Chapter Fifty-One: So, Miss Luo Ling, What’s the Price?
It was all like a fleeting dream.
When Luo Ling awoke, the heavy reality of the present world pulled her back from the ethereal dream.
She was alone in the empty room.
A slight… loneliness.
But it didn’t matter.
Luo Ling raised her hand, a lingering warmth on her fingertips, a smile appearing on her lips. She had finally confirmed it.
She… could do it.
Not Naraku’s empty promises, not her wishful thinking, but a tangible reality.
Luo Ling felt a surge of happiness.
Perhaps the only good news in recent days.
“The Leader actually gave me something useful, though that probably wasn’t her intention.”
Luo Ling pondered the memory, her understanding of the Transcendence path deepening, though the initial flash of inspiration was gone.
Perhaps it had been a momentary epiphany, revealing the existence of the Transcendence path, briefly transforming her Doomsday path into Transcendence.
But now, she still walked the Path of Doomsday, wielding only its Authority, “Devour,” not yet having embarked on the Path of Transcendence.
However, at least she now had a clue, a starting point for her search.
The memory from the Leader was worth far more than five petals, even a complete flower would have been a bargain.
Without it, understanding the Transcendence path would have required experiencing the rebirth of a Boundary from the Realm of Nothingness firsthand.
An incredibly unlikely event.
And for those unfamiliar with the Doomsday path, this memory was far less valuable, perhaps explaining the Leader’s price.
“It’s almost evening…”
Luo Ling looked out the window, the setting sun painting the sky, reminding her of Iris’s twilight Kingdom.
But the lingering winter chill in Victoria made it less pleasant.
“At this time… Elsa and the others should be getting off work.”
Luo Ling glanced at the clock. It was 6:30 pm, an hour before the Company’s closing time.
What should she do in the meantime…?
Luo Ling remembered Elsa’s breakfast, feeling a warmth in her heart. Little Elsa was growing up.
And it gave her an idea.
“Even Elsa, after just a little practice, can cook for me. I’m so much older than her, how can I lose to her in cooking?”
Luo Ling couldn’t let go of her previous culinary failure.
Despite her teammates’ disapproval, she didn’t believe it was her fault. There must be another reason.
After much deliberation, she finally reached a plausible conclusion: it must have been the ingredients, unsuitable for her sister’s recipes.
This was Victoria, not Jiangcheng County. The ingredients were different, so the results would naturally be different.
Even if it was the same vegetables, chicken, and such…
There must be a difference!
And that difference must have been the cause of her failure.
Details determined success or failure. Luo Ling had made up her mind.
To adapt to Victoria’s ingredients, she would cook local dishes, using local ingredients. Surely there wouldn’t be any problems then?
Regardless, it couldn’t be her fault. Even little Elsa could cook edible food, how could she fail?!
Luo Ling felt a surge of motivation.
Speaking of local recipes, she possessed the memories of countless priests, surely containing numerous cooking methods.
Not just recipes, but also techniques and methods, a housewife’s essential guide, perfect for her current situation.
New Puppet Ballad life hack acquired.
“Let me see… this guy used to be a chef? Hmm, the steps are so complicated… too troublesome. Something simpler… oh, this one, street food, so simple, potatoes, onions, carrots, and… just chop them up and boil them together, right…?
“I got this!”
Memorizing the recipe, Luo Ling felt confident. She was now a seasoned Victorian chef, ready to impress Elsa and the others with her culinary skills!
“First, I need to buy groceries.”
Luo Ling clapped her hands, ready to prepare a feast for her dear teammates, as a token of gratitude.
“I wonder how they’ll praise me?”
Luo Ling smiled, heading out the door.
……
“Damn capitalists, not even giving us a break on New Year’s Eve, making us work overtime…”
Cen Xiangyun grumbled. She had wanted to go home for New Year’s Eve dinner, but her entire family was working overtime. She had no choice but to return to the apartment with her teammates.
If they hadn’t finished their commission early, she would have been working overtime too.
It was early February in Victoria, coinciding with New Year’s Eve in her homeland.
“Xiangyun, this is Victoria, there’s no such thing as New Year’s Eve.” Lu Manqing reminded her kindly. “Therefore, overtime is normal.”
“Don’t worry, the Company also makes us work overtime on Christmas.”
Recalling that incident, Eve started rambling.
“I was infiltrating a Dangerous Grotesquery cult hideout. Even they had roast turkey, while the Company gave us nothing. I was practically drooling.
“Fortunately, the cult leader was sensible enough to return to the hideout before midnight. I knocked him out with three punches and stole their untouched roast turkey…”
Typical Eve.
The cult leader had almost thought she was a burglar, not a mystical investigator, stealing their sacred roast turkey.
While they chatted, Elsa walked ahead silently, her short legs moving quickly, seemingly impatient.
