47-52

Chapter 47: Roseroot

The room was a mess, tiles cracked, and the walls splintered. Bits of wood lay scattered over the bed. It seemed as if a battle had taken place right between the two beds. Half of the wooden shutters had disappeared, replaced by the cold night view beyond. Beneath them, two candles had snuffed out.

And then there were the boys. They stood silent, heads down.

"Back to your rooms, now!" Lei said, pushing through the other kids, waving them off. They all huddled near the door. Hardly a surprise, considering the loud cracks that had nearly shaken the whole house. But it was only when Zhu Luli gave them a glance that the kids scurried away, whispering among themselves.

"What happened here?" Lei asked as soon as he stepped into the room, heart still pounding in his chest. The boys seemed fine. Either way, he checked them for any wounds to be safe. He found nothing and let out a breath of relief.

I thought those bastards had come again.

"Who was it?" Zhu Luli asked, crossing her arms as she stood beside him. She scowled at the boys, as if deep in thought. "Who used Qi here?"

Lei cocked an eyebrow at her. Was that why the air felt so heavy in here? There was a suffocating pressure about it, pressing down on him like a thick, invisible blanket. He tried to wave it off, even to take it in, but it lingered around him.

"I—"

"It was me." Snake stepped forward, looking up at the two of them. "I was… trying something."

"Brother Snake!" Stone said, eyes widening. "You know—"

"I'm sorry, Little Brother." Snake gave him a smile. "I should've listened to you. I made a mess in the middle of the night."

Stone lowered his head, but Lei caught a small smile at the corner of his lips. What was up with these little devils? They acted so mysterious, as if they were hiding something.

"You?" Zhu Luli seemed to have something else on her mind as she pointed at the room. "You made this? Using Qi?"

"Yeah, I think I did." Snake didn't sound that sure. "I was trying to control the Qi around me. You said that we should see the spiritual energy of the world as a part of our true selves, right? Like another limb? I imagined it as a billowing cape, rolling down my shoulders. But it was—"

"A cape?" Lei blinked at the slippery brat. "This was the cause of it? Your cape nearly blew up the whole room?"

Snake shrugged, while Zhu Luli nodded in understanding. "It's possible. You can't really guide the Qi around you before the Qi Condensation Stage, but you can nudge it in certain ways. It would be foolish to do so,"—she glanced at Snake—"as it would be like releasing a cage of mindless beasts into a forest. They would thrash around, just like your little cape did."

"Monstrous geniuses," Lei muttered, shaking his head. "I guess I should've taken it literally."

"It's—"

"Don't, Sister Luli. Don't tell me it's normal," Lei sighed at her before turning to the boys. "I get it. You're excited. You want to try new things. Who wouldn't? But know that with great power comes great responsibility. From now on, if you want to try these new things, you will first get permission from your Teacher Zhu here. Understood?"

The boys nodded sheepishly. Snake even looked ashamed, staring down at his feet. Zhu Luli, on the other hand, was looking at Lei with a glint in her eyes.

"What?" Lei asked.

"Nothing," Zhu Luli smiled. "Just that I didn't expect you to quote Emperor Xia. You might not be the country bumpkin I thought you were. You've read one of his books, haven't you?"

Are you serious?

"Yeah, no, I've heard it somewhere else," Lei said, trying not to roll his eyes at this famed Emperor. He'd had his doubts before, but it was becoming obvious that this man was a fellow transmigrator like him. So it was true that he wasn't alone.

Wait a second. If he has books...

"But I've been meaning to get one of his books for some time. You don't happen to have one with you, do you?" Lei asked, keeping his face straight.

Zhu Luli shook her head. "I had one of his novels with me, but I lost it in the woods during a Dreadmare attack. That creature... I'm glad the book was the only thing I lost."

She visibly shivered, but it wasn't the Dreadmare part that caught Lei off guard. She'd said one of his novels.

"What was the name of that novel?" Lei asked, raising a hand when Zhu Luli looked at him. "We have a library here. I don't want to go in blind picking some random book, so I'd appreciate a suggestion."

"Mm." Zhu Luli raised a hand to her chin, narrowing her eyes. She then snapped her fingers, her eyes flashing eagerly. "Then you must start with Lord of the Emperors. It's a trilogy, and it has a whole new world that feels completely different from ours. It has species like orcs and elves!"

"You sure it isn't Lord of the Kings?"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's Lord of the Emperors," Zhu Luli nodded. "I've read it like multiple times. They're good, and I mean really good."

"Alright, then," Lei said. "I'll try it."

They turned and stepped out of the room. Lei still didn't know what to make of this Emperor of the East Continent. Not just him—this whole thing, actually. Something was very wrong with this world. It was a twisted mess, as if somebody poured every little thing they could find into a single bowl, mixing it with a spoon.

"Er… Big Brother Lei?" came a voice from behind.

Lei looked over his shoulder to see a confused Snake staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

Snake gulped nervously before pointing at the room. "What do we do with this… mess?"

"Clean it," Lei said with a straight face. "It's your mess, right? Then you ought to clean it yourselves. Get to work, now."

He left the pair of them with their own mess and went to his bed.

…

The day passed in a confused daze. Everything was in motion. The table was set, and the house cleaned. Stone and Snake did most of the work as punishment, since Lei thought it would be a pity not to use their experience after they handled the mess in their rooms. At least this way, he hoped they had learned to think before doing something like that again.

It was getting late, and the kitchen was lively when Lei came to check on the kids. His would-be restaurant staff was busy preparing the ingredients. He saw the steaks resting on the side, next to a bowl full of Roseroot juice. Even though it was mostly rainwater mixed with spiritual energy, it had a pinkish hue. The stalks of the plant were cut and laid on a plate, seasoned with salt and pepper.

After the hunt they'd gone on during the weekend, they had more than a few spiritual plants—even spiritual meat—but they cooked most of the meat right away, as Lei didn't want to keep it for long. Unlike most Immortal Cities, they didn't have anything resembling a refrigerator here, and Lei hadn't bothered to smoke or dry it.

The wind blew easily through the wooden shutters, the last light of the sun dotting the walls with little red circles. Night was close, and the old couple would be here in about an hour.

"We're ready, Big Brother Lei," said Little Jiao, taking her place near the counter. She glared at the others as they lounged around, gesturing for them to get in line. They obliged after a moment and stood at attention.

"Good," Lei said, looking at them. The four kids had done most of the prep work, which was good practice for the restaurant. Lei still doubted whether he could trust them around meats and other complex dishes, but a part of him believed in the talent of these kids. It was a different kind of talent that wouldn't make them cultivators, but Lei saw no difference.

"Start with cutting the pasta," he said, motioning toward the yellowish dough that sat near the onions. "I want thin, long strips. What do we call it?"

"Spaghetti!" came a chorus of voices.

Lei smiled, letting them work the dough as he pulled out a pan — a cast iron one that Fatty Lou had delivered early in the morning, taken from Granny Xu's place. She might be the Iron Lady to most of her staff and customers, but she surely knew her stuff around the kitchen. She'd ordered three of these pans from Lanzhou, and Lei knew they didn't come cheap.

Putting the pan over the stove, he closed his eyes and started pondering. This was the crucial part. He didn't want the dish to be overly spiritual, but he knew if he just used the Roseroot's juice, it would be a standard dish made with spiritual ingredients. That had been the reason why Fatty Lou was doubtful about his restaurant plan. Could he make his dishes… less spiritual?

The obvious solution to that problem was to use his skill on the lesser ingredients. The gnarled fries and the spiritual burger were made directly with System-enhanced spiritual ingredients, which turned them potent enough to rival spiritual pills. What if, then, he used the skill on the Roseroot juice with which he would just baste the steaks while cooking?

The answer was that it depended. If he so much as cooked the meat beyond medium-rare, the enhanced Roseroot juice seeping into the cracks would turn the dish into a Medium-Quality Mortal-tier dish. Back when he started, making a Medium-Quality dish required multiple spiritual ingredients and a unique recipe, but now, the [Essence Enhancement] skill alone was enough to boost most basic spiritual dishes to Medium-Quality.

It will get harder and harder to control this skill, Lei thought.

He checked his status:

Name: Liang Lei

Age: 20

Class: Chef

Tier: (Tier Upgrade Quest Available)

Skills: Eyes of the Yellow Maiden, Spiritual Sensitivity -- Novice 5

Cooking Skills: Essence Enhancement - Novice 6

Cultivation Stage: 2nd Step of Body Tempering Stage

Dao: None

It had been days since he'd hit a roadblock in his Tier. To move on, he would have to cook an Earth-tier dish, but that was easier said than done. Just like the Body Tempering and Qi Condensation stages, Lei reckoned the system had a similar difference between its tiers. That was why even when he used a Medium-Quality ingredient, the recently improved Essence Enhancement couldn't boost the dish to Earth-tier.

They had yet to find a real High-Quality ingredient he could use. The Darkloom Forest was full of spiritual beasts and plants, but according to Zhu Luli, the scarcity of spiritual energy in the forest couldn't support a Qi Condensation Stage beast. Beasts of that stage would simply migrate to more energy-rich locations. In theory, they could still find one or two if they ventured deeper into the forest, but they didn't want to risk it.

