Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  Eighteen Curry Hell?

  Many people froze as if they were stunned by the name. They did not know what it was, but the name alone suggested that it was more brutal and overwhelming than the Stargazy Pie. However, despite not knowing the meaning of the name, they could not wait to see what kind of dish it was.

  “Is it another stinky dish?” Viscount Ash murmured under her breath when she heard the name.

  The onlookers could still smell the stench of the Stargazy Pie. The odor permeating the air had not yet dissipated, and no one knew how long it would take for it to dissipate. Although it was much weaker now, the overwhelming stench still filled them with dread.

  And before they could digest the impact brought by the pie, Bu Fang announced the name of the next dark cuisine. Just by hearing the name itself, the Eighteen Curry Hell was already enough to give them the creeps.

  “Alright, that’s it for today,” Bu Fang said. He waved his hand, and the table, the stove, and everything else disappeared.

  The nobles looked at each other as if they were still in shock from the name, while Bu Fang put his hands behind him and walked toward the restaurant at a steady pace. He also needed a little time to calm down. There was a price to be paid for eating the Stargazy Pie, even when he was a chef.

  Xiao Ai, Nethery, and the others followed him and stepped into the restaurant. After that, the door was slammed shut with a bang, leaving the nobles staring at each other outside the restaurant.

  Master Zhen Yong thought he could no longer get the Chaotic Energy. It surprised him to hear that Bu Fang would have another challenge tomorrow, and it lifted his sinking heart back up once more.

  He focused his eyes. His white beard trembled as he got up on his feet. Then, he straightened his back and walked toward the pill-making workshop across the street from the restaurant.

  He would stay up all night researching pills that could resist the stench. He was determined to complete tomorrow’s challenge. He had a hunch that Bu Fang’s Chaotic Energy was real. A man who could come up with such a terrifying dark cuisine surely could afford to give them Chaotic Energy!

  As Master Zhen Yong walked toward the workshop, the crowd scattered in horror, forming a large circle around him. The stench on him was too strong. It was as if he was a walking stink bomb!

  His face darkened. ‘Dammit. This is the price I need to pay after eating the pie……’ Not daring to stay outside any longer, he hurried toward the workshop. In fact, he had already gotten used to the stench.

  When Master Zhen Yong stepped into the workshop, he noticed that many alchemists were sighing. He caught a foul odor in the air, which was the smell emitted by the dregs of herbs after the cauldrons blew up. He took a deep breath and found that the stench of the dregs actually smelled nice.

  “Zhen Yong, I heard you participated in the challenge set up by the restaurant across the street. How’s the result? Have you won any Chaotic Energy?”


  No sooner had Master Zhen Yong stepped into the workshop than his rival, Master Jia Song, came up to him with a big smile. He did not doubt that the latter was here to laugh at him.

  He glanced at the man. Perhaps the stench on him was masked by the odor of the dregs that Jia Song did not seem to smell it. Master Zhen Yong narrowed his eyes.

  “You are a master alchemist, Zhen Yong. Why would you believe in something cooked up by a chef? You shouldn’t have gone there. You’ve disgraced the pill-making workshop by doing so,” Master Jia Song said in a concerned voice.

  Zhen Yong watched silently as Jia Song pretended to be worried. ‘You f*cking keep on acting……’


  “See? Not only did you not get the Chaotic Energy, but you also made a fool of yourself and disgraced the pill-making workshop. We have now become part of the forces who serve Her Excellency Soul. You are putting us in an awkward position!” Master Jia Song said.

  Zhen Yong was boiling with anger inside. He lifted a hand and beckoned Jia Song.

  Jia Song paused. ‘What does this old man want? Can’t he just say what he has to say?’ He went over all the same, never suspecting anything. Would Zhen Yong dare to beat him up in front of so many alchemists?

  Jia Song took a step forward. Zhen Yong waved again, signaling him to come closer. Puzzled, Jia Song moved even closer. The two old men now stood face to face.

  Many alchemists around looked at the two bigwigs of the alchemy workshop, wondering what they were talking about and why they stood so close to each other.

  The corner of Master Zhen Yong’s mouth twitched slightly, and his white beard trembled. Then, he opened his mouth. “Her Excellency Soul can go f*ck herself! I need to make a breakthrough now, and she’d better not stand in my way!”


  A pungent odor hit Jia Song and spittles sprayed all over his face. The overwhelming stench darkened his face in an instant. Compared to Zhen Yong’s breath, the odor of a blown-up cauldron was nothing at all!

  1

  “Dammit!” Master Jia Song was flabbergasted. Rolling his eyes and foaming at the mouth, he slumped to the ground.

  The surrounding alchemists were terrified. The stench was so disgusting that they quickly moved away.

  “Bring me all the stinkiest divine herbs, including Stinky Brassica, Eight-Clawed Black Phoenix Hair, Seven-Star Lady’s Mantle Seed, and Breathless Pistachio……” Master Zhen Yong said, staring at an apprentice alchemist in the distance.

  The apprentice’s face darkened—he almost choked on his own breath.

  Master Zhen Yong already had an idea in mind. He would refine a top-grade divine pill that could suppress the stench. Without hesitation, he returned to his alchemy chamber.