The others exchanged knowing glances, smiling.
“Little Elsa must be missing Miss Luo Ling.”
They wondered what Miss Luo Ling was doing alone at the apartment.
They pictured her quietly reading all day.
Soon, they returned to their shared apartment.
Opening the door, they heard a familiar voice.
“Yo, you’re back.”
“Miss Luo Ling!”
Elsa rushed forward and hugged Luo Ling, who ruffled her hair.
But the others stared at Luo Ling in shock.
“Luo Ling, what are you…”
Cen Xiangyun pointed at Luo Ling’s clothes with a trembling hand.
Or rather, the slightly stained apron she was wearing.
Not just that…
Luo Ling’s face and clothes were covered in soot, as if she had just emerged from a battlefield.
And she was holding a large ladle, dripping with a viscous, light green liquid.
“Me? I’m cooking.” Luo Ling said cheerfully. “I’ve prepared a feast. Don’t worry, it’ll be delicious this time!”
Luo Ling gave them a confident thumbs-up.
Everyone: “…”
Perhaps they shouldn’t have left Miss Luo Ling alone.
She hadn’t been quietly reading, but attempting to cook…
“Oh no, I should have known,” Cen Xiangyun rubbed her forehead, her expression pained. “No high school student would read during summer vacation after the college entrance exams…”
Luo Ling was currently in the post-exam relaxation phase, although technically, she should be in the final sprint…
“Trust me, everyone.” Luo Ling’s expression was unusually serious. “I’ve identified the problem with my cooking and solved it—and I’ve already tasted it.”
She brandished the ladle, the dripping viscous liquid alarming.
They exchanged worried glances.
“Is it Gul’dan this time?” Lu Manqing whispered.
“It seems so.”
Cen Xiangyun’s face crumpled.
Was her long-awaited New Year’s Eve dinner about to become her last meal?
“Who’s Gul’dan?” Eve asked.
“What are you talking about?”
Luo Ling, still holding the ladle, approached them curiously.
“N-nothing…”
Seeing the usually stoic Miss Luo Ling looking so happy, they couldn’t bear to discourage her.
Although they didn’t know why she was so cheerful today… perhaps because of the cooking, but regardless…
“Forget it, let’s eat.”
Cen Xiangyun took a deep breath, a look of resignation on her face, then marched towards the dining room.
They looked at her like a warrior heading towards certain death.
“Wait, let me serve you!”
Luo Ling followed Cen Xiangyun into the dining room.
Moments later, a bloodcurdling scream echoed, making their hearts sink.
They rushed into the dining room and gasped.
“What the hell is this…”
A bowl of white rice, covered in an unidentifiable, viscous substance.
Luo Ling stood beside them, holding the ladle, ready to serve more from a large pot in the center of the table.
The pot itself was even more alarming, filled with a bubbling, light green liquid, chunks of something floating within. And the black-haired girl, a sinister smile on her lips…
“So, Miss Luo Ling, what’s the price?”
Lu Manqing recited the line in a dramatic, ominous tone.
“What price?”
Luo Ling asked, puzzled, then ladled more of the substance onto Lu Manqing’s rice.
Cen Xiangyun stared at her rice, her soul trembling.
Luo Ling’s previous cooking had been bad, but at least it was recognizable as food.
But this…
Perhaps only certain individuals could consider it food.
“This is a local Victorian delicacy.” Luo Ling explained seriously. “Here, have some more.”
“Since when did Victoria have this thing?”
Eve, a Victoria native, stared wide-eyed, then a strange look appeared on her face. “Well… if you broaden the definition of ‘Victoria’ a bit, I guess it could count?”
“No! Don’t! No…”
Cen Xiangyun watched in horror as another ladleful of the unknown substance was added to her rice, her face a mask of despair.
The only one who seemed relatively unfazed was Elsa, who sat down, took a small bite, then looked up and said,
“The rice is a bit undercooked. I’ll reheat it.”
She glanced at the contents of Luo Ling’s pot and hesitated.
“It just looks a bit… unusual. It’s still edible…”
…Just a bit?
They suppressed their urge to retort.
It was hard to imagine this being edible…
But it wasn’t coming from Miss Luo Ling, but the usually honest little Elsa.
A glimmer of hope appeared in Cen Xiangyun’s eyes. She hesitated for a moment, then, overcoming her disgust, took a small bite.
Her eyes lit up.
“It’s edible!!!”
Although the taste was bizarre, the texture strange, and the appearance appalling, it was… edible!
A vast improvement over Luo Ling’s previous culinary disaster.
However, why did the rice feel both cooked and uncooked…?
“I’ll reheat the rice.” Elsa began clearing the table. “Miss Luo Ling, do you have any ingredients left?”