Those bastards were still out there.

And then there was the Spiritual Sensitivity skill. Unlike the Essence Enhancement skill, Lei wasn't sure what really changed with each upgrade. The descriptions of the plants and the things around him mostly stayed the same, with just a sentence or two that lacked real insight. He had felt a little jolt around his neck when Snake and Stone nearly blew up their room, but it was just that — a jolt that could've meant anything.

Perhaps he hadn't been around any spiritual anomalies to tell the difference. The skill made it clear that it had something to do with those, after all.

A part of him was disappointed that he hadn't received a new skill after everything he'd been through, but he was still aiming for the Tier Upgrade. It sounded like a significant change, just like how it was for cultivators who stepped into the Qi Condensation Stage for the first time.

That was a curious detail, to Lei's thinking. Could it be that the System somehow imitated the stages in the cultivation world but called them different names? And what about that Emperor Xia? Was he sent here by the system as well? Lei had made a mental note to get one of his books after he convinced Granny Xu and Master Li, but just that Lord of the Emperors alone gave him enough hints.

Emperor Aragorn. It was hard to come up with such a name in an ancient world of cultivation if you didn't have prior knowledge.

"Alright, it's time to start," he said, glancing toward the shutters — the sun was down. "Little Jiao, let's start with the pasta. And I want that arrabiata sauce perfectly seasoned. You can't put too much basil in it, so I'm leaving that up to you. I'll check the sauce in a bit."

Lei snapped his fingers toward Little Yunru and Little Chuanli. "You boys start cutting those stalks for me. I want them salted and grilled. Don't you dare burn them, or else! Chop chop, boys!"

The kids moved efficiently around the kitchen, gathering ingredients rapidly. Little Ning, on the other hand, stepped near Lei and waited, hands clasped behind her back. Today she would be Lei's assistant, learning how to cook the steaks.

"We want the pan hot," Lei said, kindling the stove. The wood crunched and released a puff of smoke, earning a smile from Lei. "I'll go with salt only, but you can spread a pinch of pepper as well. Can't go wrong with those two. And I don't want to play too much with the meat. Just let it cook over the wood fire, build that crust slow and steady."

Lei checked the pan with a hand, palm facing downward. He waited a few seconds before deciding it was hot enough. Then he took one of the steaks near the stove and winked at Little Ning before slapping it on the pan.

It hissed and sizzled, releasing a delicate swirl of smoke that curled around Lei's fingers. He slapped another one, and another, until the pan contained three gorgeous steaks sizzling their tasty little song.

"Juice," Lei said, pressing a finger onto one of the steaks. Little Ning pulled the Roseroot juice bowl near the pan, craning her head toward the steaks. "Flip," Lei said, flipping the steaks one by one. After that was done, he used the [Essence Enhancement] on the Roseroot juice.

"Eh?" came Little Ning's voice. She yelped, pointing at the bowl. "It's shining!"

"Yeah, it is!" Lei said, though he still covered the bowl with his hand. That was one of the new changes to the skill. It made the enhanced ingredient shimmer with inner light, as if announcing the effect to the whole world. The kids enjoyed it, saying he was really a Heavenly Cook, but it would certainly make it hard for Lei to keep his influence over the ingredient a secret in the future — especially from curious eyes.

"Juice, in," he said, letting Little Ning take the bowl and pour the juice into the pan. Lei grabbed a spoon from under the counter and lifted the pan to start basting the steaks. The pinkish rainwater mixed beautifully into the marbled meat. Lei found himself gulping at the blackish-brown crust that coated the steaks.

"Fifteen seconds," he muttered, working the spoon with a deft hand. Scoop the juice and splash it across the meat. Let it soak it all in.

At one point, all the kids — even Stone and Snake — had sneaked into the kitchen, staring silently at the pan. The smell was something magical, like a sneaky siren stealing the hearts of men. It beckoned them with a call unlike any other. The juice evaporated into a fragrant swirl, leaving only three perfectly cooked steaks in the pan.

"Is this…"

"I don't think I can hold myself."

"Heavenly Cook… I've never seen meat like this before. I want it."

Lei turned to glare them down after he set the steaks to rest. "You'll have to wait, brats! But I'll let you know that if you put up a good show for Granny Xu and Master Li tonight, then you can have more of these… two for each of you!"

"What?!"

"Deal!" Stone's voice, high-pitched and full of passion. He shouldered past the others, towering over the group. "I'll keep the order, Big Brother Lei, you can count on me."

"I sure can, eh, Little Stone?" Lei chuckled happily. "Then let's get back to work."

He still had more steaks to cook and a sauce to tend to. That old couple... they wouldn't know what hit them.

Chapter 48: Dinner

The crowd waited expectantly around the table, more than a few eager faces — just like at a special family dinner. Lei felt like more than just a cook as he looked at them. He had his staff tidying up the kitchen while he welcomed the old couple into the house. They knew the place well enough to find their way to the table, but Lei wanted to give them that deluxe treatment.

This was, after all, a business dinner.

He glanced at Zhu Luli. As planned, she had already started warming up the old couple with her charming voice. Master Li and Granny Xu knew her as a wandering cultivator with a special interest in spiritual food. They weren't wrong, but Zhu Luli was also a member of one of the greatest clans in the Empire. Her knowledge of the cultivation world was crucial, and she was showing the pair that not all cultivators were evil.

Mortals feared the cultivators for good reason. Who wouldn't? A Qi Condensation expert could, by mistake, blow up a whole house. They were monsters in human skin, flying on spiritual swords across the skies, commanding the winds and the elements with a flick of their wrist. They had their own truths. Theirs was a different world.

Master Li had been right when he said they would be crushed under the toes of giants if they stepped into that city. Cultivator clans, he'd said, were a terrible bunch that could suck the soul out of a man just by being there. Always demanding, always ordering around the lessers, as if gaining strength made them a higher form of existence than ordinary humans.

Lei planned to change that.

He couldn't hide his talents forever. Somehow, it felt wrong to keep living like this. His gaze strayed toward the kids, laughing and joking around the table. He had people depending on him. More than that, though, he wanted more from this life.

The restaurant would be his first step toward that goal. He would have a chance to witness the habits of these cultivators firsthand. If he could make this work, then they wouldn't have to remain refugees once they reached Lanzhou. No, he would have a reputation to work with in that city of cultivators.

There's always a bigger fish. Always the next mountain to climb. If I want to do something about it, I have to take certain risks.

A pat on his back. Lei turned and glanced down at Little Jiao, who had a serious expression on her face. She nodded once, then bolted back to the kitchen, gesturing for the other kids to get in line.

"We shall begin!" Lei announced, clapping his hands. A few heads turned his way, with Granny Xu taking a long, silent glance at him. Her wrinkles seemed a tad deeper today, her smile a little stiff. She carried herself with such weight that Lei understood he'd be serving the Ironlady today, not the sweet old woman who couldn't stop smiling around the kids.

We can do this.

The plates were lined up over the counter, the steaks well-rested, and the spaghetti steaming hot. The brownish crust on the meats was cooked to perfection. The knife sang a crisp song as Lei checked the steaks one last time.

[Rosy Steak: Mortal Grade, Low-Quality dish]: (A dish prepared by the hands of an experienced chef, carrying a hint of spirituality inside.)

Lei had spent good money on these, so he was eager to get his money's worth. He snapped his fingers and called the boys for serving. Little Yunru and Little Chuanli stepped forward, looking up at him with rapt attention. Lei gave them a nod before turning and calling for the other two.

"It was a good session," he said as the boys approached the plates, with the girls leaning closer to him. "I'm proud of you. Today, we worked with passion, and for that, you've earned my respect. That alone is enough."

The girls smiled, and the boys seemed to stand a little taller. Good. You have to trust the work you've put in. That was the key here: confidence. He let them keep their stained aprons on for dinner instead of changing into new clothes, to show the old couple that this wasn't just a selfish act.

This had been a team effort.

The serving began. Lei stood, arms crossed over his chest, watching as the boys placed the plates before the guests. He arched an eyebrow when Stone reached for the knife. He muttered a silent 'Wait' to him before shaking his head at the other kids. Little brats. It was hard to contain this bunch once you saw the glint in their eyes.

When everything was set, Lei eased into his seat near Granny Xu. He could see the silent question in the woman's gaze, so he started with the pasta.

"Aunt Xu, do you remember the dish I cooked for you when you gave me a chance?" he asked.

Granny Xu nodded. Lei had made ditalini pasta for her when he applied for the chef position at her restaurant. It was, by all means, a novel dish by Jiangzhen standards, which Lei thought would win him the job in no time.

But Granny Xu had been sure of herself when she said nobody would pay for such a dish. It wasn't about the taste, she told him, it just looked… strange. Her regulars didn't want something new. They were happy with their usual orders: fried rice mixed with eggs, thin-strip noodles with pork on the side, cooked in a soy and sesame oil-rich soup.

