"The Gu Cuisine Calamity? What was that?" Shen Luolun asked, rubbing his chin.
Lan Yan suddenly remembered something.
"The Gu Cuisine Calamity? Was that the serious mass food poisoning incident twenty years ago? They say it affected tens of thousands of people, with over a thousand casualties. I heard my mother talk about it when I was little, and it left a deep impression on me."
Xiangling nodded.
"That's right."
"Someone put a banned substance, Soul-Forsaking Grass, in the food. People who ate it went mad as if they'd fallen under a gu curse, so it was called the Gu Cuisine Calamity!"
"Soul-Forsaking Grass is highly addictive. It causes hallucinations and delusions, and taking it over a long period can even rob people of their normal cognitive abilities and ability to work. It causes irreversible damage to the body. Once you get hooked, you can never fully quit!"
"Who was ruthless enough to put... meth in food?" Shen Luolun asked with a frown.
He had never heard of the Gu Cuisine Calamity, but he knew how harmful highly addictive drugs could be. He had studied that part of history in his previous life and knew of the painful lessons it held, which had left a deep impression on him.
Putting that stuff directly into people's food was far too bold. Weren't they afraid people would eat it and die?
Xiangling continued:
"The Gu Cuisine Calamity spread quickly and far, affecting tens of thousands of people. As soon as the Ministry of Civil Affairs discovered it, they sent a large number of Millelith to contain it. I heard even the adepti intervened!"
"With support from all sides, the Gu Cuisine Calamity was finally brought under control. Those involved had to take an antidote bestowed by the adepti to neutralize the effects of Soul-Forsaking Grass."
"Later, an investigation by the Ministry of Civil Affairs found that the source of the Gu Cuisine Calamity was a young man from a culinary family. While improving a family recipe, he discovered that adding Soul-Forsaking Grass made it more delicious, so he grew it on a large scale and added it to the food people ate."
"After he was exposed, the young man feared arrest by the Millelith, so he abandoned his wife and child and fled into the remote mountains and forests. No trace of him was ever found again."
"From then on, the incident became a taboo that was rarely discussed. No one ever saw the young man again, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs classified Soul-Forsaking Grass as a banned substance and strictly prohibited its cultivation. But who could have known that dish would appear again twenty years later... Isn't that right, Senior Tang Hao?"
Xiangling knew so much thanks entirely to her father, Master Mao.
Master Mao had mentioned the Gu Cuisine Calamity while teaching Xiangling to cook. He had said it was a great pity that a genius with a bright future had gone astray, leaving his family destroyed and separated. He told Xiangling to take it as a warning and never entertain wicked thoughts.
Xiangling had agreed wholeheartedly and had always cooked through sheer hard work. Though she often made bold innovations, she would never seek a shortcut by using ingredients that harmed people.
The first time Xiangling tasted Tang Hao's Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles, they had seemed familiar. Putting the clues together with Tsarevich's slip of the tongue, she had finally confirmed Tang Hao's true identity.
Tang Hao's face was impassive, and his eyes showed no reaction, as though the man Xiangling had spoken of had nothing to do with him.
Shen Luolun, Lan Yan, and Lumine all looked at him with contempt.
No wonder the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles were so captivating. He really had put meth in them.
Animal!
"Wait, if Soul-Forsaking Grass is banned, where did he get so much of it to cook with?" Shen Luolun asked.
Xiangling shook her head.
"I don't know. Maybe someone was supplying it to him in secret, like this... Mr. Tsarevich, where are you going?"
Everyone looked at Tsarevich, who was creeping away, trying to escape.
Caught in the act, Tsarevich gave an awkward smile.
"Hey, hey, does this have anything to do with me?"
"I'm just an innocent bystander. I don't know anything."
"You all carry on, carry on. My eighty-year-old mother is about to give birth, so I'll be going."
As he spoke, he backed toward the door.
"Hmph!"
Lumine flashed forward and kicked him in his fat belly.
"Aagh-"
Tsarevich screamed as he flew backward, hit the ground hard, and rolled over several times.
"Do you think you can get away?"
Lumine's sword hovered over Tsarevich's forehead, its edge only a hair's breadth away. If he dared make the slightest move, it would surely cut him open and spill his blood on the spot.
