Dao of Cooking

It was dark when they got back to the house, and Lei sent Fatty Lou to check on the other kids before stepping through the door. It felt like it had been years since he last saw the wooden interior of the place and tasted the cozy, familiar air that eased into his lungs.

“Alright, straight to your beds,” he said once Zhu Luli closed the door behind them. “You need a good rest.”

Snake nodded and dragged Stone with him as they moved upstairs, leaving Zhu Luli and Lei alone in the living room. Little Yao, on the other hand, jumped straight over the couch and stretched her little arms tiredly before lying across the puffy cushions.

“What a journey it was,” Lei said as he poured himself onto the couch. “I forgot what it feels like to have a roof over your head.”

Zhu Luli smiled knowingly from across him. “You get used to it. Actually, I think cities are worse. You know what a beast might do to you deep in the night. You just have to avoid it. But people are different. You can never be sure about them.”

“That, you’re right,” Lei nodded. “It’s just that I missed the safety of walls, even though any able-bodied man could probably break them open. A place to sleep, your own place—that’s hard to find out there.”

“It’s not about the walls and the house, is it?” Zhu Luli looked deeply into his eyes. “You just missed being around those kids. Without them, you wouldn’t call this place a home. It’d just be a reminder of the ones you’ve lost.”

“I guess that’s true,” Lei said, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t know what to do without them. That’s true for everyone, though, don’t you think? Being alone, even if by choice, doesn’t strike me as a good life. I want them to grow and find their own paths, and to do that, I have to make sure they have the right things for it.”

“Mortals are really different,” Zhu Luli said gravely. “It’s like a different life out here.”

“What makes you say that?” Lei asked.

“You have a heavenly gift, Brother Lei,” Zhu Luli said. “That gives you the right to become a chosen. Where I come from, the chosen wouldn’t trouble themselves with a bunch of kids. They only live for themselves, as the Immortal Path is a lonely one. There’s no sense in being close to others.”

“That… doesn’t make any sense,” Lei said. “Climb the ranks all you want, become a damned Immortal for all I care, but without anyone by your side, what would be the point?”

“That’s why mortals are different,” Zhu Luli said. “But the world of cultivation isn’t about the friends you make along the journey or the family you leave behind. It’s about self-fulfillment, achieving immortality to ascend above all that is mortal. We were born into competition, with the same mission dangling over our heads. But let’s leave this talk for another day, shall we? I think we’re both tired.”

Lei stared at her for a long second before nodding. “Alright, we’ll do that. Let me show you a room. You’re not staying in that inn tonight.”

…….

The next day started with a bustle of noises that nearly made Lei tumble down the stairs, staring wide-eyed at the group of kids in the living room. They tackled him down and hugged him until his bones groaned in protest. Fatty Lou had even brought Master Li and his new sweetie, Granny Nu, with him, saying that he couldn’t stop them from barging in.

Still, the reunion of the kids was a special sight—one that even brought tears to Master Li’s face. The old man’s wrinkles didn’t seem as deep that day. He refused to let Lei cook the dishes for the celebration; instead, he rolled up his sleeves and prepared a feast with his own hands as children hopped around Lei’s house, their screams of joy filling the air.

Granny Xu helped him in the kitchen, and they looked like an old married couple who had a dozen grandkids. Though Fatty Lou grumbled that he’d never seen the old man show him that kind of care, he kept his grievances to himself and enjoyed the joyous atmosphere in the house.

They gathered around the big table and wolfed down the pastries two at a time. Stone almost choked when he tried to gobble three buns at once, earning a sigh from Snake, who watched him with a tired expression.

Little Mei and the others bombarded the two boys with dozens of questions, their curious eyes staring intently. Greatly proud of the attention, Stone spoke like a seasoned adventurer, telling one tale after another, while Snake made sure his Little Brother ended the stories on a good note.

As per Lei’s instructions, they never told the others about Elder Huang and the rotten beasts. Their made-up tale was just an adventure in the wilds, where they chased deer and rabbits and dealt with a bunch of spiritual beasts before Lei’s group found them.

