Chapter 602

Xue Shao said gently, "We are people of the Jianghu, here to seek the Grand Chief, purely to reach Wangyue Island.

We have a deep grudge against the Japanese pirates on Wangyue Island; last year, they came ashore and killed many of our people. To let this grudge go unavenged is not the way of a true man, so we beg the Grand Chief to guide us to Wangyue Island."

Xue Shao raised two fingers and said, "I can guarantee that if you guide us to Wangyue Island, we will let you and your men go free. Otherwise…"

His expression turned cold, his voice low: "Then we'll have to deliver you and your men to the Naval Command. Naturally, they may not learn your names or origins—but with so many of you, parading you through every village and hamlet, someone is bound to recognize you, and then…"

Xue Shao did not finish, but the meaning was clear.

Wu Dahai's face changed; he lowered his eyes and fell silent.

He had heard of the Japanese pirates' landing last year—he had cursed the Naval Command and the imperial court, accusing them of taking money without doing their duty, allowing the pirates to slip past so many checkpoints and slaughter entire villages.

He never imagined this matter would come to affect him.

Wu Dahai cursed inwardly but showed no sign on his face, only saying, "I don't know anything about Wangyue Island."

Xue Shao's look of regret vanished instantly; his gaze turned icy: "Grand Chief, though I am merely a Provincial Graduate, I have studied the Great Ming Code thoroughly. The Great Ming law states: conspiring with foreign enemies and invading national territory warrants extermination of nine clans!"

Wu Dahai's heart tightened; he immediately retorted, "I have no collusion with those sea bandits."

"Is that so? Then why are you harboring sea bandits?"

Wu Dahai's face flushed red: "I am harboring…"

Xue Shao looked at him with a faint, mocking smile: "If we cannot get the location of Wangyue Island, we say you are harboring them—and that's what it is."

Wu Dahai fell silent; he knew Xue Shao and his group were capable of it.

An hour later, Xue Shao stepped out with a sea chart; Pan Yun and the others followed him eagerly: "No wonder you're a scholar."

Xue Shao remained silent, handed the chart to Zhang Ning, and pointed to a small circle drawn on it: "He said it's here. I made him board the ship with us."

Zhang Ning: "He agreed?"

"He agreed."

Zhang Ning turned to Tao Yan Bai: "Can he survive the trip to the island and back?"

Tao Yan Bai considered: "As long as we don't torture him further, two bowls of medicine a day, and given his seafaring habits, he should be fine."

Zhang Ning immediately decided to take Wu Dahai aboard; they would set sail at dawn.

Zhang Ning sent orders: "Cook a proper meal tonight—we sail at dawn tomorrow!"

Among this band of Jianghu people, with limited island supplies, steamed rice and grilled fish were the easiest and best to prepare.

After eating dried rations for a day and night, everyone was hungry and craving, so they scoured the entire island and decided to slaughter all the chickens raised there.

Pan Yun placed a slaughtered chicken on the cutting board and began chopping—clang, clang, clang—then tossed it into a large basin already holding seven chicken heads.

Seeing Miao Zhen brought over a bowl of washed radishes.

She casually picked one up, chopped it swiftly—clang, clang, clang—and swept the pieces into another large basin.

Seeing Miao Zhen carried the large basin of chicken meat into the kitchen and dumped it into the big pot with a splash.

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Tao Yan Bai immediately began stir-frying; after a moment, he added water, covered the pot, and began simmering.

When the water boiled, Tao Yan Bai tossed in various ingredients.

Sour wild berries plucked from the island, a handful of wild herbs, and a pinch of Sichuan peppercorns he'd somehow pulled from nowhere.

The other heroes nearby cooking rice, grilling fish, and preparing other dishes stared in disbelief and asked: "Is this… even edible?"

Tao Yan Bai glanced at their dishes and said calmly: "I think ours will taste better than yours."

The heroes looked unconvinced: "We've honed these skills over years of traveling the Jianghu. How could you, so young, make something better?"

Pan Yun: "Do you really need to train in cooking to travel the Jianghu?"

"Of course," came the reply. "If you don't learn some skill, won't you starve? We can't always find inns or restaurants."

Pan Yun, fiercely competitive even in cooking, said: "We're different. You train because you're forced to. We've been doing household chores since childhood—we learned to cook as soon as we could walk."

Tao Yan Bai hesitated, then nodded: "Yes!"

Hearing this, the heroes grew eager to taste their dish, putting pressure on Tao Yan Bai.

Pan Yun, unfazed, dumped a large basin of radishes into the pot and murmured: "Don't worry—it won't taste bad."

Tao Yan Bai stared at the chicken and radishes swirling together in the pot, uneasy.

Pan Yun pulled out a salt jar from somewhere and began dumping in huge handfuls: "Two of the chickens were extremely fatty—I already skinned off the fat and gave it to you to refine, didn't I?"

"Yes, it's all in the pot."

"Then there you go—meat, fat, and enough salt—no way it can taste bad."

Tao Yan Bai immediately grabbed Pan Yun's hand as she sprinkled salt, mouth slightly open: "Little Master, you should add salt later…"

Pan Yun paused, then said: "No problem—adding it early lets it soak in."

Tao Yan Bai: "... You've added too much."

Pan Yun fell silent for a moment, then said: "Just add some water."

Miao He, the permanent kitchen staff of Mount Sanqing, interjected: "Don't add cold water."

Pan Yun immediately said: "Wait—I'll go get you boiling water."

She stepped outside, circled the island briefly, and soon found boiling water in a large outdoor pot.

Pan Yun brought over a basin and scooped up the hot water.

The man holding the wooden basin opened his mouth, then waited until she walked off with her head held high before whispering: "That's the water used for slaughtering pigs…"

There were two small pigs on the island—tiny ones. The heroes unanimously decided they'd be too weak to survive after losing their pirate feeders, so they decided to kill and eat them too.

Pan Yun poured the boiling water into the pot; this time, she followed orders, pouring slowly, stopping when Tao Yan Bai said so.

Tao Yan Bai and Miao He whispered together, agreeing the water must be added gradually; they poured in half, waited until the radishes softened and the broth thickened, tasted it, then poured in the remaining hot water, brought it back to a boil, and stirred again.

The once-thick, nearly congealed chicken broth became a rich, dense broth, filling four large basins.

Pan Yun scooped up a piece of chicken, tasted it, and nodded: "Delicious!"

Tao Yan Bai and Miao He silently watched her.

Pan Yun smiled sweetly at the two: "It's still a bit salty, but perfect for mixing with rice."

Honestly, this dish was indeed the most popular—the chicken was well-seasoned, sweet with a hint of sourness, the fishy smell thoroughly removed, and the radish especially delicious; though a bit salty, it was perfect with rice, especially when the broth was mixed in—they could eat three bowls of rice easily.

A group of starving heroes unanimously agreed this was the best dish of the night.

Everyone praised Pan Yun's four disciples: "We never expected Master Sanzhu not only excelled in martial arts but also in cooking—we're utterly outclassed."

Had the speaker not sounded utterly sincere, Pan Yun would have thought he was mocking them.

But seeing their dish was the first to be finished, she believed them and grew happy, feigning modesty: "Oh no, not at all—my three disciples simply have good skills."

Zhang Ning immediately handed over the ship's kitchen to the four disciples.

Pan Yun's smile froze: "The kitchen?"