Chapter 78: “A Bad Day” [4K]
Watching Boss Hu tie his shoulder-length hair simply with a red ribbon, standing at the kitchen counter, donned in an apron, and skillfully drawing a pattern with a mulberry kn*fe, Lu Yibei’s eyes widened slightly in observation.
Uncertain if it was just an illusion, he noticed a subtle change in Boss Hu’s demeanor as he stood at the kitchen counter, shedding the usual lazy aura that accompanied him behind the bar, transforming into a sharp, cold blade that emitted an intimidating presence.
Following this, the actions of tying his hair, wearing an apron, grabbing the kn*fe, and wiping the cutting board seemed to carry a sense of elegance and ritual alike, giving the impression that he was presiding over some grand ceremony rather than simply making a dish.
Lu Yibei thought, “Is this the urban legend that supposedly cooked up human fireworks? There’s something about it!”
However, after he finished touching his hair, it appeared he hadn’t washed his hands; was he about to start cooking without that?
The food safety and hygiene situation at Liao Zhai Tavern was indeed worrisome!
Under the guidance of her father, Lu Yibei developed a good habit of carefully washing her hands and kitchen utensils since childhood. Seeing Boss Hu start cooking without ensuring food hygiene made her feel quite uncomfortable.
That feeling was akin to having something stuck between her teeth, or a small pebble in her shoe—she knew it was there but couldn’t change the situation immediately, which was distressing.
However, considering that Boss Hu was about to cook Hell on Earth, Lu Yibei decided to tolerate it.
Perhaps, those authentic chefs in Hell truly believed that the Tianzhu cuisine was about such “cleanliness”?
“Disaster girl, please pay close attention to me. I’m about to start cooking Hell on Earth.” Noticing Lu Yibei’s distraction, Boss Hu reminded her.
Lu Yibei responded, “Huh?”
Are you about to start dancing now?
Lu Yibei had just sarcastically thought to herself, not yet having the chance to let her inner self expand on that topic. The mild burning sensation in her eyes made her realize the main event was about to begin, causing her to involuntarily focus her attention.
In the next moment, spirit energy surged.
Almost solidified spirit energy swirled behind Boss Hu like colorful silk, radiating a strong pressure.
As the spirit energy fluctuation washed over her, Lu Yibei paused in her breathing, her eyes blazing, her body slightly stiffening, instinctively clenching her fists.
She felt a significant sense of oppression from Boss Hu, though it wasn’t comparable to that old man Zhang Huainan, it was certainly much stronger than her own.
Could it be that Boss Hu was also Cataclysm Grade?
That thought flickered through Lu Yibei’s mind, and she quickly rationalized it.
Having existed for so many years, Liao Zhai Tavern not only hadn’t been eradicated by other Siye Society members, but even had protectors from Siye Society dining in, which surely couldn’t be purely due to the tavern’s uniqueness. It made perfect sense that there would be a Cataclysm Grade urban legend standing guard here.
And Boss Hu, while cooking, demonstrated a terrifying spirit energy fluctuation; this might operate on principles similar to Zhang Huainan calling forth thunder atop Zixiao Terrace, or the Big Boss briefly breaking free while howling atop Dream Come True Entertainment City.
Just as Zixiao Terrace was Zhang Huainan’s stage to unleash his spirit energy to the fullest, the kitchen was Boss Hu’s stage as a tavern owner.
Perhaps his powers were also related to cooking?
Lu Yibei pondered, steadying her focus back on Boss Hu.
He slightly closed his eyes, one hand bringing out a clean, damp white towel, wiping the cutting board, while the other firmly grasped the mulberry kn*fe, its blade gleaming coldly, flowing with silvery light like mercury.
Then, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and exhaled a breath of foul air.
Thus, after a series of seemingly mundane yet unexpectedly ceremonious preparatory steps, Boss Hu began his cooking.
Once he got into the motion, there wasn’t a moment for pause. With swift actions, accompanied by the dull thuds of the kn*fe against the cutting board, he cut the ingredients brought in small baskets by the Yishus into uniformly sized pieces.
The entire process flowed seamlessly, and he even found time to instruct Lu Yibei.
“Previously, there was a brief appearance of a subbranch known as Spirit Chefs among mid-tier alchemists, and Hell on Earth is one of the masterpieces of Spirit Chefs, second only to human fireworks!
“Food is paramount to the people; this saying has been widely spread, but it’s not as simple as it originally sounds. Spirit Chefs believe that when cooking reaches the ultimate level, it can achieve effects close to heaven, with the ability to create or destroy life.
