The crane meat was unexpectedly delicious. Its tender texture exploded in Niu Hansan's mouth instantly. The meat was springy, and when he bit into it, he felt like it was bouncing off his teeth. The feeling of something jumping in his mouth widened his eyes in a flash.
Like Bu Fang, a beam of sword energy shot out of his mouth, which poked a small hole in the ground with steam rising from it. It was indeed powerful. Niu Hansan forgot to chew. He found that even though this thing wasn't integrated with a Gourmet Array, its power was no weaker than that of the Explosive Meatball. If it were added with a Gourmet Array, wouldn't its sword energy be more powerful?
He smacked his lips as if he wasn't fully satisfied. Then, he held out his chopsticks again, picked up another piece of crane meat, and put it into his mouth. He bit it. With a slash, another sharp sword beam shot out, hit the ground, and poked a hole. "Not bad, not bad... This is delicious!" Looking at the tiny hole, Niu Hansan seemed to be having fun eating the meat.
He picked up another one, ate it, and shot out another sword beam. There was a satisfied look on his face.
Looking at Niu Hansan, Bu Fang couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. "Well... Do you feel anything unusual now?" he asked.
"It lacks some Will of the Great Path. Otherwise, it can be considered an excellent carrier for a Death Food Tool. It is even more awesome than the Perishing Pot," Niu Hansan said honestly.
Bu Fang nodded and thought what he said was very reasonable. "I'll leave you the task of making the ingredient contain the Will of the Great Path then... I think you are very familiar with it already," he said sincerely, looking at Niu Hansan. After that, he produced a Sword Feather Crane. The System prepared a total of three cranes for him. He had cooked one and was left with two, which could be given to Niu Hansan.
Niu Hansan blinked with a piece of crane meat in his mouth. He glanced at the Sword Feather Crane in Bu Fang's hand and took a deep breath. The sharp sword intent in the bird startled him. 'What a terrible sword intent! Is this what's in this clay pot? Every chef is indeed a born artist with uncanny power! It's not easy for the crane to be made like this...'
"I'll give it a try," he said. He took the crane from Bu Fang, turned, and walked behind the wooden hut. After a while, he trotted back, stood before the clay pot, and continued to eat the crane meat. As soon as he put a piece of meat in his mouth, a sword beam shot out and poked a hole in the ground.
Looking at Niu Hansan, who was eating happily, Bu Fang didn't say anything. He left the Sword Pot here and let him continue to eat, and then he left the farmland. Death Food Tools should be studied slowly. Of course, if the research was successful, he would be busy again.
...
Bu Fang returned to the kitchen. Xixi was still sitting in her chair, licking the bowl of ice cream.
"Teacher Bu, what kind of food is this? It tastes good!" the little girl said happily.
"It's called ice cream, and it was made by my other apprentice chef," said Bu Fang, rubbing Xixi's head.
Suddenly, he froze and fell into thought. Now, his restaurant had many branches, but they were scattered in different places and didn't communicate with each other, which was not a good thing. He wondered if the System had a way to let all his apprentice chefs get together and share their cooking skills with each other. He believed that it would certainly improve their skills.
'System, what do you think?' Bu Fang asked the System in his mind. He felt that the idea was very necessary.
The System fell into silence, as if it was thinking.
He waited patiently. He really hoped there would be a way to bring together all his apprentice chefs so that they could communicate and improve together.
'Teacher Bu's other apprentice chef?' Xixi's eyes lit up, and her heart filled with curiosity. She had heard from Nethery that Bu Fang had a number of restaurants and that each had his apprentice chefs. When she found that he was going to tell her about these apprentices, she immediately became a little excited. Although she was addicted to cooking, she was only a child after all. She had been practicing cooking alone, and it was inevitable that she would feel tired. Therefore, sometimes, she also hoped that there was someone she could talk to about cooking.
'Attention, Host...' the System's serious voice rang out.
Bu Fang's eyes focused.
'After analyzing, the System found the Host's proposal to gather apprentice chefs from different restaurants to be feasible, but the implementation required a plane carrier,' the System said.
Bu Fang frowned. He knew what the System meant. The so-called plane carrier was a place where apprentice chefs could get together, and it couldn't be the Immortal Cooking Realm or Light Wind Empire because the levels of planes were different. Therefore, the apprentices couldn't cross the boundaries. He was again lost in thought.
'The System suggests that the Host use the Heaven and Earth Farmland as a plane carrier,' the System's voice rang again.
Bu Fang's eyes lit up instantly. 'The Heaven and Earth Farmland... Yeah, that's a good idea! Since Jing Yuan can go there to get milk, the others can visit it as well! It's a perfect plane carrier since apprentice chefs from different planes won't be affected...'
'Yes, this will work,' Bu Fang nodded.
