Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

"..." Shang Xiuxun looked at him with pitiful eyes: "Brother Ling, what should I do?"

"Don't worry," Ling Chi said with a smile. "Although the food on Peach Blossom Island is incredibly delicious, it won't make you dependent on it. When you're hungry, you can still eat ordinary food without finding it hard to swallow."

That's not what I asked!

Shang Xiuxun ate her meal with her head down, feeling depressed and unwilling to speak.

But when the other two new dishes were served, Shang Xiuxun's eyes lit up: "Mmm, delicious!"

Watching Shang Xiuxun eat with great relish, Ling Chi was certain that Shang Xiuxun was at least a high-level blue-rank character, but unfortunately, he was a poor wretch who couldn't afford the high-level blue-rank dishes priced at over a thousand taels of silver.

However, to be fair, he wouldn't have treated everyone to a meal if there were fancy blue dishes on the menu.

Even the landlord's family didn't have any surplus grain! ┓（'A`）┏

……

"Ah! I'm so full." Shang Xiuxun leaned back in her seat with a satisfied look on her face, her hands on her bulging belly as if she were five months pregnant. "I've never eaten so satisfyingly before."

"There's dessert after the meal!" Ling Chi said with a smile, "Can you still eat?"

"I can eat." Smoke suddenly rose from Shang Xiuxun's head, as if she was circulating her internal energy. Then, her stomach visibly flattened out. In less than half a minute, Shang Xiuxun had returned to normal. She patted her flat stomach and chuckled, "Now I can eat."

"..." Ling Chi stared in disbelief: "What kind of kung fu is this?"

"This is my unique skill." Seeing Ling Chi's surprised expression for the first time, Shang Xiuxun was very proud: I've finally gotten my revenge!

"No matter how much I eat, I can digest it quickly. In fact, the more I eat, the stronger I become, the faster I go, and the stronger my internal energy becomes," Shang Xiuxun said. "How can I become a venue owner without some skills?"

Ling Chi was genuinely shocked; this was a plot point that hadn't appeared in the original novel. Although Shang Xiuxun was the owner of the Pegasus Ranch, that was because the ranch was her family's property. Unless she died or her line ended, the ranch would always belong to her family. But what was going on now? Had Shang Xiuxun risen to power through sheer strength? And such a fantastical cultivation technique?

Getting stronger by eating is practically every foodie's dream!

"I never expected Xiuxun to have such abilities, she's truly amazing." Ling Chi exclaimed sincerely.

"Hehe, it's alright." Shang Xiuxun was very happy to be praised by Ling Chi. At this moment, Wei Zhenzhen also brought out dessert after the meal: "Please enjoy."

“Zhenzhen, have Rong’er make a dish called ‘Brave’,” Ling Chi suddenly said.

"Yes." Wei Zhenzhen didn't ask any questions, nodded, and went to the kitchen to serve the dishes.

"What is bravery?" Shang Xiuxun asked, happily munching on her dessert.

"This is a dish that's not on the menu." Ling Chi smiled slightly. "Consider it a gift from your older brother."

"..." Shang Xiuxun looked at him and said, "Brother Ling, this dish must be very expensive, right?"

"It's alright, it's nothing to me." Ling Chi smiled slightly: "It's rare to meet a girl who genuinely loves food, how can I, as her older brother, be stingy?"

Shang Xiuxun was suddenly moved: "Thank you, Brother Ling."

"You're welcome." Ling Chi smiled slightly. "I've heard that Pegasus Ranch raises many excellent warhorses. Xiu Xun, why don't you tell me about them?"

“Great!” Once Pegasus Ranch was mentioned, Shang Xiuxun immediately launched into a long and detailed account, from the history of Pegasus Ranch to the breeds of horses at Pegasus Ranch, as well as some of the things that had happened over the years, pouring out her knowledge like beans.

Ling Chi listened with great interest, never expecting that there was so much to learn about raising horses. Compared to them, Qiao Feng and A Zi, the couple at the ranch, were far less knowledgeable.

Ling Chi pondered: It's time to recruit a few stable hands for the ranch.

……

"Young Master, [Yongmeng] has arrived." Wei Zhenzhen walked over carrying a tray with a lid on it, which looked quite extraordinary.

Ling Chi nodded: "Put it down!"

"Yes." Wei Zhenzhen placed the dishes on the tray on the table, then lifted the lid, and a beam of blue light shot into the sky, turning everyone present into Avatars.

Shang Xiuxun's beautiful eyes were wide open, and her blank expression was exceptionally cute.

As the blue light dissipated, Shang Xiuxun saw what the dish looked like. It was a dish that combined meat and vegetables, and it was also a conceptual dish. Its shape resembled a general on the battlefield, charging forward with a large sword, looking extremely brave.

