Gourmet of Another World

A donburi was quickly brought before Wu Yunbai and was devoured just as quickly by her, with nothing left behind, not even a grain of rice.

She had just finished her meal and yet it didn’t take long before her face managed to regain of some its rosy hue, as if a mass of dense vitality energy was circulating within her right now. Belching, she released some of the stored up energy.

Feeling that warming burn in her energy core, her face brightened up. Owner Bu truly lived up to his name; with just one bowl of Dragon Blood Meat Donburi, her wounds actually recovered this much. Although they weren’t completely healed up, they were at least much better than before.

”Owner Bu, this beef of yours seems a little different. Why is it so packed full of energy? That rice too, the mouth feel of it was rather chewy, but once I swallowed it, my body was filled with vitality energy, like I had just eaten some miraculous medicine.” Wu Yunbai exclaimed, mouth sputtering with praises in every word.

Bu Fang grinned slightly as he took in her praise. That rice she just ate wasn’t just any old rice grain, it was Dragon Blood Rice. Although it was just rice watered with a pseudo-dragon blood, its effects were vastly superior to that of ordinary rice grains and even better than certain breeds of spirit energy rice.

In short, not only was it a delectable ingredient, Dragon Blood Rice was also a medicinal ingredient.

As for the beef, was there even any doubt that it was special? Carved from the seventh grade Wandering Dragon Cow, there was no way it wouldn’t be brimming with spirit energy. The taste was vetted by Bu Fang himself. It was superb.

Born of these two ingredients, it was only natural that the finished dish possessed such an unparalleled taste.

Right now, Wu Yunbai’s body was filled with a surging mass of spirit and vitality energy. She needed a place to cultivate so as to digest this energy and recuperate at the same time.

Thus, Master Ah Wu and her swiftly bid their farewells to Bu Fang and left.

Before leaving, she threw Ah Ni a glance that was steeped in meaning: ”I hope you won’t forget about your promise.”

Ah Ni nodded before bowing respectfully to express his gratitude for her aid in this mission.

Wu Yunbai accepted the gratitude silently and then left with Master Ah Wu.

”Owner Bu... is it about time we begin the emergency treatment of my uncle, Yu Feng?” Ah Ni anxiously asked.

Yu Fu, equally anxious, threw the owner an expecting look as well.

However, Bu Fang merely swept his eyes over them blandly before saying: ”Be patient, I already said that once our opening hours are over, I will personally brew some elixir cuisine to save him. Naturally, I won’t go back on my words so just rest easy and wait. Don’t rush me.”

As calm as can be, he then returned to the kitchen.

At the side, Ouyang Xiaoyi cozied up the Five Stripes Path-Understanding Fruit Tree and sat down in a comfy spot beneath, one eye closed while the other remained open. While it wasn’t strictly considered cultivating, basking in the scent of the fruit tree was enough to aid one’s cultivation.

Like that, a day of operation ended in a flash during which this little restaurant was graced by a number of acquaintances who left after enjoying some small dishes. For the most part, they were here to observe the growth status of the fruit tree.

As two slightly obscured crescent moons rose over the darkened horizon, the restaurant finally closed up for the day. Walking out of the kitchen, he wiped off the stains on his hand, pulled up a chair for himself to sit and then turned to look at the trio, all in a calm and orderly fashion.

On his previous trip to the Illusory Spirit Swamp, he managed to retrieve some seeds from the Ice Soul Monarch Lotus. That lotus originally was one of the serpent-man tribe’s heavenly treasures. Having taken such a valuable ingredient, Bu Fang naturally needed to show them some sincerity. That was why he elected to save that serpent-man, Yu Feng.

Truth be told, it was a form of equivalent exchange.

Due to the extenuating circumstances then, the Wandering Dragon Cow Meat Congee was only able to slightly alleviate that serpent-man’s condition. Now that they were all in the imperial capital, it fell on him once more to brew up another batch of elixir cuisine. Given that he had promised them before, he naturally wasn’t going to skimp on the effort now.

Calmly, he plopped himself down onto the chair and began chatting with the serpent-man Ah Ni.

Having spent an entire day in the kitchen, even Bu Fang needed some time to relax. However, Ah Ni and Yu Fu were clearly too anxious for that right now. Given a choice, they would rather have Bu Fang immediately start working on the brewing.

Finally, after getting enough rest, Bu Fang stood up and, under the expecting gaze of the two snake-men, walked back into the kitchen to begin his brewing.

Previously, in the serpent-man settlement, he only had the most primitive of cooking implements to work with. Using those crude tools, the Wandering Dragon Cow Meat Congee he boiled had barely a tenth of its original medicinal power. Now that he was in his own personal kitchen, such a problem naturally didn’t exist.

