Chapter 69 -

The sudden tremor almost sent the boiling pot and sizzling pan crashing onto the counter. Lei managed to save them by pure instinct alone, fingers aching as he placed them back on the counter. Still, the earth kept shaking, as if somewhere, something had smashed right into it.

Wooden walls groaned and flexed but held true. Earthquakes weren’t common in Jiangzhen, but not unheard of either. Once he was done with the pot, Lei immediately went to check on the others. He found them standing before the table, eyeing the entrance door.

That was when the tremors stopped.

“That was strange,” he muttered. “Is everyone all right?”

“Yes, looks like it’s over now,” Fatty Lou said, one hand tight around Stone’s shoulder. “All good here, Chef. Nothing to worry about.”

“Good, then. The food will be ready in a bit.”

With that, he returned to the kitchen and pulled the pot and pan back on the stove.

The simmering stew sent coils of delicious smoke around it. He waved a hand over them and sucked in a deep breath. Beside the pot, he had his steaks sizzling on a wide pan, coated with a crust so crisp that the knife’s tip crunched loudly as it trailed across their surface.

He checked them both.

[Earthshaker Stew - Earth-Grade - Middle Quality dish]: A stew cooked and nourished by the hands of a Heavenly Cook, mixed with strange essences of the world.

[Earthshaker Steak - Earth Grade - Low Quality dish]: Lean cuts from the Earthshaker Boar, cooked on a wooden stove and carrying the hints of Chef’s Touch.

The real crown of the meal would be the Earthshaker Stew, but Lei still wanted to cook a pair of steaks for Snake and Stone. Like most kids, they tended to prefer simple, delicious meals over more complex, watery sorts of food.

I wasn’t much different back then. I was obsessed with fries...

So much so that he would have his mother prepare him some fries whenever he was hungry. It wasn’t until he was all grown up that his mother told him the reason she never turned him down. Eating fries first thing in the morning wasn’t exactly healthy during his growth phase, after all.

Simply put, it was convenient for her.

Odd how those memories were still fresh in Lei’s mind. He felt a need to cherish them, as it was becoming harder and harder to hold onto that side of himself the longer he stayed here.

I’m one of them now, right? One of the locals. No longer the one who came to this world by some trick of fate.

He removed the steaks from the pan and let them rest, fishing a spoon from the counter and moving over to the stew. A spoonful of rich, meaty soup flushed the bitterness in his mouth with unmistakable brilliance. It was salty, but not overly so. A stray piece of meat had managed to sneak onto his spoon, melting on his tongue and dissolving into a wave of pure bliss that flooded down his throat.

The warmth was something of a dream—a cook’s answer to the biting winds outside. It instantly found a home around his stomach and sent a streak of spiritual energy-mana blend throughout his body.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Lei muttered, smiling broadly at the taste. “Boys, prepare the table. Food is ready!”

Stone lumbered in through the kitchen door, squeezing tight around Snake, who tried to be the first one to get to the plates. It didn’t take much for Stone to brush past him, cradling the plates carefully with both arms, pausing on his way back for a second to take a breath of the stew.

“It smells delicious!” he said, gulping loudly as his eyes strayed to the steaks. “I-I can take those too, Big Brother Lei. Just put them over these plate—”

“You’re going to drop them. Move! I’ll get the steaks,” Snake barked from behind, arms crossed over his chest as he eyed Stone with a contemptuous gaze. He then shrugged at Lei. “You see what I’m dealing with, Big Brother Lei? This fool of a rock makes everything hard.”

“A kitchen has its rules, little Snake,” Lei said to him, leaning closer to his face. He pointed a finger at Stone, who held bowls and plates cradled over his arms. “You have to earn your keep if you want to eat. Your brother here is doing two men’s work, for which he’ll get his share. What about you? You certainly speak a lot for a staff that shies away from hard work.”

“I was about to take… What?” Snake’s eyebrows danced hesitantly. “But we’re not kitchen staff—”

Lei shook his head at him. “You are now. Get those spoons and the steaks right away. Make sure not to slip on your way out. And hey, before that, open the door for your brother! You should help each other instead of bickering constantly!”

Snake scooped the spoons and grabbed the steaks resting on the plates with such speed that Lei blinked at him. The slippery boy was instantly at the door, holding it with the tip of his left foot while Stone lumbered out with plates in hand, then closely followed after him.

