Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 636 The Devouring King (Two chapters combined)

To tell a chef that their cooking skills are not up to par is like a hostess telling a customer that they are not good enough—it's the same thing.

Wu Man's face instantly fell, and her eyes clearly showed a desire to kill.

But... where did this old man come from?
Xiao Ran and the others are all experts. Xiao Ran's own mental strength is over 100, so no movement within a 100-meter radius can be hidden from him.

But the old man's appearance was so sudden that Xiao Ran was completely baffled.

Xiao Ran gave Wu Man a look, and Wu Man understood immediately. He walked up to the old man and said, "Who are you? What gives you the right to say that my cooking skills are not up to par?"

The old man didn't introduce himself, but simply picked up a piece of beef and put it in his mouth: "Hmm, this beef tastes good, but it's not fresh enough, and the cooking time is wrong. This beef isn't very tasty. If you really don't know how to cook it, I can teach you."

These words instantly made Wu Man's eyes almost spit fire; they were utterly insulting.

But then, Wu Man suddenly frowned, looked at the old man in front of her with a puzzled expression, and her expression gradually became strange.

"Don't come any closer, I've encountered a rule from the ghost stories."

Wu Man spoke softly to Xiao Ran and the others.

This rule of supernatural tales is specifically aimed at Ng Man herself.

"You have triggered the supernatural tale [The Ghostly Foodie]. The Ghostly Foodie will evaluate your meal. Please prepare a meal before midnight tonight that will receive a rating of Grade B or higher from the Ghostly Foodie."

"Complete this ghost story to receive a special reward."

"If your ghost story fails, you will suffer a special punishment!"

"Hey, this is really interesting." Looking at the strange tales appearing in front of him, Wu Man was not afraid at all. On the contrary, he was eager to try it out. He had always been very proud of his cooking skills. How could he be afraid of a moment that could test his skills?

After saying that, Wu Man took out a square cursed object from her spatial storage.

【Kitchen Box: The Chef of Desire】

Privilege 1: Portable Kitchen

Once activated, it can unfold into a mobile kitchen with a size of 15 square meters.

Privilege 2: Powerful Stove

There are four different types of flames, and the temperature can be controlled according to the user's thoughts.

Privilege 3: Fast Freshness
The kitchen includes a freezer, which allows for rapid freezing.

Privilege 4: The All-Purpose Cutting Table

A special cutting board with 18 tools can accommodate all the tools a chef needs.

Wu Man threw the block in her hand, and an open-air kitchen appeared out of thin air in front of the dilapidated temple.

"It's obvious this guy's serious!"

Jin Chanzi stood behind, looking on with eager anticipation, seemingly very much looking forward to the meal Wu Man was about to prepare.

A quick glance revealed that the shameless Qinghai Old Demon was already standing next to the old man, holding a bowl and chopsticks, looking like he was going to act as a judge just like the old man.

"Hey old man! What are you doing standing there!" Jin Chanzi said, then picked up a table and ran over, saying, "A judge should at least bring a table."

"Um... I'll just get a stool."

Seeing this, Xiao Ran simply grabbed a stool and followed him to the table, leaving Dai Long standing there dumbfounded, looking completely bewildered.

It wasn't until Xiao Ran called him to bring over the remaining stools that Dai Long belatedly realized what was happening. Thus, this sudden strange tale turned into a live judging session on Wu Man's culinary skills.

Wu Man took out a sleeve from her spatial storage: "It seems that you like to eat fresh food, sir. In that case, I happen to have a dish here for you to try."

As she said this, Wu Man took out a lamb from her spatial storage.

The lamb was sealed in a special membrane. When Wu Man tore open the membrane, the lamb inside came back to life.

Wu Man grabbed the lamb by the neck and lifted it up with one hand. Holding a knife in her hand, she quickly peeled off the entire sheepskin.

"Take the hamstring muscle from the hind leg." He placed his left hand lightly on the piece of meat, his knuckles pressing against the back of the willow-blade knife and pushing it diagonally inward.

The feeling of the blade cutting into the muscle bundle is three times more resistant than cutting tofu, and two times less crisp than cutting bamboo shoots.

Thin slices of meat, as thin as rice paper, slid down the tip of the knife, each slice bearing snowflake-like fat marbling, neatly arranged on a blue-and-white porcelain plate like folded letters.

"His knife skills are alright."

The old man squinted and nodded in praise of Wu Man's knife skills.

Xiao Ran and the others then took on the role of judges: "This swordsmanship is at least at the level of someone who has entered the Dao."

This is not something Xiao Ran made up on the spot. Slicing fresh meat is not difficult, but slicing it as neatly and translucently as Wu Man's is.

Most chefs would have to freeze the lamb to set its shape to cut it like this.

At this moment, the fire on the stove was raging like a furnace, and the bluish-red flames quickly heated the iron pot to a scorching high.

When the iron pot was heated to the point where it began to smoke, Wu Man used a copper ladle to scoop up some lard and swirl it against the side of the pot.

As the oil film bubbled with tiny, fish-eye-like bubbles, the garlic slices and pickled pepper pieces released their pungent aroma in the hot oil. With his left hand, he used a slotted spoon to scoop the meat slices into the pot, while with his right hand, he tapped the iron spatula against the edge of the stove, producing a clear, resonant clanging sound.

Add the scallion segments to the pot in precise seconds, and pour half a circle of three-year-aged liquor from the white porcelain bottle along the edge of the pot.

"boom!!"

The moment the blue flames shot into the air, he flicked his wrist and tossed the entire pot of food into the air, the back of the gleaming silver spoon catching the falling ingredients and gently tossing them.

The white mist, carrying the aroma, exploded in the dish in less than five seconds.

The slices of meat lay in the rough earthenware pot, their curled arcs resembling unfurled lotus leaves. Red oil seeped into every cut along the muscle fibers, yet there wasn't a trace of excess oil.

"Stir-fried mutton with scallions".

Wu Man carried the plate to the people.

This dish is quite common in reality; it can even be found in street food stalls at night.

But the dish that Wu Man cooked was clean and free of any grease. The meat was translucent and paired with green scallion segments, making it a refreshing sight.

The simpler the dish, the more skill it reveals.

Since Wu Man dared to use this dish, he must have something to be proud of.

The old man picked up his chopsticks, took a small bite, and immediately frowned.

Xiao Ran and the others watched anxiously, seeing that the old man remained silent.

"Isn't this just stir-fried mutton with scallions? No matter how delicious it is, how delicious can it be? Let me try it." Jin Chanzi pretended to be disdainful, picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and stuffed it into his mouth.

After taking a bite, Jin Chanzi frowned and fell silent.

"No, tell me if it's good or not! What does this mean?"

Everyone looked at Jin Chanzi with puzzled expressions.

Jin Chanzi glanced at Xiao Ran and the others, his expression growing even more solemn. He silently picked up another piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

Now the golden toad's expression became even stranger.

Seeing that this guy was just eating and not saying a word, Xiao Ran and the others couldn't wait any longer and picked up their chopsticks to taste it.

The sound of juices bursting in your mouth as you bite into a piece of mutton is clearly audible.

The mutton melted in my mouth, its aroma was irresistible, and the natural flavor of the lamb and the taste of the green onions were perfectly combined, creating a spicy and fragrant dish.

But the next second, Xiao Ran felt something was wrong. She felt the mutton on her tongue was jumping around as if it were alive, moving around wildly in her mouth.

The mutton pieces were moving and jumping, releasing lots of juice, which added another layer of unique flavor to the already delicious mutton.

Not only the mutton in its mouth, but even the mutton on the plate would twitch from time to time.

Just as Wu Man said, this dish truly came to life.

“Very good, no wonder they use freshly slaughtered mutton. The meat is still full of life when you take it out, as if it is running out of the mouth of a fresh sheep. Wonderful, truly wonderful.”

The old man nodded and praised the dish without reservation: "The knife skills are first-rate, and the cooking is also first-rate. This dish would not survive if it were missing one of these two aspects."

As the saying goes, laymen watch the spectacle, while experts appreciate the details. This dish is all about one word: speed.

The knife is fast, the fire is fast.

This isn't magic. In real terms, it means the nerves in the lamb weren't killed, and the energy-producing substance adenosine triphosphate in the muscle hadn't been completely depleted.

The old man suddenly showed the expression of a child eating candied hawthorn. He stuck out his tongue to lick the juice off the tip of his chopsticks and used the chopsticks to write the character "丙" on the table.

"C??"

Everyone stared intently, and were immediately dumbfounded.

Even Wu Man was somewhat surprised.

“Old man, this is a bit much. This dish is so good, giving it a grade of C is a bit too much.” Even Elder Qinghai couldn’t help but feel indignant on Wu Man’s behalf.

“Yes, sir, you’ve gone too far.” Dai Long stood up and said.

As a prominent family in Xiushui, they are well-known figures. Although the government does not recognize some of their actions, they are still frequently visited by local officials and business tycoons.

Dai Long has been tired of all kinds of delicacies since he was a child.

But he could confidently say that this dish was, if not the best, of all the dishes he had ever eaten, and it was certainly exceptional. How could he give it a C rating?

A sinister smile slowly spread across the old man's face: "What evaluation? I decide. Didn't that little Taoist priest just say it himself? Stir-fried mutton with scallions? No matter how delicious it is, how delicious can it be? I'm taking your good wishes and giving it a C is already being very generous." After saying that, the old man glanced at Wu Man, his face full of malice.

Clearly, even if Wu Man cooks the most exquisite dishes today, this old man doesn't intend to give her a high score.

"Trouble!"

Xiao Ran's eyes suddenly turned cold, and when she looked at the old man again, her gaze became unfriendly.

"Understood." However, Wu Man suddenly spoke up, "This is just an appetizer. There are several more dishes to come. Please enjoy them, sir."

"Hahahaha." The old man's smile deepened, his eyes filled with a hint of mockery, as if he was already looking forward to seeing a look of great disappointment on Wu Man's face. "Alright, alright, I'll be waiting for you."

Seeing this, Xiao Ran got up and walked to Wu Man's side, whispering, "This old guy is clearly trying to mess with you. Otherwise, you might as well just take action."

"You don't need to worry about it, just keep an eye on things."

Wu Man patted Xiao Ran's arm, indicating that he could rest assured, as if she already had a plan in mind.

Seeing Wu Man's confidence, Xiao Ran didn't know what he was planning, but he was still willing to believe that Wu Man could handle this old guy.

Wu Man turned around and continued to process the sheep.

"Sigh, they're making a whole roasted lamb feast. I thought it would be something special, but it's nothing special."

The old man grinned, seemingly already preparing his response to the young man.

"Old man, don't go too far."

The old demon Qinghai approached the old man, placing a hand on his shoulder, intending to teach the old man a lesson. However, the old demon's hand brushed past the old man's shoulder and passed right through him.

"Ok??"

This surprised the old demon Qinghai.

Even if the other party is a vengeful ghost, this slap of mine will make them suffer.

The old man glanced at Qinghai, as if he could see through his thoughts, and gave a disdainful sneer before ignoring him.

"This old thing isn't a ghost; it's probably something that has been created by some kind of rule. It seems like we don't have a good way to deal with it."

The old demon Qinghai turned around and whispered to Xiao Ran and the others.

If it were a wandering ghost or a vengeful spirit, that would be one thing, but any one of the people present could make this old man wish he were dead.

But if it's governed by rules, then there's nothing that can be done.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran's gaze sharpened, and he used his retrospective power to sweep over the old man, only to find that the old man had not appeared out of thin air.

Instead, while Wu Man was cooking, a black mist slowly condensed in the sky, and Xiao Ran could no longer see it after that.

It's as if this old guy just appeared out of thin air, with no trace of his past to be found.

Just as the old demon Qinghai said, this guy is a manifestation of the rules, specifically targeting Wu Man. They can only be bystanders and cannot intervene.

"Hmm, it seems that since the city of illusion was established, the rules within it have become increasingly bizarre."

Based on her previous experiences at the Ghost Market and the Fifth Hospital, Xiao Ran realized that various strange tales and rules had also appeared here.

As for why this ghost story only targets Wu Man, that remains unknown.

However, I believe they may meet again in the future.

Just then, Wu Man pulled out the sheep intestines. The fresh intestines even revealed the green sheep inside.

However, Wu Man showed no intention of washing it and simply threw it into the pot.

They simply wiped it a few times with white wine before slicing it up and plating it on the table.

Xiao Ran and his group didn't have the courage to try it this time; they could even see sheep droppings still stuck inside the cut of the sheep intestines.

"Sir, this is an appetizer I made for you: lamb intestine sashimi."

When Xiao Ran and the others saw the dish that Wu Man brought out, they were stunned. They thought that Wu Man would use some special and innovative cooking method to process the sheep intestines, but she actually brought out a plate of sashimi. The key point is that it also had the smell of sheep manure.

This flavor...it's intoxicating!

The old man's lips twitched a few times, and he looked at Wu Man with an incredulous expression.

"you……"

"Please try it; I've preserved a bit of the original flavor of the ingredients."

Wu Man looked at the old man with a smile and urged, "This is best eaten while it's fresh."

The old man turned to look at Xiao Ran and the others. This time, Xiao Ran and the others hid far away, staring at the old man with wide eyes, looking like they were watching a good show.

"you……"

The old man looked at Wu Man again, his face contorted in a grimace. He was clearly genuinely surprised that Wu Man had played such a trick on him.

