Stranger Danger

Chapter 449: Where Goes The Soul

As soon as the soup entered his mouth, an indescribable taste immediately erupted across his taste buds. It tasted like leftovers that had been submerged in sewage waters for a whole night, and it flowed down his throat like a million stinking vermin struggling to find a way out of his insides. The portion that flowed into his stomach was chewing away at his stomach walls, and the portion that surged into his brain was ripping into his brains.

Tears immediately streamed down Ye Qing’s face. If he could turn back time...

The indescribable sensation lasted for a dozen or so breaths when suddenly, they disappeared all at once. It was replaced by an indescribably refreshing feeling that seeped not just throughout his body, but also the soul. Like a pool of clear water, it washed away the filth entrenched inside his body and soothed his injuries. His mind felt cool and comfortable like he was bathing under a mountain stream.

Just like that, he found the strength to live again.

“How is it, Joyless?” His companions asked in a hurry after Ye Qing opened his eyes.

“For one moment, I was in hell. Then, paradise,” Ye Qing replied honestly.

He now understood why the dish was named Where Goes The Soul. For one moment, he felt like he was being tortured in hell. The next, he found himself in the Kingdom of Buddha, enlightened and refreshed. It was aptly named.

“What does that mean? I’m asking you about the taste!” Gao Ningan pressed.

Ye Qing shot Gao Ningan a look. Then, he smirked and pointed at his tear-covered cheeks, saying, “I shed tears of joy just like the waiter said I would. What do you think? Is there anyone who would like to give it a try?”

“Hah! Like we would fall for that!” Gao Ningan sneered. “If it’s that tasty, then you should keep it to yourself. It’s not like there’s no other dishes on the table.”

“Does it help your injuries, Joyless?” Lin Yuhuai asked concernedly.

Ye Qing nodded. “Yes, it helps a little.”

“Good, good! You should drink more of it when you’re ready!” Lin Yuhuai exclaimed with delight.

Disappointed that Ye Qing hadn’t embarrassed himself, Gao Ningan returned to his seat and beckoned, “Alright, it’s time to eat. These Poison Eating Maggots are extremely delicious, so don’t waste it. Oh, we should eat the Wealth Monkey’s brain while it’s still hot. It’s not as good after it turns cold.”

At the beginning, Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai were understandably wary of the suspicious-looking food. But when they saw Gao Ningan engorging himself like no tomorrow, they couldn’t help but give it a taste as well. For one moment, their eyes widened like saucers. Then, they went to town on the food just like Gao Ningan as well.

Noting their enthusiasm, Ye Qing gave the rest of the dishes a try. The moment he took the first bite, he realized that everything he ate until this point in life was trash.

The strange dishes might have a horrifying appearance, but they were delicacies unlike anything he had ever tasted. The Cotton Rose Flower’s honey was sweet and fragrant, the Beauty Grass’ roots were crisp and crunchy, the River Climbing Koi’s meat was impossibly fresh, and the Everlaughing Mushrooms were unbelievably delicious.

What surprised him the most was the Poison Eating Maggots, however. The way its flesh burst inside his mouth and filled it with delicious juice... it was a taste that he would remember for a lifetime.

Each dish had its own special flavor and characteristics, but one thing for certain, they all tasted divine. Not only that, they contained a tremendous amount of origin energy. For an ordinary person, the dishes could strengthen their body and increase their lifespan. For a warrior, they could solidify their foundation and make them stronger. The benefits were substantial even for warriors at their level.

Now they understood why strange chefs were so popular in the jianghu. Even ignoring the solid benefits it offered, the taste alone was worth the money.

Of course, the strange food was as expensive as it was extraordinary. For example, the five dishes on their table cost almost four thousand silvers. Where Goes The Soul alone was worth a thousand silvers. It was no different from eating money.

Forget the ordinary citizens, even a fairly wealthy man like Ye Qing couldn’t afford to visit this place everyday. If he did, he would be begging on the streets in a couple of weeks tops. The strange cuisine was definitely worth its price though.

And so the food quickly disappeared into everyone’s stomachs. As for Where Goes The Soul, most of it vanished into Ye Qing’s stomach.

