Before dawn, Luo Xiaoyuan could not wait to act in the dark. She had to sneak out of the Ten Thousand Books before Long Bo and Long Po woke up.
For Luo Xiaoyuan, the difficulty at this moment was that he had been moved to the Ten Thousand Books House without knowing it. Therefore, he had no idea about the geographical location of this place. Therefore, he had to leave the Clear Breeze Bookstore first. As long as he left the Clear Breeze Bookstore, the next thing he needed to do was to ask for the location of the reception hall. As long as he could return to the reception hall, he would be able to return to the Five Beast Kingdom's camp using the route he had memorized in his mind.
In principle, there was nothing wrong with Luo Xiaoyuan's train of thought. With the hundreds of diplomatic missions from various countries filling the Crescent Country's city, he could easily get an answer by asking anyone in the reception hall. However, the reality was always unexpected, because just the first step out of the Clear Breeze Study was the threshold that could not be crossed no matter what.
Qingfeng Study was composed of six bookstores, eighteen gardens, and two farms. With the courtyard of Qingfeng Study as the center, the five bookstores were built in the shape of plum blossoms around the courtyard of Qingfeng Study. The distance between individual bookstores and the courtyard varied due to the various gardens arranged in between.
The five bookstores in the Clear Breeze Bookstore stored all kinds of important books from the countries in the mountains. The Ten Thousand Nature Bookstore stored the customs, history, and culture of the countries in the mountains. The Hundred Leaf Bookstore stored the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, and rare antiques from the countries in the mountains. The Fangyuan Bookstore stored all kinds of martial arts manuals, battle techniques, and military strategies from the Crescent Country. The Heavenly Works Bookstore stored all kinds of sealing spells and immortal power transformations. The Great Wish Bookstore stored Shennong's Hundred Herbs and Qihuang Arts. The main courtyard of the Clear Breeze Study was the only exit to the outside world.
These books were all precious collections of the Crescent Country. In order to preserve and protect these collections, eighteen gardens with various formations and mechanisms were set up between the books. These eighteen gardens had their own traps and traps. Without someone who knew the way to lead the way, it would be difficult for ordinary people to walk out of this crisscrossing net.
The array of the Clear Wind Bookstore had another special feature, which was that it would become stronger when it met a strong opponent, and weaker when it met a weak opponent. For experts who were proficient in martial arts or strange arithmetic, this array could continuously consume your brain and physical strength until you were exhausted.
For a lost lamb like Luo Xiaoyuan, who had no martial arts or techniques, this array was like a ghost hitting the wall. No matter how you walked, you could only circle around the same place until you fell asleep and lost all your fighting spirit.
For the entire morning, Luo Xiaoyuan had suffered enough from this ghost wall. Ever since he left the Ten Thousand Books, he had been circling around an unfamiliar big house. No matter how he changed his direction or walked, he would return to that big house almost every hour. Even if he gave up on the idea of looking for the Ten Thousand Books several times, he would still keep walking back to that big house.
It was close to noon. At this time, Luo Xiaoyuan was hungry and tired. She really did not have the strength to continue like this. She could only sneak into the big house to see if there was any food to eat and find a corner to rest. He had to think of a way to recover his energy so that he could continue his journey in the afternoon.
When he walked to the front of the big house, he saw a big plaque hanging on the lintel. On it, there were words that he couldn't understand no matter how he looked at them. Luo Xiaoyuan did not pay attention to him. She leaned against the wall and quietly slipped into the house. What made Luo Xiaoyuan very happy was that she smelled the rich fragrance of food as soon as she entered the house. This was the food that Luo Xiaoyuan needed the most at this moment.
He followed the smell to a side hall. Seeing that there were already five dishes, one soup, and three sets of chopsticks on the table, Luo Xiaoyuan thought that there were three people living here. For a moment, the appearance of Spirit Snake and Wu Chijin appeared in her mind. Could the two of them be living here?
If it was the Spirit Snake who lived here, it would be fine. If it was the Dark Red Gold who lived here, it would be even worse. However, how could he explain the three sets of chopsticks? He thought about it and decided to grab some food to fill his stomach while there was no one around.
Luo Xiaoyuan saw the chicken drumsticks and steamed buns on the table. These two kinds of food were the most suitable to take and leave on the table. Then, she ran until she was far enough away from the big house. Then, she found a secluded corner to sit down and eat heartily.
