Chapter 898: Chapter 897: A Hint of Darkness
Ye Feizhou hurriedly made his way to Xia Mansion.
“If you want to get in, just knock on the door!”
Suddenly, a voice came from deeper in the alley.
Lei Aoxue appeared almost stealthily, she had been observing secretly for about ten minutes. She saw Ye Feizhou arriving and pacing in front of the mansion door, and found it quite amusing.
Upon hearing the voice, Ye Feizhou looked over in surprise.
“You’re here too?”
Lei Aoxue didn’t answer, she got closer and folded her arms, staring intently at Ye Feizhou. When he finally showed a trace of awkwardness, she suddenly said, “You seem to have something urgent?”
She discerned the emotions in Ye Feizhou’s eyes that he couldn’t fully hide.
“Actually…”
Ye Feizhou was about to speak when the mansion door opened.
Zhu Qing poked her head out, and seeing the two of them, she was visibly surprised, “I came out to check on the noise, didn’t expect it was you two. Don’t just stand there, come in.” She waved to them with a smile.
In front of Xia Yu, Zhu Qing didn’t carry herself as an elder, but in front of Lei Aoxue and Ye Feizhou, she was the perfect image of a serious elder.
Zhu Qing closed the door behind her and led them into the mansion, heading towards the kitchen!
“You came at the right time.”
With her back to Lei Aoxue and Ye Feizhou, Zhu Qing had a slight, expectant smile on her lips: “Yu’s new creation is just out of the pot. He’s eagerly looking for taste testers, so it’s good you came to fill the gap.”
Fill the gap? Their expressions immediately changed.
Lei Aoxue managed to hold back the urge to retort. If Xia Yu said this to her, she would surely lose it. What kind of nonsense is ‘fill the gap’? Clearly, it’s about the sacred act of tasting delicious food, yet it’s described with such eerie words, like burying a corpse.
Arriving at the kitchen.
At the entrance, they could see two figures, one tall and one short, standing in front of the dining table, resting their chins in thought.
Xia Yu rubbed his chin.
Liu Ying mimicked him beside him, like a miniature thinker.
On the dining table, a plate of freshly baked golden pastries was steaming hot.
“Ah!”
Upon hearing approaching footsteps outside the door, Xia Yu swept his gaze over and his eyes gradually focused, “Why are you here?”
“I’ve come to see Little Ying.”
Lei Aoxue turned her head, having a sufficient reason, she immediately quickened her steps to Liu Ying’s side.
Thus, only Ye Feizhou was left standing at the door, as Xia Yu’s gaze swept over, causing the lines of Ye Feizhou’s face to stiffen. He wanted to greet him with a smile, but with the heavy weight in his heart, it was hard to be at ease no matter what.
Food Battle!
This term weighed on Ye Feizhou’s mind.
“Oh oh oh, Heavenly King Disciple, Crown Prince of the Chinese Realm, welcome——”
A greeting devoid of emotional fluctuations.
The monotone, skin-deep smile made Ye Feizhou’s skin crawl, and he hurriedly explained, “Brother Xia, I really am not…”
“Really not what?”
Xia Yu asked.
“Not your enemy!” Ye Feizhou blurted out.
“I know!”
Who knew Xia Yu would shrug and respond like this.
Uh!
Clearly choked by the response, Ye Feizhou’s expression turned even more confused. He didn’t notice Zhu Qing behind him, her shoulders shaking as she tried hard not to laugh. She glared at Xia Yu, warning him with her eyes not to bully others.
“You’re just too nervous.” Perhaps Zhu Qing’s warning had an effect, as Xia Yu decided not to tease Ye Feizhou any further. He walked over and patted him on the shoulder, “Relax a bit!”
Soon, Xia Yu pointed to the golden pastries on the table, the demonic tail inevitably revealing itself: “Since you’re here, might as well help me taste them!”
“Here!”
“You too!”
Lei Aoxue also had a steaming hot “bun” placed in her hand, looking a bit dazed.
Surprisingly, there was no need for paper or bags, and the fried bun held in hand felt no greasiness at all.
Ye Feizhou uttered a sound of surprise, switching the “bun” to his left hand while his right hand lay flat, palm down—clean and spotless.
No grease!
If the palm were replaced with a thin white paper, Ye Feizhou was confident the white napkin wrapping the fried pastry would remain as clean as ever.
This attention to detail in controlling and draining oil, however, was what Xia Yu learned while in Neon.
No other reason.
Japanese tempura is an intricate frying culinary art, deeply researched in terms of oils and frying ingredients. If we discuss the skill of details, a tempura fried by a master chef would be like the plate of fried snacks Xia Yu presented, where spilling even a drop of oil means I lose.
