Chapter 784: Chapter 783: In Silence, In Colorlessness (Part 2)

Wei Qinglian felt as if a whirlpool had stirred up inside her mouth.

The sashimi, due to the inherent quality limitations of the ingredients, did not have a pronounced “freshness.”

But the problem was, the sauce was the key!

At the moment she swallowed, it was as if lightning struck Wei Qinglian’s mind, and she suddenly realized why Xingping Chuangzhen and a group of elites at the bar had mentioned that Xia Yu had used a dish of seasoning sauce to turn the tables and defeat Yuchuan Ayaka.

“What kind of sauce is this?”

“It’s definitely not just soy sauce and wasabi paste…”

The thoughts and taste buds surged uncontrollably with the flavor.

Wei Qinglian tried to discern it and faintly saw a rainbow of divine light sweeping toward her, subconsciously exclaiming in shock, “What is this vision!”

The spices forming the sauce sparkled with a multitude of colors on her taste buds.

Yet these colors were distinct, representing “fire” with red, “water” with blue, “wood” with green, and “earth” with yellow.

Lastly, there was the dazzling “metal” sunset glow!

If the previous three dishes—grilled fish, dumplings, and grilled seafood rice—embodied an incessant charm of spices, then now, dipping the sashimi into the sauce, everyone tasted what seemed like a vivid Five Elements Interactions Diagram!

Tiqie Xianzuowen chewed slowly, and with an utterly astonished tone, he said, “Even though they are all based on the Five Elements, why does it taste completely different from the ‘Peacock Dance’ recipe?”

Initially, as a judge and the Far Moon Commander who ascended the culinary battle judging seat, he had tasted Xia Yu’s “Peacock Dance” finishing move and naturally had the authority to speak.

“Is it different?” Karl Sage managed to stay coherent.

“Yes!”

Assertively nodding, Xianzuowen said, “In the past, this plate of sashimi relied on the attribute of ingredients to evoke the Five Elements, and of course the sauce was indispensable, but now…”

He lifted his head and stared intently at the young chef behind the window sill.

“The fact that such an outcome could be achieved with ordinary ingredients…” the Far Moon Commander paused, frowned for a moment, and then found the right words to continue, “This improvement precisely illustrates the enormous gulf that exists between special grade and Lin Level—it’s utterly insurmountable!”

Bang!

A broad palm slammed down on the table, drawing everyone’s attention to the old General.

Tiqie Xianzuowen seemed unable to contain his excitement any longer and solemnly declared, “This is a genuine Lin Level dish!”

“Moreover, it’s a Lin Level dish filled with personal signature!”

The room fell silent for a while.

“Ah!”

A voice broke the silence, “The fourth dish is a Lin Level dish, so what about the fifth and sixth?”

Tanaka Hikari clutched her mouth while sitting.

No one paid her any attention, as all eyes were fixed on the young head chef behind the window.

“Another Lin Level dish!”

An old acquaintance, Aoki Motota, bitterly said, “Come on, don’t pretend, using ordinary ingredients for ordinary cuisine. Lin Level dishes are anything but ordinary, aren’t they? What’s its name?”

“It’s just a very ordinary dish. Nameless!” Xia Yu replied with what he believed was an innocent gaze.

This response, however, caused Aoki Motota’s forehead to vein with irritation.

“I really want to punch you in the face!”

Aoki Motota harshly criticized, “A nameless Lin Level dish? You must be joking, deceiving elementary school kids!”

Seeing everyone else’s similar expressions, Xia Yu wisely shut his mouth.

Believe it or not.

This sashimi platter evolved from the “Peacock Dance” recipe was nameless, wasn’t that obvious? It was something Xia Yu had casually presented at tonight’s banquet, never having practiced it before, yet unexpectedly, it reached the Lin Level, leaving Xia Yu himself somewhat bewildered.

System, the “Perfected Spice Inequality” is too bugged!

Lately, especially in the past two days after a sudden Christmas inspiration, Xia Yu had gradually mastered this perfected culinary skill and was able to apply it, causing him to see the world differently.

Therefore, he wanted to summarize and put past recipes to the test in a banquet to see how much they could be improved.

