A Bite of Douluo Continent

“The Crown Prince…” Dai Yuansheng’s eyes lit up; this seemed to be the best candidate to go and investigate.

"Then let him go."

Chapter 179 Pain and Determination

After leaving the palace, Remnant Star Douluo returned to his residence, where, with the respectful assistance of his servants, he changed into loose training clothes and entered his meditation room to begin his cultivation.

The events he experienced during the Cold Food Festival at noon made him realize even more the importance of cultivation. Even at the Title Douluo level, he still couldn't slack off.

but…

Remnant Star Douluo smacked his lips.

Although the Cold Food Festival was quite unusual, the food was indeed very good. The boiled cabbage and the mutton stuffed in the fish belly were dishes I had never tasted before in my life.

Even the Remnant Star Douluo, who doesn't care much about food and drink, felt the urge to go again.

Let's focus on cultivation first.

Clearing his mind of the chaotic thoughts, Remnant Star Douluo quickly entered into meditation.

Unbeknownst to him, a faint, extremely thin golden mark had appeared between his eyebrows, emitting a hazy golden light. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the shape of this golden mark was remarkably similar to that of the golden carp leaping over the Dragon Gate.

As this trace of gold appeared, Remnant Star Douluo's aura changed, and he immediately fell into deep meditation from his previous meditative state.

The gathering of heaven and earth energy around him quietly disappeared, and vaguely, it seemed that the laws of heaven and earth were intertwined around his body, spreading in a complex manner.

As Remnant Star Douluo's thoughts flashed, he felt as if his senses had been magnified countless times at this moment. The rules of heaven and earth, which he could only vaguely perceive and roughly grasp before, became as clear and distinct as the words on a book.

This miraculous state instantly awakened Remnant Star Douluo, who quickly realized what it was.

Deep meditation!

Before he could ponder the opportunity for deep meditation, Remnant Star Douluo quickly focused his mind and calmed his spirit to better maintain this state.

Such an opportunity is rare and precious.

As Remnant Star Douluo entered a deep meditation, his perception of the outside world was reduced to a minimum. Underneath his loose training robe, golden lines emerged from his body, intertwining to form a golden lotus shape.

The golden lotus pattern seemed to come alive, radiating dazzling light as it slowly unfolded. As the lotus petals reached their full bloom, a pure energy burst forth from the limbs and bones of the Remnant Star Douluo, as if to cleanse the impurities within his body.

In no time, the training clothes on Remnant Star Douluo's body were covered with dirt, and his exposed skin looked as if it had been covered with a layer of mud. He was emitting a foul stench, but he was completely unaware of it as he was deep in meditation.

...

Xu Changling walked into the study.

The study in his own mansion, which should have been the most private place, was now filled with a man whose face bore a horrifying scar.

Even during the day, the man wore a tight-fitting night outfit, making him look exceptionally sinister.

Upon seeing Xu Changling, the man didn't speak, but silently handed her a letter.

"Next time you come in, remember to let me know in advance." Xu Changling frowned and spoke in a deep voice, then took the letter.

These guys are getting more and more outrageous.

The man didn't respond to Xu Changling's words at all, as if his task was simply to deliver the message to Xu Changling, and once the message was delivered, he should leave.

With a flicker, the man vanished from his spot, leaving only Xu Changling alone in the empty study.

Xu Changling did not rush to open the letter in his hand, but instead sat down in the study chair with a furrowed brow.

Those guys, who were initially respectful and polite to me, now enter my study as if it were their own home. Their audacity is truly hateful.

Xu Changling knew that his ability to evade attacks from political enemies and smoothly rise to his current position over the years was inseparable from the guys who approached him more than a decade ago.

But they weren't acting out of kindness; they were merely using themselves as tools in the open. They had their own agenda, and that agenda was not good for the entire Star Luo Empire.

Both parties can only be considered collaborators, each taking what they need.

Xu Changling needs their intelligence and some support, while what they need is to elevate Xu Changling to a high position, and then, under Xu Changling's cover, quietly infiltrate and accomplish their own goals.

It's like trying to get something from a tiger.