She also made a mean mapo tofu, one of her specialties, and of course, Kung Pao chicken served over rice. She liked her spices, but the diversity wasn't there. To Lei, she was playing it too safe to get to that next level, though he didn't blame her.

But she never gave me a second chance. I could've cooked those dishes just as well.

Thankfully, she now knew Lei's so-called strange dishes had been a hit at his stall, drawing dozens of people. Sure, Fatty Lou's marketing campaign had helped, but people still liked his food.

"This one looks familiar," she said, preferring chopsticks over the fork and knife placed near her plate. Lei smiled with relief, as they had pre-sliced the steaks before serving, but his heart sank when Granny Xu shook her head. "Noodles? Is this how you'll convince me to give you my restaurant?"

Lei took a deep breath, feeling multiple gazes on him. He remained calm as he explained, "It looks similar to noodles, but we made this from a different dough. We used cottonseed oil mixed with eggs to get that soft texture. But the real magic is in the sauce, Aunt Xu. The sauce is where you'll find the true flavor."

Granny Xu looked doubtful, leaning back and whispering something to Master Li. That was when Lei gave the signal to Fatty Lou. His brother-in-arms knocked on the table twice with his fork, then leaned in and took a mouthful of the spaghetti.

The dinner table erupted into motion as the kids attacked the pasta. Forks and chopsticks flashed, the spaghetti slurping as the little devils devoured their portions. They were covered in sauce, careless about it getting into their eyes or hair, as if the red madness of the spaghetti had somehow possessed their souls.

Master Li and Granny Xu were taken aback, watching with wide eyes as the kids gobbled up the long strips of pasta.

That was Lei's cue.

"The sauce," he said, smiling confidently. "That's the key here. And as you can see, they haven't even touched the steaks yet."

"Granny, it is delicious!" Little Jiao chimed in from beside Master Li, her eyes glinting brightly as she wiped her cheek with one hand. She then licked the sauce from her fingers before smacking her lips loudly. "Heavenly!"

"Garlic, tomato, basil," Lei said from the side, winking at Little Jiao. She smiled mischievously before returning to her plate. "We let the sauce simmer for four hours to get that thick consistency and bring out the flavors. I would've used some cheese but couldn't find the right one. You'll find it surprisingly refreshing and filling at the same time."

Lei had thought of going with the classic spaghetti and meatballs combo, but the Roseroot juice was a difficult ingredient to handle. He wouldn't have been able to get the meatballs to absorb all the juice, which is why he chose the steaks instead.

"Mmmmm!" came another voice, making Granny Xu and Master Li glance at Little Mei. She was eating the spaghetti with chopsticks in one hand while feeding Little Yao and the black cat with the other. The trio looked ridiculous, but the blissful smiles on their faces as they devoured the food were so genuine that even Lei couldn't help but gulp loudly.

"It's like silk," said Stone, licking his lips. "But you can eat it. Silk that you can eat. Have you ever heard of such a thing, Brother Snake?"

"Mm," Snake said, taking a big piece of steak and stuffing it into his mouth. Juice dripped down his chin. "Big Brother Lei's pasta is good as always, but this meat… too tender!"

Finally, Master Li gave in to temptation and started with the pasta. The sauce painted his lips red as he slurped the pasta swiftly with his chopsticks. He was tentative at first, like a deer eyeing a serene pond to see if it was really safe. Slowly, his eyes widened, and he reached for one of the pinkish stalks on his plate.

The crunch of Master Li's first bite echoed in Lei's ears as expectation bubbled within him. The spiritual energy… Lei waited, knowing how tasty those stalks were. He oddly likened them to pretzels with a hint of mustard sprinkled over them.

"W-What is this?" Master Li jerked back in his chair, raising one hand to his mouth as he chewed on the stalk. "Feels like wind in my mouth… but how? Little Lei, what have you done?"

The menthol taste of the spiritual energy.

Lei nodded knowingly. He remembered the first time he'd tasted that airy feeling around his throat. It was like an alien spice he didn't know existed, yet it gave the food a whole new layer of flavor. It boosted the other flavors as well, complementing them with a masterful touch.

That must be why cultivators always preferred spiritual food. No wonder even the regular Spirit Chefs were popular. This wasn't just about getting stronger by eating certain dishes. This was a special treat, a boon reserved for cultivators and those with means.

"Old Li, are you sure?" Granny Xu's voice still carried doubt, but she seemed hesitant in the face of what she saw. Everyone, even Master Li, was too taken by the dishes to spare a moment for conversation. They were afraid. Afraid that the food would be taken from them.

A single nod from Master Li erased the last of Granny Xu's worries. She took her chopsticks and dipped them into the swirling strips of spaghetti. She started with just one, feeling the warm pasta against her tongue. Lei smiled, leaning back in his chair. He hadn't even taken a single bite, but watching people enjoy his dishes made him feel full.

"Ah!" Granny Xu exclaimed, gulping down the pasta. She picked up one of the Roseroot stalks. It crunched in her mouth. "Oh!" She visibly shivered, eyeing the steak next. "Oho!" She smacked a hand on the wooden table as a piece of meat dissolved in her mouth.

Lei felt a spike of fear drilling through his scalp when he saw the old pair muttering to themselves. Intoxicated. Mesmerized. Taken… Storms! Had he put too much spirituality into those dishes? But he hadn't even made the spaghetti spiritual; he'd just poured some juice over the steaks. And the stalks were just stalks, grilled without any extra steps. He hadn't used the skill on them!

"What do we do?" Fatty Lou's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. His brother-in-arms, as experienced as he was, had already moved behind him, gazing nervously at the old couple. "What if they see… those things?"

Lei remembered the blonde princess on the wall, beckoning him from beyond the wooden planks. How beautiful she was, except for the fact that she was actually Fatty Lou, and they had shared a warm hug under the night sky, all alone after a good meal. He'd been thankful that episode ended with just a hug.

But what if Master Li and Granny Xu experienced something similar? What if their episode didn't end with a simple hug?

"Aunt Xu, if you're not feeling well—"

"Well?" Granny Xu slapped her knee with one hand, barking out a laugh that shook the table and chairs. "Well?!" she muttered, shaking her head. "I have never felt more alive!"

"Mm!" Master Li reached out and pulled her closer to his chest. "I can feel life coursing through these old veins of mine again! I remember this feeling. Just like when we were young, eh, Old Xu?"

"Young…" Granny Xu mumbled, a distant look in her eyes. "How handsome you were. I begged for you to work with me in the restaurant, yet you insisted on opening that bakery. Bah! A stubborn goat, but that's why I loved you. That passion, those stubborn eyes… I could never say no to you, but you were different."

Master Li sighed deeply. "Times were different, Old Xu. I wasn't worthy of you, and your father made sure I knew that. He drilled into me that I couldn't be with his precious daughter, that I was just a poor fool, a dreamer trying to grasp clouds with his hands. Then I met Xie Zhu. She filled the hole in my heart, yet I failed her. I—"

"I know," Granny Xu said, placing a hand on Master Li's thigh. Lei felt as though he were peering into their youth, two lovers separated by fate. And now, after all these years, they had found each other again. "We spent years with the lost ones, gave them our time. We let the memories cloud our hearts, Old Li, but what of the living? What of our pains? Better to live with guilt than die with shame. They will understand."

"Life moves on," Master Li nodded deeply.

"We deserve a second chance, eh?" Granny Xu said after a moment, her eyes melting into Master Li's. "We have but a few years left in this world. Might as well do some good for ourselves."

A deep silence settled around the table as the old pair embraced. The kids stood silent, gazing curiously at them. Lei felt a sudden warmth inside his heart. It felt right seeing them like this, even though he was unaware of their past pains.

"Little Lei," Granny Xu said, wiping tears from under her eyes. She pulled out a long, bronze key and gently placed it on the table. "It's rare to find a dish that speaks to the heart, and even rarer to find such a fine young man who cares. Take the restaurant. Do what you must. You have my blessing."

"I—" Lei sputtered. Seeing the Ironlady shedding tears in front of him made his breath catch in his chest. "I will do my best, Aunt Xu. You won't be disappointed."

Granny Xu shook her head with a small smile. "Don't lose that heart of yours. I ask for nothing more."

Lei nodded deeply, though he was sure he didn't fully understand her words. But he didn't have time to ponder more, as the kids bolted toward him and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Big Brother Lei, you've done it!"

"Big Brother Lei, we'll have a restaurant!"

"I'll never stop eating your dishes!"

Lei let them pull him to the ground, covering him in sauce and kisses. Though they were heavy, and though they got him all sauced up, he let them be.

He was happy. He couldn't get enough of this feeling.

Chapter 49 - The Restaurant

Granny Xu's restaurant was near the Library, just around the central square of the city. It was a two-story affair that had been used as an inn years ago. The upper floor had around ten rooms, with wooden walls and well-cared-for tiles, save for the dust that had accumulated during the last two weeks. It had all the essentials Lei wanted: tables, chairs, essence holders, and carpets to make you feel at home.

