"What is it?" Xiangling looked at Ryou.
"I wanted to ask you something about your Master. Is that alright?" Ryou said.
"My Master…?" Xiangling blinked in surprise. "Wait, are you trying to become her disciple?"
But then another thought crossed her mind. If Ryou really did become her Master's disciple, wouldn't that give her more chances to spend time with him? Maybe even…
"No, not that." Ryou shook his head.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Keqing staring at him, then at Xiangling. The suspicion in her gaze was obvious, and it gave him a headache.
It's still too early to be this direct.
He had only asked because he wanted to know more about Madame Ping.
"Then what do you want to know?" Xiangling asked, puzzled.
"Do you… know that your Master is an adeptus?" Ryou asked.
"An adeptus…" Xiangling hesitated for a moment, glanced at Ryou, then at Hu Tao, and finally said, "I know. I've been to my Master's home before. I even helped clean it."
"You already knew?" Ryou was genuinely surprised.
He had always found that strange. Very few people in Liyue seemed to know the truth, even though the clues were there.
"Mm." Xiangling nodded.
"Then… does your master know how to create a pocket world?" Ryou asked.
"A pocket world?" Xiangling frowned and thought for a moment. "I'm not sure about that. You'd probably have to ask Yanfei."
"As for me, my master never taught me much about adeptal arts. If that's some kind of adeptus technique, then I definitely wouldn't know it."
"What's a pocket world?" Hu Tao asked, turning to Ryou.
Ryou set a teapot on the table and pointed at it. "This is a teapot. A pocket world is a whole world created inside something like this—a place people can actually live in."
Hu Tao sucked in a breath. "That's possible?"
"Yeah. My Master has a teapot like that too." Xiangling touched her chin and thought it over. "So that's what it's called. You can even go in and out of it."
Then she added, "I can't promise I'll be able to help, though. My Master hasn't made anything for anyone in a long time."
Hu Tao bit into a strawberry and looked at Ryou. "So you want Xiangling's master to make you a pocket world too?"
"Exactly." Ryou nodded.
Just then, the fishing rod jerked.
A powerful pull came from the other end of the line, and Ryou immediately felt how heavy it was. Whatever was down there had to be huge.
"Big one! Big one!" Hu Tao pointed excitedly at Starfell Lake.
"Ryou, I'll help." Keqing set her own rod aside and grabbed hold of his.
When the fish finally came up, even Ryou looked surprised. It was enormous—easily over twenty pounds.
The moment it hit the ground, it began thrashing wildly, clearly trying to flop its way back to the lake.
"Don't even think about it!" Klee rushed over and grabbed the fish with both hands.
Ryou hurried over to help her pin it down, then lifted it and dropped it into the bucket. The fish was so large that the water spilled right over the edge.
"You're really something," Xiangling said, staring at the bucket. "Those two fish together have to be around thirty pounds."
"If you ask me, we should just find a place and eat them here."
Ryou nodded. "Sounds good. Then let's clean and cook them here. I'll leave the fish to you, Xiangling."
He got up and took out all kinds of ingredients, along with a cutting board and knife. The spread was dazzling, especially the dried chilies, which gave off a rich, aggressive aroma.
Xiangling looked surprised. She picked one up and sniffed it.
Almost immediately, her face changed. She turned away and coughed hard.
It took her a while to recover.
"Cough… that's spicy," she said. "It's even stronger than Jueyun Chilis. Is that chili paste next to it too?"
"It is." Ryou smiled. "It's made with a lot of chili powder and a few special ingredients. The flavor's very intense. Most people can't handle it."
"Hiss… that's really hot." Xiangling dabbed a little on her finger and tasted it.
The heat hit her instantly. Her scalp went numb.
In no time, sweat had broken out all over her body. She kept fanning at her face, but the burning wouldn't go away.
Ryou was startled by the sight.
He truly hadn't expected Xiangling to just taste it straight like that.
Her lips were already looking fuller now—red, glossy, and even a little swollen.
"Quick, drink this." Ryou handed her some fruit juice infused with spiritual energy.
"Whew… it still burns," Xiangling said after taking a few gulps.
She felt better than before, but the heat still hadn't fully faded.
When she looked at Ryou again, there was a hint of grievance in her eyes—but also admiration.
She loved spicy food herself, but Ryou's chili paste wasn't just spicy. It actually tasted good. The problem was, it was so spicy that even she could barely stand it.
