Chapter 41 of 100

Chapter 41

18 min read4,548 words

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

The pavilions and galleries were resplendent, with artificial hills and small springs complementing each other. Under the divine power, the moon floated on the water, and a hundred flowers bloomed, with spring and winter coexisting. The gardeners worked diligently, creating a new scene at every step.

Close to the cooking courtyard, the Purple Garden had violets hanging like waterfalls along the corridors, and lavender planted along the paths, exuding a rich fragrance, forming a sea of purple.

The Purple Garden was in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it was said that a noble lady named Purple resided there. The ghost servants whispered that she was the illegitimate daughter of the City God of Fengdu. Although her mother was of low status and she was a concubine's daughter, she possessed pure blood and extraordinary talent, and her status was not inferior to that of the direct descendants.

"Have you heard that a new ghost has come to the cooking courtyard and challenged Chef Zhang Yu?"

"Is that true? So impressive?"

"I think it's overconfidence. Although Chef Zhang Yu has a horse-like face, his culinary skills are not to be underestimated. Otherwise, how could he have become the head chef of the main kitchen!"

"Right, right. I once took a bite of a pastry made by Chef Zhang Yu, and almost bit off my tongue. It was... really too delicious!"

"But I heard that the new ghost is very handsome."

"Really? Really? Let's go and see."

The maids in the Purple Garden were as beautiful as flowers, and they gathered towards the cooking courtyard. If not for the relaxed management by Lady Purple, such "lack of discipline" would have resulted in broken legs under a strict master.

At this moment, a beautiful and ethereal purple-clad lady stood outside the corridor, watering the clusters of purple roses. Her beauty far surpassed that of the ghost servants and maids.

"What's all the excitement about?" The purple-clad lady lifted her head, smiled gently, and softly asked a maid running past the corridor.

"L-Lady Purple?" The maid immediately stopped, hurriedly bowed, and beads of sweat appeared on her temples. Her friend in the Western Garden was once running in the corridor and was caught by the master, resulting in a broken leg.

"Don't be in a hurry, speak slowly." Lady Purple smiled gently, her voice ethereal, as if a faint lavender fragrance was spreading.

"Lady Purple..." The maid calmed down, knowing that the master of the Purple Garden had a rare good temper. She took a deep breath and said, "I heard that the cooking courtyard is holding a knife skills competition. One contestant is the head chef of the main kitchen, Chef Zhang, and the other is a new ghost servant. It's said that the new ghost servant is very handsome, and I and my sisters are going to watch."

"A knife skills competition?" Lady Purple put down the watering can and said to the maid, "Take me to see it."

"Yes, yes!" The maid was flattered and quickly agreed.

Several courtyards near the cooking courtyard were stirred by the news. Some of the masters were curious and came to watch, while others sneered and ignored it.

On the other side, at the cooking courtyard, in front of the main kitchen.

After Su Xing proposed the content of the competition and some requirements, Li Dazui gave an order, and the ghost servants immediately prepared, with high efficiency, as if they were moving the entire kitchen intact.

Zhang Yu snorted coldly, stood at his position, and spread the cloth on the table, revealing various shiny knives.

Su Xing smiled slightly, came to the table, and roughly browsed the kitchen utensils.

There were all kinds of pots, bowls, and spoons, but there was no decent knife.

"Hmph, I want to see how you can carve grass with a pig-killing knife!" Li Dazui looked at Su Xing with a cold gaze, like snow in the cold winter.

"No knife...?" Su Xing pinched his chin, thought for a moment, took out a pair of copper spoons and iron chopsticks, and held the edges with his fingers. The nine force meridians rotated, and immense strength was transmitted to his fingertips.

"What is he doing?" The ghost servants and chefs watching were puzzled, and the masters from various courtyards showed a hint of curiosity.

Suddenly, Su Xing's eyes focused, and with a snap, the copper spoons and iron chopsticks deformed, the edges thinned, forming a simple knife.

"Is this possible?" The ghost servants were shocked, calling it strange, while some of the masters' eyes lit up, and the faces of Li Dazui and the other chefs turned black.

Now, Wen Houqing was very conflicted, feeling guilty. On one side was the head chef of the main kitchen, Li Dazui, and on the other was his "brother" Su Xing, with whom he had a pleasant conversation. He glanced at Yang Qingshui beside him and found that she was very calm, expressionless, as if she were not involved.

"Done, got the knife!" Su Xing stopped, satisfied with the deformed copper spoons and iron chopsticks. Although the knife was simpler than Zhang Yu's, Su Xing had absolute confidence that he would not lose.

In his view, as long as the skills were good, even a blade of grass could win.

"Let's start." Su Xing said.

"Hmph, you're really arrogant, you'll lose badly!" Zhang Yu's eyes were fixed on Su Xing, as if he wanted to swallow him whole.

"Is he really arrogant, or does he have real talent?" Lady Purple, who had just arrived, muttered softly, her purple eyes shining, and her bright eyes looking over.

"So handsome!" The maid beside Lady Purple whispered, staring at Su Xing with a starry-eyed expression.

The competition began, and the ghost servants brought the competition ingredients—large green radishes!

The ingredients were proposed by Su Xing and confirmed by both sides. The competition officially began.

