Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

"Sir, you've come to the right place. Songhelou is the largest and best restaurant in the entire city of Wuxi, with as many as ten signature dishes. Everyone who has tried it raves about it," the waiter said with great pride.

"Oh?" Ling Chi chuckled and said, "Then bring ten of our signature dishes."

"Huh!?" The waiter was dumbfounded: "Ten...ten dishes?"

"I want both." Ling Chi nodded and said, "Five more bowls of rice, please."

"Okay, okay." The waiter was delighted: A big customer!

"Would you like some wine, sir?" the waiter asked. "Our Shaoxing wine is famous far and wide, as is the sorghum wine that heroes of the martial arts world love."

"No need." Ling Chi took the wine gourd from his waist and said, "I have my own wine."

"That's good, that's good." The waiter turned and walked downstairs: "Bring all ten of our signature dishes upstairs!"

"Whoa!?" Diners upstairs and downstairs all looked up at the waiter. Those downstairs were blocked from seeing, but the five or six tables upstairs saw it clearly, and once they did, they couldn't take their eyes off it.

Who is this person? He's brought four identical twin beauties with him! Disgusting! He must be a wicked, wealthy scoundrel.

Sensing the malicious gazes of these people, the Four Swordsmen raised their eyebrows and exuded a chilling killing intent, which frightened them so much that they hurriedly lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound.

But not everyone lowered their heads. The big man sitting at the westernmost table kept his eyes fixed on them, but his gaze wasn't on the four swordsmen; he was watching Ling Chi.

"Hmm?" Feeling the intense gaze, Ling Chi's heart skipped a beat: This is... the gaze of a gay man?

Turning my head, I saw that it was indeed a gay man.

Although the man was sitting, it was clear that he was a tall and imposing man, around thirty years old, wearing an old gray cloth robe that was slightly tattered. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a high nose, a wide mouth, and a square face that looked weathered. He exuded a powerful aura when he looked around.

Ling Chi blinked: What a coincidence?

The two locked eyes, and an eerie atmosphere filled the air.

Ling Chi couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"..." The burly man clasped his hands in a fist and asked, "Are you Young Master Ling from the foot of Shaoshi Mountain?"

Oh ho! ?

Has my fame spread to Wuxi already?

"And who are you?" I'm not going to tell you, just to annoy you.

"Excuse me, I am Qiao Feng," the burly man said.

That's straightforward.

"So it's Brother Qiao." Ling Chi clasped his hands in greeting. "To be honest, I am indeed Ling Chi."

"It really is you." Qiao Feng's face turned cold, and he transmitted his voice, "Young Master Ling defeated Shaolin all by himself at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain. What a magnificent feat."

"..." That tone is off!

That's right. Qiao Feng was originally a disciple of Master Xuanku and had a close relationship with Shaolin. Hearing that he had turned Shaolin Temple upside down, he was furious. He leaned against the railing as the rain subsided...

I thought meeting Qiao Feng would be a meeting of kindred spirits, but the situation turned out to be completely different.

Ling Chi sighed: "Don't think you're invincible just because you've turned on the background music. I'm not afraid of you."

Qiao Feng: "???"

The four swordsmen were also completely bewildered: "Young Master Ling, what are you talking about?"

"Children shouldn't interfere in adult matters." Ling Chi took out four lollipops and put one in each child's mouth.

"Well……"

"..." Qiao Feng's face was very ugly: "Young Master Ling's martial arts are unparalleled, so he naturally looks down on me. However, I am not someone that Young Master Ling can easily toy with."

"Who's playing a trick on you?" Ling Chi said. "I was just trying to have a nice meal, why are you interrupting me?"

"..." Qiao Feng took a deep breath, afraid that he would not be able to help but chop him to pieces with one palm, but there were some questions he had to ask: "It is said that Young Master Ling used two kinds of martial arts at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain. One is a sonic technique, and the other is the Dragon Subduing Palm of my Beggar Clan. I wonder what Young Master Ling's explanation is?"

“What’s there to explain?” Ling Chi said, “Who says that the Dragon Subduing Palm is necessarily a Beggars’ Sect martial art? I know many other martial arts, so what is the Dragon Subduing Palm?”

