Why on earth did they let Ye Yin handle the master-apprentice ceremony?
This Ye Yin...
Can he do anything right?
No, he can't!
If he can't, then why let him handle the ceremony?
I was so careless!
From Yu Xiaogang's resentment, +80!
From Tang San's resentment, +80!
...
Finally, after all the chaos, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San bowed to each other with tears in their eyes.
"Good," the emcee said, a long-suffering smile on his face. "Let's congratulate this couple on successfully becoming... master and apprentice!"
"Salute!"
As the emcee's voice faded, the sound of cannons boomed outside. Everyone at Shrek Academy let out a collective sigh of relief. The farce was finally over, and they could finally eat. The emcee himself sighed deeply, grateful that it was over. If it had gone on any longer, he wouldn't have been able to handle it. He had never been a part of such a strange, grand occasion.
Ye Yin, meanwhile, was already shouting to the staff behind him. "Alright, serve the dishes! The first dish: Herring Stew!"
Hearing the name of the dish, everyone at Shrek Academy felt an immediate sense of dread. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
Soon, a staff member walked out slowly, fully covered in a uniform that concealed their face. They were carrying a large clay pot, from which a thick, bubbling steam rose. The smell was incredibly strong.
"Ugh!"
Before anyone could even see what was in the pot, they all started gagging.
"I should have known!" one of them choked. "Why did I even expect anything good? Why didn't I run when I heard the word 'herring'?"
The Herring Stew was made with enhanced herring, and after being slow-cooked in the pot, the smell had become even more potent and pungent.
When Ma Hongjun smelled the aroma, his eyes immediately filled with tears from the fumes, turning the rims of his eyes red. Mom, you'd ask me why I'm crying hot tears, he thought to himself. It's just too moving!
"Brothers," he said, turning to the others. "I suddenly remembered I need to cultivate! I'm going to head back now." Leaving behind a loud retch, Ma Hongjun ran off without a second thought.
"Wait for me!" Dai Mubai shouted, and he and the others hurriedly fled in a panic. What a terrible day this was! They had originally thought that witnessing the absurd master-apprentice ceremony was bad enough, but at least they had a good meal to look forward to. Who would have thought the meal would be even worse than the ceremony?
The employee carrying the Herring Stew smiled to himself as he watched everyone run away. I thought you all liked to eat it, he thought. I even specially prepared it for you.
He turned his head stiffly to look at Ye Yin. "Everyone's gone. Who is this for then?"
Ye Yin rolled his eyes. "Of course, it's for the master and apprentice. You didn't expect me to eat it, did you?"
Suddenly, the employee understood. He carried the Herring Stew into the room where Yu Xiaogang and Tang San had just gone.
At that moment, the two were looking deeply into each other's eyes. Despite all the twists and turns, they had finally become master and apprentice.
"Teacher…" Tang San said.
"Little San…" Yu Xiaogang replied.
"Teacher."
"Little San."
"Teacher!"
"Little San!"
Just as their emotions were reaching a peak, the employee entered with the Herring Stew.
"Ugh!"
The two of them, in the midst of their emotional moment, immediately started gagging from the smell.
"Ugh! What is this thing?" Yu Xiaogang demanded.
"Such a familiar smell!" Tang San exclaimed.
The staff member replied matter-of-factly, "This is Herring Stew, specially prepared for you."
He placed the pot on the table, then quickly backed out and thoughtfully closed the door.
Tang San and Yu Xiaogang exchanged a look and were about to rush out without hesitation. But just as Yu Xiaogang reached for the doorknob, he realized something. There was no handle inside. He couldn't open it! The door was perfectly sealed to the frame—not even a piece of paper could fit through the gap.
"Open the door!" Yu Xiaogang shouted, banging on it repeatedly. "Open the door now!"
"Ugh!"
...
The smell of the Herring Stew in the room grew stronger and stronger, and Tang San and Yu Xiaogang both felt their heads begin to spin.
Just then, Ye Yin clicked a lock from the outside. "No one is allowed to open the door," he announced to the staff. "They're a new couple who just became master and apprentice. It's their sweet moment. No one is allowed to disturb them!"
As Ye Yin watched the resentment values from Yu Xiaogang and Tang San continuously increase, he smiled contentedly. The sound of gagging from inside the room was incessant.
"No, Little San," Yu Xiaogang said, his voice strained. "This door can't be opened at all! Quickly, find a way to deal with the herring in this stew. That way, we won't smell it anymore."
Tang San nodded his head repeatedly when he heard Yu Xiaogang's words. As expected of Grandmaster, he thought. He always has the right idea!
Instinctively, Tang San reached for the lid of the pot and opened it. Then, without even thinking, he leaned in and took a big sniff. That one sniff was enough to make him feel like he was about to faint.
"Ugh!" That one sniff was so potent it almost made Tang San see his great-grandmother.
"Cover it!" Yu Xiaogang exclaimed. "Why did you open it?"
Tang San came back to his senses and hurriedly put the lid back on.
"Take off your clothes!" Yu Xiaogang said, thinking quickly. "If you wrap it tightly with clothes, it'll be fine."
Yu Xiaogang quickly took off his clothes and layered them over the Herring Stew. Tang San followed suit. In the blink of an eye, both of them were left only in their undergarments.
However, the idea was effective. With the pot firmly covered, the smell immediately became much weaker. The odor was gradually absorbed by the clothes. Without the strong smell of herring, the two of them sat on the ground, breathing deeply and feeling a sense of relief.
Outside, Ye Yin saw that Tang San and Yu Xiaogang were no longer providing him with resentment values. He thought to himself that it was time to let the master and apprentice out. He immediately unlocked the door and pushed it open.
The moment the door opened, Ye Yin was met with a horrifying sight.
His eyes widened. "Holy crap! What did you two do in there?" he shouted. "You two are master and apprentice, not husband and wife!"
Hearing Ye Yin's voice, everyone in the Soto City Grand Hotel was drawn over. They shook their heads repeatedly at the scene inside the room.
"Oh dear!" one person exclaimed.
"Oh my goodness!" another said.
"This is terrible! What did we all just see?" someone else asked.
"You're master and apprentice!" a woman cried out. "Even if we forgot this was a master-apprentice ceremony, you can't really treat it like a wedding and go to the bridal chamber!"
Tang San and Yu Xiaogang's vision went black. What kind of situation was this?
Ye Yin shouted indignantly, "Little San, oh Little San, are you being fair to Little Ao by doing this? Are you being fair to Oscar?"
Tang San felt like he couldn't explain himself. "No, listen to me!"
The two of them anxiously tried to pick up the clothes that were covering the Herring Stew. But as soon as the clothes were lifted, the strong, already well-brewed smell immediately escaped.
"Ugh!"
----------------
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion