Dao of Cooking

Chapter 25 - Darkloom Forest

It had been hours now that they were on the path, sunlight harsh and heavy over the clear skies, burning light drilling painfully into Lei’s head. Fields stretched all around them, farmers busy working among the crops, their skin dark and battered by the sun. At least they looked grateful, as the storm had brought them much-needed rain in the heat of summer.

Lei didn’t know how he should feel. He’d spent hours thinking about what-ifs and what-nots, his mind refusing to stop sketching all sorts of possibilities. Perhaps that thug took the kids and sold them for money. The late emperor might have abolished slavery, but he doubted if the so-called demonic cultivators would be kind enough to adhere to the laws of the Empire. Or perhaps there was more to that thug than they knew. It could be that he was working for someone else.

It’s odd that after a certain point, your mind just… blanks.

He shook his head and peered down at the little squirrel guiding them through the path. The creature was small and quite well-mannered. It was hard to believe that it had the strength to dig a hole its own size in hardwood with those sharp claws, but Lei guessed that was how spiritual beasts were in this world.

A cultivator and her pet beast. For some reason, they don’t align with the image of a cultivator duo in my head.

He didn’t know how things had reached this point. They were preparing to go out when some woman barged into the house and said she was a herbalist—an apothecary in the making. She then bowed her head and told them she was there to ask for a favor.

Supposedly, she’d checked with Brother He before coming to see if she could keep doing the mission they’d posted at the Adventurers’ Guild, and when Brother He told her he had to ask before giving her an answer, the squirrel went berserk and trailed the scent of the food all the way up to Lei’s place.

Some story, was Lei’s first thought before he'd tried to send the woman on her way, only for Fatty Lou to stop him and decide to use the squirrel’s strangely sharp senses to find Snake and Stone. That was why they were now out in the wild, away from Jiangzhen, trudging through the fields with the woman and her little squirrel that kept staring at Lei as if spellbound.

“Are we sure your little pet can find their trail just by relying on an old robe?” Lei asked, raising Snake’s old robe over his head to keep the sunlight from drilling holes into his eyes. Just in case they lost that one, he’d tucked Stone’s robe into his pack as well.

The woman, Zhu Luli, nodded her head once again, flashing him that wide smile. The squirrel, on the other hand, scowled with its tiny eyebrows when it heard the words as if offended.

“Don’t worry, Senior, Little Yao may be a glutton, but I wasn’t lying when I told you that she has the sharpest nose across the Eastern Square,” Zhu Luli said, pulling at her oversized pack. “And from what I can tell, the kids couldn’t have been taken by someone strong. Even a Qi Condensation expert would’ve at least tried to mask the trail of their passing, which would’ve made it nearly impossible for Little Yao to track them.”

“That’s a relief,” Lei said as he shared a glance with Fatty Lou.

It was his brother-in-arms’ idea to bring the cultivator woman on the journey. They didn’t know who she was, why she was in Jiangzhen, or for what reason she’d accepted the sudden invitation to become a part of their group. Though it had at least allowed him to understand that being a Spiritual Chef was by no means a simple thing if it made this cultivator woman act like a crazed drug addict.

That was the favor she talked about—she wanted to provide Lei with a heap of spiritual herbs in exchange for his overly spiritual dishes. Those were her exact words, and Lei was somewhat relieved that the woman hadn’t planned on enslaving him to make him her personal cook.

I'm not sure what to make of her, but she doesn’t look that strong.

This was more or less what his new skill, Spiritual Sensitivity, told him. Though Lei wasn’t sure how the skill’s sensitivity part really worked, he thought of it as a different sort of sixth sense that allowed him to get a feel for certain things and also provided him with some curious details about spiritual ingredients.

He checked the spiritual ladle.

[Spiritual Ladle: Mortal-Grade, Low Quality.] - (An old ladle infused with the lingering spiritual energy of its owner. Once broken, it would be hard to fix.)

Lingering spiritual energy of its owner. Are you trying to say that the spiritual energy leaking from my pores somehow made its way into this ladle?

Lei shook his head. The important part was that he had a spiritual tool by his side, and this time, he wouldn’t be giving that thug to the guards. He’d learned his lesson.

“I’m guessing the sun shining over the skies can be taken as a good omen,” Fatty Lou said, hopping a step forward and giving them a look over his shoulder. “What do you say, Miss?”

“Light and dark, clear or cloudy, it doesn’t make much of a difference to me,” Zhu Luli said. “I’m used to sleeping on dirt or inside a cave, but I have to say Jiangzhen and its surroundings are a good change. Feels like I’m exploring a secret part of the world.”

“You’ve seen the world, then?” Lei couldn’t help but ask.

Zhu Luli looked thoughtful as she shook her head. “Just the Eastern Continent. Didn’t want to stray too far from the Empire. Things can get… complicated with other nations.”

“Mm,” Fatty Lou hummed his approval, earning an eye-roll from Lei. But he wasn’t bothered as he stretched a hand toward the ground, the squirrel jumping on his arm before easing onto his right shoulder. He scratched its chin. “This little one must’ve been a great help. You know, I haven’t seen any spiritual beast like this before. Sure, there were some beasts of burden in Lanzhou, but we were often told that beasts are, well, beasts, better left in their own nature.”