With a snap, the chopsticks in Qiao Feng's hand broke, and his face grew even more unpleasant: "Very well, if that's the case, then I, Qiao, have no choice but to learn a thing or two from Young Master Ling."

"No need for me to teach you, I don't teach others." Ling Chi opened the wine gourd, and a rich aroma of wine wafted out, filling the entire restaurant almost instantly.

"What's that smell?" Everyone was stunned, taking deep breaths. "It smells so good! Is this wine?"

"What kind of wine smells so good? Damn it! Waiter, bring me a pot of this fine wine right now!"

Waiter: "???"

Upstairs, Ling Chi took a sip of wine. A mellow and fragrant taste lingered in his mouth, followed by a fiery sensation after swallowing, like a blazing flame, exceptionally intense.

"Ha—" Ling Chi squinted his eyes, looking quite pleased: Senior Brother's brewing skills are getting better and better, this old baijiu is really strong.

"Gulp!" Qiao Feng swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the wine gourd in his hand: This wine... smells so good.

Snapped--

Ling Chi put the gourd stopper back on, and the aroma of the wine slowly dissipated.

Qiao Feng snapped out of his daze and saw Ling Chi's ambiguous smile. He quickly shook his head, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, his expression calming down.

"Young Master Ling..."

"Sir, was that aroma of wine coming from your gourd?" The waiter ran upstairs and rushed to Ling Chi's table to ask.

Qiao Feng: "..."

"Does it smell good?" Ling Chi asked with a smile.

"It smells wonderful, so wonderful!" The waiter nodded repeatedly and said, "Sir, where did you buy this wine? Our manager would like to buy some as well."

"Haha, this wine of mine is homemade, you can't buy it anywhere," Ling Chi laughed. "But I can sell some to your shopkeeper, I'm just afraid he can't afford the price."

"That's between you and our manager, sir. I can't do anything about it." The waiter chuckled and said, "Please wait a moment, sir. I'll go and call the manager over right away."

"When will my food be served?" Ling Chi asked.

"Coming right away, coming right away, please wait a moment, sir." The waiter hurriedly ran downstairs, first notifying the restaurant manager, and then rushing into the kitchen to urge, "The guests upstairs are getting impatient, please hurry up."

"..."

A short while later, a plump middle-aged man came upstairs, greeted Ling Chi with a smile, and said, "My name is Guan Li, the manager of Songhelou Restaurant. May I ask how you should address me, young master?"

Ling Chi glanced at him and smiled, “Ling Chi, Ling as in lofty ambitions, Chi as in a pool of wine and meat.”

Guan Li was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Young Master Ling is indeed a fine name; no wonder you can brew such fine wine."

What does the name have to do with winemaking?

Ling Chi resisted the urge to roll his eyes and said, "Manager Guan, there's no need for such formalities. You want fine wine, right? I can sell it to you, but the price is very high, and I'm afraid you can't afford it."

"Just the aroma of the wine was enough to make one feel lightheaded and drowsy, so the price must be very high, I understand," Guan Li chuckled. "Please, Young Master Ling, name your price."

Ling Chi uncorked the wine and took another sip. The enticing aroma of the wine filled the entire restaurant once again. Guan Li was very close this time and was naturally affected by the aroma. He greedily inhaled the fragrance, his face full of intoxication.

Qiao Feng also took a few deep breaths, his stomach rumbling with the urge to drink: Good wine! Good wine! I want to drink good wine!

Ling Chi put the stopper back on and laughed, "Ten thousand taels of silver per catty."

"Huh!?" Guan Li's jaw almost dropped to the ground. He picked at his ear and forced a smile, "I don't think I heard you clearly. What price did Young Master Ling mention?"

"It's alright, listen carefully," Ling Chi said with a smile. "One jin of wine, ten thousand taels of silver."

"Hiss~~~~~" A collective gasp filled the air, clearly indicating that Guan Li was not the only one.

A brief silence fell over the scene.

