Gourmet of Another World

Stargazing… my ass!

The pungent smell almost knocked everyone out. It was strong, like the mixture of putrefactive odor and fart, or the smell of ten thousand rotten durians exploding at the same time. And the fish heads, with their glaring eyes, gave those who looked at them the creeps.

The nobles who lived high on the hog had never smelled anything like that. Their hair stood on end, and they quickly retreated. They had come here to watch a show, but they did not expect to be greeted by such stench.

Rotating their divine power, they shut their senses. However, to their horror, they found that they could not fend off the stench even with their cultivation base. It clung to them like maggots on rotting flesh and burrowed deep into their souls.

“He calls this a cuisine?! Fairy tales are full of lies!”

“This stench is even fouler than the cursed gutter outside District D… He couldn’t have moved the water from that gutter to here, could he?”

“It’s killing me!”

The first to be hit by this stench was… Foxy. It was so stinking that she was beginning to have doubts in her life. The moment it hit her, only three questions remained in her mind: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?

After that, the little fox fell to the ground, spitting white foam. She swore this was the foulest stench she had ever smelled in her life. She had never smelled something so stinky!

Even Bu Fang, as the chef who made the dish, could hardly stand it. ‘It stinks… It really stinks!’ However, it was the dark cuisine he made, so he had to bring it out even if it made him tear up.

Stargazy Pie was a famous dish on Earth invented by a top British royal chef. Herring was a favorite food in Europe, and as a result, many cuisines had been derived from it. Canned herring was one, and Stargazy Pie was another.

Bu Fang had combined both to let these people experience the impact of dark cuisines from Earth. He hated to admit it, but the stench of stinky tofu was slightly weaker than this enhanced Stargazy Pie.

“What is this f*cking smell?!”

“Blaargh… Dammit… Blaargh… I can’t stand it anymore…”

“What the heck! It stinks! Isn’t it written in the records that the food cooked by chefs is fragrant?”

The nobles pushed at each other to retreat further as if they had seen some terrifying being, their faces darkened. They were not Soul Demons, so they would not desire food with such pungent stench. When the Stargazy Pie appeared, their flesh crept, their hair stood on end, and their souls shivered.

Bu Fang placed the pie on the table and exhaled deeply. “This is the first dark cuisine…” he said.

The moment the dish appeared, the ten participants at the table were struck dumb.

“Challenge… This is a real challenge!”

“The stench… Is this dish a variant of that disgusting food in District D?!”

“He doesn’t want us to win the challenge, does he? No wonder he dares to offer Chaotic Energy as a reward…”

Just the smell alone was already enough to make many people despair. However, it was not enough to make the participants flinch. A resolute look could be seen in their eyes. They were not even afraid to die for Chaotic Energy!

Master Zhen Yong, the alchemist of the pill-making workshop, smiled confidently. The stench was nothing to him. It was disgusting, yes, but it was still within his acceptable range. The smell from the cauldron whenever he burned the pills was even stronger than this.

If this was the challenge, then he was confident that the Chaotic Energy would be his!

“Blerrgh…”

Finally, one of the participants could not hold it any longer. His stomach churned as he was overwhelmed by the stench. These participants were people with experience, and most of them had seen the disgusting food of District D.

The stench made the man think of that food, and he could not hold down the churning in his stomach. He was eliminated.

“First blood…”

“Double kill…”

“Triple kill…”

Bu Fang sighed as he watched three participants throw in towels, cover their mouths, and run away from the table. As soon as the Stargazy Pie made its appearance, it eliminated three participants.

However, there were still seven participants left. It surprised Bu Fang. Not only that, but two of them looked calm as if they were not affected at all. “Interesting… But that’s what makes it challenging, isn’t it?” The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

In the distance, the noblewoman’s beautiful face darkened the moment she smelled the stench. She did not know whether she should laugh or cry. ‘Is this chef nuts?’

She thought Bu Fang would come up with some tricky challenges, but in the end… ‘He’s doing it purely to disgust people, right? Is that a cuisine? Is there such a stinky cuisine?’

Bu Fang was unlike any of the chefs she knew in the past. All chefs strove to cook delicious dishes with tantalizing fragrance, but this chef actually cooked up a dish that made people vomit!

Nethery covered her nose. She, too, did not know whether she should laugh or cry. However, she was not surprised to see this. In the past, she had witnessed how Bu Fang had blown someone’s cauldron apart with the stench of stinky tofu.

But stinky tofu was nowhere near as foul as this; it was still within her acceptable range. The Stargazy Pie’s stench was simply… deadly! Nethery suspected that the dish was not even edible!

Xiao Ai, on the other hand, almost fainted. ‘So that’s who Owner Bu is…’ she thought to herself. Only now did she see Bu Fang’s true colors!

“Not bad… We still have seven participants…” Bu Fang clasped his hands behind his back and nodded expressionlessly at the remaining participants.

In the distance, the nobles, who had retreated hundreds of steps, were terrified, but at the same time, they admired the seven people sitting at the table. “They are so brave! District A truly is a place with many extraordinary talents!”

“Little chef, are you trying to disgust us with the stench? This kind of challenge is too simple. You’ve disappointed me…” Master Zhen Yong said indifferently.