He remembered scrubbing these floors after a day's work. It reminded Lei of his first job back on Earth. He had been a dishwasher before, and a prep boy who was praised for his quick cutting skills. It wasn't until he had peeled thousands of tomatoes and potatoes that the Head Chef decided he could start learning real dishes.

It was a phase. You had to understand where your ingredients came from. You had to appreciate the team effort going on in a Michelin-starred kitchen. Even though there had been a strict hierarchy among the cooks, everybody scrubbed the floors after the restaurant closed.

But Lei wasn't sure if he could turn this place into a Michelin-starred restaurant. That was a peculiar thought. He wondered if there was a grand organization giving stars to restaurants on the Eastern Continent—a guidebook for spiritual food, perhaps.

Anyway, he checked the stoves and the utensils. The cookware was of high quality. The kitchen had good airflow, separated clearly from the main hall, which was dotted with about a dozen long tables. Soft cushions lined the eastern wall, with floor tables placed before them.

Even though the restaurant hadn't been in business for nearly two weeks, Lei could still smell the faint scent of essence in the air. This had been a place for families. Children would tow their parents to eat one of Ironlady's dishes. Old people would come flocking around in the afternoon, clicking their tongues and speaking of tales about their youth.

It was warm and cozy here.

And now, Lei would have to turn this place into a cultivator's den. He had dozens of recipes in his mind for the menu. He had even come up with names worthy of the spiritual side of the world: Flying Meatballs, Essence Curry, Rice Over The Clouds. It was just that he wasn't sure if cultivators would be willing to pay hundreds of coppers at a family restaurant.

Unfortunately, he lacked the capital to dress the place like one of those fancy restaurants. He barely had enough money to buy ingredients. So this would have to make do. And wasn't there a saying? As long as you had the product, all that mattered was letting people know.

"This won't be easy," came Fatty Lou's voice from the main hall.

Lei closed the kitchen door behind him and made his way into the hall. His brother-in-arms stood with a thoughtful frown on his face, staring down at the tables.

"We don't do easy, now, do we, Brother Lou?" Lei smiled. "I can cook a juicy steak that will kick their brains out. I can roast a nasty pork that will press them flat on the ground, yearning for a second bite. I can cook a chicken so sweet, so tender that it'll make them question if they're worthy of the food. I can do all that, but first, I need people to come here."

Fatty Lou arched an eyebrow, impressed. "Well, I don't doubt your dishes, but the cultivators in Jiangzhen are a different bunch. Unlike Lanzhou, they have a small and close circle here. My old man says they're like a pack of hyenas waiting for the word of their master."

"You mean the Governor," Lei said.

Fatty Lou nodded. "Yeah. We must think of a way to get his attention. As far as I know, he's the only Qi Condensation Stage expert in the city, and he's been stuck at that stage for years now. He must be desperate if he's risking working with those rotten bastards."

"We don't know for sure, though," Lei said, doubtful. "You've told me the guy just stays in his office all day, barely going out. And his lackeys are just busy collecting rent around town."

"Why else would he try to keep that Auditor away from the city?" Fatty Lou said. "It doesn't make any sense. He should've been begging the man for help from the Empire, but instead, he prepared a damned parade to see him off. This whole thing stinks."

"There's no doubt about that. But let's focus on the business for now," Lei said, propping his chin with one hand. "I've sent Sister Zhu and Little Yao to the forest to get some spiritual ingredients. That'll give us enough to work with. The start is important, Brother Lou. We have to make a show of it."

"A show?" Fatty Lou nodded. "You're right. If we're aiming for the cultivators, we can't let them mingle with the townsfolk. They won't like it. We have to pamper them like spoiled brats."

"That's why we can't just open the restaurant to the public," Lei said. "We should send invitations for the opening. I don't mean word-of-mouth—we need fancy cards to let them know this is no ordinary business. Let them taste the dishes first. Once we've got them on the hook, then we can start pulling."

"Invitations…" Fatty Lou turned toward the door. "I don't think we can get the Governor here, but the first Spiritual Restaurant in Jiangzhen will surely get the cultivators' attention. Have you thought about the dishes, though? Don't go overboard, or it'll be risky."

Lei smiled proudly. "Don't worry. I'm not going to cook them the good stuff. We're going with just barely adequate, but I need some servers. Can't let the kids deal with those fools. It's too dangerous."

"Mm," Fatty Lou said. "I'll send word for Brother He. He's been asking questions about you lately, and he knows you're a Spirit Chef, so better to keep him close."

"Good, you do that," Lei said with a nod before turning to the kitchen. "I think I'll get the kids to clean the place."

...

How do you make people care?

That was a good question. Lei knew how it felt to be an outsider—that emptiness of not being part of anything. He also had first-hand experience of being a cog in a grand machine. So how do you make people care?

You make them feel involved. That's the first part.

Lei let the kids clean the floors. He hadn't intended to use them as cheap labor. Sure, he could've done the cleaning himself, but he wanted the kids to break their first sweat doing the job. He wanted them to scrub the nicks and wipe the tables. He wanted them to get familiar with the place, to breathe in that wooden scent mixed with clouds of dust.

After all that cleaning, they would get angry whenever an uncaring customer stepped in with muddy shoes. Their hearts would clench when drinks spilled and plates broke. Unknowingly, they would become a force against the outsiders—a team that worked hard to keep the restaurant functioning.

This, in turn, would teach them to clean their own mess. Or, to not make a mess in the first place. Be careful. Respect the space. Be mindful of your coworkers. These things might seem basic at first glance, but the foundation was important for a business.

He let Little Yunru and Little Chuanli move the tables to the side. Little Yunru, with his towering height and strong arms, looked like a fine young man. Little Chuanli seemed like a little boy beside him. The good thing was that Little Yunru never used their differences in a way that would make Little Chuanli self-conscious.

Little Jiao, on the other hand, was too eager to start cooking. Lei guessed he was partly to blame for that expectation. His mother always said that you could never keep a clean kitchen for more than a couple of hours. A restaurant, though, was a whole different beast. It was just like one of those crazy episodes you'd watch on TV, but with less yelling and screaming, of course.

So it was important for her to learn the underlying work that made a business successful. At least Little Ning was there with her, and she seemed to soak up everything Lei said like a sponge. The girl was growing eager, which gave Lei a sense of pride.

There was so much to love about cooking.

"Gather round," he said when the group finished cleaning the main hall. Lei would have to replace one of the tables, but the others were in good condition. His little team lined up before him, their faces tired after a good day's work. He couldn't help but smile at them as he spoke. "From now on, we'll do this every day."

"Every day?" Little Chuanli was the first to speak, frowning. "But Big Brother Lei, we don't have any customers yet. We haven't even cooked a single dish!"

"Brother Chuanli is right," said Little Jiao, shaking her head. "I thought we'd be cooking more now that we have a restaurant. I don't know why you think this hall needs cleaning, Big Brother Lei."

Lei nodded slowly, having expected these reactions. They were too young, and had been pampered for the last month, to get their hands dirty. He respected their eagerness, but he couldn't neglect the basics. To him, this was their first real lesson in the field of culinary arts. Nothing was simple in this world.

Lei raised his chin, keeping a straight face as he turned toward Little Yunru and Little Ning. "And you two? Do you think the same?"

Little Yunru answered firmly, "I'm ready to do whatever it takes, Big Brother Lei. I don't mind the cleaning. I can do it."

"Fine by me," Little Ning said with a shrug. "Better than staying inside the house all day."

"What?" Little Chuanli's eyes widened before he cracked a smile. "Then you can do it. We'll take care of the cooking with Sister Jiao. We should share the work, right, Big Brother Lei?"

Little Jiao was nodding along with Little Chuanli's words when Lei gave them a stern glance. "Trust the process, and don't ever talk like that in front of the Head Chef." He started pacing around the group, hands clasped behind his back. "A chef is different from a cook. A chef cares not only for his kitchen but also for his restaurant. A chef knows the hard work it takes to run one. A chef respects the effort and never shies away from hard work. A chef does what it takes!"

The kids straightened their backs as Lei looked them up and down. If he was to be a Head Chef, then he had to act like one. He had to be the one keeping the team together.

"A chef knows he can't do all the work by himself. A chef knows he has to rely on his team to get the job done. Now, sure, I can clean this whole place by myself, but won't it be easier to get help from a team? Won't we finish the job in half the time with a common effort?"

They seemed to take the lesson well, judging by the looks on their faces. Little Chuanli had lowered his head, staring at his feet. Little Jiao looked like a lightbulb had flashed in her brain, her eyes glinting.

"Before we get inside the kitchen, I want you to check the upper floor. I want those rooms cleaned to perfection. If you can finish in one hour, that means we'll have four more hours for cooking," Lei said, his back to the kids. He then turned slowly toward them and gave them a smile. "I have five new recipes I want to teach you, so you'd better be quick."

Little Chuanli bolted toward the staircase, pulling Little Yunru behind him. The girls dashed after them, with Little Ning sighing as she let Little Jiao drag her up the stairs.

