Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 283 A Group of Old Men

"Not entirely. The Dragon Chef Competition is divided into team and individual battles. Team battles are more about financial resources, while individual battles are different. Generally, independent cultivators with the necessary skills will participate in individual battles. The Feather Palace has regulations for individual competitions. For example, the organizers will provide various ingredients and utensils for the participants free of charge. You just need to report your situation, needs, and conditions to the organizers in advance, and they will distribute utensils and ingredients according to actual needs. These ingredients and utensils are all very common. The organizers cannot provide those rare and valuable materials; you have to find your own way to obtain them. Of course, you must first gain recognition through your own strength. Just like joining the Weapon Refiner Association, you must first know how to refine weapons."

Therefore, even those Dragon Chef Masters who have already achieved various levels before each major competition will participate in the competition, so that they can further improve their levels during the competition.

"The Dragon Chef Competition is, after all, a culinary competition, and most of the participants should be chefs. So, ordinary cultivators of profound arts shouldn't have any advantage. Why is it that cultivators are the most enthusiastic participants in every Dragon Chef Competition?"

"Hehe, you don't understand. Although a chef's main responsibility is cooking, many chefs are also cultivators. Moreover, looking at the Dragon Chefs who have achieved good results in previous years, they are either masters of profound arts themselves or they have a very powerful master of profound arts as their sous chef, because many ingredients require a certain level of profound arts cultivation to process. Therefore, even if a chef has the best cooking skills, they simply cannot achieve success without the assistance of profound arts."

"It's just cooking a dish, is it really that complicated?"

"But this is the Dragon Chef Competition, not a cooking competition. Its requirements go far beyond just cooking. I remember the Dragon Chef Competition ten years ago. The assessment for the top 100 was to dissect a live Netherfire Turtle to extract its magic crystal and then use its shell to make Nether Ghost Ointment. Although the Netherfire Turtle is a level four herbivorous magical beast with little offensive power, it has lived in extremely hot places for a long time, feeding on volcanic rocks containing fire elemental power. Its shell is as hard as iron, especially its head, where the magic crystal is located, which is even harder than iron. Without a profound cultivation level of at least Earth Rank 5, let alone breaking through the shell, even killing the Netherfire Turtle would be a challenge."

"This isn't a test of cooking skills, it's a contest of profound martial arts!"

"Hehe, being good at cooking only makes you a good chef, but without the help of profound skills, you can't become a dragon chef."

Just as the old men were answering Mo Yuming's questions one after another, a group of strangely dressed old men walked along Huilong Road. Some of these dozen or so old men looked worried, while others were indifferent and seemed to have nothing to do. They walked listlessly among the crowd, not exchanging words with others. Less than half of them were walking and talking in twos and threes.

Judging from their attire, they didn't seem like merchants or travelers, nor like wandering martial arts heroes, nor like members of any noble family. Some of them wore coarse cloth clothes, yet they chatted amiably with an old man in fine clothes. Others, dressed in a mismatched and incongruous style, weren't ostracized. They seemed to be strangers who had come together by some coincidence, but their words and actions made them seem like old acquaintances who had known each other for a long time.

This group of strange old men leisurely rounded the last big bend of the Returning Dragon Road and appeared in front of the Cliff of Self-Sacrifice.

"Hey everyone, there weren't any buildings around here a few years ago! How come there's such a huge building here now? And there's even a city gate!"

An old man dressed in brocade robes with white hair looked up at the tall city gate that had suddenly appeared before him and exclaimed in surprise.

"This is quite an achievement, daring to build a city gate on this precarious cliff. I wonder which powerful family did this," another old man, dressed plainly but with very elegant manners, nodded and said.

"Who cares? I'm feeling a bit tired anyway, so I'll go into the city to rest. That restaurant behind the city gate should be a good place." The strangely dressed old man waved his hand and led the way toward the city gate.

"Let's walk a few more steps and wait until we reach Nanying Town before we talk about it. Maybe someone has already arrived."

"That's right. That kid promised to open a tavern to treat us. Although we've eaten our way across the country again in the past few years, something still feels off. After thinking it over, I realized it's because that kid has poisoned my palate. All the food he's smuggled out is poison, an addictive poison that's impossible to quit!" The old man in strange clothes laughed heartily.