”Blood Crown Wandering Dragon Cow Meat Congee? Hmm... some changes are needed here.” Standing before his stove, his deep contemplations were only interrupted by a few sporadic blinks of his eyes.

First, he retrieved from his system’s inventory a gigantic slab of the Blood Crown he sliced off from the head of that seventh grade Black Swamp Boa. That Blood Crown was where the Black Swamp Boa stored its vital energy, thus it was the main ingredient for this batch of elixir cuisine.

”Perhaps adding in some Dragon Blood Rice might improve the efficacy of the elixir.” He murmured to himself while stroking his chin.

The more he thought about this change of his, the better it sounded to him and his eyes brightened up in response.

Green smoke coiling about his hands, he summoned forth his Golden Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife and with a quick flourish, sliced off a chunk of the Blood Crown.

In order to process the Blood Crown, one needed to use the Golden Dragon Bone Knife. No other knife would serve here, as they wouldn’t be able to seal the opening caused by the cut. Unless that opened was sealed up, the energy within would constantly leak out, turning the Blood Crown worthless within moments.

The Golden Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife was imperative in brewing elixir cuisines precisely because of its ability to preserve the vitality and spirit energy within the ingredient even after it had been sliced.

Bu Fang grabbed a handful of Dragon Blood, though not much. It was merely half of what he used to prepare that donburi.

Retrieving a casserole from the kitchen cabinet, he then tossed the washed Dragon Blood Rice into the kitchenware and poured in a generous serving of Heaven Alps Spirit Lake Water provided by the system. After being chopped up, the Blood Crown was tossed into the casserole as well.

Next came the Wandering Dragon Cow Meat. This time, he sliced off the bottom round of the beef. Naturally, he used the Golden Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife as well, perfectly sealing the spirit energy within.

Tossing all the ingredients into the casserole, Bu Fang turned on the stove and started the slow brew. As the ingredients stewed within, he put a single hand over the lid of the casserole and continually channeled his true energy through it.

The brewing of elixir cuisine was, in a lot of ways, a test of the brewer’s degree and quality of control over his true energy. Furthermore, the brewer must know the combined effects of each and every ingredient within his dish like the back of his hand. That was why brewing elixir cuisines was such a exhausting and challenging task for the vast majority of chefs.

Even Bu Fang had to expend a decent amount of true energy and energy in order to brew a good batch of elixir cuisine, especially this particular batch of Blood Crown Cow Meat Dragon Rice Congee. Because the ingredients used were all extraordinary, the spirit energy reaction between each was a lot more complicated and minute. Such details required a greater degree of true energy control, and this increased the overall difficulty of the task.

For roughly half an hour, Bu Fang maintained his infusion of true energy. By now, his forehead was drenched in sweat and yet he merely trudged on with brows furrowed, not daring to loosen his focus for even a second.

With regards to the culinary arts, Bu Fang had always adopted the highest of standards. It was his hope that every dish he put out was the best. Thus, he put his heart and soul in every dish he cooked, just so that it wouldn’t disgrace his art.

Soon, a rich and uniquely fragrant congee smell began to escape from the lid of the casserole. It had an exquisite feel to it, as if it was an extremely fine thread that weaved its way through your nostrils ever so smoothly like pure silk.

”That’s the smell! Even though it’s slightly different from that time... that’s definitely the smell! I remember it very clearly!” Raved a visibly excited Yu Fu, arms clutching Ah Ni’s own as he took in the fragrance wafting out of the kitchen.

Seeing that, Ah Ni couldn’t help but nod and smile ruefully. However, while he might have acted as such, his heart was just as excited as his companion’s.

The fragrance itself was in the midst of being brewed; first it had a reserved quality to it before bursting forth in an intoxicating wave.

The moment the two serpent-men noticed a lean figure walking out of Bu Fang’s kitchen, they immediately straightened their backs.

From within, he brought out a piping hot casserole that steamed with a fine, silken fragrance.

Blob Blob!

Even after it was placed on the table, the bloody congee within was still boiling hot. As the bubbles burst, a waft of fragrance was released into the room.

”Blood Crown Cow Meat Dragon Congee. This should be enough to fully treat your father’s ailments, so go ahead and feed it to him.” Bu Fang explained to Yu Fu as he massaged his stiff fingers.

The serpent-woman nodded her head, with excitement written all over her face. Walking up to the casserole, she eyed the boiling hot congee and chewed on her lips.

She pulled out a celadon bowl and laddled a spoonful of congee into the waiting bowl. As she did so, the vitality energy within almost seemed to materialize and hiss at her like a serpent.

”This... this…” She found herself at a loss for words. For vitality energy to manifest such a phenomenon... How terrifying…

”If nothing goes wrong, this elixir cuisine should be able to treat his ailments,” Bu Fang said with a calm nod of his head. As his serious gaze fell upon the excited daughter, his gaze softened slightly.