Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 705 - Chapter 705 Chapter 13 Five Flavors and Eight Delicacies

Chapter 705: Chapter 13: Five Flavors and Eight Delicacies Chapter 705: Chapter 13: Five Flavors and Eight Delicacies If the auction house recovers and prices return to their original level, then Cha Xiaodao would have lost more than three hundred thousand Yan Fu points in this one fell swoop. If considering the premium paid for acquiring other items, the loss would be at least six hundred thousand points.

“The ship will straighten when it reaches the bridge. Each incident in the South Seas usually provides some ten to twenty thousand points that can be exchanged for interest first, right? Find a way to rise to the Six Ministries, and then won’t you not have to pay it back? Do you know how to get the other two inheritance components of Yi Yi?”

Li Yan saw Cha Xiaodao’s hand trembling while holding the water cup and couldn’t help but offer a word of comfort.

Yi Yi’s legacy was also a set of three high-ranking items. High-ranking inheritance components like these were relatively scarce. Just like Li Yan’s Wu Zhiqi and Yun Zhongjun, aside from the private collections of a few Ten Masters, the circulating pieces and those held by individual owners in the market had been almost entirely collected by Li Yan. Even so, Yun Zhongjun and Wu Zhiqi were still missing two pieces each, and the rest could only be found within the vast expanse of Daqian Yanfu.

And so it was with Yi Yi’s components.

This spurred Cha Xiaodao into lifting his spirits, “Right! I know where the fruit that may contain Yi Yi’s inheritance components can be found!”

As he spoke, Cha Xiaodao shared the information about a fruit with Li Yan.

“Series Being*Kui Chou One, the Kui Chou Axis is a relatively prosperous and rich fruit, often filled with rare treasures and distinguished figures. Since you are the second seat, you can freely browse the secret archives produced by this fruit, all public and some private travel logs.”

“Travelers of Yan Fu should note that the Yan Zhao Club’s total exploration of the world of Being*Kui Chou One is less than 30%, so please proceed with caution.”

As Li Yan was browsing, he said, “I remember once you wanted to act alone, you went there, right? Huh? So the Weekly Tribute Eight Delicacies came from this fruit as well?”

Li Yan discovered the record of the Weekly Tribute Eight Delicacies: Cicada Cheese.

“My first event in Yan Fu was Being*Kui Chou One. Don’t be fooled by its top rank; it’s actually not that dangerous. I’ve been there a few more times since then. It’s a pity my culinary skills aren’t refined; I came back empty-handed several times. But this time, I got Yi Yi’s inheritance and mastered the Shudawei, as well as the recipe for Dragon Liver. I am confident that I can obtain Yi Yi’s legacy,” Cha Xiaodao recollected, his spirits somewhat restored.

“I’ve been wanting to ask, I’m familiar with the Eight Delicacies but what’s the deal with the Five Flavors? And what’s the effect of dragon whippletree?” Li Yan asked eagerly.

Cha Xiaodao’s reference to the Cicada Cheese had piqued Li Yan’s interest, as it remained one of the top consumables he had ever encountered, and naturally, he was curious about the Five Flavors and the other seven delicacies that ranked alongside it.

“The Five Flavors and the Eight Delicacies are two different concepts. The so-called Five Flavors include the Jade Emperor Taste (sour), the Nine Changes Flavor (spicy), the Hollow Bone Flavor (salty), Su Luo Chan (bitter), and Shudawei (sweet)–a total of five kinds of seasonings. Not just the Eight Delicacies, but feast-level dishes and banquets generally require mastery of two to three, or even all of the Five Main Flavors. So, the Five Flavors are a prerequisite for the Eight Delicacies. As of today, I have mastered four of the main flavors, only still striving to perfect the Jade Emperor Taste,” Cha Xiaodao explained.

After a pause, Cha Xiaodao added, “As for the dragon whippletree, it’s the foremost of the Eight Delicacies. I don’t have all the ingredients, and I haven’t perfected the technique yet. When I do learn it, I’ll tell you.”

“Let’s do it this way then,” Li Yan decided.

“I’ll wait for you. You go pass the Yan Fu trial of Yi Yi first. I also have some preparations to make, then we’ll head to Being*Kui Chou One together,” Li Yan proposed.

“Don’t you need to find Yun Zhongjun and Wu Zhiqi as well?”

“No rush. I don’t have any clues right now, and who knows, maybe I’ll get some unexpected gains from your place,” Li Yan surmised.

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This was an internet cafe filled with the smell of sweat and cheap tobacco. Passing through the dim corridor to the interior, the distorted computer screens uniformly displayed Summoner’s Valley. Occasionally, two would be playing the Freljordian Mayhem.

In the corner, a computer screen quickly flashed forum posts and chat records in blue and white.

newface: The auction house has been frozen for a week now, brothers, how cold is it on the rooftop?

BaiBuchuanXi: Pokes upstairs in the butt.