After hesitating for a while, the old man finally picked up his chopsticks with a bitter face and reluctantly stuffed a piece of sheep intestine sashimi into his mouth.

Even from a distance, Xiao Ran and the others could smell the strong, gamey odor of the sheep intestines. The key point was that when they bit into it, it actually burst with juice.

An unidentified dark green liquid spilled from the old man's mouth, and his expression made it seem as if he was swallowing poison.

This time, the old man didn't even bother with pleasantries and directly gave Wu Man the lowest possible rating, the character "癸".

However, Wu Man grinned, her smile quite ferocious, as if she had found some kind of amusement, and then turned around and continued working.

This time, the meat removed was lamb ribs.

Seeing that the ingredients Wu Man brought down this time were normal, the old man's expression softened considerably.

But Wu Man's next actions began to drive the old man to the brink of collapse.

Wu Man then took out the sheep's stomach, squeezed out a dark green liquid and some weeds, and threw them into the pot to cook.

The pungent smell caused Xiao Ran and the others to retreat again.

Green bubbles were bubbling in the pot, and the way Wu Man stirred the soup made her look more and more like an evil witch from a fairy tale.

But these are merely the standards for an ordinary chef. You must know that Wu Man, as a professional "Cook of Desire," has far more methods than these.

Wu Man smiled and took out many bottles from her spatial storage. Xiao Ran and the others didn't know what was inside the bottles, but seeing Wu Man carefully opening the bottles and dripping these strange things into the soup pot, Xiao Ran could guess that these things were probably not good.

"Crack!"

Sure enough, as an unknown liquid fell into the soup pot, the dark green soup turned almost dark purple, and even the iron pot began to twist and deform.

That's genuine thickened stainless steel.

The old man's expression gradually changed from anger to wariness, then from wariness to pain, until the moment the soup pot deformed, his expression seemed to lose control, and his entire face seemed to reveal a sense of desperate tragedy.

"I see!"

At this moment, Hualong slapped his thigh: "Although this old man has the right to give a score, he must taste Brother Wu's cooking before he can give a score. Since it is delicious, if it cannot satisfy this old guy, Brother Wu will do the opposite and start making 'dark cuisine' instead."

"Wonderful!"

Jin Chanzi slapped his thigh: "If you want to give a score, you have to taste the dishes. If the score is low, Wu Man will continue to make terrible dishes. This is not a competition of cooking skills. This is clearly a competition of how many dishes this old guy can endure eating. Hahaha, now the roles have been reversed!"

As they were talking, a pot of "delicious" mutton soup was served.

Xiao Ran and the others didn't dare to get any closer. Just looking at the smell that wafted out the moment the pot lid was lifted, anyone who didn't know better would think Wu Man was cooking excrement.

The old man, his face dark and contorted with rage, glared at Wu Man: "This is the food you made??"

"Oh!"

Wu Man seemed to remember something, and quickly raised her finger to signal the old man to wait a moment. Then she took out a sprig of cilantro from her spatial storage and placed it on the soup.

"Herb-infused mutton soup, please enjoy." Wu Man held up the soup ladle with both hands.

"Heh, kid, you're still too green to fight me. This little bit of stuff is nothing!"

The old man uttered a vicious threat, looking as if he was determined to fight Wu Man to the bitter end. He then snatched the soup spoon, looked at the eerily purple soup in front of him, gritted his teeth, and still put a mouthful into his mouth.

The moment the soup entered his mouth, the old man's face almost turned into a purplish-red sweet potato.

What the soup tasted like was unknown, and Xiao Ran and the others didn't have the courage to try it, but judging from the old man's expression, the mutton soup was clearly causing him pain and his facial features to contort.

I gritted my teeth and managed to swallow the soup.

"Boom!"

The spoon fell to the ground, and the old man clutched his head in pain, barely managing to keep himself from collapsing under the table, one hand unconsciously scratching his throat.

This isn't drinking soup, it's practically drinking pesticide.

After a while, the old man caught his breath and was about to give Wu Man another big bad review when he suddenly noticed that Wu Man looked expectant, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

The intense gaze sent chills down the spines of even the elderly.

"Damn it, this kid is waiting for me here." Thinking of this, the old man was full of resentment, but in the end he still managed to force a smile that was more like a grimace.

"A wise man doesn't suffer a loss he can avoid. Kid, you're ruthless!"

With that, he slammed his chopsticks hard onto the table, making a screeching sound. After writing the character "乙" crookedly, he immediately stood up, turned into a wisp of smoke, and slowly drifted into the sky...

(End of this chapter)