An Unreasonable Request, the Water-Repelling Pearl

Although Qingqiu Chen tried his best to slow down and make his manners more elegant, the speed at which he finished a plate of Little Crispy Fish still exceeded Wu Chu's expectations.

Wu Chu ate slowly, and after finishing half of the plate of Little Crispy Fish, he saw Qingqiu Chen take out a silk handkerchief and slowly wipe the corner of his mouth.

When he met Wu Chu's gaze, Qingqiu Chen coughed slightly, a little embarrassed, "Please forgive my poor fellow Daoist, I have truly never tasted such delicious fish before."

Wu Chu believed this claim.

If one doesn't understand the Dao of Cuisine, even Primordial World the primitive era of the primordial world where people drank blood and lived on mushrooms, it would be impossible for fish to become so delicious, even if there were immortals or powerful beings.

Unless one uses Illusion Technique to transform the stench of the food into a delicious dish in their imagination.

Wu Chu smiled, and then heard Qingqiu Chen say, "This humble Daoist has a request."

Wu Chu, who had been laughing, suddenly couldn't laugh anymore. He hated hearing these kinds of "unreasonable requests" the most, as they often put people in a difficult position.

"I wonder if you would be willing to impart this technique to me, my friend? I would like to exchange this Water-Repelling Pearl for it." Qingqiu Chen took out a fist-sized, light blue bead with fine, almost imperceptible patterns on its surface, making it look quite mysterious.

"This bead was taken from a Mirage Demon. Although it's only a low-grade Spirit Treasure, it allows those who know nothing about water magic to move freely in the water. Furthermore, this bead has another wondrous use: it possesses an Illusion Technique, requiring only a single wisp of magical power..."

As Qingqiu Chen spoke, he channeled his magical power into the bead, saying, "Fellow Daoist, please watch!"

Suddenly, the Main Hall transformed into an underwater coral reef, where all sorts of fish swam leisurely. If you weren't paying attention, you might really think you were in the magnificent underwater world!

However, this kind of Illusion Technique looks beautiful, but it's actually pretty useless.

What's truly useful is its ability to repel water.

Although he secretly desired it, Wu Chu shook his head and said, "Qingqiu, there's no need for that. The Cooking Dao is a minor skill. If you wish to learn, I will teach you. Why exchange it for something? That is not the way of friendship!"

It's only natural to be polite. Besides, if we don't accept anything, we can just teach him casually and get by. But if we do accept something, what if this old fox doesn't have any culinary talent? Wouldn't he have to stay here for ages?

Wu Chu wished he would get out of here immediately!

Of course, it would be even better if the other party were willing to exchange their weapon-refining skills. However, Wu Chu dared not bring up this, and instead took the opportunity to discuss weapon-refining methods with the old fox.

He knew nothing about weapon crafting, so he decided to avoid further complications.

Qingqiu Chen dispelled his Illusion Technique, sending the Water-Repelling Pearl through the air to Wu Chu's face. He smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, Dao Heart. However, if you refuse, I will feel uneasy. If I am uneasy, my Dao will waver, which will be of no benefit to my cultivation. I hope you will not refuse again!"

Wu Chu sighed inwardly, feeling a little annoyed that Little Moon Spirit was being nosy and showing off her cooking skills. But soon, he realized that it seemed he was the Little Moon Spirit to fry the Little Crispy Fish.

Alas! It's true what they say, "He who lifts a rock only to drop it on his own foot."

Wu Chu wanted to slap himself, but in the end he reached out and took the Water-Repelling Pearl.

Fortunately, the Water-Repelling Pearl wasn't as heavy as he had imagined. Although it felt quite heavy in his hand, he could lift it without any difficulty.

Little Moon Spirit looked at the bead curiously, and Wu Chu casually handed it to her.

"I have accepted Qingqiu's invitation." Wu Chu wore a wry smile, as if blaming Qingqiu Chen for being so polite.

But what he really wanted to say was: Why are you making such a fuss?

"Thank you, fellow Daoist!" Qingqiu Chen smiled and bowed.

Wu Chu returned the greeting and said, "However, Qingqiu, please don't have too high expectations. I've only recently figured out the Cooking Dao. I've been discussing it with Ling'er for a while, and we don't know many dishes yet. Everything is still in the exploratory stage."

Qingqiu Chen waved his hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright. I'll learn as much as you can, fellow Daoist. In fact, this dish alone will greatly benefit the younger generation of my clan!"

Wu Chu nodded slightly, and then asked, "By the way, I also have some questions for you, fellow Daoist. I wonder if you have ever seen such agricultural products in your Qingqiu?"

Wu Chu gestured to Little Moon Spirit, who then took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Wu Chu. Wu Chu took the paper and went to Qingqiu Chen.

Little Moon Spirit curiously followed along, and Qingqiu Yu quietly moved over as well. The two little ones looked at each other, smiled with narrowed eyes, and understood everything without saying a word.

Looking at the thin piece of paper, Qingqiu Chen asked curiously, "What is this?"

"Oh! This is paper, used for writing and drawing. The things drawn on it are some crops. I have seen them before, but that place is in the south, too far from here, and it is difficult to go back and get them in a short time. I would like to ask, in your Qingqiu, have you seen such crops?"

Out of curiosity, Qingqiu Chen gently twisted the paper, and a tear appeared in Xuan Paper. He looked at Wu Chu somewhat embarrassedly.

Wu Chu chuckled, "It's alright. This thing is inherently fragile, but it's convenient for writing, and it has quite a few uses." As he spoke, he pointed to one of the crops, "This thing, I call it rice, it grows in water... This thing is called Wheat, its awns are like needles... This thing, I call it soybean, its flesh is golden yellow... Don't you have any of these?"

Qingqiu Chen shook his head and smiled wryly, "I have never seen any of the crops you mentioned, perhaps I have never paid attention to them before! However, there are quite a few lotus flowers in the Great Marsh outside my Qingqiu, and there is also a plant that looks like this..."

As he spoke, he pointed to another aquatic plant drawn on the paper, "This thing looks a bit like a reed. I saw it once when I was young, but it doesn't taste very good, so I didn't pay much attention to it."

Eating it raw is definitely not tasty!

Wu Chu silently complained to himself, then pretended his eyes lit up. Actually, he didn't need to do it on purpose, because he was genuinely tempted.

"This is a good thing! It's called wild rice (菰), and its rootstock produces a cone-shaped stem. This stem can be used to stir-fry meat..."

Speaking of this, Little Moon Spirit and Qingqiu Yu, who were peeking curiously from the side, couldn't help but swallow, looking like little foodies.

"After this plant matures, it will produce fruit in spikes. After removing the shell, the fruit inside is long and black, and can also be steamed or boiled for consumption..."

That's wild rice, also known as Jiao Rice. However, most people eat Zizania Latifolia, while Jiao Rice is less commonly consumed.

Although he wished the old fox would get lost, Wu Chu was still quite happy to have learned about Zizania Latifolia chestnuts from him. Next time he came, he could ask him to bring some over. Of course, this also made Wu Chu quite conflicted, since he was a fake expert, and if he had too much contact with him, he would inevitably reveal his flaws.

Oh dear! How did things turn out this way?

Wu Chu belatedly wondered if he had done something stupid again.