Chapter 5 - Getting High

Back at the house, Lei felt himself lighter after parting with his coin pouch. Not the worst of his purchases, but he did feel the sting from giving away a week's worth of earnings to that shady, a little too colorful for his taste, brothel that apparently thought serving spirit rice to their customers would aid them in their night-long endeavor.

Makes you curious.

Checking the rice, Lei wasn't sure if this thing could boost anything in practice.

[Spirit Rice: Mortal-grade, Low Quality]

Now, the mortal-grade part caught his eye, it had to be said. By this logic, there should be heavenly-grade spirit rice somewhere near the capital, or perhaps far away in the deeper parts of the wide world, cultivated by caring and loving hands.

Those treasured specimens, unfortunately, weren't meant for mortals like them. Lei doubted there was anything heavenly in Jiangzhen, considering most of the population didn't even bother to cultivate.

Guess I can't blame them.

"Are we cooking or what?" Fatty Lou said, slumped over on the bed, staring out from the wooden shutters toward the night sky outside. He seemed bored and rather angry. He'd said something about debts and favors along the way, but Lei hadn't been in the mood to lend him an ear.

He had other worries — expectations, to be clear, from the new skill he'd just picked.

[Essence Enhancement - Novice 1]: Increases the potency of spiritual ingredients you use in your dishes.

He was worried because he didn't know if the skill would poke him through the chest like he'd experienced the other day. That seemed like it had something to do with his dishes being eaten by others, but still, there was no way for him to be sure of it.

Trial and error, you're saying.

He wasn't a stranger to trying and failing at things alright. Working up a menu inside a Michelin-star kitchen had everything to do with this practice, after all. Most days even the sleep left him as he delved too deep into the ingredients, constantly mixing them inside his mind, trying to come up with gorgeous, and tasty dishes that would be served in small portions, just so the people would feel at ease spending hundreds on them.

Give them a plate full of noodles, the most delicious fucking thing in the world, then they'd start complaining about the prices.

Can't do anything about that, now, can I? Let's start our spiritual journey.

He split the rice into three parts; a handful of it he'd cook without using the skill, just to see how effective and spiritual this thing really was. The other part would be graced by the [Essence Enhancement], which Lei hoped would bring the rice to new spiritual heights. And the rest would be saved for later use.

I should keep my expectations low.

That was easy to say, of course. For all his life he was a man of expectations, and by extension, had his fair share of disappointments. Funny now that he thought about all those times he'd cursed himself for being a failure. Those worries and all that depression felt somehow distant as if they were another man's problems now.

Because I died once. Maybe that's why, eh?

He snickered as he washed the rice slowly, carefully. To his knowledge, there wasn't an extra step in cooking the spirit rice. So he dipped two fingers into the water, checked the amount, and started the fire before stepping back to the second pot. This time, he focused on the skill. Thought about it. Willed it awake and running, prayed it to be effective.

A cold sensation poured out from his heart, through the arms, into the pot. He couldn't see anything with his eyes but felt the skill slowly influence the spirit rice. For a second he thought he'd seen a glamorous glow under the water, but it'd gone away after a blink.

Now, the extra steps. There's no harm in being a touch more careful.

On the side was his chopping board, with carrots and other ingredients waiting for his gentle touch. He picked an onion, peeled it and cut it in half, diced it beautifully before snatching a carrot from the wooden container. He made short work of it, cutting it so the pieces were as small as possible. The garlic didn't stand a chance under his severe gaze as he minced it into tiny little dots that spread a strong smell about the place.

Lei pulled out a wok and started the fire on his third stove. The wood crunched and crackled, tongues of flame cuddling the cookware from all around. He slipped a spoonful of lard in and swirled it round and round before cracking three eggs inside. Two sticks, clenched tight in the palm of his hand, worked them until they were cooked and split into tiny parts.

Once that was done, he scooped the scrambled eggs into a plate and set it aside for it to cool down. The wok was still busy heating over the wood, and Lei didn't want to waste another second as he added the onions, carrots, some peas, and garlic, and cooked them until they were as soft as a baby's fontanelle.

Well, that's a little too much, but yeah.

