Chapter 20: Old Qian Who Questions Life

Suddenly, so many new faces appeared, and the old disciples all cursed in their hearts.

They've been keeping it quiet, aren't they just worried this situation would happen?

Although they knew someday the secret couldn't be kept, they didn't expect it to come so soon.

Looking at it, there are almost two hundred people now—damn, we're going to need to eat a few more bowls of rice.

"Hey, how did you guys get here?"

Curious how these guys found the kitchen, someone asked; the newcomers didn't hide it and spoke frankly.

"We followed you here."

"Holy shit, you're tailing me?"

"Who told you to act sneaky all the time, and every mealtime it's the same—hard not to suspect."

"Well damn, that leaves us speechless—turns out we were too obvious."

But just thinking about Senior Brother Ye Zhangqing's skill, he can't stay calm.

Moreover, now that they're here, saying anything is useless; instead, the new disciples are curious.

"You guys get this excited every day just to come eat a meal in the kitchen?"

"Wasn't it said before that the kitchen's food, even dogs wouldn't eat?"

Since the secret's out, might as well be open about it; hearing this, the old disciples smugly boasted.

"You don't know shit; Senior Brother Ye Zhangqing's skill is practically one-of-a-kind in the world, that flavor... forget it, you wouldn't get it—if you're lucky later you might snag a bowl, then you'll understand by tasting it yourself."

Saying that made the new disciples extremely curious—could it really be that delicious? It sounded like eating an immortal pill.

For a moment, the many new disciples grew even more eager—after all, that aroma is truly fragrant.

While many disciples were patiently queuing, in the distance, Steward Qian Youcai, belly protruding like a general's, walked over at a leisurely pace.

He had originally planned to come check the kitchen today, but he didn't expect to see a line of disciples waiting already, even though the kitchen was still dozens of meters away.

"All these people are here to eat at the kitchen?"

Seeing this, Qian Youcai froze; this morning Ye Zhangqing had said the kitchen was getting crowded, and he'd been doubtful, but now it's clear it's not just crowded—the line stretches outside.

Moreover, what are these disciples saying? That brat Ye Zhangqing's skill is unmatched under heaven?

Surely something's wrong; as for Ye Zhangqing, Qian Youcai has naturally eaten his food before, and it definitely has nothing to do with deliciousness.

「This kid........... 」

He snorted a laugh, Qian Youcai continued walking toward the courtyard—whether it's so, just take a bite and you'll know.

But just after taking a couple steps, several Menial Disciples spoke up.

"Steward Qian, eating in the kitchen requires queuing."

"Yeah, that's the rule."

"Before, maybe nobody would have spoken up directly, but now even the Peak Master queues obediently—you, a lowly outer steward, still want to cut in line?"

Hearing that, Qian Youcai stared, somewhat amused and annoyed.

"You bunch of brats, as an outer steward overseeing the kitchen, do I really have to queue too?"

"When you come to eat, I'm here on inspection—do you understand?"

Saying that, Qian Youcai continued forward, but after just a few steps Xu Jie blocked his path, expressionlessly saying:

"Although Steward Qian oversees the kitchen, it's mealtime now—if you don't eat, you naturally don't need to queue, but if you do want to eat, you must follow the rules."

Seeing Xu Jie, Qian Youcai startled.

"Inner Disciple Xu?"

"Are my eyes playing tricks? How could I see an inner disciple here?"

"No way—how would that lofty inner disciple come all the way to this mountain-foot kitchen?"

"Even if just to satisfy a craving, as an inner disciple he wouldn't come here, let alone queue with a bunch of menial disciples."

Seeing Qian Youcai's cold tone, Xu Jie felt balanced inside.

"Hmph, as an inner disciple I'm obediently queuing here, yet you, an outer steward, still want to cut—what are you thinking?"

"So, Steward Qian, aren't you going to queue?"

Hearing that, Qian Youcai came to his senses and immediately nodded repeatedly with a smile.

"Queue, I'll queue, I'll queue."

He obediently went to the end of the line and started queuing; then, as a call to eat rang out from Yuàn zhōng, the line began to move slowly.

The disciples at the front had already gotten their rice; seeing there were two dishes today, they were all excited.

"Holy shit, it's like New Year today—there are actually two dishes."

"And one of them is a new dish—great, great, worth the wait."

"Stop jabbering nonsense, hurry up and serve."

Those up front were excited, those behind kept urging; Ye Zhangqing sat by the kitchen door holding a large tea vat, smiling as he watched the people serving rice.

The old disciples were mostly at the front, already familiar with the rice-serving rules; when it slowly came to the new disciples' turn, Ye Zhangqing had to remind them.

"Serve your own rice, don't waste it."

"When those ahead finish, they should leave—don't block those behind."

Under Ye Zhangqing's and the old disciples' direction, the new disciples also got their rice one after another.

Having previously only smelled the aroma, now holding a big bowl of rice in their own hands, the newcomers finally seemed to understand why the old disciples were so crazy.

One bite in, by flavor it's utterly overpowering, making it impossible to stop.

"Delicious."

"I feel like what I ate before was pig slop."

Having never tasted such deliciousness, the new disciples ate with a feeling of emotion and satisfaction.

Of course, there were also people who angrily scolded the companions beside them.

"You damn lack righteousness, there's such delicious food, yet you didn't even bring me."

"Hey, I'm talking to you, are you mute?"

Seeing no response, he turned his head and saw that the old disciple was just burying his head in eating, paying no attention to himself, looking as if he were rushing to be reborn.

"Are you rushing to be reborn?"

Just as his words fell, the old disciple finished off a full bowl of rice, then without another word stood up and went to get more rice.

These new disciples are still too green; they simply don't know that in the mess hall, what matters is speed.

According to the Peak Master's words, that means your speed isn't fast enough—you couldn't even keep up with the hot food if you were eating shit.

Seeing the old disciple's swift, sweeping action, the new disciples quickly caught on and couldn't help but shout angrily.

"Holy shit, you couldn't have given me a heads-up?"

"A reminder? You're just daydreaming about eating shit," the old disciple scoffed.

Qian Youcai, who was at the end of the line, finally got his turn, only to find the food had almost run out.

Seeing everyone wolfing down their food in the courtyard, Qian Youcai felt as if he had come to the wrong place.

But when he saw four figures in the corner, he froze on the spot.

"Peak............ Peak Master?"

He could hardly believe his eyes—there, in front of him, were the Peak Master himself, Lu Youyou, Liu Shuang, and Xu Jie, whom he had just seen earlier.

What the hell is going on in this mess hall?