One second!
Two seconds!
Three seconds!
Everyone's hearts had risen to their throats, like condemned prisoners kneeling at the execution ground at the third watch, wishing for a lifetime of luck in exchange for a "spare the cutting" at the final moment.
The stern-looking cook suddenly broke into a smile, like the clear skies after rain.
"Honored guest, congratulations, you can take them and leave!"
The cook congratulated.
"Fantastic!"
"We've survived! We've survived!"
"Blessed by the Heavens!"
The tourists cheered excitedly, many of them slumping onto the tables, gasping for air.
This time, they really felt like they had been scared to death.
Could it be that he actually guessed right again?
Such luck was too incredible, wasn't it?
No one believed that Lin Baici could taste the time spent cooking the porridge, because it was too unbelievable.
"What does the Heavens have to do with it? It was Oppa who saved everyone!"
Kim Myungjin pouted.
"You guessed, didn't you? You definitely guessed, right?"
Hua Yue Yu looked at Lin Baici, her heart pounding so hard it felt like a kangaroo filled with curiosity was jumping inside.
"Yes!"
Lin Baici smiled slightly.
'Wow, it's that calm and collected smile, I love it so much!'
Hua Yue Yu grabbed Sister Xiao Li's arm, shaking it forcefully.
How could I have ever liked those pretty boys before?
So shallow!
I declare, starting today, Lin Baici is my god!
"What are we waiting for? Let's go now!"
An old man urged, with a servile smile, speaking to Lin Baici in a fawning tone, "Young man, I was wrong before. Once we get out, I'll treat you. A table at Fu Jing Building, to offer my apologies!"
Fu Jing Building was Guangqing's finest restaurant, with an average cost of around a thousand yuan per person.
The old man wouldn't really part with that,
He was only making a false promise, hoping Lin Baici would lead them out of Dragon Temple.
"Can we go now?"
Someone impatiently asked the cook.
"Ask him!"
The cook pointed at Lin Baici.
Everyone looked eagerly at him again.
"Handsome guy, let's get out of here, shall we?"
"Let's go! Let's go!"
"Hurry up!"
The crowd urged impatiently, wanting to leave the dreadful dining hall not a second longer.
"Don't you think you should say thank you first?"
Kim Myungjin complained, "You really have no manners at all!"
The crowd was dumbfounded by the rebuke, followed by awkward hurry to thank Lin Baici.
For a moment, thanks were heard all around.
"No need to thank me, let's hurry out!"
Lin Baici waved his hand, he had helped these people simply because it was convenient, after all, with Eater God present, it was just about saying one more "time."
The crowd looked at the cook, and seeing no objection, they swarmed out.
"Wait!"
Lin Baici called out.
Whoosh!
The group halted, looking puzzledly at Lin Baici.
"I wasn't talking to you!"
Lin Baici looked at the old man, "Who said you could leave?"
"Ah?"
The old man's expression turned to one of fear,
He was scared.
Was this young man so vengeful?
"Young man, I..."
The old man squeezed out a smile, his mind racing to find words to convince Lin Baici.
"Cook, I'm not dealing with this guy!"
Lin Baici's voice was ice-cold.
The old man's behavior was truly disgusting, especially when he knocked over a little girl's stool to divert the cook's attention, which was essentially no different from committing murder.
Lin Baici would hardly help him even if his brain was rusted!
"No! No! I'm kneeling before you! I'm kowtowing to you!"
The old man, pale with fear, suddenly knelt down and started kowtowing to Lin Baici.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"I still have two grandchildren to take care of, I can't die!"
The old man cried out, beginning to beg pathetically.
"All you have to do is taste and tell how many ingredients were used in this fragrant porridge, and you won't have to die!"
Lin Baici chuckled, "It's quite simple!"
'Simple my foot, I'm not the God of Eating!'
The old man cursed inwardly, but dared not show the slightest disrespect on his face.
The cook walked over and glanced at the old man.
"This spineless person, who kowtows so readily, doesn't deserve to drink our porridge. You're fit to be kindling!"
The cook said, grabbing the old man's hair and dragging him toward the kitchen, clearly intending to stuff him directly into the stove.
"Let me go!"
"Oh hell, I'm an old man, don't you respect the elderly and love the young?"
"I was wrong, I apologize, give me another chance."
The old man yelled incoherently, trying to struggle, but it was useless; the cook was a fierce woman two meters tall with enough strength to wrestle horses.
With one slap, the old man's teeth were shattered and his jaw dislocated.
The group watched this terrifying scene and ran even faster.
They also deeply realized how significant Lin Baici's help had been to them.
His single sentence
truly could determine their life and death!
Everyone had exited the dining hall and arrived in the courtyard outside Xiang Ji Kitchen.
Bang!
The wooden door closed.
Some were trembling, their legs weak, sitting on the ground, and others came over to strike up a conversation with Lin Baici.
They weren't fools and knew that cozying up to him would increase their chances of leaving the Dragon Temple, so they wanted to team up with Lin Baici.
The old lady watched anxiously, incessantly fanning herself with her sunhat. If so many people followed Lin Baici, she would become marginalized.
"Brother Lin's tongue is really impressive, could it be that his ancestors for three generations have all been chefs?"
Guo Ge was curious.
"Three generations? Whom are you looking down upon? Brother Lin's ancestors definitely have produced an Imperial Chef!"
Sister Xiao Li analyzed.
Lin Baici didn't leave, instead turning his head back to look at the Xiang Ji Kitchen. Was there Divine Grace upon the taboo thing inside?
