Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

"Don't be afraid, Xiaoqing is my maid, she won't hurt you," Ling Chi comforted the two rabbit spirits.

Hu Meiniang and Caiyin were both stunned: a maid?

The two rabbit spirits shuddered at the thought that Xiaoqing, who had been so cruel last night, was actually Ling Chi's maid: even the maid was so powerful, the God of Cookery truly deserves to be called a celestial being.

"You've come to see me, is there something you need?" Seeing the two rabbit spirits remain silent, Ling Chi took the initiative to start a conversation.

The two rabbit spirits looked at each other, both hesitant.

They came down the mountain to seek refuge with Ling Chi because it was unsafe in the mountains, but the two groups that made them uneasy turned out to be the same people, which made them doubt whether their choice was right. Some even wanted to back out, but faced with Ling Chi's question, they could only make a choice in a very limited time. At this critical moment, the two rabbit spirits made their decision.

"We would like to open an embroidery shop next to the Master Chef. We would appreciate your permission," Hu Meiniang said.

"An embroidery shop?" Ling Chi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled as she recalled the plot of the TV series she watched back then. "Go ahead and open one! If the embroidery is good, I can buy in bulk."

The two women breathed a sigh of relief at the answer and thanked him repeatedly.

"No need to thank me," Ling Chi said. "But there's no house next door to me, so how will you operate?"

The Prince Qiu's Mansion was the residence of a prince, and it was almost entirely enclosed. Ordinary people couldn't be neighbors with the prince, so naturally they didn't have any houses there.

"This..." Hu Meiniang and Caiyin hadn't expected this. Just as they were hesitating, Ling Chi said, "How about this? Anyway, my mansion is big enough. I'll give you a courtyard with a small gate to use as an embroidery shop. Of course, you can't just stay for free. The monthly rent will be settled with one embroidery piece. How about that?"

The two women immediately showed gratitude: "Thank you, Master Chef, we are willing."

"That's good." Ling Chi smiled slightly and said to a maid, "Take them to the courtyard in the northeast corner."

"Yes." The maid bowed, walked up to the two women, and said, "Ladies, please follow me."

"Thank you for your trouble." Hu Meiniang and Caiyin bowed to Ling Chi and left with the maid.

After they left, Ling Chi turned to Xiao Qing and asked, "What did you do last night? You scared them so much."

Xiaoqing was very embarrassed. After thinking about it, she decided to tell the truth.

After hearing what Xiaoqing had done last night, Ling Chi was both amused and annoyed: "You really have a short temper." He paused, then added, "Luckily, you're not a bad person, otherwise I would have subdued the demon long ago."

Xiaoqing lowered her head and remained silent.

Ling Chi shook his head, stood up and said, "Let's go! Let's go for a walk outside."

"Yes, young master."

"..." Hearing Xiaoqing call him "Young Master" is quite a novel experience.

Stepping outside the mansion, Xiaoqing asked, "Young Master, isn't Sister Su Mei going?"

Su Mei and Ling Chi are usually inseparable, but they disappeared after meeting this morning, which is why Xiao Qing asked this question.

“She’s explored all around Qiantang, but she got bored and went off to play elsewhere,” Ling Chi said. “There are quite a few monsters in the small Qiantang County. Mei’er wants to see what other monsters are causing trouble elsewhere, so she can relieve her boredom.”

To relieve boredom?

This was the first time Xiaoqing had ever heard of seeking out monsters for amusement, but given Ling Chi's unconventional style, it was understandable that his contracted spirit pet would do such a thing.

The upper beam is crooked... no, it's that what the superiors do, the inferiors follow; this has been true throughout history.

While Ling Chi and Xiao Qing were wandering around, Su Mei headed south and arrived at the northern outskirts of Jinhua City. He originally wanted to continue, but stopped there.

Looking around, the scene was rather eerie. He twitched his nose slightly and said, "There's a demonic aura, a ghostly aura, and a heavy sense of resentment."

Following the scent, Su Mei flew in one direction and soon arrived at an abandoned temple.

“Lan...Ruo Temple.” Looking at the temple’s plaque, Su Mei blinked. “What a strange name. Hmm, such a heavy demonic and ghostly aura. With such a heavy aura of malevolence and karma, it must not be a good demon or ghost.”

It was morning, and the overcast sky blocked out the usual yang energy, making the yin energy of the ghosts even more concentrated. Su Mei gathered her hair, used an invisibility spell, and stealthily moved towards the area where demonic and ghostly energy was abundant.

……

Qiantang County.

In the evening, Ling Chi and Xiao Qing returned to the manor after a stroll outside. Having played all day, Xiao Qing's mood had clearly improved, and she was all smiles, chatting and laughing with Ling Chi. It was hard to imagine that the two of them had been like enemies the night before.

Humans are fickle, and so are demons.

