Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

After resting for a night, Ling Chi took the four swordsmen straight to Suzhou the next morning to enjoy the sights and scenery.

They were having a great time, unaware that chaos was brewing both in the martial arts world and in the imperial court.

That day, after Qiao Feng led his Beggars' Clan brothers away from Xingzilin, he discovered that many of his brothers, Ma Dayuan's widow Kang Min, and some well-known figures in the martial arts world, such as Zhao Qiansun, Tan Gong and Tan Po, had all died not far from Xingzilin. The cause of death was internal injuries, followed by being struck in a vital point.

Meanwhile, the Western Xia warriors and Yipintang masters led by Helian Tieshu also died tragically at Huishan, for the same reason as the Beggar Clan members.

These two events instantly ignited a frenzy in the martial arts world and in the imperial courts of both the Song and Western Xia dynasties.

Things in the martial arts world are relatively easy to handle; there are countless dramas of you killing me, me killing him, and him killing you. Although there were quite a few deaths and a lot of skilled fighters this time, it wasn't unacceptable. However, Helian Tieshu was the Grand General of the Eastern Expedition of Western Xia, and he also had hundreds of skilled fighters from Western Xia's First-Class Hall killed tragically in Huishan within the territory of the Song Dynasty. This greatly angered Western Xia, and then a dispute began between the two countries.

Because Helian Tieshu came to pay tribute as an envoy of Western Xia, but died within the territory of the Song Dynasty, the King of Western Xia believed that the Song Dynasty was to blame and demanded an explanation from the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty, being in the Northern Song period, was quite powerful and had no fear of a small country like Western Xia. In fact, it would occasionally fight against them throughout history. Although it never won, it still deterred Western Xia from provoking it.

However, considering that Helian Tieshu did indeed have an accident within the territory of the Song Dynasty, the Song emperor still sent people to investigate the cause, and the investigation revealed the problem.

Why did Helian Tieshu, after leading so many warriors on a diplomatic mission, not return to Western Xia but instead go to Henan and then to Huishan? Moreover, many of them were martial arts masters. What was he planning?

On the other hand, as the largest gang in the world, the Beggars' Sect would fight against the northern barbarians from time to time. They had a good relationship with the Song Dynasty and were happy to share intelligence with the Song Dynasty.

Upon learning that the people from the Song Dynasty were investigating the murder of the Western Xia delegation in Huishan, the Beggars' Sect immediately shared the information they knew with the court.

When the Song emperor learned that Helian Tieshu's visit to the Song Dynasty was actually ill-intentioned, and that he intended to destroy the Beggars' Sect in order to weaken the Song Dynasty's national strength, he was furious and vowed to teach the Western Xia a lesson.

This time, the Western Xia really lost more than they gained. Not only did they fail to get an explanation, but the Song Dynasty also exposed their trick. Because they lost 70-80% of their Yipintang masters in the Song Dynasty, the King of Western Xia knew that he could not gain any benefits. He could only humiliatingly send another delegation, with many beautiful women from foreign tribes and gold and silver treasures, to the Song Dynasty to apologize in the capital.

Seeing that the Western Xia had backed down, the Song emperor was very pleased. He reprimanded the Western Xia delegation, accepted the tribute as an apology, and put the matter behind him.

The affairs of the imperial court were resolved, but the turmoil in the martial arts world had not yet subsided.

This time, many skilled members of the Beggars' Clan died, including several elders and even the widow of the late Vice Chief Ma. This was an unprecedented disgrace for the Beggars' Clan. How could Qiao Feng, a man of character, tolerate such a thing? So the entire Beggars' Clan was mobilized to find the mastermind behind this incident.

At the same time, Qiao Feng felt that this matter was quite strange. He didn't understand why the elders of the Beggars' Sect would be mixed up with Kang Min? Moreover, there were many well-known figures in the martial arts world among them, so things were clearly not simple.

The biggest question is: how could so many Beggars' Sect members and martial arts masters be killed at once? Did the mastermind send an army to wipe them out? But there were no signs of fighting at the scene. It looked like everyone was ambushed at the same time and then killed by a single finger.

Even Qiao Feng admitted he couldn't do it, so who in the martial arts world could do such a thing?

