Chapter One Hundred: A Lavish Banquet

Qi Xiao had spent nearly a week on Heart-Lake Isle recuperating, and during that time he had done little besides studying and preparing a few basic potions. Whenever he pushed his mana too intensely, illusions would rise before his eyes.

His teacher had returned the day before, but had left only one note—“Find me in the study three days from now”—and a bottle of emerald-green elixir before disappearing again in a rush. Still, the teacher seemed in good shape and likely unharmed.

Qi Xiao exhaled softly and set aside the potion that shimmered with a gold-hued liquid. He had spent a long stretch of time studying the medicine given to him by that elderly woman, and by now he had already identified most of its ingredients.

He suspected it was because his soul itself was unusual, granting him a naturally strong talent for soul-based magic. At the aptitude test, the recommended path had included both the Soul Discipline and the Spatial Discipline, with strengths fairly close to one another. For that reason, his progress in soul-related medicinal studies had been rapid.

Qi Xiao checked the sky, then called for Xie Ruo.

“Please tell Mr. Aiyak that tonight’s banquet will be prepared by me. I’ve had nothing pressing to do recently, so I’ll practice a bit of cooking. He can come and take dinner there as well.”

Xie Ruo seemed almost eager at once and ran to the dining hall.

After reviewing the recipes, Qi Xiao rose and walked slowly to the kitchen. A wizard’s banquet usually followed a fixed order: appetizer, soup, main course, sides, and dessert. He had no urge to deviate from tradition and, after washing his hands, began with the first step.

The appetizer was a mana-vegetable roll. Qi Xiao selected crisp lettuce, cucumber, and young carrots, then rinsed them lightly with mildly sweet cleansing water to preserve their crunch. He then brought out Aiyak’s secret mayonnaise, made from Muke eagle eggs—salty, fragrant, soft, and subtly sweet.

He cut the vegetables into thin strips, shaped them into neat rolls with careful molding, and arranged them on plates over a smear of sauce, finished with edible petals. Qi Xiao prepared nearly eight portions, just in case. Any leftovers could be brought back to Little Mushroom, who never refused anything offered.

For the soup, he chose fresh shellfish, prawns, and crab meat, rinsing them thoroughly in clean water to keep their natural sea flavor intact. He could sense faint mana in them, but it made little difference beyond making them more savory; even an ordinary person could handle them, so he kept to ordinary names: crab and shrimp.

For the stock he selected fresh root vegetables—carrot, onion, and celery—and one herb called huangzhi. Aside from the huangzhi, these were plain pantry staples, untouched by mana. He cut the vegetables into uniform cubes, making them release flavor more evenly in cooking. He also prepared the prewashed seafood again, ready for the pot.

Into a tin cauldron he poured a measured amount of cloud-mellow water, added the vegetables and seafood, and set them over a controlled flame. Qi Xiao used mana to keep the heat steady, ensuring the stock would not boil too fiercely and never fall short. Once satisfied, he set another two larger pots in motion as well.

During the simmer, he added his own spice blend: seeds from berries gathered in the Deerhind Forest. By grace, he had refreshed his spatial art only shortly before searching for Shabu; otherwise, things kept in the inner space would likely have spoiled. Ground into powder, these seeds offered many profiles—some reminiscent of Sichuan pepper, some like black pepper—and made excellent seasoning.

He let the broth simmer for several hours over a mana-controlled fire until the flavors merged into a rich, dense soup. When it was done, he first removed the larger solids, leaving only the base.

Then he used a finer mana filtration method, separating every last fragment from the liquid, until the stock ran clear and velvety to the eye and palate.

He took part of that clarified stock as a base and added fresh seafood again: squid tentacles, scallop shells, and other delicacies, then cooked them slowly so the sweetness of the sea and the depth of the broth would meld perfectly. A measured amount of sea salt and his prepared spices gave it layers, and a touch of thyme and parsley raised the aroma. He poured it into elegant soup bowls and garnished each with a lemon slice and fine herbs, creating color, fragrance, and taste in a single harmonious impression.

Wrapping a thread of gentle heat around the seafood soup to keep it warm, Qi Xiao turned to the remaining stock for a sauce.

He set this portion over high heat and reduced it, allowing excess water to evaporate and the flavor to concentrate. He added ingredients such as onion to borrow their fragrance, then removed them once infused. Wild mushrooms and truffles followed, adding forest freshness and earthy notes. When the sauce reached the right density, he stirred it slowly so every flavor would settle into balance. His mana touched the mixture lightly, making its texture finer still.

To make the sauce silkier, he added a little fat from the fire bull and used mana to emulsify it fully with the reduction. He tasted and adjusted with salt and sugar until it was both rich and balanced. He then transferred the finished sauce to a refined container, preserving heat and character for service with the main course.

Next came the steak. Qi Xiao chose a fine cut and marinated it with his earlier spices, fresh herbs, and a spoonful of his special sauce in a sealed bag so all sides were evenly covered. Using mana, he worked the marinade into the meat. Then he preheated the grill.