"Brother Ling, Sister Xiaoqing, why are you only coming back now? I've been waiting for you for ages." The two had just entered the hall when they heard Su Mei's seductive voice.

The two turned their heads and saw Su Mei sitting in the main seat with a pile of urns at her feet.

"..." Ling Chi's expression changed, and he said, "What are you up to?"

"No, I was just going to Jinhua for fun. I didn't expect to encounter a dilapidated temple in the suburbs before I even arrived in Jinhua. Inside lived a thousand-year-old tree demon and a bunch of female ghosts controlled by it. I found the tree demon to be despicable, so I killed it and rescued the female ghosts. Some of the female ghosts were so sinful that I beat them to a pulp, and they no longer have the chance to be reincarnated."

"..." This plot sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?

"By the way, there's a very beautiful and elegant female ghost among these, and she seems to have the best temperament. I brought her with me. Brother Ling, would you like to recruit her?" Su Mei asked, picking up an urn.

"..." You're holding an urn of ashes and asking me to recruit you? Isn't that a bit too bizarre?

"Show yourself!" Ling Chi walked over and sat down next to Su Mei, while Xiao Qing stood curiously to the side.

Su Mei nodded and said to the urn, "Xiaoqian, come out!"

A wisp of green smoke appeared out of thin air, and within it, a stunningly beautiful, ethereal female ghost in white appeared before the three of them. The moment Ling Chi saw this ghost, his eyes lit up: "I never imagined that such a beautiful female ghost existed in the world."

The female ghost was tall, probably over 1.7 meters. Although her long legs were covered by a white dress, they were still quite long, around 1.1 meters. Ling Chi couldn't help but stand up and compare his height and leg length with the female ghost.

Ling Chi clicked his tongue twice and said, "What long legs."

He was certain that the female ghost was 1.73 meters tall, only 10 centimeters shorter than him, but her legs were 1.1 meters long—absolutely long legs. And yet, she was so beautiful, as if she embodied all the beauty of women in the world.

"Not bad, right!" Su Mei laughed. "Your legs are even longer than other people's!"

The female ghost's face was flushed, seemingly startled by Ling Chi's unreliable behavior. Recalling Su Mei's earlier promises, she began to doubt: Did she really want to follow such an unreliable master from now on?

Ling Chi smiled and said, "She has her strengths, and Mei'er has her merits. I won't favor one over the other."

Su Mei smiled radiantly, nestled against Ling Chi's shoulder, and said, "Brother Ling, her name is Nie Xiaoqian. She was originally the daughter of an official, but later went with her father to take up a post in another place. However, she died of illness on the way and was buried outside Lanruo Temple. Then she was controlled by that tree demon, who made her and other female ghosts seduce passing men to provide the tree demon with its essence..."

At this point, Nie Xiaoqian blushed and whispered, "I didn't seduce any men, the tree demon just tormented me."

Although the voice was very soft, it did not escape the ears of the three people inside the room. Upon hearing this, Ling Chi's eyes lit up, and he smiled broadly: "In that case, you are a pitiful female ghost. Nie Xiaoqian, Mei'er asked me to take you in. What do you think?"

Nie Xiaoqian performed a standard court lady's bow and said, "Xiaoqian will leave everything to you, young master."

"So that means you agree," Ling Chi said with a smile. "In that case, do you prefer rural life or grassland life?"

Nie Xiaoqian was stunned for a moment, thinking to herself: What is this?

But she still answered honestly, "Xiaoqian prefers rural life."

Ling Chi nodded, stood up and said, "In that case, please follow me."

Seeing that Ling Chi was about to leave, Xiao Qing was about to follow him, but Su Mei grabbed her hand and shook her head.

Xiaoqing was filled with doubt, but she could only suppress her curiosity and wait silently.

Su Mei chatted with Xiao Qing for a while, talking about where she and Ling Chi had gone that day and how their time together went. This helped Xiao Qing relax, and soon the two women were laughing and talking like sisters.

Ling Chi recruited Nie Xiaoqian, and when he returned, this was the scene he saw. He subconsciously rubbed his eyes, only to find that the two women were indeed chatting and laughing, as close as sisters.

Ling Chi couldn't help but sigh: Women are indeed fickle, and so are female demons.

"Brother Ling, you're back!" Su Mei waved with a smile as she saw Ling Chi walk in.

Ling Chi smiled and nodded, then sat down next to her. Looking at the pile of urns on the ground, he asked, "Xiaoqian is one thing, but why did you bring all these back? Do you want me to perform a ritual for them?"

“Brother Ling can take them under his command,” Su Mei said. “These female ghosts have done some bad things, so there’s no need to recruit them. But they can be used to control the five ghosts like Little Qing and do some odd jobs.”

Ling Chi shook his head: "I have no interest in controlling ghosts and monsters." He turned to Xiao Qing and asked, "Do you want it? If so, you can have it."