Subconsciously, Qiao Feng thought of Ling Chi.

Ling Chi had done something similar at Shaolin Temple, the only difference being that he didn't add a finger to the Shaolin monks' fingers.

"Could it be..." Qiao Feng's expression was uncertain.

At the same time, Murong Fu, who had joined forces with Bao Butong, also heard news about Ling Chi.

Murong Fu appeared to be no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He wore a light yellow robe, had a long sword at his waist, and was handsome and elegant. He was much more handsome than Duan Yu and Duan Zhengchun, so it's no wonder that Wang Yuyan was so infatuated with this cousin.

"Is Ling Chi really that powerful?" The handsome Murong Fu's expression was very solemn at this moment, unable to believe what Bao Butong had said.

“It’s probably even more powerful than I’ve described.” Recalling Ling Chi’s palm strike, Bao Butong broke out in a cold sweat: “It was just a casual palm strike, but it was not only incredibly powerful, but also lightning fast. I didn’t even have a chance to dodge.”

Murong Fu's expression grew even more solemn as he asked, "Can he be of use to me?"

“Difficult.” Bao Butong shook his head: “He is not short of money, and he has four beautiful twin sisters by his side. With his martial arts skills, if he wants wealth and honor, he does not need to rely on the young master.”

Bao Butong was too straightforward, and his words made Murong Fu's face turn very ugly.

“However, he spoke highly of you, saying that he has long admired you and that you might be able to make something of this opportunity,” Bao Butong said.

"Oh?" Murong Fu's eyes lit up. "Did he really say that?"

“Absolutely true.” Bao Butong nodded repeatedly: “Young Master knows that I never lie.”

Murong Fu looked at him and nodded.

“However…” Bao Butong added, “Young Master may be able to befriend him, but it will be difficult to recruit him.”

Murong Fu's face darkened again.

“If he becomes displeased and does something to harm the young master, we are afraid we will be unable to protect him,” Bao Butong said.

Murong Fu's face darkened.

“But it’s better to be on good terms with him than to be on bad terms with him. At least he won’t take the initiative to target you, young master,” Bao Butong said.

Murong Fu's complexion improved considerably.

"I'm just offering some suggestions; the decision on how to proceed is up to you, young master," Bao Butong said.

"Hmm." Murong Fu suppressed the urge to stab him to death and said, "I have my own plan for this matter. Let me think it over."

“Yes.” Bao Butong nodded, then suddenly remembered something and quickly said, “By the way, Ling Chi seems to have feelings for A Zhu.”

"Oh?" Murong Fu's eyes lit up: "Why do you say that?"

Bao Butong recounted Ling Chi's attitude towards A Zhu that day.

"He wants A'Zhu to learn to cook from him?" Murong Fu was stunned.

“Yes.” Bao Butong nodded. “He said his hobbies are cooking and beating people half to death and then stuffing them with stinky tofu. I don’t know what stinky tofu is, but since it has the word ‘stinky’ in it, it must not be a good thing.”

"This..." Murong Fu was shocked and bewildered. How could there be such a strange person in the world?

He was taken aback and frowned.

Having shouldered the responsibility of restoring his country since childhood, he naturally knew many ways to manage subordinates. Someone as unconventional as Ling Chi was definitely not a good subordinate.

Although Bao Butong had a rather strange personality and a foul mouth, he was at least very obedient and would do his best to complete the tasks assigned to him. Otherwise, he would have stabbed him to death long ago.

"Where did A'Zhu go?" Murong Fu asked.

“After she and Abi escorted Miss Biao back to Mantuo Manor, they should have returned to Yanziwu,” Bao Butong said.

"Come back to Swallow's Nest with me." Murong Fu turned and left.

"Yes."

……

The next day, Murong Fu returned to Yanziwu. Sure enough, A'Zhu and A'Bi had returned as well. Upon seeing Murong Fu, the two women were overjoyed: "Young Master, you're back!"

"Hmm." Murong Fu nodded with a smile, then stared intently at A'Zhu.

Murong Fu hadn't noticed it before, but upon closer inspection, he realized that A'Zhu was an extremely beautiful young woman, at least one or two levels above A'Bi. Although she wasn't as beautiful as Wang Yuyan, she wasn't far off.

