luckily, he wasn't exposed.

At the same time, Long Yuan was impressed by everything Yuan Long did to send his only sister to school.

Grabbing one of the white buns in his bowl and giving it a bite after praising Yuan Long inside his head, Long Yuan's expression immediately changed. He felt like throwing up suddenly after eating the white bun made by Yuan Ling.

This was so far the most horrendous white bun he ever had in his life. Although the white, beautifully steamed bun looks finely made from its appearance, the flavor that hid within could murder an innocent.

The terrible flavor almost changed Long Yuan's impression of Yuan Ling. He almost assumed that she was an assassin that came here to finish her job.

As a chef back where he came, Long Yuan had no idea that a plain white bun could be degraded to such a level, where even a rat would run with its tail between the legs.

"Yuan Ling... What did you put inside the bun?" Long Yuan asked. Even with twenty years of experience inside the kitchen, he still finds it challenging to break down every ingredient used by her to knead the dough.

"The flour inside the pot, water, and some salt at the kitchen. Did I miss something in between before steaming the buns individually?" Yuan Ling innocently replied. It doesn't seem like she notices the weird taste in the bun she made.

"No, nothing else. Did the buns taste funny?" Long Yuan asked.

"Huh? Why are you asking me this question? Don't tell me you really forget that I lost my sense of taste since young? How is it possible for me to taste the flavor of the food?" Yuan Ling chuckled, and she looked optimistic in this regard.

"How could that possibly happen?" Long Yuan asked.

"What could happen? Most regular peasants like us have a deteriorated sense of taste anyway. As someone with weak cultivation, managing to survive in this world is already counted as a blessing, Long-Gege." Yuan Ling said.

Her response was not like her sense of taste was completely gone. But nevertheless, it was greatly affected due to the low-quality food she consumed. Long Yuan believes they likely rely on plain steaming to prepare their food.

Instead of saying that her sense of taste was lost, it was more accurate to say it was underdeveloped.

Luckily, her sense of taste was the only part of her underdeveloped.

The more Long Yuan takes a look at his sister, the more shocked he is because from head to toe, left to right, front and back, she's an absolute beauty.

If Yuan Ling was to be seen by those lecherous bastards in the Earth he's from, she would likely be taken in as their secret lover and corrupted with money and luxury.

"Are you not going to finish the food? If you don't, I'm going to eat them on your behalf." Yuan Ling smirked and tried to snatch one of the buns from her big brother.

"Sure. Take it if you want. I'll make something nice for you to eat starting from tomorrow, alright?" Long Yuan said. He had his own difficulty in telling her the truth, but nothing wrong would come from making something delicious to this girl.

Since the profession as a chef was actually highly regarded in this world, he might as well take his time to start polishing his skills. Furthermore, since food preparation is somewhat connected to cultivation, studying how everything works instead of randomly preparing the food.

It would be great if he could make their life better.

"You, cooking?" Yuan Ling was staring blankly at Yuan Long face after she snatched the remaining bun from his bowl. It seems she had something to say as she bit her lip softly.

A few seconds after that, the lass laughed uncontrollably. Her reaction looks like she trying to not make fun of her older brother but fails to hold the emotional outburst.

"What's so funny, you little lass?" unable to bear the feeling he was ridiculed by his own sister, Long Yuan tried to give Yuan Ling a knock on her forehead.

"Hahaha - Hahaha... Do you even... Need to ask? Everyone around here knew that you're the worst cook who doesn't even know how to cut the Sweet Emerald Grass nicely. And you actually said you'll make me something nice to eat..."

"I'll stop laughing at you if you can make a bun as lovely as how I make it." all the laughter made Yuan Ling unable to control her tear glands.

To a cook like Long Yuan, this challenge was akin to putting his life on the line. Yuan Long might be someone who can't cook, but Long Yuan was a cook with twenty whole years of experience. Suppose he can't even obtain recognition from his younger sister. Won't that be akin to planting a heart demon inside him?

"Fine! A bet is a bet! I'll show you that I'll make something much better than the white bun you're feeding me today!" Long Yuan accepted the challenge with a chef's passion burning in his eyes. He will not back off from something like this, especially when his expertise is questioned.

"But brother..." Yuan Ling mischievously stared at Yuan Long's face.

"What?" her action perplexed him.

"Our house has no more flour and firewood. Are you sure you can complete that challenge with that body of yours?" she chuckled.

"Oh, shit!" her reminder made Long Yuan feel all the pain that accumulated from all the excitement earlier.