‘What exactly is his motive? What did he give me to drink? He said it was wine, but it didn’t taste like one. I’ve never tasted anything like this. The aroma is unique, like flowers blooming in my mouth…’
Bu Fang looked to his left, then to his right. He found that a thick, hazy fog had enveloped the surroundings, obscuring everything. He was in the restaurant with Nethery and the others, but he could not sense them.
Not only that, he was horrified to find out that he could not sense the four Artifact Spirits in his spirit sea, as well as the System.
‘Did Mu Hongzi shield me from the System? This speaks of something about his motive, which I presume is not simple at all…’
Sitting in the chair and holding the cup, Mu Hongzi looked at Bu Fang with a half-smile. His eyes were gentle and kind, lacking hostility. Although he was the previous host, he had lost the System now, and he had no intention to take it back.
“Since you could acquire the System, it means that you are the chosen one, just like me. Your luck is extraordinary to be chosen from among millions of living beings in the Chaotic Universe,” he said softly, toying with the red-jade cup.
Bu Fang did not say anything. He just narrowed his eyes and listened.
“My goal had been the same as yours. I wanted to become a real God of Cooking. I was too young, though… and my arrogance had led to my own death,” Mu Hongzi said nostalgically. “My flesh perished, but my soul survived, lingering on in a steadily worsening condition in the bronze palace and suppressed and trapped by the Power of the Laws… until you set me free. After that, I managed to find myself a new body. All this is karma.”
Mu Hongzi looked gently at Bu Fang. The System was what connected all the karma. When he was freed, he had told Bu Fang many things, and he did that to let him know that the path to becoming a God of Cooking was not easy to walk.
If truth be told, the reason he came back to the Netherworld so quickly was to protect Bu Fang. But by the looks of it, that was not necessary anymore. His successor had risen faster than he had imagined, and instead of protection, Bu Fang needed a wider world to grow. He might need to provide Bu Fang ways to go to the wider world next.
Bu Fang pondered for a while and nodded expressionlessly. He thought the man had a point.
Mu Hongzi narrowed his eyes. “Say something. Don’t just keep quiet… It feels bad that I’m the only one talking here,” he said with an awkward smile.
That gave Bu Fang pause. “You should’ve told me earlier that you want me to speak…
“If I may ask… How did you die? With your strength… Or may I say with the help of the System, no ordinary man could kill you, let alone destroy your flesh,” Bu Fang asked in a serious voice. He was curious and puzzled.
“Well… I killed a disgusting thing. I had no idea how it came to the Netherworld, but I was badly wounded after that… then, some little guys took the opportunity and destroyed my body. However, they were too weak to destroy my divine sense, so my soul was sealed up by the Power of the Laws.
“As for that disgusting thing, you will meet it in the future. It’s too early to tell you anything about it now,” said Mu Hongzi. He looked approvingly at Bu Fang, for he saw his shadow in him.
“The System, oh, you also called it System, right? Whatever name you call it, both of us are called Hosts… I once tried to find the traces of the other Hosts. To be honest, I found little and less… and what little things I found are just unreliable legends. One thing I am sure of, though… All the previous Hosts are dead. ”
Mu Hongzi filled his cup with wine again, took a sip, and went on, “I have speculated about the origin of the System. It is likely to be the inheritance created by some supreme being, but there is another possibility… which is a very terrible one.”
“What possibility?” Bu Fang’s interest was aroused. He didn’t expect Mu Hongzi to talk about the System’s origin with him. He had speculated many possibilities himself, but none of them made sense. That was due to his limited experience.
“Have you heard of Gu[1] breeding…” Mu Hongzi said.
“Yes,” Bu Fang nodded.
“Well, I’m that failed Gu…” Mu Hongzi spread his arms and smiled, but there was a sad look in his eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll not covet the System in you. That thing can’t be taken away… I’m just reluctant to accept my failure. I was so eager to set foot on the peak and wanted to know the scenery at the end of the road, but I failed. Fortunately, I was resurrected… and then I met you.”
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Mu Hongzi’s eyes became passionate suddenly as he stared at Bu Fang. “I see hope in you. I want to watch as you step to the peak. I will protect and escort you!”
‘Protect and escort me? He wants to watch as I step to the peak? Because he can’t see the peak himself, he wants to help me? This has become an obsession to him…’
“I’m very curious as to how awesome that peak is? How could a man so excellent like me have become a failed Gu? I’m not convinced,” Mu Hongzi said seriously.
Bu Fang was rendered speechless. Sure enough, it all originated from the man’s narcissism. He was much relaxed after learning Mu Hongzi’s motive. He wouldn’t trust the man completely—not yet—but he could feel the friendliness in him. Bu Fang could sense that although Mu Hongzi was curious about the System, he was too proud to take it away from him. ‘This is a proud man, and his pride goes bone-deep.’
“If my guess is correct, you are not a native of the Netherworld, are you? Because none of the previous Hosts are. Let me tell you the truth, the Netherworld was just the System’s Heaven and Earth Farmland, a broken one… The Host of that generation died, so the Netherworld was reduced to a ruin.
“You should know my Heaven and Earth Farmland, which is the Immortal Cooking Realm…” Mu Hongzi touched his chin and said.
He was a little curious about where Bu Fang was from.
“The Chaotic Universe is boundless. I wonder what planet you’re from…
“I’m from a distant blue planet, which has water, land, and all kinds of people. We have four seasons, and each is beautiful in its own way…” Mu Hongzi kept talking.
Bu Fang never expected that this fellow was so chatty. However, the more he listened, the stranger his face became. “A blue planet… Earth?” he said, twitching the corner of his mouth.
Mu Hongzi stopped talking immediately and looked at Bu Fang in surprise. His eyes grew brighter and brighter…
“Aye, fellow countryman!”
…
Boom!
Bu Fang’s spirit returned to his body in a flash. In front of him, Mu Hongzi was staring at him with a half-smile, while Lord Dog, Nethery, and the others looked worriedly at him.
“Alright, our chit chat ends here. From today on, I, Mu Hongzi, am the master sent by Xiayi Divine Dynasty to manage the Great Netherworld…”
Mu Hongzi rose to his feet. His beautiful face became somewhat grave and dignified, and as he glanced around, everyone felt the pressure emanating from him.
Di Ting was hiding behind Lord Dog, trembling. Mu Hongzi waved a hand, and he immediately fell into his arms. After rubbing the short-legged dog’s head for a while, he turned and walked toward the door. Before he left the restaurant, he turned his head, smiled, and blinked at Bu Fang.
Finally, he leaped into the air and walked back to the warship. A few moments later, the loud sound of a horn rang out, then the colossal warship rose and flew away. Only then did the pressure enveloping Earth Prison vanish.
Lord Dog shivered as he watched Mu Hongzi leave. He took a deep breath, then said, “That man is really scary… His strength is unfathomable! My Law of Time could do nothing to him, and he even suppressed it… I’m certain he must have comprehended one of the supreme Laws of the Universe!”
“What he comprehended is the Law of Destruction…” Bu Fang said.
Lord Dog paused, then gave Bu Fang a puzzled look. “How did you know that?”
Bu Fang did not answer him because the System, which Mu Hongzi had blocked just now, spoke again in its familiar serious voice inside his head. He narrowed his eyes slightly…
[1] Gu was a venom-based poison associated with cultures of south China, particularly Nanyue. The traditional preparation of gu poison involved sealing several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, snake, scorpion) inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor, whose body would be fed upon by larvae until consumed. The last surviving larva held the complex poison.