A Miscalculation

The dish was clearly steaming, and even the cook carrying the plate thought it was hot to the touch. Yet when it entered his mouth, it was icy and hard, even slightly undercooked.

If not for the aroma of the dish before him, which convinced Zhao Ke that it was an exceptionally rare delicacy, he would have suspected the old man was deliberately messing with him.

"Little brother, how does it taste?"

Zhao Ke turned around and saw the old man looking at him earnestly, waiting for his assessment of the signature dish.

"Mm... delicious!"

Going against his conscience, Zhao Ke barely maintained the smile on his face as he swallowed the sweet-and-sour pork in his mouth.

Hearing Zhao Ke praise it, the old man immediately revealed a smug expression. With a satisfied smile, he said, "Of course it is. Let me tell you, I put a great deal of thought into this dish..."

The old man proceeded to describe the entire process of making the dish from beginning to end. Though Zhao Ke could not taste its flavor, hearing the process gave him a fairly solid evaluation of it.

"Come, come, have some tea. You have refined taste, little brother. How come I've never seen you before?"

The old man personally handed Zhao Ke a cup of tea, making the other cooks in the kitchen green with envy.

Their master had been in the Bai Family for at least three or four hundred years. He was said to be a cook, but no one knew exactly what his true identity was.

Some rumors claimed he had originally been an elder of the Bai Family. Others said he had been the spirit medium of the Bai Family's first generation.

But aside from the old man himself, no one could say for sure who he was anymore. Even the Bai Family's stewards would warmly address him as Master whenever they saw him.

In any case, after following the old man in the kitchen for so long, they had never seen him treat anyone so warmly aside from the Bai Family's young lady.

Zhao Ke accepted the tea and took a sip at his lips. It smelled fragrant, but it was cold and bitter in his mouth, like spoiled tea that had been left sitting for days.

Watching the old man take small sips of his tea with an expression of great satisfaction, Zhao Ke could not help but wonder, Could it be... because I'm alive?

The more Zhao Ke considered it, the more plausible it seemed. Whether it was Cui Lan, the sweet-and-sour pork he had just tasted, or the tea in his hand, everything made him feel utterly out of place here.

In the end, it was because he was a living person. Everything in the underworld felt icy cold whenever he touched it.

At that thought, Zhao Ke glanced at the flames on the stove, and an idea sprang into his mind. Turning back to the old man, he said, "My master only entered the Bai Family today and has not yet completed the seven-day initiation, so naturally you have not seen me before."

"Oh, oh, oh! So today's wedding feast was held for your household." The old man nodded repeatedly, and his gaze toward Zhao Ke gained another measure of goodwill.

"To be honest, sir, your sweet-and-sour pork truly is extraordinary. It is an honor for this junior to taste such a dish. How about I make a dish for you to try as well?"

"You?"

The old man looked Zhao Ke up and down, curiosity appearing in his eyes. He immediately nodded in agreement, following Zhao Ke to the stove and standing nearby to watch.

"Little brother, what ingredients do you need? I'll have them prepare them for you."

Hearing that, Zhao Ke looked at the remaining basin of ho fun on the table. Raising a brow, he said, "This will do."

"Ho fun?"

Seeing that Zhao Ke had chosen only ho fun, the surrounding cooks immediately looked somewhat disappointed. They could not imagine what sort of tricks he could make with a basin of rice noodles.

The old man, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes and stood behind Zhao Ke, eagerly anticipating what he would do next.

Of course, he also wanted to find fault with him. No matter how straightforward the old man might be, being challenged for no reason still did not look good, and he inevitably wanted to win back some face.

However, the little hope in the old man's heart was swiftly dashed. Zhao Ke picked up a kitchen knife, and bang, bang, bang... The blade moved swiftly through his hands, slicing and carving. A peony sculpted from a radish rapidly took shape.

That knife work alone left the old man secretly astonished. If even he felt that way, the other cooks needed no mention.

A cook's skill could often be judged from knife work alone. The little dissatisfaction they had felt toward Zhao Ke completely vanished the moment he made his move.

Sizzle...

He stir-fried over a roaring flame. With a flip of hot oil, flames instantly surged up from the wok, and the blast of heat made the surrounding cooks quickly step back.

Just as I thought!

Zhao Ke's heart tightened. Faced with the flames rising from the wok, he did not feel hot at all. Instead, he felt a cold wind sweep over him, making him shiver as goosebumps rose on his arms.

