"Beidou... huh? Yu Jin?"
Xiangling and her good companion Guoba bounced onto the Alcor, where she also spotted a familiar figure.
Now Yu Jin wasn't flustered. With Xiangling here, at least some food that ordinary people could understand could be made.
Actually, to be precise, many of Xiangling's dishes were also quite incomprehensible to many.
"Sister Xiangling, you're here again?"
"Hehe, your ship has so many rare seafoods, I came to explore."
"Sister Xiangling, this time you must cook more perch. I've been craving your cooking for a long time."
"Absolutely, absolutely!"
"Sister Xiangling, please don't make those strange dishes this time, or I won't pay!"
"Hmph! If you don't pay, plenty of others will!"
As soon as Xiangling boarded the Alcor, the busy crew members put down their work and greeted her one after another.
"Oh, wow, I didn't realize you were so popular?" Yu Jin said, greeting Xiangling as she walked towards him.
"Haha, our fleet all approves of Xiangling's cooking." Beidou smiled at Xiangling when she saw him.
Back then, the accountant, seeking a bargain, brought the then-inexperienced Xiangling onto the ship. Who knew Xiangling's cooking skills were no worse than those of master chefs like Xinyue Kiosk?
His skills quickly won over everyone in The Crux Fleet, including Beidou. It must be said, this was a special kind of fate.
From then on, whenever the Alcor docked, Xiangling would always be the first to rush onto the ship, using the rare fish and shrimp from the outer seas to test the strange culinary ideas in his mind.
Of course, those were secondary. The most important thing was that Xiangling's cooking was indeed delicious, although sometimes he would concoct some dishes that they couldn't accept.
"It seems you two know each other? Then I won't introduce you further. Two master chefs, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming feast!"
Beidou raised his eyebrows at Xiangling and Yu Jin, then quickly ran off the ship.
As the leader of The Crux Fleet, Beidou couldn't stay idle after docking. He had more matters to attend to than the other crew members.
"Uh... two master chefs? Beidou isn't talking about you, Yu Jin, is he?" Xiangling looked at Yu Jin in front of him, saying in surprise.
Could it be that Beidou thought life was meaningless and wanted Yu Jin to send him off? Xiangling shivered, remembering Yu Jin's previous cooking scene.
Was that really cooking?
"Don't look at me like that. I'll only make one dish. If Beidou doesn't like it, then so be it!"
Yu Jin felt deeply hurt by Xiangling's fearful gaze, as if he were a tiger.
"I don't think Beidou is that formidable," Xiangling said seriously.
Beidou was indeed formidable, but not to the extent of being immune to all poisons.
"Alright, stop chatting here. Go quickly and check the ingredients in the storeroom!" Yu Jin suddenly found Xiangling a bit annoying. He expressed that he didn't want to talk to him and ran straight to the storeroom at the back of the ship.
"Hey! Yu Jin, wait for me!"
Seeing this, Xiangling immediately followed.
The Alcor's storeroom and kitchen were very close, perhaps due to the fleet's custom—The Crux Fleet held its celebration feasts on board.
As for why? Naturally, it was because the crew members drank wildly during the celebration feast. On the ship, they could drink freely without disturbing Liyue's public order.
When Xiangling arrived at the kitchen, he saw Yu Jin squatting at the entrance, setting up a large pot, with something already boiling inside.
Xiangling looked at the large pot quietly sitting inside the kitchen, then at the dark, old iron pot in front of Yu Jin, and asked with a strained face:
"May I ask why you're going to such unnecessary trouble?"
Yu Jin heard him, his expression calm as he threw a piece of firewood, pulled from who knows where, into the bonfire in front of him, and said:
"I don't think much of your little flame."
As he spoke, the flames beneath the bonfire suddenly flared up. The huge flames even enveloped the iron pot.
Xiangling felt he could still keep his composure. He noticed that although the flames were large, the heat seemed to be concentrated within the iron pot.
