The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 257 Speculation about Feathers

"Don't worry."

Qin Lang looked at Cao Dongdong, who was in a great hurry, with a wry smile, and then carefully took out the letter and feather from his backpack.

"This is all I found using the treasure map."

Cao Dongdong's gaze swept across the envelope, quickly landing on the feather. Curious, he held up the feather in his hand. "What's this...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Cai from the fish tank next to him sprayed a stream of water, which hit Cao Dongdong squarely in the face.

"Hey! You bastard!" Cao Dongdong's attention immediately shifted from the feather to Xiao Cai. He put the feather on the table, then quickly got up and went to the fish tank, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to have a three-hundred-round battle with Xiao Cai.

"Alright, alright, why are you arguing with a fish!" Qin Lang said, laughing and crying at the same time, as he casually threw a handful of rice into the fish tank.

"This damn fish is really bullying me!" Cao Dongdong said angrily. "It only spews water at me!"

"Maybe this is its way of showing it likes you," Qin Lang said with a smile, "just like how our Lala likes to bite people."

As he spoke, Qin Lang suddenly thought of Lala, who had been sent back to the Star Pulse by Lai Yi.

After such a long time, Lala has recovered completely.

However, after Qin Lang summoned it again, Lala still seemed a little disappointed, clearly not having recovered yet.

"Gulu~"

Egg wagged its tail, indicating that it was fine with it, and then went up to Spicy and started chattering away.

I don't know how it cheered her up, but Lala's mood was obviously much better than before, and finally she bit Egg Baby's tail with a "woof".

"Gurgle...gurgle!"

Hearing Danbao's exclamation, Qin Lang chuckled and turned his gaze back to Zuo Ge, who was examining the feather closely with a serious expression.

"Mr. Zog, have you made any discoveries?"

“Judging from the size, this must be the feather of a very large bird.” Zuo Ge stretched out his hands as far as possible to show it. “But the feathers of a normal bird could not be this stiff.”

"Therefore, I have two guesses."

"What guess?" Upon hearing Zuo Ge's words, Cao Dongdong immediately forgot about Xiao Cai and sat back down in his original seat, asking curiously.

“The first possibility is that this is an artifact with a shape very similar to a feather. Because it is not a real feather, it has a hardness that is completely different from a feather.” Seeing the strange expressions on Qin Lang and Cao Dongdong’s faces, Zuo Ge paused slightly. “Of course, this is unlikely.”

"Given that it appeared on a treasure map and was hidden in the underground labyrinth of Rosemary Castle, the second possibility is..."

"It originates from a legendary creature."

"And most likely, it is that legendary creature that the original owner of Rosemary Castle once tried to tame."

"A legendary creature..." Qin Lang couldn't help but look at the feather.

It was a feather that looked like it had been cast in silver, with silvery white feathers from barbs to root. What must its former owner have been like?

A giant, silvery-white bird?
"Mr. Zog, are there any silvery-white birds among the legendary creatures?"

“Unfortunately, I haven’t heard of any existence that fits this description.” Zoge shrugged. “Rumor has it that there are hundreds of creatures that followed the legend of the first Food Spirit, and the actual number is probably even higher.”

"But to this day, fewer than one hundred of these creatures are still known by legend."

"Most of the others have been hidden in the dust of history."

“So even I have many legendary beings I’ve never heard of.” At this point, Zuo Ge’s gaze fell on the envelope. “However… this letter might offer us some answers.” Hearing this, Qin Lang shook his head slightly. “This is a letter from Mr. Ye Zhen’s father to Mr. Ye Zhen; we shouldn’t open it carelessly.”

"Perhaps you could ask Mr. Ye Zhen?" Zuo Ge suggested.

“Yes.” Cao Dongdong, who was standing to the side, also became curious. “If Mr. Ye Zhen agrees, I would also like to know the truth about the feather.”

"Okay." Qin Lang nodded and called Ye Zhen.

After ringing for a moment, Ye Zhen's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's Qin Lang, long time no see."

Ye Zhen's voice clearly carried a hint of laughter, and the sounds of a lot of people making noise could be heard all around.

"It's me." Qin Lang asked with a smile, "Director Ye, how's the amusement park doing now?"

"Excellent!" Ye Zhen laughed heartily. "We've expanded the food area, attracted more food vendors, and are now preparing to hold a new food-themed carnival!"

"It's all thanks to your help back then." Ye Zhen couldn't help but sigh. "If you have time to come to the amusement park again next time, I'll definitely show you a brand new 'Fun Party' amusement park!"

"I believe Director Ye can do it," Qin Lang said with a smile.

"Haha, right, I haven't congratulated you on winning the cooking competition yet!" Ye Zhen suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "Old Liu, who sells mixed sesame cakes, told me you participated in the competition."

"The final match was absolutely amazing!"

"Thank you." Qin Lang smiled. "Director Ye, I called you this time because there's something quite important."

"I've found the treasure map you gave me back then."

Upon hearing this, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, the noise gradually faded away, and Ye Zhen's voice came through again after a short while.

"My father...is there anything he wants to say to me?"

“Yes,” Qin Lang nodded. “He left a letter and a feather…”

Qin Lang told the other party about the three people's guesses in detail.

"It's just a letter." Ye Zhen's voice held a hint of melancholy. "There's nothing wrong with reading it. Just read it aloud."

"I also want to see what he has to say."

"Okay." Qin Lang nodded, slowly opened the letter, looked at the words inside, and suddenly paused.

After a moment, he spoke slowly in a low voice.

"Hello, unknown stranger."

Upon hearing this opening, the others were all taken aback.

This letter is clearly addressed to his son, Ye Zhen, so why does it begin with a greeting to an unknown stranger?
But what Qin Lang read aloud next answered their questions.

"You might wonder how I know the person who opened this letter isn't my child. It's because I know him too well."

“I watched him grow up, so I know he has the same stubbornness as me. Although I gave him the treasure map, I also know that he probably wouldn’t want to take the treasure I prepared for him.”

"But he is a kind child, so he should entrust this treasure map to someone he can trust and rely on."

"That is, you, the one who received this letter."

(End of this chapter)