Chapter 425: Pearl Hidden in the Dark
Watching her teacher savor the egg fried rice she had personally cooked, Yue Lengxin's eyes curved with a gentle smile.
That guy definitely has no idea that she also snuck over to learn his egg fried rice recipe, right?
After all, there were more than three thousand people in the plaza, and she even wore a hood…
When she told him later, would he be surprised…?
Thinking of this, Yue Lengxin couldn't help but grin foolishly again.
Win Ruoruo, who was tasting the fried rice, let out a barely noticeable sigh.
Having lived through her own youth, she naturally saw what her disciple had yet to realize—Yue Lengxin had already developed feelings for that Han Shi owner.
…
Qi Han gently traced a finger over a particular name on the list, a warm smile rising on his face.
When did she come?
These days, he faced thousands of learners every day. Each time he looked up, it was a sea of heads. He barely remembered anyone at all, let alone spot Yue Lengxin—who had deliberately hidden in a corner with her hood up.
But unlike what Yue Lengxin imagined, Qi Han, armed with the attendance list as if cheating, already knew about her little sneakiness.
She came to learn egg fried rice from me…
At the moment, this single sentence echoed in Qi Han's mind. Even the joy of his quest progress reaching over eight hundred was overshadowed for a moment. He stared at that name on the screen in a daze for quite some time before snapping back to reality and joining Ye Lingqing to prepare for the night's business.
"Teacher, why do I feel like you suddenly seem really happy?"
"Really? Lingqing, you've been practicing too hard these days. You're imagining things. You need to pay attention to balancing work and rest…"
"Okay, teacher."
…
Just as Qi Han had predicted, since the progress for Side Quest 8 had already reached over eight hundred by the fifth day—only a short distance from the goal of one thousand—the rest would just be a matter of slow, steady work.
But in fact, the "slow grind" finished even faster than he expected.
Right after noon business ended on the second day, Ru Yi's voice sounded in Qi Han's mind.
Side Quest 8 had been completed.
Overjoyed, Qi Han still kept a calm expression as he sent off a few employees. Only after returning to the third floor did he begin checking his quest rewards.
As for Ye Lingqing—since Qi Han had told him yesterday to rest and recuperate, he didn't ask him to continue training. The kid had been practicing day and night while also helping teach egg fried rice. He truly was exhausted.
Let him rest for the afternoon.
[Side Quest 8: Steps of Conquest I (Completed)
Reward: Spirit Power Level +2 (claimable), 1 3 Star recipe of your choice (claimable).]
It's here, it's here! The quest rewards are here!
Qi Han took a deep breath, reached out, and decisively chose the Spirit Power level reward.
As Spirit Power flowed through his limbs and bones, coursing through his meridians and growing stronger, the world's elemental energy poured into him. Qi Han's cultivation rose once more—from the recently reached Level 46 to Level 48 in a single leap.
From the time he left Earth and arrived in this world, it seemed like ages had passed, but in reality it had only been about half a year.
And in half a year, he had gone from having no Spirit Power at all to nearing the threshold of Spirit King level.
Clearly, leveling up through quests was the true path.
Cultivation? What proper person cultivates the normal way anymore?
Now that his Spirit Power level had reached 48, he was already very close to the Spirit King rank. Once he became a Spirit King, not only would he obtain his fifth Spirit Ring, he would finally be able to begin learning 4 Star recipes.
That 4 Star recipe sitting in his recipe list—Peony Fish Fillet—had been locked and unusable for three whole months. Every time he saw it, Qi Han felt a prickling discomfort in his chest.
It was like… seeing a little red notification dot on a game interface that simply would not go away.
Ugh. So annoying…
Fortunately, all he needed was to complete one more quest and reach Spirit King. Then he could finally start learning it.
Qi Han comforted himself with that thought, temporarily setting aside the 3 Star recipe reward from Side Quest 8. With a swipe of his finger, he opened the next page of the quest panel.
Perhaps because the completion time for Main Quest 8 had been unusually long this time, the number of associated Side Quests was also quite high. And sure enough, immediately after finishing Side Quest 8, a new one—Side Quest 9—appeared.
[Side Quest 9: Graduation—Holding the Fort Alone
Please complete your teaching of disciple Ye Lingqing and ensure he can independently handle Han Shi's breakfast operations.
Quest Description: With such a thoughtful Ru Yi, please restrain your gratitude.
Quest Reward: Spirit Power +2.]
"…Huh?"
Staring at the newly popped-up Side Quest 9, several black lines slowly crept across Qi Han's face.
"Ru Yi, this quest…"
"How is it? Super thoughtful, right?" Ru Yi's smug voice echoed in his mind.
"No, I mean…" Qi Han paused for a moment. "Isn't the reward a little too little?"
Just Spirit Power +2?
Sure, that was exactly the reward Qi Han wanted most—but couldn't he at least throw in a recipe or something?
"What do you mean too little?" Ru Yi rolled her eyes inside the system space. "This was your plan to begin with. I just pushed it along and made it a quest. Since it's something you were already going to do, of course the reward won't be big. Be grateful!"
"…Fine."
Qi Han rubbed his nose and flipped back to the completed Side Quest 8 page. He claimed the unclaimed 3 Star random recipe reward, then entered the system space and began the lottery.
Under the anticipation of both one person and one system spirit, the purple wheel's result gradually surfaced.
3 Star Recipe: Pearl Hidden in the Dark.
"…Huh?"
Qi Han's expression instantly became bizarre.
"Ru Yi, why is that dish even in here?"
Pearl Hidden in the Dark was not an Earth dish at all. It actually originated from Gourmet Food Supplier, created by the author Cai Mao based on the classic Huaiyang dish Eight-Treasure Gourd Duck.
Other similar dishes included Formless from Young Chef of Northern Song, Fried Eggplant Paste from Dream of the Red Chamber, and so on.
These dishes had never been formally recognized by any authority like the Chef's Association. Although there were successful recreations online, they theoretically shouldn't be included in Ru Yi's system recipe library. It should be impossible for Qi Han to draw them.
But now he actually had…
"Ah… that." Ru Yi's tone became awkward. "Well, this one has a little something to do with the system upgrade."
"Because of the upgrade, fictional dishes can now be included?" Qi Han guessed.
"No, not quite."
"Then what?"
"You know how 3 Star dishes have lingering souls before they're learned. When they're idle, they start tinkering with improvements to their dishes. That used to be fine. But after the Life Crystal upgraded the system, those souls also got strengthened and filled out. Now they're… harder to manage."
Ru Yi coughed lightly.
"So here's the thing—this dish used to be Eight-Treasure Gourd Duck. But then the old master chef who created that dish got bored and asked me to find him something food-related to read. So I gave him Gourmet Food Supplier. And then…"
"He happily modified Eight-Treasure Gourd Duck into Pearl Hidden in the Dark."
Qi Han: "???"
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Note:
Eight-Treasure Gourd Duck:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight_treasure_duck
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