"You still want to eat poison? I'll tell him this and tell him not to give you poison again!" said the old man in civilian clothes.

"Heh, I'm addicted now, I can't quit, and I don't want to quit. I'll just live out my days by taking his poison!"

"If you want to freeload, just say so. Why pretend to be a victim?"

"I think you're asking for a beating. You haven't had a fight in a few days and your bones are itching again, huh!"

"Come on! Who's afraid of who! Your old bones aren't much stronger than mine. I've been thinking of a few moves these past few days, and I haven't tested them yet!"

"Alright, you're all getting on in years. That young man guarding the city is laughing at you!"

"Hmph, I'll let you off today for the boss's sake, but I'll deal with you another day!"

"Who is afraid of whom?"

……

"This is the border of the Great Xia Empire. Please show your travel documents before entering the city. If you don't have them, you'll have to go over there to get them first." At this moment, a young city guard came to the group of old men.

"The Great Xia Empire? How come we've never heard of it?"

"This is your first time here, isn't it? As you may not know, our Great Xia Empire has been established for almost four years. It is an independent nation, not belonging to any other imperial kingdom. Therefore, your documents from other imperial kingdoms are invalid; you all need to obtain a travel document from our Great Xia Empire here." Although fully armored, tall and imposing, exuding an aura of dominance, his speech was measured and respectful, without a trace of arrogance. This demonstrated the extremely strict discipline of this army.

“Indeed, for a soldier guarding a city to have such an appearance, the leader of this emerging force must have some talent.”

Following the soldier's directions, the old men arrived at a window specifically for processing official documents and quickly completed the necessary procedures. The official handling the documents was neither servile nor arrogant, showing no sign of being overbearing. This earned the old men even more praise.

"Are you here in Great Xia for leisure or business? If you're here for leisure, you're welcome to visit the various cities of the Great Xia Empire. Each city has its own unique characteristics and will certainly not disappoint you. Our cities have unified security management, ensuring absolute safety; there will be no bandits or bullies. If you encounter any unexpected situations during your journey, you can contact our local security officers, who will be dedicated to serving you and guaranteeing that you will not suffer any losses."

If you're looking to do business, there's an underground shopping mall right next to our She Shen Cliff Restaurant. It mainly offers trading in gold, weapons, crafting materials, and herbs.

Of course, the shops here are all small-scale businesses. If you want to do more trading, you can go to Jian'an City and Luoxia City, where they deal in minerals and livestock respectively. For medicinal herbs, go to Jingzhou, which has always been a famous distribution center for medicinal herbs. Now it is Jingzhou Prefecture of our Great Xia Empire, and of course, Liangzhou, the famous horse market of the former Great Chi, also belongs to our Great Xia Empire.

As for the shopping malls in Zhongyuan City and Shangyuan City, they are both comprehensive and have their own unique characteristics. You can go and take a look to see them and you'll understand.

We wish you all a pleasant journey!

After the old men finished processing their travel documents and entered the city through the city gate, a guard in soft armor, who was stationed at the inner gate, spoke to the group.

Hearing these words, the old men all felt right at home. Their hearts were warmed, and they suddenly felt an urge to explore the various places.

"Would you like to stay at our inn, esteemed guests? This Wushuang Restaurant is the highest-ranking restaurant in the Great Xia Empire, offering a variety of services including accommodation, dining, and leisure." After the group of old men passed through the barbican and entered the inner city, a young woman dressed in simple clothes, tall and with delicate features, came forward to greet them.

"No, we need to get to Nanying Town!"

"Hehe, is this your first time visiting the Great Xia Empire? Nanying Town and Beiyu Town were abolished four years ago, and all the merchants moved into the underground shopping mall next to the restaurant. If you are looking for relatives or doing business, you can go to that underground shopping mall. However, there are no restaurants or hotels in the mall. If you want to stay here for a few days, you are welcome to stay at Wushuang Restaurant. I guarantee you will be satisfied!" the girl said with a smile.

"Both Nanying Town and Beiyu Town are gone?" the old man in brocade asked in surprise.

"That is the location of the Peerless Castle of our Great Xia Empire. The Peerless Castle is not open to the public and is a military stronghold. The military camp is just one mile away from our Peerless Restaurant. Civilians are not allowed to enter."