Ever since the delicious meal that Grandma Long had prepared for her last night, Luo Xiaoyuan had not eaten a single grain of rice for nearly a day. In addition, she had been running around like a ghost the entire morning. At this moment, the chicken drumstick and steamed bun in her hand were really the most beautiful taste in the world to Luo Xiaoyuan.
After her appetite was satisfied, sleepiness gradually came. Luo Xiaoyuan thought that it would be difficult to walk out of the Qingfeng Study. She might as well take a nap first to recover her strength before she set off.
Luo Xiaoyuan did not know how long she had dozed off until a sharp pain woke her up. She hurriedly opened her sleepy eyes and saw a pair of big black eyes staring at her.
Luo Xiaoyuan instinctively shrank back. Her large black eyes seemed to be frightened. At the same time, she also jumped back. She saw a girl in yellow glaring at her angrily and angrily scolding her,"Where did this little thief come from? How dare she come to the Qingfeng Study to steal food!"!”
Luo Xiaoyuan thought to herself, so this girl was from that big house. She was here to catch the thief. However, she saw that she was young and easy to bully, so she casually said,"Which eye of yours saw me stealing food?" Do you have evidence?"
The girl walked closer to Luo Xiaoyuan and sniffed around as if she was serious. She said,"Look at this smell. The smell of stealing food is still on me."”
When Luo Xiaoyuan heard this, she was so nervous that she sniffed her own body. She only sniffed left and right, but she could not smell the smell of the drumstick that she had just eaten. Therefore, she questioned the girl in yellow loudly,"Where is the smell?" You smell it, you smell it."
The girl in yellow said,"Why should I smell it? You stole the chicken drumstick on my table. Now, the chicken bone that you ate up is beside you. This is called catching the person with the stolen goods."”
These days, Luo Xiaoyuan had been in a state of shock because of the incident of impersonating Prince Baiyu. She was already full of grievances and had no way to vent them, especially when she was facing either high officials and nobles like Xiao Bingxian or Wu Chijin, or the Long Bo couple or elderly people who were like snakes. Now that she finally met a child of her age, she was naturally overjoyed.
Luo Xiaoyuan ignored the girl in yellow's question and asked,"My name is Luo Xiaoyuan." What's your name? Do you live here too?"
The girl in yellow saw that he ignored her question and asked for her name. She said unhappily,"I didn't ask for your name. I don't want to know your name. I just want to know if you stole my chicken drumstick." Also, why are you in Qingfeng Study? Who allowed you to come in?"
Luo Xiaoyuan felt a sense of familiarity when she was being retorted by the girl in yellow. Wasn't this the scene when she usually quarreled with her friends? So he replied happily and instinctively,"If you want to know if I ate your drumstick, you have to answer a question first. Otherwise, why would I tell you?" If you want to know why I'm in the Cool Breeze Study, you'll have to answer another question. If you want to know who allowed me in, there are three questions.”
When the girl in yellow heard Luo Xiaoyuan's response, she was very surprised for a moment. One had to know that he did not have many opportunities to interact with his peers since he was young, so he rarely had the opportunity to argue with them. At this moment, when she saw Luo Xiaoyuan's response, she felt that it was interesting.
"Alright, my name is Shui Yingyue. This is the first question you asked just now. I live in the Qingfeng Study. Alright, you have to answer my first two questions now. Did you steal the drumstick? Why are you here?" The girl in yellow answered Luo Xiaoyuan's question with an eye for an eye.
"Your surname is Shui, so it's really special. My surname is Luo, so it's also very special. We'll definitely be good friends. I heard that only Pavilion Master Wu's distinguished guests can stay in the Clear Wind Study. You're so young. Are you also Pavilion Master Wu's distinguished guest?”Luo Xiaoyuan still did not want to answer about the drumstick. His experience told him that once he admitted his mistake, it would be difficult for him to argue with the other party. Therefore, his attitude was to change the subject. If he could not escape, he would continue to pretend to be stupid.
Shui Yingyue had obviously fallen into Luo Xiaoyuan's trap. She had been successfully diverted by him. She no longer continued to ask about the chicken drumstick. Instead, she replied," Even if I'm not Pavilion Master Wu's VIP, I can stay in the Clear Wind Study if I want to." What about you? Why are you in Qingfeng Study?"
"Why am I in Qingfeng Study? Actually, I'm not too sure either. Originally, I was sleeping in the hotel, but as soon as I awakened, I ended up here.”Luo Xiaoman really did not know why he was in the Clear Breeze Study, but his answer was sincere.