"Here it is! The dishes are here!" The waiter broke the silence as he carried the tray upstairs: "Sir, these are our restaurant's signature dishes: braised pork ribs and crispy eel from Liangxi. Please enjoy your meal first; there are eight more dishes to come."

Ling Chi nodded with a smile: "Thank you for your trouble."

"Oh? Hehe, you're too kind, sir." The waiter went downstairs with a happy heart. For someone like him who lived at the bottom of society, receiving a "thank you for your trouble" from Ling Chi, who seemed to be of high status, was enough to make him happy for days.

Qiao Feng was quite surprised to see this: this person did not seem to be a vicious and evil person.

Recalling the news brought back by the Beggars' Sect brothers, although Ling Chi had given the Shaolin Temple a sound beating, he did not exterminate them. Instead, he took away several thousand handwritten Buddhist scriptures and left. The Shaolin Temple only suffered more than a thousand injuries, but no one was killed.

Qiao Feng looked at Ling Chi and thought to himself: Could it be that I have misunderstood him?

Ling Chi glanced at Guan Li and asked, "Manager Guan, do you still want to buy wine?"

"This..." After a fierce internal struggle, Guan Li finally sighed and said with a wry smile, "I run a small business and can't afford to spend that much money. I'm sorry to bother Young Master Ling."

"It's alright." Ling Chi smiled slightly. "We're going to eat now."

"Please enjoy your meal, Young Master Ling." Guan Li clasped his hands in a fist salute and went downstairs.

"Stop staring." Seeing the four swordsmen looking at him, unwilling to touch their chopsticks, Ling Chi picked up a pair of chopsticks and said, "Try it together!"

"Young Master Ling, please eat first." Although the four swordsmen's affection for Ling Chi had reached unprecedented levels, they still adhered to their status as servants and always insisted that Ling Chi eat first before they would eat themselves.

Ling Chi shook his head: This wicked feudal society... I like it.

Ling Chi tasted the two dishes. The taste was acceptable, but they weren't very hygienic. The oil used was unclean, the pot wasn't clean, and even the ingredients weren't very clean. While this might not be a problem for an average person, it was definitely unacceptable to him.

Ling Chi shook his head: "We can't be so fussy when we're out and about. We're acquaintances, so let's eat!"

Zhu Jian laughed and said, "Young Master Ling says that no matter what you eat! But compared to the dishes Young Master Ling makes, the other things are indeed just cooked."

Ling Chi smiled slightly and put down his chopsticks: "Eat!"

Only then did the Four Swords pick up their chopsticks. Ling Chi had spoiled their palates during this period, and although these two dishes were Songhelou's signature dishes, the Four Swords felt no different from eating steamed buns.

Just like Lingchi said: If it's cooked, you can eat it.

That's it.

"..." Qiao Feng took a deep breath and said, "Young Master Ling, how about we have a drink together?"

Ling Chi glanced at him, and seeing his sincere expression, couldn't help but smile slightly: "Doesn't Chief Qiao consider me an enemy? Why do you still want to drink with me?"

"I acted impulsively just now," Qiao Feng said apologetically. "Master Xuanku of Shaolin is my master. I am naturally angry about what Young Master Ling did at Shaolin Temple. However, judging from how kind and gentle Young Master Ling was to that waiter just now, he should not be a bad person. I will reconsider."

"Oh?" Ling Chi was somewhat impressed with him.

Admitting one's mistakes and correcting them is a simple phrase, but how many people can actually do it? Especially someone like Qiao Feng, who is essentially the CEO of a large corporation managing millions of employees. Just the airs of a CEO would make it difficult for such a person to admit their mistakes, but Qiao Feng did, and corrected them immediately. Ling Chi admitted that he couldn't even do that; in terms of magnanimity alone, Qiao Feng was indeed superior to him.

“In that case, I’ll have a drink with Chief Qiao.” Ling Chi stood up and walked to Qiao Feng’s table to sit down. The Four Swords wanted to follow, but he stopped them.

The four swordsmen ate their food while keeping a close watch on Ling Chi and Qiao Feng, remaining fully alert.

Upon seeing this, Qiao Feng exclaimed, "Young Master Ling's guards are truly dedicated to their duties."