From a country cook to a master chef

Han Wenqiao walked into the tavern with a smile and casually sat down at a window seat.

After calming down, he looked like an old man in his eighties and slowly took out a mysterious object that was wrapped up in layers of cloth from his storage bag at his waist.

After opening the outer layers of cloth, inside was a plant root that was entirely black and shaped like a bone, with a faint reddish tinge on its surface.

"Shopkeeper, this is a top-quality black bone vine that is three hundred years old. It can improve blood and qi, strengthen the body's muscles, bones and blood vessels, improve physical fitness, and has a certain chance to help martial artists generate internal energy and enhance their strength."

Lin Jue approached, took the object from his hand, examined it carefully, and then bowed respectfully.

"In that case, I, Lin, thank you very much, Brother Han!"

"..."

Han Wenqiao was speechless for a moment, then said in surprise, "It's been a long time. Brother Lin is quite different now."

Lin Jue laughed and said, "People always change!"

Han Wenqiao shook his head repeatedly, then gestured for Lin Jue to sit down and said, "Speaking of which, Brother Lin is truly adept at making money. In just a short autumn, you've managed to open such a tavern in Yucheng. In that respect, I can only dream of it!"

"Brother Han, just say what you want to say directly. There's no need to beat around the bush. We're not strangers."

Lin Jue raised his glass and smiled slightly.

Han Wenqiao paused, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Brother Lin is a man of few words. In that case, I will speak frankly."

After a moment's hesitation, Han Wenqiao flicked his finger, and a stream of yellow light flew out of the storage bag, transforming into an ancient-looking scroll about half a foot long.

"Brother Lin, take a look. This is a map that I recently obtained from an enemy. The location it points to appears to be the cave dwelling left by a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Before Han Wenqiao could continue, Lin Jue interrupted him.

"If Brother Han is looking for someone to explore the cultivator's cave in the map with, then you've probably come to the wrong person. I am not a Qi Refining cultivator, and going there would not only be of no help, but might even cause trouble for you."

Lin Jue raised his wine glass and stood up, his tone solemn and firm: "Brother Han may find other fellow Daoists to accompany him. As for me, I will have to keep an eye on this corner of the street, this small alley shop."

Upon hearing this, Han Wenqiao was taken aback, but he didn't say anything more. He slowly finished his cup of wine before getting up to take his leave.

Seeing that Lin Jue personally saw the guest off, Yuan Rou, who had some free time, curiously inquired about the person's identity.

Lin Jue saw no need to hide anything and openly recounted Han Wenqiao's background.

When Yuan Rou learned that the man she had just met was actually a cultivator, her eyes widened, her face filled with shock.

However, she quickly calmed down and said with a worried expression, "Brother Lin, we're almost out of all the ingredients in the shop. If any more customers come, we'll only be able to serve tea, wine, and plain porridge."

Whether she was an immortal or not was too far removed from Yuan Rou's concerns. She was only worried about the current shortage of supplies in the shop. If things continued like this, the shop would probably have to close down soon.

Lin Jue sighed softly. He never intended to run the tavern properly; he only intended to use it as a residence so that he could practice martial arts and cultivate his skills there.

Minor hermits hide in the forest, major hermits hide in the city.

Only Yuan Rou, the girl introduced to him by the matchmaker, took the matter of running the tavern to heart.

Every day before dawn, she would get up and busy herself, carefully wiping the tables and chairs, tidying up the kitchen, and starting a fire to boil water. Lin Jue felt embarrassed to continue cultivating in bed, so he had to get up and keep busy with her.

The shop didn't have much food left to begin with, and after a few days, the kitchen was completely empty, and there were only a few jars of wine left behind the counter.

"Here are four hundred taels of silver notes. Take them and use them for now."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Rou's eyes widened again as she looked at the silver notes Lin Jue handed her, her face full of surprise: "Brother Lin, I thought you weren't buying groceries because you were out of money!"

"No, I borrowed this from that guy earlier. I'll return it later." Lin Jue scratched his head. "It's hard to buy meat in Jing'anfang lately. Buy some vegetables to tide you over. As for the meat, I'll figure something out."

"Um!"

Yuan Rou nodded obediently and carefully put away the silver notes, looking every bit the miser.

With Yuan Rou minding the shop, Lin Jue went to the backyard to change his clothes, then hurriedly left through the back door, crossed two streets, and arrived at a pork shop in Jing'anfang.

"Brother Lin, you've finally arrived. With you joining us, we have a 20% better chance of hunting the Black Bear this time."

The fat man wiped the bits of meat off his hands on his sleeve, told the apprentice to watch the shop, and then happily pulled Lin Jue into the inner room.

As soon as they entered the house, they saw that the three people had been waiting for them for a long time, and they all stood up.

One was a smiling, bald man in his early thirties, and the other was a white-haired, dark-skinned man who looked close to fifty.

Lin Jue did not recognize these two men; they were likely hired helpers by Butcher Zheng.

Not long ago, when Lin Jue was buying meat, he heard that Butcher Zheng was thinking of taking advantage of the black bears in the mountains, so he offered to join in and help.

A tavern needs meat to operate, and he also needs meat to replenish his qi and blood during his daily cultivation. So he decided to join the team that hunts black bears, which would also give him a chance to get familiar with the Pine Crane Long Fist.

Even the best martial artist can't beat a lousy actor. Only through frequent sparring can a martial artist know where they are strong and where they are weak.

The only person left in the room was someone who gave Lin Jue a headache.

A complete martial arts fanatic, unable to afford a martial arts school, he could only practice haphazardly on his own, creating a set of incomprehensible boxing techniques that was jokingly called "Mad Dog Boxing" by those around him.

Ever since I met Lin Jue and learned that he had studied martial arts at the Four Symbols Martial Arts School, I would always spar with him whenever we met.

"Brother Lin is here! Come quick, let's have another spar!" Chen Baoguo rubbed his hands together, looking at Lin Jue with excitement, eager to make a move.

Lin Jue shook his head repeatedly, "Brother Chen, let's forget it. I'm really scared of your unethical boxing style. If we're going to fight, we'll have to wait until we've finished fighting Hei Xiazi."

Chen Baoguo smiled and nodded, then pointed to the bald man and the dark-skinned man and introduced them: "These two are Zhang Lao Er, the woodcutter from Xiayuanfang, and Liu Lao Hei, the hunter from Fengyifang."

The two greeted Lin Jue one by one, introduced themselves, and Zheng the butcher, seeing that everyone had arrived, led the group to take their weapons and head towards Dinghu Mountain outside the east city.

Dinghu Mountain is five or six miles away from Yucheng. The four of them were fast on their feet and arrived at the foot of the mountain in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"Spears, bows and arrows, axes, tripwires, chains, all the tools are ready. The black bear is no ordinary creature. First, find a place to set up a trap, then figure out a way to lure it over."

After checking everyone's weapons to ensure they were in perfect working order, the experienced hunter Liu Laohei led the group to the area where black bears frequently appeared.

"Black bears like to eat fish, let's go to the lake to set traps."

Along the way, Liu Laohei observed the surrounding environment and finally decided to set a trap on the frozen lake shore to wait for Hei Xiazi.

There were several broken holes in the lake, which Liu Laohei determined were traces left by the bear catching fish.

Seeing that the group had set up the trap, Lin Jue lit four incense sticks to attract animals and, under Liu Laohei's guidance, stuck them separately into the dung left by the bear.

After doing all this, the four of them each climbed a big tree and waited quietly for their prey to take the bait.