Chapter 724: Chapter 723: Noodles That Get People Moving

The Far Moon Queen underwent a dramatic transformation in an instant.

Her eyes misted over with a drunken haze, a flush of red spreading across her delicate neck and charming face.

Beads of sweat began to seep increasingly at her pert nose.

Though her mouth and nose were filled with the scent of garlic, these flavors seemed to be blocked by an illusory wall glowing with blue light, as the heat thrashed wildly within her. Not to mention her limbs, even her lower body had a subtle reaction. Tiqie Eriina desperately pressed down the hem of her nightgown, thankful that she was in a kneeling position, the weight of her body ensuring her slender legs did not perform any embarrassing twists.

Yet, the intense restlessness still dominated Tiqie Eriina’s body and mind.

“Uh… what is this feeling… what on earth is going on!”

A sudden moan.

“Snap!”

The blue wall shattered, the deluge poured forth, and Eriina was sucked into the vortex, the sensation of weightlessness at that moment causing her face to slacken in shock.

The whirlpool seemed bottomless, and just as Eriina thought the sensation of falling would continue indefinitely, splash—

She landed on a narrow, winding path.

Looking into the distance, there was endless fog and darkness; the path was embraced by the dark, with torches set upon piles of rocks at intervals, providing a faint glow.

“Uncle, Grandpa!” Eriina’s shoulders shook as she yelled into the distance.

By the light, she saw two figures running side by side.

But as if they heard nothing, bare-chested, they continued their run and exercise.

“Ah—”

A scream.

Eriina turned her head and found Alice, then her face turned beet red as she spat, “Alice, why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”

“Aren’t you the same?”

Alice appeared to adapt quickly, stretching her limbs and turning her head specially to say to Eriina with a mischievous smile, “Eriina, the instructor just told me that life hinges on exercise!”

“Quick, let’s exercise together—”

“Exercise?”

Muttering to herself, Eriina’s consciousness began to drift back.

It was still the large kitchen deep inside the house, she was sitting on the tatami mat, and the large bowl in front of her shimmered with a translucent blue.

Apart from a little bit of the soup, the noodles were untouched and the accompaniments still maintained the presentation from when they were first served.

A breathy panting sound that provoked the imagination.

“Ah, ah…”

“Instructor, why is it exercise?”

“The essence of life is in movement, the most primal form of movement…”

Eriina, hearing the heated discussion beside her, immediately cast a wary glance.

Alice had half her body sprawled across the tea table, in a very provocative pose, her flushed face making intimate contact with the glossy lacquered wood, her sweat even dampening the table surface.

“Get up!” Eriina slapped the table.

“Give me a moment!” Alice gasped for breath.

“What moment! Get up now, how do you expect me to eat ramen like this?”

With her fair palm slamming on the table non-stop, Eriina felt inexplicably irritated.

“Eriina, don’t rush Alice, she needs a moment!”

Another voice chimed in from the side.

Tiqie Leonora, this wife, wasn’t faring well either, drenched in sweat, with her silvery white hair that reached her hips wet and dripping.

Being from Northern Europe, her elegance and beauty would not be out of place if she were described as a saintess.

Yet at that moment, her flushed face and the gesture of unbuttoning her clothes unavoidably sparked fanciful thoughts of a saintess descending to the earthly realm.

“Alright!”

Cheers of approval.

Bare-armed, Tiqie Zongwei returned to the tea table, sat down, and in one breath, he finished the remaining ramen, even slurping the soup down to the last drop, and gave a thumbs up, “This is exactly like the ‘Demon King Ramen’ in my memory!”

“No!”

Senzaemon suddenly spoke up, standing behind everyone, arms crossed, eyes closed, he said, “It’s different!”

“This is Demon King Ramen, marked with the Xia Family’s signature!”

He added another sentence.

“Why?” Tiqie Zongwei was astonished, “But, what I tasted matched my memory perfectly!”

“Because, identical ‘food righteousness’ cannot exist!”

That sentence made Tiqie Zongwei shut his mouth completely.

Indeed.

Food righteousness is like people, like leaves.

There are no two identical people, nor can you find two leaves of exactly the same shape.

“But why…”

“Let me explain!” Xia Yu, without rashly tasting his own work and maintaining the most lucid state, said with a grin, “Actually, it’s nothing special, I just followed the ingredients and the essence of the recipe, bestowing depth to the food.”

Tiqie Zongwei immediately became curious, “Followed the ingredients, the essence of the recipe?”

Alice and Eriina also fixed their gazes on Xia Yu.

“Go into the details!”

Senzaemon also spoke up, slowly opening his eyes, his gaze settling on the young man.

“I have done quite some research on Japanese ramen, so it was easy to grasp the General’s ramen recipe,”

Xia Yu started modestly before getting to the main point.

“As for Japanese ramen, I once saw a survey conducted by an authoritative gourmet media. That survey was about the popularity of Japanese ramen toppings. In short, it was a ranking of topping popularity. I remember very clearly, the winner was ‘green onions’, the majority of Neon people believe ramen is incomplete without green onions; they like the flavor of green onions, they enjoy the texture…”

“What about second and third place?” asked Alice eagerly.

“Second place was butter, and third place… was garlic! Or more specifically, minced garlic!”

“Butter goes great with miso, it can greatly soften the taste of miso, making a bowl of ramen taste smoother.”

Pausing for a moment, seeing Alice and Eriina listening attentively, Xia Yu smiled and said, “The third-place minced garlic is popular for many reasons – some say it stimulates appetite, some say it makes one feel full of energy after eating, and others believe it replenishes their vitality, keeping them energized throughout the day…”

The large kitchen grew silent for quite a while.

“It seems, garlic indeed symbolizes power, health,” muttered Alice.

“Also, ‘Blue Star Algae’ is a very interesting fantasy ingredient!”

Xia Yu said with a smile, then went to the inner kitchen and brought back a few leftover trimmings of the special ingredient to the table.

“Wow!”

Upon seeing the scraps of food shimmering with a splendid, clear blue on the table, Alice covered her mouth, “Such beautiful seaweed!”

“So that’s where the color of the ramen soup came from!”

Eriina whispered in surprise.

“‘Blue Star Algae,’ you can simply understand it as, it’s an ingredient that pairs perfectly with the flavor profile of garlic, has a harmonizing effect on flavors and even augments the deep sense of energy that comes from the taste of garlic itself on top of its original flavor!”

About ‘Blue Star Algae’, Xia Yu didn’t plan to talk more, only looked up and exchanged a knowing look with Senzaemon.

“The soup’s color comes from ‘Blue Star Algae’, but what principle was used in the preparation of the soup itself to achieve the perfect blend of garlic flavors?” Leonora frowned in puzzlement and murmured low, “‘Garlic Chicken’ is a very unpopular wild species among chefs, and the main reason is due to the unique, stubborn flavor of its meat and bones!”

“Ha, let me explain that—”

Laughter came from the inner room, Tiqie Zongwei, who had quietly left his seat at some point, went into the inner room and moved the cookware Xia Yu used for the soup to the outer room’s table.

“The secret is in this clay pot!”