"So you're here to participate in the country's birthday. Which country are you from?”
Shui Yingyue's question made things difficult for Luo Xiaoyuan. When he entered the Crescent Moon Kingdom, his identity was Prince Baiyu, the young master of the Seven Colors Kingdom. After a lot of trouble, he returned to the identity of Luo Xiaoyuan, the son of the chef of the Five Beasts Kingdom. However, could he tell the girl in front of him honestly about this identity?
Luo Xiaoyuan had an idea and said,"My father is a chef. He has always been running around and contributing to the royal family in many places, so I don't know which country I came from."”
"Is that so? Where have you been? I've been staying in the Crescent Country since I was born. I've never been anywhere. It's so boring.”
Other than this trip to the Crescent Country, Luo Xiaoyuan had actually stayed in the Five Beasts Kingdom like Shui Yingyue. However, when he heard Shui Yingyue say this, his boastful nature could not help but flare up again. He said," I've been to many places, but I can't remember some of the names clearly. I've been to the Seven Colors Kingdom, the Five Beasts Kingdom, the Kun Peng Kingdom, and so on.”
Shui Yingyue saw that Luo Xiaoyuan was about the same age as her, but she had already traveled to so many places. Her heart was filled with envy. If she opened the map and looked at it, she would know that these places were scattered all over the world. If Luo Xiaoyuan had really been to these places, plus the route she had to take along the way, she was afraid that she had been to more than half of the countries in the mountains.
However, Shui Yingyue was only interested in the delicacies and places of interest in various places because she could only read widely in Qingfeng Bookstore since she was young. Although she had been thinking about the local customs and customs of various places, she had never had the chance to personally see the mountains and rivers outside. She could not help but feel regretful. Now that she heard Luo Xiaoyuan travel all over the world, she was full of desire to hear Luo Xiaoyuan share his experience.
"You've been to the Five Beast Kingdom? Have you eaten the Five Beast Stew from the Five Beast Kingdom? The book said that this was the number one dish in the north.”
When Luo Xiaoyuan heard Shui Yingyue ask about the Five Beasts Stew, a sense of pride welled up in her heart. The Five Beasts Stew was her father's signature dish, Luo Baiwei. Luo Xiaoyuan had tasted the Five Beasts Stew more than a hundred times since she was young. If she really had to introduce the Five Beasts Stew, Luo Xiaoyuan could say that she would not repeat it for a day and a night.
"That's right. The Five Beasts Stew is indeed a famous dish among famous dishes. Just the preparation of the various ingredients, the marinating and dipping of the various beast meat in sauce, and the cooking would take an entire day. This is truly a delicacy that can't be more delicious.”
When Shui Yingyue heard Luo Xiaoyuan's description, she could not help but feel that it was too exaggerated. She said,"You're bragging. I've never been to the Five Beast Kingdom, but I've eaten the Five Beast Stew before. How can it be as exaggerated as you say?"”
Luo Xiaoyuan continued,"Do you know which five beasts are in the Five Beasts Stew?"”
Shui Yingyue knew that this question would come and immediately replied,"Of course I know." The five beasts referred to deer, cattle, sheep, snakes, and pheasants. Among them, although pheasants belong to birds, but because of their gorgeous fur color, gorgeous than all birds, so the people of the Five Beasts also call them beasts.”
Shui Yingyue read out the book. This gorgeous and rich dish was the dish she yearned for the most in the book. Two years ago, Wu Chijin specially invited a famous chef to the Crescent Country to cook it. Water Reflecting Moon fell in love with it after tasting it. She also heard the famous chef say,"The cooking skills of the Five Beasts Stew are extensive and profound. Based on his ability, he is only one or two out of ten."”
Shui Yingyue thought that there were only one or two out of ten delicacies on the plate. How delicious would the complete Five Beasts Stew be? From then on, Water Reflecting Moon read all kinds of cooking classics and asked the chefs in the country to cook according to them. However, the five beast stews he made were far inferior to the ones he tasted that day. Thus, the more she couldn't understand it, the more Water Reflecting Moon studied it carefully, so she knew the relevant records of the Five Beasts Stew in detail.
Luo Xiaoyuan asked again,"Then do you know what deer is, what cow is, what sheep is, what snake is, and what pheasant is?"”
Shui Yingyue raised her head and tried to recall if the books he had read had any explanations about this. He thought hard for a long time, but he really could not think of any relevant records. He could only say,"Other than the red-headed snake, I don't know the origins of the other four beasts."”