"Is it really that bad?" Hu Tao asked, visibly shocked.
She shrank back from the jar.
In Hu Tao's mind, Xiangling could eat almost any level of spice. Seeing her overwhelmed to this extent was honestly terrifying.
"Want to try some?" Ryou asked.
"No. Absolutely not." Hu Tao shook her head so hard it was almost a blur.
Ryou glanced at her, then closed the lid on the jar, cutting off most of the spicy aroma.
"Xiangling, just rest for a while," he said. "I'll cook."
"I-I'm fine," Xiangling said, shaking her head.
She could feel that her whole mouth was swollen, but she still wanted to help.
"It's alright. I'll help him instead," Keqing said as she stood up.
"Xiangling, look at your lips." Hu Tao quickly handed her more juice. "Drink this and eat some fruit. Settle down first."
Xiangling sat in her chair and watched Ryou and Keqing work together.
Now and then, the two of them would glance at each other and smile while they cooked.
The sight made Xiangling quietly envious.
She rested her chin on one hand and just watched.
Before long, a rich aroma began to spread through the air. It was full-bodied, layered, and incredibly inviting. Once the ingredients started going in one after another, the fragrance became even harder to resist.
Xiangling got up and walked over to stand beside them, watching closely as they cooked.
She sniffed the air and said, "That smells incredible. Ryou, your cooking's gotten so good it might actually be catching up to mine."
"Better than yours? No way," Hu Tao whispered.
"Yes, maybe." Xiangling lowered her voice too. "The technique looks simple, so it's hard to tell much at a glance. And he doesn't even seem to be watching the heat that carefully…"
Hu Tao froze. "Doesn't that mean he can't cook? Isn't controlling the heat really important?"
"It is important," Xiangling said softly. "But Ryou's ingredients are excellent, and they work together beautifully."
"Do you smell that? It's ridiculously appetizing. Once you taste it, you'll understand. The flavor is definitely going to be top-tier."
"Oh? What's that?" Xiangling spotted a strange slice of vegetable go into the pot and leaned closer to ask.
"Pickled mustard greens," Ryou said. "I'll explain how they're made later. Today we're making fish stew with pickled mustard greens."
"Fish stew with pickled mustard greens…" Xiangling inhaled deeply. "It smells amazing."
"Of course it does. My husband's cooking has improved a lot," Keqing said with a smile as she breathed in the aroma.
"Yeah, it really has," Xiangling agreed at once.
Ryou laughed when he heard that.
He knew very well that the dish itself wasn't all that difficult to make. But if he wanted to truly match Xiangling in pure skill, that would still be extremely hard.
After all, if it came down to technique alone, he couldn't beat her.
The problem was that Ryou had the system.
Most of the boost was coming from stacked buffs.
One effect enhanced taste, another improved color, and another deepened the aroma. Then, when his [Hand] passed over the ingredients, the dish gained an extra boost in quality.
And once every part of the dish had been raised together, the combined effect was far greater than a simple one-point increase.
On top of that, his [Eyes] were still active, which pushed the dish's quality up even further.
For a short time, he could directly raise the dish to Quality +3.
And if he added one more enhancement on top of that, it would hit Quality +4.
At that point, the flavor really could surpass Xiangling's.
The most important part, though, was the pot.
[Special Cooking Pot!]
[Effect 1: Perfect Temperature Control — It can maintain flawless heat at all times for one day!]
[Effect 2: Soup Specialist — When used to cook soups or broths, quality +2 for three days!]
That meant as long as he used this pot for broth-based dishes, the total quality could rise to +5.
In other words, under these conditions, Ryou's cooking really could edge past Xiangling's.
The difference was that Xiangling relied entirely on her own skill.
Ryou, on the other hand, was cooking with every buff stacked on top of each other.
He put the lid on the pot and said, "Give it another half hour and it'll be done."
"Amazing." Xiangling gave him a thumbs-up.
She couldn't help thinking the gap between them might already be larger than she wanted to admit.
Not long ago, she had been invited to Ryou's home, and back then his cooking had been nowhere near hers.
Now, though, he had already caught up—and maybe even surpassed her.
Xiangling looked at Ryou with open admiration.
His level really was frightening.
"Ryou… um…" Xiangling hesitated, then finally asked, blushing, "Could you teach me this recipe?"
"I want to put it on the menu at Wanmin Restaurant. If there's anything you want in exchange…"
[End of chapter]
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