It wasn’t because Ye Qing was unwilling to share it with his friends. In fact, he very, very much wanted them to experience how it felt to fall to hell for a moment, and then ascend to the Kingdom of Buddha in the next. Unfortunately, they cried uncle as soon as they sampled the dish. When he tried to goad them, they actually ganged up on him and came within a hair’s breadth of beating the shit out of him. He obediently drank his soup after that.

When dinner was finally over, all four men leaned lazily against their chairs with satisfied looks on their faces. Even Ye Qing was closing his eyes and allowing the soothing, wonderful sensation that permeated both body and soul to wash away all of his fatigue and worries. He was as satisfied and relaxed as he could be.

From the day he arrived at Tian Yong, a series of unfortunate events had been slowly but surely wearing him down to the brink of collapse. This was doubly true since he learned that there was a mysterious mastermind out there who was plotting to take his life.

The biggest problem was the fact that he still had no idea who was trying to kill him. Not even a little. The employees of the Wine Are Songs Boat had failed to yield any information whatsoever, and it was the same for Zhao Lu. The only thing they learned from questioning the younger brother was the fact that Zhao Lan didn’t have the Hanba’s blood essence until recently, which was as they suspected. However, he knew nothing regarding the origin of the blood essence, the circumstances surrounding it and more, meaning that this lead was yet another dead end.

All it proved was that Ye Qing was right that Zhao Lan’s transformation was yet another conspiracy to kill him. Honestly, he would rather not know about it since it added to his worries but did nothing to solve it.

Just who was the bastard who was trying so hard to kill him[1]? Their strategy was only getting deadlier and more refined as time passed. If he wasn’t one lucky sonuvabitch, the weed before his grave would be over one meter tall already.

That was why he had been plagued by worry and anxiety for the past few days. It was so bad that he even lost some hair. Today was one of the rare moments he was able to forget all his troubles—if only for a moment—and enjoy a moment of peace.

Alas...

“Hmph. Looks like you’re having a great time here!”

Ye Qing’s eyelids stirred a little. His demonic thought told him that someone was approaching their table, and that they harbored malicious intent. His fears were proven true just a second later.

“Your Highness.” Ye Qing, Gao Ningan, Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai all rose to their feet and saluted the newcomer. He was none other than the Harmony King’s son, Chu Qingli.

Chu Qingli was accompanied by several youngsters with unsteady feet and slightly pale complexion. It was clear that they were wastrels who ruined their health through wine and sex just like Chu Qingli.

“Your Highness? Oh no, I couldn’t possibly accept that title.” Chu Qingli said scornfully, “In your eyes, I’m probably lower than a dog, aren’t I? In fact, you probably thought the same thing about my dad too, am I right?!”

“You jest, Your Highness,” Ye Qing replied politely. It sounded like Chu Qingli was disparaging the Pacification Bureau, but he was really targeting him only. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was probably because of what happened to the employees of the Wine Are Songs Boat.

“A jest? Your Pacification Bureau shut down my Wine Are Songs Boat without warning and took my employees for interrogation, and I don’t even know if they’re alive or dead! You tell me if the Pacification Bureau takes me seriously or not!” Chu Qingly said with a cold sneer.

Ye Qing explained, “You don’t know this, Your Highness, but the Wine Are Songs Boat was involved with the Corpse Ship incident. That is what we’re investigating right now. We will release your people as soon as we confirm that they are unrelated to the incident.”

“Is that so? When will you finish your investigation then? When will you release my men?” Chu Qingge said aggressively. “It’s been over a week since the investigation began. If there was anything to find, then surely you would’ve found it already?”

“We will release them when it’s time to release them, Your Highness,” Ye Qing replied indifferently.

“You’ll release them when it’s time to release them!” Chu Qingli suddenly burst out laughing. “You may be young, but the way you speak sounds just like a seasoned official!”

“Well, it makes sense. If I can point my finger at someone or something, say ‘Anomaly!’ or ‘Corpse Ship!’, and get them arrested or shut down, then I probably wouldn’t be able to resist such power myself. And judging from how fast you shut down my pleasure boat, I bet you must have had a lot of practice, haven’t you?”

Ye Qing frowned and said seriously, “Your Highness, you’ve crossed the line. Please control yourself.”

1. For those who missed the line in the previous chapters, he already tried using the Annon Sutra to find out the mastermind to no avail. ☜