The aroma emanating from the dish made Shang Xiuxun's stomach rumble, and she cried out in waves of hunger, "Eat! I want to eat! I want to eat!"

"This dish..." Just as Ling Chi was about to introduce the dish to Shang Xiuxun, he saw Shang Xiuxun pick up her chopsticks, swiftly snap off the general's head, and put it into her mouth.

Ling Chi: "..."

"Uh-huh—"

"Ding! You have conquered the stomach of Shang Xiuxun, a top-tier blue-level diner. The diner's level is too low to count as a conquest. The top-tier blue-level recipe, Gluttony, has been dropped."

"Gluttony: Top-tier blue recipe. It allows you to absorb a small amount of energy from food to strengthen yourself. The effects cannot be stacked."

……

Upon seeing the name and effects of the dish, Ling Chi couldn't help but show a look of surprise. She hadn't expected that it would reveal Shang Xiuxun's abilities! Judging from the effects, with this dish, even eating ordinary colorless recipes could have the same effect as colored recipes. Although the effect wouldn't be very high, at least it wouldn't result in food being excreted and wasted.

Furthermore, if you eat colored recipes that are already effective, will the effect be enhanced?

Thinking of this, Ling Chi couldn't wait to make the dish and try out its effects.

While Ling Chi was pondering these things, Shang Xiuxun entered an illusion. In the illusion, her parents were deeply in love. Her father was not attracted to that vile woman Zhu Yuyan, and her mother did not suffer from excessive grief and die of depression. The three of them lived a life of unparalleled happiness, free from any worries, just like in paradise.

"Father... Mother..." Two lines of tears slid down her cheeks, but Shang Xiuxun smiled happily. Although it was brief, she truly felt the taste of a lifetime of happiness. Even when she opened her eyes and knew that it was all just an illusion, that was enough.

A napkin appeared in front of her, and Ling Chi's eyes showed a hint of concern: "Wipe yourself!"

"Mmm." Shang Xiuxun took the napkin, wiped away her tears, and smiled, "Brother Ling, I was very happy just now."

"That's good." Ling Chi nodded and asked, "Besides happiness, what other feelings do you have?"

"Hmm..." Shang Xiuxun checked her body and said, "I don't feel anything special."

“Not now, but you’ll see the effect when you fight someone.” Ling Chi smiled slightly: “Perhaps you can even contend with a Grandmaster.”

"Brother Ling, please don't tease me." Shang Xiuxun smiled and said, "How could I possibly defeat a Grandmaster?"

"That's not necessarily true." Ling Chi pointed to [Valiant] and said, "There's still plenty left, eat up!"

"Mmm." Shang Xiuxun ate heartily, "Delicious, really delicious, even better than the previous dishes..."

"..."

Having finished both the food and dessert, Shang Xiuxun had never felt so satisfied. Sipping her freshly brewed hot tea, she exclaimed, "I never expected even the tea to be so delicious. Brother Ling, I'm impressed. I admit that the food on Peach Blossom Island is the best in the world."

Ling Chi smiled and said, "You don't need to admit it, Peach Blossom Island's cuisine is the best in the world."

Shang Xiuxun pouted, looking adorable: "Brother Ling, no woman will like you like this."

Ling Chi chuckled: "I won't have any women who like me? There are countless women who like me."

"Bullshit." Shang Xiuxun didn't believe it at all. Ling Chi's appearance was ordinary. Although his smile was quite friendly, his words could really make people angry. However, the food he cooked was so delicious, which was a plus. For example, after she finished eating this table of food, she found Ling Chi much more pleasing to the eye. He seemed like an old friend, exuding a strong sense of closeness.

"Brother Ling, there's something I'd like to ask you. Could you tell me?" Shang Xiuxun asked.

"Tell me what you can," Ling Chi said.

Shang Xiuxun pouted again and said, "Actually, I wanted to come to Peach Blossom Island a year ago, and I even arranged the itinerary, but Peach Blossom Island suddenly disappeared." At this point, Shang Xiuxun asked, "Brother Ling, why did Peach Blossom Island disappear? Where did you go?"

Chapter Seventeen: Three Women

“I didn’t go anywhere.” Ling Chi smiled and said, “I’ve been running this shop for ten years and I’m a little tired, so I’m taking a year off. As for Peach Blossom Island… it hasn’t disappeared, it’s just been hidden by an array.”

"A battle formation?" Shang Xiuxun asked in astonishment, "What battle formation? Zhuge Liang's Eight Trigrams Formation?"

"More or less." Ling Chi nodded and made a shushing gesture: "I'm only telling you this, don't tell anyone else."

Shang Xiuxun nodded repeatedly. This feeling of being treated specially and having a little secret between the two of them was wonderful.