"Really?" Xiaoqing's eyes lit up. She was indeed interested in these female ghosts. Seeing Ling Chi nod, Xiaoqing smiled and said, "Thank you, young master."

"You're welcome."

Seeing that Xiaoqing had subdued the dozen or so female ghosts one by one, the urns were no longer of any use. However, for the sake of the female ghosts' future fortune, Ling Chi buried them in a place in the mansion where spiritual energy converged. This spiritual energy would not make the ashes become spirits, but it would continuously nourish the souls that had become female ghosts. Over time, it would increase their fortune, opportunities, and comprehension, among other benefits.

It will take a while, but it doesn't matter how long it takes, it's not important anyway.

After some time, Ling Chi asked Su Mei about how she eliminated the tree demon and subdued the female ghost. Su Mei didn't hide anything and recounted the details one by one. Overall, it was uneventful. With Su Mei's current cultivation level, dealing with a thousand-year-old demon, let alone a ten-thousand-year-old demon, wouldn't be a problem. The only question was...

"Did the tree demon call out 'Black Mountain Demon' before it died?" Ling Chi asked upon hearing this.

"Hmm." Su Mei nodded: "Maybe the Black Mountain Demon is the tree demon's backer! But what kind of monster is the Black Mountain Demon? I've never heard of it before."

“I know,” Xiaoqing said. “The Black Mountain Demon was cultivated from a mountain called Black Mountain in the underworld. He has more than two thousand years of cultivation and is considered a mountain king in the underworld, not under the jurisdiction of the underworld.”

Chapter Nineteen: Rescuing the Female Ghost

The underworld is actually the same as the human world. The underworld is equivalent to the government in the human world, while the Black Mountain Demon is equivalent to the bandits and thieves in the no-man's-land. This is because the underworld is too big and there are too few underworld soldiers. Therefore, after all living beings die, there are underworld soldiers such as Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Black and White Impermanence to guide these souls to the underworld for reincarnation.

If a soul is controlled by demons skilled in manipulating ghosts before being guided by underworld soldiers, it will become a wandering ghost. The Black Mountain Demon enjoys snatching ghosts, especially beautiful female ghosts, for his amusement. In the movie version of A Chinese Ghost Story, Nie Xiaoqian was given to the Black Mountain Demon as a concubine by the Tree Demon Granny. If it weren't for Ning Caichen and Yan Chixia intervening, Nie Xiaoqian's fate would have been unimaginable.

This world doesn't seem to be a simple version of the Legend of the White Snake; it's more like a hodgepodge, even incorporating elements of A Chinese Ghost Story. Fortunately, Su Mei, who was out traveling, stumbled upon it, defeated the tree demon, and rescued Nie Xiaoqian and the other female ghosts. It was a happy accident that allowed the story to continue.

The only difference was that the Black Mountain Demon's target of hatred shifted from Yan Chixia and Ning Caichen to Su Mei. However, Su Mei was far more powerful than Yan Chixia, and the Black Mountain Demon's attempt to seek revenge would only lead to his own destruction.

"I see," Ling Chi said. "It seems this Black Mountain Demon is no good. Anyway, we've got nothing else to do lately, so how about we go to the underworld and have some fun?"

"Great!" Su Mei's eyes lit up. "I've been wanting to go to the underworld for a long time. I wonder if there are any fun places there? Little Qing, do you know anything?"

"I don't know." Xiaoqing shook her head repeatedly: "I don't want to go to the underworld."

Ling Chi chuckled lightly: "You can't go to the underworld without some skills. Fortunately, I learned some skills to open up passages to the underworld during my years in Heaven, otherwise it wouldn't be so easy."

Su Mei giggled, "Brother Ling is really amazing. Shall we go now?"

Ling Chi glanced at the sky and said, "No rush. The yin energy isn't strong enough yet. Let's go after dinner."

He turned to look at Xiaoqing and asked, "Are you going or not?"

"If you don't mind me being a burden, young master, I'll go," Xiaoqing said.

Ling Chi smiled slightly: "It's just dealing with a monster from the underworld, nothing serious. Don't worry, I'm here!"

"..."

……

After dinner, the weather remained gloomy. Seeing that it was about time, Ling Chi casually drew a line, opening a passage to the underworld. It seemed simple, but in reality, it required extremely high levels of magical power and spells. Anyone else wanting to go to the underworld would need some magical artifacts to help them, but Ling Chi only seemed to draw a line casually, and the gate to the underworld opened, which made Xiao Qing's eyes widen.

"Let's go!" Ling Chi said, stepping into the underworld with Su Mei.

Xiaoqing snapped out of her daze and quickly followed him inside.

The underworld was devoid of sunlight and life, a gray and lifeless expanse. Upon entering, Su Mei frowned: "This place is so eerie, it's uncomfortable."