“Those who don’t understand might think that the so-called Hell on Earth is merely about making a dish unpalatable, but in fact, when cooking Hell on Earth, one should consider how to poison.”
I understand, I understand; making it difficult to swallow and wanting to take lives, even leaving someone worse off than dead, are completely different things, Lu Yibei nodded.
Seeing this, Boss Hu smirked and asked with malicious interest, “Isn’t it fascinating to infuse enough deadly poison into what appears to be a beautifully presented dish, enough to collapse a diner’s mind instantly?”
In silence, Lu Yibei expressionlessly nodded perfunctorily.
Although, your dish doesn’t seem painstakingly crafted!
What a big show for something so common! I thought you were going to make something extraordinarily rare!
But it’s just this? Cold tossed cucumbers? While cucumbers are a girl’s best friend, could you make it any simpler? Lu Yibei thought as she looked at Boss Hu, who was pouring sesame oil over a bowl filled with cucumber pieces; she suddenly felt an urge to flip the table and leave.
That feeling was like having a crush on a long-awaited guy who invites you to his beautifully scented bedroom full of red rose petals, suddenly pulls you into bed, only to show you his new glowing watch.
While Lu Yibei was inwardly displeased, Boss Hu stole a glance at her with the corner of his eye, revealing a knowing smile.
In the next moment, Lu Yibei realized she had been “impolite” to Boss Hu.
Suddenly, without warning, the world darkened before her eyes, and her breathing became difficult, leading her to cough violently.
“Cough cough cough—!”
With Boss Hu adding seemingly ordinary seasonings to the bland cold dish, a bitter, irritating gas silently emerged, spreading outwards.
That gas invaded her nostrils, almost coming alive as it clawed and waved its spiny tentacles, rampaging from her nasal passages along the respiratory tract into her lungs and then radiating into her limbs.
That stuff was absolutely toxic, deadly! Lu Yibei instantly made a definitive judgment.
Although she wasn’t an alchemy master or a poison specialist, after inhaling that gas, she could distinctly feel the core of the witch seed legend stirring.
Previously, that core often reacted to intense toxins or corrupted spirit energy.
Only then did Lu Yibei notice that Boss Hu’s hands emitted an unusual glow while cooking.
It wasn’t like fish eyes; it was a faint, almost imperceptible glow that instilled a sense of helplessness.
She was momentarily stunned, and then realized, slowly understanding everything as clarity dawned.
Wait, Boss Hu once caught onto an alchemy practice using emotions as materials.
Is this how he anchors emotions within spirit energy fluctuations, infusing them into his dishes?
Got it, totally got it! No wonder he released spirit energy fluctuations before he began cooking! Lu Yibei thought.
While she was deep in thought, Boss Hu’s cooking had already reached its conclusion.
He sprinkled in a handful of chopped green onion, a pinch of crushed chili, and some toasted white sesame, mixed the seasonings with chopsticks, and just like that, a cold cucumber dish was ready.
Boss Hu served the cold tossed cucumber from the large bowl onto a white porcelain plate, presenting it along with a pair of chopsticks to Lu Yibei, saying, “This dish is called ‘A Bad Day’; give it a try?”
“I thought it was called ‘Murdering the Ex-Boyfriend’,” Lu Yibei mumbled under her breath.
“What?”
“Nothing? Just my habitual trash talk; you don’t need to mind it.”
“Oh, then just eat!”
Lu Yibei looked at the plain yet soul-stirring cold cucumber dish, then glanced at Boss Hu, momentarily speechless.
Will this thing cause me to d*e?
Of course, there’s also the possibility that it might induce calamity from the core of the witch seed, but I don’t dare to try!
Seeing her hesitation, Boss Hu gently nudged the plate toward Lu Yibei, smiling, “Tasting dishes and feeling the cooking techniques is an essential skill for an excellent chef!”
“Don’t worry, if anything goes wrong, Liao Zhai Tavern has its ways to save you.”
Save me? That only made me more fearful! Lu Yibei thought as she bit her lip, attempting to change the subject. “Boss Hu, don’t you think chopsticks are a great invention compared to knives and forks? With them, you can free up a hand to play on your phone while eating.”
“Mm-mm.” Boss Hu nodded, “You can eat while playing on your phone too.”
Seeing there was no way to dodge the b*llet, Lu Yibei fell silent for a few seconds and ultimately steeled herself to take the chopsticks from Boss Hu’s hands, picking up a piece of cucumber and bringing it to her lips.