With a sigh, Xu Changling opened the letter in his hand, quickly read through it, and his expression grew increasingly grim, finally turning into a bitter smile.

"With jackals in front and tigers behind, I, as the Prime Minister of the Empire, have reached this point, which is quite unique."

The letter detailed the entire conspiracy of the royal family and the Imperial Vice Chancellor Zhao Qu, including finding a pretext to mobilize the Zhen Dong Army, then ambushing and assassinating Dai Youyuan on the way, and that if he opposed it, the other party would strike him with lightning speed and remove him from the position of prime minister.

"Those idiots, they probably were still gloating over getting their hands on such important secrets before handing them over to me," Xu Changling said with a hint of mockery.

This news was clearly leaked intentionally by the Emperor and the Second Chancellor.

The methods used to deal with Dai Youyuan were scheming, but the methods used to deal with himself were undoubtedly open and aboveboard.

Zhao Qu, this old rival, always manages to cause me so much trouble; he's truly an old wolf.

Surely, powerful figures are already watching his residence closely.

The most crucial part of this plan is that after learning about the situation, they must not contact Dai Youyuan in any way, otherwise their entire plan will be in vain.

Having fought with Zhao Qu for so many years, I know how difficult he is to deal with. He couldn't possibly be unaware of this, and he probably already had something to watch out for.

Oh…

It seems I need to think carefully about what to do next.

Xu Changling leaned weakly against the chair, looking up at the ceiling of the study. In the dim light, that tall and imposing figure appeared before her eyes.

"Brother Youyuan... what would you do if it were you?"

...

Several hours later, Xu Changling emerged from his study. He had changed into an elegant long robe, gently knocked on the door, and then slowly walked into his beloved daughter's boudoir.

"Oh! Dad, what brings you here?"

Xu Yiyun's eyes widened as she looked at her father with curiosity. Her father should be in his study dealing with matters right now, so why was he in her room?

"It's alright, I've come to check on you." Xu Changling's smile was as warm as ever. "Tonight, I'll take you and your mother, and we'll go to Hanshi Festival for a meal as a family. Your mother didn't go last time."

"Great! I heard that the Cold Food Festival has two very expensive dishes, each costing a thousand gold soul coins." Xu Yiyun muttered to herself, while secretly glancing at Xu Changling with her big eyes.

"You silly girl." Xu Changling affectionately tapped her forehead. "Just eat. Your father is the Prime Minister of the Empire. It's not like I can't afford a meal."

"Yay! Long live Daddy!" Upon receiving Xu Changling's promise, Xu Yiyun's face immediately lit up with a smile.

"I'll go and call Mom right now!" Xu Yiyun was already impatient and hurriedly stood up to leave her room. "The Cold Food Festival is even more famous than before, so we have to get in line early! Otherwise, we won't be able to eat any."

Watching his beloved daughter's joyful figure disappear into the distance, Xu Changling's smile remained warm.

However, a fleeting, almost imperceptible pain and resolve flickered in the depths of his eyes, vanishing almost as quickly as it appeared.

Chapter 180 Three Things Not to Touch

In the training space, Qi Han's movements of flipping and patting the "Sanbuzhan" (a type of stir-fry) suddenly stopped, and the "Sanbuzhan" in the pot instantly disappeared.

“The pressure was off, let’s try again.” Ruyi narrowed her eyes and spoke slowly.

Qi Han shook his head, mentally reviewing his actions, and roughly realized where he had made a mistake.

Next time, I should be able to successfully achieve the "three no-sticks" (no sticking, no smudges).

On the table, the various ingredients needed for the "Three No Sticks" dish reappeared: starch processed from crops irrigated by the spiritual spring provided by the system, eggs from the thousand-year-old five-colored pheasant, and white sugar as smooth as snow.

Qi Han first took a wide-mouthed bowl from the side, skillfully broke the shells of six eggs, letting the egg whites flow into a small bowl, leaving only the yolks, and then put the six egg yolks into the large bowl.

