Chapter 579: Netherworld Cuisine
Ning Zhuo did not even turn his head back and simply walked away.
Seeing his departing figure, the old Chief Steward wanted to shout at him. But the words reached his lips and were forcibly swallowed back down.
“This pockmarked youth seems somewhat strange. Could it be that he has someone backing him from above and therefore does not fear us?”
“If that were not the case, how could he possibly act so arrogantly?”
The old Chief Steward pondered silently. He felt that the waters here might run very deep, so he immediately decided to suppress his anger for the time being and investigate this person’s background first.
Ning Zhuo returned to his seat in the Dining Hall, attracting the attention of many people.
Sun Lingtong continued squatting in the corner of the wall without drawing attention, eating his food. Ning Zhuo’s departure and return had both been under his close observation.
If anything unexpected occurred, he would immediately rush out to act.
After Ning Zhuo sat down, his attention was drawn to the Spirit Food before him.
Cinnabar Soul Fruit Jelly.
It was a semi-transparent crimson cube of jelly. Large areas of spell restrictions floated across its surface, seemingly forming the Yin-Nourishing Scripture.
After Ning Zhuo ate it, he initially tasted nothing at all. Then suddenly sourness, sweetness, bitterness, and spiciness surged together, causing his face to twist in discomfort as he struggled to adapt.
Yet very quickly, these complex and impactful flavors vanished just as suddenly—like a lamp going out after death, as if every sentiment had been washed away by wind and rain.
Ning Zhuo could not help but feel a trace of melancholy.
Reincarnation Black Algae Rolls.
These Spirit Foods were made by wrapping Nether River algae in yellow bean curd skin.
When Ning Zhuo took a bite, the texture was extremely unpleasant. The bean curd skin was dry and tasteless, like layers of talisman paper. The algae was unbearably salty, making one wish to spit out their tongue!
Branding Iron Rib Bones.
The ribs were charred black and heavy like iron. When Ning Zhuo picked one up, he immediately felt a stabbing pain in his soul.
He tried taking a bite. The meat on the ribs was extremely tough, and he had to exert great effort just to tear off a few mouthfuls.
After chewing for a while, an intense burning sensation enveloped both his body and mind, making the experience quite torturous.
The staple food was a basin of Tongue-Pulling Knife-Shaved Noodles.
The tongues were extremely fresh—so fresh that inside the bowl they were either jumping around, licking, or curling themselves.
When Ning Zhuo tried eating one slice, he felt the tongue thrashing wildly inside his mouth, as if unwilling to be eaten.
After he finally managed to chew it, the sauce contained within the tongue exploded across his taste buds. The sourness was simply outrageous.
After swallowing one piece, Ning Zhuo found it very difficult to continue. It felt as if all the teeth in his mouth were about to be corroded away by the acidity.
This midday meal at the Hidden Yang Residence truly left one at a loss for words.
Ning Zhuo was already doing relatively well. The others who had arrived with him made complete spectacles of themselves and were mocked by many Male Consorts, providing quite a show.
“Hahaha, newcomers, you still have a lot to learn.”
“You can’t even eat your food. What else can you possibly do?”
“You’d better roll back where you came from early and spare yourselves the embarrassment here!”
Some people grew indignant and mobilized their mana, attempting to suppress the Spirit Food inside their mouths so it would stop causing trouble. However, they were immediately noticed by nearby Paper Attendants, who lashed them with a whip on the spot.
The Paper Attendant sternly scolded, “These Spirit Foods were painstakingly crafted by our City Lord’s Mansion at great expense.”
“You must not use mana to contaminate such food and cause great waste.”
“If you cannot even eat properly, you might as well leave immediately!”
The male cultivator who had been whipped flushed red with humiliation and could only endure silently, not daring to use even a trace of mana again.
Ning Zhuo was also working hard, stuffing food into his mouth nonstop.
He was putting in such effort because he had also realized that although these Spirit Foods tasted indescribably terrible—and were sometimes extremely difficult to chew and swallow—their effects were astonishing.
After finishing this meal, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that the foundation of his soul had already risen to two hundred and twenty times that of an ordinary person.
“Just one lunch increased it by this much.”
