The Mysterious Chef

"Everything has a weak point. If the blade falls in the right place and the technique is correct, even a sheet of paper can kill someone instantly!"

"The Art of Slaughter is about finding the weak points in ingredients and breaking them down with the least amount of force!"

As Chu Feng spoke, he found the point where the spine connected and gently flicked his wrist several times. The half side of pork that had given Chen Shi Tou such a headache was instantly broken down into several portions.

His movements were light and graceful, as smooth as drifting clouds and flowing water. Chen Shi Tou watched, utterly amazed and filled with admiration.

"Wow! Master, you're incredible!"

Chen Shi Tou clapped and cheered. He had been busy for most of the day, and the cleaver in his hand had been dulled from chopping, yet he had only managed to break down a few pieces.

Unlike Chu Feng, who had completed the task in the time it took to breathe.

Chu Feng smiled. "Remember the trick and study hard. You'll learn it soon enough."

After finishing the lesson, Chu Feng asked, "Shi Tou, where around here can we find an empty house?"

The conditions in the restaurant's communal bunkroom were too harsh. With his current strength and finances, there was no need for him to deliberately suffer hardship.

"I'm not sure about the places around here either, but we can look for a rental agent. They'll definitely know where we can rent a house."

When he heard that Chu Feng wanted to rent a house, Chen Shi Tou was delighted as well. His own home was near Hongyun Restaurant.

He had stayed in the communal bunkroom the previous night solely to build a relationship with Chu Feng, and he had originally thought it would take a long time.

But who could have expected that after just one night, Chu Feng would truly become his master?

"As long as there's a small place where I can sleep in peace, that's enough. We'll go take a look after work." Chu Feng's demands were not high. He only wanted a quiet place where he could be alone.

"All right, Master..."

Master Li was working up a storm. When he saw Chu Feng and Chen Shi Tou chatting and laughing, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Chen Shi Tou, pick out a river fish and bring it over to me."

When Chen Shi Tou heard Master Li, he looked up at Chu Feng and made a gesture asking for permission.

He was a clever man. Between the head chef in charge and the master he had just acknowledged, his master was naturally more important.

"Go ahead. While you're at it, watch how Master Li cooks. A butcher can never be as appealing as a chef..."

Chu Feng had no particular thoughts about it. His goal was the peak of the martial path, and he had no time to bother with the petty schemes in this kitchen.

"Coming right up..." Seeing that his master did not mind, Chen Shi Tou happily went to help.

He had wanted to acknowledge Master Li as his master before, but unfortunately, the other man had never thought much of him.

Who would have thought that after becoming Chu Feng's disciple, Master Li would actually take the initiative to ask him for help? Chen Shi Tou instantly felt as though he had finally held his head high.

Master Li naturally noticed Chen Shi Tou's subtle expression. He snorted coldly but said nothing.

Before this, Chen Shi Tou had always hovered around him, and he had never cared in the slightest.

But seeing the person who had once fawned over him now circling someone else every day made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

When Chen Shi Tou pulled a plump river fish from the tank, Chu Feng suddenly spoke up.

"Chef Li, how about I help you?"

Master Li was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Chu Feng to take the initiative to curry favor with him.

Yes.

In his eyes, that was exactly what Chu Feng's behavior amounted to: currying favor.

Though he felt somewhat pleased inside, he still nodded coldly, his face revealing nothing.

Chu Feng paid no attention to what the other man was thinking. His eyes held only longevity—that was the foundation of his martial path.

He took the river fish, and with a flash of the knife, he bled it, removed its gills, and scraped off its scales. His movements flowed like clouds and water, pleasing to the eye.

He scored the fish with decorative cuts and, while he was at it, shaped it into an elegant form.

[Slaughtered river fish, obtained 20 days of lifespan.]

Chu Feng smiled faintly. No matter how small the mosquito, it was still meat.

At this moment, he was somewhat troubled. No matter how popular a restaurant was, the amount of meat it consumed was still extremely limited.

How could he obtain more livestock? If only all the meat consumed by the people in the entire city could be slaughtered by him.

Unfortunately, that goal was destined to be difficult to achieve.

Chu Feng's knife skills left Chen Shi Tou applauding in astonishment. He had never seen such beautiful and fluid knife work.

Even Master Li was far inferior when killing fish.

Chen Shi Tou became all the more certain that acknowledging Chu Feng as his master had been the right choice.

