Hiring a head chef went even more smoothly than Gao Shang had expected.
Or rather, that head chef was simply far too eager.
The moment he heard that Gao Shang, who had produced three supreme-grade ingredients, was looking for him, he packed up all his cooking utensils without the slightest hesitation and came along with Hong Hua.
As for the owner of the Fortune and Prosperity Pavilion, he did not dare stop a Soul Master.
As soon as he arrived at the Gao residence, the head chef could hardly wait to see Gao Shang.
Hong Hua had no choice but to agree to his request and bring him to Gao Shang's courtyard.
"Greetings, Young Master Gao. What dishes would you like me to make?"
On the way over, Hong Hua had already mentioned that Gao Shang wanted to recruit him.
Yet the head chef showed not the slightest nervousness. Instead, he stared at Gao Shang with shining eyes, making Gao Shang feel rather uncomfortable.
"Ahem, first tell me what you're best at. I'll prepare more ingredients accordingly."
"As long as the ingredients aren't on the level of ten-thousand-year Soul Beast meat, I'm good with all of them."
"Oh? Are you sure?"
The head chef's answer surprised Gao Shang somewhat.
Generally, people this confident either had genuine ability or were useless fools who knew neither the height of heaven nor the depth of earth.
"I'm sure, Young Master Gao. But for ingredients I haven't seen before, I'll need to take a look first."
"Just a look? Does it have something to do with your Martial Soul?"
Gao Shang guessed the reason almost immediately.
The Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent came in all sorts of strange forms. Since there were Martial Souls like the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda that could identify ores, one that could distinguish ingredients was hardly unusual.
As he thought, he opened the system panel to choose ingredients.
Since Sun Meng was also at home, half the ingredients Gao Shang chose contained Soul Power and vital blood, while the other half were like Stalactite Cabbage: ordinary people could eat them too, and they simply tasted good.
In less than five minutes, over thirty kinds of ingredients covered the stone table before him.
Once he finished choosing, Gao Shang looked at the already dumbfounded head chef and said with a smile:
"Since you're so confident, I'll raise the difficulty for you."
"Nine kinds each of seafood, poultry and livestock, vegetables, and accompanying ingredients, worth over two thousand Gold Soul Coins."
"You don't need to name every ingredient. As long as you can tell me the appropriate ways to prepare each one, you'll pass the test. All these ingredients will be yours, too."
"Two thousand Gold Soul Coins? Young Master Gao, you're really giving me all of them?"
The head chef's eyes flew wide, and his voice turned shrill again. He was so excited he nearly jumped.
"Of course. It's only two thousand Gold Soul Coins. I can afford to give them away. Provided you truly have the ability to take them."
Yet upon hearing Gao Shang's confirmation, the head chef suddenly quieted, his gaze turning conflicted.
After quite a while, he drew a deep breath and looked solemnly at Gao Shang.
"Young Master Gao, before I take the test, I have another question. What do you think of the Star Luo Imperial Family?"
"Hmm?"
Gao Shang frowned in puzzlement. Why had the Star Luo Imperial Family suddenly been dragged into this?
But then Gao Shang remembered that this head chef seemed to be a eunuch. Could he have fled from the Star Luo Imperial Palace?
If that were true, he probably had little fondness for the imperial family. Otherwise, he would not have left.
At that thought, Gao Shang immediately had his answer.
"I have no fondness for the Star Luo Imperial Family. Their method of choosing an heir is too bloody, and too stupid. As for anything else, I don't know much, so I won't comment."
The head chef nodded in agreement.
Then, under Gao Shang's and Hong Hua's astonished gazes, his figure gradually changed, as though a cloud of smoke were dispersing.
Within just a few minutes, the muscular, burly chef had vanished.
Standing in his place was a woman, 1.7 meters tall, with a well-proportioned figure and wheat-colored skin.
"Is that a Soul Skill?"
Gao Shang's first thought was a Soul Ring skill, but on second thought, that did not seem right.
The other party had not released a Martial Soul just now.
"No, a Soul Bone Skill?"
"You have a discerning eye, Young Master. It is indeed a Soul Bone Skill."
The head chef bowed in reply, her manner far more humble than before, her body somewhat stiff with tension.
"But it isn't a Soul Bone from any powerful Soul Beast. It came from a hundred-year Slime. The Soul Bone Skill is called 'Transformation.'"
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you for the bone?"
Gao Shang remained seated, his tone betraying no ripples.
"Your rank isn't low, but if I'm not mistaken, you don't have much offensive ability, do you?"
The head chef's hands tightened slightly as she held her bow, but she still forced herself not to show fear.
"I trust your character, Young Master Gao. The fact that you took in two people who caused trouble at your door shows your broad-mindedness."
"Besides, this Soul Bone isn't worth much. I imagine you aren't short of that little bit of money, Young Master Gao."
Gao Shang did not respond immediately. He was wondering when his reputation had become so good.
Still, he truly had no interest in a mere hundred-year Soul Bone.
Soul Bones of this level sold for only ten or twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins in the shop. If he really wanted them, he could buy a whole pile at any time.
Only after a moment did Gao Shang speak:
"All right, straighten up. I was only saying that."
"But you took such a great risk to reveal your true appearance. Surely it wasn't simply for a job."
At his words, the head chef finally sighed in relief. Her gamble had paid off. It seemed Gao Shang really was a man with boundaries.
Since her Soul Bone had already been exposed, she concealed nothing further and directly released her Martial Soul.
A mass of grayish-white mist appeared in her hand, and four Soul Rings rose in succession beneath her feet, two yellow and two purple.
"A Soul Ancestor?"
Gao Shang rose to his feet in surprise.
Hong Hua also instinctively stepped forward, placing herself in front of him.
The head chef hurriedly raised the Martial Soul in her hand and explained:
"Young Master, I am indeed a Soul Ancestor, but my Martial Soul is rather unusual, and its combat ability is very weak."
Gao Shang reached out to hold back the somewhat nervous Hong Hua, signaling that she need not worry, then looked at the head chef.
"Tell me in detail. How is it unusual?"
The head chef gave a bitter smile and looked at her Martial Soul.
"My Martial Soul is called 'Wok Hei.' Identifying ingredients is its innate ability. The Soul Rings serve to enrich the flavors of dishes."
"When cooking, I can wrap the ingredients in Wok Hei so they heat more evenly, have a better texture, and retain as much of the energy within them as possible."
"Most importantly, my Martial Soul can absorb the Soul Power in the moisture and impurities produced while cooking ingredients, refine it, and feed it back to me, thereby increasing my Soul Power."
"That's why I wanted to serve under you, Young Master Gao."
After hearing the head chef's explanation, Gao Shang was rather dumbstruck.
Even someone with innate full Soul Power could only cultivate for four hours a day. Any more would be harmful instead.
Yet the woman before him could spend the remaining time cooking to increase her Soul Power.
No wonder she had not even asked about wages when they met. So ingredients were her cultivation resources.
If a steady supply of high-quality ingredients could be maintained, her cultivation speed might even surpass that of someone with innate full Soul Power.
At that thought, Gao Shang's expression suddenly shifted, and he asked a seemingly unrelated question:
"How old are you this year?"