After experiencing the benefits of "Passing Ears Recitation", he had only four words for Divine Grace...
Very much wanted it.
[Why leave? Find a way to snag it in one go!]
[I've never seen someone who wouldn't pick up money on the ground, things that can be taken for free should not be missed, otherwise, even the goddess of luck would spit on you.]
"You guys wait here!"
Lin Baici clenched the pine wood torch and walked towards the dining hall doors.
Gurgle gurgle!
His stomach grumbled, the feeling of hunger intensified.
"What are you going to do?"
Hua Yue Yu instinctively grabbed Lin Baici, unclear of his intentions.
"Oppa, are you going to take the taboo thing?"
Kim Myungjin guessed Lin Baici's plan and quickly advised, "Only the Taboo things sealed in a black coffin are safe, otherwise, getting close to them carries the risk of contamination by the rules!"
Kim Myungjin, clutching a Vanilla Padded Mat, was actually very anxious; if she could choose, she would have thrown the thing away already.
"No worries, I will play it by ear!"
Lin Baici reassured her, quickly stepped forward, pushed open the door, and headed straight to the kitchen.
Since he had just completed the Taboo Game, the pollution by the rules was temporarily ineffective against him.
The kitchen wasn't very big.
Lin Baici quickly glanced around but didn't see the cook's shadow; it seemed she would only appear after a new patron was drawn in by the aroma.
Inside the stove, flames raged, burning a corpse that had turned black and charred, unrecognizable as the old man he had been.
"Which one is the taboo thing?"
Lin Baici's gaze moved over knives, chopping boards, iron pots, and strainers...
[Look what I've found? A Black Tripod Bowl, quite a practical piece of tableware!]
Bowl? Isn't that just a begging bowl used by monks?
In Journey to the West, Tang Monk had one.
Based on the God of Eating's words, Lin Baici spotted a black bowl on the stove.
It was large, horizontally oval, like a box used to hold Go game pieces.
Lin Baici quickly walked over and picked up the Black Tripod Bowl.
It was quite heavy!
From the outside, it was black, as if it had frozen the moonless night onto its surface, with gold rims along the bottom and the edge of the bowl.
Lin Baici knew, it was it.
Because when he picked up the bowl, the hunger disappeared.
[If you use it to serve food, you just need to let it sit for a minute, and it will purify impurities and toxins from the food!]
[With severe pollution in the world, people who eat grains and meats are bound to ingest harmful substances. These accumulate in the body, and over time, they can cause disease and reduce lifespan!]
[With this Black Tripod Bowl, even if you're eating gutter oil food, expired snacks, or drinks adulterated with chemicals, you can eat with peace of mind!]
Eater God's triple review.
Lin Baici's eyebrows twitched, recognizing it as something valuable.
However, the holiday was ending, and he was about to report to the university. Throughout his four-year college life, he'd surely be eating at the cafeteria. He couldn't possibly carry this bowl around every day, could he?
Students unaware of the situation might think he was a monk who had returned to lay life, right?
No, that's not right!
Even a proper monk wouldn't use this thing to eat with nowadays, would they?
Lin Baici felt dejected.
Having a great item but not being able to use it felt like such a waste.
[Its greatest effect is that it contains an 'internal granary.' You can store rice, flour, cooking oil, vegetables, and fruit inside. As long as you have this bowl, you'll never have to worry about starving to death.]
Lin Baici's spirits lifted upon hearing this, "What?"
[Confirmed, it's indeed a Nine-Holes Fish, with such a straightforward explanation. Can't you understand? I suggest retaking nine years of compulsory education!]
Eater God's biting commentary.
"No, I mean, I can understand. Are you saying there's really a 'granary' inside this bowl?"
Lin Baici stretched his hand into the bowl, feeling around, then turned it upside down, shaking it vigorously a few times, but nothing came out.
Those who had lived through the pandemic era knew how vital survival supplies were.
So the effect of this 'granary' thrilled Lin Baici.
[Please call it a bowl, follow me, boyu!]
The pronunciation of Eater God was impeccably standard, as if able to host the CCTV Newscast.
"Where's the granary? How do I open it? How big is the space?"
Lin Baici pressed further.
[Just mumble 'drink porridge' 'drink porridge' at it, and the granary will open up!]
Lin Baici immediately held up the Black Tripod Bowl with one hand and brought it to his lips.
"Drink porridge!"
"Drink porridge!"
After Lin Baici spoke, he saw a vortex-like halo suddenly appear at the mouth of the bowl.
He grew excited, peering into it with wide eyes.
"How does it work?"
Lin Baici was brimming with enthusiasm, like an Ultraman who had just spotted a tiny monster.
[I am the Eater God, not a nanny!]
Eater God refused to provide hands-on instruction.
Lin Baici put down the pine torch and picked up a kitchen knife from the chopping board next to him, placing it into the vortex-like halo.
He was always vigilant—since entering the kitchen, he had not let go of the torch, ever ready for a skirmish.
Lin Baici waited a few seconds, then reached into the halo, groping around. When he pulled his hand back out, he was clutching the kitchen knife.
"Haha, this is fun!"
Lin Baici was overjoyed.
Wait a minute!
Although it's called a granary, there was no rule stating it must carry only food, right?
Clothes, shoes, socks, bedding, computers should also fit,
So doesn't that mean, wherever I go to have fun in the future, I won't need to lug around loads of luggage?
"Right, Eater God, how do you know all this?"
Lin Baici realized that Eater God seemed to have an intimate knowledge of these Taboo things!