From a country cook to a master chef

At the Four Symbols Martial Arts Hall's training ground, Liu Yue, dressed in black, paced back and forth restlessly with his hands behind his back.

"Master, Li Dakang from Qingshan Martial Arts School is outside with a group of disciples paying their respects."

"They've come with ill intentions!"

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and Liu Yue's expression was grave: "I wonder if Ru Yan and the others' trip to Wolf Smoke Valley went smoothly?"

Chen Meng, a disciple holding a cloak, said softly, "Master, don't worry. With Senior Sister Ruyan and Senior Brother Sun working together, they will definitely be able to return safely from gathering herbs."

"Since they are guests, please ask them to wait in the main hall for a moment. I will go and check on Lingzhi first."

Liu Yue sighed, put on his cloak, composed himself, and his aura suddenly rose.

"Yes."

Looking at his master's back, Chen Meng hesitated for a moment before speaking: "By the way, there's one more thing. Earlier, the head constable from the yamen came to question me. It seems that Junior Brother is involved in a murder case. I inquired and found out that four people were killed in Xiayuanfang last night, all by hoes and sickles."

Liu Yue was somewhat surprised, then shook his head and sneered: "Countless people in Yucheng freeze and starve to death every day. They neglect what they should be doing and meddle in what they shouldn't. It's truly laughable!"

Chen Meng said softly, "Junior Brother is honest and simple, so this matter must have nothing to do with him. I suspect that someone is framing him and trying to target our martial arts school."

Liu Yue stopped and said in a serious tone, "Don't make this public for now. I will handle things properly with the yamen."

A storm is brewing, the wind is howling, and though the trees wish to be still, the wind will not cease.

As snowflakes fell, Liu Yue sighed and told his disciples to deal with the people from the Green Mountain Martial Arts School.

……

"Wolf Smoke Valley is not far ahead. Be careful once you enter the valley."

Snowflakes fell like willow catkins, and a horse-drawn carriage drove through the woods, startling the thick snow off the branches.

Lin Jue's gaze was drawn to two towering mountains that appeared in the distance. The cliffs on both sides of Wolf Smoke Valley rose abruptly from the ground, soaring straight into the sky as if cleaved by an axe.

They covered the thirty-odd miles from Yucheng to Langyan Valley in less than an hour.

Upon reaching the valley entrance, the carriage suddenly stopped. No matter how much the group struggled, it refused to budge an inch. Sun Guo got off the carriage, tightened the reins, and tried to pull the carriage and horses forward with brute force. Amidst the neighing of the horses, their hooves remained firmly planted on the snow, stubbornly leaning backward.

"Alright, Junior Brother Sun, after we offer sacrifices to the mountain god, we'll walk into the valley and tie the horses at the valley entrance."

Seeing this, Liu Ruyan became anxious and led a few people, armed themselves, and walked into the valley.

Helpless, Sun Guo had no choice but to take the incense and candles he had prepared from the carriage, face the mountains, burn incense and light candles, and pray for the protection of the mountain god.

He and Liu Ruyan were in front, Lin Jue, the weakest, was in the middle, and two others were at the back.

The valley was filled with a biting wind, and the rock walls on both sides were as smooth as mirrors. The whole place was deathly still and did not look like a place where medicinal herbs would grow.

Lin Jue calmed his breathing. "Senior Brother Sun, could we have taken the wrong path? This isn't Wolf Smoke Valley."

"Don't worry, junior brother. Before I learned martial arts from Master, I was a hunter in the mountains. No matter how heavy the snow is, I won't get lost."

Sun Guo patted his chest and laughed, "Wolf Smoke Valley has a special location. Only after passing through this narrow passage can you truly enter the valley."

Lin Jue nodded, secretly sighing that no wonder this place was so dangerous. There was only one entrance and exit in the valley. If the way back was blocked and they encountered a pack of wolves in the valley, their chances of survival would be slim.

Just as Lin Jue was about to emerge from the narrow passage, he suddenly heard something creaking, the ground trembled slightly, and snow kept falling on his head.

"avalanche!"

"Run, everyone!"

The group's expressions changed drastically, and they ran forward with all their might, escaping the narrow passage at the last moment.

Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief and looked back to find that the path he had come from was completely blocked.

Chirp, chirp!

Just as the group was relieved that they hadn't been buried by the snow, a clear and sharp bird call rang in their ears.

"That's a red-billed blue magpie; I've seen it in books."

As soon as Lin Jue finished speaking, before his fellow disciples could even see it, the strange bird preened its feathers and fluttered away into the distance.

"This place is dangerous. Let's stay together and not get separated." Liu Ruyan walked ahead, sword in hand, and said calmly, "Be careful of our surroundings."

According to the map, the area of ​​Langyan Valley is not large, less than ten miles from east to west and no more than seven miles from north to south.

The valley is filled with towering trees that block out the sun and dense shrubs. Although it is covered with snow, it is not as desolate and icy as the outside of the valley.

Lin Jue's brows were filled with questions. What could be the reason that this place, like Yucheng, could mitigate the effects of ice and snow?

Just as he was deep in thought, a gray shadow suddenly darted out of the woods beside him. Its hair was disheveled, its eyes gleamed with an eerie light, and it lunged straight at his throat with its gaping maw.

Senior Brother Sun reacted with lightning speed; with a swift movement, he swiftly severed the gray figure's head from its body.

The stench of blood filled the air. Lin Jue swallowed hard, paused for a moment, then squatted down to examine the gray wolf's carcass. "Its fur was disheveled, its ribs were clearly visible, and it was emaciated. It looked like it had been starving for a long time. If there were a pack of wolves in the valley, it shouldn't be like this."

Senior Brother Sun picked up the gray wolf's carcass and weighed it in his hand, quite surprised: "It had an injury on its paw, like it had been bitten by a snake, but even so, the wolf pack is united and would never abandon it."

After saying that, he shook off the gray wolf's corpse, and blood splattered onto Lin Jue, but he was not angry. Instead, he dipped his hand in the blood and brought it to his nose to smell it.

"What do you mean by this, junior brother?"

"It's nothing. I was just wondering if eating gray wolf meat could improve my blood and qi, which would be beneficial for martial arts practice."

Lin Jue gave a casual answer.

Sun Guo suddenly realized and laughed, "That's natural. Compared to poultry and livestock, wolf meat is a real tonic for us martial artists."

The gray wolf was so hungry that it was emaciated and had hardly any meat left. The group hid it in the bushes, marked the spot, and, following the map, began searching for various medicinal herbs.

Lin Jue remained calm, trying his best to conceal the turbulent waves surging in the depths of his heart.

There was a faint scent of spirit-summoning gourd water in the gray wolf's blood!

But this was his first time visiting Wolf Smoke Valley.

Following his fellow disciples discreetly, Lin Jue would occasionally glance down at the small leather pouch hanging from his waist, which contained a gourd of spirit-controlling water, just in case.

"According to the Spirit Summoning Technique, to fully utilize the Spirit Summoning Gourd Seal, it should be activated with magical power. But I'm not a Qi Refining cultivator, so where would I get magical power?"

At this moment, Lin Jue's mind was entirely focused on the Spirit Seal in his sea of ​​consciousness. When he obtained this item from the corpse in the mass grave, the Spirit Seal and the Spirit Gourd were originally one, but the Spirit Seal inexplicably turned into a ray of light and rushed into his sea of ​​consciousness.

It can be said that they have a treasure mountain but do not know how to access it.

He had considered using the energy generated from drinking the spirit-controlling gourd water to activate the spirit seal, but it all came to nothing.

"Forget it, let's study this slowly after we finish collecting the herbs and return to Yucheng."

The cold wind howled incessantly in the valley, like a tornado swirling overhead.

Following the map, the group successfully collected most of the medicinal herbs they needed in less than half an hour. Just as they were about to head to the next marked point on the map to search for precious herbs, a series of terrifying wolf howls suddenly broke the silence of the valley.

The five climbed the nearest tree, and soon a large pack of wolves swept past, surging towards the center of Wolf Smoke Valley like a tide.

Sun Guo's expression froze: "This is troublesome. The Golden Lotus that Junior Brother needs seems to be in that direction as well."