It was then that Little Yao squeaked in defiance, becoming an instant source of distraction for the kids. The squirrel performed a speedy and flashy show, cutting tomatoes and eggplants with her sharp claws. At first, she seemed to enjoy the celebrity treatment, but it got old much sooner than she’d expected, to the point that she bolted back to Zhu Luli when Little Mei tried to squeeze her flat between her arms.

Zhu Luli’s presence was one of the highlights of the celebration. Her new mentoring job got promising reactions from the crowd. She would first start by measuring their cultivation talents via the Governor’s Office, then sketch a plan suited to their abilities. She made it clear that everyone had their own path in the Immortal Path, and she could only show them the way.

Lei wasn’t too surprised by the following questions. To normal kids, cultivation in this world was more like the superhero comics he’d read growing up. There were the good ones and the bad ones, but most kids seemed to pay more attention to the tools rather than the people who used them.

A wooden plank could become an imaginary spiritual sword on which they could ascend high into the heavens. A broken stick could serve as a spiritual wand that spat fireballs and showers of sparks.

Often, at around age 11 or 12, these dreams would get grounded by adults who ushered talentless kids into realistic occupations: farmers, stall owners, carpenters… To them, the spiritual side of the world would turn into a childhood fantasy, eventually becoming a source of fear as they heard about the real side of cultivators.

But for now, being presented with a teacher who could guide them along the spiritual path, it was little wonder these kids couldn’t wait to start their training.

Having seen how Zhu Luli handled those beasts, though, Lei was more than doubtful that the kids would find their training as joyous as they imagined. This so-called Immortal Path was essentially a path to defy the Heavens, and it was a question whether these kids would find success in such a dangerous pursuit.

But Lei knew he had little other choice but to accept it. Cultivators were an unreliable bunch—overpowered maniacs who could destroy cities for the sake of it—and now they had another group of rotten bastards to deal with on top of that.

The best course of action against this strange world was to make his little group as strong as possible.

On that front, they’d come up with a solid plan with Fatty Lou. Once a week, they’d join Zhu Luli and Little Yao for a quick hunt around the forest to secure some spiritual ingredients. His potent dishes would serve as spiritual pills to enhance the growth of their close circle. According to Zhu Luli’s estimations, if they could keep getting enough spiritual ingredients, Snake and Stone could become 9th Step Body Tempering Cultivators in three months.

When he first heard it, Lei found it hard to believe. Climbing through a whole stage in just three months seemed unrealistic, but there was a crucial reason why Zhu Luli was confident in her estimates—a reason that made Lei’s dishes different from average spiritual pills.

His dishes weren’t poisonous.

Zhu Luli had told him that during the Body Tempering Stage, a cultivator would go through three different Body Cleansing phases. The first would occur at the 3rd Step of the Body Tempering Stage, the second at the 6th Step, and the last would start right after the cultivator had reached the 9th Step of Body Tempering.

This was considered preparation for the Qi Condensation Stage, to cleanse the mortal dust from the body. The real trouble was the amount of mortal dust accumulated. Theoretically, you could consume all the pills in the world to speed through the Body Tempering Stage, but if the pills weren’t of high quality, your meridians could fracture or even be crippled during the Body Cleansing Process from the overload.

That was why Peak-Grade Body Tempering Pills were ridiculously expensive and hard to come by. They were often monopolized by cultivator clans and couldn’t be bought through the Empire’s Alchemists’ Guild.

Here’s where Lei’s dishes shone. Because he didn’t use Alchemists’ Fire during the cooking process, and because he had near-perfect control over spiritual energy—thanks to the System—his dishes came out as safe-to-consume spiritual foods with no apparent side effects.

On the other hand, Zhu Luli said that even a Core Formation Stage Master Alchemist could only hope to achieve an 85% purity in their pills. Even though this was a respectable ratio, their pills still contained 15% impure matter that could harm the cultivator’s foundation in the long run.

