Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

……

"Recruit snow serpents."

"Snow Serpent, White Top-Tier Diner, Attribute: Living Being. Recruitment successful."

A flash of white light, and a round little white snake appeared before Yilin's eyes.

The little white snake was startled by the sudden change in its environment and rolled around a few times, but it stopped when it saw Ling Chi. Its small, fluorescent eyes stared at him as if asking, "Where is this?"

Whether it was due to the system or not, Ling Chi was able to clearly understand its meaning.

“This is the Chef God's Space Farm.” Ling Chi smiled slightly: “Little guy, you’ve been recruited by me.”

Ling Chi explained the whole story, and the snow snake listened very attentively; it truly understood.

"Hiss (Why recruit me? I'm just a snake)~~~"

"I think you're almost a spirit," Ling Chi laughed. "A snake that can understand human speech is practically a monster."

"Hiss (But I'm just a snake, I can't do farm work)~~~"

"It's alright, you'll learn when you take human form later," Ling Chi said with a smile. "Actually, you can climb trees to pick fruit and go down to the river to catch fish and shrimp right now. There's something you can do."

"Hiss (...)~~~"

……

The news that Ling Chi had recruited a snake as a farmer caused a sensation throughout the farm. Everyone rushed over to see the newbie, and Linghu Chong even shouted loudly: "Newbie joining the group, report your measurements, post nude photos, and bribe us administrators."

Snow Serpent: "Hiss (...)~~~"

Ling Chi covered her face.

Ever since he started using those modern internet memes from time to time, Linghu Chong has memorized them all and uses them to show off. Like last time when he said "live-streaming himself eating shit." Ling Chi thinks if he were born in modern times, he'd definitely be a net addict, maybe even a hardcore couch potato.

Maybe every fat otaku was a great hero in their past life?

……

"What an adorable little white snake." Qu Feiyan held the tiny white snake, which was no more than twenty centimeters long, in her palm and chuckled, "From now on, you'll be with me! I'll protect you."

Snow Serpent: "Hiss (...)~~~"

"This is my little pig, my top general. Come, let's get to know each other." Qu Feiyan introduced her pet pig to her new underlings.

The snow snake stared at the giant pet pig, its eyes gleaming: "Hiss (looks delicious)~~~"

Pet pig: "Hmph (Little brat, you want to eat me? You'll get stuffed!)"

"Hiss (Can you understand me?)~~~"

"Hmph (I can understand human speech, of course I can understand yours)~~~"

"Hiss~~~"

"Hmph~~~"

"..."

Seeing that her new little brother and her pet pig got along well, Qu Feiyan was very happy: "Great! To welcome Xiaobai to the team, let's have roasted bamboo rat today!"

"..."

A bamboo rat in the bamboo forest felt a chill run down its spine: Am I sick?

They seemed to hear a mysterious voice whispering in their ears: "This can't go on."

……

On the precipitous cliff, Ling Chi's fingers, like steel claws, pierced the rock face and moved downwards little by little until he finally took all five snow lotuses into the Chef God's Space. Since they were not old enough, he transplanted them to the farm and entrusted them to Yi Lin's care.

The thousand-year-old snow lotus is the main ingredient for making the top-grade blue recipe, "Golden Lotus Emerging from the Earth."

Chapter Twenty-One: Deceiving the Cripples

Three years later, Ling Chi and Xiao Zhao returned to Peach Blossom Island.

He didn't find the valley where Zhang Wuji obtained the Nine Yang Divine Skill on this trip, nor did he have any extraordinary encounters. He only found some rare items that were quite old in the Kunlun Mountains, so the trip was still worthwhile.

When Ling Chi returned to the Central Plains after leaving the Kunlun Mountains half a year ago, he learned that Abbess Miejue had returned to the Emei Sect a year ago, so he sent Zhou Zhiruo back.

Ling Chi returned the Xuan Tie Ring to Abbess Miejue and had a private conversation with her.

Afterwards, Abbess Miejue tested Zhou Zhiruo's martial arts progress. The strength Zhou Zhiruo displayed shocked and delighted Abbess Miejue, because Zhou Zhiruo at that time had already reached the top level of the white realm.

When they parted, Zhou Zhiruo hugged Ling Chi and cried. This time, Xiao Zhao wasn't angry and just watched the whole thing unfold.

……

"Ah! We're finally home!" As soon as the small boat reached the shore, Xiao Zhao jumped ashore and shouted excitedly, "Auntie! I'm back!"

Ling Chi tied the small boat up and laughed, "Go inside and let your aunt see you! You're half a head taller than your aunt now."

Thirteen-year-old Xiao Zhao is already 1.55 meters tall. Judging by her current height, she's almost certain to surpass 1.6 meters, and might even exceed 1.65 meters. This gives Ling Chi a great sense of accomplishment, because although Jin Yong didn't specify Xiao Zhao's exact height in his book, he described her as 'petite'.

In modern terms, "petite" basically means under 1.6 meters tall. However, in the late Yuan Dynasty, the average height of ordinary people was much shorter than it is today, so the term "petite" was practically reserved for those under 1.55 meters tall.

In the original novel, Xiao Zhao was about sixteen years old when she first appeared. Even at her tallest age, she would only be about 1.55 meters. But now, at thirteen, Xiao Zhao has already reached that height.

Balanced nutrition and good lifestyle habits are indeed the best way to grow taller.

Incidentally, six months ago, Zhou Zhiruo's head reached Ling Chi's chin, so she was probably around 1.63 meters tall. This is quite consistent with the description in the original work—a slender figure.

Perhaps in a few years, Zhou Zhiruo will grow to 1.7 meters tall.