Qinshou: I heard it’s been unfrozen a few times midway, but as soon as it unfreezes, the reasonably priced items are swept away, and the prices can’t be controlled at all.

newface replied to BaiBuchuanXi: That’s not poking my butt, that’s smacking Tao Zhu’s face!

Sunspot: Jiao Chong has already started checking the water meters, cracking down on speculation and panic selling, brothers, best of luck to you. _(:z] )_

Qinshou replied to Sunspot: Give me a break, what you were flipping isn’t even enough to cover their fuel costs.

BaiBuchuanXi: Insider info, Jiao Chong went to consult with Zhao Xuantan at Wan’an this morning, but the two didn’t part on good terms, supposedly a teacup was smashed.

The Yan Zhao Club is connected to many grey organizations, some of which can take on a part of the responsibilities that the first and second seats overlook, serving as an effective lubricant for the giant machine that is the Club. Others are simply banding together for warmth, forming small circles by specialization, legacy category, or region for sharing intelligence. However, Jilehui is different; lacking any utilitarian nature, its members hardly meet offline, sharing fantasies in images and text or other products relating to the flesh on the forum instead of in person.

To the majority of travelers in Yan Fu, this seemed nearly incomprehensible. Over the years, the Yan Zhao Club has become stricter, but it’s easy for these travelers to achieve real-world success–wealth, fame, pleasure. The Yan Zhao Club generally turns a blind eye to this.

That’s why Jilehui seemed so out of place. Yet in the vastness of the world, there exists such a group of odd people…

Undeniably, at the beginning of Yan Zhao Club selection, they were often extraordinary individuals in various fields. If such individuals were to focus their attention on these strange practices, and with the help of some surreal abilities, the periodicals and video productions shared internally could hang and beat all the companies and websites in the world that live by this niche. It’s rumored that even the Lou Master, Qin An, has a permanent lurker account on the Jilehui forum, though of course, that’s just a legend.

The person in front of the screen browsed for a while, then silently logged in with their username and password.

“`

The Beast King Lance has logged in!!!

“President!”

“Boss!”

Sunspot was banned for three days by the forum administrator, the Beast King Lance, for violating forum management regulations.

Baibu Chuanxi was banned for violation…

The Beast King Lance uploaded a work: Chronicles of Yan Fu’s Indulgence 224: Si Wenji’s Lament.

The person in front of the screen clicked the mouse – swift as chopping with a knife – not leaving a single one, uploading documents, and then, disregarding the frenzy of incoming messages, coldly went offline.

He put on his hood and walked to the front desk: “Check out.”

The internet cafe’s matron glanced at him, spat out a melon seed, picked four green one-yuan notes from the cash drawer for him, then looked away and paid him no more attention.

The hooded man pocketed the money and walked out of the dark internet cafe.

“Maybe I’m misunderstood, maybe exposure would lead to social death. But what’s the big deal?”

His place wasn’t far from here, just around the corner – an old resettlement apartment building.

“This world is awful and boring.”

Going up the stairs.

“When I’m uploading files for Jilehui…”

Turning the key in the lock.

“I am God!”

Mo took off his hood, his expression fervent, the scene frozen.

He looked up to find a tall, sturdy man standing in his cramped room, systematically stacking scattered magazines together, with two large bags of trash in the corner, probably also tidied up by the man.

“…”

Mo looked up at the man’s face, his legs turning to jelly.

Cao Yuanchao looked him over from head to toe, nodded his head as if satisfied, then sat down on the sofa with a plop, greeting Mo familiarly, “Back so soon? I’ve been waiting for a long time, sit.”

Mo swallowed, rubbed his face, and managed a forced smile before sitting opposite Cao Yuanchao.

“I heard from the old man that you want to retire.”

Cao Yuanchao tapped his cigarette pack, pulled out a cigarette to light, and passed the pack to the other man.

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

Mo shakily took one.

“From the moment you stepped in the door, your legs have been shaking nonstop. Got to pee?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Since the old man already agreed, I won’t stand in your way…” Cao Yuanchao scratched his head, “But I’ll still leave my dream with you.”

Hearing this, Mo’s face finally relaxed a bit: “I wasn’t counting on you taking it back anytime soon.”

“There will be a lot of commotion in the Yan Zhao Club soon,” Cao Yuanchao said, looking up at the ceiling fan. “You might get some visitors. Muni died at the hands of a bunch of green kids – that’s certainly suspect, and they will eventually question you. But as to who exactly they are, I can’t be sure.”

“So you want me to,” Mo exhaled a ring of smoke, his complexion much improved, “show some restraint?”

“No,” Cao Yuanchao returned his gaze, his neck snapping down, his eyes cutting into Mo’s face like knife edges, “Whoever comes, whether they’re involved with Third Eye Global or not, as long as they lay a finger on you, kill them all. Then call me because I must make it clear to the Hongzhong Old Man that this matter has nothing to do with me.”

“Understood.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

Cao Yuanchao stood up, picked up the two big trash bags from the corner, and left the apartment, heading downstairs.

“`