Lei had always known his dishes were valuable, but this only made him more cautious as even the Spirit Chefs around the capital of the Eastern Continent couldn’t achieve 100% purity when they cooked with spiritual ingredients. Zhu Luli had even said that if word got around that there was a Master Spirit Chef who lacked any sort of backing, dozens of cultivator clans would come seeking his talents for their own use. And not all of these cultivator clans would beg him to cook for them when they could easily subdue and turn him into a slave that would work for their clan’s good for eternity.

That sent a shiver down Lei’s spine and also made him grateful to have come across a cultivator like Zhu Luli. By all means, she was no weakling, and Lei had his doubts about her clan. It was good to have someone he could trust with these things.

The day ended after Master Li and Granny Xu put the kids to bed before going back to their own place. The old man seemed invigorated by the celebration. Even though he’d chased after the kids and prepared a whole feast by himself, he didn’t seem all too tired. Quite the opposite, there was a joyous glint in his eyes as he glanced at Granny Xu.

Lei thought the old Granny wouldn’t get much sleep tonight.

Once they were gone, Fatty Lou and Zhu Luli helped him clean the house. They then chatted about small topics, but it seemed to Lei that everyone unwittingly stayed away from their little adventure.

He was grateful to have had the chance to clear his mind for a whole day, but when he drew back to his room, the leather-bound tome that stood in the corner piqued his interest. It was the only thing they had in their hands, as the wooden staff was basically a useless piece of wood.

That diamond… That was what made it special. And Little Yao had shattered that diamond into pieces with a heroic effort. So if they wished to learn anything about that evil organization, this tome was their best bet.

Lei poured himself onto the bed once he took the tome and stroked its leathery surface. The cover was painted in a dark brown, dotted with pus marks that seemed to have burned their way through the tome. Its edges were curled from hard use, and there was a rotten stench about it.

[Diary] – (An old diary written in a strange language.)

He cocked an eyebrow when he used the Yellow Maiden’s Eyes skill before opening a random page. He was instantly met by a string of strange characters that swirled about on the yellowed paper, half of it burnt with pus, the other half full of drawings swaying gently around the page like leaves floating on a gentle breeze. For a second, he thought he could touch them, but his finger passed through the dark letters as if they were a lie.

Scowling, Lei felt heat rush toward his eyes as the characters nailed themselves one by one to the page, rejoining as a sensible whole that made Lei blink in confusion. He could hardly read the second half, but as soon as his eyes skipped to the first half, he froze.

Year 7, Day 250.

Today, Master Voilanth used the last mana crystal to establish contact with other teams. There was no response. Like the others before, the crystal cracked as soon as he used it. The foul energy of this world has an innate characteristic that serves as a counter-current to the flow of mana inside the crystals.

We are surrounded by towering trees, buildings made of wood and stone, high palaces glistening richly over the clouds, yet it is no different than laboring through a desert. My skin couldn’t hold it anymore. I have to sacrifice my body if I want to survive. Master Voilanth says it’s not a big matter. He’s hardly considered a human, after all.

There is no mana in this world, but we will continue. We’ve already planted dozens of thorns along the way. We can’t go back anymore. I can only hope the others are doing their job.

...

Master Voilanth granted me permission. I’ve long since wanted to study these human-like beings, to see if our skin is the only thing we share. But I shall act with caution. The mana regeneration rate has dropped to near zero after the years we’ve spent here. My body is a lifeless well, dry and cracked like a bare patch of earth.

I hope I can find something through my experiments that can help to replenish our energy reserves. Otherwise, if this continues, we will be no different than the mortals living peacefully in the cities, and will lose access to the System.

But there’s a silver lining. The farther we stray from the capital, the easier it gets to handle the pressure. The spiritual energy, or Qi as locals call it here, is slowly dwindling. Perhaps we can find a place where we won’t have to fight for each breath.

...

The subject is an adult male in his twenties. No sign of illness. His skin looks clear and smooth. His blood—

Lei rubbed the bridge of his nose after reading the first part. Pain throbbed in his head for keeping the Yellow Maiden’s Skill active for far longer than he’d ever done before. But pain wasn’t the real thing that made him frown.

It was clear that these people were not alone. There were more of them in the Eastern Continent, and just like him, they had a System.

What the hell is going on here?