"What should we do if we have to go to Yuzhou?" The old men found it very strange.

“Getting to Yuzhou is easy. Just turn this corner and walk two hundred steps ahead. There you'll find the ‘Bridge of Resurrection,’ which connects the two prefectures. Once you cross the Bridge of Resurrection, you'll be in Yuzhou. It will save you nearly two hours of travel time compared to walking between the two towns,” the girl continued to explain.

"Both towns are gone. Where did that kid and Ah He go? How are we supposed to find them? They said they were waiting for us here! None of them are reliable. They left without even leaving a message!"

The cross-dressing old man immediately deflated like a punctured balloon.

"Are you all here for the appointment?" the girl suddenly asked after hearing the old man's words.

"Excuse me, young lady, have you ever seen a boy followed by a group of old men? He seems to be about fifteen or sixteen years old?" The old man in brocade robes didn't answer the girl's question. Instead, he asked.

"Yes, gentlemen, please come with me. I'll contact them for you and see if they're the person you're looking for." The young woman seemed to know something. She led the old men into the restaurant lobby, arranged for them to sit down and rest, and then went inside to make the contact.

At this time, other maids served tea and pastries to entertain everyone.

"This restaurant has a really nice ambiance, no less than those royal restaurants. Although it's not as opulent, it has its own unique charm."

"The design of this restaurant is also very special. It blends into the canyon outside the wall and is entirely built of huge stones. Looking up, you can enjoy the canyon scenery outside the window. The view is wide open and much more elegant than those restaurants built in the city center!"

"This tea is quite good too!"

"It won't be expensive, will it?"

……

Just as the old men were discussing amongst themselves, a noble young girl of sixteen or seventeen years old came out with her maid.

The young girl wore a tight-fitting pale yellow dress and had her hair styled in an elegant updo. Although still a teenager, she already exuded a graceful and noble air. Coupled with her beautiful and delicate appearance, she was simply like a noble princess.

"I am the manager of Wushuang Hotel. Are you gentlemen here for the appointment?" The young woman asked after bowing to the group of old men.

"I'd say that's about right!"

"Hehe, that's it. Do any of you grandfathers know a grandfather named Chuhe? His original name was Hesheng." The girl said with a gentle smile.

"Haha, I knew it! That kid wouldn't be so heartless as to send someone to wait here. Little girl, that old man named Chuhe is the one we're looking for. Tell him to come see us! Don't hide behind us like a girl." The strangely dressed old man immediately laughed loudly.

"You have no manners whatsoever, you've lived over a hundred years in vain!" the old commoner said disdainfully.

"Who's ill-mannered!" The old man in strange clothes immediately turned around and glared at him.

"Enough! You two, shut up! You're both getting on in years, can't you see there's a young girl here? Aren't you ashamed?" the old man in brocade robes scolded.

"Hehe, it's alright. Grandpas, please enjoy yourselves. Grandpa He is a bit far from here, but I've already sent him a message. He'll be here soon!" the girl said with a smile.

"I wonder what I call the girl?"

"My name is Xiaoxiao, and my surname is Huang. You gentlemen can just call me Xiaoxiao."

"Little girl, this restaurant..." The old men were very curious. It had changed so much in just a few years. They looked around but didn't know how to ask.

"This restaurant and city were built by the young master. I am not very capable, but I am grateful to the young master for saving me and entrusting me with the management of this place. We will wait for Master He to arrive and let him explain the details to you gentlemen. It is getting late now, so I will first arrange your resting places. We will hold a welcome dinner for you gentlemen at noon." The clever little girl understood what the old men were thinking and quickly said.

"You're too kind, little girl!"

After Xiaoxiao left, the girl who had been greeting them immediately came over to take care of the old men.

"Young lady, who is your young master?" the old man in strange clothes asked curiously as the maid approached.

"Let Grandpa Chuhe answer your question! He's already here," the maid replied softly with a smile.

"There's no need to be so mysterious!"

"Master Xian, Brother Mubai, Brother Tieqiao... you've all arrived!" An old man dressed in blue, with white hair and beard and a radiant spirit, strode out from inside the restaurant.