ARLQLCC chapter 15

As the sun sank in the west, layers of glowing colors spread across the horizon. Clouds rose and fell, and in only a short while, that layer of red slowly disappeared behind the foot of the mountain.

When the moon rose above the willow branches, warm lights also lit up in the Linggu Mountain cafeteria.

Before the sun set, Su Ji began preparing the hot pot broth and the side ingredients.

The group of disciples from Yunxian Sect could not sit still. Seeing that Su Ji was about to start cooking, they immediately proposed to watch the chef at work.

While Su Ji prepared the soup base, they helped cut the ingredients on the side. Normally, none of them had ever entered a kitchen, but since they practiced swordsmanship every day, their knife skills were actually not bad.

Some cut vegetables, some watched. As a result, Su Ji managed to steal half a day of leisure today and had an incredibly relaxed time.

At this moment, he truly moved the plan of hiring a few helpers to the top of his priorities.

Today’s customer traffic had really reached a new high. Su Ji had a feeling that the days ahead would only get busier and busier. The cafeteria had only been open for its second day, and he was already finding it somewhat hard to handle. Not to mention that once the reputation spread and disciples from several sects came together, he really would not be able to manage alone.

He himself was still alright. Some steps could be handled with spells to save effort, but as a kitten not even the size of a palm, collecting money for that long in one go was what truly exhausted Ma Tuan.

Having made up his mind, Su Ji planned to contact Shopkeeper Chen tonight and hire a few hardworking assistants to work here. That way, his hands would be freed up in the afternoons, and he could study some new dishes.

…

The pot was heated until a few wisps of pale white smoke rose from it.

Su Ji added lard to the pot, then tossed in scallions, ginger, and garlic and stir-fried them until fragrant. From the assortment of seasonings he had bought, he took out some fermented bean paste and added a generous spoonful to the pot, followed by green and red Sichuan peppercorns and an appropriate amount of dried chilies.

This broth base was made with a stronger flavor. As soon as it was stir-fried in the hot pot, the fragrance immediately burst out. Yun Xicheng was standing the closest and watching the most carefully. As soon as the pungent spicy aroma rose, it hit him straight in the face.

He stumbled backward and stopped in the doorway in a sorry state, sneezing several times in a row.

The kitchen erupted in laughter, and Yun Che laughed the loudest.

Su Ji laughed as well, but he still had to keep the ingredients in the pot from burning, so his laughter was very restrained.

When Yun Xicheng came back, he stood far away. Although the smell was truly fragrant, he honestly could not handle another blast to the face.

Once it was fried enough, Su Ji added several star anise and a few bay leaves. Seeing that the heat was about right, he scooped up the sauce and put it into the stove that had been prepared long ago. He poured in hot water to dissolve the hot pot base.

After adding appropriate amounts of other seasonings, the red broth hot pot base was complete.

Cheers rang out in the kitchen. Su Ji carried the tableware, while the others brought over the side ingredients and the pot of broth. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the dining area and gathered around the table to begin the meal.

A full circle of ingredients was arranged around the table, while the bubbling pot in the center released an enticing aroma. Everyone swallowed at the same time.

There was still quite a bit of chilled sour plum drink left in the storage artifact. Su Ji brought it out as well. The icy sour plum drink and the spicy red broth hot pot were truly a perfect match. Once the drinks were served, the meal officially began.

The broth in the pot boiled and bubbled. Red oil floated on the surface, releasing an alluring aroma.

Earlier in the afternoon, everyone had reported their favorite ingredients. As soon as the meal started, they all eagerly reached for their favorites.

Yun Xicheng loved seafood. When arranging the ingredients, he placed the shrimp meat he had peeled all afternoon right in front of himself. As soon as the fresh, tender shrimp entered the boiling broth, it began to change color and curl up. Once cooked and picked up, it was coated with a bright layer of red oil, looking extremely tempting.

“Ah, I feel like I’m going to be overwhelmed by the fragrance before I even eat it,” Yun Xicheng sighed as he looked at the white, tender shrimp in front of him.

