The spacious Xiang Ji Kitchen dining hall suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
All ninety-three tourists trapped here were looking at Lin Baici.
Was this guy actually picking a fight with that cook,
had he gone nuts?
How terrifying that cook with arms strong enough to race horses was, they had all seen with their own eyes—decapitating people as easily as slicing watermelons.
But when everyone's gaze fell upon the little girl who trembled like a frightened quail, they all sighed.
They understood that the big boy was saving her.
"Oppa!"
Kim Myungjin stood up, ready to face the situation with Lin Baici.
Seeing a foreign girl showing such fearlessness, Hua Yue Yu didn't want to be outdone and immediately stood up too.
"Brother Lin, let's be bold!"
Hua Yue Yu roared.
Like in a game, winning or losing was put aside for the moment—it was all about not losing momentum, rushing headlong into battle.
The cook turned her head, examining Lin Baici, "You want another bowl?"
Lin Baici's original intention was to attract the cook's attention, and then take a gamble with the help of the Songmu torches, but after he drank that mouthful of porridge, the Eater God spoke.
[Blessed Fortune Porridge, made with red dates, goji berries, longan, dong quai, lotus seeds, white fungus…crafted meticulously with twenty-eight ingredients, through nine processing steps, and simmered for fifteen hours on a gentle fire!]
[Once the porridge is ready, its aroma can be detected from ten miles away!]
[Drinking this porridge dispels worries, brings joy, promotes longevity, and extends life!]
Three sentences, simple and direct, perfectly showcasing the demeanor of a god-level gourmet.
Lin Baici immediately changed his strategy.
"Such good porridge, it's a waste for me to drink it alone. It should be tasted by more people!"
Lin Baici smiled faintly.
The old man rolled his eyes, thinking it would be best if he drank it all himself.
"No, you said you wanted another bowl, so you must drink!"
The cook, with legs as sturdy as two stone pillars, took three steps toward Lin Baici, looked down on him with a fiercely menacing glare.
"If you can't drink it, I'll pry open your mouth and pour it in!"
"Go scoop up the porridge!"
Lin Baici sat down, exuding an imposing presence as if he were sitting on a large, golden horse.
The cook left.
"Brother Lin, at a time like this, you're still trying to act cool?"
Sima Mu chuckled bitterly, "Do you really take your life so lightly?"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
The little girl's mother hugged her child, constantly thanking Lin Baici.
"Oppa, you looked so cool facing off against that monster of a cook!"
Kim Myungjin was full of admiration.
"Yes!"
Hua Yue Yu was nodding vigorously.
"Even if you're as cool as a Tyrannosaurus rex, you'll still die!"
The old man was reveling in schadenfreude, content that at least the annoying guy would die before him.
"Big brother..."
The little girl knew that it was for her sake that the handsome big brother had attracted the cook's attention and thus she felt guilty.
"Don't be afraid, we'll be out soon!"
Lin Baici smiled breezily, his demeanor gentle and hearty, like the warm sun of March warming the heart.
The cook strode briskly over with a bowl of porridge and plunked it down right in front of Lin Baici.
"Drink!"
Her left hand was already poised to pry open Lin Baici's mouth.
"After I finish the porridge, can I leave?"
Lin Baici took the large bowl.
It was hot!
"No!"
The cook glared at Lin Baici, "In my home, this porridge is only offered to confidants. If you are not a confidant, after drinking it, you pay with money!"
"How much?"
Kim Myungjin interrupted.
To pay with money?
Why didn't you say that earlier,
That's the least of my worries.
"Your life!"
The cook's clear enunciation made everyone shudder.
"How do you define a confidant?"
Hua Yue Yu inquired.
"Guess the ingredients in this porridge!"
The cook glanced coldly around at everyone, pulled out the kitchen knife strapped to her waist, and pointed at Lin Baici, "Starting with him, I'll question each one of you. Those who cannot answer, I'll use them as firewood for boiling porridge!"
Many men were exchanging glances secretly.
Better to fight than to wait for death!
Guessing ingredients in porridge?
Even a gourmet would be challenged by this.
"Speak!"
The cook urged.
"Sticky rice, black rice, yellow millet, sorghum, red beans, mung beans, kidney beans, lily bulbs, white fungus, lotus seeds, dong quai, goji berries, red dates, longan, rock sugar..."
Lin Baici's voice was resonant and emphatic.
He mentioned beans, rice, medicinal herbs...
All common ingredients, but to taste each one in a pot of porridge was definitely impossible.
"You're just guessing, right?"
"Obviously, this is a desperate last attempt."
"This is a joke. If this guess is correct, it's more outrageous than winning a lottery jackpot."
The tourists murmured among themselves, but compared to the previous twenty or so who guessed at the ingredients, Lin Baici was too composed when he named his list.
"Twenty-eight!"