He removed the steak from the bag, patted away excess marinade, and laid it on the hot grates. He watched closely, turning it often to ensure every side browned evenly and held the savory scent of grill marks. His control was superb: the exterior crisped in a fragrant crust while the interior remained juicy and tender. He rested the cooked meat on a board so the juices could settle, then sliced it to the right thickness and arranged the pieces in an elegant fan. He drizzled the prepared sauce across each piece; richness and pure beef flavor met as one.

At the same time, he prepared simple sides—roasted vegetables and gently steamed seasonal produce—to frame the steak with color and texture. Smiling to himself, Qi Xiao hung the remaining marinated steak back on the grill, told Xie Ruo to notify the others of the feast, wiped his hands, and moved on to the final course.

————

Raymond, eyes still fogged with sleep, was awakened by a knock and stumbled toward the door.

“Who is it?”

Xie Ruo, half-awake and rubbing her eyes, froze in surprise at his disheveled appearance.

“Forgive me, Master Raymond. Master Qi prepared tonight’s banquet himself and asked me to invite you. I’m sorry to disturb your rest…”

“It’s nothing. I’ll come at once. Go tell the others. Eve should be out fishing.”

He waved it away with a yawn.
“It’s been so long since I truly slept… I never expected to sleep this long.”

After washing and dressing, he muttered under his breath and hurried into the dining hall.

When Raymond entered, he was immediately captivated. The long table wore a snowy cloth, each place set with fine utensils and burning candles. The air was rich with the aroma of many dishes, every scent stirring appetite.

His gaze fixed first on the vibrant appetizer: green vegetable rolls and vivid edible petals arranged like a lively painting. He inhaled deeply; the combined perfume of produce and spices made his tongue tingle in anticipation.

With a silver fork, Raymond lifted a roll and bit into it. The fresh vegetal perfume and the salty, soft yolk cream spread at once, and when he bit harder, juices burst out with a faint bright acidity. His appetite awakened instantly.

He then took a spoonful of the seafood soup. At first contact with his lips, the sweetness of shellfish and the fullness of the stock fused perfectly, making him shut his eyes and savor it slowly. The sea meats were tender and juicy, the squid tentacles had admirable bite, and the subtle heat from spices paired beautifully with the fresh herbs.

One bowl vanished quickly, and then he cut a small piece of steak. Tenderness and sauce richness intertwined in his mouth, each bite an exquisite tease of flavor. The exterior was grilled to the ideal degree; inside, the meat stayed pink, juicy, and impossible to stop thinking about. Even the roasted and steamed vegetables added satisfying crispness, balancing the richness of the steak.

Raymond was truly astonished. He had never cared much about cuisine and had once believed himself nearly indifferent to such bodily pleasures. Tonight, he realized how wrong he had been.

When he looked up, every table beside him was occupied. Not only was Eve eating her vegetable roll with evident delight, but even Senior Brother Robert was tasting the seafood soup, his face open with approval.

“Elder Brother, when did you return?”

Raymond asked, startled. At that moment Qi Xiao himself emerged carrying a dish, and in turn asked, “Yes? Weren’t you away at Sea Cape on business?”

Robert tasted the rich burst of meat juice, swallowed, and said quietly, “I sent you there. To face that sort of danger, of course I came back as soon as I could. You look fine now, so all is well. Otherwise I would carry remorse for life.”

Qi Xiao smiled lightly. “No one could have foreseen this. How did you find the dishes?”

Robert set down his fork and gave a measured critique.

“As an appetizer, the vegetable roll is crisp and its secret mayonnaise is a perfect match; the vegetable sweetness and savory creaminess blend beautifully. It is passable as an aperitif—about six points.

“The seafood soup is excellent: briny and deep. The freshness of the shellfish and the weight of the broth work together beautifully, and the spices sharpen it without stealing the spotlight. I’d give it eight.

“As for the steak, it is well done. Crispy outside, juicy within, the meat flavorful, and your control over heat is truly excellent. You preserved the original taste and added richness with your sauce, yet it remains, in truth, somewhat ordinary. Beyond tenderness and doneness it resembles a fine, conventional steak. As the centerpiece, after the first two courses had already raised expectations, it doesn’t quite clear the bar. I would rate it only four.

“The roasted seasonal vegetables, however, are quite good.”

Robert had once been of the royal household before becoming a wizard, and his judgment was no idle praise; every word was precise.

Qi Xiao bowed his head slightly, embarrassed, and said, “You overrate me. By the way, this is the dessert. Please taste it.”

He lifted the lid of the elegant dessert platter. A radiant confection appeared: a clear gelled glaze covered the surface, within which sugar constellations had been pressed into shapes across the top, like stars scattered through a night sky. Deep blue dominated the piece, with silver sugar dusting like distant starlight, giving the impression of a vast and mysterious universe. Qi Xiao had designed it from a memory of the cosmos from his former life. As far as he knew, the universe of this world resembled an endless void, with no true galaxies at all.