After bringing out the sour plum drink, Su Ji had gone back to the kitchen. At this moment, he was carrying several small dishes of dipping sauces in different flavors, and he happened to hear Yun Xicheng’s sigh.

He placed one dish in front of Yun Xicheng. “Try dipping it in this. I just mixed this dipping sauce, and the taste should be pretty good.”

One small dish after another of brightly colored dipping sauces was placed before them. Their eyes lit up, and they thanked Su Ji in unison before lowering their heads and eating.

When Su Ji returned to his seat, the bowl beside him that belonged to Chu Zhaoye was still completely empty.

It was not that they had not thought about helping him cook his food, but the little kitten had principles and refused everyone’s help, focusing only on waiting for Su Ji to come back.

While waiting for Su Ji, his gloomy gaze swept more than once toward Yan Shao, who was sitting on his right.

If Su Ji had not placed him in the middle of the seats so he could take care of him while eating, then with Yan Shao’s level of enthusiasm, he probably would have sat right next to Su Ji!

Everyone had been helping Su Ji all afternoon, but even in such a hardworking atmosphere, Yan Shao had still stood out. Not only had he washed the most plates, he had also rushed to help prepare the ingredients.

Just now, he had even tried to compete with him for the seat closest to Su Ji.

Throughout all the years Chu Zhaoye had ruled the demon race, he had believed in only one principle: the one with the hardest fist was the boss. If someone offended him, he would pay them back a thousandfold or a hundredfold. Once they were beaten enough, they would know he was not someone to provoke.

For thousands of years, no matter what race he faced, he had never been defeated. Yet now, a tiny disciple from Yunxian Sect was competing with him for someone, and he could not even teach the other party a lesson.

The greatest humiliation of his life! The greatest humiliation of his life!

Although he knew in his heart that, as a mighty cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence realm and one of the top three experts on the continent, he really should not be angry with a disciple who had not even formed the Nascent Soul, he simply could not control himself.

He was angry at Yan Shao and angry at himself, leaving himself bloated before he had even started eating.

Naturally, the first to notice his discomfort was Su Ji.

Su Ji had already cooked some fish slices and was just about to place them into the kitten’s bowl when he saw him absentmindedly patting his belly, without the usual eagerness he showed during meals.

He picked up the kitten and held him in his arms, lowering his head to ask softly, “What’s wrong, Ma Tuan? Is your stomach uncomfortable?”

Chu Zhaoye liked the way Su Ji looked at him with full attention. He pretended to be even more pitiful and weakly wrote on Su Ji’s arm: My stomach feels uncomfortable. It’s bloated. It feels awful.

Actually, it was not that uncomfortable. He had suffered all kinds of injuries before. A little bloating did not even count as an illness to him.

But whether it was serious or not was not important. What mattered was that every time something like this happened, Su Ji would worry about him, comfort him, and coax him. Chu Zhaoye enjoyed it and felt a secret sense of satisfaction.

Sure enough, after reading what he wrote, Su Ji immediately became nervous. He raised that white jade-like slender warm hand and gently placed it on his belly, carefully massaging it.

Chu Zhaoye felt so comfortable he could die.

Normally, Su Ji loved stroking his head the most, but private places like a kitten’s belly were not places Su Ji touched often. Being touched so gently all of a sudden, the tingling sensation shooting up from his tailbone nearly made Chu Zhaoye let out a sound.

He sprawled in Su Ji’s arms like a cat pancake. As Su Ji continued, the discomfort in his stomach eased considerably.

Yan Shao sat right beside Chu Zhaoye and witnessed the entire process of Su Ji coaxing the cat. He paused his chopsticks and watched for a moment, then said with a face full of envy in a small voice, “I really envy Ma Tuan…”

He spoke so softly that only Chu Zhaoye, whose hearing was sharp as an animal’s, and Yun Xicheng, who sat opposite Yan Shao, heard him.

