The Devil’s Cage

“They do,” Kieran nodded.

He wasn’t brushing the topic off, and he wasn’t telling lies because the dead really did exist.

Whether in other dungeon worlds or in this current one, the dead existed.

But…

Time had ground away the perception of their existence.

When Kieran was answering, Boss Dao had been watching Kieran, and when Kieran nodded, the well-groomed master of culinary looked slightly excited.

“Can I see them?” Boss Dao held his excitement back and asked further, his tone even slightly changed because of the arousal.

“It’s hard,” Kieran replied plainly.

It was also an honest answer. The current dungeon world in its modern era had no traces of the supernatural or whatsoever anymore, the mystical realm became a legend. To get in touch with the mystical realm, one must transcend above the normal or be a naturally gifted person.

Boss Dao before Kieran’s eyes was neither former nor the latter.

But when Boss Dao heard what Kieran said, he seemed to heave a slight breath of relief.

“Hard is better than hopeless.”

“Let’s drink,” Boss Dao smiled as he lifted his cup and took a small sip.

Kieran drained it empty, though. The aroma of the tea exploded in his mouth, thus shaking his spirit and mental state. His exhaustion was greatly halved after one cup of tea.

“Good tea,” Kieran praised.

He didn’t know tea, but he still could tell whether or not it was a good tea.

“This tea isn’t good by any means, but it’s… the water!”

Boss Dao emphasized and touched the transparent bottle softly. A slight smile hung over his face.

“I spent a lot of effort to get my hands on this.”

“Nice,” Kieran praised directly.

Even without checking, Kieran knew the bottle of water was extraordinary. He didn’t know where Boss Dao got his hands on it, but he knew the bottle that looked like glass felt as gentle and smooth as jade.

He didn’t know what material the water bottle made of, he only knew it would be very costly.

“You should drink more.”

Boss Dao lifted the teapot and poured the brilliant green tea into Kieran’s cup. The murmuring of the flowing tea converged with Boss Dao’s words, though.

“How can I see the dead?”

“You don’t have the gifts.”

Kieran was being straightforward, he roughly understood the purpose of this private meeting.

Humans always have something or someone they missed.

The question was how much.

If it were a lot, one would lose himself and fall into an irrational pursuit for his persistence.

If it were a little, one would look at it coldly and yet wouldn’t be able to hold back a sigh.

Life and death had the farthest distances.

“So, it’s hard?”

“Yes.”

Kieran took the new cup of tea and finished it with one gulp again.

“What about other ways?”

Boss Dao lifted the teapot and filled Kieran’s cup again.

“The peak. You must reach the peak of a common man!” said Kieran.

Somethings were unexplainable and shouldn’t be explained, a simple summary would be the best.

“So it’s hard,” Boss Dao sighed, but his eyes were glimmering, it felt like he was freed from some shackles, coming back to life. He wasn’t surprised by Kieran’s answer, though.

Compared to wallowing in uncertainty, a line of hope would be enough to change a person’s life.

Dok Dok Dok.

The door was knocked on, Boss Dao told Kieran to sit down while he stood up and went to open the door.

Liu Ye brought in a tray covered in white satin cloth. When he put the tray on the table, even if she was being careful, the contact still produced a massive bang.

The contents on the tray were obviously heavy.

When the satin cloth was lifted away, Kieran saw the contents of the tray… No, it was actually a chopping board.

A clay burner, an iron pot, and some wood were placed on the left; a big slab of pork belly, scallion, ginger, garlic, oil, chili, and vinegar were placed on the right.

A narrow long chef knife, a pair of chopsticks, and a soup spoon in addition to three ceramic bowls that were in the middle.

Boss Dao took the clay burner, loaded it with wood, ignited it, and placed the iron pot on top. Then, the bottle of water on the table was poured into the pot, followed by the pork belly before the lid was closed.

Based on Kieran’s understanding, it would be better to first remove the bloody stench on the pork before starting to boil it in water, but he did not question Boss Dao’s methods.

He watched Boss Dao cut the scallion, ginger, and garlic. Boss Dao was very skilled in cutting, the scallions were chopped into the same length, the ginger was sliced thinly, almost transparent, and the garlic was minced into a garlic paste.

Over a minute later, the warm water from the water bottle boiled in the pot, producing bubbling noises. Boss Dao carefully lifted the lid and used his long thin knife to deliver the ready scallions, ginger, and garlic inside.

After the lid was closed, Boss Dao placed the chili into a small bowl and some oil into the soup spoon. The spoon of oil was taken near the clay burner.

The burning wood in the burner swiftly heated the oil, and when it emanated its rich aroma, Boss Dao mixed the spoon of hot oil into the bowl of chili

Tsss!

A unique sizzling noise came, and the chili inside the bowl was dancing with the hot oil, becoming crispy and cooked.

The spiciness tickled Kieran’s nose, and when it converged with the sourness in the other bowl of vinegar, his appetite was raised.

Kieran unconsciously looked at the iron pot. He was looking forward to the dish.

10 minutes went by.

Minutes felt like years for Kieran, who was waiting in anticipation. When he saw Boss Dao lift the lid and directly slice the pork belly with his knife in the pot, he picked up his chopsticks eagerly.

The ceramic bowl was then used to scoop a bowl of soup from the pot.

A bowl of soup with boiled pork belly was served to Kieran.

Boss Dao also placed the vinegar and chili oil in front of Kieran before raising his hand, saying, “Please.”

In fact, even without Boss Dao’s courteous words, Kieran had already dug in.

The meat was soft, it didn’t taste like it was boiled for a while. After dipping the meat into the vinegar sauce and chili oil, the taste made Kieran’s eyes squint in delight.

It tasted nearly as good as Starbeck’s cooking.

And when he lifted the bowl and finished the soup, Kieran felt like Boss Dao’s cooking was suddenly on par with Starbeck’s.

Though, Kieran knew it must be related to the ingredients Boss Dao chose.

The water, the pork belly, even the spices, were not some common market ingredients.

But did it matter to Kieran? No.

All Kieran knew it would be best for him to finish everything in the pot.

When Kieran’s chopsticks finally stopped, the table before his eyes were wiped clean, especially the utensils, they looked like they were freshly washed. Even the sauce plate that held the vinegar sauce and chili oil were clean, and not even a drop of soup was left in the pot.

Huu!

Kieran heaved a satisfied breath.

“Thank you for your meal,” said Kieran.

Kieran was more sincere than usual after having a delicious meal.

“No need for thanks. Eckart has paid enough for the meal.”

“But it is me who should thank you, you made me confirm something that has been troubling me for a long time.”

“I don’t like owing people favors, so…”

“I can tell you something valuable to repay you, but you also have the choice to choose.” Boss Dao waved his hand with a smile.

“Why don’t… You cook another meal for me?” Kieran pointed at the iron pot on the table.

“Do you know how valuable this information is?” Boss Dao was shocked.

“I know, it is as valuable as the dish that the pot cooked.”

Boss Dao stared at Kieran blankly.

Then, a sincere smile spread over his face.