From a country cook to a master chef

After settling Yuan Rou in, Lin Jue hurriedly returned to Qinghe Tavern.

The mountain lord who saves people, the qi refiner whose identity is unknown, the great demon that appeared in Tiger Head Mountain, and that powerful high-level human cultivator...

These unusual experiences made Lin Jue even more determined to stay away from Yucheng.

There was no need to wait for the Spirit-Controlling Gourd Water anymore. With the colorless and odorless Ten Fragrance Softening Powder in hand, and now that he had learned the Beast Taming Technique and could control the Sharp-nosed Stone Viper, Lin Jue decided to avenge Xiang Ping.

In the past two days, he noticed that someone was secretly watching the tavern, which he assumed was an informant from the Black Bamboo Gang.

The other party had clearly become aware of the situation, and to ensure that nothing went wrong, Lin Jue decided to strike first.

Four days after Qin Kuai disappeared, Qin Chi realized something was wrong, but he was at a loss for what to do. He could only send people to secretly keep an eye on all the places Qin Kuai had been.

Now that the Gao family is in decline, the Black Bamboo Gang is constantly crossing the line to test the Gao family and has repeatedly ruined the Gao family's business. Enraged, the other party also sent people to make a mess of the Black Bamboo Gang's lottery business in Xiayuanfang.

Qin Chi was currently overwhelmed with worry and distress, and to make matters worse, his son had gone missing, which only added to his frustration. He was sitting in a private room at the Red Flower Pavilion, embracing two delicate beauties and groping them indiscriminately to vent his frustration.

Both women were courtesans whom he had sent to Pingkangfang.

One of them was named Yuqing, who was skilled at playing the xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute).

One of them, Ziwei, was extremely skilled at playing the zither.

Qin Chi was enjoying such beautiful women for the first time, and in his eagerness, he grabbed the two women with his large hands, making them both laugh and scold him.

"Ladies, our gang leader is unusually interested in women today. If you two submit to our gang leader today, the hundreds of members of the Black Bamboo Gang will definitely frequent the Thousand Flower Pavilion to patronize your business."

The person speaking sat opposite Qin Chi, with a full beard, a big belly, a fat head and big ears, and a broad back and thick waist.

"I wonder if these vulgar things can break the rule that the two ladies sell their art but not their bodies."

The young scholar sitting next to the fat man laughed and tossed out two bags, from which several ingots of gleaming silver fell out.

Inside the private room, besides Qin Chi and two geishas, ​​the other two were his two bodyguards, the leader of the Black Bamboo Gang.

The fat man's real name was Ding Wei, and he was known in the underworld as Fat Cat. Despite his bulky appearance, he was incredibly agile and nimble when he got into a fight.

The young Confucian scholar is Li Tianxiong, known as the "Deadly Scholar" for his swift swordsmanship. He is treacherous, cunning, and ruthless.

Yuqing and Ziwei, their eyes lit up at the sight of money. They giggled as they picked up the money bag on the table, glanced at it, and then buried their heads in Qin Chi's arms.

"Oh my, we sisters have long heard of Chief Qin's unparalleled heroism and imposing presence. But today, upon meeting him, we felt very close to him. He is far more domineering than the rumors suggest."

"Since Master Qin is so generous, it would be really inappropriate for us sisters not to let him stay the night!"

The two women's voices were soft and sweet, carrying a hint of allure, and their gazes toward Qin Chi were full of deep affection.

These words, which were both true and false, pleased Qin Chi greatly, and he immediately couldn't resist roughly exploring the two women's bodies again.

After indulging in his sensuality, Qin Chi gave the girl Yuqing in his arms a hard kiss on the cheek. He then looked at the deadly scholar Li Tianxiong, his expression turning serious. "No matter how useless Kuai'er is, he's still my son, Qin Chi's son. He's been missing for almost four days. Have you found any clues?"

Bang! Bang!

Before Li Tianxiong could speak, someone knocked on the door.

Who is it?

"Gentlemen, this is the bar delivery guy from upstairs."