He craned his neck to look and saw Yu Jin pouring some viscous substance into the iron pot.
"What is this?" For the safety of Beidou and the crew, Xiangling felt he had to ask.
"Uh..." Yu Jin stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then said, "God's mucus? I guess you could call it that."
And it was fresh. Earlier, when he was gripping Osial's neck, he noticed his body surface was quite slippery.
For Yu Jin, a collector, he would definitely secretly scrape some off to add to his collection.
This time, Xiangling completely lost his composure. God's mucus? Good heavens! Where did Yu Jin get such a peculiar thing?
Looking at the extremely viscous fish mixture in the pot, Xiangling closed his eyes and walked past Yu Jin into the kitchen.
He felt that this time he should probably avoid any innovation, because Yu Jin's "innovation" was too extreme.
Amidst the clatter of pots, bowls, and ladles, wafts of fragrance, overpowering the strange smell emanating from Yu Jin's pot, spread across the Alcor.
Yu Jin stood up. He looked at the various colorful, aromatic, and flavorful dishes on the stove, and silently closed the pot lid.
It is wise for a person to know himself, and Yu Jin was such a person.
Although he didn't think his cooking was bad, compared to Xiangling's, it was still a tiny bit inferior.
"Anything I can help with?"
"Arrange the dishes!"
"Oh."
Xiangling, once in his element, was very efficient. Of course, he was also quick to boss people around. By the time Xiangling reacted, he saw Yu Jin surrounded by a pile of dishes, walking towards the deck.
Xiangling looked down at himself. Just now... did he just boss around an incredible person?
[Never mind, cooking is more important!] Xiangling shook his head. Yu Jin didn't care, so why should he? Making the dishes well was the most important thing!
The sun gradually set in the west. With Xiangling and Yu Jin's continuous efforts, tables laden with sumptuous dishes were arranged on the deck.
Of course, Yu Jin was mainly responsible for arranging the dishes.
As the sun completely dipped below the sea, the scattered crew members gradually returned to the Alcor—the celebration feast had begun.
The formerly quiet deck became noisy again. The sounds of finger-guessing games and laughter were incessant.
It seemed that the members of The Crux Fleet had indeed been suppressed for a long time out at sea. Now that they could relax, they naturally wanted to drink to their heart's content.
"Hey! Why aren't you eating with everyone? Look at Xiangling, he's having such a good time!" Beidou, holding his wine flask, approached Yu Jin, who was sitting in the shadows.
"I don't need to eat." Yu Jin shook his head. He didn't need any external sustenance; for him, eating was almost a waste.
Beidou's action of drinking heartily suddenly paused. He looked at Yu Jin with some doubt and surprise. He had never heard of anyone who didn't need to eat, not even himself.
"Then why do you still cook?" Beidou recalled what Yu Jin had said earlier in the day. How did someone who didn't need to eat learn to cook?
"I learned it. I watched how others did it, and I learned to do it that way." Yu Jin rolled his eyes. Such a simple principle, why didn't he understand?
"Indeed." Beidou smiled. The words were crude, but the reasoning was sound. When he was young and constantly on the move, he learned many things by watching others.
"Which dish is yours? I'll give you a critique!" Beidou looked at the various dishes on the distant table, saying confidently.
Don't let Beidou's boisterous demeanor fool you; he was actually a hidden gourmand. When he first tasted Xiangling's cooking, he predicted that he would one day become famous in Liyue.
Now it seemed that this prophecy had come true.
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Good!" Yu Jin grabbed Beidou's hand and forcefully pulled him towards the kitchen entrance.
He had originally thought that the dish he made today would again only be digested by himself, but he didn't expect Beidou to actually ask to try it.
What a rare and kind person!
The Alcor's bright lights were limited to the front section; the kitchen and storeroom were still shrouded in darkness.
As Yu Jin lifted the equally dark pot lid in the darkness, a streak of indigo blue illuminated Beidou's face.
It was the same indigo blue as Osial's body.
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