That furtive figure, that two-legged cat—who else could it be but that Shameless Cat?
Yang Zhen's face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly said to Wanru, " Wanru Sister Wanru, I'll go to the kitchen first to check it out and familiarize myself with the environment. Don't worry, with me here, you can eat as much mala tang as you want. Actually, mala tang isn't just for meat; you can cook any kind of spiritual ingredient in it."
As he spoke, Yang Zhen walked towards the kitchen. After entering, he slammed the kitchen door shut, leaving a group of dumbfounded people who exclaimed in surprise and rushed back to the hot pot.
So... you can cook anything in a hot pot?
After entering the kitchen, Yang Zhen sensed that no one had followed him and immediately felt relieved. He then shouted behind the stove, "You Shameless Cat, get out here for this Sage of Saunter!"
The Shameless Cat let out a soft "Ooh!" A clanging sound came from behind the stove, and soon its head popped out. Seeing Yang Zhen, its eyes lit up with joy, and it exclaimed, "Kid, it really is you!"
As he spoke, the Shameless Cat walked towards Yang Zhen, rubbing his hands together and saying, "I knew it! That's why I suddenly smelled such an incredibly delicious aroma. Who else in the world could make such a delicacy besides you? Quick, take me to eat! My mouth has been so bland these past few days!"
Yang Zhen picked up the Shameless Cat and said, "What are you doing in the kitchen? Where are the girls? Aren't they with you?"
The Shameless Cat chuckled, slowly licking its tail fur on Yang Zhen's shoulder. Hearing this, it glanced at Yang Zhen and said, "Don't worry, the girls are fine. It's just that the situation is a bit complicated right now, and we'll have to stay here for a while longer."
"Stay for a while?" Yang Zhen was taken aback. "Are you qualified to attend that old palace maid's birthday celebration?"
The Shameless Cat said smugly, "Of course! Now, the three of us—the little girl, the Flirtatious Chicken, and that little girl from Ink Pool Peak— are together. And now that the people from Ink Pool Peak are here too, we're not only attending the birthday celebration, but we're also honored guests!"
Yang Zhen, with a face full of utter disapproval, said, "You are honored guests, but this Sage of Saunter is not qualified to attend this damn birthday celebration. No way, this Sage of Saunter is not happy. Go back and tell the girl that this Sage of Saunter is here, but this Sage of Saunter cannot see her yet."
"Why?" The Shameless Cat looked at Yang Zhen blankly and said, "You don't even qualify to participate in the conference, what are you doing here?"
Yang Zhen curled his lip and said, "Who cares about that stupid conference? This Sage of Saunter is now a culinary god. Let me tell you, just now, this Sage of Saunter became a glorious head chef in the Spirit Learning Palace's kitchen, and is now a person of status and position."
The Shameless Cat stared blankly at Yang Zhen, then a look of excitement flashed in its eyes, and it quickly asked, "How is it? Is it fun here? I'm not going back to be some honored guest anymore, it's so boring. It's not as comfortable as staying in the kitchen. Now that you're the boss here, this Sage of Saunter can eat whatever he wants!"
Yang Zhen shook his head and said, "No, your appearance is too unusual. If someone notices you even slightly, you'll be exposed. You'd better go back and tell the little girl. By the way, what's the deal with the Forbidden Zone of Life? I heard something has changed?"
"I've only heard that some time ago, someone was at the edge of the Forbidden Zone of Life and heard roars and howls coming from inside, suspecting that some kind of change had occurred inside!" The Shameless Cat scoffed and cursed, "Damn it, what kind of change could there be in a place like the Forbidden Zone of Life? Roars and howls? What kind of ferocious beast could survive in there? That person must have misheard."
Yang Zhen looked at the Shameless Cat suspiciously and asked, "Is the Forbidden Zone of Life really that terrifying?"
"It's more terrifying than you can imagine. Even the little girl is afraid to go in easily now. She plans to go with Ink Pool Peak and some disciples from the Spirit Learning Palace to see what's going on before making any decisions."
The Shameless Cat looked at Yang Zhen and asked, "Are you really not coming with us?"
Yang Zhen pursed her lips and said, "What's the point of going with you guys? I'm having a great time here, so I'm not going. Oh, and don't forget to let me know when you're leaving."