Outside the private room, a waiter dressed in coarse linen clothes carefully answered, carrying wine and snacks, "Our shop has just opened a new cellar of fine wine. Manager, please have me deliver a jug to you gentlemen."

Qin Chi, a heavy drinker, immediately became interested upon hearing it was fine wine and quickly asked, "What kind of fine wine is it?"

The waiter replied, "Sir, it's the finest daughter's red wine!"

"Oh, come in quickly, come in!"

Qin Chi kept swallowing, his stomach rumbling with the urge to drink. He quickly pushed away the beauty in his arms, strode forward, snatched the wine pot from the waiter's tray, lifted the lid, and took a deep sniff. His face beamed with excitement as he exclaimed, "Good wine! Truly good wine!"

"Wait a minute, Master!"

Li Tianxiong stopped Qin Chi, who was about to pour wine into his mouth, and snatched the wine pot from his hand.

"What's wrong?"

Qin Chi looked at him with displeasure, instinctively wanting to snatch the wine back.

Li Tianxiong dodged to the side, his eyes fixed on the waiter who was delivering the wine.

"Boss, we come to the brothel often, but we've never seen this person before. We'd better be careful."

Upon hearing this, Qin Chi immediately realized something was amiss and stared coldly at the waiter, asking, "Do you know who this master is? Where are the servants who used to serve him?"

"Sir, you are naturally a distinguished guest of Honghualou. There are many customers in the shop today, and Wang Mazi accidentally fell. I am here to serve you in his place."

The waiter turned pale with fright and answered with his head down in fear and trepidation.

Seeing his cowardly and timid appearance, Qin Chi's doubts diminished considerably.

Li Tianxiong dared not be careless and said in an icy tone, "Raise your head and let these gentlemen remember what you look like. If you neglect these gentlemen, you'll regret it."

The waiter slowly raised his head, and his two eyes, full of bruises, made the group burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, scholar, you're overthinking it. This kid's steps are unsteady, and his eyes are all bruised and battered. He's such a coward." Fat Cat Ding Wei laughed so hard he almost fell over, pointing at the waiter and saying to Li Tianxiong, "Look at his cowardly appearance, what's there to be wary of?"

"Better safe than sorry!" After a moment of contemplation, Li Tianxiong took a wine glass, filled it, and gestured to the waiter to let him taste the wine and dishes.

Qin Chi nodded and said, "That's right, you should have a bite of both the wine and the food."

Seeing the group's posture, the waiter dared not disobey. He quickly gulped down the wine in his cup, picked up a few side dishes and ate them, and even tried a piece of osmanthus cake from the plate.

Half an incense stick later, the waiter was found unharmed. Li Tianxiong breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and returned the wine pot to the gang leader Qin Chi, and punished himself with three cups of wine.

"Excellent wine!"

"drink!"

"Little beauty, you drink too."

Qin Chi smiled and poured the wine into the mouths of the two women. He casually tossed a silver ingot to the waiter to get rid of him. What puzzled him was that after the waiter accepted the tip, he did not leave the private room for a long time and remained standing there without moving.

"You're quite greedy, kid, but that's exactly the kind of person I like."

Qin Chi laughed and took out a silver ingot from the money bag on the table.

This time, however, he was surprised to find that his hands and feet seemed to be out of his control, and he couldn't exert any strength at all.

Sensing something amiss, the deadly scholar Li Tianxiong and the fat cat Ding Wei exchanged a glance and exclaimed in unison, "Ten Fragrant Tendon-Softening Powder!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Chi's eyes widened as he glared fiercely at the waiter. "Who are you? Hand over the antidote now, or I, the gang leader, will skin you alive!"

Watching the group gradually descend into madness, the waiter remained calm, leisurely walked to the table, sat down, and casually kicked Li Tianxiong to the ground. He smiled strangely and said in a flat tone:

"My name is Lin Jue, and I am the owner of Qinghe Tavern."

"You're the owner of Qinghe Tavern?"

"Genuine or genuine."

Lin Qi stood up, put away the money bag on the table, released the sharp-nosed stone viper from his sleeve, and said leisurely, "Everyone, don't panic. Just bear with it, it will be over soon."