"Master Li, does the way I handled it meet your requirements?" Chu Feng asked with a smile.

"Passable." A strange glint flashed through Master Li's eyes, but he pretended to speak casually.

He knew very well that for an ordinary butcher to possess such exquisite skills was something seen only once in ten thousand.

Someone with knife skills like that was most likely a martial artist.

But when he saw Chu Feng's thin, undersized body and his completely relaxed state, he could not detect the slightest sign that he knew martial arts.

Master Li suddenly said out of the blue, "Master Chu, to be honest, I once stayed in Qingyan City for some time. How is it that I've never heard of a place called Peach Blossom Town?"

Chu Feng's heart jolted. What did that old fellow go there for?

His expression remained unchanged as he said, "Peach Blossom Town is in a remote area and has only a few dozen households. It's normal that you haven't heard of it, Master Li."

"Oh, I see." Master Li neither confirmed nor denied it, but he did not continue questioning him.

He simply took the fish meat Chu Feng handed over and placed it in the hot pan to fry.

Only then did Chu Feng discover, to his shock, that all five fingers on Master Li's left and right hands had been severed. Each finger had once had three sections, but only two remained. The fingertip segments, along with the nails, had vanished completely.

All that remained were five round knobs of flesh, which looked comical and somewhat bizarre!

He had been too far away before to notice. Now that he looked closely, this chef was strange in every way.

Chu Feng carefully observed this famous chef whom Hongyun Restaurant had spent a fortune to hire.

He was broad and fat, no different from an ordinary chef.

His chubby, round face should have looked kind, yet it always carried a trace of feigned indifference, as though he were constantly determined to keep everyone at arm's length.

Chu Feng immediately determined that the other man was definitely not an ordinary chef.

However, he did not ask any further. Superficial acquaintances did not warrant deep words, just as the other man had questioned him earlier without probing too deeply.

Chu Feng likewise had no intention of investigating the other man's background.

And so they busied themselves through the mealtime rush until the customers had left.

After finishing a day's work, Chen Shi Tou took Chu Feng to find a rental agent in Yong'an City.

The man was around fifty years old, with graying hair, but he was full of energy and walked with a vigorous stride.

"Looking to rent a residence?"

"Yes, old sir."

"Long-term or short-term?"

"Long-term."

After learning what they needed, the rental agent led them to the southern corner of the city. After several twists and turns, they arrived in front of an old courtyard.

It was an old house.

There was only one main room, surrounded by mud walls barely five feet high. Standing on tiptoe, one could see the withered peach tree in the courtyard.

From the looks of it, no one had lived there for many years.

The dilapidated courtyard gate hung crookedly, as if it would collapse with a single gust of wind.

Even Chen Shi Tou could not stand the state of disrepair. "Master, this house is far too run-down. Why don't we look elsewhere?"

"No need. This one will do." Chu Feng did not want to waste time looking for a house.

Besides, given his current identity, living in a house like this was just right. If it were too nice, it might instead arouse suspicion.

One had to know that Chu Feng still had dozens of lives from the Fang family hanging over his head!

Seeing Chu Feng agree, the rental agent was delighted. "Thirty copper coins a month. If you want to live here, you'll have to pay a year's rent up front."

Chu Feng paid the money. The rental agent handed him the key and left happily.

Afterward, master and disciple began tidying the house.

The key to the door lock given by the rental agent was covered in rust and could no longer be used. Chu Feng had no choice but to kick open the already tottering courtyard gate and begin a thorough cleaning.

He repaired the shabby wooden door so that it could barely be used.

After clearing the weeds from the courtyard and giving the room a simple cleaning, the sky had already turned pitch-black.

While the two were cleaning, they were surprised to see Master Li walking over with a roast chicken in his left hand and a jar of Huadiao wine in his right.

The other man was clearly startled as well when he discovered Chu Feng and Chen Shi Tou.

He said coldly, "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm just me. Who else could I be?" Chu Feng replied, puzzled.

"If this wasn't premeditated, why would you happen to rent a place near my home?" Master Li turned his gaze toward Chen Shi Tou, his face black as the bottom of a pot.

"Master Li, I really didn't know your home was here!"

Chen Shi Tou was stunned as well. He truly had not known where Master Li lived.

Ever since he had been rejected after trying to acknowledge Master Li as his master, he had given up on the idea. Otherwise, he would not have honestly gone to work as a waiter.