At that very moment, Lei Aoxue’s complexion slightly changed as she gently pressed down on the snack with her hand. However, the skin didn’t become greasy; instead, it felt like holding a mint leaf.
A cool sensation spread through her palm, causing Lei Aoxue to immediately close her legs, “Is this… a refreshing storm from fried food?” Her right arm, which was holding the snack, trembled slightly, her face a picture of shock and confusion.
I must taste it!
An invisible thought urged Lei Aoxue on.
But Ye Feizhou was one step faster.
While grasping the snack, “Divine Hand” endowed his hand with precise detector-like abilities, making him instantly aware of the complexities of this golden snack!
He turned the snack, seeing the crack that seemed to grin comically.
“Golden Smile!”
Cackling laughter seemed to travel from his palm to the depths of his soul.
His “Divine Hand” became a connection for the voices of food and soul. Ye Feizhou’s expression displayed deep emotion, and he couldn’t help but open his mouth wide, taking a fierce bite of the snack in his hand!
Crunch!
Teeth pierced the crispy fried skin.
As expected, a hint of wonderful aroma poured into his mouth, more refreshing sensations enveloped him, making Ye Feizhou feel as if his entire body was soaking in a clear deep pool. As his teeth quivered while biting down, layers of the skin broke open.
Suddenly, his vision widened abruptly, with juices and vermicelli rushing into his mouth. Ye Feizhou’s cheeks puffed up, and his facial expression was neither discomfort nor indulgence, but rather akin to a little boy witnessing a fairy tale kingdom for the first time, dreamy and surreal.
Whoosh.
It was as if a rainbow descended.
In the mountain stream’s pool, slowly surfacing, Ye Feizhou looked at the rainbow bridge spanning the waterfall above him, his face reflecting the colorful hues, his gaze ever more entranced.
“Why is it like this?” it was Lei Aoxue speaking.
No one knew how much time had passed when Lei Aoxue’s startled voice broke the silence. Her complexion was flushed, every trace of the fried snack was eaten, her tongue still protruded between her lips like a little red snake agilely licking her fingers, quickly spreading a layer of slippery moisture all over Lei Aoxue’s slender white palm.
Liu Ying looked on in a stupor.
Lei Aoxue’s eyes were filled with a strong appetite, and seeing her like this, there were signs she couldn’t help but take a bite of her own paw, making people break into a cold sweat.
“Um… it hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts!”
She eventually bit down.
Opening her mouth, taking a fierce bite, Lei Aoxue uttered a low cry of pain, the appetite in her eyes washed away by the surge of pain, as though freed from the dreamlike state, looking at the bite marks on the back of her hand, the rust taste of blood spreading on her tongue.
“Bleeding!” Liu Ying was utterly dumbfounded.
This isn’t good.
Seeing Ye Feizhou’s odd state too, Xia Yu patted him on the shoulder, the Heavenly King Disciple suddenly snapped out of his daze, looking at the youth before him with an expression like one would give, seeing a monster, “It’s the feeling of eating ‘The Great Fish’ back then!”
“I, I’ve become unlike myself!”
“Desires uncontrolled!”
Xia Yu, however, didn’t have time to respond to him, bowing his head, a hint of somberness in his eyes.
Indeed.
In terms of ingredients and cooking methods, roughly there were no issues.
But the most critical ‘snack secret’ had huge problems!
“How can I, while integrating ‘Golden Wheat’, manage to rein in the secret of the snack, this runaway horse, riding atop it to control it effectively?” Xia Yu felt a headache coming on.
This involves higher-level secrets of control.
“Shh!”
Zhu Qing raised a finger, signaling silence, beckoning Liu Ying, Lei Aoxue, and Ye Feizhou out of the kitchen.
“Don’t disturb him again until dusk when it’s time to go out,” Zhu Qing instructed.
Leaving Lei Aoxue and Ye Feizhou at the door, they exchanged glances.
“Is this his preparation for the food duel?”
Ye Feizhou murmured.
“Food duel?” Lei Aoxue’s ears perked up, “What food duel?”
“I can’t say for certain, but tonight during the Liu selection, a food duel is likely to erupt!” Ye Feizhou said.
Lei Aoxue’s expression immediately became vivid.
“Who, who is it between?” Her voice trembled slightly.
“You’ve already guessed it almost right…” Ye Feizhou glanced at her eyes filled with disbelief.
Due to the airing of “Kitchen Three Kingdoms”, the conflict between Wei Zhong and Demon King Xia was almost universally known throughout the Chinese Realm.
And that day at the recording site, witnessing more uncut scenes, Lei Aoxue now dared a hundred percent certainty about who would erupt in a food duel!