Translator: CatatoPatch Editor: Vermillion
A rolling fragrance wafted through the air. Dense white steam rose from the dish, hindering people’s vision.
Yang Meiji took a breath, feeling a little stunned. Her pupils shrank as she broke into a smile, with the pores all over her body relaxing.
“What a familiar smell…”
Yang Meiji sniffed. Her eyes reddened even before she dug in. It had been a long time since she had smelled that scent, so she had almost forgotten it. This aroma… she was drowning in it…
“Old Yang, it’s your Red Braised Meat. Dig in. I cooked it in a special way today.” Bu Fang drew a chair and sat down. His brows rose as he exhaled lightly.
Yang Meiji pulled herself together. She shakily picked up her chopsticks. She gulped her saliva when she saw the red meat glistening in the light.
She used her chopsticks to grab a meat cube. It was a little tough, but as she held it, the red oily juice oozed and dripped from the meat.
It was so nostalgic… Yang Meiji shivered harder.
She picked up the cube and moved it toward her mouth. The closer it got to her mouth, the more worried she became. She was afraid that when she put the meat in her mouth, it would pale in comparison to the flavor she remembered, betraying her expectations.
However, it was the opposite.
She put a piece of Red Braised Meat in her mouth. As she sunk her teeth into it, the soft feeling of the tender spiritual beast’s meat made her feel a shiver.
This feeling was so wonderful! This texture was so nostalgic!
Yang Meiji munched and munched… Crystal clear tears rolled down her face.
She was a little bewildered. She rubbed her face because she didn’t know why and when she began to cry. This flavor and the flavor in her memory matched perfectly. The flavor that hid deep in her memory overflowed and filled her mouth. Yang Meiji was now sinking in that piece of her memory.
…
It was a heavy snowy day, where snow swirled everywhere.
A healthy little girl breathed out white air as her little feet stomped on her way home. She narrowed her eyes. Her face blushed because of the cold and the snow.
Although her hair was disheveled, her lively big eyes moved around.
The Cloud Mist Restaurant stood silently in the snowstorm. Although the snow and wind were twirling outside, inside the restaurant, it was so warm and lively.
The food aroma filled the entire restaurant. The diners sat at their tables, smiling brightly. They were talking while picking up their food using the chopsticks.
Oily juice and steam were everywhere.
This warm and enthusiastic feeling surprised the little girl and made her smile.
The curtain in front of the kitchen was pushed aside. A sturdy and tall figure came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron with some greasy spots. Wiping the beads of water on his hands, the handsome man looked at the little girl, smiling.
The little girl opened her eyes, dashing toward the tall man.
She jumped onto him, hugging onto his big leg.
Although the man looked rough, he dedicatedly smoothened her disheveled hair. Rubbing her head, he turned around and got back into his kitchen.
Shortly later, the curtain of the kitchen was lifted again, allowing the redolent smell to attack people’s nostrils. The good-looking man was holding a steaming hot dish of Red Braised Meat. The little girl eyed the dish with a look of yearning in her eyes.
After helping herself to a chair, she clumsily grabbed her chopsticks and picked up the cubes. Shortly, her mouth turned oily and shiny.
The little girl was instantly cheered up. She wiped her sleeve over her mouth to clean the red oil juice, which turned her into a tabby cat. The man lovingly looked at her and smiled in a distance. He lifted the curtain and disappeared into the kitchen one more time.
The little girl cocked her head, watching the tall man leave for the kitchen. She smiled in satisfaction and continued to finish her Red Braised Meat dish. She opened her mouth and brought another cube of meat into it.
…
Yang Meiji cried silently, choking on her sobbing. She was eating the meat and crying. Her bean-sized drops of tear rolled continually. The piece of memory in her head had shrouded her. This feeling had pinched her heart. She felt so bitter and sorrowful she wanted to cry.
Bu Fang sat opposite to her, saying nothing. He didn’t talk and he didn’t want to talk, either.
However, he sighed with emotion. No wonder why this woman got this bulky size. As she had eaten meat every day to grow up, how could she not get fat?!
This woman did have some background story! Bu Fang rose his hands. They were slender and pale, being dyed red in the afterglow. Adoring his own hands, Bu Fang grinned.
These were the pair of hands that could do magic. They could cook food that could touch people’s hearts. The magic of gourmet food lay right there. Not only did it satisfy people’s physical needs but also their mental and emotional demands.
It’s almost impossible to remake the food someone had in their mind. The flavors that lay deep in the memory could never be met a second time in one’s life.
Sometimes, good food and moods blended. It’s when people couldn’t help themselves.
Today, Bu Fang used his special but genuine way to cook the Red Braised Meat because he knew Yang Meiji should have something about Red Braised Meat in her memory.
According to Yang Meiji, the former owner of the Cloud Mist Restaurant was her father, an excellent chef with his famous Red Braised Meat. The Red Braised Meat had always been the flagship dish of the Cloud Mist Restaurant.
