Gourmet of Another World

Panda Novel

“The situation is so complicated right now… Is it appropriate for us to drink?” Bu Fang glanced at the wine cup, then looked up across the table at Lord Bird, whose face was obscured by the fog. Even with his current strength, he could not see through the fog, which showed that Lord Bird’s strength must be stronger than his.

The cup looked ordinary, not made of some precious stone. In fact, drinking was a simple thing and did not need fancy vessels. Some people liked to use porcelain cups, some glass cups, and some even liked to use bowls. It was all about personal preference.

While others were fighting desperately for treasures, Bu Fang was drinking with a guy whose face was concealed. He thought it was not right and told himself that if the wine was awful, he would definitely turn and leave.

“Drink it… This is an extremely rare wine,” Lord Bird said, smiling. “Oh… How could we not have a dish to go with the wine? Why don’t you cook one for us?” he asked, looking at Bu Fang.

Bu Fang narrowed his eyes slightly. ‘Drinking and eating in such a strange environment… This Lord Bird is a strange man,’ he thought to himself. Despite what was in his mind, he took out the Black Turtle Constellation Wok. Clearly, he also agreed with Lord Bird’s suggestion. Since there was wine, naturally there must be a dish to go with it, and Bu Fang knew exactly what he was going to prepare.

Lord Bird was not in a hurry to drink now. Instead, he looked at Bu Fang with interest, wondering what dish he would cook. ‘The average dishes do not go well with this wine…’ he thought, twitching the corner of his mouth.

Perhaps he was the only person in the whole Chaotic Universe who knew about this wine. It had no name, but it could not be… underestimated. The wine jar was covered with the marks of age, and with every shake, it made the rumbling sound of waves pounding on shores. The wine itself was full of sediment; not only the sediment of the bouquet but also the sediment of age.

The jar of wine had been buried since ancient times, so it was absolutely extraordinary and full of history. Therefore, it was not an ordinary jar of wine, though it looked like one—the two ancient Heavengods would not have chosen to die here if it were indeed ordinary.

Lord Bird straightened his back slightly, squinting at Bu Fang.

Bu Fang was going to make a side dish. Although the environment and atmosphere were not suitable for cooking at the moment, sometimes cooking depended on the mood. He always believed that enjoying good wine without delicious dishes to go with it was an insult to the wine itself.

Lord Bird had told him that it was good wine. Though he had not yet tasted it, his years of experience in brewing wine told him at once that it was indeed extraordinary. It was a fine wine that had already restrained all its flashy features.

Pop.

Bu Fang went into the Heaven and Earth Farmland. When he came back out, he was carrying two large ears. He scraped the dragon scales off them, washed them clean, then took out the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife and began processing them.

These were the Thunder Dragon’s ears. As a top-grade Blood Beast King, an existence equivalent to a top-grade God King, the Thunder Dragon was one of the best food ingredients. Bu Fang had finished the dragon legs, but there was still plenty of dragon meat in the farmland.

“Dragon ears?” Lord Bird paused, and then his interest was further aroused. A delicious side dish would sublimate the fine wine. He hoped that Bu Fang could make a dish that would make him feel indulged.

The Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife spun in Bu Fang’s hand. His knife skill had already reached an astounding level, so cutting a pair of dragon ears was an easy job to him. A few moments later, he had cut them into slices and placed them on the stove.

Then, he poured the Spring of Life into the wok. The dragon ears were added when the water came to a boil, cooked for several minutes, then taken out to be further processed. Bu Fang cooked with such smooth movements that it looked as if he was dancing.

Steam rose from the dragon ears, accompanied by a meaty aroma. Though they were only boiled with plain water, they already gave off a delicious fragrance. He scooped them out, placed them into a huge blue-and-white porcelain bowl, and added ice cubes to reduce the temperature.

While waiting, he began to process other ingredients. He produced the spirit fruits and spirit vegetables he had harvested from the farmland and cut them into slices, smashed some purple garlic, and mixed them all into the bowl. Next, he sprinkled some spices and added some sauce, scooped out the dragon ears, poured them into the bowl as well, and began stirring.

He stirred extremely fast, so much so that the dish in the bowl was being tossed as if he was tossing a wok. After receiving the inheritance, Bu Fang’s wok tossing skill had already reached a very skillful level. In a short time, he had thoroughly mixed the sauce, the seasoning, and the ingredients, making all the flavor seep into the dragon ears.

‘He’s making a cold dish?’ Lord Bird had a thoughtful look on his face. A cold dish indeed went well with wine, so he was not too surprised that Bu Fang had chosen to make one.

Bu Fang poured the dish from the bowl into a blue-and-white porcelain plate. Sauce flowed and glinted beautifully. “The dish, emerald glaze mixed with dragon ears, is ready.” He put away the Black Turtle Constellation Wok and the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife, then placed the dish on the table.

Around them, many God Kings were fighting over the Heavengod’s bones. Some of them looked like madmen as if their divine sense had been influenced—their eyes were bloodshot as they bit anyone they saw like mad dogs. The atmosphere was grim. However, the atmosphere around Bu Fang and Lord Bird was calm and a little bit strange.

“You are using the dragon ears as pig ears… Interesting.” Lord Bird smiled. He gave Bu Fang a deep look, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and pointed them on the table. Then, he reached them into the plate, picked up some dragon ear slices, and put them in his mouth.

The dragon ears had been cooled by ice cubes, so they were very springy. Also, they were naturally chewy since they contained cartilages, so they were refreshing to eat.

