After cleaning up the dishes, the sense of satisfaction brought by that brilliant soup still flowed through her limbs and bones, warmly giving rise to laziness and contentment.
Lovia let out a small burp. The strange and alluring aroma still lingered in the air, so she chose to go outside for some fresh air.
Lest she get hungry again after smelling it for too long.
She slumped in the small high-backed chair by the door, her sapphire-blue eyes looking at the sky, seeing the boundless starry firmament.
Mm, it looked just like the kind she had just stewed.
Her gaze unconsciously swept over countless stars, only feeling that the more she looked, the more they resembled those small granules of Zhongli she had stewed.
Crunchy and delicious.
With her body and mind completely relaxed, a certain instinct began to quietly awaken.
Since she called herself a gourmet, then... for the next article, why not write something related to food?
Speaking of Liyue cuisine, one would inevitably think of Wanmin Restaurant and its head chef, Xiangling.
Oh right, and there's also that always dazed, round Guoba.
"Hmm..." Lovia subconsciously stroked her chin, a hint of playfulness flashing in her eyes.
As everyone knows, Chef Xiangling of Wanmin Restaurant has exquisite culinary skills and unrestrained creativity, making her a leader in the Liyue culinary world.
But... is there a possibility?
That behind those amazing, peerless new dishes and those seemingly coincidental fusions of flavors, there actually hides another "Culinary Consultant" partner?
For example... a certain someone who seems to be just a mascot but is actually a hidden master... A title that was extremely bold yet made her so excited that the tip of her tail swayed happily under the starlight suddenly popped out.
unofficial history of Wanmin Restaurant: Is Guoba the Real God of Cooking?"
"Pfft!" Lovia couldn't help but laugh out loud first, quickly covering her mouth, though her eyes curved into crescents.
Although this idea was absurd, it was... very interesting!
Readers would definitely react. After all, those who have been to Wanmin Restaurant generally know Xiangling, and if they know Xiangling, they must have seen her inseparable companion, Guoba!
Just this title alone is enough to make people's curiosity explode.
Besides, Guoba was originally the God of Cooking; it's just that nobody knows. So, this time she's seriously writing facts, not just making things up!
With just a beginning, Lovia's thoughts immediately galloped away like a runaway horse along this absurd yet alluring premise.
Inspiration gushed out like a floodgate being opened, unstoppable.
She had even already imagined Xiangling scratching her head with a confused expression of "Is that really how it is?" and Guoba tilting his head with an innocent "Rua?"
"Hehe, hehehe..." Lovia couldn't help but let out a low, mischievous laugh. That bit of lingering fear regarding the Adepti from earlier had long since been cast to the back of her mind.
She needed to avoid the subject of Adepti for a while (after all, she had just sent almond tofu to beg for mercy), but Liyue was so big, there were plenty of interesting things!
Guoba... what a great subject!
Friendly, cute, and comes with a mysterious background (though most people don't know it), and he definitely won't come knocking on her door with a vortex vanquisher.
At most... at most he'd just breathe some fire? Or say "rua rua rua" to express protest?
Thinking of this, Lovia couldn't help but "pfft" and laugh again, her sapphire-blue eyes flashing with cunning light under the starry sky. She leaned back in her chair relaxedly, her tail tapping the ground occasionally, completely immersed in the brilliant inspiration of "Guoba the Real God of Cooking."
As a transmigrator who knew the "plot," she knew that Guoba wasn't entirely just a mascot.
"Guoba, oh Guoba..." Lovia whispered to herself, a smile playing on her lips. "Who would have thought that this little bear who spends all day crying 'rua rua' and following Xiangling around was once the ancient God who governed the 'hearth fire' and 'livelihood' of the Liyue lands?"
Her thoughts drifted to the records about Guoba she had scrolled through back when she used to browse the MiHoYo community.
Guoba, or rather "Machius," was once a powerful God with a grand stature.
He was not known for martial prowess, but rather poured his wisdom and compassion into the mortal world. He taught the ancestors how to build fires, stay warm, and cook food, using flames to dispel the cold and darkness, bringing the earliest warmth of civilization and the aroma of cooked meals.
He traveled across the thousands of mountains and rivers of Liyue, dredging riverbeds, leveling reefs, and opening up flat roads so that resources could flow and settlements could prosper.
He was the "God of the Stove," the "God of Pioneering," and one of the cornerstones upon which the ancestors of Liyue relied for survival.
However, great power comes with great consumption. To protect the nascent Liyue, Machius gave his power without reservation to the land of Liyue to calm various disasters, nourish all things, and protect the people.
By doing so, he saved a Liyue that had been torn apart and shattered by the Archon War.
His power gradually faded through selfless sacrifice, until finally, he offered and overextended all of his divine power as a God. As a result, his stature continued to shrink, and he eventually even lost his wisdom and memories, becoming as pure as a newborn spirit.
"So," Lovia nodded to herself, her eyes carrying a hint of respect, "saying Guoba is the 'Real God of Cooking' is not wrong at all from a fundamental level. Without the spark he sowed back then, where would the smoke from the kitchen fires of Liyue's ten thousand homes come from today? If you trace it back to the source, the hearth fire of Wanmin Restaurant was originally burning the source power of a God!"
In her view, although Guoba was now ignorant, that intuition and understanding of "heat control," "cooking," and "deliciousness" derived from his essence as a God had long been deeply engraved in the depths of his soul, becoming instinct.
Xiangling's unrestrained creative ideas were a manifestation of her own talent, but who could say there wasn't a little "help" from Guoba involved?
Lovia imagined that perhaps when Xiangling was hesitating over which spice to add, Guoba "unintentionally" knocked over a certain jar; perhaps while simmering a crucial broth, Guoba "happened" to hug a jueyun chili into the pot; or perhaps when ingredient pairing hit a bottleneck, Guoba's happy mood while enjoying food inspired Xiangling, giving her a flash of insight... An image suddenly burst into her mind: in a steaming kitchen, Xiangling was vigorously tossing a wok, while Guoba was on the side, seemingly clumsily holding a jueyun chili or Starconch, which "accidentally" fell into the simmering broth... "Yes, exactly." The more Lovia thought about it, the more she felt her "theory" was impeccable, and her tail swayed happily from side to side. "On the surface, Xiangling is leading everything, but in reality, the true 'God of Food' is silently accompanying Xiangling in its own way, completing culinary creations with her! This is the shocking truth hidden beneath the mundane daily life!"
This idea made her incredibly excited.
Writing a modern culinary anecdote about an amnesiac God was full of drama and contrast, and it could also subtly reveal the selfless sacrifice of Liyue's local deity, the "God of the Stove."
Simply perfect!
"Good! I'll write it like this!" She slapped her thigh, her sapphire-like eyes sparkling with the fire of creation. "The title will be unofficial history of Wanmin Restaurant: Is Guoba the Real God of Cooking?". This is the culinary wisdom and thousand-year heritage hidden beneath a cute and dazed exterior!"
Not bad, not bad at all.
She could already see the expressions of sudden realization and knowing smiles on the readers' faces when they saw the article.
However, just after Lovia had barely started this fan-fiction unofficial history, a major event occurred that made her decide to temporarily switch to another article!
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