Chapter 33

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

With a smirk, Dang Yingying, standing at the classroom door, took a deep breath and firmly gripped the secret letter from her mother. Her reaction was not one of embarrassment or anger, but a mischievous smile.

Without answering my question, she calmly searched the kitchen, found a bowl, and then extended it to me, saying, "Young Master, it's the weak who need to read the room, huh. Hehe."

It felt like a hammer blow to the back of my head.

'No, so all the clueless actions up until now were intentional?'

I could guess the level of the Tang family's secret technique based on the actions of the direct descendants I had encountered so far.

Beginner, clueless.

Mature, psychopath.

Peak, senile.

So, I naturally thought Dang Yingying was at the beginner level, but it seemed she was already close to her father's level, achieving maturity at a young age. The future of the Tang family was bright.

And on the other hand, I wondered if this was a way of teasing me...

Did she mean that someone like me was so insignificant that there was no need to read the room?

A heavy fact punch.

So, I had no choice but to quietly scoop up some Mapo Tofu and taste it, as she had suggested, because I still felt the lingering pain from her earlier lesson.

'Damn, I should learn some martial arts out of frustration!'

While muttering to myself, I ladled a bit of the steaming Mapo Tofu into a bowl and offered it to her. Dang Yingying carefully scooped up a spoonful and took a bite.

"Ooh... It's hot."

Her voice, unable to bear the heat, reached my ears.

'How dare she act cute!'

I wanted to punch her fish-like mouth but instead checked the rice cooker, holding back my anger.

She chewed and swallowed the Mapo Tofu, then flicked her tongue, saying, "Phew... It's really delicious, but it's quite spicy. I wonder if Grandfather can eat it if it's this spicy..."

At her question, I smiled and asked, "Would the Poison King really praise my food as delicious?"

She looked at me with wide eyes, surprised.

"Y-You don't mean it, right?"

I smiled at her surprise and asked, "Would the Poison King really praise my food as delicious?"

She grabbed her chin with one hand, deep in thought, and nodded.

"Indeed..."

"Since defeat is certain, shouldn't I also get some joy?"

I smiled sinisterly, like the boss of the underworld, and she asked, "But what if Grandfather just tastes it and doesn't eat it?"

"I have a plan. Don't worry."

"Are you going to make it interesting again?"

"Of course."

After finishing our conversation, I checked the rice cooker, and the perfectly cooked rice was ready. I scooped a large portion of rice into a bowl and placed the Mapo Tofu in another bowl. Then, I sprinkled the prepared pepper powder on top of the Mapo Tofu.

"Young Master, what is this?"

Dang Yingying, who always asks questions, was curious about the pepper powder, even though she, being from Sichuan, should know about it.

I offered her a taste to satisfy her curiosity.

"Try it once."

Without any suspicion, she took a small amount of the pepper powder on her fingertip and put it in her mouth. I slightly covered my ears, anticipating what would happen next.

The pepper powder, with a high proportion of Sichuan pepper, fell from her fingertip into her mouth, and soon her scream echoed.

"Ah! Young Master, my tongue, my tongue!"

Her reaction made me clench my fists. It felt like drinking a whole bottle of soda in one go.

No matter how strong one's martial arts are, it's impossible to train the tongue.

The pepper powder not only caused a burning sensation but also a physical stimulation on the tongue. She must have felt like her tongue was hit by a hammer.

She jumped around, sticking out her tongue, and after drinking the water I offered, she fanned her tongue with her hand and said, "This pepper is so, so spicy. It's definitely going to be interesting. But, Young Master, what is this dish called?"

I smiled at her and answered, "It's called Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)."

Originally, Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐) means a tofu dish made by a pockmarked old woman. It was a dish created in the late Qing Dynasty, around the 1800s, by an old woman with pockmarks on her face, hence the name.

However, since I created it first in the Song Dynasty, I couldn't use the name "Mapo" as is.

I'm neither pockmarked nor an old woman.

So, I created a new name, keeping the pronunciation but changing the meaning. In Chinese, the pronunciation is slightly different, but it's close enough.

麻 (ma) for numbness, 波 (bo) for waves. It means the numbness comes in waves!

After creating the name, I realized it was surprisingly fitting.

I made it with the intention of using it for the Poison King.

With all preparations complete, I carried the food outside and saw the Poison King sitting at the table, staring at me.

I placed the food in front of the Poison King, and Dang Yingying brought chopsticks and placed them in front of him, saying, "Grandfather, this is Liu Xiaoye's food. You'll really like it."

"Hmm! What have you brought? Let me try it first."

The Poison King, who was looking at the perfectly cooked rice, seemed surprised.

"Hmm..."

He blew on the rice to cool it down, and steam rose from it.

He couldn't resist and scooped a large spoonful of rice, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

"Hmm..."

Steam rose from the Poison King's mouth.

"The rice is really delicious... Hmm!"

He quickly closed his mouth, almost saying it was delicious.

Dang Yingying looked at me with a smile.

"To eat the side dish, place it on top of the rice. Oh, and mix the powder on top before eating it."

I explained how to eat the Mapo Tofu, and the Poison King mixed the Sichuan pepper powder and placed a spoonful of Mapo Tofu on his rice. He blew on it and took a large bite of the Mapo Tofu and rice.

His face turned bright red, and his pupils dilated.

I asked, "Is it too spicy for you?"

The Poison King still seemed to be struggling with the spiciness.

When his response was delayed, I quickly said, "Ah, this is Sichuan, and you, being the Poison King, can eat anything. I apologize for my slip of the tongue. A trivial spicy dish like this... I'm sorry. You should be able to eat this easily."

"Ahem! Cough!"

The Poison King coughed once and, perhaps to soothe the spiciness, quickly scooped up a spoonful of plain rice with a slightly trembling hand.

After eating several spoonfuls of plain rice, he seemed to choke and hesitated before looking at the Mapo Tofu again.

Dang Yingying, smiling at me, asked the Poison King, "Grandfather, can't you handle spicy food? You can stop if you want to..."

"Of course not? You're the Poison King..."

Dang Yingying's timely assistance and my encouragement.

The Poison King waved his hand, saying, "What are you talking about? I love spicy food! You just don't know. I, the Poison King, can drink this like water."

He began to alternate between eating Mapo Tofu and plain rice.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, and his pupils dilated and contracted, indicating the spiciness.

However, once he started eating, he couldn't stop. Eating plain rice alone wasn't enough, and he needed side dishes. After eating rice, he needed to eat side dishes, and after eating side dishes, he needed to eat rice. This was a vicious cycle, like a snake biting its own tail!

Moreover, I had already set the stage by saying, "Surely the Poison King can handle this level of spiciness?" and Dang Yingying was also supporting me. The Poison King's pride and the need to not show weakness in front of his granddaughter undoubtedly constrained his mind.

Despite trying to hide his discomfort, the sweat on his forehead revealed how much he was suffering from the spiciness.

After eating Mapo Tofu and rice continuously, the Poison King, noticing his empty bowl, realized the painful meal was over. He quietly put down his spoon and cleared his throat.

"Hmm..."

As expected, he began to pour out his complaints.

However, I had already achieved my goal and could listen to the old man's complaints with a smile.

"Well, as I thought. It's too spicy, only spicy, and not very tasty..."

At that moment, a man approached the kitchen. It was Dang Yingying's father, Dang