Chapter 53 Cooking Master Meatball

The moon was full and twinkling stars scattered in the vast starry sky. Cotton-like clouds could be seen forming shadows on Stallone Mountain Range. Howls and beast growls echoed throughout the mountains making the place beautiful and dangerous at the same time. If not for the hidden dangers, the mountain range would be a great spot for sightseeing.

At the edge of the First Misty Cliff, a huge round-like shadow could be seen looking down with a downcast posture.

“Sigh, man, what a waste, I was looking forward to cooking a great meal but I don’t have enough strength at the moment. I only have one portion left. Man, this sucks,”

A voice filled with regret could be heard coming from the shadow. With another sigh, he turned around but every movement was accompanied by clanging metal sounds.

Woossshh!

A gust of wind swept by on his back making two big round eyes snap open. A hint of excitement could be seen on them.

“Finally, you showed up, now you better behave and let me cook you tenderly,”

Saliva was dripping from his mouth while speaking and he brought out his weapon, a short but thick butcher’s knife and a wooden mallet.

A thin shadow landed in front, it turned around and glared back with a pair of sharp eyes.

“Yii! A ghost!”

The big round shadow blurted out, it shivered and nearly screamed. The thin shadow narrowed its eyes and spoke with a child’s voice.

“I am not a ghost,”

“Eh? What are you then?”

As they were speaking, the clouds moved, making the moon illuminate both of them.

“A walking meatball!”

“A perverted mummy!”

They both spoke at the same time with a surprised tone.

“What did you say?!”

Both them spoke again at the same time while glaring at each other.

The big shadow was actually a guy, he had a short black hair with a round face. His eyes were like saucers with a wide nose and thick lips. His head was round along with his big round body, he looked like two spherical rocks put together. He was dark skinned and was wearing loose clothes. Aside from that, kitchen wares were hanging on his waist - pots, a small wok, frying pan, knives and others. It was a peculiar sight, he looked like a walking kitchen.

Meanwhile, the thin shadow was naturally Eznho who just climbed out from the cliff. He was not wearing anything except for a small piece of cloth covering his groin. He was very thin but did not look weak, he was full of vitality instead.

The two were on guard with each other and did not move. They were gauging each other.

“Who are you?” Eznho broke the silence and asked. He was on guard but could not feel any ill intent from the other party.

“Me? Ahem!” Before Eznho could react, the guy in front of him put away his weapons and puffed his chest out and with a face filled with pride, he introduced himself.

“Behold, my name is Jessie, the cooking master boy!”

Eh? Eznho was taken aback and did not know how to react for a moment.

“More like a cooking master meatball,” he mumbled, but his voice was blown by the wind.

“What did you say?” Jessie snapped.

“Nothing, I said my name is Eznho.”

“Hmph! You should consider yourself lucky as you will have the chance to taste my miraculous cooking. Even emperors can’t casually eat what I cook.”

The atmosphere became awkward again, the night wind blew making the leaves rustle. Eznho took a deep breath and was about to leave.

“Eh? Wait! Don’t tell me you’re going to go around looking like that?” Jessie shouted.

“What are you talking a-”,

Eznho became irritated and wanted to retort but shivered when he remembered that he had no proper clothing. He jumped like a scared little cat and hid beyond a bush. If it was daylight right now people would see that he was blushing due to embarrassment.

“Mwahahaha, acting so mighty and mysterious yet you can’t even clothe yourself, did you come out from your slumber? Yih! Don’t tell you are an old monster who just crawled out from a grave?”

Jessie became stiff for a moment when he realized he could be dealing with a man-eating mummy. He started to sweat profusely and wanted to make run for it.

“What the hell are you talking about? I am not some old mummy! I am not even fifteen years old yet!”

Eznho yelled back in protest from the bush.

“Then why are you like that?” Jessie narrowed his eyes and was still suspicious.

“I fell down on the cliff and-, never mind. Why am I explaining myself to you anyway?” Eznho composed himself and separated himself from the bush and did not mind what he looked like. It was true, maybe he was just flustered because it has been a long time since he talked to somebody.

“Hey, wait!” Seeing that the other guy was walking away, Jessie yelled.

“What?” Eznho turned around with sharp eyes.

“Uhmmm, you are so skinny for a kid and as the Cooking Master Boy, it is my responsibility to make sure that I feed the needy when I can,” Jessie spoke in a serious tone. He looked like he was about to pounce on Eznho if he will refuse.

“Uhmmm-,” Eznho was speechless again and didn’t know what to say.

After all that lonesome thing I have experienced, the first person I meet is a weird round guy.

He was about to refuse when his stomach produced a low growling sound making him blush again.

“Mwahahaha, see? Even your stomach knows he has met a true master cook and cannot wait to have a taste of my super delicious cooking,” Jessie became more proud and was actually backed by the moonlight making him look somewhat heroic in his own way.

“Now, sit and wait. Don’t make me tie you up,” He commanded and immediately went on to work.

Eznho was helpless at the moment and could do nothing but sit on a boulder while watching the busy round man. He could not hide the fact that he was somewhat amused by the guy, to be honest, he was looking forward to eating a proper decent meal after all that he has experienced. He actually planned on hunting wild animals on his way back to satisfy his palate.

Jessie became enthusiastic and could not hide his excitement, he went around looking for three good sized rocks to be used as a stand.

“When was the last time you ate?” He asked curiously.

“Actually, I don’t know, maybe months?” Eznho was not sure himself.

“Whaaaattt!!?” Jessie’s eyes bulged and nearly popped out.

“What kind of person are you? How did you survive? Well, whatever, I have the right recipe for you,” Jessie was astonished but this made him more excited. As a cook, it was his goal to make sure that everyone who ate what he cooked would be satisfied.