It’s times like these that I remember you’re just kids rather than monstrous geniuses.

He was struck by a sudden thought that soon these brats would grow out of their shells and become respected geniuses in the wide world. His heart tightened. It felt like he was about to lose something dear to him.

Is this how parents feel when they watch their kids grow?

A little sad he might be, but Lei still smiled at that. These kids had been left all alone in the streets, orphaned by that cultivator attack and abandoned by Jiangzhen’s folk. He’d done everything in his power to patch that emptiness gnawing at their hearts, and would continue to do anything to keep them safe.

I say we’re making good progress here. Some good work.

He took the stew pot and went to the main hall. Stone and Snake were busy with plates while Fatty Lou and Zhu Luli conversed quietly. As always, Little Yao hoarded Little Mei’s attention and was poking her cheeks with her claws.

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Pleasure welled within Lei’s chest as he placed the pot on the table. Once he removed the lid, a cloud of delicious smoke spread across the main hall.

“Oh?” Fatty Lou said, instantly taken by the strong smell. He then gave Lei a strange smile. “We were just talking about whether it was you who triggered some sort of earthquake with your cooking. A Heavenly Cook’s dishes can do that, right?”

“I’m not sure,” Zhu Luli said, one eyebrow arched in amusement. “But I guess it can be done?”

“Humorous, as usual.” Lei shook his head at them and poured himself into a chair, feeling the warm wood’s easing touch. A moment of peace. Of reflection and gratitude. Things might change after this meal, and not necessarily for the better. He hoped the food would help, though. He hoped it with all his heart.

“Before we start, I want to say a few important things,” he said, feeling a bit nervous as he poured some stew for the kids. Two big steaks were placed between Snake and Stone, the pair gazing greedily at the beautifully crusted cuts, so he didn’t want to make them wait too long.

All eyes turned to him as Lei continued, “That stew can be dangerous. It has a unique blend of energy inside, so we’ll all eat slowly, one spoonful at a time. Say something if you feel any discomfort. It can be too much for some of us.”

Thanks to the Maiden’s Flame, he now had a way to work around the two different energies, but that also muddled his normal path of cultivation. Rather than laboring with spiritual energy to manage one minor circle at a time, Lei could now use the unique energy blend to force the minor circles, which to some degree solved the problem of his lacking spiritual roots.

He wasn’t particularly worried about the kids and Zhu Luli, but Fatty Lou… he didn’t know how his brother-in-arms would react to this unique energy.

“Dangerous?” Snake said doubtfully.

“Can food be dangerous?” Stone echoed after him.

Fatty Lou glanced at Lei and smiled nervously. “Oh, it can. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience.”

“I had that pleasure as well,” Zhu Luli nodded. “But with your talent, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with it.”

“Let’s dive in, then!” Snake stabbed at his stew with the wooden spoon, scooped a big piece of meat from inside, and drove it into his mouth, Stone following suit.

Their eyes widened.

It didn’t take long for the table to quiet down as everyone became too occupied with the food. The slurping, the chewing, the smacking of lips… Every little bite was followed by a string of praise that widened the smile on Lei’s lips.

Because that’s what it’s all about for a chef. You cook for people, and you watch them cast their worries away by simply lending an ear to the delicious tunes of thick broth. Even a little smile, Lei thought, made all the difference. That was the pleasure found in the simplest things.

“Something’s different,” Zhu Luli said once she finished her first bowl, a frown of a smile hanging over her lips. She seemed hesitant, as if trying to make out a particularly sneaky word that lingered at the tip of her tongue. “Spiritual energy… but this? Is this mana?”

Lei knew she’d be the first one to catch that. He asked with nervous expectation, “Yes, how does it feel?”

“Feels… funny,” Zhu Luli muttered. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “It’s tame, but still has that feisty feeling to it. Like a spiritual beast being held with a tight leash. If it snaps—“

“Uhh,” Fatty Lou groaned beside her and patted his stomach. There was a dreamy, somewhat pained expression on his face. “It’s jabbing me good, I give you that. But it’ll have to do more work if it wants to convince me of its dangerous nature.”

“What do you mean?” Lei asked.

“I mean that it’s not anything like how we felt against those rotten bastards,” Fatty Lou said, pouring himself a second bowl. He smacked his lips loudly after a spoonful of stew. “But Heavens, it’s tasty! Good thing we don’t have a backyard full of those damned boars. That’d be the end of me.”