Gaining skills! One can’t avoid a bit of hardship, can they?
Didn’t she suffer a lot when training with her ancestor’s sword?
Oh right! Shouldn’t she reach out to her ancestor or contact the God Realm Prototype for cooking? That way, it wouldn’t matter if something went wrong, right?
As Lu Yibei thought this, she popped the piece of cucumber into her mouth, chewed a few times, and slowly swallowed, only to scrunch her brows and look up at Boss Hu’s chin.
“Boss, you didn’t put any salt in this dish!”
“Is that so?” Boss Hu smiled, though for some reason, Lu Yibei felt his smile was somewhat sinister.
“Yeah, don’t believe me? Taste it yourself; it’s bland and even a bit bitter.”
Lu Yibei was just about to say that the white sesame in the cold cucumber was overdone, resulting in the bitterness, but then she seemed to sense something, her eye twitching, and her words halted.
In that moment, she felt as if she had taken some “treasure” from a pharmacological store, colors swirling before her eyes, her whole body feeling light, soon accompanied by hallucinations.
In a daze, she felt as if she had returned to her middle school days, waking up from a refreshing nap, completing her morning routine, happily eating breakfast, and stepping out only to ride her little electric scooter to school, forgetting to check the battery, only to realize halfway that it hadn’t been charged last night, and she’d have to push her scooter all the way to school.
She rushed, but she was still late, missing the morning self-study, and was punished to stand in the hallway by the teacher.
During her punishment, her phone, which she forgot to silence, was suddenly interrupted by a nuisance call, the ringtone echoing in the corridor, where she happened to be caught by the inspecting head of the grade, leading to her phone being confiscated.
After the morning self-study, the homeroom teacher unexpectedly called her to the office, and upon arrival, she found several other students there, all pointing at her, accusing her of skipping class yesterday afternoon and that it was her idea.
Totally nonsensical! Did the homeroom teacher really believe such nonsense? Unfortunately, he did.
Finally, after enduring to the end of school without her electric scooter, she had to cram onto the bus.
Among a chaotic crowd, her keychain with her bus card dropped to the floor as she bent down to retrieve it, blocking others from boarding and receiving a heap of insults. By the time she got her keys back, the bus had already left, and her beloved toy’s head on the keychain was nowhere to be found.
Dragging her exhausted body home, it was already quite late. The house was dark, and she had no idea where her parents had gone. She had to rummage in the fridge for leftover food to fill her stomach before hurriedly going to her study to tackle piles of homework.
However, perhaps the leftovers had been spoiled for too long; soon her stomach started to feel uncomfortable.
She bore through the discomfort while continuing with her homework, just as the feeling was about to peak, her mother returned. Thinking she would find some comfort from her mother, however, before she could say anything, her mother had already received a phone call from the homeroom teacher and unleashed a verbal assault on her.
On the verge of collapse, she returned to her room in silence and locked the door, wanting to cry but being too exhausted to do so. Just when she was about to drift off to sleep, a loud knock came at the door.
Dad had returned, questioning her from outside, “Why did you make Mom angry that she cried so sadly?” “Aren’t you old enough to understand things?” “Why did your grades drop again in the last monthly exam?” As he caught up on old scores and grievances.
Finally, unable to endure any longer, she felt like a zombie, stepping to the window and opening it. The chilly wind from the seventeenth floor was so cold that she dared not step forward, only lifting the nearby water cup and throwing it out the window.
Watching the cup trace an arc in the sky before disappearing into the night, it felt like she had jumped herself, and soon everything began to blur. Perhaps the effect of Hell on Earth had worn off, and Lu Yibei’s consciousness began to sharpen again.
She stared blankly at the plate of cold cucumbers, suddenly understanding why Boss Hu wanted to name it “A Bad Day.”
Culinary distress doesn’t require any special reason—just a bad day, and the human realm can be a hell!
But no matter how bad, tomorrow has to continue, and sleeping isn’t such a big deal, is it?
If life wants me to kneel today, I can just stand up again tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that, Lu Yibei thought.
Although she understood that many might lose hope over such things, at least she was certain she wouldn’t!
While she was contemplating, Boss Hu spoke, “Now you understand a bit about the culinary methods behind Hell on Earth?”
“I understand much more.”
“Then let’s get started!” Boss Hu nodded, “Let me see what you learned tonight.”
“Sure, just watch!” Lu Yibei declared confidently.