That was why Bu Fang had cooked it simply to create such homey taste and feeling.
Although it could be a little different from Yang Meiji’s father’s Red Braised Meat, it would resonate with Yang Meiji’s memory.
“Why is this taste so familiar?! It’s like what my father used to cook…” Yang Meiji rubbed her teary eyes, shoving the last piece of Red Braised Meat into her mouth, sobbing.
She looked at Bu Fang, with her eyes emotional and distressed. Although it tasted similar, it wasn’t her father’s dish. Her father was gone, and the taste in her memory had disappeared.
“It’s just a simple Red Braised Meat. I don’t know how your father’s dish tasted like,” said Bu Fang casually.
Yang Meiji lifted her head, frowning, “But this flavor… is really similar.”
“It’s the power of good food. Don’t you think it’s magical?” Bu Fang smiled, talking.
Yang Meiji lifted her head after she licked up all the sauce in the plate. She looked at Bu Fang, balling her fingers into tight fists, giving him a serious nod.
“It is!”
Bu Fang arched his brows, grinning again.
“If so, you know how attractive the food is. Do you want to learn how to cook them? Do you want to have the delicacy that has stayed in your memory every day?”
Yang Meiji was bewildered.
Nethery sat on the Netherworld Ship, with her slender, creamy legs dangling over the edges. She was also baffled.
Eighty flapped its wings on the ground, stomping its drumsticks around. It clucked then raised its head.
“Are you asking me to learn culinary skills?” Yang Meiji gawked at Bu Fang disbelievingly.
My god, how could Bu Fang come up with that idea?
Yang Meiji sighed in surprised. She knew her level. She couldn’t even cook Egg-Fried Rice. How could she make good food for other people?
If she learned how to cook, she was afraid that she would scare away the little number of customers that were really hard to get for the restaurant. It was really tough to rebuild and regrow the Cloud Mist Restaurant to its current glory.
Thus, after Yang Meiji heard what Bu Fang said, she waved her hand in denial, and her face panicked, “I can’t. I can’t. I’m not going to learn it!”
Bu Fang exhaled slightly, balling his body on the chair, and his eyes fixed on Yang Meiji’s horror-struck face.
“Don’t you want to cook this excellent flavor yourself? It’s what you’ve yearned and missed. It’s the taste of your father’s dishes.”
Yang Meiji turned dull when she heard Bu Fang. Her face twisted as she was so reluctant. Right, she should carry on the Cloud Mist Restaurant…
“But I want to use my ability to do something for the Heavenly Mist City, and what I can do is only pill refining,” answered Yang Meiji.
She did possess innate talents in refining pills. If she wanted to shine, being an alchemist would be her best path. However, at that time, the Heavenly Mist City had become the capital of the Pill Palace where all kinds of alchemists gathered.
Yang Meiji’s talent couldn’t shine among those grandmasters’.
Bu Fang didn’t know that, but he wasn’t flustered at all.
“Although it’s really good to do alchemy, if you want to show your talent, you don’t actually need to do only refining things. If you learn how to cook, you can do that, too,” said Bu Fang. “Yeah, moreover, I’m the champion of the Magical Hands Conference!”
Honestly, Bu Fang didn’t like the title of the Champion of the Magical Hands Conference because it brought him no benefit. The only benefit was that he got the quota to enter the Heaven Secret Territory where he brought home a gluttonous Nether King. Anyway, that greedy fella had already gone back.
Right!
Bu Fang was the champion of the Magical Hands Conference!
Yang Meiji was bewildered. She was moved. If she took her culinary learning seriously, she would be shining, too, wouldn’t she?
She had decided to follow the alchemic path because, at that moment, she thought that cooking offered her no future. At that time, in Heavenly Mist City, all the chefs had changed their profession.
Bu Fang leaned against the chair, raising his brows as he saw Yang Meiji hesitate. He thought he must play his lethal attack. He believed that Yang Meiji couldn’t deny this. If he still had another choice, Bu Fang didn’t want to use this trick.
Exhaling, Bu Fang pulled a stern face as if he was about to discuss something very important. Yang Meiji felt tense and she held her breath when she saw Bu Fang’s expression.
Bu Fang looked at Yang Meiji and he said slowly, “Old Yang, you should know that Nangong Wuque comes here to eat every day. If you learn cooking with me, perhaps later Nangong Wuque will eat your food.”
If emotion wasn’t enough to shake her, let’s just do it directly!
No matter what, as Nangong Wuque came there, everything would be fine!
Yang Meiji changed her visage. Listening to Bu Fang, she inhaled, and her eyes started to shine. From a small light dot, they became a brilliant star in her eyes.
A dazzling star!
“I’m in!”
Yang Meiji stood up all of a sudden and she slammed her palm on the table. Without a split second of delay, she shouted her agreement.
