As the scent of the Bamboo Chicken began to spread across the College, Fat Cat raised his nose to the air and narrowed his eyes, light glinted off his claws as he prepared himself to make a move. As for Lin Fan, he was already done with his second challenger and was now walking over to them.
āYouāre back! Here, have a bit of broth first, [1]ā Shiyu tipped the bamboo tube and poured soup out from the spout-like opening. The chicken broth was as clear as water, light danced off the surface as though it was made out of liquid crystals. As for the chicken, the skin was a bright golden colour [2] and the flesh plump and moist from cooking.
Lin Fan took hold of the bowl, and with a quick swallow gulped down the entire bowl of chicken soup along with a few boneless chicken pieces. He was ready for the next challenger.
Shiyu blinked at the speed in which he drank down the soup, āIs he not afraid of getting scalded?ā But when she poured out another bowl of soup for herself, she found that it was not scalding hot at all. The temperature could best be described as warm. When she took a sip, she found that it not only warmed her stomach, but also sent out waves of warmth to all four limbs.
The taste of the soup was quite mellow with a scent of bamboo about it. Though there was a thin layer of oil on top, the soup did not feel greasy at all. It was quite easy to drink and Shiyu found herself emptying her bowl quickly and sighed as she smacked her lips with satisfaction.
She set her bowl down and was about to go after a chicken leg when she saw San Pang and Fat Cat sitting contentedly beside her. Both were busy chewing something in their mouths. She looked into her bamboo tube. The chicken was gone.
Shiyu was about to pounce at them and demanded why they did not leave any chicken for her or Lin Fan when something blocked her gaze. It was only a split second, but when her sight returned there was a white-bearded old man before her. He sniffed around exaggeratedly and soon settled his sight on Shiyu.
āSo itās you!ā
This white-bearded grandpa was none other than the Gatekeeper of this Collegeās Treasure Pavilion.
When Shiyu saw him, she immediately realised that this guy must have been attracted by the Bamboo Chicken she had just made. However, she was not sure just how many of the precious medicinal herbs he could recognise by scent alone.
The old man flicked a finger up and pointed at her forehead, āLittle brat, where did you really come from? You may tell your secrets here as I have already sealed off this area from the ears of others. No one would be able to listen in on our conversation.ā
Shiyu was shocked, to think that this old man had sealed off this area in an instant, just how powerful is he?
However, it made sense for the Gatekeeper of the Treasure Pavilion to be powerful. Without strong masters in this school, how would they control the powerful students under their care? Not to mention protect themselves against outside interference. The only question now was just how powerful was this old master?
As Shiyuās mind went off on wild tangents, the old man thought she was unwilling to speak. He softened his tone and said, āItās fine, thereās no need for you to feel troubled. I do not need to know your history. The only thing I wish to know is whether you still have the Immortal Jade Petal Lotus?ā The old manās voice was a little urgent, āIf you do, I can immediately exchange it for 500,000 Contribution Points, or you may choose anything you like from the Treasure Pavilionās third floor.ā
Shiyuās heart shivered, it was not difficult to pull a bewildered look on her face as she said in dismay, āWhat Immortal Lotus? Are you talking about the white lotus flower thing?ā
āYes! Thatās the one.ā The old man looked very excited. āDo you have any left?ā
āThat one, ahā¦ thereās no moreā¦ā Shiyu looked a little embarrassed, āWhen I made my way down the mountain, I sneaked off three flowers out of my masterās pond. Iāve cooked them all. If I pluck too many, the master will realise some are missing and scold me.ā
The old masterās face fell, then grew buoyant with hope again, āPluck too many?ā
āThatās right, ah! My master has this special pond, well, itās actually just a big jar of water with these really pretty flowers. I never saw any leaves or roots, and the pretty flowers could last for years. One day I nibbled on a petal because the scent is just too irresistible. Itās so sweet and delicious that I sometimes sneaked into masterās garden and nibble on the petals now and then. However, now that Iāve left masterās place, I wonāt be able to nibble on them anymoreā¦ā she sighed regretfully.
The old man half-believed her words. If only because of his nose was telling him that this girl really did have access to the Immortal Jade Petal Lotus. Moreover, this little brat actually threw precious medicinal items like this into her cooking as though it was nothing but some random herb. For her to do something like this, her backer must be someone incredible.
Not even noble families would make soup out of such precious herbs and medicines. Instead, these treasures would be carefully preserved until it was needed in the future. Even then, it would be properly refined into medicinal pills for maximum potency.
People who entered this College came from all kinds of background. It would not be surprising for a young girl like this to have an eccentric, spiritually powerful botanist as her backer. Considering her wealth and ability to throw out all kinds of rare herbs and medicine at once, one could conclude that her backer must be someone incredibly powerful indeed. It is said that āThe Rich Treats Precious Gems like Rocksā. It must be the same for the spiritually powerful. Just how many precious herbs and medicine did they have to be able to treat the Immortal Jade Petal Lotus like potted flowers and did not care when their dumb disciple nibbled at it like an irritating insect?