The Shameless Cat nodded, staring intently at Yang Zhen, and said, "What delicious food have you gotten out there? Go and get some for me!"
Yang Zhen slapped him across the face and said, "I'll eat you to death sooner or later. If you want to eat, go get it yourself. This God of Cookery needs to familiarize himself with the environment."
The Shameless Cat let out a strange screech and said, "What's so familiar about this place? There's just a little bit of food. Oh, by the way, at the birthday celebration, will I be able to eat anything you made?"
"Of course you can eat it!" Yang Zhen glanced at the Shameless Cat, waved his hand, and said, "I'm going back now."
"Go back? Go back for what?" The Shameless Cat stared at Yang Zhen with a completely bewildered look, its eyes almost popping out of their sockets. "You really want to go back and be a cook?"
Yang Zhen scoffed and said, "What's wrong with being a chef? A good chef isn't someone who doesn't aspire to be the Pirate King or the Sage of Saunter. You're Shameless Cat; you still have a long way to go to reach my level. You'll have to learn from this slowly here."
Clang!
Yang Zhen closed the kitchen door, leaving the bewildered Shameless Cat standing there, muttering to itself, "Damn it, I can understand Pirate King, but what the hell is this Naruto?"
Just then, Yang Zhen's cheerful voice came from outside the door. "Ladies, who wants to eat anything? I'll make you some noodles, okay?"
"Good!"
A group of beautiful women spoke in unison!
For the next two days, Yang Zhen thoroughly enjoyed the treatment of a celebrity. However, the situation of being chased by young ladies to eat Yang Zhen's Yang Zhen body was extremely annoying to him. Fortunately, the birthday celebration was about to begin.
Early that morning, Wanru rushed into the kitchen, grabbed Yang Zhen's hand without saying a word, and left. Yang Zhen was eating the fried dough sticks she had just "invented" when Wanru snatched them away and ate them in a few bites.
"Hurry up, or we'll be late," Wanru said indistinctly, her mouth stuffed full of fried dough sticks, her face bulging out.
Yang Zhen followed Wanru out in surprise, just in time to run into Hu Tao who had just come in.
"What are you going to do?" Hu Tao asked curiously.
Wanru stuffing a huge fried dough stick into her mouth, she pulled Hu Tao up and said, "Hurry up, the birthday celebration is about to begin. The old palace master specifically requested hot pot, and we're all already overwhelmed with work."
Yang Zhen exclaimed "Oh dear!" and hurriedly pulled the two women to walk even faster. "Hurry, the birthday celebration is important, let's not waste any more time."
And so, Yang Zhen swaggered into the birthday celebration. Not only did no one stop him, but people kept urging Yang Zhen to make arrangements quickly, as people would be coming in soon.
After arranging everything, Yang Zhen sat down to the side, picked up an apple and took a bite. Watching everyone busy at work, he felt a mixture of timidity and carefree ease.
Damn it, it's much more comfortable this way. Those people invited by the old palace master still have to behave properly. How can a cook be as free as him?
The birthday celebration was held on a mountaintop, where various buildings stood side by side, beautiful and magnificent. The environment was so pleasant that Yang Zhen felt drowsy until he saw two familiar figures walking up.
" Yang Zhen?" Su Yunlan's eyes widened as she looked at Yang Zhen, who was dressed as a chef, and asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
Beside Su Yunlan, Tian Rou stared blankly at Yang Zhen, clearly not expecting Yang Zhen to dress like that, not to mention the even more surprised Senior Sister Ding beside her.
Yang Zhen pulled Su Yunlan and Tian Rou aside by the hands and whispered, "Shh, you two, don't make a sound. This ' Sage of Saunter' is now Yang Dingtian, and is a proud head chef in the Spirit Learning Palace's kitchen."
Senior Sister Ding stared blankly at Yang Zhen, barely suppressing a laugh, then turned to Su Yunlan and said, "Junior Sister Yunlan, is this what you meant by him? He definitely has a way to get in?"
Before Su Yunlan could speak, Senior Sister Ding's expression suddenly changed. She turned to look at Yang Zhen and said excitedly, "What did you say you were called now?"