Chapter 7 - Sealed by Force (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Stumped by the problem, Shen Ying could only do what she usually did in the past: dump the meat in the water, wait for it to be cooked and then fish it out to eat. She took a bite when it was done. The flavor was bland, astringent and made her whole mouth feel numb—the greater the expectation, the harsher the reality.

She opened her mouth and spat it out. Bleh, bleh, bleh. Disgusting. It had not bothered her much in the past as she had cooked simply for the sake of satisfying her hunger. But now that the rabbit had taken care of her food ingredients problem, why did she find the food so unpalatable?

Clearly, the culinary arts was a profound field of knowledge.

She silently turned her head to look at her newly appointed gofer. “Do you know how to cook?”

The rabbit gave a shudder, shaking its head vigorously. “I eat grass! I have never done any cooking before. What’s more, I… I’m afraid of fire!”

Okay, she finally gave up; it seemed that she would not be able to enjoy a normal meal. This just went to show that having a skill was indeed important. Her university should have taught the culinary arts. Shen Ying slumped her shoulders in despair. What to do now, the food was wasted and there was nothing else…

Suddenly, an idea struck her. Turning round, she ran towards the front door of her house, pushed it open and rushed towards the man kneeling in the yard. “Hey, whoever you are…”

The person in the yard was taken aback at first but seeing it was her, immediately clasped his fists in salutation. “I’m Yi Qing.”

“Err, can you cook?”

Though bewildered by her question, he nevertheless honestly replied, “I did a little cooking before I started Grain Liberation for my Qi Refinement.”

“That means you do know!” Shen Ying skipped in delight.

“Yes, I do know… a little.”

“Good!” Slapping his shoulders hard, she said, “You have my approval.”

“Huh?”

“From this day onwards, you are my chef… arh!” She quickly corrected herself. “You are my disciple!”

“…” Yi Qing was stunned for a moment, then his face broke into a huge grin. Taking a few deep breaths, he turned toward her and bowed three times. “Thank you for granting my request, Senior. I am your disciple, Yi Qing. Please accept my respects, Master.”

“Okay, okay, get up, no need to stand on ceremony. We are family now!” She laughed, helping him up. “I’m a little hungry now. Can you prepare a meal first?”

“Yes!”

Still wearing an expression of delight and disbelief on his face, he stood up immediately and entered the kitchen with light-hearted footsteps.

——————————

An hour later…

The table was already set with plates of delicious-smelling food.

“Master, this is my first attempt. I hope it will be to your taste?” Yi Qing said in nervous anticipation.

Shen Ying was so busy stuffing her mouth with food that she did not bother to reply, only nodding as she ate. Finally, she mumbled indistinctly, “Ya, ya, ya…”

Damn! The food was delicious. Although it was just simple home-cooked fare, for somebody who had been living on pig food and carrots for half a year, even a piece of fermented tofu would smell heavenly. Moreover, the food was very well-cooked.