“Browntails are an endangered species,” Zhu Luli answered with a tired look. “That’s why they are given to their owners under strict conditions.”

“How so?” Lei asked.

“I only remember parts of it, but it was about a Nascent Soul expert going on a continent-wide hunt for their species after one of them snatched a Moon Rabbit from his daughter’s hand,” Zhu Luli said. “They can be rather eccentric, those Nascent Soul experts. I should know.”

Fatty Lou tried to keep his smile, but even Lei could see the sides of his lips trembling, and he was also taken aback by the words.

He glanced at her. She certainly looked like a normal, twenty-year-old woman, with brown hair curled around the edges and a face bright and clean, but Lei had never seen or heard someone speak about Nascent Soul cultivators like this back in Jiangzhen.

“Err…” Fatty Lou cleared his throat as he took the squirrel and placed it gently on the ground. “A rare spiritual beast… Who are you again?”

“A curious wanderer,” Zhu Luli said, clasping her hands sheepishly.

“A curious wanderer with a rare beast, who happens to have traveled all across the Eastern Continent before coming to Jiangzhen,” Fatty Lou pressed on. “Are you sure you are here to study spiritual herbs?”

Lei glared at him, then smiled as he turned toward Zhu Luli. “Come now, Brother Lou. I’m sure everyone has their secrets.”

“Eh? That’s… true.”

“I’m just happy to find a Spirit Chef here of all places,” Zhu Luli said, tilting her head. “I’ve been told that even in the heart of the Empire, finding an Honorable Master Chef is as hard as plucking a cloud from the sky. Your Dao… is a most grand one, Senior.”

“Ah…” Lei sighed tiredly, scratching the back of his neck. He didn't know if he could call himself a Spirit Chef, and he certainly hadn’t given up on the more profitable path of Alchemy for the rare art of cooking. But the woman had put him on a pedestal, and the way Fatty Lou presented him to her made the matter only worse.

Should I just tell her?

But their best bet to find Snake and Stone was that little squirrel, and Lei feared if he cleared the misunderstanding the woman would leave their group. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t cook spiritual dishes. That was the thing. He’d even introduced this primal world to fast food, and apparently his spiritual burger and fries were enough to even hook a cultivator.

Just a small difference. And she probably doesn’t have any special techniques to check our cultivation bases, otherwise she would’ve figured that we’ve just taken our first steps on the Immortal Path.

But that little step changed everything. He was surefooted, feet crushing the pebbles and the stones, the steps barely taking any effort. In a single breath, he could suck enough air to last him for a couple of minutes, and Fatty Lou was the same. His brother, however fleshy he was, seemed like he was having no trouble keeping up with them along the way.

I’m not sure if this is really the effect of becoming a Body Tempering Stage. We’re just at the first step, but I feel like I could run across the clouds.

Well, that might be an exaggeration, but he certainly felt light as a feather trudging through the fields. And the world did seem to have something different about it now, the colors flashing bright and the trees looming in the distance highly detailed and clear as if he were looking through the lenses of a telescope.

He clenched his hand around the ladle and felt the bone click underneath his skin. There was an odd strength there, power he could use to knock that thug out cold once he found him.

......

“Are we… sure this is the place?” Fatty Lou gulped nervously, one hand clenched tight around his sleeve as he stared at the hulking trees of the Darkloom Forest.

Before Zhu Luli could answer, the squirrel dashed forward and raised a claw toward the ominous forest, looking mightily sure of itself. There was no doubt in those beady eyes.

“Uh.” Lei bit his lower lip, trying to shake off the malicious feeling his Spiritual Sensitivity skill brought him. He got goosebumps just by looking at the trees, looming over him like crooked giants broken and mashed together into a thick canopy that barred the sunlight from seeping through the cracks.

“How convenient!” Zhu Luli smiled like a young girl out for a morning stroll, jumping over the bushes and landing gently on the other side before turning and waving a hand toward them.

Lei braced himself as he shared a look with Fatty Lou. Jiangzhen could be a mortal city, but even then, the folk over there knew to stay away from the Darkloom Forest. The place brimmed with monstrous beasts hungry for human flesh, unspeakable horrors slithering beyond the trees and lurking under the soil, always looking for more, always yearning for fresh meat.

And they would be presenting their newly ascended skin to these beasts.

Lei found it hard to contain the fear crawling from the nape of his neck. He lingered for a long second, jaw clenched tight. Suddenly that thug’s face flashed before his eyes, bushy eyebrows scowled down at the two kids as they tried to drag themselves out of his hold, their little faces twisted with fear and desperation.

He dashed inside the forest. Fatty Lou followed after him, cursing under his breath as he fought against the barbs and the thorns, the bow strapped to his back catching all the branches which made him nearly leave the damned thing.

The first thought that popped into Lei’s mind was that they were in a completely new dimension. Sunlight couldn’t reach here, wandering beyond the boundaries of the forest marked by the tall trees, a curious child peeking inside, but too afraid to take that step.

