"Hey, hey, you still have time to watch the drama at a moment like this?" Xiangling complained, hands on her hips.
"Speaking of which, who's the person you tied up? I can't believe Senior Tang Hao and she are married."
"Huh, that uncle's name is Tang Hao? What a coincidence," Shen Luolun said, a little surprised.
Yinyue = A-Yin, and they were married too.
666, all the elements were there.
A "protagonist" wasn't going to pop up, was he?
"What's a coincidence?" Lumine came over, pulled out a handful of popcorn, and started munching with relish.
"This woman is Yinyue, a member of the Treasure Hoarders. We happened to catch her robbing and murdering people, so we captured her. Once we're done here, I plan to hand her over to the Millelith for trial," Shen Luolun said.
"Oh, so that's the kind of person she is." Lumine's favorability dropped by 100, and she immediately lost interest.
The Treasure Hoarders were no good, and being put on trial was exactly what Yinyue deserved.
The only interesting thing was her relationship with Tang Hao.
Xiangling exclaimed, "Senior Tang Hao's... wife is a Treasure Hoarder?"
How had both husband and wife ended up on a path of no return?
"Alas, what a troubled fate."
"There's no need to pity them. When they made their choices, they should have been prepared to pay the price," Shen Luolun said calmly.
"By the way, Xiangling, can you tell me exactly what happened here earlier?"
Lumine's account had been brief, and he was quite curious about the full story of what had happened at the restaurant.
Xiangling nodded.
"Mm, here's what happened..."
Inside the restaurant, Xiangling and Tang Hao had held a cooking duel. Each had to eat everything the other made, then give the other a score. Whoever scored higher would win.
The duel was a serious test of character. If either side deliberately gave a low score, that side would win.
Neither Xiangling nor Tang Hao would stoop to underhanded methods. The culinary path was a contest of skill, not trickery, and a victory won through such despicable means brought only shame.
They both valued a chef's honor highly and respected each other's culinary path. Even as bitter rivals, they would give each other an absolutely honest evaluation.
Tang Hao had used all his skill to make the most perfect Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles. After eating them, Xiangling had nearly lost her mind and fallen prey to the six desires. Fortunately, her will was firm, and she came to her senses just as her craving threatened to overwhelm her, managing to finish the entire bowl of Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles.
Then it was Xiangling's turn to cook, and what she made was-Century Soup!
"Century Soup?" Shen Luolun exclaimed in shock.
Wasn't that fictional? How could it actually be made? Were there ingredients like that in Teyvat?
Xiangling proudly raised her little chin:
"That's right, Century Soup. You were the one who inspired me."
"Ever since I heard the story you told me, I've been looking for ingredients to create this divine soup."
"But even when I combined all the ingredients I found, I couldn't get a flavor I was satisfied with."
"Later, thanks to guidance from Mr. Zhongli and the White Horse Adeptus, I finally figured out how to make Century Soup."
Zhongli and Zibai were involved too?
"What did they teach you? And you just made Century Soup like that?"
"The flavors of ingredients."
"I don't get it?" Unable to resist, Shen Luolun scratched her little chin.
His bestie's proud little expression was so cute.
Xiangling's face reddened slightly as she swatted his hand away and said:
"It means exactly what it says."
"Every ingredient has its own unique flavor, and combining different ingredients creates new flavors."
"Century Soup is the essence of countless ingredients brought together. Essentially, a quantitative change causes a qualitative change, and the flavors of many ingredients create an ultimate flavor."
Shen Luolun looked thoughtful and said:
"Then where did you get so many ingredients?"
"Even with all of Wanmin Restaurant's resources, it wouldn't be easy to get so many ingredients at once, would it?"
"That's right. It was all thanks to the White Horse Adeptus. She rode her carriage through the sky and helped me find lots of natural ingredients across Liyue, while Mr. Zhongli taught me how to substitute and combine the flavors of ingredients, saving me what would theoretically have been a huge number of ingredients," Xiangling said gratefully.
"After trying over and over, I finally made Century Soup!"
Shen Luolun rubbed his hands together and asked eagerly:
"Where is it? Where is it?"
