Chapter Summaries

Tang Hao tried to persuade Xiangling to withdraw, but she challenged his Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles and agreed to eat them as part of a wager. Though the noodles nearly overwhelmed her, Xiangling regained her senses and explained why their pleasure felt hollow, leaving Tang Hao shocked.

• Tang Hao urged Xiangling to withdraw from the Cuisine Machine Test, but she refused and condemned his use of forbidden ingredients.
• Tang Hao and Xiangling wagered that the loser would withdraw, and Tang Hao would never make Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles again; Tsarevich agreed, and Lumine became the judge and witness.
• Xiangling ate the noodles and appeared to lose herself in their flavor, while Tsarevich smugly expected her to lose.
• Xiangling stopped eating, regained her clarity, and told Tang Hao that his noodles were delicious but their pleasure was hollow and made her feel like a slave to desire.

Xiangling challenged Tang Hao’s Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles and asked Lumine to help her cook, while Shen Luolun and Lan Yan encountered a terrifying Cockroach Rat outside. The creature drove Lan Yan to flee with Shen Luolun and Paimon clinging to her.

• Tang Hao rejected Tsarevich’s suggestion to unfairly judge Xiangling’s cooking and threatened him when Tsarevich tried to blackmail him.
• Xiangling accepted Tang Hao’s challenge and asked Lumine to help because she had not fully recovered her strength.
• Outside the restaurant, Lan Yan tricked Shen Luolun with a pretend Cockroach Rat, then both spotted a real one behind her.
• Lan Yan screamed and ran with Shen Luolun and Paimon as they agreed the creature was horrifying and fled from it.

After fleeing the Cockroach Rat, Shen Luolun and Lan Yan rested in a pavilion and spotted Su Qing arguing with a mysterious man. Su Qing killed the man, refused to join the woman who had arranged the murder, and was about to be struck by her whip when someone intervened.

• Shen Luolun and Lan Yan escaped the Cockroach Rat, rested at a pavilion, and left Paimon sleeping on a bench.
• Lan Yan noticed Su Qing arguing with a mysterious man while Shen Luolun went to buy drinks.
• Su Qing stabbed the man to death and grieved over his corpse.
• The woman who had arranged the killing demanded that Su Qing work for her, but he refused and insulted her.
• The woman attacked Su Qing with a barbed iron whip, but an unseen person knocked it aside with a metal clash.

Lan Yan and Shen Luolun intervened when a beautiful young married woman attacked Su Qing, then fought her off together. Lan Yan wore down the woman’s stamina before defeating and binding her, leaving the group with their attacker captured.

• Lan Yan shielded Su Qing from the woman’s iron whip, and Su Qing recognized her and Shen Luolun from Brother Wu’s ship.
• The woman attacked the group, while Shen Luolun taunted her from behind Lan Yan’s shield.
• Lan Yan explained that the woman’s furious attacks were draining the shield, and Shen Luolun and Su Qing retreated when Lan Yan called them back.
• The exhausted woman tried to flee after the shield disappeared, but Lan Yan struck her with both ring blades and bound her with cord.

Lan Yan, Shen Luolun, and Su Qing captured the Treasure Hoarder Yinyue, whom Su Qing wanted to kill for attacking his crew. After Yinyue claimed the crewmen were alive and could be released, Shen Luolun mocked and bullied her, leaving the group to decide how to secure the captives' safety.

• Lan Yan asked what to do with Yinyue, and Su Qing requested permission to execute her for his crew's deaths.
• Su Qing halted his dagger when Yinyue claimed she had imprisoned the crewmen instead of killing them.
• Yinyue proposed that Lan Yan place a sorcery restriction on her, but Shen Luolun warned the others not to trust her outright.
• Shen Luolun suggested making Yinyue an obedient sow, kicked her down when she lunged at him, and repeatedly taunted her.
• Yinyue finally revealed her name, but Shen Luolun continued calling her a sow.

Su Qing explained how his shopkeeper had secretly arranged for the Treasure Hoarders to attack the medicine boat, then helped Yinyue expose and kill him. After Yinyue revealed where she had hidden the crew, Su Qing waited to rescue them because the Traveler was already dealing with the danger at Yilong Wharf.