His feet crunched over the broken branches as they sauntered after the little squirrel. The ground was slick with rain and muddy black, crooked branches all dried and naked, hanging from above like worn-out ropes of some sick practice. An occasional scream or a guttural growl broke the muted silence they shared between them, which often made Lei and Fatty Lou exchange nervous glances, with Zhu Luli humming a song along the path.

That was the only thing that eased Lei’s heart a bit—the unexpected pair of the company who looked as if they knew their business. Lei could only hope they would keep this performance up and running, as he wasn’t sure how long he could take the pounding of his heart that dinned inside his ears.

They trudged through the bushes, up the sloping ground, sloshing down and away, damp hair sticking to the skin like a wet blanket. Little Yao the squirrel kept its nose to the ground, sniffing its way about the forest with the confidence of a master, stopping occasionally to give them an indication about where they were headed with small but effective gestures.

Hours passed while nobody uttered a word. It somehow felt wrong to speak when even the forest loomed silent all around them, a lumbering beast of an entity that breathed in and out with the wind.

“Oh!” Zhu Luli stopped all of a sudden when Little Yao patted with a clawed hand the darkened trunk of a tree. She leaned closer and felt the wood with her fingers, started lowering them down while keeping her eyes fixed on the squirrel.

A little squeak later, she stepped back, crossed her arms over her chest, and waited. Lei was about to ask why they stopped when Little Yao swung one of her claws to the tree, the hard-looking wood crumbling with a deafening crunch. Another claw bore into the tree, sharp edges flashing like silver under the dark, splinters of wood scattering around them even as Lei and Fatty Lou stiffened at the sight.

Once there was a hole big enough to peek inside, Little Yao stepped sideways and allowed Zhu Luli to take a look. Her whole head vanished inside the tree before she pointed with a finger to the lower side of the trunk, Little Yao following the silent order with yet another slash of her claws.

Lei’s ears rang with each impact, making him peer around the forest in fear, expecting a paw or a claw, a bigger one, to come slashing across them any minute now. This wasn’t any different from announcing their presence to the whole forest. Three humans and a squirrel, and from the looks of Fatty Lou, it seemed he knew he’d be the biggest prize of them all.

“Found it!” came Zhu Luli’s voice as she drove an arm inside the tree, laboring for a second before she drew back, holding in her hand a bunch of mushrooms.

“I can’t believe it!” She seemed like an overjoyed bunny as she raised the sickly-looking, darkish mushrooms with a spring, a dozen of them stuck together like an amulet of dark origins. “Grim’s Mushrooms! I thought they were just a fairy tale!”

“Miss.” Fatty Lou cleared his throat, the smile barely hanging at the edge of his lips. “Shouldn’t we be more, I don’t know, careful in here? Not that I want to quench your enthusiasm, but I’m thinking we can’t be too cautious in a forest known for its, err, dark side.”

“Exactly!” Lei said, placing a hand over Fatty Lou’s left shoulder. “Brother Lou’s words have some merit in them. We don’t know what we are dealing with. It’s best to tread with caution until we find Snake and Stone.”

Zhu Luli’s smile slowly gave way to a shocked silence before she stepped forward and bowed her head. “Forgive my rashness, Senior. But you see, these mushrooms are something of a legend from where I came from, and honestly, I don’t have much choice but to oblige when Little Yao gets… excited.”

“Excited?” Lei glanced down at the squirrel. The little creature’s eyes flickered back and forth between Lei and the mushrooms hanging from Zhu Luli’s hand, glinting with desire. He had to take a step back when it struck him. “You want me to cook those mushrooms?”

It was Little Yao who squeaked in approval, rather than letting Zhu Luli do the talking for her. And from the look in her eyes, she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Sighing out a breath, Lei took the mushrooms and turned his back, using his skills to check on them.

[Grim’s Mushrooms: Mortal-Grade - High-Quality] - [Mushrooms tainted by the grim spiritual energy of the forest. Unlike their looks, they are not poisonous and quite nutritious for cultivators who have Earth or Darkness affinities.]

Lei’s fingers trembled around the mushrooms when he saw the High-Quality part. He let go of the skills as he looked back and turned to Fatty Lou, pointing with his eyes at the mushrooms.

“We don’t have to stop right away,” Zhu Luli said sheepishly. “You can cook the mushrooms when we find a place to camp. Isn’t that right, Little Yao?”

Another squeak answered. There was a creeping pain at the back of Lei’s head. It was the first time he got a High-Quality ingredient, and frankly, he wanted to try it. But he also wished to keep his head over his shoulders during the search, and this thing… looked dangerous.

“Yes, we’ll do that,” Fatty Lou said as he gave Lei a greedy look.

You don’t know… How could you possibly know? This is a damned bomb I’m holding here!

Lei was about to argue, but he paused. They didn’t have to eat the food, right? They could just let the pair of them cherish the experience while he and Fatty Lou could watch from the sidelines. Their top priority right now was to keep that squirrel satisfied.

After all, eating these mushrooms… There was no way they would be walking after that.

......