Little did he know, that upon opening that door, behind it was a breathtaking secret trove that even Xia Yu found suffocating.

A question interrupted Xia Yu’s self-satisfied thoughts:

“What exactly is this sauce?!”

Wei Qinglian straightened up at the bar, her eyes filled with disbelief.

“Just like what you tasted.”

Xia Yu answered.

“No, I’m asking about how this sauce was made. Besides soy sauce and wasabi paste, what else is in it? Why does it create the atmosphere of the Five Elements and give me a deep and complex taste? Although it didn’t transport me to a culinary world, why did I still see overlapping spice heaven?”

A string of ‘why’s followed, leaving Wei Qinglian a bit confused.

“You are a guest; just focus on eating. You’re not some food war judge or competition referee. Why would I explain so much to you?” Xia Yu didn’t feel like giving a long answer and shrugged before turning back to his business.

Wei Qinglian was quite taken aback.

Zhu Qing, seeing a fellow Imperial Chef from her own realm, who she even slightly dreaded, being snubbed by a junior, couldn’t help but feel a bit gleeful.

“Ha—”

She couldn’t resist taunting, “Wei Qinglian, you’re focusing on the wrong thing, aren’t you?”

The dignified yet chilling woman looked up, Yu Rong showing a hint of irritation, obviously hit by Zhu Qing’s taunt.

“What are you trying to say!”

“You’re only focusing on the sauce, without considering the entire dish?”

“…”

Wei Qinglian was struck dumb.

Right!

The assessment given by Tiqie Xianzuowen, which she had almost treated as background noise, now rewound in her mind like a tape.

The female chef, occupying a leading role in the Chinese Realm, was the only one aware of the tumultuous state within her.

The banquet continued.

Three meat dishes, two vegetarian dishes, and one soup. Xia Yu deliberately chose “ordinary” dishes to cook, so it wasn’t too time-consuming. The remaining one vegetarian and one meat dish were almost simultaneously served after half an hour.

The vegetarian was “Mock Roast Goose.”

The soup was “Eel Soup.”

Both traditional Chinese dishes had their own tales worth telling.

Xia Yu specifically chose river eels for the soup. Eels are notoriously discouraged from being deboned before cooking, similar to not removing scales from hilsa fish.

Cooking clear stewed river eel, from Xia Yu’s perspective, involved three steps: handling, deodorizing, and steaming.

Handling meant washing the mucus off the eel’s body and skillfully cutting the eel into sections.

Then, the deodorizing process, where Xia Yu’s spice formula came into play. Alcohol, soy sauce, and even freshly pickled mustard from winter composed the spice formula materials. Liberal use of scallions and ginger, thickening with potato starch and dried yam, and attention to small details made the deodorizing effective.

As for the “Mock Roast Goose,” it probably was the highest in technical content and the most praised dish of the evening.

Although the dish’s name included ‘goose,’ the ingredients were purely vegetarian.

The recipe boiled down to this:

Boil yam until soft, cut it into roughly one-inch segments. Wrap these with tofu skin and fry in oil. Then, add wine, sugar, soy sauce, etc., to season, and stew until the color turned a bright red. Then, it was ready to be served.

Simple, isn’t it?

“Delicious!”

Everyone had devoured the plate resembling braised goose made of vegetarian ingredients.

Zhu Qing put down her chopsticks, reluctantly looking at the few empty plates, “Is that all for the six dishes?”

Oh.

That’s when she noticed Wei Qinglian had disappeared, leaving her used tableware behind.

Looking back, she saw a vague figure under the outdoor light of the shop. Zhu Qing stood up and walked over, catching a phrase that traveled to her ears:

“…a fish without scales has its stink doubled; it must be carefully cooked, ginger and cinnamon prevail…”

Wei Qinglian stood under the streetlamp, gazing at the night sky of Tokyo, her mind repeatedly revisiting the vegetarian dish and soup she had just enjoyed.

River eel, yam, and tofu skin, these key ingredients were insignificant.

But the spice formula within the dishes genuinely left this skilled female chef from the Chinese Realm with a lasting shock.

“To hear thunder in silence, to see prosperity in the colorless…”

“Has he really ascended?”