It was always good to see the thrill in their faces. It always felt nice to have a team eager to work.

Lei smiled contentedly as he picked up a water bucket from the main hall and went up after them. Things were shaping up just the way he wanted.

Chapter 50: Cookies

Year 35, Day 87

Today, we planted the thousandth thorn. Progress has been slow, and we have a thousand more to plant, but things are finally looking good for us. After the transformation, we have grown accustomed to the spiritual energy of this world, though it still rejects us.

There has to be a way to tap into this reserve. It oddly resembles mana but functions differently in a few ways. Depending on the region, it takes on a certain characteristic, like fire or water. Unlike mana, this characteristic maintains its essence until it is processed by meridians in one's body.

After much experimentation, I can safely say that we don't have these meridians. It's a trait shared among the locals of this world—an invisible web of pathways circling the body. It is through these pathways that they process spiritual energy.

What's odd is that this spiritual energy takes a solid form in its later stages. For example, the last subject that Master Voilanth caught was at the Core Formation Stage. I found a solid core right around his stomach, a two-colored bead the size of my palm. By dissecting it, I unearthed what I believe to be the liquefied form of spiritual energy. This liquid is worse than the rot coating our bodies.

The silver lining is that they seem to share our weakness for foreign energies. Mana is just as poisonous to them.

…

I have been fortunate enough to use the local beasts and people of this world to cultivate blood-energy crystals, and through these crystals, I managed to provide Master Voilanth with a meager yet vitally important source of mana.

The problem is, the process of cultivating these blood-energy crystals takes time, and we can't afford to stay in one place any longer. That Core Formation Stage expert nearly crushed us both. I'm sure more are coming.

We are still venturing away from their capital. The spiritual energy levels differ from region to region, and from my few attempts at speaking with the locals, I found that my initial assumptions were correct. There are places on this continent that lack spiritual energy. We just have to endure until we find one.

But more and more, we have to lock our bodies to keep them functioning. More and more, the sleep between sessions stretches longer. The last sleep nearly lasted four years. We have yet to hear from the others.

We must survive. Millions depend on us.

…

Lei sucked in a sharp breath as he closed the diary. The side of his neck throbbed from keeping the Yellow Maiden's Eyes skill active for so long. His vision had blurred, and enduring the terrible headache it brought was never easy. Still, he forced himself to read the diary.

He'd found that he could read a full page if he didn't use the skill for two days. Thanks to that, he'd been learning more and more about these people, but he still had dozens of questions in his mind.

Even though most of the diary's pages were rotten, Elder Huang—clearly a fake name—had kept a good log of their travels. He kept referring to these "thorns" they supposedly planted across the continent, but even after reading dozens of pages, Lei still had no idea what they represented.

One thing he learned was that it was their true mission. They came here to plant those things.

They certainly didn't have it easy here. Elder Huang made it very clear that they were being rejected by the entire world. The energy was poison to them, and people were hunting for their heads. They had to sacrifice their life essence—another term Elder Huang kept using—to continue this supposedly grand undertaking.

And indeed, it was grand. Lei had taken a peek at the last pages—though most were burned and unreadable—and knew they'd been here for more than sixty years. Sixty damned years as spies in a different world, and they survived until they encountered a reincarnated chef. In xianxia terms, Lei didn't know if he should laugh or cry at that.

Though it only made his desire to leave Jiangzhen stronger.

The good thing was that Lei learned a lot about mana from this rotten bastard. According to him, mana was an ethereal source similar to spiritual energy. Though you couldn't absorb it through meditation techniques, you could use things called mana crystals and mana cores to replenish your reserves. Of course, they had mana regeneration, which he thought of as a feature of their System.

These mana crystals grew naturally like a strange kind of mineral. They had mountains of it back where they came from. Thankfully, those crystals ran out of essence in this world. As Elder Huang put it, the only way to conserve mana was to keep it in their bodies.

These blood-energy crystals are a problem, though. Is this why they kidnapped the children? To use them as human batteries to convert their blood into mana? Sick bastards…

But it couldn't be considered a "new" thing. Zhu Luli had mentioned before that Demonic Cultivators liked these sorts of sick practices as well. There was even a guy who butchered a whole village to use the souls and organs of the victims to concoct a Blood-Origin Pill to break through to the Core Formation Stage.

In that sense, they were similar in practice but had different objectives.

Lei sighed as he placed the tome under his bed. He kept it there for good measure. You never knew what those little devils would do when he wasn't home. Though they had been quiet for these last few days, probably because Lei and Zhu Luli worked them for more than ten hours each day.

He sighed.

Mana crystals. So my dishes are basically like little mana crystals that could replenish their energies. Good thing they don't have something like that.

They couldn't use the System here. Lei didn't know if they had the same System or not, but if it was the same one, then him being able to use his System was another strange thing.

Why? Was it because he was born in this world? Or was it because he was reincarnated, making him an odd combination of an otherworlder's soul and a local's body? Was Emperor Xia the same as him?

The other day, Zhu Luli brought him to the Library, and Lei had to keep his jaw from dropping after witnessing the grand atrocity that was Emperor Xia's novels. The man shamelessly copied most of the literature from Earth, to the point that he even wrote classics like The Art of War and Jane Eyre.

And, of course, these were published right before he made a name for himself. Slowly but surely, the man climbed the world stage. Some said he was a thousand-year-old master when he took the throne and proclaimed himself the sole Emperor of the continent. Others said he was a rare prodigy who managed to bear the Heavenly Tribulation at the young age of a hundred.

Either way, the name Emperor Xia was covered with a thick veil of fog. Just as mysterious was his disappearance. Nobody knew if he was dead or not. He just vanished one day and left the throne wide open for all to take.

Zhu Luli's father seemed to know a lot about this famed Emperor. Lei could only hope that the man left a diary or something for future generations of transmigrators. But by his long list of published books, he might have thought he'd be the only one to ever reincarnate to this world.

But then it occurred to Lei that he was by all means no different than this Emperor. Sure, he hadn't written things like Crime and Punishment, but he did cook dishes from Earth, which he wondered if could be seen as a different sort of plagiarism. That was why Lei thought this Emperor Xia could have been a writer before he reincarnated.

I need to learn more about him. Something tells me he is the key to all this mess.

Lei nodded and stretched his legs out. Tomorrow was a big day, as Fatty Lou would start giving out the invites. They'd decided on a simple, but what Lei hoped would be an effective, plan. They'd give out spiritual cookies with the invites.

A little hook for the big fish.

He closed his eyes, and sleep came right away.

....

The next day started as usual. Lei took his staff to the restaurant and had them clean the floors. It wasn't as hellish as the first day, considering the business had yet to start, but it still taught the kids discipline and stability.

In Daoist terms, these were essential in one's path to the Grand Dao.

Meanwhile, Lei worked in the restaurant's little backyard. Granny Xu's place already had a stone oven—a nasty thing that had clearly not seen much use—but Lei reckoned it would be enough for a few of his dishes. Thanks to the forests near Jiangzhen, wood was considerably cheap, and they'd piled up enough to last at least a week or two.

He wiped his face with the back of his hand, dusted his hands, and headed back into the kitchen. For the spiritual cookies, he'd prepared a bunch of ingredients.

He had plenty of white flour and a bunch of barely spiritual berries Zhu Luli and Little Yao had picked on their way back. Their taste was similar to blueberries, though a lot sweeter. Thanks to that, he wouldn't have to use sugar in the recipe. That stuff was not cheap.

For the butter, he'd skimmed the cream from raw milk the other day, sealed it in a jar, and left it to cool. After that, he kneaded the butter to remove any liquid, then churned it until he got the right consistency. It wasn't the most productive method—too little butter for too much effort—and not sustainable in the long run, but for these cookies, Lei decided not to spare any effort.

The final step was adding spirituality to the cookies. Just like the steak he'd served Granny Xu and Master Li, he'd use the System's skill, but only on the berries. This way, the cookies would be slightly above most normal Spirit Chefs' level, but not so strong as to make cultivators suspicious.

It was a simple way to keep control. The steak he'd made had that airy feeling of spiritual energy and packed a punch, but when Lei ate it, he found it fell short of triggering a minor circulation. It was close, though, and that was the point—it made you feel like you were on the verge of an energy boost.

According to Zhu Luli, a dish made from Earth-tier ingredients (like those from Qi Condensation Stage beasts) would still be more 'spiritual' than Lei's recent dishes. So, on that front, Lei didn't need to worry too much about his recipes.

Let's get started.

"It's time for a Master class!" Lei said, a smile playing on his lips. Footsteps came bounding from the main hall in no time, and the kids formed a strict, though slightly excited, line behind him.

"Today, we're branching out into a different part of the culinary world. We'll learn how to make cookies!"

An audible gasp escaped from Little Jiao. Little Chuanli blinked up at Lei, wide-eyed. Little Ning seemed confused, while Little Yunru kept his face stoic.

You're all different, huh?

Lei felt giddy inside as he explained, "Now, I know you've had plenty of Grandpa Li's pastries. They're delicious—you can almost taste the effort and mastery that went into them. Being a pastry chef is a viable path. In today's lesson, I'll show you one of the basic cookie recipes."

