Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

“After all, it’s a place where the dead stay, so the yin energy is heavy.” Ling Chi took out two talismans and stuck them on Su Mei and Xiao Qing’s backs: “These are yin-avoidance talismans, so they won’t be bothered by the yin energy.”

Su Mei and Xiao Qing indeed felt the yin energy on their bodies being expelled, leaving them feeling warm and comfortable.

Xiaoqing said, "Thank you, young master."

"No need to stand on ceremony since we're all on the same side." Ling Chi smiled slightly, looked around, and said, "It seems this is the desolate wilderness of the underworld. I wonder where the Black Mountain Demon is?"

"Why don't we just ask someone?" Su Mei said.

"Easy for you to say. This is the underworld, where are we supposed to find people?" Ling Chi said. "We should ask a wandering ghost."

Su Mei chuckled lightly: "Brother Ling is just being pedantic. Why don't you just ask a ghost then!"

After looking around for a moment, Su Mei frowned slightly: "Why isn't there a single ghost?"

“If wandering ghosts don’t seek refuge with a certain power, it’s difficult for them to survive in the underworld,” Xiaoqing said. “But don’t worry, young master and sister Su Mei, the five ghosts I raise are very familiar with the affairs of the underworld. I’ll have them go and look for them.”

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Little Qing," Su Mei said.

"Leave it to me." Xiaoqing summoned the Five Ghosts and sent them to find the location of the wandering ghosts. If they could find the place where the Black Mountain Demon was, that would be even better.

The Five Ghosts were indeed helpful. In less than an hour, they found the location of the Black Mountain Demon: "Miss Qing, the Black Mountain Demon is in the northwest. It is a very conspicuous black mountain. You can see it if you keep going northwest."

"Well done." Xiaoqing was very satisfied, and then said to Ling Chi, "Young Master, we can find the Black Mountain Demon in the northwest."

"Humans have their way, and ghosts have theirs. In the underworld, you really have to ask ghosts for favors." Ling Chi sighed, "Xiao Qing, you did a good job. When we get back, the young master will reward you handsomely."

Xiaoqing smiled radiantly: "Thank you, young master."

"Haha, let's go!" Ling Chi laughed loudly, and led Su Mei and Xiao Qing straight to the northwest.

A moment later, a huge black mountain appeared before the three of them. Su Mei said happily, "We've found the Black Mountain Demon."

"Such heavy malevolent energy and karma." Ling Chi's eyes turned cold: "It seems this Black Mountain Demon has harmed quite a few people. Hmph! The people of the Underworld are becoming more and more useless, actually allowing such an evil spirit to gain power!"

"Brother Ling, let's hurry up and eliminate the Black Mountain Demon!" Su Mei said, "We can also earn some merit points."

Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda; killing one bad person is equivalent to saving ten good people. Why do Buddhist and Taoist sects always have members who fight demons and uphold justice? Ultimately, it's to protect humanity and accumulate merit. Because most demons eat people, and humans are the sole protagonists of the universe, anyone who dares to eat people will incur negative karma. If a demon happens to be killed by a guardian of justice, not only will their death be in vain, but the guardian will also gain some merit. Although it may not be much, the opportunities are numerous, and little by little, it adds up, making it possible to eventually ascend to immortality through accumulated merit.

Ling Chi himself wasn't really interested in accumulating merit, but he could earn merit by killing some demons and monsters along the way, so why not?

In an instant, the three of them entered Black Mountain. Inside the mountain, thousands of beautiful female ghosts cowered on the ground, their eyes glazed and numb as they faced the Black Mountain Demon's wanton manipulation.

When Ling Chi used his Golden Eyes to observe, he happened to witness this scene and was immediately enraged: "Black Mountain Demon! He deserves to die!"

A loud shout nearly sent the Black Mountain Demon's soul flying: "Laws!? This is... a Taiyi Golden Immortal!?"

Just as the Black Mountain Demon was about to flee, a flying sword that pierced through dimensional space pierced through his chest. The frenzied destructive power continuously destroyed his spiritual body, and finally he let out a unwilling roar before turning into fragments on the ground.

All the female ghosts' eyes lit up. The next moment, Ling Chi, Su Mei, and Xiao Qing appeared inside the mountain. Seeing the thousands of female ghosts everywhere, they frowned and said, "What an absurd Black Mountain Demon! He deserves to die."

Looking at the female ghosts whose eyes had become more luminous, Ling Chi raised his voice and said, "Don't be afraid. I am the God of Cookery of Heaven. I came here to slay the Black Mountain Demon because of his many evil deeds. Now that the Black Mountain Demon has been defeated, you can go to the underworld to be reincarnated."

Upon hearing this, all the female ghosts couldn't help but burst into tears, their cries so pitiful and heart-wrenching.

