I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Bean Sprouts and Duck

Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan walked out of the Yuan Shun Escort Agency.

Ximen Kankan’s servant, Shi Liang, was already seated in front of the carriage, waiting for them!

Once the two boarded the carriage, Shi Liang drove off.

”Where are we going for dinner?” Duan Rong asked from inside the carriage. Ximen Kankan had said he would treat him to a meal but hadn’t mentioned where.

Ximen Kankan blinked and said, ”Snow Veil Residence!”

”Isn’t that your home?”

”Yes!” Ximen Kankan replied, ”My family’s old Xu is the best chef in Xianggu County, there’s no second to him!”

Duan Rong curled his lips, thinking to himself: Starting to show off again!

When the two walked out of Yuan Shun Escort Agency, it was still dusk. By the time the carriage entered the West Gate Mansion, night had fallen, and in the gloomy sky, many bats were flitting about catching insects...

The two arrived at Snow Veil Residence. Ximen Kankan had someone light the lamps, and they settled in front of a few tables in the hall!

”Tell old Xu to start preparing the dishes!” Ximen Kankan said with hands clasped behind his back, striking a pose of maturity as he instructed Shi Kang, who had just extinguished the flint.

Shi Kang hurried away upon hearing this!

Ximen Kankan turned around, smiling at Duan Rong, and said, ”Master Duan, please take your seat first!”

Duan Rong stood by the wall, studying a few paintings in the hall. Out of curiosity, he reached out to sense the spirit of one painting, unexpectedly discovering that its Artifact Spirit Tier was Five, indicating it was an extraordinary treasure!

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong turned back and smiled, ”Are these paintings part of your collection too?”

Ximen Kankan’s expression suddenly turned a bit somber as he said, ”These paintings were all collected by my mother while she was alive. But she passed away when I was three. Neither my father nor I are too knowledgeable about these. Since her departure, these paintings have likely been feeling lonely in this house. Master Duan’s visit is indeed a comfort to these paintings in Snow Veil Residence; at least now there’s someone who can appreciate them!”

Duan Rong chuckled softly. Despite Ximen Kankan’s clumsy words, they were filled with deep nostalgia for his mother.

”This guy is quite a filial son,” Duan Rong mused.

Looking at a landscape painting behind Ximen Kankan, Duan Rong felt an understanding dawn upon him. This Snow Veil Residence was so elegant, which suggested that Lady Ximen was a person of refined tastes. It’s a pity she passed away too soon, seemingly before she could pass on such influences to Ximen Kankan!

Just then, Shi Kang brought up two plates of sliced fruits!

”Master Duan, please have some fruits to cleanse your palate; the main dishes will be up soon!” Ximen Kankan said with a smile.

Duan Rong chuckled, ”Young Master Ximen, just call me Brother Duan. Calling me Master, Master, those who don’t know might think I’m a Jianghu sorcerer! If your father knew, he might just have me taken to the government office!”

What Duan Rong said was amusing, and they both laughed heartily!

After chatting for a short while, the first dish was served!

”Brother Duan, please!” Ximen Kankan said politely.

Glancing at the dish, Duan Rong couldn’t help but find it a bit humorous. Ximen Kankan had raised his expectations so high, yet the first dish was merely a plate of stir-fried bean sprouts, without even garnishes, purely just bean sprouts. Its appearance was not even as good as that of a typical street-side stall!

And Ximen Kankan had boasted that his family’s chef was the best in Xianggu County!

Although Duan Rong found it funny, he wasn’t picky about food, so he picked up a pair of ivory chopsticks from the table and casually picked up a chopstick’s worth, putting it in his mouth!

The moment the bean sprouts touched his mouth, Duan Rong’s expression changed. He couldn’t quite describe the texture—crisp, fragrant, and delightfully tender. It was simply not like any bean sprouts!

”Is... this... bean sprouts?” Duan Rong was genuinely surprised.

Ximen Kankan laughed, ”Of course, it’s bean sprouts! But not any ordinary bean sprouts! These are processed by old Xu!”

”Processed?” Duan Rong was truly puzzled. How could bean sprouts taste this good, with layered flavors of deliciousness and aroma, it was simply exceptional!

”Each bean sprout is hollowed out with a needle, and then various fillings are stuffed inside, before being quick-fried in hot oil. It retains the crispness of the sprouts and carries the savory aroma of the fillings!”

Duan Rong was taken aback, grabbing a bean sprout with his chopsticks and taking a bite. Under the candlelight, he examined it closely and indeed saw the hidden fillings oozing out from within the sprout.

”Hollowing out each bean sprout...” Duan Rong was astounded.

If it were just one, he could manage to hollow it out with a needle, but for such a large plate of bean sprouts, how long would that take!

Ximen Kankan noticed Duan Rong’s amazement and said, ”Reaching the pinnacle in any field is an art! This dish is not something old Xu usually prepares. To get him to make this plate of stir-fried bean sprouts for you, I had to persuade him for quite a while!”

Duan Rong’s mind was stirred, realizing this young man was hinting at something. It seemed the favor he’d ask later wouldn’t be a simple one. He’s being nice without reason—if he’s not up to something, he’s likely plotting something!

Just then, the second dish was already being served!

After the second dish was served, Shi Kang unexpectedly took away the first dish!

Seeing the remaining half plate of bean sprouts being taken away, Duan Rong felt a pang of regret! But Shi Kang had already removed it, so there was nothing he could say!

Looking at the second dish on the table, Duan Rong saw a duck head in the dish, but behind it was a gourd-shaped body. Confused, he thought to himself: What kind of strange dish is this?

”Brother Duan, this second dish is called Eight Treasure Gourd Duck!”

”This is another intricate dish that requires the whole duck to be deboned without breaking the skin, removing the claws and small wings! Eight ingredients such as shrimp, mushrooms, ham, and glutinous rice are stuffed into the duck’s belly, sewn up, shaped into a gourd, then fried and steamed afterward!”

”Once it’s out of the steamer, it is salty, fragrant, rich, and extraordinarily delicious!”

”Brother Duan, please!”

With Ximen Kankan’s vivid description, Duan Rong was already salivating. He picked up his ivory chopsticks and poked the gourd-shaped duck body!

The duck meat was already tender and soft, and with a pinch of the chopsticks, a large piece of duck meat with the stuffing was pinched off!

Duan Rong placed it in his mouth, chewing slowly, feeling as if his taste buds and soul were trembling...

”Brother Duan, this dish takes quite a bit of effort! Even I can’t have it often! If I hadn’t kept pestering old Xu for a long time, he wouldn’t have shown his culinary skill so easily!”

Not only was Duan Rong spellbound by the deliciousness, but Ximen Kankan was also enjoying it, his mouth covered in oil, nodding repeatedly!

The third dish hadn’t even come out yet, and the two had already cleaned off the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck completely!

At that moment, Shi Kang suddenly came in from outside, carrying a jar of wine!

It was a small jar of wine, roughly the size of a human head!

Yet it was tightly sealed, with a layer of beeswax at the seal!

And the jar looked quite aged, possibly with some years behind it; even though its surface had been cleaned, there were still plenty of signs of erosion...

Ximen Kankan took the jar of wine from Shi Kang, looked at Duan Rong, and smiled, ”Brother Duan, let’s have a drink to cleanse our palates!”

Saying this, Ximen Kankan unsealed the jar and inserted a wine dipper carved from Qingzhu into the jar, scooping out a dipper of wine!

Ximen Kankan poured that dipper of wine into two silver embossed cups!

One cup was placed in front of him, and the other in front of Duan Rong!