Chapter 1197: 18.35 First Grey Star - Behemoth Carabao
Flame-Wind Oyster Mushroom Steak is the meal he is going to create, and he is bringing out cooking gloves to shield his hand from the affects of the G.o.d-grade mushroom (ok, the gloves are only legendary grade), but he should be able to finish it before the gloves melt.
Even though Su Jin was only a Beginner Chef in this life, his soul was already a Master Chef cla.s.s, so he was not nervous because this was not the first time he handled a G.o.d-grade ingredient when cooking. In his previous life, he accompanied Lu Ming in all danger zones and a.s.sisted him in cooking every ingredient that he caught for him.
Ji Yoonjun even a.s.sisted in handling the ingredients when he joined the team.
Even Leica, who was watching, noticed his concentration and commented, "Xiao Ming, you have indeed found a good chef. Just based on Xiao Jin"s knife techniques and ingredient handling, including his preparation, he should be a master-cla.s.s chef."
"What did you say!? Master Chef!?" Lu Ming and Mo Yuhan were stunned.
The two men shouted as if Su Jin blocked all the noise in his surroundings. He focused on the red and green king sized Oyster Mushroom in his chopping board.
{Wua~ wuwu~ it hurts. Please don"t kill me!}
Children"s cries and pleas fill the air, but Su Jin"s expression stays solemn and unflinching; he cuts the mushrooms in half without hesitation, and the voices go away after the mushroom is handled properly.
Lu Shang said, "Not bad. He wasn"t influenced by the voices of the ingredients. Most young chefs would hesitate when they heard the ingredients" voice and would waste it. This kid is skilled as Leica said."
"His skills should be master cla.s.s already. Have him go for a chef rank upgrade after we go down the mountain range," Leica said.
Lu Ming nodded his head and said, "I will bring him to the Cooking Hall after this hunt."
This is the first time since his rebirth that Su Jin has cooked seriously. Adding the days he was fortunate enough to watch Ye Jieye cook, it can be said that his cooking had greatly improved. Su Jin had learned a lot from watching a veteran chef like Ye Jieye. Su Jin handled the G.o.d-grade ingredient well. His technique is so good that one would think he is a beginner chef.
His thoughts while cooking are, "Good. The mushroom didn"t lose its mutation, which means I"ve handled it well. Next I need to season the mushroom with exact ratio to avoid wasting it. After that I need to strictly control the heat or it will burn. I can"t waste this ingredient, this is something extremely helpful to A"Ming."
He was concentrating so much that he didn"t even notice his sweating too much but those who were watching could see it.
Lu Shang said, "Go help wipe his sweat. You found a good chef as a partner, Ming."
"Hm. I"m so lucky!" Lu Ming said, "Would I bother him if I do as you"re told?"
"No. He is focusing intently on cooking. Right now, he won"t do a thing until he stops his concentration," Leica said.
Taking a fresh towel from his supply, Lu Ming approached Su Jin cautiously and helped him dab at the perspiration, and just as Leica had reported, Su Jin did not even look back at him.
Mo Yuhan asked, "Why can"t Su Jin notice Lu Ming? Are all chefs like that? But I don"t think Lord Ye is like that."
"It is based on their personality. Su Ming had full trust towards Lu Ming so he can fully concentrate on cooking even in this wilderness. As for Lord Ye, that man is cautious in nature. Maybe Sir Mo would be the only exception that will allow him to lower his guard fully," Leica said as he gave Mo Yuhan a side glance.
Lu Shang said, "We don"t know what you are hiding, but if it involves the two of them you better say it as early as you can. If my cousin learned that you intentionally hide something that involves him, you wouldn"t end well even if your ancestor protects you."
After hearing these words, Mo Yuhan"s face turned white, and only then did he realize that the adults in this group already knew he was hiding something.
Perhaps because he had confronted Ye Jieye that day in the villa"s kitchen, but ever since that night, when he saw the uncontrollable sadness in his cousin"s eyes, he could not help but feel guilty about what he had done in the past and could only close his mouth, unable to respond.
Leica said, "Go and protect your brother. He will need a protector as he upgrades his strength."
Su Jin had just completed preparing the king oyster mushroom steak not far from them; two halved mushrooms were on the dish Su Jin was holding, and a plate of oyster mushrooms and steamed sweet potato queen was set in front of Lu Ming.
Lu Ming gazed at the two plates before him and then at Su Jin, who was grinning at him. He could see the support and confidence Su Jin had for him in his eyes, and he now realized how much Su Jin believed in him.
Su Jin said, "Do your best! I will support you as much as I can!"
"Thank you, Xiao Jin. Meeting you is my greatest luck," Lu Ming said as he kissed his lover"s hand making Su Jin blushed with a tint of red on his cheeks.
Lu Shang commented, "Stop flirting. Go focus on your upgrade."
"Yes, Big brother!" Lu Ming said.
Everybody watching Lu Ming eat the two dishes in front of him saw his two elements greatly increase.
He had to meditate to absorb as much elemental qi as he needed so his strength would soar to new heights; as he continued to focus, a green and red aura covered his body; the temperature surrounding Lu Ming also changed significantly, alternating between being too hot and abruptly becoming breezy, making it difficult for anyone to approach him.
The wild beasts that were hidden in the tenth mountain had become somewhat interested in the sudden surge of fire and wind elements in the area. Lu Shang was the first to notice the hidden presence, drawing his spear and looking around them with vigilance as if responding to his actions. Various growls can be heard from all around them.