He set the wok over on the table for a little while and checked the rice pots. Having tasted that they were done, he took both of the pots away from the stoves and opened the lids to let them cool down. A refrigerator would've been preferable, but until he became a cultivator who could freeze the lands and the crops with a wave of his hand, he had to settle with the good old wind that breezed inside through the wooden shutters.

Seconds crawled past as they waited. Fatty Lou was on his feet now, pacing around the one-room house, sticking his finger through the cracks along the walls, clicking his tongue for perhaps the thousandth time that how damned of a place this house really was.

Lei listened to him with a patient smile. The man was right, but if this skill would meet half his expectations, then it wouldn't be long before he said bye-bye to this place. Maybe a house by Master Li's bakery, he was thinking. That street was as clear as clear got in this city, and this way, they wouldn't have to set times or speak before sundown each day about where they would meet at nights with Fatty Lou as they would be living side by side.

He let out a sigh, then checked the pots. The rice was cold and ready. Back on the wok, he scooched the veggies over to the right side of the wok, added another spoonful of lard to the other side, and turned up the heat once again. He tried to use [Essence Enhancement] on the ingredients cooking in the wok but didn't feel that cold sensation.

It works only on the spiritual ingredients, that's for sure.

This was his favorite part. He took the ladle in hand, and slapped half of the spirit rice over on the melted lard, the other half saved for later experiment, both enhanced by the system-flavored skill. Then came the soy sauce. Once he heard the sizzling of the rice grains, he jabbed and slammed the ladle inside the wok, the other hand tight on the wok's handle. He shook and twisted the mixture, making sure there were no strangers left inside. Everything, from carrots to beans, and rice grains to onions, got to meet each other, and it seemed they were having a great time over on the roaring fire.

Oh, how I missed stir-frying some rice!

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There was a stupid smile hanging wide on his lips. This was life. Simple, uncomplicated. It was meant to be lived like this, to Lei's thinking. Even in a ruined house, surrounded by all that wreckage and sorrow, cooking in a wok somehow managed to bring him the deepest of joys.

This was his home in a different world. And it was meant to be shared. He could already feel those hungry and curious gazes peeking from the tiny holes riddling the walls. Little faces, he saw, gulping happily, knowing they'd get a piece from what was cooking in the wok.

Lei shook his head as he focused on the wok again. Cooking for a crowd, now he felt like a performer, and he had to be sure he was showing them his best tricks.

He removed the wok from the fire, set it aside, and added the scrambled eggs, showed the sesame oil the way to its home, and sprinkled some green onions, a touch of salt and pepper.

"It's done," he said after stirring the mix for good measure. The flavors dominated the tiny room, an ethereal fog that claimed the space, with Lei as its sole master.

He checked it.

[Spirited Fried Rice: Mortal-grade, Medium Quality]

That looked to be some quality dish, for sure. It even sparkled, but Lei thought it might have to do with the starlight bouncing off of the walls. Anyway, after some honest sweat, things were ready to be experienced, and experimented on, for that matter.

"Three plates?" Fatty Lou said as he pointed a finger at the table. "What for?"

"We'll start with this one," Lei said as he passed two sticks to Fatty Lou, eyes down at the normal spirit rice. Once his brother-in-arms took a seat next to him, Lei spoke slowly, and warmly, in the manner of a school teacher addressing a new exchange student. "This one is the normal spirit rice, a simple dish that lacks any seasoning. Take your notes, for we'll be comparing these dishes after tasting each of them."

They both took their first bites. Lei's face darkened as he chewed on the grains for a while, greatly disappointed by the lack of spirituality in the dish. It didn't spark an enlightenment, or fill his so-called meridians with energy, nor did Lei feel that after tasting it he could defy the heavens. But it left an aftertaste once he gulped it down, and it was rather interesting. Felt like he took a whiff from a menthol cigarette.

Fatty Lou gave him a look that said 'Told you it's nothing special.' Lei shrugged and dragged the plate filled with the enhanced spirit rice. Before eating, he checked the dish using the Yellow Maiden's Eyes.