He pulled the butter jar and the white flour from the counter, pointing to the wok sitting over the stove. "We'll start by melting the butter. We're not going to cook it, just give it a little heat so it melts."

He slapped a good amount of butter into the wok and kindled the stove. Just when the wood fire began to build, he pulled out the wok and set it aside. He then used the [Essence Enhancement]skill on the berries, causing them to glow faintly. The kids were already familiar with these 'sudden' flashes, so they barely reacted.

Picking up one of the berries, he showed it to the kids. "These forest berries have enough sugar in them, so we don't need to add any more. Now, I want each of you to try one."

The kids obliged, tasting the berries as Lei sampled one himself. The strong sweetness almost stuck to the throat, as if enhanced by spiritual energy, though the airy feeling wasn't there. That was one effect of ambient spiritual energy—it boosted everything without making it decisively spiritual.

"Sweet!" Little Chuanli said, nodding his head. "We have to be careful not to add too much."

"But I like it," Little Jiao said, scowling as she eyed the berries, clearly wanting more.

Lei chuckled. "Balance is key. Too much sweetness can overpower everything else. In the Dao of Cooking, harmony is just as important as in cultivation."

I can't believe I just said that.

The kids nodded deeply, though Little Jiao still looked a bit defiant.

I'll take that win.

Moving on, Lei said, "Now, for the flour. This gives our cookies their structure. Too little, and they'll fall apart. Too much, and they'll be dense. So, we need to be precise."

He demonstrated, carefully measuring the flour and mixing it into the melted butter. The dough slowly took shape, pliable but firm.

"This is the texture we're aiming for—smooth, but not sticky. If it's too dry, we can add a bit of milk or more butter. If it's too wet, a pinch more flour. Cooking is all about feel."

Little Yunru, who had been silent so far, finally spoke up. "Big Brother Lei, I've always wondered... Can this help in cultivation too? Not that I want to be like those two stone heads, but I'm just curious."

Oh? He's opening up a little.

Lei smiled, glad to see the boy's curiosity. He spoke from a different angle, "Well, cooking and cultivation aren't so different. Both require discipline, patience, and the right ingredients. By mastering cooking, you're learning control— over heat, timing, flavor. That can be useful when dealing with Qi. As my mother used to say, the more balanced you are in the kitchen, the more balanced you'll be in life."

Little Yunru seemed to ponder this deeply while the others focused intently on the dough.

"Alright," Lei said, "now we'll fold in the berries. Gently. We want them evenly distributed."

He stepped aside, gesturing for the kids to try. They were already learning how to handle dough, and this would be good practice.

Lei watched as each kid took turns folding the dough, their small hands moving with care. Even Little Ning took it seriously, though she, like Little Jiao, couldn't resist sneaking an extra berry into her mouth.

Once the dough was ready, Lei instructed them to shape it into small, uniform balls and place them on a tray.

"Time to bake," he said, leading them to the stone oven outside.

Soon, the fire crackled, and Lei slid the tray into the oven.

"Now we wait," Lei said, dusting off his hands. "Patience is the final lesson. You can't rush the process. Remember, the best results come with time."

They sat around the backyard, waiting as the scent of freshly baked cookies filled the air. Lei glanced at the children. Even in their excitement, there was a quiet discipline forming in their actions.

After about twenty minutes, Lei finally pulled the cookies from the oven. Their golden edges were perfectly crisp, with the sweet aroma of the berries wafting through the air. The children's eyes widened in anticipation.

Lei checked the cookies:

[Forest Berry Cookies: Low Quality, Mortal-Tier]: (A basic cookie that has the perfect amount of sweetness. It's mildly spiritual.)

Lei nodded and turned to the kids. "Here it is: the result of your hard work," he said, handing each a cookie. "But remember, it's not just about the end result. The process is just as important. You've all learned something today, even if it doesn't seem like it."

The kids bit into their cookies, faces lighting up as the sweetness of the berries balanced perfectly with the buttery richness.

Little Jiao grinned ear to ear. "This is even better than Grandpa Li's pastries!"

Lei laughed. "Don't tell him that, or he'll challenge me to a bake-off!"

The taste and balance were exactly as Lei had hoped. The airy feeling of the spiritual energy tickled his throat and stomach, almost triggering a minor circle, but the sensation faded just as the spiritual energy began to rise.

Perfect.

As they finished their cookies, Lei couldn't help but smile. This wasn't just about cooking or running a restaurant. It was about teaching these children the values that would guide them in life.

"Alright, back to work," Lei said, standing up. "We've got a restaurant to open. And remember: discipline and stability, just like in the kitchen."

The kids groaned but obeyed, feeling the weight of their lessons. As they headed back inside, Lei lingered in the backyard for a moment, watching the oven's embers die down. There was a long road ahead for both the restaurant and the kids, but for the first time in a while, he felt confident they were on the right path.

And that, to him, was worth more than any dish he could ever cook.

Chapter 51: Disguised

"Brother Yan, you look different today," said the man, tall and wide-shouldered. He seemed to carry himself—or tried to—with a certain heaviness to instill some sense of fear in the other party, though he fell awfully short of delivering on that promise. It could've worked on mortals, but to Sun Hu, he was little more than a child.

"Today is a different day, Brother Hao. Now, if you don't mind, I want to speak with my men." Sun Hu gave him a little smile as he trudged past him into the hall proper, where his taxmen waited in a strict line.

They looked up at him, shuffling nervously under his gaze. They were clearly disturbed by this new arrangement. Why should taxmen stand in line like soldiers? They were officers of the Governor's Office, weren't they?

Sun Hu weighed them down as he paced around the hall. He had twelve men for a town of this size. The brown robes they wore looked simple enough, save for the pockets sewn in, which were hard to see at first glance. They were deep—deep enough to hold a pouch of coins.

Already, some of them were filled to the brim, coppers glinting dimly from inside. How much had they stolen? How much had they taken from the honest folk of Jiangzhen? The math said that the amount of tax collected was, as always, dissapointing. The excuse for that was simple. The populace was in decline, times were hard, and the people had barely enough to keep themselves fed.

But not these taxmen. Oh, they were plump like a score of chickens fattened to perfection. Sun Hu could almost taste the greed in their gazes, that insatiable glint masked by a false fear directed at their senior. If it were up to him, he would've hanged them from the doors for all to see, to show the folk that the filth in this city was being taken care of.

"Dismissed," he said instead, waving a hand toward them.

The men filed out of the hall in quick steps.

With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and peered out toward the city that sprawled beyond the terrace of the hall.

Jiangzhen was odd. Sun Hu couldn't quite shake off the constant feeling that something was missing. The air was lighter. Unreliable. Lacking. To live here would be terrible, so he could understand why the people rarely smiled in the streets. A part of it had gone missing, destroyed in what many thought was a Demonic Cultivator assault. The other parts hardly recognized the fact that at any moment now, it could be their turn.

There was nothing in this city to stop another attack of that caliber.

Sighing deeply, Sun Hu stared down at this delicately manufactured body. Everything was in place where it should be. He had longer arms now, and tanned skin. His hair was this awful color that seemed to be a mix between brown and black. The man he was masquerading as, Ding Yan, hadn't even bothered to fix the tips of it either, so however it nagged him to walk around like this, he let it be to play the part.

You are supposedly in charge of the taxes here. Officer, my ass...

So much for the local governance. They had it good here, having established their little kingdom without any outside intervention. Not like anyone would give a damn even if this whole city vanished in a day. Almost like an afterthought, this place was given to mortals to live their miserable lives away from their betters.

Perhaps I should've left with the Master.

That would've been easy if not for the Oath he'd sworn that he would pursue what was just in the path of the Grand Dao. He'd figured that rather than letting his inner demons devour his heart, bearing a couple of weeks—hopefully days—in a mortal city was nothing.

He had his regrets, of course.

Fooling his Master hadn't been hard either. The Great Master Ren, an esteemed Auditor of the Emperor's Own, might've had keen eyes some centuries prior, but nowadays he scarcely spared a glance at his company, preferring the comfort of empty flattery from the towns he'd been tasked to inspect. He was probably glad to be rid of the annoying disciple he'd taken on a whim for some time, especially after the long talk they'd had before the Great Master decided to leave him alone.

The old fool had a thing for wine, and Jiangzhen's Governor knew how to play the game as well as anyone. He poured whatever he had to keep Master Ren in good spirits, offering him delicacies of local stock in the hopes of delivering something fresh to this otherwise highly experienced Auditor.

It worked, as it always did. As an Auditor, one that was deep in the Core Formation Stage, there wasn't anything mortal in Master Ren's life. Therefore, he liked the novelty of a mortal town and the things it had to offer, even though many lacked the grandeur he'd grown accustomed to.

That was why he'd never bothered to ask a question. Though, Sun Hu knew it was just the way this Empire worked. If people started asking questions, this whole farce would've long crumbled into pieces, revealing the true side of things.

Why? Why do I do this?