“If I live here for a period of time, simply eating these meals could rapidly increase my soul foundation. Breaking through the thousandfold threshold might even be possible!”
After lunch ended, most of the Male Consorts left the Dining Hall. Only Ning Zhuo and the other newcomers remained.
Sun Lingtong walked over from the corner and transmitted a message with his spiritual sense:
“I just chatted with some of the Ghostfolk servants. I heard that when their masters arrive here, they usually bribe that old Chief Steward.”
“Especially when we’ve just arrived—the type of residence assigned to us is very important.”
“Why don’t we follow suit and try to secure a large house?”
Among the Male Consorts, nearly all were human cultivators, with very few Ghostfolk. There was a deep divide between newcomers and veterans, and the atmosphere was not very friendly.
However, among the Ghostfolk themselves, they were quite easygoing with one another, treating each other warmly and even offering help and advice voluntarily.
“I also have some information to tell you…” Ning Zhuo briefly explained his earlier conflict with the old Chief Steward to Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong grew curious.
“Little Zhuo, given your personality—you’re always saying that failing to endure small things will ruin great plans. Why would you care about such a small amount of money and refuse to bribe him? Do you have other plans?”
“The one who understands me best is you, Boss,” Ning Zhuo praised.
Then he slowly explained his reasoning.
“White Paper Immortal City is facing both internal and external crises. After all, we are disguising our identities. If we are exposed, it will be difficult to explain.”
“If we end up being suspected as infiltrators sent by the City-Overthrowing Alliance, that would be disastrous.”
“Right now, our first priority is gathering intelligence.”
“The second is to blend in with the crowd as much as possible and avoid standing out.”
“As for bribery, we can deal with that depending on circumstances later.”
Sun Lingtong immediately understood Ning Zhuo’s thinking.
“You mean that among these Male Consorts, there might be members of the City-Overthrowing Alliance hidden among them?”
“That makes sense.”
“The White Paper City Lord needs Yang energy for cultivation. Her personal condition is extremely important for White Paper Immortal City to survive this Ghost Tide Crisis. She is the key among all keys!”
“Since the City-Overthrowing Alliance wants to overthrow her rule, they certainly won’t sit idly by. Planting agents within the group of Male Consorts is very likely.”
“So we must not attract attention. Acting ordinary is enough.”
Ning Zhuo nodded.
“If we can deduce the City-Overthrowing Alliance’s reaction, there’s no reason the high-ranking officials of White Paper Immortal City wouldn’t anticipate it as well.”
“But the strange thing is that when we became Male Consorts this time, there was almost no review process.”
“This is very likely a trap arranged by the White Paper City Lord. With the situation unclear, it’s better for us to sit back and observe.”
After the two discussed the matter, they no longer concerned themselves with obtaining better housing.
“You all follow me. I’ll show you around so you recognize the place. Remember it well and don’t get lost later.”
“I’ll say the ugly words first.”
“There are many rules here. Don’t wander around recklessly. If you cause trouble yourself, you will bear the consequences!”
Two White Paper Attendants arrived before everyone. After issuing a round of warnings, they led the group out of the Dining Hall to tour the various facilities.
The Hidden Yang Residence contained numerous buildings and facilities.
There was the Paper Effigy Martial Arena, the Netherworld Kitchen, the Dining Hall, the Soul-Purifying Bath Hall, the Calm-Mind Pavilion, the Library Tower, the Garden of Abstinence, the Locking Yang Screen Wall, and more.
These facilities fully satisfied the cultivation, daily life, and social needs of the many Male Consorts living here.
The tour was not merely a quick glance. Instead, each person took turns trying the facilities themselves so they could learn how to use them.
After a full round of touring, evening had arrived.
Ning Zhuo and the others returned to the Dining Hall and first ate dinner.
The taste of the evening meal was even worse than lunch. However, after consuming it, Ning Zhuo’s soul foundation increased by roughly another thirty people’s worth—its effect even better than at noon.
Once the vast majority of people had left and only the newcomers remained in the Dining Hall, the old Chief Steward appeared once more.
“Room Number One of the Jia Rank… Jiao Ma!” the old man called out.
To everyone’s surprise, he directly assigned the best room to Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong: ?!