Ling Chi sighed, and after the female ghosts had vented their negative emotions over the years, he raised his voice and said, "Do you still have any unfulfilled wishes? If not, you can go to the underworld now."

Almost all the female ghosts shook their heads. Having become such wretched beings, what wishes could they possibly have? They had none left. They only hoped to be reincarnated soon and forget the suffering of this life.

"None of them?" Seeing that all the female ghosts nodded, Ling Chi said, "Alright, I'll send you to the underworld now. After the judge has reviewed your good and evil deeds in life, we'll make further arrangements."

All the female ghosts nodded, and Ling Chi took out a bell. As soon as it rang, all the female ghosts entered the bell, leaving none behind.

"What kind of magic weapon is this?!" Xiaoqing was startled.

"The Soul-Capturing Bell," Ling Chi said, "can capture souls."

"I never expected that Young Master would have such a wonderful thing." Xiaoqing's eyes sparkled. She loved to command ghosts and monsters, but she had never had a magical artifact to capture them. Ling Chi's Soul-Capturing Bell made her very envious.

Ling Chi seemed to see through her thoughts and smiled, "Once we send these female ghosts away, you can have this Soul-Capturing Bell!"

"Really!?" Xiaoqing was both surprised and delighted.

"Anyway, I can easily make a whole basketful of this stuff. If you want it, you can have it."

Ling Chi's words left Xiao Qing speechless.

……

Soon after, he sent thousands of female ghosts to the judge in the underworld. After personally watching the judge judge the good and evil deeds of these female ghosts in their previous lives, and confirming that all of them were qualified to be reincarnated, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case, I'll have to trouble Judge Lu." Ling Chi clasped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Master Chef, you flatter me. I should thank you for eliminating the Black Mountain Demon and rescuing these female ghosts." Judge Lu clasped his hands in a gesture of apology and said, "The Black Mountain Demon was powerful and good at hiding. In addition, the number of Yin soldiers in the Underworld was insufficient, which allowed him to roam free for many years. Now that he has been eliminated by the Master Chef, it has truly relieved the Underworld of its urgent crisis."

"I dare not accept such praise." Ling Chi shook his head and said, "After all, the underworld is too vast, while the scope of control of the netherworld is limited. With a shortage of manpower, it is only natural that there would be outlaws like the Black Mountain Demon."

"..." Xiaoqing watched Ling Chi speaking official jargon to Judge Lu, inwardly complaining: You said before that the people of the underworld were becoming more and more useless, but now you're saying nice things. Sure enough, a man's words are deceitful.

When the three returned from the underworld, Ling Chi noticed that Xiao Qing seemed a bit off and asked, "Xiao Qing, is something on your mind?"

Xiaoqing was silent for a moment, then turned her head and pouted, "No."

"..." This is a typical arrogant reaction. And you still say no?

Forget it, if she doesn't have it, she doesn't have it! The way to deal with this kind of tsundere is to use the straight-man mentality and let her keep it to herself.

"That's good. It's getting late, quickly help the young master to rest!" Ling Chi said.

Xiaoqing blushed, glared at him fiercely, but ultimately lowered her head and helped Lingchi to rest.

Su Mei followed behind them with a smile, her mind filled with unhealthy thoughts.

……

On the other side, the northeast corner of the mansion was given up and converted into the residence of Hu's Embroidery Shop. After a day of busy work by Hu Meiniang and Caiyin, it was finally almost done.

"Meiniang, it's getting late, you should rest early!" Caiyin said softly as she saw Hu Meiniang still embroidering under the oil lamp in the room.

Hu Meiniang gave a soft "hmm" and said, "I'll rest after I finish embroidering this one."

Caiyin walked over and sat down next to Hu Meiniang with a bit of helplessness. Watching Hu Meiniang embroider the mandarin ducks with lightning speed, she praised, "Meiniang's embroidery is really good. I think it's more than enough to be a tribute to the palace."

Hu Meiniang smiled slightly: "It's not that good."

“I think there’s no embroidery in the world better than Meiniang’s,” Caiyin said.

Hu Meiniang smiled slightly, not distracted, and continued embroidering rapidly. Her speed was truly fast, almost as if she were on fast-forward. In just one day, Hu Meiniang had already completed ten small embroidery pieces. She was just waiting to show them to Ling Chi tomorrow. If she gained Ling Chi's approval, she wouldn't have to worry about the future sales of her embroidery.

Soon, the pair of mandarin ducks was finished. Hu Meiniang breathed a sigh of relief, stretched, and saw Caiyin dozing off at the table with her chin resting on her hand. She said, "Caiyin, I'm done embroidering. Go and rest early!"

"Oh..." Caiyin barely opened her eyes and said, "Meiniang, you've fixed it! I'm going to sleep now, you should go to sleep early too!"

"Okay, be careful when you walk, don't bump into the door," Hu Meiniang said.