Zhang Yu stared at the large green radish, his horse-like face focused. With a wave of his arms, he pulled out two knives from the cloth and began to carve the radish. His arms moved widely, the knives flashed, and the skin fell off, his technique astonishing.

The ghost servants were all wide-eyed, such a magnificent knife skill was something many of them had never seen before. The main kitchen, a key area of the City God's residence, was not a place where every ghost could witness the chef's cooking.

Like Gongsun Dashi's sword dance, Zhang Yu's carving of the green radish was like art, full of beauty, making the audience marvel.

"That's Zhang Yu? He looks good. Next time, dig him over to be the head chef of my courtyard." A master from another courtyard, who had taken a fancy to him, instructed the ghost servant, wanting to poach Zhang Yu to the sub-kitchen.

"Chef Zhang is performing well this time, his culinary skills have improved." Li Dazui nodded in satisfaction and said to the chefs behind him.

"It's over, the new ghost servant is no match. Chef Zhang's skills are too exquisite." The ghost servants all had little faith in Su Xing, impressed by Zhang Yu's knife skills.

"Ah, in the face of absolute strength, being handsome is useless." The maid shook her head in regret. In a world where the strong rule, strength is paramount, and even the best appearance is like a fleeting cloud, easily dispelled.

"Not necessarily."

Surprisingly, Yang Qingshui and Lady Purple said in unison, differing from the other ghosts, they were more optimistic about Su Xing.

"Why?" Wen Houqing looked at Yang Qingshui in confusion but received no answer.

The maid, thinking her master had taken a fancy to Su Xing, did not dare to ask more.

What was Su Xing's true strength? An apple would prove it!

"First, peel the skin, it helps the horse digest~" Su Xing hummed a made-up little tune, moving the knife slowly and steadily. The copper spoon knife and iron chopstick knife gently touched the green radish, the force delicate and subtle.

Su Xing's focused expression immediately caused the maids to swoon again.

"Perfect!" Zhang Yu raised his hand and stopped, having peeled the skin off the green radish, nodding in satisfaction.

When Zhang Yu looked at Su Xing, his face turned black. Su Xing's peeling progress was not as fast as Zhang Yu's, but the quality of the peeling was no less, even matching Zhang Yu's.

The green radish skin was a continuous strip, never breaking from start to finish, thin and almost transparent, allowing light to pass through.

The copper spoon knife carefully separated the green radish skin from the flesh, without any excess, the long strip of green skin hanging like a jade belt, thin and transparent, very beautiful.

"Turns out the new ghost servant isn't just boasting, he does have some skill."

Some of the masters' impressions of Su Xing changed, and many of the maids' eyes lit up, their hearts fluttering, not knowing what they were thinking.

"Far from it!" Zhang Yu snorted coldly and faced the green radish, moving the knife again.

"Next is..." After peeling the radish skin, Su Xing did not immediately throw it away but placed it aside and began the true preparation of the green radish.

The copper spoon knife gently landed on the radish, feeling its texture and hardness. Su Xing did not rush, unlike Zhang Yu.

Carving ingredients is a delicate task, the knife must follow the texture of the ingredient, not cutting the fibers inside, which would ruin the taste.

The entire green radish was like a huge piece of jade, with a dense network of radish fibers, the texture complex, testing the chef's skills.

Clearly, both Zhang Yu and Su Xing had solid skills, currently matching each other, without breaking a single radish fiber, making many of the chefs who had come to watch feel ashamed.

If it were just knife skills, Su Xing was capable of being the head chef of the main kitchen, slightly better than the head chef of the sub-kitchen.

The competition was more intense than expected, like a battle without smoke or flashing blades, the atmosphere tense, the audience staring intently, not wanting to miss any detail of the competition.

As the carving progressed to the later stages, the radishes carved by Su Xing and Zhang Yu were already basically formed, requiring further fine processing.

Zhang Yu was slightly out of breath, his nerves taut, his long hands holding the needle-like knife, trembling slightly.

"How about it, will you still underestimate the grass?" Su Xing said with a smile, seemingly at ease, using the copper spoon knife and iron chopstick knife, unlike Zhang Yu, who had already changed several knives.

"Average! Too low-level!" Zhang Yu said with a sneer, though he was inwardly intimidated.

The texture of the radish was naturally suitable for carving grass, but the angle needed to be adjusted, otherwise, the texture would be wrong, and the carved result would not be grass.

And even more difficult was a single blade of grass!

To carve a single blade of grass was not just the difficulty of a single blade, but also the density and layout, which was daunting. The difficulty lay in the details, and it was not easy to carve a single blade of grass well!

"Is that so? Then Chef Zhang, keep it up." Su Xing smiled lightly, his knife skills still having room to spare, gradually surpassing Zhang Yu.

In the human world, although Su Xing's knife skills were excellent, they did not reach such a divine level. Now, his knife skills had greatly improved, mainly due to his pure ghost body, which was easier to control than a mixed human body, and also due to his powerful "will"!

Without a pure ghost body and a powerful "will," Su Xing's knife skills would not have reached the "microscopic" level, let alone compete with the head chef of the main kitchen, Zhang Yu!

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