He patted his bag of holding and food ingredients came out. A bag of holding is similar to the spatial pouch Eznho had but a bag of holding holds more space and is more stable. With a deep breath, he brought out a white chef hat and put it on. After that, he put on a white apron. After putting on his to clothing article, his aura changed startling Eznho and making him look at the other guy more seriously.

I wonder what cultivation he is in, I can’t seem to detect it.

He badly wanted to scan the guy but he remembered the old man’s reminder and stopped himself. Normally people who have almost the same cultivation can detect and gauge each other’s cultivation basing on the aura they emit but it’s a different story if the gap is a big.

Ignoring his surrounding, Jessie was in his own world and started chopping things, vegetables and a slab of meat. His hands were fast and every slice was precise as if everything was being measured. Eznho was unfamiliar with the ingredients but he was sure they were far more valuable than what he usually eats.

His eyes became sharper by the minute and after preparing everything, he brought out a medium sized clay pot with a clear sparkling water already in it. He put it on top of the three rocks acting as a stand. He put on the cover and after taking a deep breath, he snapped his finger.

Sparks flew and a candle sized flame burned on his index finger. The second it came out, Eznho could feel that the temperature around him start to go up. He was shocked all over again.

What kind of ability is that? Is he at the Seeker Stage? Or higher?

As far as he was concerned, only cultivators at the Seeker Stage could do something like that, some people at the Halo Stage could do that but they were rare. His view on Jessie changed a lot and a look of respect could be seen in Eznho’s eyes.

As for Jessie, he felt proud looking at Eznho’s face. He flicked his finger and the flame rush to the firewood.

Poof!

Fire immediately burned after the small flame made contact with the firewood. Smoke rose but instead of going up, half of it drilled in the lid gap and went inside the clay pot making Eznho gasp in surprise again.

What sorcery is this? Sigh, the world is really too big.

Eznho was astonished and at the same time his thirst to discover the world grew stronger.

Jessie removed the lid and put the chopped meat inside along with some other things.

“It will take a while for the meat to be cooked just right, care for a little chat kid? Don’t worry you don’t have to tell me anything that you don’t want me to know,”

“Uhmm, senior, pardon me if I was disrespectful a while ago,” Eznho was a little nervous and bowed.

“Wahahaha!” Jessie burst out laughing after hearing how Eznho addressed him.

“What senior? I am just 20-ish years old, hmph! Just call me Jessie. I am not even married yet and you want me to grow white hairs already?”

Eznho smiled wryly and just nodded in acknowledgment.

“Je-Jessie it is,” He had no choice but to concede and give in.

“By the way, Jessie, what are you doing here?”

Jessie mused for a moment before answering.

“Hmm, I heard rumors that a great beast is in the cliff, accordingly, some people passed here a month ago and heard howling and roaring. They wanted to investigate but they could not because they were afraid they might get eaten. Some cultivators came but they were unsuccessful due to the fog. Same with me, I tried but was stopped by the fog.”

“Sigh, I am really in need of a good meat for my cooking skills. This is my last stock, so did you see any beast down there?”

Jessie asked with anticipation.

Eznho did not know whether to laugh or to cry, he was actually mistaken for a beast.

“Uhmm, unfortunately, no, if I had seen one I would have probably died and got eaten. And even if by a miracle I defeated it, would I look like this?”

“Hmm, you are right, with how weak you are it would be impossible, and besides you are too thin for the beast to eat you.”

Jessie answered while nodding making Eznho’s cheek twitch. They continued their small talk until steam was coming out of the clay pot. Jessie got up and opened the lid, large amounts of steam came out bringing out an aromatic smell. If a mortal would sniff it, they would become full for an entire day. Eznho’s mouth started to produce saliva and his stomach started to growl due to the excitement.

What kind of food is that? Even the steam has a hint of heavenly energy in it?

This encounter was really full of surprises for Eznho.

Jessie was nonchalant as if this was a normal occurrence for him. After opening the lid, he put in the remaining ingredients and closed it again. He waited with great concentration, after a couple of minutes, he patted his bag of holding and brought out a picnic mat and laid in not far away from the fire.

“It’s time! I call this, the Great Restoration Soup!” Jessie shouted with excitement and brought out two bowls, two soup spoons and a ladle. He removed the lid and put the soup in a bowl then offered it Eznho who was salivating.

“I thank you for all the ingredients of the world! Now, chow!”

“Th-Thank you,” Eznho’s hands were trembling and his eyes were getting moist. It has been a while since someone showed kindness to him. This moment made him remember his family, tears finally came rolling down. He wanted to act tough but it all melted due to Jessie’s show of kindness.

He held on to the spoon and gobbled the food with great gusto. Tears, snot and soup mixed together while he ate.

“Zenkyu vor za vood,” he mumbled while eating. It has not been a minute but he already finished his soup.

“Whoah! Whoah! I can’t believe someone is even more voracious than me! Hold your horse’s kid, there is plenty more here, don’t worry and slow down.”

Jessie spoke with a shocked tone, he hasn’t even started to eat his share yet the other party has already finished his.

He got the ladle and refilled Eznho’s bowl. While eating, he watched as Eznho gobbled up his food until not even a drop of soup was left on the pot due to Eznho refilling his bowl multiple times.

“Burrrrrppppp!” Eznho let out a super loud burp like a gigantic bullfrog.

“Hahahaha, how amusing, to think that someone actually beat me in an eating contest,”

Jessie laughed while looking at Eznho who had a bulging stomach. It was a peculiar scene, Eznho was so thin yet his stomach was so full and could burst at any moment.