Hearing that Water Reflecting Moon could not answer, Luo Xiaoyuan said proudly,"Deer, I want the sika deer from the Blackwater Forest. Cows, they wanted the white yaks from Mingtian County. Sheep, what he wanted was a lamb raised by hundreds of herbs. Snakes, they wanted adult male red-headed snakes; Pheasants, they wanted blood pheasants that had never laid eggs.”
Shui Yingyue listened to Luo Xiaoyuan's eloquent description of the background and was a little impressed with Luo Xiaoyuan. She did not expect this tanned and thin little boy in front of her to have such a good understanding of the Five Beasts Stew. When Luo Xiaoyuan saw that Shui Yingyue had changed her previous threatening expression, she continued to brag about the Five Beasts Stew that she had obtained from her father while the iron was hot.
"The taste of the Five Beasts Stew goes from shallow to deep, so the one placed at the top is the Blood Pheasant, followed by the Red-Headed Snake, the Hundred Herbs Sheep, the Sika Deer, and the Famous Cattle. If the order was wrong, the taste would be completely wrong. Because every kind of meat left in the mouth had a different taste, and the taste of different meat mixed together was also different. Therefore, there were a total of 125 flavors from the first sip of soup to the last sip of the big grain wine.”
Shui Yingyue suddenly asked Luo Xiaoyuan,"Do you know how to make Five Beasts Stew?" If you know how to cook, I'll get the chef to prepare the ingredients and cook it tonight.”
Luo Xiaoyuan smiled and said,"Didn't I just say that it would take three days and three nights to prepare the ingredients? If we only start preparing the ingredients now, it will take at least three days before we can start cooking." Besides, I don't know how to cook. I only know how to eat. I've eaten it at least a hundred times.”
"A hundred times!" Shui Yingyue did not think much of Luo Xiaoyuan's 100 times. This famous dish was a national banquet's famous dish. Many of the ingredients were extremely precious and rare. Most importantly, there were very few chefs who could cook this dish. This child who was about the same age as her, unless he ate Five Beasts Stew every day, how could he have eaten it more than 100 times?
"Luo Xiaoyuan, you're bragging too much. Do you eat Five Beasts Stew every day? How old are you this year? Who would believe that you've eaten Five Beasts Stew a hundred times?”
Although the Five Beasts Stew was a delicacy in the world, it had an unspeakable secret for Luo Xiaoyuan. To him, the Five Beasts Stew was not a delicacy in the eyes of ordinary people, but a common meal day after day, year after year.
It turned out that in order to make an impeccable Five Beasts Stew, Luo Baiwei would be the food tester every time he changed the ingredients, adjusted the recipe, or changed the season. Only when Luo Xiaoyuan nodded would the Five Beasts Stew pass.
Of course, Luo Baiwei did not use Luo Xiaoyuan's taste as the standard for the Five Beasts Stew. Instead, he played and interacted with Luo Xiaoyuan through the process of tasting the dishes. Therefore, Luo Xiaoyuan's claim that she had tasted the Five Beasts Stew a hundred times was not exaggerated at all.
Luo Xiaoyuan told Shui Yingyue that Luo Baiwei often asked her to help test the dishes. Then, she continued,"So I'm not sure if I've tasted it a hundred times. Even if I don't eat it every day, I'll eat it every few days." If one counted carefully, it might be far more than a hundred times.”
Luo Xiaoyuan was indeed speaking sincerely. She was not bragging at all.
" Can you ask your father to come to the Crescent Moon Kingdom to make a Five Beasts Stew…" Water Reflection Moon was halfway through her sentence when Dragon Granny suddenly appeared behind them and interrupted their conversation.
"Xiao Yue, the wind is strong outside. If you stay here for so long, be careful that your father will nag you again.”Before Shui Yingyue could react, Grandma Long immediately said to Luo Xiaoyuan,"Where have you been all morning?" Just now, someone sent a message for you to change your clothes and go to the reception hall immediately.”
"Meeting guests? Are you saying that I'm going to meet a guest? Is there a guest looking for me?" Luo Xiaoyuan asked Grandma Long in surprise and confusion.
"Yes, I am. That was what they said. Let's go quickly. Look at your dirty clothes. Xiaoyue, you should go back too." After saying that, Grandma Long held Luo Xiaoyuan's hand and quickly returned to the Ten Thousand Books.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]