……

"Auntie, I missed you so much!" Passing through the peach blossom maze, Xiao Zhao saw her Aunt Shuang'er, whom she hadn't seen for three years, and hugged her tightly. After a while, she felt something was off, looked down, met Shuang'er's eyes, and gestured with her hand: "Auntie, why have you gotten shorter?"

Shuang'er became withdrawn.

Being 1.45 meters tall is tough!

……

Through the changing seasons, from the cold winters to the heat summers, from autumn harvest to winter storage, another three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

For the past three years, Ling Chi has been living a quiet life on Peach Blossom Island, where he cooks, practices his martial arts, plays music, and reads books. He also occasionally goes to Zhoushan to have the old blacksmith Pu Heng make some kitchen utensils.

Over the years, although the old blacksmith Pu Heng was getting older, his blacksmithing skills became more and more exquisite. This was largely thanks to Ling Chi's half-baked knowledge of chemistry, which provided him with many ideas.

At the beginning of this year, the old blacksmith forged a kitchen knife that could cut through iron like mud, which greatly surprised Ling Chi, because the hardness of this kitchen knife was actually comparable to that of the precious sword that Zhu Fei had given him.

He swung his sword in his left hand and his knife in his right, striking each other with equal force. As a result, both swords and knives chipped with tiny gashes the size of a grain of rice, which pained Ling Chi terribly.

This precious sword was his only spiritual support for Zhu Fei, yet he had slashed it with a notch.

Fortunately, the old blacksmith was highly skilled and repaired the sword, which relieved him.

but……

Ling Chi stared intently at the old blacksmith, startling him so much that his anus tightened: "Young...Young master, this old man...this old man sells his art, not his body."

Ling Chi: "..."

Two months ago, Ling Chi gave the old blacksmith's family enough money to last ten lifetimes and recruited the old blacksmith to be a farmer.

Although he was a farmer, the old blacksmith didn't do farm work. He set up a simple workshop by the river and spent his days studying blacksmithing techniques, occasionally showing Lingchi his new technology products.

Although it has been a short time and progress is not obvious, Ling Chi is full of expectations for the future.

Since reaching the Blue Culinary level, he has discovered that many recipes are no longer as simple as just cooking. For example, the dish he is currently researching, "Golden Lotus Emerging from the Earth," requires him to use kitchen utensils made of refined steel.

In addition, he also needs to read more Buddhist scriptures and infuse Buddhist Zen into his dishes during the cooking process in order to succeed.

Ling Chi is really screwed.

For this reason, he had to go to the dilapidated Southern Shaolin Temple and buy a complete set of various Buddhist scriptures in handwritten form, which cost him a full thousand taels of silver, making him very distressed.

It wasn't that Buddhist scriptures were expensive; it was that he was tricked by the abbot of the temple into donating a thousand taels of silver as incense money.

The monks of the Southern Shaolin Temple were truly pitiful. They were almost all scholarly monks, chanting scriptures and worshipping Buddha, unlike the numerous martial monks guarding the temple at the Songshan Shaolin Temple. In this era, one couldn't survive without some skill in protecting one's home. The Southern Shaolin Temple was a prime example.

When Lingchi first came here, he saw that the monks were all emaciated and had almost no incense offerings. They relied entirely on farming and begging for alms to make a living.

But all the monks were in good spirits, especially the abbot of the temple, who was a truly virtuous and eminent monk. Ling Chi had intended to chat with him for a while, but he was unexpectedly impressed by what he said.

He could spout all sorts of Zen sayings and Zen insights so readily that even Ling Chi, the top scorer in the college entrance examination, had to think for a long time... and still couldn't understand them.

And so, Ling Chi was completely fooled, exchanging a thousand taels of silver for a sack of scriptures.

It wasn't until he returned to Peach Blossom Island that he came to his senses: Had I been tricked?

Thinking about how he had spent a thousand taels of silver to buy these tattered scriptures...

Ling Chi was so heartbroken she couldn't breathe.

As he read more scriptures, he gradually developed a bit of Buddhist nature, which was reflected in the increasing degree of completion of the Golden Lotus Emerging from the Earth.

"Ding, Golden Lotus Emerges from the Earth, Completion Rate 13%..."

A plate of golden lotus flowers that sprouted from the ground was smashed to pieces by Lingchi.

Don't rush, don't rush, Amitabha...

……

Just as Ling Chi was enjoying his peaceful yet fulfilling life, a somewhat familiar yet also somewhat unfamiliar voice came from outside Peach Blossom Island that day: "Brother Ling, are you home? Zhi Ruo is here."

A moment later, Xiao Zhao rushed out of the peach blossom formation and met Zhou Zhiruo, whom she hadn't seen for more than three years, on the shore.

The two locked eyes, their expressions complex.

Time flies, and Zhou Zhiruo is now a young woman of eighteen.

She held a sword in her hand, wore a long green dress that trailed on the ground, her figure was slender and full, her face was delicate and beautiful, and she looked like a fairy.

Xiao Zhao bit her lip lightly: Damn it, she's even more beautiful now.

Xiao Zhao was sizing up Zhou Zhiruo, and Zhou Zhiruo was also sizing her up.

She wore a long pink dress, her figure was exquisite and graceful, her skin was crystal clear and soft as jade, her complexion was unusually white, her nose was higher than that of ordinary women, and her eyes had a hint of sea blue. Compared with the women of the Central Plains, she had a different kind of beauty. With bright eyes and white teeth, her smile was like that of peach blossoms and plum blossoms. Although she was young, she had blossomed like a lotus flower in the morning dew, which was very endearing.

Zhou Zhiruo pursed her lips: She...is so beautiful.

"Hmph!" Xiao Zhao snorted lightly, "Why are you here?"