Inside the kitchen of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's residence in Heaven Dou City.
A pungent smell seeped through the crack beneath the tightly shut door. It was so strong it seemed almost solid, condensing in the air into a faint yellow haze visible to the naked eye.
Several chefs stood in the courtyard, covering their mouths and noses, their faces turning green.
"Holy crap..." A young chef took a deep breath, then choked and burst into violent coughing. "Cough, cough, cough! What's the Second Young Master doing in there? Boiling shit?"
"Hard to say." An older chef picked up the conversation, his brows furrowed. "Boiled shit doesn't smell this strong. This is way worse."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The young chef looked at him suspiciously. "Have you boiled shit before?"
"You wouldn't understand." The older chef waved a hand, wearing an inscrutable expression. "I once made a special kind of fermented bean drink. It smelled a little like this, but it wasn't nearly so strong."
"This stuff is beyond the realm of human understanding."
He glanced around and lowered his voice.
"And this morning, I saw the Second Young Master bring back a jar of tadpoles. He was muttering things to the jar like 'essence of life' and 'natural cultures.' He was acting all mysterious."
"Tadpoles?" Another chef couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"If you ask me," the older chef continued, "the Second Young Master is probably making some kind of poison, trying to kill someone."
"What normal person would boil tadpoles together with something like that?"
They exchanged glances, deeply convinced.
Just then—
"Creak."
The kitchen door swung open. They instantly snapped to attention, eyes fixed straight ahead, acting as if nothing had happened.
Yu Xiaogang stepped out, carrying a sealed thermos in one