“I think so, they’re in the kitchen.” Luo Ling asked, puzzled, “Elsa, what are you planning to do?”
“Isn’t it New Year’s Eve? Curry alone isn’t enough for a New Year’s Eve dinner.”
Elsa efficiently cleared the table.
Of course, the contaminated rice wasn’t included… Miss Luo Ling’s curry was beyond “unusual,” even Elsa could only manage a small bite.
“New Year’s Eve…”
Luo Ling paused, realizing the date. She hadn’t been paying attention to time.
“New Year’s Eve…”
Luo Ling sighed softly, her expression turning distant.
Last New Year’s Eve, she had been at home with her sister, enjoying a rare feast, just like any other year, a tradition spanning over a decade.
Since Luo Ling could remember, it had always been this way.
But that ordinary, seemingly unchanging life had crumbled in just a few months, as the true world unfolded before her.
The others, not wanting to interrupt her thoughts, went to the kitchen to help Elsa.
Unexpectedly, none of them could cook, making Elsa, who had only basic skills, the head chef.
Her cooking wasn’t exactly delicious, but… at least it was normal, unlike Luo Ling’s rather unique dishes.
Soon, dishes emerged from the kitchen, even Luo Ling’s alchemically questionable curry had been salvaged by Elsa.
It might not taste much better, but at least… it was presentable.
The team had reached a consensus, even Elsa agreed.
—Miss Luo Ling’s cooking could either look good or taste good, never both.
When Luo Ling snapped back to reality, the table was filled with dishes, a seemingly lavish feast.
Although Luo Ling had claimed there were some ingredients left, she had actually bought quite a lot, and the nightmarish curry hadn’t used much, more than enough for another meal.
When Elsa’s modified curry was served, their simple New Year’s Eve dinner was finally complete.
“I don’t know how we would survive without Elsa…”
Cen Xiangyun was almost in tears, the other two nodding in agreement.
If it weren’t for Elsa, they would have had to endure that unspeakable horror, paired with undercooked rice, a truly unforgettable New Year’s Eve.
“Hehe.”
Elsa scratched her head sheepishly.
She had simply used the Puppet Ballad’s ability to access Luo Ling’s cooking memories, combined with her experience brewing medicine at Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital.
Perhaps she wasn’t a professional chef, but compared to a group of culinary idiots and a cooking(?) demon, her basic skills were exceptional.
They sat around the table, Elsa carefully placing their favorite dishes before them, then scooting her chair closer to Luo Ling.
“We really are like a family now.”
Lu Manqing propped her chin on her hand, looking around with a smile. “It’s like I’m the husband, Xiangyun is the wife, and Luo Ling and Elsa are sisters…”
“Why am I the second generation?” Luo Ling frowned.
“Why are Miss Luo Ling and I just sisters?” Elsa grumbled.
“Wait, wife? And why are you the husband?” Cen Xiangyun looked at them incredulously.
“What about me? What about me?” Eve asked, interested. “What’s my role?”
“You’re my mistress.”
Lu Manqing put her arm around Eve, then looked at Cen Xiangyun, her voice dramatic. “Honey, I’m sorry, I cheated… but believe me, I love you more.”
“…”
Cen Xiangyun remained silent for a moment, resisting the urge to dump her rice on Lu Manqing’s head.
“Oh no, honey… why would I want an old hag like you? Let’s get a divorce and run away together.”
Eve played along, her exaggerated acting making Cen Xiangyun’s eye twitch.
“No, I can’t betray… wait, why are you wearing Xiangyun’s clothes? That’s it…”
“Lu…”
Cen Xiangyun grinned menacingly, and Lu Manqing’s rice instantly froze into a block of ice.
“Just kidding, just kidding…”
Lu Manqing quickly backtracked, punching the ice.
The frozen rice instantly steamed.
Luo Ling, seeing this, was slightly surprised. She claimed to be a Myriad path healer, but this didn’t seem like healing…
However, the others were unfazed, likely having witnessed similar displays of Lu Manqing’s abilities during previous missions.
Despite this slightly unpleasant interlude, the New Year’s Eve dinner was enjoyable.
After the meal, Lu Manqing and Cen Xiangyun volunteered to wash the dishes, while Elsa followed Lu Manqing, pestering her with questions.
“Why are Miss Luo Ling and I just sisters?”
Meanwhile, in the living room, Eve sat opposite Luo Ling, her expression unusually serious.
The last time she had looked like this was when she delivered the news of the Company directors’ summons.
This likely… wasn’t good news either.
“I have a letter. Head Lu gave it to me, she received it from someone else.”
Eve took out a letter and pushed it towards Luo Ling, her voice grave.
“It’s addressed to you, Miss Luo Ling.”
“The sender is Cheng Jianming—he’s from the Torchbearers, code name ‘Justice.’ You seem to have met before.”
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