"understood."

After watching Caiyin leave the front hall, Hu Meiniang tidied up and organized the finished embroidery for the day. After confirming that there were no problems, she blew out the oil lamp and went to rest.

But she had only been lying down for a short while when her ears perked up. She seemed to hear some strange noises, very similar to the sounds she made when her stomach hurt.

"That's Xiaoqing's voice... Huh? It sounds like Su Mei's voice too. Are they both having stomach aches?" Hu Meiniang was completely baffled and could only shake her head and lie down to sleep.

Silent all night.

The next morning, while Ling Chi was having breakfast, a maid came in and said, "Young Master, Hu Meiniang has brought her embroidery."

"Oh, let her in!" Ling Chi put a piece of beef in Xiao Qing's bowl and said, "Eat more meat to replenish your blood."

Xiaoqing rolled her eyes, felt a slight pain, frowned slightly, but still obediently ate the beef: Damn it, I knew you were lying, if I had known it would hurt this much, I wouldn't have let you succeed.

Su Mei's eyes narrowed into slits when she saw Xiao Qing's reaction.

A short while later, Hu Meiniang entered the restaurant and saw Ling Chi and the others eating. She quickly said, "Meiniang greets the Master Chef, Miss Su Mei, and Miss Xiao Qing."

"Alright, no need for formalities," Ling Chi said. "Have you eaten yet?"

Hu Meiniang shook her head: "Not yet."

"Then sit down and eat together," Ling Chi said to the maid. "And bring another pair of bowls and chopsticks."

"Yes." The maid went to fetch bowls and chopsticks.

"No need, I..." Hu Meiniang was about to politely decline when Ling Chi interrupted her: "Just eat it if I tell you to."

"..." Hu Meiniang sat down opposite Ling Chi in a strange way, feeling a little odd: The God of Cookery is so domineering.

Chapter Twenty: Unparalleled Skill

The bowls and chopsticks were quickly brought over. Hu Meiniang thanked them, picked up the bowls and chopsticks, and looked at the shrimp dumplings, rice noodles, and several stir-fries on the table that were shimmering with red light. Her stomach couldn't help but rumble.

Seeing Hu Meiniang blush, Ling Chi chuckled and said, "Don't be shy, eat up!"

"Mmm." With such delicious food in front of her, Hu Meiniang forgot all her embarrassment. The moment she put a shrimp dumpling into her mouth, she forgot all her troubles and entered a wonderful dream world.

"Ding! You have conquered the stomach of Hu Meiniang, a common red-level diner. However, the diner's level is too low to count towards the conquest count. A common red-level recipe has been dropped. Run for your life!"

"Run for your life: Normal red recipe, increases escape speed by 100%, cooldown time 10 days."

……

Seeing the effects of this recipe, Ling Chi found it a bit funny. He hadn't expected it to add an escape skill. 100% might not seem like much, but when you're in escape mode, even running a little faster can save your life. Not to mention doubling your speed, which greatly increases your chances of escaping. No wonder she's a rabbit spirit; this life-saving skill is unmatched.

Watching Hu Meiniang devour the food on the table like a rabbit, Ling Chi put down his chopsticks and drank some hot tea.

Su Mei smiled and put some food in Hu Meiniang's bowl: "Eat more."

Look how hungry the child is, it's so pitiful.

"..." Xiaoqing looked at the dwindling breakfast on the table, pursed her lips, and finally only ate about 60% full.

Hu Meiniang only stopped when she had devoured all the food on the table and her belly was round and full, and her rationality returned.

Seeing this scene before her and recalling her previous behavior, Hu Meiniang blushed instantly, let out a meow, covered her face with her hands, and lay on the table, refusing to get up, wishing she could find a crack to crawl into.

Ling Chi laughed and said, "Don't be shy, let me see the embroidery."

Even though she was so ashamed that she wished she could die, Hu Meiniang still obediently handed the embroidery to Ling Chi.

"Hmm." Ling Chi looked at the embroidery that Hu Meiniang handed over. It featured mandarin ducks, bamboo forests, flowers under the moon, and several scenes from the Ten Scenes of West Lake. Each piece was exquisite and lifelike.

"Excellent!" Even having seen the finest modern embroidery, Ling Chi had to admit that Hu Meiniang's embroidery was truly exceptional, top-notch even by modern standards. Moreover, the embroidery seemed to possess a touch of spirit, as if the animals and beautiful scenery within it had come to life.

Ling Chi's eyes sparkled. If Hu Meiniang improved her embroidery skills or her cultivation level, would the things she embroidered become real? Like a magical artifact such as the "Map of Mountains and Rivers," capable of capturing people or unleashing ferocious beasts to attack?

Upon considering this possibility, Ling Chi became uneasy: "Mei Niang, you did a great job, I'm very satisfied."