• Lan Yan restrained Yinyue and forced her to reveal that she had hidden the crew in a cave near Yilong Wharf.
• Shen Luolun told Su Qing that the Traveler had gone to handle the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles, so the Millelith could not yet help with the rescue.
• Su Qing recounted how he had followed his shopkeeper and overheard that the man had sold the medicine boat's route to the Treasure Hoarders for money.
• Yinyue offered Su Qing revenge and the shopkeeper's position, and Su Qing agreed to help kill the man.
• Su Qing confronted the shopkeeper, who confessed that greed and the cost of workers' insurance had driven him to betray the crew.
• The shopkeeper knocked Su Qing down and mocked the crew as parasites, prompting Su Qing to lose control and draw his dagger.

Lan Yan interrogated Yinyue about the medicinal-herb deal, and Yinyue explained how she and Su Qing's manager had plotted around the Yunchuan Pharmacy shipment. The chapter ended with Su Qing realizing both sides had manipulated him and his escape.

• Shen Luolun provoked Yinyue until Lan Yan stepped between them and ordered them to stop.
• Lan Yan questioned Yinyue about the rare herbs and why she had targeted the Yunchuan Pharmacy.
• Yinyue said the pharmacy manager was greedy, accepted the Treasure Hoarders' commission, and planned to have Su Qing and the sailors killed to cover up the deal.
• Yinyue revealed that she had spared Su Qing and let him escape deliberately so he would frighten the manager and help set up their next meeting.
• Su Qing realized that Yinyue and the manager had both used him in their schemes.

Lan Yan and Shen Luolun left Su Qing to guard the dead boss while they went to check on Lumine and Xiangling, taking Yinyue with them as a prisoner. Su Qing accepted their cover story and decided not to turn himself in.

• Shen Luolun urged Lan Yan to interrogate Yinyue further, but Lan Yan noticed her panic and then left Shen to keep watch over her.
• Lan Yan explained to Su Qing that they would check on the Traveler first and promised to help rescue his crew afterward.
• Su Qing said he planned to confess to killing his boss, but Yinyue mocked him and Lan Yan and Shen Luolun gave him a cover story blaming the Treasure Hoarders.
• Su Qing accepted their help and stayed behind to guard the boss's body while Lan Yan and Shen Luolun took Yinyue to check on Lumine and Xiangling.

Shen Luolun, Lan Yan, and Yinyue reached the beef noodle restaurant after Xiangling’s cooking ended the noodles’ effects on the residents. There, Yinyue reunited with her estranged husband Tang Hao and rejected his pleas to reconcile.

• Shen Luolun whipped Yinyue while making up petty reasons, until Lan Yan suggested he strike her back instead; he soon stopped and led them to find Lumine.
• Shen Luolun, Lan Yan, and Yinyue found the beef noodle restaurant deserted outside and entered to see Tang Hao choking a man while Lumine and Xiangling watched.
• Lumine told the group that Xiangling’s cooking had defeated the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles and restored the residents to normal.
• Tang Hao recognized Yinyue and tried to embrace her, but she rejected him and declared that she would never forgive him for what happened to Xiaoyue.
• Shen Luolun and Lan Yan watched the couple’s confrontation while sharing popcorn, and Shen Luolun explained that his storage device had come from his mother’s mischievous friend.

Xiangling told Shen Luolun how her cooking duel with Tang Hao led to a crisis involving Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles, which she helped resolve with Century Soup. After Shen Luolun learned that Zhongli and the White Horse Adeptus had helped save the crowd, Xiangling began to explain what happened after the duel.

• Shen Luolun learned that the captured Treasure Hoarder Yinyue was Tang Hao’s wife and asked Xiangling what had happened at the restaurant.
• Xiangling recounted that she and Tang Hao had held an honest cooking duel, and Tang Hao’s Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles nearly overwhelmed her with their effects.
• Xiangling explained that Zhongli and the White Horse Adeptus had helped her create Century Soup, which counteracted the noodles’ effects and restored the affected people.
• Lumine said Zhongli had distributed every drop of the soup to the crowd, while the White Horse Adeptus had helped the Millelith evacuate and guide people.
• Xiangling offered to make more Century Soup for Shen Luolun, Lumine, and Lan Yan, then began explaining how the duel ended and why Tang Hao and Yinyue fought.

Zhongli confronted Alice about why she had come to Liyue, and learned she was searching for her missing pet, Little Black. After seeing Alice’s terrifying food send Little Black into a faint, Zhongli kept him in his care and told Alice to leave, but she revealed another missing research specimen was in Liyue and hinted she had found it.

