Everyone watched as Li Da Zui and Huang Rong walked into the kitchen, their faces full of curiosity.
“Xiao Lu, is your friend’s culinary skills really that good? She seems very confident.”
Tong Xiang Yu asked curiously.
“She should have some skills, but I’m not sure how good she actually is.”
Lu Yu said.
“If she can win, I might consider keeping her on as a general hand. Li Da Zui will be in charge of cooking for the guests, and she will be in charge of cooking for us.
That way, when Li Da Zui takes leave to go home, the inn will still have a cook to work, and we won’t have to close down.”
Tong Zhang Gui’s mind was racing.
She had no choice.
Li Da Zui would often take leave to go home and see his mother, which had significantly hindered the inn’s business.
She had wanted to hire another cook a long time ago, but she hadn’t found anyone suitable. She was also afraid of making Li Da Zui feel insecure, so she kept putting it off.
Now that this opportunity had presented itself, she could take advantage of it.
“Aren’t you afraid that Li Da Zui will be angry? He’s quite sensitive about this.”
Bai Zhan Tang said.
“If he loses, he’ll be too embarrassed to say anything. I’m not firing him, I’m just giving him a colleague.”
“That makes sense. It’s not bad to have a change in the flavor of meals once in a while.”
Bai Zhan Tang was also looking forward to it.
He had grown tired of the same dishes for almost two years now.
After all, he was once the renowned “Saint of Thieves”, and he had even been to the Imperial Kitchen, where he had tasted all kinds of delicious foods.
Li Da Zui’s cooking was too ordinary for him.
“Zhan Tang, let’s not talk about this now. Go close the front door and turn off the light outside. The Double Fiends have been wreaking havoc lately, so it’s safer to close up early and create a dark inn atmosphere.
By the way, go get some chicken blood and sprinkle it at the entrance. It will make it look more realistic.”
“Got it! I’ll do it right away.”
Bai Zhan Tang immediately sprang into action.
Seeing Tong Xiang Yu’s series of arrangements, Lu Yu knew that the innkeeper was genuinely afraid.
This was not surprising.
After all, there were so many victims now, all of them beaten to the point of being unable to get out of bed. Who wouldn’t be scared?
It was really a sin.
Lu Yu shook his head slightly and then turned his attention to the kitchen.
At this moment, Huang Rong and Li Da Zui’s culinary showdown had begun.
“What dish are you going to make to compete with me?”
Li Da Zui asked.
“Let’s make a dish using tofu as the ingredient. You just made the tofu and vegetable soup, which was a complete failure. Let me show you how to make tofu taste delicious.”
“Hey, you little brat, are you trying to be cocky? Fine! Tofu it is! You can use any ingredients in this kitchen.”
Li Da Zui was fired up when he heard this.
“Alright!”
Huang Rong didn’t continue with the banter. She grabbed the ingredients from the side and began to work.
Lu Yu stood at the entrance of the kitchen, quietly observing the scene.
He was curious to see if Huang Rong’s dish would be an artifact of fortune.
If it was, then he might be able to exploit a loophole and eat Huang Rong’s dishes every day.
But it was probably unlikely.
From the current situation, any special item from an original character should have the power of fortune.
Bai Zhan Tang and Guo Fu Rong both have it, so Tong Zhang Gui and the others should also have it.
He just hadn’t discovered what it was yet.
Or maybe their artifacts of fortune hadn’t appeared yet.
Moreover, based on the artifacts of fortune he had seen so far, it seemed that they also had different levels.
The Saint of Thieves’ jade pendant had much brighter fortune aura than the Double Fiends’ fortune aura.
A simple deduction led him to guess that the stronger the fortune aura, the better the quality of the artifact of fortune, and therefore, the better things he could fish out in the Martial Arts Cloud Sea.
Just as Lu Yu was lost in thought, Huang Rong began to show off her skills.
She washed her hands clean, then picked up a piece of ham nearby, her ten fingers moving across it, actually digging out twenty-four small holes.
Any martial arts expert present would recognize this as the signature technique of the Eastern Heretic, Huang Yao Shi – Orchid Palm Striking Points!
Lu Yu couldn’t help but admire in his heart when he saw this.
Using martial arts to cook, it was truly something else.
Li Da Zui was busy preparing his ingredients, so he didn’t see this amazing feat.
After cleaning the ham, Huang Rong took a block of tofu, picked up a cleaver, and began to chop at it.
Under the flashing blade, the tofu was transformed into twenty-four identical round balls, looking like tiny glowing pearls.
With a sweep of the cleaver, the tofu balls landed in the twenty-four small holes on the ham, fitting perfectly.
Li Da Zui glanced at Huang Rong during a break in his preparations and just happened to see this incredible knife skill, leaving him speechless in astonishment.
“This… this… this…”
The astounding knife skills left Li Da Zui speechless.
“How about that? Scared?”
Huang Rong said with a smile, placing the ham in the steamer and turning up the heat.
Li Da Zui was already a little intimidated, but he still clung to a glimmer of hope, saying, “What good is good knife skills? Flavor is the most important!
Just wait and see! My Mapo Tofu will definitely be better than your tofu!”
“Oh? Then let’s wait and see.”
Huang Rong chuckled and didn’t mind. This was just a pastime for her.
She turned to Lu Yu and said proudly, “How about it? I’m pretty amazing, right?”
“Amazing. I’m starting to believe that your cooking is delicious.”
“Hehe, of course.”
Not mentioning the situation in the kitchen, the rest of the Tongfu Inn were sitting together in the lobby.
“Sister-in-law! Why aren’t we eating dinner yet? I’m hungry.”
Tong Xiang Yu’s younger sister, Mo Xiao Bei, questioned.
“I saw Xiao Lu and a beggar go into the kitchen with Li Da Zui, is something going on?”
Lv Xiu Cai also asked curiously.
“Hehe, this is how it is.”
Before Tong Xiang Yu could answer, Bai Zhan Tang excitedly explained the whole thing.
The two listened with great interest.
“Wow! A cooking competition! So exciting! I want to go see it too!”
Mo Xiao Bei said excitedly.
“Don’t go, they’ll be out soon. We need to discuss something else right now.”
Tong Xiang Yu suddenly became serious.
“What is it, Sister-in-law?”
Mo Xiao Bei was confused.
“It’s about the Double Fiends!”
“Double Fiends? What Double Fiends?”
Mo Xiao Bei was even more confused upon hearing this.
Lv Xiu Cai was also completely clueless.
Tong Xiang Yu and Bai Zhan Tang took turns explaining the danger of the Double Fiends, making the two tremble with fear.
Bai Zhan Tang, carried away by his own storytelling and because he had neglected his practice for two years, completely missed the two uninvited guests who had just arrived on the roof of the inn.
Lu Yu, who had been paying attention in the kitchen, twitched his ears and detected this faint sound, but soon it subsided, as if nothing had happened.
“Have they arrived? It seems that the gears of fate are still turning, and have not deviated due to my presence.
Well, tonight I will take down the Double Fiends’ set.”