'The Host's proposal has been accepted. Now constructing the restaurant portals...'
Bu Fang looked up and met Xixi's curious eyes. He rubbed her head and said, "Xixi, Teacher Bu is taking you to a fun place."
The little girl paused for a moment, then let out a cheer. "A fun place? Alright!" she said excitedly.
Bu Fang lifted a hand, pointed to the front, and said, "Do you know what is behind that door?"
Xixi looked toward where he was pointing, and her little face was suddenly filled with incredulity. "That... When did a door appear there?" she asked curiously.
As someone who had practiced cooking in the restaurant kitchen for so long, Xixi was very familiar with everything here. After all, in her spare time, she would stroll in the kitchen. However, she was sure that there was no such door in the restaurant!
"Why not open the door and have a look? My other apprentices are behind that door," said Bu Fang.
There was a sudden glow of excitement in Xixi's eyes. She flew to the door. It was a bronze door, with no intricate designs carved on it but only a handle.
"Come here quickly, Teacher Bu!" She grabbed the handle but hesitated to turn it, so she looked at Bu Fang and shouted, wanting him to come and give her courage.
Bu Fang came over.
With a click, the handle was turned, and the door creaked open.
A breeze gusted through the door as Bu Fang took Xixi by the hand and stepped through it.
This door was a portal constructed by the System, which linked Bu Fang's restaurants to the Heaven and Earth Farmland.
Soon, everything in front of them became clear. Xixi took Bu Fang's hand and hid behind him in fear. However, when she saw the beautiful scenery in the farmland, her eyes sparkled. "This place is so beautiful!" she exclaimed.
A breeze blew across the grass, revealing a chicken...
Eighty was running happily through the grass when it suddenly froze, turned its head, and saw Bu Fang. That instantly terrified it. At the thought of how terrible this chef had looked when his hair turned red not long ago, it shivered. Without hesitation, Eighty turned and ran, burrowed into the grass, and disappeared.
The Eight Treasures Pig did the same when it saw Bu Fang, rolling and crawling as far away from him as possible.
"Teacher Bu, the chicken and pig seem to be afraid of you," Xixi said curiously.
"Maybe it's because I'm handsome," Bu Fang replied with a straight face. He glanced at Eighty and the Eight Treasures Pig, who had gone far away, and pursed his lips.
A moment later, the creaking of a door rang out. Xixi's attention was attracted by the sound, and she glanced around. Even then, the wind in the farmland grew stronger, filling the air with the fragrance of grass.
The first door opened, and a graceful figure walked out of it. She was carrying a wooden barrel and seemed to visit the farmland quite often. However, when she saw Bu Fang and Xixi, she was still slightly surprised.
"Chef Bu?"
Bu Fang nodded at Jing Yuan and said to Xixi, "She is also Teacher Bu's apprentice."
Xixi looked shyly at Jing Yuan, then nodded at her while holding Bu Fang's arm.
Jing Yuan was slightly taken aback, but a smile quickly emerged on her beautiful face.
At that moment, the other doors opened around them. Jing Yuan and Xixi looked over curiously and saw three doors.
Bu Fang's heart filled with surging emotions as he glanced at the doors, because he knew those doors represented his three other restaurants: Fang Fang's Little Store, Cloud Mist Restaurant, and Taotie Restaurant, the three restaurants in Hidden Dragon Continent.
"Oh? Why is there an extra door in the restaurant? The workmanship of this door is really rubbish. It's not as good as the door in my house," said a gentle voice. After that, a figure pushed open the door and stuck a head through it.
It was a beautiful face with skin as fair as snow and long hair that was tied up with a velvet rope like Bu Fang. If it weren't for the apple in his throat and his male voice, Xixi and Jing Yuan would think that he was a woman.
Xiao Xiaolong walked through the door. A breeze blew into his face and made him close his eyes. He had grown taller and had become... prettier and more feminine. He had grown from a little handsome boy to a comely man.
"The f*ck?!" As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Bu Fang and Xixi in the distance, and he noticed that the little girl was holding Bu Fang's hand.
That glance seemed to look through a thousand years.
"Bu... Owner Bu? The f*ck? Do my eyes deceive me? I thought you've gone to the Immortal Cooking Realm? And... Who's that little girl? You have a daughter now? F*ck! I really... admire you!"
Xiao Xiaolong was in awe. He had not seen Bu Fang for a long time, and he didn't expect to receive such a great gift when they finally met again!
Suddenly, he turned around, as if he suddenly thought of something, and shouted at the door, "Sister Yu Fu, come here quickly! Owner Bu came back to visit us with his daughter!"
The corner of Bu Fang's mouth twitched violently, and he felt somewhat speechless.
He wished he could give this fellow a slap in the face now...