Gourmet of Another World

As soon as Bu Fang stepped inside the Queen of Curses’ palace, a silhouette came hurtling toward him. He frowned, lifted a hand, and placed his palm on the silhouette’s head. The person in front of him remained in a lunging posture, swinging its arms as if it were trying to swim forward.

“You stinking chef! Quick, give this queen your dish!” a little girl’s voice rang out.

Bu Fang could not help but raise his eyebrows. ‘What is this? Oh? That little girl?’ He stood still, his hand against the little girl’s head.

After swinging her arms for some time and realizing she could not touch Bu Fang, the little girl moved back one step, fuming.

“Why are you still here? And why do you look so calm?” Bu Fang gave the little girl a strange look. It was hard to imagine that such a beautiful and cute little girl was the Queen of Curses, who had awed all the nearby universes with her fearsome strength.

“It’s a long story. None of you chefs are good people,” the little girl said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms against her chest.

“In that case, don’t eat my dishes,” Bu Fang said.

The little girl glared at him. “You can’t do that! I just hate chefs, but I’m not sick of food!” she said seriously.

Bu Fang was almost convinced by her. ‘It’s very likely that my dishes will give her some enhancement, otherwise she won’t crave them like this,’ he thought to himself. As for what enhancement, he did not know.

“What dish do you want?” Bu Fang glanced at the angry little girl.

The little girl’s eyes lit up when she heard that. “That long, spicy, and hot thing…” she said.

“Death Spicy Strip?” That gave Bu Fang pause. The little girl only tasted that in his restaurant. ‘Hmm, that’s a dark dish. Why does she have such an exotic palate at such a young age?’ The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Rumble!

All of a sudden, the palace shook violently. Bu Fang’s expression changed drastically. Nethery and Houtu had entered the palace before him, but he did not see them. It was only at this moment that he had time to glance around.

The palace was magnificent. All around him was a boundless starry sky filled with wisps of rising white fog. At its highest spot, there was a flight of stairs with one hundred steps. Built with meteorites, at the end of the stairs was a chair, which looked ethereal, mystical, and elegant. That was the throne of Void City.

Bu Fang looked at the throne. It appeared to be very close to him, but he knew it was only an illusion.

“Stop looking at it. You’re not a Cursed Goddess, so you will never be able to get close to the Stairway of Star and the Throne of Void,” the little girl said, glancing at Bu Fang and crossing her arms against her chest like an adult.

“That throne represents power. Sitting on it, one can overlook all the universes.”

Bu Fang gave the little girl a sideways glance. “I don’t care. Where are Nethery and Houtu? And Cursed Goddess Soul, who came in before them?” he asked.

The little girl put on a cold, proud face and did not answer.

“Do you still want your Death Spicy Strip?” Bu Fang said, narrowing his eyes and smiling. He looked like a bad uncle who was trying to coax a little girl with a lollipop.

The little girl’s nostrils flared, but she had to bow her head because she needed something from Bu Fang. “They have entered the Cursed Array and are heading toward the Stairway of Star…” she said.

“So… You can’t stop them from going to the throne?”

The little girl rolled her eyes. She lifted the sides of her skirt slightly and turned around like a little fairy. Then, in a lifeless voice, she said, “You think I’m in a very formidable state now? Why do you think the army of Soul Demons dared to invade Void City? That old fellow Soul God… He can see through everything!” She sighed.

Bu Fang’s brows furrowed. He turned to look at the stairway in the distance. There, behind the shifting clouds, three vague figures were moving toward the stairway. Finally, the first figure took the first step. It was Cursed Goddess Soul!

A while later, another figure walked out of the clouds. It was Houtu! The two Cursed Goddesses began to ascend the stairway at a steady pace.

Soul’s eyes gleamed fiercely as she glanced over her shoulder at Houtu, who was following closely behind her. ‘The throne of Void City… is mine!’

It was only after a long time that Nethery emerged from the clouds. She was weaker compared to Soul and Houtu.

Bu Fang withdrew his gaze and turned to the little girl. “Tell me about your situation. Are you the real Queen of Curses?” he said.

Isolated from the outside world, the interior of the palace was very quiet. The din of the battle out there could not be heard here. For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. The little girl did not seem too keen to touch on this topic.

Bu Fang did not force her. He calmly took out a Death Spicy Strip, held it at the corner of his mouth, and took a small bite. The next moment, he arched his brows and sucked in a cold breath. It was really spicy!

The little girl remained silent. However, she kept hearing the sounds of Bu Fang munching the spicy strip. Eventually, she could not stand it anymore and glared at him. “Give me a Death Spicy Strip!” she said.

“What is your relationship with Er Ha? Why are both of you so fond of spicy strips?” Bu Fang could not help but ask. His lips were already red.

Relationship? There was no relationship between them! “You don’t understand…” The little girl was still very angry. Sure enough, all chefs were bad guys!