[Spirit Rice: Mortal-grade, Low Quality]

The quality is still low. But why? I've used the same rice with the Spirited Fried Rice, haven't I?

Could it be that his extra touches had done something to change the overall quality of the dish? But then again, he didn't know how the system measured the quality of… well, anything.

Guess we'll just have to take our chances.

They shared a silent look with Fatty Lou before Lei nodded, and tasted the enhanced spirit-rice. The first bite brought that same bland taste, followed by the menthol flavor that eased down the throat. It didn't end there, however, as that airy feeling in his throat thickened, slowly making its way down his stomach.

Once there, it dissolved into multiple threads that slithered about his lower waist, down his legs, and up his arms. It was about to sprawl to his head when that cool sensation suddenly died down.

"What the… This is Qi!" Fatty Lou smacked his lips loudly, raising two fingers to his mouth as if to check if the rice had been real. Then his head snapped back at Lei, eyes narrowed down in suspicion. "What the hell did you do to that rice? I was about to complete a minor-circle… A fucking minor-circle, but how?"

Lei shook his head. He'd been a second away from completing a minor circle himself, but he wasn't impressed. "A minor-circle… That's rather weak, don't you think? You have to be able to complete nine minor circles to be considered a first-step Body Tempering Stage cultivator."

Then they stopped and stared down at the spirit-rice. Fatty Lou lunged for a second bite, but Lei whisked his arm away with a back-handed slap and scowled at him. "It's not going anywhere, brother. We have one more dish to try."

And there it stood, the main course of the day, a most remarkable dish worthy of the richest palates, but now stuck with a certain fatty and the cook who made it. The Spirited Fried Rice seemed spirited in all things considered, smoke swirling invitingly over on the fried grains, tiny green onions flashing as though smiling up at them.

Lei took the first bite. It was glorious. The dish was packed with flavors so strong that it instantly burst alive inside the mouth, floating down from between his teeth, turning into a river of pleasure that sloshed away all that bad taste of its lessers.

Down inside the stomach it went, then stopped, a curious snake peeking about it with glinting eyes. A second passed, silent, Fatty Lou staring, Lei smiling, then they both jerked back at the same time, mouths hanging wide open, eyes sparkling like little kids blessed with dozens of toys.

"I'm alive…" Fatty Lou said as he thumped a fist on the table, the other hand clutching his belly. "I'm fucking alive…"

"Really…" Lei trailed off.

The world started spinning around him. He couldn't feel his arms, but there was no mistaking it; the cold sensation circled inside his body as though a tornado, wreaking havoc wherever it went. Joy, it brought him, and some agony in the mix, Lei reckoned. He groaned and sputtered, and clutched the table tight to balance the chair rocking back and forth. Warm blood trickled down his nose, dripping down his chin.

His head was so light that at every motion it wobbled back and forth. Drunk on spiritual energy, was it? Lei shook himself and slapped his cheeks, but nothing changed.

Then he stared at Fatty Lou. His brother was flushed like a ripe tomato, cheeks puffed out and breath wheezing out through his lips. For a second it seemed his eyes would pop off, but all of a sudden the tension left him, his shoulders slumping down, a blissful daze coating his crimson cheeks.

"We're nothing but a child's dream, a blink away from existing," Fatty Lou said. He had stars in his eyes, shining bright like a cloudless sky. Lei saw them as the reality shattered around him, sinews bulging out on his neck, throbbing, trembling as the energy circled inside his body.

Before he knew it a minor circle was completed, and yet he couldn't catch a breath as another circle started.

"I've no feet!" Fatty Lou said, wobbling up from the chair, his feet swinging left and right as though they were softer than a sponge - boneless, and spineless too, it seemed, as he tumbled over on his back a second after.

"Don't worry." Lei bent over him, huffing through his nose, his body spasming madly inside. It jabbed at him, the Qi, the cold sensation, whatever the hell this thing was, rammed into his innards and stole the breath out of his lungs. Still, he breathed and managed to utter those crucial words to his brother, "I have two of them. You can take one."

Only then Fatty Lou smiled in relief.

Two of them, Lei nodded, one for each.

Then everything went dark.

….