However, formations are such magical things. Apart from hearing some stories about Wu Hou Bagua from storytellers, he had never seen one in person. How could Shang Xiuxun miss the first opportunity in his life to witness one?

"Brother Ling, can you let me take a look at the formation?" Shang Xiuxun asked with a hint of trepidation and a strong sense of anticipation.

Seeing her like this, Ling Chi smiled and said, "I can't show you the grand formation that hides Peach Blossom Island, but some smaller formations are no problem."

“A small formation is enough.” Shang Xiuxun asked excitedly and expectantly, “Brother Ling, what kind of small formations do you know?”

“It’s some kind of maze or illusion array, like…” Ling Chi casually tossed a jade stone to the ground around Shang Xiuxun, forming a six-pointed star shape. The next moment, the six jade stones flashed with black light, and Shang Xiuxun suddenly went black and could not see anything.

"Ah!?" Shang Xiuxun hurriedly stood up, stretching her arms out in front of her, her face full of terror: "Brother Ling, where are you? I can't see anything!"

"Don't be afraid, sit down." Ling Chi's voice came from across the room, gradually calming Shang Xiuxun down from her panic.

"There's a chair behind you, sit down slowly." Ling Chi's voice came again. Shang Xiuxun nodded, reached behind her with both hands, and sure enough, found the chair. Then she carefully sat down.

After sitting down, Shang Xiuxun felt calmer, and her curiosity immediately arose. She asked, "Brother Ling, what kind of formation is this?"

"This is a blinding array, designed to prevent people from seeing anything. It's a very basic array." Ling Chi put away the six jade stones, and Shang Xiuxun's eyes lit up as all the scenes reappeared before her. However, her pupils had contracted severely in the darkness, and the sudden appearance of light made her involuntarily close her eyes, taking a while to recover.

"What an amazing formation!" Shang Xiuxun exclaimed in amazement. "I had heard before that Zhuge Liang used the Eight Trigrams Formation to trap Lu Xun and tens of thousands of Eastern Wu troops, but I thought it was just a story made up by storytellers. I never expected it to be true."

“I don’t know then.” Ling Chi shook his head and said, “I’m not from the Three Kingdoms period, so how would I know if the Bagua Formation is real or fake? But there is indeed a peculiar formation in this world that has hidden the Temple of the God of War.”

"The Temple of War Gods?" Shang Xiuxun had never heard of it before, but judging from the name, it must be a very powerful place.

"It is said to be the place where one of the four great books, the War God's Record, is hidden." Ling Chi smiled slightly: "In ancient times, Guang Chengzi, the teacher of the Yellow Emperor, accidentally entered the War God's Temple and comprehended the Longevity Manual based on the War God's Record."

"Ah!?" Shang Xiuxun exclaimed in surprise, "The Longevity Technique was actually comprehended from the Temple of the War God?"

“I’ve only heard about it. Only Guang Chengzi knows whether it’s true or not.” Ling Chi smiled and said, “But those Four Great Books and Three Grandmasters are all boasted about, but they still can’t protect the country and its people. They’re not as good as me, a cook. At least people know what happiness tastes like after they’ve eaten.”

“Brother Ling is right.” Shang Xiuxun nodded repeatedly: “Aside from the high price, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Ling Chi glanced at her: "It's just worth the price. If you want something cheaper, go eat out. Peach Blossom Island sells top-notch cuisine. Don't come if you don't have money."

Shang Xiuxun pouted: "What if we can't get Peach Blossom Island's delicious food outside?"

"You can buy some easy-to-preserve food to take back and eat," Ling Chi said. "For example, cookies, cured meat, honey, and candy. Although they are not as delicious as what I make myself, they are still pretty good."

"Brother Ling, why don't you consider opening a few branches?" Shang Xiuxun tempted, "Putting aside other places, if you open a branch at Pegasus Ranch, you'll earn just as much money as you would on Peach Blossom Island."

"No, I won't open it." Ling Chi shook his head.

"Why!?" Shang Xiuxun was displeased: "Isn't it good to make money?"

"Money?" Ling Chi chuckled lightly. "Do you think I'm short of money?"

"..." Shang Xiuxun was speechless.

“Moreover, chefs are not easy to train,” Ling Chi said. “To learn the culinary skills of Peach Blossom Island, one needs decades of hard work and extremely high talent to do it.”

"You're lying." Shang Xiuxun didn't believe it at all: "How old is Brother Ling this year? How could he make this? And how old is the chef in the kitchen? How could she make this?"

Ling Chi looked at her and asked, "How old do you think I am?"

"..." Shang Xiuxun was stunned for a moment. Recalling the history of Peach Blossom Island's rise to power, she suddenly had a strange feeling.