• Zhongli asked Alice why she had come to Liyue, and she explained that she was looking for her lost pet, Little Black.
• Zhongli showed Alice the Cockroach Rat sealed in a golden cube, but Little Black hissed and struggled whenever she approached.
• Alice insisted she had cared for Little Black well, then brought out a bizarre dish that made him panic and faint.
• Zhongli refused to return Little Black to Alice and said he would care for him while he recovered.
• Zhongli told Alice to leave Liyue, but she disclosed that a missing research specimen was also there and said she had found its whereabouts.

After tasting Xiangling’s Century Soup, Tang Hao conceded defeat because he could not judge a dish beyond his understanding. Lumine then confronted Tsarevich over his slip about Soul-Forsaking Grass, while Xiangling questioned Tang Hao about the Gu Cuisine Calamity twenty years earlier.

• Tang Hao tasted Xiangling’s Century Soup and learned she had created it from a story, leaving him convinced it surpassed mortal cuisine.
• Lumine asked both chefs to submit their scores, and Xiangling gave Tang Hao’s Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles 100 points.
• Lumine revealed that Tang Hao’s paper was blank, and he admitted he could not score Xiangling’s dish and had lost.
• Tsarevich blurted out that the noodles contained Soul-Forsaking Grass, prompting Lumine to threaten him and accuse him of helping commit a crime.
• Tang Hao asked Lumine to release Tsarevich and offered to surrender, while Xiangling agreed to investigate and asked whether Tang Hao had masterminded the Gu Cuisine Calamity.
• Tang Hao fell silent as memories of the Gu Cuisine Calamity resurfaced.

Xiangling exposed Tang Hao as the man behind the Gu Cuisine Calamity, while Tsarevich revealed that Yinyue had supplied the banned Soul-Forsaking Grass and orchestrated the Sea Overlord scheme. Lumine subdued Tsarevich, and the group uncovered how Yinyue had manipulated him and arranged the events that brought the operation down.

• Xiangling explained that Tang Hao had caused the Gu Cuisine Calamity twenty years earlier by adding Soul-Forsaking Grass to food, and identified him as the cook behind the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles.
• Shen Luolun asked how Tang Hao had obtained the banned grass, and Lumine stopped Tsarevich from fleeing and threatened him until he confessed.
• Tsarevich blamed Yinyue for arranging Tang Hao's work at the Sea Overlord Restaurant, supplying Soul-Forsaking Grass, and starting the restaurant.
• Tsarevich explained that Yinyue had rescued him after the Treasure Hoarders robbed him, then recruited him into the scheme, while he knowingly partnered in selling the addictive noodles for profit.
• Shen Luolun and Lan Yan connected the scheme to their earlier encounter with Su Qing, and Xiangling and Lumine realized Yinyue had used a pharmacy owner to secure the Soul-Forsaking Grass.
• Tsarevich realized Yinyue had arranged the robbery and was genuinely a Treasure Hoarder, but Lumine silenced him with her sword.

Yinyue confronted Tang Hao over his betrayal and revealed that she had spared him because Xiaoyue still wanted her father. Shen Luolun deduced that someone was blackmailing Yinyue through her child, but she refused to name the person behind the scheme.

• Yinyue rejected Tang Hao as her husband and said she could not kill him because Xiaoyue still wanted to see her father.
• Tang Hao begged to take responsibility, but Lan Yan bound him and Lumine knocked him unconscious when he would not stop hurting himself.
• Shen Luolun questioned Yinyue about who had ordered her schemes, and she denied that anyone was behind her.
• Shen Luolun guessed that the person was using Xiaoyue to threaten Yinyue, while Lan Yan bound Tsarevich after Lumine put away her sword.
• Yinyue refused to reveal the person's whereabouts, and Shen Luolun untied her and offered leniency if she cooperated.
• Shen Luolun threatened Yinyue by asking whether she wanted anything to happen to her child.

Shen Luolun persuaded Yinyue to reveal the mastermind’s hideout and safe route, then Yelan arrived at Yilong Wharf and learned why the restaurant was deserted. Yelan took custody of the captured suspects while Shen Luolun’s group prepared to pursue the mastermind.

• Yinyue refused to betray the mastermind, but accidentally revealed he was hiding in trapped ruins on Cuijue Slope and that she carried a map of the safe route.
• Shen Luolun learned the password was “chicken stewed with mushrooms” and told Lumine to hand Tsarevich and Tang Hao over to the Millelith.
• Yelan arrived at the restaurant looking for Shen Luolun, and Lan Yan accepted thirty volumes of Will of Fire to take the blame for bringing him there.
• Lan Yan explained that Madam Xiao had permitted their trip and that they had gone to support Xiangling at the Cuisine Machine Test.
• Yelan explained that the Ministry of Civil Affairs had sent her to investigate Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles, and Shen Luolun recounted what had happened.
• Yelan thanked the group for their work and said she would take the suspects away.