Pour the sugar into the egg yolks, as if covering the surface of the egg yolks with a layer of snow. Qi Han picked up the whisk and broke up the bright yellow egg yolks. After a while, only an extremely thick jam-like mixture remained at the bottom of the large bowl.

Setting the large bowl aside, Qi Han took out another identical large bowl from the other side, poured in the special starch, and added water evenly several times while stirring, with a ratio of approximately one to ten, so that the starch and water were evenly mixed together to form an extremely thin batter without any lumps.

Next, pour the batter into the large bowl and stir it again until it is smooth and golden. Only the egg liquid remains in the bowl.

Once you've reached this point, the preparations for the "three no-stick" method are basically complete.

Heat oil in a pan, turn the heat to the lowest setting, and slowly pour in the beaten eggs. At this point, the beaten eggs are still completely liquid and almost not viscous. Qi Han patiently stirs with a spatula until the beaten eggs in the pan slowly evaporate the water as they are heated over low heat and begin to thicken.

Wait a little longer, until the egg mixture in the pan completely clumps together and can easily stick to the spatula, and the three-non-stick appearance will begin to take shape.

After adding more oil, Qi Han scraped off the remaining solidified egg liquid from the edge of the pan with a spatula and mixed it with the clumps of non-stick egg.

This step is crucial. If it is not scraped off early, the remaining egg liquid on the edges will gradually turn black and discolor. When it sticks to the non-stick coating, it will prevent the final non-stick coating from achieving the perfect golden color.

Once there was no more solidified egg liquid left in the pan, Qi Han forcefully flung the non-sticky egg mixture stuck to the spatula into the pan, added cooking oil for the third time, and then began to quickly pat the non-sticky egg mixture with the spatula.

As the spatula was quickly patted, the surface of the non-stick pan became smooth, and the inside was also quietly changing. After about a thousand pats, the non-stick pan in the pan became non-stick to both the pan and the spatula. Qi Han skillfully took the non-stick pan out of the pan and took a large plate to support it.

Everything went smoothly, and the "Three No-Sticks" dish was successfully completed.

After being taken out of the pan, the three non-stick cakes are golden brown without any impurities. If you take a closer look and smell them, you can smell a sweet aroma mixed with the fragrance of eggs, which is somewhat similar to that of a baked cake.

However, this imperial dish, named by Emperor Qianlong himself, was already the highest-grade dessert in ancient times.

Qi Han picked up his chopsticks from the side, picked up a bit, and with the force of Qi Han's chopsticks, the dish was completely picked up. As expected, the dish lived up to its name, it did not stick to the plate at all. Under the action of gravity, the part that was picked up slowly broke off, and the remaining part fell back onto the plate with a soft "snap", and wobbled a few times.

Qi Han's expression suddenly became a bit strange.

This scene looks so much like slapping a very bouncy butt!

No, no, I'm thinking too much, I'm thinking too much.

Qi Han felt that if he continued to think about it, he would be unable to look at Sanbuzhan the same way again.

"Hmm~ Host, something's not right." Ruyi sensed what Qi Han was thinking and couldn't help but show a disgusted expression.

"Ahem." Qi Han coughed lightly, his old face turning red. He hurriedly put the piece of buttock... oh no, the three-no-stick dish that was stuck between his chopsticks into his mouth to cover up his embarrassment.

The Sanbuzhan (a type of steamed cake) is extremely soft and chewy, yet not sticky, offering an excellent texture, somewhat like steamed sponge cake.

The sweet aroma of egg white was slowly released as he chewed, gradually filling his mouth and nose, making Qi Han unable to help but show a satisfied expression on his face.

The greatest magic of desserts is that they can bring you a good mood for the whole day.

After finishing a plate of "Sanbuzhan" (a type of cold dish), Qi Han put down his plate with a sense of satisfaction, feeling his mood instantly improve.

"No, host, I don't think your improved mood has anything to do with eating 'Sanbuzhan' (a type of spicy stir-fry)." Ruyi muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. "You're just happy because you think about having a new dish at the restaurant, right?"

As expected of the system he spends every day with, Qi Han laughed and stroked Ruyi's wispy hair. "I forgot to ask, how much is a serving of Sanbuzhan?"