"I want a sip."
Xiangling said apologetically:
"A-Luo, the soup is all gone."
"Huh?"
At that moment, Lumine stepped forward to explain. "The Century Soup was given to the people who were bewitched by the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles. It can dispel the noodles' negative effects. Before you came in, they had all come to their senses and left."
"It can even get rid of the side effects?"
Xiangling nodded and said:
"You can think of the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles as one ultimate flavor, and the Century Soup as another. The two cancel each other out, so the side effects naturally disappear."
Shen Luolun was a little disappointed.
"That really is a simple and blunt solution. All right."
Not getting to drink the little chef's Century Soup was one of the great regrets of his life!
"Wait, there are so many people outside. How did you hand it out?"
Xiangling said, "We relied on Mr. Zhongli, of course."
"I didn't expect Mr. Zhongli to know adeptal arts too. He distributed a whole pot of Century Soup evenly to everyone, without leaving a single drop. That was how we resolved the crisis."
Zhongli?
Shen Luolun froze, then understood.
No wonder.
With something so major happening in Yilong Wharf, there was no way the Geo Sovereign could have missed it.
Perhaps he had been ready to step in a long time ago.
Liyue had weathered thousands of years of wind and rain and remained so peaceful entirely thanks to the silent efforts of the Lord and the adepti behind the scenes.
Even without Xiangling, the effects of the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles probably could have been dealt with.
But...
Not a single drop left?
=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞(●⁰ꈊ⁰● |||)
He scraped that pot way too clean.
No wonder there hadn't been even a trace of the aroma when he came in.
I was hoping to lick the bottom of the pot for a taste.
Seeing the disappointment on his face, Xiangling comforted him:
"A-Luo, I still have some soup ingredients. I can make more."
"Hm?"
The stray lock of hair on his head stood straight up like a needle, pointing the way.
An eager smile returned to Shen Luolun's face:
"There's more? Where? Where?!"
"Right here."
Xiangling took a half-full packet of transparent powder that looked like seasoning from the little pouch at her waist and shook it.
"This is Century Soup... sniff... it smells so good!"
The surprise on Shen Luolun's face turned to delight.
It was the first time in his life he had smelled an aroma like this. It felt as though his whole body were immersed in an ocean of ingredients, every inch of his skin breathing greedily, even the air turning hot and rich.
If it smelled this delicious, drinking it had to be incredible.
"It smells even better when it's cooked," Xiangling said with a smile.
"You even managed to turn it into powder. Xiangling, you're amazing."
"It's nothing. Making Century Soup is complicated and takes a long time, so I thought of preparing it in advance. I boiled the soup dry and collected it so I could carry it around and make it easily."
"I was originally going to use it as my trump card in the Cuisine Machine Test finals and let you all have a taste while I was at it. I didn't expect to use it now, but it doesn't matter."
"Hehe, then you have to make me a pot when we get back. I want some!" Shen Luolun licked his lips.
Now that Century Soup had been developed, how could his life's menu possibly be complete without it?
He had to drink his fill!
"Me too." x2
Lan Yan and Lumine raised their hands.
"Huh? Lumine, you didn't have any?"
"No. I really wanted some, but the people outside needed it more than I did."
Wow, that's my best friend for you! Even faced with the finest food, she could stay true to herself!
Deeply moved, Shen Luolun gave her a thumbs-up.
He had to give Lumine some extra travel funds later.
Xiangling smiled. "There'll be some for everyone."
Shen Luolun suddenly remembered someone and said:
"Huh? Where did Mr. Zhongli and the White Horse Adeptus go?"
"Mr. Zhongli said an important guest had arrived and he had to welcome them in person. The White Horse Adeptus took the Millelith to evacuate the crowd. With so many people coming to their senses, there was bound to be some chaos, and someone needed to reassure and guide them."
"I see. Thanks to them for all their hard work."
"By the way, how did your cooking duel with this uncle turn out? And how did they end up fighting?" Shen Luolun asked.
At the mention of that, Xiangling's expression suddenly grew serious. The smile vanished completely from her little face, and her voice involuntarily grew a little softer.
"Here's what happened afterward..."