Chapter 26: The Pot Contains Insights!
It was not until then where they all snapped back from the shock. Zhao Shanhe and Bai Wuchen exchanged a complicated look with their lips pursed.
This expert was way too advanced, perhaps ‘Immortal’ was not adequate enough to describe his status. If they were to get a word from him, it would be as precious as a treasure that could be passed on for generations.
Zhao Shanhe said impatiently, “Bai Wuchen, didn’t you get a drawing from Mr. Li? Show it to me!”
“I’m afraid I can’t,” Bai Wuchen said with a bitter look, tears almost rolling down from his eyes.
“Huh? There are so many years of friendship between us, yet now you’re hiding it from me? Not even one look?” Zhao Shanhe said furiously.
“It’s not that I don’t want to show it to you, the drawing… It was destroyed by the Sword Demon,” Bai Wuchen said with pain in his voice.
“What!?” Zhao Shanhe’s aged face was flushed red, his beard spiked on its end as he scowled, pointing his finger at Bai Wuchen. “You’re such a fool! You can’t even take care of a precious treasure! The drawing was destroyed, yet you’re still alive! Are you not ashamed?”
Bai Wuchen’s heart was dripping in blood. This was indeed one of the most shameful things he had done in his life. “Zhao Laotou, do you think I wanted it to be destroyed? At that moment, I wished that I was the one who was destroyed, not the drawing!”
He was a few hundred years old, yet he said it with the tears in his eyes ready to overflow anytime. He would not be able to pass on the drawing to future generations and bring glory to the Wanjian Immortal Sect!
Zhao Shanhe understood that Bai Wuchen was really upset about it. If it were him, he would not have felt good either. He let out a long sympathetic sigh.
“What’re you two sighing about? One should be happy while eating, or else it’s an insult to the delicious food!” Li Nianfan smiled at them.
The speaker might not have meant it that way, but the listeners interpreted it differently.
“Mr. Li…” Bai Wuchen looked at Li Nianfan with his reddened eyes which were tearing out of gratitude.
‘Mr. Li’s hinting! He must’ve known that the drawing was destroyed. Him asking me to be happy probably means that he doesn’t blame me!
‘Ah! Mr. Li is too generous!’
In that instant, Bai Wuchen was so touched, he knew he would do anything to please Li Nianfan in the future.
Meanwhile, their gazes landed on the stone table not far from them. With just a look, Bai Wuchen and Zhao Shanhe let out a gasp.
The food was…too beautiful!
So beautiful that they looked like artwork. The thinly sliced meat was finely cut and rolled into a roulade, arranged accordingly on the plate. The white and red meat was arranged alternating one another, making it look as if they were glowing. The vegetables were cut neatly and tidily, with the different kinds placed together and forming a pleasing sight. Other than that, there were some round-shaped things which looked like balls. They had never seen those before, but it looked tempting with just one look.
“This, these are…” Bai Luoshuang looked at the food in front of her, her lips slightly parted in an ‘O’ shape. She did not realize her saliva by her lips was about to fall out.
Lin Qingyun, too, could not resist the temptation of the delicious food. She swallowed her saliva. She did not expect her usually cold heart to be so easily tempted when it came to delicious food.
They had not even started eating, yet by just the look of it, they were already tempted.
Was this the food for Immortals?
If they were fortunate enough to taste them today, they would have no more regrets in life!
Gulp! Gulp!
“Hmm? This pot…”
Bai Wuchen and the others looked at the pot as if they had discovered a new Insight! The round-shaped pot was divided by a slightly curved line in the middle. On one side of the pot was red spicy oil while the other side had white bone-broth. It looked like a Tajitu.
This was obviously the Insight of Yin and Yang!
The expert was indeed an expert. Even the pot contained Insights. He was way beyond anyone’s level.
His guests felt like they had learned something.
Li Nianfan saw their expression and could not help smiling to himself. ‘So what if they’re cultivators, they’re still impressed by me! It’s just a mandarin duck pot and they’re looking at it with such awe in their eyes!’ he thought to himself.
Bai Luoshuang was running out of patience. She asked, “Mr. Li, how are we going to eat this?”
“It’s simple. Just put what you want into the pot and it will be cooked soon.” Li Nianfan demonstrated by dipping a tiger meat roulade into the boiling spicy red broth. He was used to starting with the spicy broth which was more appetizing.
The roulade was thin, so it only took around ten seconds for it to be cooked. The heat from the fire was just right.
“After it’s cooked, just dip it in the sauce.” Li Nianfan opened his mouth as he put the roulade into his mouth.
‘Wow! This is the perfect ‘feel’! Nice!’
Bai Luoshuang imitated what Li Nianfan did. She picked up the roulade and put it into the broth.
“Wow, so spicy!” Bai Luoshuang called out after taking a bite of the roulade.
A layer of red spicy oil covered the roulade. Dipped with a sauce that complimented the burning meat, the taste burst in her mouth perfectly. It felt like gunpowder burning in her mouth. Bai Luoshuang’s cheeks were flushed red instantly. The spice and heat in her mouth was something she had never felt before, yet it felt so good. It could be said that the deliciousness was at its extreme.
At first, Lin Qingyun tried maintaining her image, but once she took a bite of the meat, she was no longer able to keep up her image.
It was too yummy!
She did not know why but the moment the food was in her mouth, she felt a sense of unusual satisfaction from the deepest part of her heart, and that all her troubles disappeared somehow.
Everyone was eating with oil dripping from their mouths, chewing vigorously while letting out the heat from their mouths. Without realizing it, their lips were all curved into satisfactory smiles.
Watching them eat, Li Nianfan could not help but smile himself. He remembered a saying back in his past-realm, ‘hotpot helps one forget his troubles’. He did not expect this to happen here as well. The roulade was so thinly sliced that one would not find it too much however much one ate. Usually, everyone would focus on finishing the roulade before anything else. Especially when it was the meat of monsters!
However, after a while, Bai Wuchen was afraid that his stomach might get upset if he kept on eating the meat, so he picked a vegetable and boiled it in the pot.
Boil… Boil…
Quickly, the vegetable was boiling in broth. Bai Wuchen picked the vegetable and dipped it in the sauce before putting it in his mouth.
Huh?
The taste was good. Although it was not as stunning as the roulade, it tasted better the more he chewed on it. One might get sick of the meat after eating a lot, but vegetables could only get better.
However, in the next moment, Bai Wuchen’s chewing jolted abruptly and his pupils shrank into the shape of needles. His face was filled with wild disbelief.
“This, this is…” Bai Wuchen took in a cold breath. He could feel his heart beating rapidly.
Even the vegetables contained Insights!