Chu Zhaoye sneered inwardly: Once I turn back into a human, I’ll definitely find a chance to beat you up.

Meanwhile, the shrimp Yun Xicheng had just cooked fell straight into his bowl. He looked at Su Ji, who was coaxing the cat, then looked at Yan Shao, who had just said something astonishing, and his eyes widened.

Yun Che glanced at Yun Xicheng strangely and leaned over to ask, “What’s wrong with you? Your hand is shaking like this. Don’t tell people outside that you’re a sword cultivator from Yunxian Sect.”

Yun Xicheng elbowed him and lowered his voice. “Just now I heard Yan Shao say that he really envies the little kitten.”

Yun Che was full of question marks. “Envy what? Why would a person envy a cat?”

Yun Xicheng signaled with his eyes for Yun Che to look at Su Ji, then pointed at Yan Shao and said, “Didn’t you notice the way Yan Shao has been looking at him? He’s been staring at Su Ji all day. He was especially enthusiastic about washing dishes this afternoon, and when Yue He suggested cutting ingredients tonight, he was the first to rush forward.”

Yun Che let out an “Ah.” “Y-you mean?”

“Exactly!” Yun Xicheng slapped his thigh. “Just now, Su Ji was so gentle while coaxing the kitten. Yan Shao practically had envy written all over his face!”

Yun Che was shocked. “Damn, this guy is usually so quiet and honest. I didn’t expect his first stirrings of love to come so suddenly!”

Yun Xicheng said, “Right? It scared my shrimp right out of my chopsticks!”

The two of them whispered quietly. Su Ji was busy rubbing the cat and did not notice, and Yan Shao had all his attention on Su Ji. In the entire room, only Yue He, who was eating the most seriously, noticed.

The plate of beef balls in front of her had already been swept clean. After eating the last one, she set her sights on Yun Xicheng’s shrimp.

Just as Yue He was about to pick up some shrimp, she turned and saw the two of them sneaking around and whispering about something. She raised her hand and smacked Yun Che on the back, startling him so badly that he nearly jumped.

Yun Che whipped around and said angrily, “Yue He, if you have nothing better to do, why are you hitting me?”

Yue He replied strangely, “That’s what I should ask you. You and Yun Xicheng were just talking, so why were you acting like thieves?”

Yun Che choked, exchanged a glance with Yun Xicheng, and quietly called Yue He over. He had her lean in and repeated what he and Yun Xicheng had just discussed.

Yue He was shocked after hearing it. Her large fluttering eyes moved back and forth between Yan Shao and Su Ji, and for a long time, she could not say a word.

Yun Che said calmly, “Surprised, right? You should be. I was just as surprised.”

Yue He ate a bite of shrimp to calm herself. “But with Chef Su’s looks and cooking skills, it’s perfectly normal for Yan Shao to be attracted.”

Yun Xicheng and Yun Che: “Makes sense.”

The three of them chatted enthusiastically, while on the other side, Su Ji had finished massaging Chu Zhaoye’s stomach and began feeding him.

His bowl was piled with fish slices. The warmth of Su Ji’s palm still lingered on his belly, making this dinner feel even more delicious.

The group ate for a long time before they finished all the ingredients on the table. After fulfilling their promise to scrub the pot and wash the dishes, they efficiently helped Su Ji tidy up the kitchen and then prepared to return to the sect under the night sky.

Su Ji carried the kitten and walked with them to the teleportation array. The four of them stepped into the formation, waving goodbye to Su Ji while waiting for it to activate.

One second, two seconds, ten seconds had passed.

The teleportation array showed no reaction at all.

Yun Xicheng looked down at the formation and released a strand of spiritual energy from his hand to investigate.

A moment later, that strand of spiritual energy returned to Yun Xicheng’s hand and wriggled, as if complaining to him.

In the next second, Yun Xicheng exploded in fury. “Who the hell is so shameless?! They destroyed the formation we use to return to the sect!!”

 

Author’s Note:

The servant in charge of serving food: It was Chef Lin who did it. (pointing fingers)

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