“Oh? The dragon ears are evenly sliced, and the sauce is also perfect… Not bad!” Lord Bird’s face was obscured by the fog and could not be clearly seen. However, he ate happily and chewed noisily.

Bu Fang did not make it a spicy dish because their main purpose was to taste the wine, so he did not want to let the spiciness affect the wine’s taste. He also reached out his chopsticks, picked up some dragon ear slices mixed with spirit fruit slices, and then shoved them into his mouth.

They both chose to eat the dish first. Bu Fang loved to enjoy the food he cooked, and this time was no exception. Although the environment was not too comfortable, he still ate heartily.

“Come, let’s drink,” Lord Bird said, smiling. He picked up the slightly worn wine cup and raised it toward Bu Fang.

Bu Fang narrowed his eyes and thought, ‘I can finally taste this wine…’ Then, he closed his fingers around his cup of wine to pick it up. ‘Oh?’ His hand shook a little, but the cup did not budge. For a moment, he had a feeling that he was facing a lofty mountain. ‘This little wine cup actually weighed millions of catties?!’ Looking at Lord Bird, who was holding the wine cup as if it weighed nothing, Bu Fang’s pupils constricted.

Lord Bird held the wine cup and drank the cloudy yellow wine. A rich aroma immediately spread and coated his entire mouth. This was a jar of wine from ancient times, and it seemed capable of making people experience the changes of history and the sediment of time. A mouthful of cold dragon ears and a gulp of ancient fine wine truly brought more joy than being a deity.

Bu Fang took a deep breath. Black and white energy seemed to flash over his Taotie Arm, then he picked up the wine cup, even though it weighed millions of catties. He brought it to his nose, swirled the wine, and sniffed it for a while to savor its aroma. It was a strange bouquet, not as rich as the Yellow Spring Helplessness Wine, but it had its unique flavor.

He found it hard to describe the flavor. It felt as though a little hand was scratching his heart. It tasted like… age. ‘The aroma of age?’ Bu Fang’s eyes lit up. He lowered the cup a little. When his lips touched it, he felt a silky smooth sensation. Then, the cloudy yellow wine poured out of the cup and flowed into his mouth.

Gulp.

‘Hmm?!’

Gulp, gulp, gulp…

Bu Fang could not stop. He kept drinking, and his throat kept moving. Soon, he finished all the wine in the cup.

“Be patient. Have some dragon ears.” Lord Bird held his wine cup between two fingers and looked smilingly at Bu Fang as if he had expected him to behave like this.

Bu Fang glanced at Lord Bird, picked up some dragon ears with his chopsticks, and put them in his mouth. Lord Bird happily filled his wine cup. Before long, the cup became extremely heavy again. Bu Fang picked it up and finished the wine in one gulp. Then, he ate some dragon ears.

Bu Fang felt somewhat grateful that he was the one who prepared the side dish, as only his side dish was worthy of this wine. He had already tasted the wine’s charm by now.

It did not have any heaven-defying effect, such as allowing an individual to break through a realm with one gulp. Instead, it would cleanse the hearts of those who drank it and let people experience the changes of age. It was as if the wine had been seasoned by countless years of loneliness while it was being buried in the ground.

“Did you feel it? For food to have its own identity, chefs need to carefully nurture it. It is the same for this wine or this side dish. Your dish is good, but when compared with this wine… It is somewhat hollow. Many famous dishes have their own roots and stories.” Lord Bird laughed.

Bu Fang seemed to feel Lord Bird’s sharp gaze, but at the same time, his mind sank into those words. ‘Who exactly is this Lord Bird?’ He looked up, and his heart was filled with shock. ‘Since he could come out with such a statement… Could he be a chef as well?’

“Oh, here they come.” Lord Bird turned his head and looked into the distance.

Bu Fang took a deep breath and turned in the same direction as well. His pupils constricted instantly. There, the experts who fought over the Heavengod’s blood and bones… had all died.

He did not pay them any attention just now, so he was not aware of what happened. Now that he glanced over, he was shocked to discover that those experts had all turned into bones and scattered all over the ground. It was as if they were abandoned by age.

“This…” Bu Fang opened his mouth and his pupils constricted.

Crack… Crack…

Suddenly, the scattered Heavengod bones began to make noises and slowly join together, forming two skeletons. As Bu Fang watched in shock, blood vessels emerged over the skeletons, then flesh spread… Soon, they turned into two figures, a man and a woman.

The man was handsome. He was clad in a loose robe, and his hair was tied up. He looked no different from the average man. The woman, on the other hand, was comely. Her hair was tied in a bun, and she looked like the daughter of some wealthy family. Hand in hand, they smiled gently at each other with affection in their eyes. Then, they looked in Bu Fang’s direction and walked toward the table.

Bu Fang sucked in a cold breath. ‘The ancient Heavengods… came back to life?!’

“Hey, Bu Fang boy… do you know the name of this wine?” Lord Bird said suddenly.

That gave Bu Fang pause. ‘Right… This Lord Bird never mentioned the name of this wine…’

“This wine is called Husband and Wife Wine, and it was brewed by this Heavengod couple. In those years, they held sway over the Chaotic Universe, so fierce that countless experts were afraid of them. They were invincible. Finally, when they were about to die, they left no Heavengod’s secret treasure or peerless divine weapon, but only a jar of wine… and they chose to die here…

“So, this wine is actually the greatest treasure in this relic.”