More importantly, would the other party be agreeable to sell or exchange this particular precious herb with him?
Suddenly, a headache came over the old master: Ah, but what could he, a Gatekeeper of a mere Collegeās Treasure Pavilion, be able to offer someone who treats precious herbs as potted plants?
Well, itās better to know than to not know, the old man thought to himself, āThen, could you inform your master that I wish to see him?ā
ā¦ what kind of joke is this? How can I let you meet up with someone I just made up?
Affecting a troubled look, not like took much effort with the anxiety roiling in her stomach, she said, āMy old master is the type who likes to wander around the world, Iām not sure if he would be at the mountainā¦ā
āIt doesnāt matter, it would be very good if you can bring me over to visit your noble masterās place.ā It looked like this old man was not going to be fobbed off by such an excuse.
Shiyu was really at a loss now, she could only say, āBut, my master doesnāt like it when other people go to his place, ah.ā
The old man frowned, āIs there no way to contact your master?ā
āThat isā¦ā Shiyu was about to say āIt depends on masterās moodā, but then Fat Cat suddenly made a strange chirping noise and she obediently switched tactic, āOh yes, he said that heāll come by and have a look at how Iām doing one of these days. I have no way of knowing when though.ā
The old master finally relented, āWhen he comes by, you must let me know. You may find me anytime at the Treasure Pavilion.ā
As a veteran of this world, he realised that he could not push the girl too much. These things take time, and it would benefit him to foster a better relationship with the girl for now. Who knows, he might be able to get his hands on this treasure one day.
As old and young spoke to each other, the others all narrowed their eyes at them. The abacus in their heads clicking as they calculate the implications. Though none of them could hear what these two talked about, the fact that the two of them were speaking together like this was already quite amazing.
āHey, isnāt that Elder Liu? Isnāt it really rare for him to leave that place? Why is he here now?ā
From a distant corner, Liu Yi stood watching the scene before him. Someone leaned over to ask, āHey, Liu Yi, whoās that girl? Why did your great-grandfather come looking for her?ā
Liu Yi also felt that the whole situation was very odd. He had come here to witness Lin Fanās strength for himself, and was just as surprised as the others to see his great-grandfather here, apparently just to speak with Shiyu.
Could his appearance here be related to the fragrance just now? However his great-grandfather had never been the type to be controlled by his stomach, so why was he here?
He pondered over the matter for a moment before striding decisively over to them.
Liu Yi was currently at [3] Core Transformation Stage ā 5th Level and therefore was not at all bothered by the two people clashing against each other. He greeted his the old man first, āGood day, great-grandfather,ā
At the sight of him, the old man nodded, his expression not particularly intimate. He has too many grandsons and even more great-grandsons. Unless they showed special promise, he could not be bothered to pay much attention to them.
After greeting his great-grandfather, Liu Yi turned to Shiyu and said, āItās been a while.ā
Shiyu said nothing.
This piqued the old manās interest. āSo you knew each other?ā
Liu Yi looked over at Shiyu again and said, āThis great-grandson suffered from serious injury when I returned from the Spiritual Beast Mountain Range. Little Shi is the one who rescued me.ā
The old man nodded quickly, clearly sensing an opportunity to foster a good relationship said, āSince she is your saviour, you must not slight her.ā Then, he frowned at Liu Yi, āWhich house are you from? Come and see me at the Treasure Pavilion tonight.ā
[Gumihou: Sticky Liu Yi is stickyā¦]
[1] ā¦ ā¦ ā¦: You know, Iām starting to wonder if this author knows her ingredientsā¦ Anyway, I found a Yunnan Bamboo Chicken Recipe, so at least we know it exists in Chinaā¦
Sighā¦
https://www.xiangha.com/techan/207454.html
[2] ā¦ ā¦ ā¦: You do realise that one of the defining characteristics of Silkie Chicken is their black skin, right? Author-san, did you just googled the internet for āprecious expensive chickenā and settled on Silkie Chicken because it sounded fancy?
Did you also googled āSashimiā and picked the nicest looking picture which happens to be fugu sashimi!?!!
ā¦ Iām starting to have a bad feeling about this novelā¦ please donāt be trueā¦
Sobā¦
All Silkies have black or bluish skin, bones and grayish-black meat; theirĀ Chinese languageĀ name isĀ wu gu jiĀ (ēéŖØé[9]), meaning āblack-boned chickenā.[8]Ā Melanism which extends beyond the skin into an animalāsĀ connective tissueĀ is a rare trait, and in chickens it is caused by fibromelanosis, which is a rare mutation believed to have begun in Asia. The Silkie and several other breeds descended from Asian stock possess the mutation.[10]Ā Disregarding color, the breed does not generally produce as much as the more common meat breeds of chicken.[1]
[3] It was originally Core Condensation Stage (Third Stage for noobs and Gumihou), but then switched by the author to Core Transformation Stage (Second Stage). I guess if she made him too powerful, MC wonāt be able to kick his ass?