Just then, a hurried alarm sounded within the ice palace.
Security within the ice palace was exceptionally good; the last time the alarm rang was when Zhang Wei had cleaved it.
"What's going on!" Tang Zhihun shouted.
The guard at the door replied, "It seems someone has infiltrated the ice palace. Lord Wuyong is already engaged with the enemy."
Tang Zhihun was startled. Had the person hiding in the shadows been discovered?
Although Wuyong wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, his martial arts skills were undeniably top-tier!
"You all stay here, I'll go take a look."
"Chef, be careful. Let the guards handle it."
Tang Zhihun chuckled, "No need to worry about me. My blade isn't just for chopping vegetables."
Before he could finish, a roar erupted from the doorway, akin to a C4 explosion.
A blood-soaked man in black struggled to rise from the dust; it was Bruce.
Wuyong's booming voice approached, "Hahaha, run! Run to your heart's content!"
"Oh, you've entered the kitchen? What, planning to take a hostage?"
At this moment, Wuyong was completely unlike his usual self. He had grown to a height of two and a half meters, his bulging muscles comparable to a bodybuilder, and his body was covered in countless scars from swords and blades.
Wuyong clenched his fists, which crackled like popping beans.
"I advise you to conserve your strength. If you surrender peacefully, I guarantee you'll be treated as a distinguished guest!"
Paired with Wuyong's ferocious and manic expression, these words held no persuasive power.
Bruce spat out a mouthful of blood, gasping, "I don't intend to run, nor do I want a hostage. Just be quiet for a moment. I have something to say to Tang Zhihun."
Glancing at the newcomer, Tang Zhihun scratched his head, "Who are you? You look a little familiar."
*Pfft~*
Bruce, enraged, spat out another mouthful of blood and pointed at the drunken shrimp roll, shouting, "You ate my cooking for two days, and you still ask who I am!"
"You're... Bruce?"
Tang Zhihun was utterly bewildered. "You were the one who guided me in making the Lingxi Five-Animal Soup, you oaf?"
"I... can't accept it."
Bruce, mistaking the statement to be about his own cooking, then let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"I admit, compared to your organ soup, everything I've made is trash. It's normal that you can't accept it."
Tang Zhihun wore a look of confusion, "What organs?"
Just then, Wuyong lunged at Bruce like lightning, grabbing him by the shoulder, producing sickening bone-cracking sounds.
Bruce broke out in a sweat from the pain, but still insisted, "I have a few questions!"
"Tang Zhihun, regarding your beef organ soup, what processing technique did you use?"
Tang Zhihun was dumbfounded, then said in disbelief, "That letter in my bedroom, you didn't write it, did you?"
"Otherwise?"
"You made all these dishes?"
"Two of them, the Five-Tailed Shark and the Iron Claw Lobster."
"And the Lingxi Five-Animal Soup?"
"I admit, that dish is far superior to ten years ago. I don't even have the courage to contend with it."
"Did you eat some kind of organ dish? Where did you find it?"
Bruce asked confusedly, "Didn't you put it in the kitchen for our duel? And the dish this morning..."
Before Bruce could finish, Tang Zhihun unleashed a flying kick, directly to Bruce's face.
Then, grabbing Bruce by the collar, he roared, "You idiot! Idiot! Where's the soup? Where's the soup?!"
"Drank it..."
"Damn it!!!! What did it taste like?!"
"Marvelous..."
Tang Zhihun felt his head swell.
Unable to control himself any longer, he slammed Bruce onto the ground and rained down punches, each one aimed at his head.
"Give me back my soup... Give me back my soup..."
"Are you sick in the head? Running around having void duels with me... are you still a child?!"
"And leaving letters... secretly drinking my soup..."
"No wonder that shark roast was just mediocre. I didn't dare to suspect... I thought it was a test for me!"
"Damn it, I was fighting wits with the void for so long..."
Tang Zhihun unleashed his fury, his punches drawing blood, much to Wuyong's impressed tutting.
Seeing Bruce slip into unconsciousness, Tang Zhihun rose, still unsatisfied. The decade of old grievances and new hatred had finally been aired.
"How did you find him?"
Wuyong replied, "This guy's brain is scrambled. He was eating something in the ventilation shaft, crying and laughing as he ate."
"I was passing by and immediately recognized that his utensils came from the high-security zone."
"Besides, who would eat in a ventilation shaft? It's obvious something's up."
Crying and laughing...
Tang Zhihun knew Bruce's cooking skills were on par with his own. A dish that could make him cry and laugh...
What level would that be?
If he could achieve that, his own culinary skills would undoubtedly advance significantly!
Glancing at Bruce lying on the ground, Tang Zhihun felt the urge to land a few more blows.
"Master Tang, please be gentle. Wait until he wakes up and recovers before hitting him. We need to think long-term."
Wuyong quickly dragged Bruce away, lest he be completely silenced. After all, they had finally captured him, and he might reveal some useful information!
"Minister Wuyong, you must interrogate him thoroughly. He ate two dishes that are extremely important to me!"
Wuyong recalled the spice theft from a few days ago and the Lingxi Five-Animal Soup, then nodded.
Zhang Wei, listening from the side, managed to piece together the general situation.
Tang Zhihun wrote another letter, outlining the internal and external reasons in broad strokes, and expressed his hope to have the honor of tasting the so-called beef organ dish and the mysterious dish from that morning.
...
...The Great Wind Novel Network
Deepest Dungeon.
Heavily guarded outside, the unconscious Bruce was locked away. Beside him, in a thermal food container, was half a portion of uneaten cuisine.
Tang Zhihun dashed over, caressing the container as if it were a priceless treasure.
"At first, I thought it was a thief, so I instructed my subordinates to secure this container."
Tang Zhihun hugged Wuyong tightly, exclaiming with joy, "You blockhead, you've finally done something useful!"
"Why does it feel like you're not praising me?"
"That's not important!"
Tang Zhihun calmed himself and reverently opened the container.
Inside was an exquisite roasted meat dish and a bottle of warm wine.
"It seems very similar to yesterday's shark roast."
"The wine also has a bloody aroma... but not from fish."
"This meat is dark red and oily, appearing to be from some kind of... carnivorous animal!"
Tang Zhihun could no longer contain himself. He cut a piece and tasted it carefully.
The flavor was rich and deep, but the inherent taste of the meat was completely masked by the seasoning, making it impossible to discern its origin.
"The skill in combining these seasonings is divine. The meat is merely a platform; with just the ratio of seasonings, decay can be transformed into wonder."
The fact that such heavy seasonings were used indicated that, like the shark meat, the meat itself was inherently unpalatable.
But after the adjustments to the ingredients, its original type was completely undetectable!
"However... with just this flavor, it's only average, even inferior to what Bruce and I could make."
"The cuisine of the one lurking in the shadows... cannot be this simple."
"Could it be..."
Bruce looked at the warm wine beside him, then at the unconscious Bruce.
"Could it be that, using the same technique as Bruce, a duet?"