“He’s trying to say that this mana is different. It’s milder in nature, as if not smeared by those people’s touch. Just a mindless lump of energy,” Zhu Luli said strangely. “If you don’t poke it, it just stays there behind the meridians.”

“Try a minor circle,” Lei said curiously. “I know I can handle it, but if we want to let kids and especially Brother Lou do something with that, we have to first make sure it’s safe.”

Zhu Luli eyed him for a moment before nodding and excusing herself from the table. She moved to the side and crossed her legs on the ground, taking deep, long breaths to start her cultivation session.

Lei was about to use his Spiritual Sensitivity skill to keep an eye on her when something prickled his skin. A sound dinged inside his ears.

[You have leveled up! 3 stat points gained!]

“Oh?” he muttered absently, blinking at the notification blaring before his face. “Just like that?”

“Wait, what happened?” Fatty Lou asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” Lei said, and waved the notification off as he focused on Zhu Luli. Getting a level from a few people trying his dishes came as a surprise, but he was more curious about how Zhu Luli would handle the energy.

It was as though the air gained a sudden weight that slumped over Lei’s shoulders when he felt a sudden spike in Zhu Luli’s meridians. The Spiritual Sensitivity skill only provided a general feeling that let him know about the start of a minor circle, but that was enough for him to understand that the woman had found her flow.

One circle after another, she kept at it, the energy coursing through her veins. Lei felt a certain attraction to that spiritual energy-mana blend, as if somehow that particular energy was a part of his own. Now that he thought about it, it seemed only right, as he was the one who granted the dish his so-called unique essence.

At the seventy-ninth circle, the circulation slowed down considerably. The last they’d talked, Zhu Luli was at the 9th Stage of the Body Tempering Stage, having completed just seventy-five circles, but this time it looked like the dish alone gave her four additional circles.

That’s not small at all. Even Mortal-grade, High Quality dishes gave her at most one or two circles lately.

An Earth-tier dish, one that carried that unique essence as well, seemed to be suited for cultivators. As if to prove that, Zhu Luli forced her way into the 80th circle. A scowl tugged at her lips, hands clenching tight around her robe. Sweat trickled slowly down her chin.

She was struggling, but even then, she continued and made for the last minor circle. If she could complete the 81st circle, that would mean she was ready to break through to the Qi Condensation Stage.

“Snake, Stone, and Little Mei.” Lei turned to the kids and waved a hand at them. “That’s enough food for now. Join your Teacher and start cultivating. I want you to focus on that energy.”

“But Big Brother Lei—“

“No buts. You can eat once you’re done with your cultivation session. The food’s going nowhere.”

Stone and Snake reluctantly set down their bowls, grumbling their way beside Zhu Luli. They closed their eyes and aligned their breathing. Little Mei, too, nestled beside her bowl, mimicking the posture of her brothers and began breathing deeply with a fierce focus that made Lei smile.

Across the room, Fatty Lou watched them, one eyebrow raised. He turned to Lei, spoon hovering over his stew. “You think they’ll manage anything with this?”

“I trust them, but…”

“But?”

“I don’t trust you, Brother Lou,” Lei said with a shake of his head. “Think you can handle that? You seem fine, but you know what happened the last time we tried something strong.”

Fatty Lou’s eyes flashed strangely before he cleared his throat. “Let’s not open up the old books, shall we? About the energy, I can say that though it feels strange, I don’t feel any pain, or any lightness, for that matter. Completely opposite—it feels like it seeps into my meridians on its own.”

“Wait, what?” Lei’s eyes widened. “But hasn’t Sister Luli just said it’s a lump of mindless energy?”

“Oh, it is, but there’s something familiar about it. Like I know this energy, I’m pretty sure I felt it before,” Fatty Lou said solemnly.

“When?” Lei asked.

“Whenever I ate your food,” Fatty Lou said. Then all of a sudden, he let out a burp, then slapped his thigh as he barked out a laugh. “Oh, that was nice. Think I’ll join the group. Cultivate a little.”

“You’re sure?”

“Oh, I’m dead sure. But do keep the stew hot, please. I’m not done with it,” Fatty Lou said, and he rose from the table. It took him a moment to settle beside the cultivating group and begin his breathing.

That left only Lei standing.

This is not how I thought it was going to be. Hope it all goes well.

It seemed like more and more he was relying on hope as of late.

…..