Viscount Dao Lun was an elegant man. He smiled and said, “Little chef, I hope you will keep your promise later when the challenge is over…”

The beautiful woman with curly blond hair also chuckled. “It’s really not gourmet… But if you think you can defeat us with mere stench, then you’ve underestimated us.” She was quite famous in District A. She was also a viscount, and her name was Ash.

At the trio’s provocation, Bu Fang raised his brows. He glanced at them, shook his head, and said, “Be patient… The challenge has just begun.”

The faces of the seven people at the table froze.

Bu Fang produced the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife and seven porcelain plates. He was about to cut the Stargazy Pie with the kitchen knife. As he said, the fun had only just begun. The true stench of the pie was not from its surface, but deeper inside.

He gave the group a look, twitched the corner of his mouth. “The rule of the challenge is that you have to finish the Stargazy Pie… Now, ladies and gentlemen…”

As the participants waited warily and the surrounding nobles watched in horror, Bu Fang’s kitchen knife fell and cut the pie. The moment it was cut apart, strong rays of black light shot out of it, straight as spears. One, two, three… The black light looked as terrifying as something that came through the gate of hell!

Viscount Ash sounded tough just now, but no sooner had the black light appeared than beads of sweat began to cover her forehead. Viscount Dao Lun swallowed, and a wary look came over his elegant face.

Master Zhen Yong, on the other hand, was still very calm. He was immune to the stench. In fact, any alchemist who had smelled an exploded cauldron should not be afraid of this stench. It was nothing to them.

The Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife went into the pie with a wet sound. The Stargazy Pie was actually a kind of pastry with a texture that felt somewhat like cheese. As the knife sliced through it easily and cut out a piece, an even more brutal stench came rolling out of it!

Rumble!

The color of the sky changed! It was now black as if dark clouds were gathering, with a touch of green!

Bu Fang had a serious look in his eyes as if he was under a tremendous amount of pressure. He put the slice of pie on a porcelain plate, and the black liquid from the canned herring flowed out of the pie, bubbling. When the bubbles popped, the stench immediately spread in all directions like waves. Hit by the stench, the expressions of the seven participants changed dramatically.

“I…” Another participant could not take it anymore. At the thought of eating this thing later, he simply could not hold down the tumbling of his stomach!

He stomped his legs and fell back to the ground with the chair. “I… I give up! Blaargh…” He fled, rolling and crawling on all fours.

However, none of the surrounding nobles despised him. Everyone was looking at him with sympathy. They could imagine the stench, and they thought that he had made a wise decision by withdrawing from the challenge. This only proved that those who persisted were true warriors!

Bu Fang kept his composure, his face expressionless. With a steady hand, he cut the Stargazy Pie into slices and placed one before every participant.

A few of them stared at the pie. When their gazes met the herrings’ eyes, they opened their mouths and threw up.

“One, two, three… four!”

A hint of a playful look came over Bu Fang’s face as he glanced at the four men who withdrew from the challenge in succession. ‘Do you think the stench of the freshly baked Stargazy Pie is all it got? No…’ he thought to himself.

‘What makes this dish so terrifying is that its stench will keep stepping up… And the stench comes from the liquid of the canned herring as soon as the pie is cut open… That’s the full strength of its stench!’

Looking at the golden-brown pie and the dark green liquid, Viscount Ash’s face turned black completely. Her chest heaved, and her face grew darker with each breath. But she persevered.

Viscount Dao Lun had a deep understanding of his elegance. However, when he looked at the mixture of golden crust and dark green liquid, he was beginning to despair.

His hands, holding the knife and fork, were trembling, his pupils dilating. His body was shaking violently as well, causing the chair under him to creak. Then, white foam spewed out of his mouth. Eventually, he fell to the ground, his eyes rolling.

His handsomeness, his elegance, and his pride were all shattered by the Stargazy Pie!

The moment Viscount Dao Lun fainted, Viscount Ash, too, could not stand it anymore. She covered her mouth with both hands as tears welled up in her eyes. It made her look like a woman who was hurt by love. Then, tears began to pour down her cheeks as she wept sadly.

Bu Fang felt a little sad when he saw that. In fact, the Stargazy Pie was very delicious. He sighed and murmured, “Another double kill…”

All the nobles were pulling their hair, despairing. They never thought that of the ten participants, nine were knocked out by just one dish! Those were all elites of District A, yet they had made a fool of themselves because of a dish!

However, there was still one hope left: Master Zhen Yong! Could the alchemist create a miracle? The nobles rested their eyes on him.

At this moment, Master Zhen Yong’s calmness was nowhere to be found. The cascading stench had long since gone beyond his acceptable range. It stunk worse than the smell of a hundred cauldrons blowing up together! Was the person who made this stench trying to get back at society?

But for the sake of the Chaotic Energy, Master Zhen Yong braced himself. With a trembling hand, he picked up a spoon and scooped up a spoonful of golden pie mixed with the bubbling, dark green liquid. His teeth seemed to be chattering.

Bu Fang narrowed his eyes, while the crowd held their breath and watched as the alchemist lifted the spoon up and slowly brought it into his mouth.