Chapter 380: Settling the Account

“Wuu…”

Accompanied by a long horn, a luxury liner slowly docked at the largest seaport in Xianyu City.

Passengers who had already packed their luggage formed long queues on the deck, orderly descending onto the pier.

“Oh! Mister Qi, the two days spent with you were unforgettable.”

On the deck, a polished middle-aged man wore an unwilling look as he faced the elegant youth beside him. “I can hardly believe you’re not from Lotlan, yet you know so much about our people and customs.”

“So, you truly cannot join me for a journey in the bountiful Samiya Region?”

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Wood.” The elegant youth shrugged and displayed a warm smile. “There’s a saying in Samiya ‘all good things must come to an end’. It’s time for us to part ways.”

“Alright, I will share the tales of my journey with you.” Unable to convince the congenial yet stubborn young man, Mr. Wood resignedly shook his head. Taking his luggage, he stepped onto the pier.

As he watched the man walk away, the elegant youth disembarked from the deck, his smile gradually fading.

“Next up…huh?” His gaze swept over a figure who seemed out of place. He quickly withdrew his gaze.

“Thankyou for your help.”

On the other side of the pier, Zhou Tianhao expressed his gratitude towards the harbor master.

“Don’t mention it. Contestant Qin Lang has a promising future, I never thought he would encounter such worrying circumstances before the ranking competition.” Grinning, the portly harbormaster raised his flabby hand. “I’ll have the harbor on high alert.”

“Rest assured, as long as they’re still in Xianyu City, they can’t possibly leave through the harbor!”

“In that case, I should get going.” Zhou Tianhao nodded and turned to leave.

Hmm?

Zhou Tianhao paused, his face showing surprise and doubt as he looked towards the distant deck.

He quickened his steps to board the deck, but found nothing of note after surveying the surroundings.

Perhaps I’m just overthinking it…

Shaking his head in disappointment, Zhou Tianhao quickly left the harbor.

This was the seventeenth checkpoint he had visited tonight.

After providing an account of the situation and showing a personal directive from the President of the Spirit Chef Association, the heads of these checkpoints agreed to increase checks on those passing through for the next few days.

Next, he needed to find Qin Lang, who was currently missing.

“Brother Zhou!”

Shen Qian approached Zhou Tianhao in a light jog, looking a bit haggard.

Beside her were her two Food Spirits, as well as Jiela—the one among Zhou Tianhao’s four food spirits who was best at night-time investigations.

“We still haven’t found any leads on Qin Lang.” The area around Shen Qian’s eyes reddened slightly, “It’s been so long, do you think Qin Lang is in danger?”

“Calm down.” Zhou Tianhao took a deep breath, “It’s very late and you have a match tomorrow. Go back and rest early; leave the rest to me.”

“I’m not going.” Shen Qian shook her head, “This match isn’t a must for me. Comparatively, finding Qin Lang is more important.” n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“… Alright.” Looking at Shen Qian’s stubborn expression under the moonlight, Zhou Tianhao sighed and took out a map of Xianyu City.

On the map, many locations had been circled and crossed out. These were areas they had searched and confirmed Qin Lang was not present.

“There are a lot of places we haven’t searched yet, let’s go find him together!”

“Mm!”

The two walked side by side, quickly disappearing from the spot.

Shortly after, a youth wearing a cap that hid his face stepped out from the darkness and stood where they had just been.

“Interesting.” The youth muttered quietly to himself, “Causin’ such a fuss impersonatin’ me, and they even nabbed that brat?”

He slowly took off his hat, revealing his elegant face under the moonlight.

It was Mister Qi who had just disembarked from the ship.

“Makin1 me come all the way from Wuhe State… guess I’ll have to settle this score.” Mister Qi spoke with a smile, yet his eyes held a hint of anger.

He flicked his hand, producing a black, ornate mask out of thin air and putting it on. In the shadow of the moonlight, he snapped his fingers and vanished from the spot.

“These are all the recipes I know. They’re all here.”

In a windowless, dim room, Qin Lang sat calmly on a chair. On the table before him was a candlestick, with the flickering flame illuminating a stack of papers covered in writing.

“Well, you certainly know your place.” The muscular man who had appeared earlier revealed a relaxed smile, “Among the Genius Spirit Chefs we, the Fire-stealing Organization, have kidnapped, you’re the most cooperative.”

There were no signs of resistance. On the contrary, he had obediently written out all the recipes he knew – hundreds of them.

If every kidnapped Spiritual chef were this compliant, their Fire-stealing Organization would have grown even more powerful.

“Let me see…” The man picked up the topmost sheet, reading it by the candlelight. “‘Gazing at the Stars’. Sounds like a fantastic dish.”

“Of course.” Qin Lang showed an innocent smile, “Follow the recipe to make it once, and you’ll feel a baptism of your soul.”

“Hehe, not bad.” There was no suspicion in the man’s voice. He stored away the other recipes, “Seeing as you’ve been so cooperative, I can fulfill a small wish on your part. Of course, letting you go is out of the question.”

Qin Lang, who was about to ask for his release, couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“How are my Food Spirits?”

“They’re fine. They’ve just been detained somewhere else.” The man laughed.

“I’m hungry, bring me something to eat. Prepare something for my Food Spirits too.” Qin Lang spoke calmly, “That’s a small request that can be fulfilled, right?”

“Of course, it can.” The man laughed. Waving the recipes in his hand, he left the chamber. “Don’t worry, we Fire Thieves are very humane. Someone will bring you some delicious meals shortly.”

“There will be additional rewards once we verify these recipes in a few days.”

“Bang!”

The chamber door closed.

In the chamber, Qin Lang stared at the candle flame, his eyes glinting.

After quickly testing with a few sentences, he was sure that the man from earlier, despite his brute strength, didn’t have much culinary knowledge.

Handing over hundreds of recipes of deadly dishes all at once, the man was bound to verify each one, which would take him a considerable amount of time.

During the verification of the recipes, they’d need ingredients from the outside world. Their defenses would be slightly relaxed and they might reveal some vulnerabilities.

He could only hope that Brother Zhou would find him quickly during this time.

Otherwise, once they discovered the problems with these recipes in a few days, he would undoubtedly suffer.

Soon, food was brought into the chamber.

They hadn’t gone back on their word. The food tasted quite good.

Hungry, Qin Lang didn’t hesitate and ate every bit of it, then laid down and fell asleep.