Chapter 1759: Treat Poison With Poison
“Why… didn’t you say so earlier…”
Josh held his throat and as tears streamed down his face. He felt as though he had just drunk metal juice that had just come out from the oven. His taste buds erupted immediately, and his soul had left his body!
Compared to the insanely spicy grilled fish that was accompanied by the delicious flavor, this insanely spicy hot pot soup was even more unbearable as it tormented his mouth.
“Hot pot… is used to cook the food. You didn’t even ask, and I didn’t have the time to tell you…” Vanessa said innocently. She quickly helped Josh up, and scooped another bowl of soup from the pot for him.
“What are you doing?” Josh said with a glare. He leaned back into his chair, and his expression was still twisted as he was still overwhelmed by the spiciness.
“Treat poison with poison.” Vanessa looked as though she had been through it before, and said, “As long as you drink it fast enough, the spiciness will not be able to catch up with you, and you can even experience that satisfaction that the insanely spicy can bring. The more you drink it, the more satisfying it gets.”
“Is it really that insane?” Josh received the bowl of soup, not really buying it. He just wanted to get rid of the spiciness in his mouth right now.
“Yes. It’s that insane.” Vanessa nodded with conviction. “Otherwise, why would it be called insanely spicy?”
Vanessa wouldn’t lie to me, thought Josh, and finished the soup quickly in a few gulps.
While he was drinking the soup, he felt the spiciness in his throat disappear a little. However, it was not because the fire had been extinguished, but because it was suppressed by an even stronger sense of spice. With that layered on top, there was actually a sense of satisfaction spiritually.
How should he put it… it was like an extreme pain that brought a bit of satisfaction.
That… was quite insane.
Sweat rolled down his face, and Josh’s shirt was drenched in no time at all, putting him in a rather sorry state.
“That’s crazy.”
“I didn’t think that Andre’s son would be so tough even though he looks rather meek and mild.”
At this moment, the various representatives looked at Josh with admiration. If it were them, they would definitely not dare to have a bowl. Besides, Josh was already on his second bowl.
This fellow… Auster, who had finally felt a little better, glared at Josh. As the first to drink the soup, he thought that his sacrifice was enough to shock everyone. He did not expect Josh to actually move on to his second bowl.
“Chief, we cannot let a human defeat us,” the tribesman beside him incited him softly.
Auster was also annoyed. The orcs and Roth Empire had been at war for years, and though they did not really gain much from the war, they had never lost in terms of their awe and presence.
“Fill this up!” Auster said decisively. He picked up a full bowl of soup, and gulped it down.
“Sick…” Mag, who was standing in the kitchen, could not help but compliment him. It was the first time he saw someone drink two bowls of hot pot soup base before having the hot pot.
“I always find that I don’t fit in because I’m not insane enough.” Connie took a sip of soybean milk to calm her nerves.
On the other side, Josh was already done with his second bowl. However, after he stopped drinking, he could feel the heat surge up his throat quickly once again, and it was nowhere less intense than the first time.
“Another bowl?” Vanessa asked when she saw Josh hold on to his throat.
“Mm-hm, mm-hm, mm-hm.” Josh nodded fervently.
Vanessa quickly scooped up another bowl of soup, and watched as Josh gulped it down. Awed, she could not help but comment, “I didn’t think that my Royal Brother would love spicy food so much. Next time, there’s someone to eat hot pot with me.”
“Again?!” Auster put down his bowl, and saw that Josh was already on his third bowl. The orc picked up the third bowl of soup that his henchman had already prepared for him, feeling as though he was about to cry.
“Is that how you have hot pot?” Louis checked with Jinx softly when he saw the two drinking wildly.
“Could this be a new method of eating?” Jinx was also rather uncertain. He looked at the soup in front of him, and hesitated to try.
The other representatives were also undecided. They wanted to drink it, but they could not bring themselves to. However, it felt as though they would lose if they didn’t drink it.
Just then, Miya and others pushed in carts filled with various ingredients and an instruction manual on how to have the hot pot.
“Please enjoy the hot pot according to the instructions stated,” Miya reminded warmly before leaving with a smile.
Everyone quickly read the manual. It came with pictures, and was easy to understand. All they had to do was to cook the ingredients in the pot according to the stated time, and they could whip up a delicacy.
“So that’s how you have hot pot.”
The various representatives were finally not so bewildered. They glanced at Josh and Auster again sympathetically.
Josh and Auster could not help but pick up the instructions to have a look when they felt the gazes on them.
“Cough, cough…” Auster coughed vigorously. The feeling of being choked by the spiciness was not enjoyable.
Josh’s breathing started to become slightly rapid. However, to ensure that he would not embarrass the empire, he squeezed out a smile, and said, “It has always been a tradition of the Empire to drink some soup before we start eating.”
“It has?” Vanessa asked in shock.
“Cough, cough…” Josh coughed uncontrollably as well.
The various representatives already had the instructions, but their gazes were attracted by Dracula and Camilla, who were having steak.
Dracula had a knife and fork in his hands as he cut the steak up into small pieces. The sharp knife sliced through the beef, and the black pepper sauce drizzled down the area that was cut open. The succulent meat was seeping with juice, and the interior of the meat was still a little red. The enticing smell, together with the scent of the red wine, made one salivate uncontrollably.
“This steak looks not bad.” Dracula picked up a piece of steak with his fork, and put it into his mouth.
The moment he bit down gently on it, the fresh juice of the meat seeped out. The black pepper’s fragrance gave it a perfect finishing touch, and the flavor danced at the tip of his tongue. From within the fragrance of the meat came a hint of sweetness of grape wine. It was like a sweet attack that made him indulge in it instantly.
As a dignified vampire and a world-renowned collector of grape wines, Dracula was very knowledgeable about grape wine.
The best grape wine naturally was the V grape wine from the Buffett Winery. It was something money could not buy. Even with his status, Dracula could only get himself a small bottle occasionally.
However, the grape wine in this steak was actually even more fragrant and intense than V grape wine.
To think that grape wine of such quality was used only as a supplementary ingredient for steak.
“What a waste of a treasure!” Dracula sighed to himself. However, he had to agree that the grape wine did bring even more layers to the tender beef. He could not find any fault in this steak, and it had completely changed his perception of beef.
He swallowed the meat, and could not help but exclaim, “Phenomenal.”