"Don't, don't!"
"Spare me! Spare me!"
Tsarevich was terrified. Ignoring the pain, he begged for mercy again and again.
"Tell us everything you know. Where did all that Soul-Forsaking Grass come from?"
"I'll talk, I'll talk."
"It was that woman!"
That woman?
Following his trembling finger, Lumine saw Yinyue standing with her head lowered. Her hair concealed her face, as if deliberately hiding every expression, and she was as silent as a statue.
"Her?" Lumine asked in surprise.
"Yes, yes, it was her!"
"She told me to find Tang Hao and have him make the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles. Starting the Sea Overlord was her idea too, and she got the Soul-Forsaking Grass. I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything! I'm innocent, innocent!"
Tsarevich wailed, protesting his innocence.
He spilled the whole truth:
A few weeks ago, the Treasure Hoarders had intercepted Tsarevich's goods and told him to bring money to ransom them. Tsarevich thought the Treasure Hoarders were uneducated and easy to fool, so he offered only a small sum of Mora, claiming that was all the shipment was worth and they could take it or leave it.
The result was predictable. The arrogant Tsarevich was nearly beaten to death by the Treasure Hoarders. They stripped him naked and robbed him of all his money.
Fortunately, Yinyue had "appeared just in time," driven off the Treasure Hoarders, and saved his life.
Tsarevich was immensely grateful. Looking at Yinyue's beautiful face, he decided to follow the Liyue custom of offering himself in marriage to repay her for saving his life.
And so Tsarevich got another beating.
That made him behave.
Seeing him destitute, Yinyue "took pity" on him and said she had a great enterprise in mind, inviting Tsarevich to join her.
After a spell of smooth talk, Tsarevich agreed in a daze.
Tsarevich then took Yinyue's token to find Tang Hao and had him work for the Sea Overlord Restaurant.
With Yinyue's financial backing and Tang Hao's Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles, the Sea Overlord expanded rapidly. Business boomed, and for a time it even surpassed established restaurants like Xinyue Kiosk and Wanmin Restaurant.
As the manager, Tsarevich was thrilled. He could almost see the glorious day when the Sea Overlord dominated the culinary world and became a dining giant, while he made a name for himself and reached the pinnacle of life.
Of course, Tsarevich knew about the side effects of the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles.
As a partner, he knew plenty of the inside story. He knew that the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles were so addictive mainly because of one forbidden ingredient: Soul-Forsaking Grass.
Tsarevich had heard of Soul-Forsaking Grass and knew it was harmful, but faced with enormous profits, he still couldn't resist the temptation...
"So that's what happened. Now everything fits together," Shen Luolun said, striking his palm with his fist as realization dawned.
"No wonder, no wonder."
"What is it?" Xiangling asked.
"Well..." Lan Yan told them about Su Qing.
"I see. What a coincidence for you two." After hearing the story, Xiangling and Lumine understood everything and nodded.
Yinyue had bought off the owner of a pharmacy, giving her a supply channel for Soul-Forsaking Grass.
But both sides had hidden agendas and schemed against each other, leading to a series of conflicts. In the end, they ran into Shen Luolun and Lan Yan, and the whole operation was busted in one stroke.
"Wait, weren't you pretending to be a Treasure Hoarder? How come you're really one?" Tsarevich demanded, shocked and furious.
Yinyue had told him that transporting a banned substance like Soul-Forsaking Grass required a cover, and that as long as they disguised themselves as Treasure Hoarders, they wouldn't have to worry about anyone finding out.
Tsarevich had always thought Yinyue was pretending to be a Treasure Hoarder.
But after hearing what Lan Yan said, Tsarevich felt that Yinyue had played him.
"Wait, the Treasure Hoarders who intercepted my goods-don't tell me you arranged that too?"
Yinyue said nothing.
But she had clearly admitted it.
"Motherfucker @+#&..."
Tsarevich nearly spat blood in anger.
He cursed under his breath.
After a lifetime of handling eagles, he had ended up having his eyes pecked out by one.
Goddamn it.
"Quiet!"
Lumine patted his cheek with the flat of her sword.
Tsarevich fell silent at once.