The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 348 Whereabouts Severed?

“Our culinary talents vary among the four of us,” Xu Chen said softly. “Our teachers also taught us in different ways.”

"Senior Sister Feng Xi learned shrimp and crab recipes from the teacher, and Second Senior Brother Zhang Yong learned vegetarian recipes from the teacher."

"My third senior brother, Yue Shan, has the greatest talent in cooking. Our teacher taught him recipes for fish and livestock. As for me..."

Xu Chen shook his head helplessly, "I started learning too late. By then, my teacher was already old and unable to keep up, so my third senior brother was the one who guided me most of the time."

"And it was with the help of some fish recipes passed down by my third senior brother that I established the 'Fish Flavor' restaurant I am today."

"Originally, we brothers had a very good relationship, and we rarely even quarreled with each other, but everything changed because of one thing."

At this point, Xu Chen slowly closed his eyes, shaking his head and sighing with deep disappointment. "When my teacher was on his deathbed, he mentioned that he had a special recipe, a recipe that embodied the culmination of his life's culinary skills. But he didn't say where the recipe was, and then he passed away."

"After we finished arranging the teacher's funeral, we thought of this recipe. We searched the teacher's house thoroughly, but we couldn't find it."

"In our despair, we gradually began to distrust each other, believing that one of the four of us must have found and hidden the recipe."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lang and the others exchanged bewildered glances.

Su Wanxia had mentioned before that these four fellow disciples had fallen out because of something important, and it turned out to be a recipe.
However, given that the recipe embodies the culmination of Mr. Gu Cong's lifelong culinary skills, its importance to the four of them is self-evident.

It's normal to encounter this situation if no recipe can be found.

“This suspicion was initially just hidden in my heart,” Xu Chen said softly, “but it escalated and eventually erupted during an argument.”

“Senior Sister Feng Xi is the only woman among us fellow disciples, so our teacher always has a smile on his face whenever he sees her. Senior Brother Zhang Yong believes that our teacher has a special preference for her, so the recipe must be in her hands.”

"My senior sister was very angry and almost got into a fight with Zhang Yong. She believed that the recipe was likely in the hands of Yue Shan, because Yue Shan was the most talented cook among us, and it was normal for the teacher to give him special lessons."

"Brother Yue Shan was not good with words, but he was just as angry. He was about to get up and leave on the spot, but I quickly pulled him back."

At this point, Xu Chen sighed, "But unexpectedly, this fire eventually burned me."

"My three senior brothers and sisters all believe that there must be another reason why our teacher was willing to take me as his disciple, since he basically didn't teach me anything on a regular basis."

"Therefore, this recipe is very likely in my hands."

"All four were suspects, and no one could convince the others. In the end, the gathering ended on bad terms, and the former brotherhood between the two disciples vanished."

"I am ashamed to face my teacher because I was unable to fulfill his wish. I feel guilty and dare not go to sweep his grave."

"The only thing I can do is to go to my teacher's old residence regularly to clean it and reminisce about the past, which is also a way of remembering this teacher-student relationship."

As Xu Chen's voice faded, the living room fell silent once more.

Everyone could feel Xu Chen's heartache and sorrow, after all, at that time, the other three were his closest people.

"So..." After a long while, Cao Dongdong couldn't help but ask, "Who took that recipe?"

“I can’t be sure.” Xu Chen shook his head slightly. “I can only be sure that I have never come across such a recipe.”

"As for who took it from the other three..." Xu Chen paused for a moment, his voice tinged with a hint of melancholy, "Although I am very reluctant to believe it, the most suspicious person is Senior Brother Yue Shan, who left Yuehu City after that argument." Because much of his culinary skills were the result of Yue Shan's guidance, among the three senior brothers and sisters, he had the best relationship with Yue Shan. It could even be said that Yue Shan was not only his senior brother, but also his half-teacher.

Therefore, he really didn't want to believe that all of this was done by that honest and kind senior brother.

Yueshan?

The image of the tall, honest-looking young man in the old photograph that Su Wanxia had shown simultaneously flashed through the minds of Qin Lang and the others.

"Mr. Xu Chen, what is the basis for your statement?" Zhao Qian couldn't help but ask.

"Based on..." Xu Chen paused slightly, "If Senior Sister Feng Xi or Senior Brother Zhang Yong had obtained such a recipe, their descendants would have achieved far more than they have today."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked enlightened.

Feng Xi's son is Mr. Ren Qiu. Although he serves as a first-level food recommender in Yuehu City, he also took over the Donghu Crab Farm from Feng Xi.

But if Feng Xi really had such a recipe and passed it on to his family, Mr. Ren Qiu's achievements would likely be much greater than they are now.

As for Mr. Zhang Qian, Zhang Yong's son, this is even more true.

Mr. Zhang Qian is also a spirit chef, but he mainly focuses on fighting spirits. He is now a first-level spirit enforcer in Yuehu City.

This is nothing like the result you'd expect from having a recipe in hand.

As for the third senior brother Yue Shan, since he left Yuehu City early on, no one knows whether he has any descendants or how he is doing now, so he has become the most suspicious one!
After a long silence, Qin Lang slowly spoke.

"Then... do you know where Mr. Yue Shan is now?"

"I'm afraid I can't help you with this," Xu Chen shook his head slightly. "I haven't been in contact with Senior Brother Yue Shan for decades."

"He left Yuehu City, and I have no idea where he went."

At this point, Xu Chen sighed softly, "I never wanted to get that recipe. I just wanted to go back to the time when my senior brothers and sisters were getting along well. Unfortunately, everything is already gone."

“Just like the fragments of this jade pendant.” Xu Chen looked down at the hand-drawn sketch. “Even if they were put back together, they would never fit together perfectly.”

"Everyone has changed over time."

Qin Lang fell silent again upon hearing this.

He was able to meet Mr. Xu Chen as he wished, and saw the third jade pendant fragment, learning the details of what happened back then.

Even though everything was going smoothly as expected, he seemed to be getting further and further away from successfully checking in.

Even Mr. Xu Chen, who witnessed all of this back then, didn't know Mr. Yue Shan's whereabouts?
If that's the case, then where should I look for the last piece?

If the last fragment cannot be found, the fifteenth painting cannot be completed. Without completing the check-in, subsequent landscape paintings cannot be unlocked, and the Traveler's Book, the cheat code he has always relied on, will be completely sealed away.

This is definitely not what he wants.

(End of this chapter)