He was in a different city, hiding in another man's body, but the question remained the same. Why couldn't he turn his back on this corruption? Why couldn't he be just like his Master, who could act like he didn't care? He probably didn't, and that was why Sun Hu sometimes envied the man. He was happy in a sick, twisted way.

And here Sun Hu was, contemplating yet again the mission he'd taken up for himself. Virtues. Hah! Such foolishness that a man thought he could change the world all by himself. He was nothing. A speck of sand in an ocean of high waters, trying to stay his ground against the mighty tides.

Better to check that fool. I don't want him running around while I'm here.

With a long sigh, he returned to his mansion, covering his nose with a hand.

...

Sun Hu found Ding Yan at the same place he'd left him, stuck in a gold-trimmed closet that housed a couple of ornate robes. His eyes remained distant, foggy, and the Spirit Bonding Rope around his waist was untouched—not that a Body Tempering Stage cultivator could ever hope to escape from the hold of an Earth-Tier rope.

Just to be safe, he dragged the man near the mirror and compared their looks. They looked like identical twins, save for the slight tilt of the lips.

"Hmm, it's a little thing, but better to be safe than sorry," Sun Hu muttered, trailing a finger on his lips. The tilt was right at the edge of his mouth, so it shouldn't take him more than a few seconds to fix it. "Before that, let's get our stories straight."

He reached with a finger and flicked it across the side of Ding Yan's face.

The man woke with a jolt, staring around himself in shock. When his eyes fell on Sun Hu, he flinched back, stumbling a couple of steps before banging into the closet. He was shivering, a fish out of water as his eyes searched the room.

"This is your own place, Little Yan. You know every inch of it like the palm of your hand," Sun Hu muttered, a little bored by the same reaction. The man was just about to scream when Sun Hu waved a hand at him. "You know it doesn't work. I've placed a Sound-Suppressing Formation around your mansion. Took me some time, being honest. You've got yourself a good place here."

With the money you've stolen from the local folk.

"I-I told you everything I know!" Ding Yan sputtered, drops of sweat heavy on his brow. "Please, I don't know anything else. Let me go, I'll leave the city right away!"

"Is this why they singled you out from the group?" Sun Hu asked. "You've got a loud mouth; perhaps they thought you're not a reliable man. It took you seconds to spill everything, after all, eh?"

Ding Yan opened his mouth, only for Sun Hu to silence him with a look.

"I talk, you listen," he said, pacing around the room. He regretted choosing this man when he could have easily gone with that Qi Tao fellow. At least he was in charge of the City Guard and thus would know more about the inner dealings of the Governor. But it was too late now. It would take at least another month if Sun Hu tried to prepare another body.

Who knew the man responsible for the city's finances would be a useless fool? They treat him like a bastard son.

"Now, you told me an old man visited the Governor right before the assault. It was the day before it happened, right?" Sun Hu continued when Ding Yan gave him a nod. "And after the assault, this man kept visiting the Governor every week, until the Auditor came to your city. So we can expect another visit any time now. Where do they meet?"

"In his chambers," Ding Yan said, voice still trembling. "He won't allow anyone to come close. There's a formation there, and once activated, Body Tempering and even Qi Condensation Stage cultivators couldn't step inside."

Should be a Minor Spiritual Barrier Formation. It won't be enough to hold me back, though.

The trouble was, he couldn't pass the formation without alerting the Governor. Only a Formation Master could do that. Though, he could always crush the formation with his Foundation Establishment cultivation base.

Then what? I couldn't kill the man. I need solid evidence if I want to make a case out of this. The corruption alone isn't enough. I have to find a connection that ties the Governor to that assault. And chances are, he's working with a powerful cultivator.

There was little you could do about Demonic Cultivator attacks. A Nascent Soul cultivator, demonic or not, could easily get away with crushing a mortal city. It was then odd that a cultivator attack only crushed a quarter of the city, leaving the other parts untouched.

And I've got word from the Skyguard that there hasn't been a single demonic cultivator seen around this part of the Empire for the last fifty years. Strange… This whole thing is way too strange.

"Good," he muttered, then flicked a hand across the man, sending him back to the closet. For good measure, he activated the spiritual rope around the man's body.

"What was the saying?" he said out loud as he shook his head. "Oh, yes. I'm in a bit of a pickle here."

But he couldn't turn back from his Heavenly Oath. It had been very manly of him to swear the Oath as a new graduate. He could still remember the pride on his father's face. A just man, a courageous man, and a fool, no doubt. But he had to keep with the tradition.

His father had said when Emperor Xia ruled, it was mandatory for all the Auditors and Judges to swear an Oath to the Heavens. This way, people could be sure justice would prevail in the end.

That changed when the new Emperor usurped the throne. To him, this practice was predatory. Justice, in his words, could prevail without an Oath to the Heavens. We should trust men, he'd said, trust their integrity. Believe the best in people.

That's working, eh?

It was not, and people were okay with that. Just that Sun Hu thought he was different. His family was different. He should have known better when his father, the Grand Judge of the Emperor's Court, was forced to retire under the new Emperor's rule.

Can't do anything about that, can we?

Back to business, now. He had to focus and find a way to get close to other cultivators in the city. During these last days, he hadn't even managed to speak more than a few words to others. Everybody kept to themselves. He must find a place to poke a finger into this scheme.

But how? How—

A knock came on the door.

Sun Hu scowled as he made for the entrance. He'd fired all the maids to keep away from curious eyes, so he'd been tending to his own needs. When he opened the door, he found a plump man waiting with a card and a straw basket in his hands.

"Yes?" Sun Hu said with a glare. He had to act the part.

"My good sir!" the plump man said and gave him a glorious bow before flashing him a wide smile. "They call me Fatty Lou around here, and I'm glad to make acquaintances with our esteemed Commissioner. Please allow me to present this invite and a little gift from the first spiritual restaurant in Jiangzhen."

Sun Hu was about to dismiss him when the man leaned in and waved a finger at his face.

"You'll find the date of the opening in the card. We're preparing a special event for our hardworking cultivators in the city. Oh, what would we do without them? They're the keepers of our town, our saviors! And do try one of those spiritual cookies before you make your decision. I've been told they're rather… heavenly."

Taken aback, Sun Hu had to take the card and the basket when the man basically forced them into his hands and bolted off before he had a chance to refuse. With that, Sun Hu closed the door and sighed out a breath.

Spiritual cookies? Bah! The only spiritual food in this city was that awful rice in the brothels. That, and our Governor's special diet ordered from Lanzhou.

Sun Hu shook his head as he stared at the basket. He wasn't too thrilled by the promise of spirituality in these cookies, but the invite to that special event got his attention. If all the cultivators in the governance attend--

Why would they? A simple cookie wouldn't be enough to pique their interest.

His shoulders slumped. He took one of the cookies from the basket. There was no way this would get those secretive bastards to gather around in a restaurant. They liked to keep away from the city except when it was time to collect their rents.

Still, Sun Hu tried one of the cookies.

It crunched between his teeth, sweet but not overly so. He wasn't a fan of overly sweet things, but this one had the perfect balance. The flavors trickled down through his mouth. It wasn't bad, but just like he thought, there was nothing spiritual in—

A sudden wind filled his mouth, puffing his cheeks out. He couldn't close his lips as he stumbled back, as if slapped by an invisible hand. The flavors doubled in mere seconds, the lacking air of Jiangzhen growing still… until a wave of spiritual energy assaulted his taste buds.

"What in the Heavens is this?!" he sputtered, disoriented as he tried to right himself.

Something odd was happening around his stomach. Something strange. It felt like the start of a minor circle, the spiritual energy poking around his innards like a curious child. And just when the energy was about to round into a circle, it vanished all of a sudden, leaving a heavenly aftertaste in his mouth.

His head snapped to the basket. Fingers trembling, he took one of the cookies. Then he took another one. He devoured the dozen cookies in a rush, caring not whether it got all over his mouth and face.

It wasn't his proudest moment, stuffing one cookie after another into his mouth. But it was definitely one of the most delicious ones.

Chapter 52: Final Prep

It was a beautiful morning in Jiangzhen, and the wind knew all about it. It whistled through the wooden shutters of the kitchen, easing into Lei's apron. His kitchen staff hadn't arrived yet, as Lei had decided to start the day much earlier than he used to. The sun had just risen above the horizon, and the first light spilled gently over the city.

He checked the chickens on the counter. They weren't cheap. Thankfully, Master Li and Granny Xu were making sure he had enough money for at least a couple of days. Other than the daily spiritual meals Lei cooked for the kids, the old pair covered the other expenses. He promised he would pay them back once he got a handle on the restaurant business.

They had two new servers for today's opening. One of them was a familiar face—Brother He, whom they had used as a middleman for the Adventurers' Guild. The other was Xie Yanyu, a woman who had worked at Granny Xu's place before she closed it. She knew her way around the business and occasionally delighted customers with her angelic voice.