Alice captured a tiny one-eyed creature on the beach and recorded its intelligence, temper, technology, and repeated escape attempts. She kept it in a jar for further observation, noting its obsession with a secret Krabby Patty formula and its unusual abilities.

• Alice spotted a tiny green creature trying to claim a hermit crab’s shell and caught it, naming it Miniature One-Eyed Tyrant.
• Alice tested the creature’s strength and intelligence as it tried to escape, built a miniature mechanical arm, and shouted at her crystal ball.
• The creature demanded Chum, rejected Alice’s fish-and-bread substitute, and reluctantly ate candy.
• Alice tested the creature against magic and Klee’s toy, discovering that Hydro could disable its laser gun and explosions frightened it.
• The creature attempted to escape seven times, but Alice’s jar and other obstacles stopped each attempt.

Shen Luolun rejected Lan Yan’s invitation to stay at her home to avoid another encounter with her uncle, while Yelan and Xiangling teased him over his closeness with Lan Yan. Lumine challenged his obliviousness about the women’s feelings, but Paimon arrived before she could finish explaining.

• Shen Luolun declined Lan Yan’s invitation to her home because he wanted to avoid her uncle, Lan Zhanye, who repeatedly tried to take him as a disciple.
• Lan Yan teased Shen Luolun about learning the arts, and he accused her of wanting him to become her junior brother so she could call herself his senior sister.
• Yelan and Xiangling scolded Shen Luolun and Lan Yan for fooling around in public, then Xiangling offered to reform him with good food.
• Lumine pulled Shen Luolun aside and questioned how he could miss the women’s feelings and why he called himself their male bestie.
• Lumine began to tell Shen Luolun what the women felt, but Paimon drifted into the room and interrupted her.

After Paimon woke with no memory of the previous events, Yelan interrogated Yinyue and learned how the mastermind recruited her and planned to use a food recipe to control people. Lumine, Paimon, and Lan Yan agreed to help stop the mastermind, while an unseen presence watched them from a painting.

• Paimon returned to the restaurant, where Lumine examined her and Shen Luolun imagined their close bond as a romance to write about.
• Xiangling dragged Shen Luolun away to prepare for the next day's Cuisine Machine Test.
• Yelan's subordinate found a marked route map on Yinyue, and Yelan ordered Yinyue, Tang Hao, and Tsarevich taken away under guard.
• Yinyue begged Yelan to rescue her daughter Xiaoyue, then explained that the strange mastermind had recruited her with medicine and wanted a recipe to control people and open Sea Overlord restaurants.
• Yelan asked Lumine, Paimon, and Lan Yan to help catch the mastermind, and they agreed.
• The black eye of the azure dragon in a wall painting suddenly moved as the group made its plans.

Shen Luolun helped Xiangling prepare dinner while they stayed at her late grandmother’s house to prepare for the Cuisine Machine Test. Meanwhile, Lumine, Yelan, and Lan Yan reached the Treasure Hoarders’ hideout at Cuijue Slope and began their infiltration.

• Xiangling finished preparing the soup with Shen Luolun’s reluctant help and told him she had left a change of clothes outside for his bath.
• Lumine, Yelan, and Lan Yan found dozens of Treasure Hoarders guarding the ruins at Cuijue Slope.
• Yelan assigned Lan Yan to distract the guards with paper figures while she and Lumine slipped inside, warning them to withdraw if anything seemed wrong.
• A young Treasure Hoarder asked his boss about learning a trade, and the wiry man disparaged Old Lin’s advice and experience.
• The young guard spotted strange green lights, and the boss decided that all six guards should investigate together.

Yelan and Lumine fought their way into the ruins, unaware that a mechanical enemy had watched them and rigged the route with deadly traps. Meanwhile, Alice and Zhongli pursued the final false lead and headed to Cuijue Slope.

• Yelan and Lumine defeated twenty Treasure Hoarders at the ruins’ gate, and Lumine restored their elemental energy by triggering the Favonius passive.
• Yelan and Lumine followed the map deeper into the ruins while a hidden camera recorded them.
• The mechanical enemy revealed it had learned of the group’s plans and prepared traps along the supposedly safe route.
• The mechanical enemy raised a tank containing a little girl and prepared to use her as a weapon against the intruders.
• Alice and Zhongli discovered that Cuijue Slope was the last location marked on Alice’s tracking scroll and set off there.