The little girl was counting along, and as soon as Lin Baici finished, she immediately looked at the cook.
"That's all of them!"
Lin Baici said with a light smile.
Thank goodness for Guo Er Cheng Song; had he not received this Divine Grace, there was no way Lin Baici could have remembered all twenty-eight ingredients from just hearing them once.
The cook studied Lin Baici, her stern face suddenly melting like ice in warm spring, replaced by a big smiling face.
"Farewell, esteemed guests, and welcome to come again for porridge!"
The head cook made a welcoming gesture.
Creak!
The great doors to Xiang Ji Kitchen opened.
"He actually got it right?"
Sima Mu was completely dumbfounded.
"Did he just use up all his luck for a lifetime?"
An old lady muttered.
"..."
Kim Myungjin couldn't describe her emotions at that moment, Lin Baici's excellence had once again updated her understanding.
The ninety-three tourists felt the same way.
This big guy actually got it right?
Immediately after, they began to regret.
Damn!
I didn't remember it at all.
"Did any of you remember?"
"Do you think I have a photographic memory?"
"Can't we just ask him again?"
The tourists murmured among themselves, clearly excited; many of them looked at the opened door, wanting to dash out with all their might, but they finally held back.
The cook's knife was frighteningly fast.
The old man was flabbergasted, this guy actually got it right?
Following him, I now regret not falling!
Damn!
I've offended someone I shouldn't have!
Now I'm in deep trouble!
I wonder if he'll forgive me if I kowtow to him?
"Big brother, are you the God of Eating?"
A little girl blinked her shiny big eyes, looking up at Lin Baici with admiration.
"No, I'm just a hungry man!"
Lin Baici mused to himself that ever since he had entered Dragon Temple, he had hardly ever stopped feeling hungry; it was almost unbearable.
Once I get out of here,
I'll first go have a hot pot feast!
Meat only, no vegetables.
"A villain?"
The little girl was puzzled, then shook her head firmly: "Big brother is not bad, he's a hero! A great hero!"
"It's the 'hungry' from 'starving hungry'!"
Lin Baici said self-deprecatingly.
"A Hungry Man? You mean a foodie, right?"
The little girl giggled: "I think Eater God sounds nicer. Big brother, you could taste everything in the porridge, you must be the reincarnation of the Eater God!"
"Brother Lin, quit fooling around!"
Sima Mu called out in a low voice: "Hurry up and tell us all the ingredients!"
We're saved!
The old lady was thrilled, yet a bit worried as she looked at the head cook. Would it interfere with such blatant cheating?
The nearby tourists perked up their ears upon hearing Sima Mu's words.
Lin Baici was speechless, do you all think the cook is blind?
What if it gets enraged and starts killing people?
"The esteemed guest has already announced the ingredients for the Fortune-Longevity-Peace-Happiness Porridge, so there's no point in repeating them. I will return to the kitchen and add a new ingredient to the porridge!"
The cook's words instantly caused an uproar of wails and curses.
"The esteemed guest may leave now!"
The head cook was ready to close the door after Lin Baici left.
"Brother Lin, don't abandon us!"
Sima Mu pleaded.
"Bai Ci, help us!"
The old lady was still crying.
Kim Myungjin and Hua Yue Yu didn't speak, but they looked pitifully at Lin Baici.
Seeing this, the other tourists also began to beg.
"Since I'm a confidant of your family, can I take them with me?"
Lin Baici asked with a smile.
The head cook hesitated for a few seconds: "Since you put it that way, I can grant you a special privilege!"
"If you can tell me how long I've been cooking this pot of porridge, you can take them with you. But if you get it wrong, I will chop off your head and burn your body as firewood!"
"What's your decision?"
The head cook, knife in hand, stood again in front of Lin Baici.
Whoosh!
Everyone looked towards Lin Baici, terrified out of their wits.
This big guy's single sentence could decide the life and death of everyone.
"Oppa, maybe you should give up?"
Kim Myungjin felt guessing the time was too difficult.
Lin Baici had narrowly survived this divine trial game; it wasn't worth risking his life for these strangers.
"Shut up!"
The old man, hearing Kim Myungjin's words, blew up immediately, then switched to a pleading smile, begging Lin Baici: "Take a guess, any guess will do!"
What if you're right?
The old man knew that with his physical condition, if a fight broke out with the head cook, he would definitely die.
"Bai Ci, if you're not sure, just give up!"
Hua Yue Yu was holding onto the edge of the table, ready to flip it over. Even if she were to die, she'd make sure this monster of a cook peeled a layer of skin.
"Fifteen hours!"
Lin Baici, expressionless, declared a time, but internally he was laughing to death.
Sorry,
But I couldn't lose even if I wanted to!
With the Eater God's gourmet reviews, I can do whatever I want!
Whoosh!
Everyone turned their eyes sharply to the head cook, awaiting its verdict.