Bu Fang stopped talking and just kept chewing the spicy strip. The little girl pressed her lips together, staring at him. At length, she sighed and said, “I’m the Queen of Curses… But I’m also not her. The Queen of Curses is still sleeping… And I’m considered a kind of condensation of her spirit, or you can say I’m a wisp of her will.”

That gave Bu Fang pause. He even forgot to swallow the spicy strip in his mouth. “The Queen of Curses is still sleeping? Where is she?” he asked.

The little girl lifted a hand and pointed to the Stairway of Star in the distance. “The immortal flesh of the Queen of Curses is buried under the throne at the top of the Stairway of Star. I was born there, too. As the Queen’s will, I know some of her memories,” she said seriously.

Bu Fang could tell that she was not lying.

“The Queen’s memory has clearly indicated that all chefs are bad guys!” the little girl added.

Bu Fang twitched his lips. ‘Did the Queen of Curses have some kind of feud with a chef? The only chef that could have a conflict with her should be… the God of Cooking.’

Bu Fang’s hunger for gossip was aroused, burning ragingly. However, the little girl did not know too much about that, so it was rather disappointing.

“What about them?” He was referring to the three girls ascending the stairway in the distance.

“Whoever of them defeats the others and sits on the throne will gain control of Void City…” said the little girl.

She was only but a wisp of will. The real Queen of Curses was still asleep or dead, so there was nothing she could do. Even though she knew that it would be a disaster for Void City if Soul ascended to the throne, she had no way to stop it. She would have done it if she could.

Unfortunately, she only had the Queen’s will but not her power. This was also the reason why she had been hiding. She could at most cast a projection of the Queen through her control over the city to bluff others, just like what she had done to Countess Xia Qiu. She had no power to do anything else.

As for why she was craving for the Death Spicy Strip, the little girl discovered that after eating it in Bu Fang’s restaurant, she was able to temporarily become the Queen of Curses, and she even had the power to crush that Gluttony Great Soul Overlord.

Although the duration was short, it was a pleasant surprise for her. That was the reason why she wanted the Death Spicy Strip. It was not just because it was delicious.

Bu Fang furrowed his brows and held the spicy strip between his lips.

The struggle on the Stairway of Star in the distance had reached a white-hot stage. Of course, it was mainly Soul and Houtu who were competing—Nethery was left far behind. Both of them were almost at the top, and the latter was only halfway up.

It was not entirely Nethery’s fault; the main reason was the gap between their strength. However, Bu Fang could not help but feel strange. ‘Nethery still has Fortune Flatbread. Why isn’t she using it? There might be a miracle if she uses it now…’

Bu Fang withdrew his gaze, then he took out a Death Spicy Strip. Holding it, he stared at the little girl and said, “Xiao Zu… Hmm, this is not a nice name. I’ll call you Cursey. Tell me, Cursey, why do you want a Death Spicy Strip? Don’t tell me you just have a craving.”

‘What kind of strange names are those? Xiao Zu? Cursey?’ The little girl wished she could give Bu Fang a bite now. The Queen was right. All chefs were so annoying!

“Did you sense the Queen of Curses’ aura just now? You’re right… That was me… after eating a spicy strip!” Cursey puffed out her flat chest.

Bu Fang froze. ‘Did she mean she could have the Queen of Curses’ strength after eating a spicy strip?’ Even he, the chef who created Death Spicy Strip, knew nothing about this effect!

However, he did not waste his time to judge if this was a lie. He just gave the Death Spicy Strip to the little girl.

She took it excitedly and began eating it. Soon, her lips were red and swollen like two tiny sausages.

The corner of Bu Fang’s mouth twitched. ‘Cursey… You’re the Queen’s will. If she sees you now, she will surely jump out from where she’s buried…’

Bu Fang did not doubt the little girl’s words. Perhaps what she said was the truth, that the Queen of Curses was still asleep, but he would not take her as a real little girl. She was small, but she might have lived longer than him. Who knew if she harbored any ill intentions in her little head.

However, after listening to what she said, he could not help but wonder what the Soul Demons’ goal was. He focused his eyes, staring at the little girl as she shoved the last bit of spicy strip into her mouth. Her cheeks bulged, and her hands were red and greasy. After finishing it, she licked her fingers and burped.

That was when Bu Fang asked her, “Cursey, can you tell me the Soul Demons’ goal? Do they just want to gain control of Void City?”

The little girl’s movements froze, then she turned her head slightly. Her face was shrouded in shadow and covered with darkness, terror, as well as a deep chill.

“Because… The Soul God wants to wake up.”

Her voice was as cold as the ice beyond the skies, and her eyes were indifferent and emotionless. In her black pupils, Bu Fang’s reflections were wrapped up by countless cursed snakes.

Bu Fang’s breathing paused, and his brows arched. He felt a tremendous amount of pressure suddenly weighing down on his shoulders. In front of him, Cursey began to grow up, turning from a cute little girl to a tall, graceful, and elegant woman.

A terrifying aura exploded out of her and spread in an instant, shaking the entire palace!