According to Fatty Lou, they should expect around two dozen cultivators to attend the event. Not a bad number, considering they only invited the Governor's close circle to the restaurant. If they could turn them into regulars, then it would be a piece of cake to get other cultivators in the city as well – or people with deep pockets to dine in a spiritual restaurant, of course.

For that, the first impression was important. To get the ball rolling, Lei knew he had only one chance. If he messed up the opening, the already secretive cultivator group in Jiangzhen wouldn't visit the restaurant a second time. That was why they had spent the greater part of the week preparing the menu and gathering all the ingredients.

During this time, Zhu Luli and Little Yao had made a single tour to Darkwood Forest. They mostly gathered herbs and spiritual plants, as Lei found that spiritual beast meat came out much stronger than he liked when cooked with his Essence Enhancement skill. It was also a pain to keep the meat fresh in these primitive conditions.

He had heard from Zhu Luli that they had in-house cooling in places like Lanzhou, often supplied by certain cultivator clans who specialized in ice and water cultivation. Just like on Earth, these ancient yet creative refrigerators often needed yearly maintenance to function, which gave these clans a constant cash flow.

The more Lei heard about these so-called Immortal Cities, the more he wanted to take that first step into the real spiritual world. Even though these cities had their own rules and housed dozens of cultivator clans, it felt like it would be a waste to stay in a mortal city, doing mortal things.

This feeling was multiplied whenever he saw his little cultivators. Snake, Stone, and Little Mei were growing by leaps and bounds with each passing day. Soon, this mortal city would be too small to contain their talents. The other group, headed by Little Meng, was not too far behind the monstrous geniuses. Their progress was slower, sure, but under Zhu Luli's guidance, they were perfecting the basics of cultivation.

Zhu Luli herself was about to step into the Qi Condensation Stage, which was a huge milestone in a cultivator's journey. She had already established a bond with a star, thanks to the sudden enlightenment she had gained from Lei's dishes. She just needed that extra flux of spiritual energy to become a fully-fledged Qi Condensation Stage expert.

Lei promised her he would cook a High-Quality Mortal-Tier dish whenever she wanted. But before that, they had to focus on the restaurant opening.

Fatty Lou also had been busy this past week. After much discussion, he decided he would visit these cultivators in person. They all agreed that Lei's spiritual cookies would be enough to at least make them consider attending the opening event. He even went as far as to use Master Li's connections to pass the security checks most cultivators had around their mansions.

That was another thing. They didn't like to talk about it, but Lei could see the father and son pair growing closer. It was slow, but evident from the little gestures they had started sharing between them. Master Li didn't seem to be looking for an opportunity to reprimand his son anymore. On the contrary, he seemed, at least in part, to have come to respect his son's efforts.

They were doing something big here—something that the normal Jiangzhen folk wouldn't even dare to consider. This restaurant business, this whole thing, was a build-up for the future. Everything, from the menu to Fatty Lou's initiatives at handling the cultivators like a door-to-door salesman, was part of their plan.

Thus, Master Li and Granny Xu settled for just watching everything from the sidelines, waiting to see if this whole thing would hold up. Lei hoped it would. He was doing his best to make sure of that.

As for the menu, Lei reckoned keeping things simple was a must. He couldn't show his whole hand right away. Just bits and pieces of his deep culinary knowledge would be enough to seal the deal. He also wanted to make it messy. He wanted to show them that this restaurant was a different place.

Of course, he could have gone with a twelve-course tasting menu, but Zhu Luli made it clear that cultivators didn't like their food in small bites. It had something to do with the meridians and the process of absorbing Qi through one's pores. It took energy to maintain the flow of minor circles. The best supply of energy was, well, food.

That was why his little cultivators had turned into food-devouring monsters in just a few weeks. It seemed nothing would be enough to satiate their hunger. Thankfully, Lei had the System's assistance to give the food that extra spirituality, making it so that the kids ingested the Qi with barely any effort. The skill also boosted the literal essence of food—the flavors and nutrients inside the food—making it extra rich.

Therefore, the myth that cultivators solely depended on spiritual energy to live remained, in part, just that—a myth. Though as Zhu Luli said, it was possible once you'd reached a certain stage like Core Formation.

So, the cultivators attending the opening event wouldn't be satisfied with small portions. Lei would have to give them plenty. And these chickens would be one of the initial courses. If the cultivators were akin to beasts hiding under human skin, then it was only right for Lei to prepare his menu with that knowledge in mind.

And what could be better than some chicken wings to start the whole feast?

…..

He started the marinade. The red chili peppers waited for him, the garlic and ginger not too far from the chopping board. On the side was the main ingredient that would give the chickens that hint of spirituality.

It was an odd flower that housed dozens of seeds, all black and spotless. It took just a little push for them to crack open, revealing the kernel that looked just as dark. As a Low-Quality Mortal-tier spiritual herb, it wasn't much different from a sunflower. But it was crunchy and spicy, as if someone had sprinkled a little bit of Mexican chili around the flower.

He crushed dozens of seeds and mixed them with the other ingredients. Next came the oil, topped with an appropriate amount of salt and pepper. The resulting mix was an angry red. As his Sous Chef once told him, the color had to change once you seasoned chicken meat.

Moving on, he handled the chickens. He divided the wings and drumsticks, his fingers moving with practiced precision. He then removed the thighs and set them aside. He would cut them into cubes for another dish. Slowly and carefully, he massaged the marinade into the wings and drumsticks, placing them in a bowl when he was done.

Then he stepped back and peeked out at the sun. The staff would arrive soon, and he needed to ensure everything was in place. He moved swiftly around the kitchen, setting up stations and arranging ingredients. Though he tried to remain calm, the excitement boiling in his stomach poked him now and then. Today was not just about food—well, it was, kind of—but more than that, it was about proving himself to the old couple and the cultivators.

The kids filed in through the main door. He could hear their joy from here in the kitchen. It sounded like Brother He and Xie Yanyu were with them, talking about the arrangements. They weren't used to dealing with cultivators, and Lei could respect that, but he wouldn't settle for less than perfect today.

Good thing Brother Lou would be keeping an eye on them.

They started right after they'd gotten to their stations inside the kitchen. It was mostly prep work, but this time they would be preparing for a live audience. To control the pressure, though, Lei turned toward Xie Yanyu.

"Sister Yanyu, if you don't mind, we'd like to hear one of your songs," Lei said, smiling at his little group. "We need all the help we can get now."

The woman looked at him as if to say, 'Right now?' and started when Lei gave her a nod. It wasn't unusual for chefs to crank up the noise during prep work. It helped against stress and the monotony of the labor.

Her voice was soft, like a gentle breeze fluttering the curtains. The song was about the Brown Pass, a mountain pass the numerous tribes beyond the Eastern Continent used to raid villages. The cultivators of the Empire refused to answer the pleas of the common folk, letting them suffer at the hands of these barbarians.

These barbarians were strong. They cultivated earth and fire. They burned villages, kidnapped children, and sullied women. The ground cracked and ruptured with a wave of their hands; the wind changed directions at their command. Under their relentless and brutal attacks, the common folk had to flee their homes.

It wasn't until a young man named Sun Zhengsheng arrived that they finally saw hope. He had only a single bow, yet he was like an eagle hunting for prey. None of the barbarians could withstand a single arrow from him. When he willed it, the winds returned to the common folk. When he breathed, the fires around the villages extinguished within moments.

Though he was a young genius, a cultivator who had sworn an Oath to the Heavens that as long as he breathed, he would always help those in need, the people didn't believe that he was of the same cultivators that turned their backs to them. Thus they named him after Hou Yi, the Lord Archer himself. They thought that a reincarnation of an Immortal of the suns had come to their rescue.

After he dealt with all the barbarians, Sun Zhengsheng planted his bow at the entrance of the Brown Pass. He said it would remain there as long as the sun shone above the clouds—a harsh lesson for those who dared to step beyond the Pass and lay a hand on the common folk.

Lei blinked when Little Jiao placed the thinly-sliced noodles before him. The song had taken him far from the kitchen, to the point where he hadn't noticed the kids working with muted discipline.

He smiled and patted her head as he took the strips in his hand. From beneath the counter, he pulled out a jar filled with cabbage the color of a crimson sun. Little Chuanli had already prepared the garlic, chives, and a pot full of water.

"I never thought I'd be cooking Kimchi Ramen here," Lei muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "Hope they don't take offense at that."

Then, he used the Essence Enhancement skill on the chives, making them shimmer like little rubies on the counter. That earned him a gasp from Xie Yanyu, to which Lei just smiled and told her it was nothing special.

The kids shared a laugh.

The prep work was looking good.

Then Xie Yanyu started another song, this one upbeat with a joyful rhythm. She clapped as she sang, and Lei let his body ease into the beat. Shaking his hips to the side, he examined the brats' work.

The noodle strips were coming along well, as they needed enough for two dozen people. The chickens were all left to marinate, and the initial steps of today's crown dish were underway. Lei called the dish Rice Over The Clouds, but Fatty Lou still preferred the name Spirited Fried Rice.

Everything started with this dish, and Lei hoped it would mark the beginning of another chapter for them after the night's feast.