It was not just the fire. Even the oil already ignited in the wok was the same. Zhao Ke quickly flicked a drop onto his hand with a ladle, yet he could not feel even the slightest warmth.

It seems everything in the underworld is completely opposite to the world of the living.

Zhao Ke steadied himself. Although he could not sense the heat or temperature, it did not hinder his cooking. On the contrary, it gave him an entirely new experience.

He deliberately turned the heat to its highest setting, added the ingredients he had prepared, and began stir-frying rapidly. Relying on the aroma rising from the wok, Zhao Ke could still accurately judge the heat.

Salt, vinegar, sesame oil—he added the seasonings and stir-fried everything. It looked almost no different from ordinary fried ho fun, but then Zhao Ke lowered the flame and added more ingredients, mixing in the beef from a nearby plate before stir-frying it again.

Then Zhao Ke stirred the contents with his chopsticks. The ho fun wrapped around the beef and rolled into flower-like coils, which he placed onto a plate.

"The beef seems a little raw!"

Before the old man could speak, the other cooks nearby could not help reminding him. Though the beef had been stir-fried once, Zhao Ke had likely cooked it to only thirty percent doneness.

Zhao Ke ignored the cooks' reminder. He took a bottle of Maotai from his storage ring, drizzled it over the ho fun, and lit the Maotai with his hand. A wisp of pure blue flame immediately rose from the plate.

As the flame burned, the ho fun on the plate rapidly tightened. The beef wrapped within it was immediately squeezed, forcing out golden oil that released the beef's distinctive aroma as it roasted.

"Volcanic Beef Ho Fun. Please offer your guidance."

Zhao Ke gave a slight bow, inviting the old man to taste it.

"Not bad! You used liquor for the final heating, bringing out the meat's aroma while preserving the texture of both the meat and ho fun. The younger generation truly inspires awe."

Though the old man had not personally tasted it, Zhao Ke's technique had already given him a rough idea. He could not help nodding in praise.

"I'm short an assistant here. Would you be willing to help me out, little brother? Of course, I won't have you work for nothing. Serve as my sous-chef here, and you'll receive a monthly stipend."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, Zhao Ke received a prompt by his ear.

You have obtained an extended quest: Kitchen Assistant

Hint: Working as an assistant under Ghost Chef King will earn you decent benefits, as well as a certain status and standing within the Bai Family.

Quest requirement: Prepare one main dish every day. It must receive Ghost Chef King's approval, or the quest will fail.

Upon receiving the quest prompt, Zhao Ke raised a brow and half-squinted at the old man before him. This three-foot-tall fellow was clearly the Ghost Chef King mentioned in the quest.

Zhao Ke did not agree immediately. Instead, he held up a finger and said, "Fine, but my stipend must be paid daily!"

This main quest only lasted seven days. Though he did not know what a monthly stipend entailed, he obviously could not wait that long.

If that was not possible, Zhao Ke would rather abandon this quest and look elsewhere.

"Fine!"

To Zhao Ke's surprise, the old man agreed without a moment's hesitation. He casually handed Zhao Ke a bag and said, "Then you can start today. This is today's stipend."

Zhao Ke took the bag and looked inside. It contained a stack of ghost money and several gold ingots. His mouth twitched, and regret filled his heart. He had miscalculated.

Not only were these things useless to him here, even if he took them back, they would merely be a pile of spirit money. What use were they?

However, he had already nodded in agreement, so Zhao Ke could not openly go back on his word. He could only accept the job.

"I only arrived today and still have things to settle. I'll come back tomorrow."

"Fine, fine, fine. This is the kitchen token. Take it."

The old man handed Zhao Ke a waist token. Zhao Ke took it and examined it. Though it appeared to be forged from gold, it was very light in his hand.

Putting away the token, Zhao Ke rose and took his leave.

"Master Dian, this man's cooking may be good, but he uses far too much oil. Look... more than half the oil is gone."

One of the cooks carried over the basin of oil Zhao Ke had just used and complained to the old man.

"It's not that he used too much oil. It's that this dish consumes too much oil. Bring it here."

The old man had the cook bring the oil basin before him. He grabbed the braid at the back of his head and gave it a hard tug. Rip... A crack split open from his forehead. He lowered his head over the oil basin, and a stream of yellowish-green oil poured from his skull into it.

There are still two more updates tonight. I'm going to take off my makeup, then I'll be right back to write.