Growls~ Howls~ Grrr~ Arroo~
Lu Shang had a serious expression as he held his golden spear, "There"s a lot of beast summoned by Ming"s meditation. The effects of G.o.d-grade ingredients are truly strong. Honey~ protect the rear."
"Okay, leave it to me!" Leica said as he glanced at Su Jin who didn"t care about his surroundings and only watched over his lover, Lu Shang without moving an inch. He sat a meter away from Lu Ming regardless of the heat and breeze falling on his face.
Leica said to Mo Yuhan, "Yuhan, protect the two of them. A"Shang and I will fight the beasts."
"Yes," Mo Yuhan was a bit dazed before but after seeing the dangerous situation he was in, he immediately pulled out his weapons ready to fight and protect.
A plethora of different beasts emerge from the shadows, including wolves, tigers, hyenas, and more. The most of these creatures are predatory and possess some kind of intellect; also, the majority of them were elements fit for legends.
Lu Shang looked around with excitement in his eyes. "So many prey~ and most of them are in legend-grade. They must have smelled the fragrance of a G.o.d-grade dish Xiao Jin had cooked."
"It would be quite hard work, but they are enough to fill our pockets," Leica is already planning the selling routes of these ingredients.
---
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the eleventh mountain...
When Ye Jieye and Mo Xuejing saw what was happening under them, they decided that Leica and Lu Shang were sufficient, and the sight of the beast-type components around Lu Shang and the group was quite striking, especially after Lu Shang had struck the creatures once and taken their lives.
Mo Xuejing commented, "Lu Shang is very strong but Leica is more stable than him."
"Leica is enough to hold him back. They will be okay. Let"s head to the twelfth night as soon as possible. We need to catch a Behemoth Carabao before they return to their main territory," Ye Jieye said.
The two vanished once more, heading straight for the twelfth mountain, the supposed location of their target. Their strengths are nearly equal, so they did not have to wait on each other, running side by side through the eleventh mountain at a speed faster than that of regular people, arriving at the entrance in a matter of hours.
The twelfth mountain"s entrance is not a forest, but rather a formation of rocks with endless trenches between them. The foot of the mountain is like a ma.s.sive broken stone bridge, through which one must jump each enormous stone. The only vegetation on the peak is some colored gra.s.s. Ye Jieye and Mo Xuejing, on the other hand, can easily cross the broken stones by jumping at each rock.
The distance does not really stop them because their legs are already stronger than those of ordinary humans, especially hunters like them.
They even come across a herd of mountain deer, where the lead deer is a peak legend-grade deer, and all the deer that follow are legend-grade deer; the only distinction is in cla.s.s. Legend-grade venison is highly sought-after, served only in starred restaurants, and is extremely difficult to locate in wholesale markets.
Mo Xuejing asked, "Are there deer in the Death Forest?"
"I haven"t found one. There are more sheeps and pigs instead," Ye Jieye responded.
Mo Xuejing said, "Should we catch a few for the cubs and Grandpa at home?"
"Okay. Let"s catch this whole herd then," Ye Jieye said.
The two made a quick detour to capture the entire herd of Mountain Deers. Mo Xuejing simply had to freeze them and conceal them in his inventory to capture this group.
Mo Xuejing said, "My inventory is already full. Is there enough s.p.a.ce in yours, A"Ye?"
"Don"t worry. Uncle Butcher lent us a lot of his inventory. Carry half with you," Ye Jieye said as he pa.s.sed a s.p.a.ce ring filled with s.p.a.ce bags in it.
Mo Xuejing said, "Let"s go to the peak. No need to detour anymore."
"Okay," Ye Jieye said.
They pick up speed and move toward the top of the Twelfth Mountain, where the gra.s.s is even taller than Ye Jieye, indicating that the animals that live beyond the mountain are enormous beasts, such as Behemoth Carabao. The two managed their weights and stood at the gra.s.ses as though they were weightless.
As soon as they reached the top of the gra.s.s, they noticed enormous pairs of legs nearby. Eventually, they were able to spot three Behemoth Carabao—two adults and one calf—but the size difference between them and the two hunters was so great that it was akin to an adult cat encountering a mouse.
Mo Xuejing was fearless as he saw the humongous creatures and said, "We found three at first try. We are quite lucky. How much should we catch?"
"Six adults and two calves. It would be better if we could find a rainbow cow as well. Their milk is loved by the cubs at home," Ye Jieye said.
Mo Xuejing said, "I will keep an eye on it. Should we split? It would be faster that way."
"Okay. Be careful. Use the flare I give you if you are in danger. I will find you as soon as I can," Ye Jieye said.
Mo Xuejing smiled, "I will be careful. Don"t worry too much. Let"s meet again in 3 hours at the foot of this mountain."
"...Just be careful," Ye Jieye said as he hesitantly held the man"s hand.
With a smile on his face, Mo Xuejing gripped Ye Jieye"s hand and said, "I"ll keep your words in mind." Only then did they really split up.
Ye Jieye feels compelled to bring Mo Xuejing back into his embrace as he sees the man"s figure fade from his field of vision.
"It would be great if you are really my Jing"er,. Only then my confusion would be gone," The G.o.d of Void mumbles.
MOOOOO~
A shower of blood descended upon his head, and with a single wave of his hands, he immediately decapitated the three Behemoth Carabao. His countenance was gloomy and uninterested.