Chapter 9 of 10

Chapter 9

16 min read3,933 words

"Have you made up your mind, Ayuan? Isn't it a bit too early for you to go on a trip?"

When he heard that his most valued disciple was about to leave to travel and study culinary arts, Master Abe was extremely reluctant at first. Later, seeing that Ayuan was determined to go out and learn, he asked in confusion, "You are still young, and there is still room for improvement in your culinary skills. Why are you in such a hurry to go on a trip?"

"Master, besides the basic skills of a chef, I must admit that my knowledge of dishes from all over the country is really weak. I want to use this trip to enrich myself and hope to complete the journey before the special chef examination in Hunan next year, and then participate in the special chef examination."

Master Abe fell silent for a moment and finally agreed to Ayuan's request.

The day after Ayuan prepared his luggage, Master Abe brought everyone from Kikusha to see him off.

The 11-year-old young master couldn't hold back his tears, grabbing Ayuan's clothes and crying, "Brother Ayuan, don't go, okay?"

"One year, I'll be back as a special chef in one year, okay?" Ayuan patted the young master's head while comforting him.

"We have a deal." Although he was reluctant, the young master let go.

One by one, the people from Kikusha came to offer their blessings. Finally, Master Abe brought a horse and handed a small bundle to Ayuan.

"This is a small token of my appreciation. It's not much, but you will find it useful during your journey."

"Everyone, take care. I will return as soon as possible. When I come back, I will definitely let everyone taste my skills."

Tears welled up in his eyes without him realizing it. Saying goodbye to Kikusha, where he had stayed for three years, Ayuan set off for his first destination on this journey—Jiuhua Mountain in Qingyang County, Anhui Province.

The reason for this journey, although ostensibly to become a special chef as soon as possible, was actually to verify something—whether being a special chef was the key to the main quest.

The last time Shao An taught him a culinary skill, it was a D-level skill, and it was before he became a special chef. Master Abe, a top-tier special chef, had been teaching him for three years without any indication of completion. He speculated that the culinary skills taught by Master Abe were not just D-level skills and that a prerequisite for mastery was becoming a special chef.

Another goal was to collect as many legendary kitchen tools as possible before leaving. Over the past three years, he hadn't wasted his time.

The awakening of three of his five senses not only improved his culinary skills but also subtly enhanced his brain function.

His extraordinary three senses greatly improved Ayuan's information gathering and gradually enhanced his ability to process information, allowing him to recall all his memories from his previous life. For this reason, he specifically planned an itinerary for this journey.

Jiuhua Mountain, the location of one of the legendary kitchen tools, the Demon Saint Copperware, is located in Qingyang County, Anhui Province. It borders Tianzhu Mountain in Anqing to the northwest and Huangshan to the south, making it one of the three famous mountains in Anhui Province (Huangshan, Jiuhua, and Tianzhu). It is also one of the ancient places for learning and practicing Daoism.

Jiuhua is a sacred place. According to legend, this land was formed by a comet that fell from the sky a thousand years ago. The people of Jiuhua have been living a diligent and progressive life until three years ago when the reputation of the Fish Fin Demon Man Weng was misused, causing the people to become lazy and gluttonous due to the Demon Saint Copperware.

"I will stop this from happening." After nearly a month of travel, Ayuan arrived in Jiuhua and couldn't help but exclaim, "How can such a good place be destroyed?"

"Um, the Fish Fin Demon Man took over a metal shop at the foot of Jiuhua Mountain. I'll start by searching all the metal shops at the foot of the mountain." Recalling the plot, Ayuan held a drawing of the Demon Saint Copperware and asked each shop.

Unfortunately, there was no information about the Demon Saint Copperware.

"Of course, it's not that easy to get. But all the kitchen tools should have been enshrined, so there seems to be a shrine outside the village in the original story."

Adopting the attitude of 'better safe than sorry,' Ayuan didn't even drink water and rushed to the shrine.

The shrine was very simple, just a small cave dug into the side of the mountain, where the legendary Comet God was enshrined.

"A thousand years ago, a comet with a green tail descended upon Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui Province. It opened up fertile land in the mountains and brought abundant crops to the people. Soon, it became a legend, and the people of Jiuhua revered it as a god, making it an object of faith." An old man managing the shrine explained the origin of the Comet God to Ayuan, who wanted to learn about the shrine.

"Have you ever seen a copperware like this?" Ayuan took out the drawing from his chest and showed it to the old man.

"Hmm, this looks familiar. Let me take a closer look." The old man took the drawing and examined it carefully, then looked up at the shrine, seemingly comparing it with something. "This seems to be the incense burner in the shrine, yes, it's the incense burner."

Hearing the old man's words, Ayuan looked at the incense burner on the altar and compared it carefully. It was indeed the Demon Saint Copperware. He couldn't believe that the Demon Saint Copperware was right under his nose, and he hadn't noticed it.

"Old man, can I take this copperware? I can exchange it for another incense burner."

"Exchange an incense burner? Is this thing important?"

"Well, this isn't an incense burner, but a kitchen tool. As a chef, it is very important to me. Please, I beg you."

"Oh, you're a chef. It's not a problem to give it to you. It's just an incense burner to us. If so, why don't you cook a meal for me, and I'll give it to you."

Hearing that the condition was just a meal, Ayuan put in his best effort and cooked a simple home-style meal with vegetables grown by the old man, making the old man so full that he couldn't eat any more. Ayuan was also very satisfied with the meal, as the fertile land of Jiuhua made the crops here much better than elsewhere.

The satisfied old man took the Demon Saint Copperware from the altar and handed it to Ayuan: "Young man, your culinary skills are excellent, and your heart is good. I hope you will use this copperware well."

"Thank you very much. I will use it well." Ayuan solemnly took the Demon Saint Copperware and planned to store it in his inventory when he was alone.

Unnamed Copperware: Unknown Level, Unknown Quality

Attack Power: None

Attributes: None

Special Effects: None

Can it be taken out of this world: No

Note: Another unknown treasure. Try my suggestion—show it in front of the Five Tiger Star, and it will give you a big surprise!

Looking at another kitchen tool in his possession, Ayuan began to plan his next destination—Shanghai.

But after calculating his travel expenses, he sadly realized that he might have to beg for a living before he could reach Shanghai. He had stayed whenever he saw special dishes, so even though Master Abe had given him a lot of travel money, he was now running short.

"Old man, are there any big restaurants in Jiuhua?"

"The people of Jiuhua are diligent and self-sufficient. Although there are restaurants, they are not big. Your skills are better than the chefs in those restaurants."

Hearing the old man's evaluation, Ayuan decided to earn enough travel money in Jiuhua before continuing his journey.

At this point, there were 1 year, 348 days, 5 hours, and 23 minutes left in the extreme game.

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