Ashen Wasteland: A Feast for the Senses

With the Horned Python gone, even a bottom-feeder like Big Black Fish dared sneak into its territory to snatch fruit. The stronger magical beasts certainly wouldn't hold back.

The Ashen Wasteland was about to descend into chaos.

Now was the right time to leave. Profiting from the chaos was all well and good, but only if you survived it.

Kru Town was three days from the Ashen Wasteland by Starhorn Horse, so they still had to camp outdoors.

When they made camp that night, they built a fire as usual and cooked soup and roast meat. A hot meal would help everyone sleep more comfortably.

Ye Chuqi watched the small pot over the fire. Fresh Mushroom Soup bubbled inside it, while fresh magical beast meat roasted over another fire nearby. Coke turned the meat with care, sprinkling on spices now and then so the flavor would soak in.

It tasted quite good, really. Both the soup and the roast meat went well with the rye bread, fragrant with wheat. Coke was a fine cook.

For travelers in a resource-poor place like the Ashen Wasteland, they were eating well. Still, Ye Chuqi found the meals a little monotonous. Even Jun Ruofeng, who cared deeply about the finer things in life, looked miserable after days of roast meat and Mushroom Soup. Neither his rich black tea nor his delicate pastries could lift his mood.

There was fruit after dinner, too. The fruit served to Jun Ruofeng had even been thoughtfully cut into bite-sized pieces. It looked juicy and tempting.

But Ye Chuqi couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. As a proud child of a nation that took food seriously, she had always been firm in her pursuit of good meals. She could make do when circumstances demanded it, though.

Was there anything wrong with trying to improve her quality of life? Not at all.

Just look at Jun Ruofeng.

Jun Ruofeng felt someone watching him. The gaze came from Ye Chuqi's bright, lovely eyes, but it still made him uncomfortable.

As soon as their eyes met, Ye Chuqi sidled over to Coke. After a long stretch of whispering, she managed to talk him into lending her a set of cooking utensils. His kit was rudimentary, just a few basic tools and pots and bowls, but it would do.

She had bought plenty of magical beast meat back at the Adventurers' Camp. She wanted to try cooking some herself.

Coke was good at roasting meat, but that was the only way he prepared it. He roasted large slabs, then cut them into pieces to share. Ye Chuqi always found the texture a little odd, though the heavy spices made it hard to notice. No one else minded. It was the flavor they were used to, and Coke did it better than most.

She got some spices from Coke and found others in Xiya's Alchemy room. It was only after visiting Xiya's Alchemy workshop in the Magic Tent that Ye Chuqi learned how strange the ingredients for Healing Potions could be. There were powders made from all kinds of herbs, but also magical beast parts and pieces of certain insects.

Ye Chuqi had gone pale at the sight. She had encountered plenty of strange ingredients in the Cultivation World, stranger ones still, but those glass jars full of insects had left her shaken.

As she explored the Alchemy room, she found something interesting: many of the powdered ingredients could be used as seasonings. Once Xiya confirmed that they were harmless and wouldn't cause any strange toxic reactions when mixed, Ye Chuqi confidently asked her for a little of each.

She wanted Red-Braised Pork.

She happened to have a beautifully marbled cut of magical beast meat. It had been thoroughly drained of blood, leaving almost no bloody smell. Coke had said the meat was tender and delicious, good for soup but unsuitable for roasting.

Ye Chuqi wanted to tell him that of course it wouldn't suit his way of roasting. But grilled pork belly was unbeatable!

Chapter 10: Ashen Wasteland: A Feast for the Senses

At first, Ye Chuqi simply crouched in a corner, tending a fire she had built herself. Everyone was busy, so no one paid her much attention. Then an indescribable scent drifted over. It took them a moment to realize what it was: an aroma unlike anything they had ever smelled.

Aside from Xiya and Coke, the only person in the group who knew Ye Chuqi well was Ed. After all, they had become acquainted through a fight.

The moment Ed caught the scent, he hurried over to Ye Chuqi's fire. He could see what she was doing, but the assortment of things laid out there left him baffled.

"What are you doing?" Ed was only in his early twenties, the youngest on the team. As a gifted member of the Elite Group, he usually put on an air of maturity to seem more imposing. Only now did he look his age.

Ye Chuqi turned and stared at him until the young man began to feel uneasy. "Wh-what?"

Ye Chuqi glanced toward Coke to give Ed a hint. Coke was handing out roast meat and Mushroom Soup. Everyone could help themselves to the fruit and bread on the table, and there was fragrant ale and Stout beside them.

The look in Ye Chuqi's eyes plainly asked, Aren't you going to eat dinner? Ed understood, but he was too curious about what she was making. What was simmering in that ordinary-looking pot, and why did it smell so good?

A lively curiosity had always been one of Ed's strengths.

But he had missed Ye Chuqi's preparations, and the pot was covered now. He had no idea what was inside.

Ed stayed put, and Ye Chuqi ignored him. She looked toward Coke's table and considered the drinks there. Ale and Stout were brewed from grain. Could she try adding some? She had gathered spices that came close to most of the flavors she needed, but she had no convenient cooking wine, or yellow wine to bring out the meat's savoriness.

Ale was sweet, though, and Stout was bitter. Would either taste strange as a seasoning? She still hadn't found anything to replace chilies, either. Something felt missing.