No wonder.

A'Zhu blushed as Murong Fu stared at her. "Young Master, why are you looking at me like that?"

Murong Fu didn't explain, but asked directly, "A'Zhu, what do you think of Ling Chi?"

"Ah?" A'Zhu's heart skipped a beat. She said, "This... I don't know much about Young Master Ling. I only know that he is highly skilled in martial arts and somewhat eccentric. I have never met anyone like him before."

"I heard he seems to treat you differently," Murong Fu said.

A'Zhu glanced at Bao Butong, who turned his head to look at Liang Zhu without looking to the side.

"..." A'Zhu nodded: "Young Master Ling said that I have a talent for cooking and wants me to learn cooking from him."

"Heh, just an excuse." Murong Fu smiled.

"An excuse?" Azhu blinked.

“When a man wants to get close to a woman, he will always come up with all sorts of excuses.” Murong Fu opened his paper fan with a flourish and fanned himself, saying, “His asking you to learn to cook with him is just an excuse for him to get closer to you.”

"Really?" For some reason, Azhu blushed a little.

Chapter 53 The Dilemma of Appearance

Seeing her reaction, Murong Fu smiled slightly and asked, "A'Zhu, when did you arrive at Yanziwu?"

Azhu lowered her head and said, "I was bought when I was five years old, and it has been eleven years since then."

“Eleven years…” Murong Fu gazed at the scenery of Taihu Lake and sighed, “Has it already been eleven years?”

Azhu glanced at him secretly, wondering what he was thinking.

"A'Zhu, how has the young master treated you these past eleven years?" Murong Fu suddenly asked.

Azhu quickly replied, "Young Master is very kind to me, and I am extremely grateful."

Murong Fu smiled slightly: "If the young master asked you to do something, would you do it?"

A'Zhu neither said yes nor no, but simply said, "This servant will repay the young master's kindness."

Murong Fu glanced at her, only now realizing that his maid was actually quite cunning, but that answer was enough.

“You know, the young master loves to make friends with heroes from all over the world. Now, the young master really wants to befriend this young hero, Ling Chi,” Murong Fu said. “Since he is interested in you, the young master is willing to help you make your wish come true.”

"..." A'Zhu lowered her head, her heart quite unsettled. Was she going to be given to Ling Chi?

"What do you think?" Murong Fu looked at her intently.

"This servant will follow your instructions, young master," A'Zhu said.

"Very well!" Murong Fu clapped his hands with his paper fan and laughed, "In that case, I will accompany you on a trip to Tianshan." He paused, then asked, "But where exactly is Lingjiu Palace in Tianshan?"

“Leave the task of finding out about the place to my subordinates!” Bao Butong said. “Although those beggars from the Beggars’ Gang are annoying, they are quite well-informed.”

Murong Fu nodded: "I still have some misunderstandings with the Beggars' Sect, so why not take this opportunity to meet Qiao Feng?"

He paused for a moment, then asked, "How skilled is Qiao Feng in martial arts?"

"I don't know that." Bao Butong shook his head and said, "However, Ling Chi greatly admires Qiao Feng. If it weren't for my desperate attempt to sabotage things, the two would have almost become sworn brothers."

"Hmm?" Murong Fu frowned. "Is that so?"

Bao Butong nodded and recounted what had happened.

Murong Fu breathed a sigh of relief and patted Bao Butong on the shoulder: "Thanks to you, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable if the Beggars' Sect and Ling Chi had joined forces."

“That’s what I thought too,” Bao Butong said with a hint of pride. “That’s why I tried so hard to stop it.”

“You’ve done very well,” Murong Fu said. “Now, we should strike first.”

A'Zhu looked at Murong Fu and fell silent.

……

In April, after visiting West Lake in Hangzhou with the Four Swords, Ling Chi took the four swords, who were quite satisfied, straight to Leigu Mountain.

"Young Master Ling, what are we going to Leigu Mountain for?" Mei Jian asked, sitting on the wheelbarrow and enjoying the speed.

"I'm going to see someone," Ling Chi said. "This person has quite a connection with Granny Tong."