  Covering their noses with napkins, his disciples hurriedly brought him all the stinking herbs. Normally, no alchemist would touch these herbs because of their powerful odor, but to Master Zhen Yong, they were extremely fragrant compared with that Stargazy Pie.

  Soon, he shut the door and began to refine the pill. A foul smell kept leaking out of his chamber……

  “What are you trying to do?”


  The noblewoman looked at Bu Fang, her eyes flickering with curiosity. She did not quite understand the reason and purpose behind the challenge.

  “I’m promoting the restaurant……” Bu Fang said.

  “But your approach will only make people more and more reluctant to eat in the restaurant.” She rolled her eyes. Did this chef take her for an idiot?

  The corners of Bu Fang’s mouth lifted slightly. “You can’t see it now, but soon you’ll know……”


  He naturally had his reasons for setting up the challenge. If not to promote the restaurant, why did he bother to come up with so many dark cuisines? The preparation of dark cuisine was much more difficult than normal cuisines.

  Xiao Ai looked at Bu Fang with a suspicious look on her face. Foxy was still unconscious, twitching every now and then. Nethery was cool as a cucumber—she had grown used to Bu Fang’s strange ideas.

  Marquis Lang Gu was shaking his pellet drum in a corner with a hesitant look on his face. After some time, he walked up to Bu Fang. “Owner Bu……” he said, drawing circles on the ground with the toe of his left leg.

  “Yes?” Bu Fang raised his brows and looked at the marquis.

  “That…… Stargazy Pie…… Can you let me…… try it?” said Marquis Lang Gu, blinking his eyes and shaking the rattle. “Just one bite…… One bite is enough!”


  ‘What the heck?!’


  Bu Fang froze, a little confused, while Xiao Ai, the noblewoman, and the others widened their eyes and looked incredulously at Marquis Lang Gu.

  “I can’t have one bite? What if…… half a bite?” Marquis Lang Gu said timidly.

  “No problem…… But you have to eat it outside the restaurant.”


  Bu Fang gave the marquis a strange look. He did not expect that this guy would actually want to try the Stargazy Pie, something so exotic and smelly. Did he accidentally awaken his masochistic attribute?

  Bu Fang brought Marquis Lang Gu out of the restaurant and produced a porcelain plate, which contained a slice of Stargazy Pie with sticky liquid flowing around it and a fish head that was looking at the sky.

  Marquis Lang Gu rubbed his hands and took the plate from Bu Fang. Then, he trotted to a corner and began eating it. The powerful stench brought tears to his eyes, but bizarrely, his face was blushing.

  Bu Fang exhaled and thought to himself, ‘Well, it looks like I don’t have to taste those dark cuisines myself anymore.’ He nodded with a straight face. Then, he went back into the restaurant. After preparing for tomorrow’s challenge, he returned to his room to sleep.

  That night, many things happened in District A.

  Boom!

  There was an explosion in the pill-making workshop. A stench rolled and surged in all directions, and all the alchemists fled in a panic. The next moment, a loud laugh echoed out from the workshop.

  “Haha! I’ve made it! The divine pill is ready! I will complete the challenge tomorrow and obtain the Chaotic Energy!”
……

  Meanwhile, in the Viscount Residence……

  A blond beauty took a deep breath, her chest heaving and her blue eyes gleaming. Viscount Ash swore she would not back down tomorrow. She would fight for her honor, if not for the Chaotic Energy. She was so embarrassed today, and it had never happened to her before.

  She swore she would defeat that stinky chef tomorrow!……

  Viscount Dao Lun appeared to be somewhat sad as he looked at his elegant self in the mirror. He was afraid. He did not want to go to tomorrow’s challenge, but to rescue his image, he had to go. Otherwise, people would think that he was frightened by a stinky dish.

  No, he could not let that happen. He, Viscount Dao Lun, feared no one and nothing but the Queen of Curses! Facing the mirror, he clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and said, “I can do it!”
……

  The next day, the sky had barely lightened up when the whole District A was abuzz with excitement. The street, where the restaurant was located, was already packed with people.

  A large crowd had gathered in front of the pill-making workshop, forming a huge circle around the restaurant as if it was a fighting pit. Those who were clueless about what was going on would think that they had come to a real fighting pit.

  Some nobles had been waiting with projection arrays. Yesterday’s challenge left many nobles in District A horrified. They regret not broadcasting the interesting challenge to others.

  The stench they smelled at the scene also made them want to spread the word about it. Instead of being tortured alone, they thought it would be merrier to have more people being tortured together.

  Outside the restaurant, many participants were already waiting. It was still ten people, including three familiar figures.

  Master Zhen Yong was resting with his eyes closed. He reeked of a twisted stench. After working all night, he had succeeded in refining a pill that could suppress the stench. He would pass the challenge today. Or so he thought.

  Viscount Ash, as a woman, did not back off. She had come to take up the challenge again. Many people exclaimed when they saw her.

  The handsome and elegant Viscount Dao Lun was here, too. With a gentle smile on his face, he kept waving at many beautiful girls, causing them to scream excitedly.

  The projection arrays caught them and broadcast the images all over Void City, excluding District D. The nobles of District C and District B were struck dumb when they saw the scene through the arrays, and they wondered what was happening. Then, after someone explained to them, they burst into an uproar.

  “It’s that f*cking chef again!”


  “This chef is a real troublemaker!”


  “What? He’s setting up a challenge, and the winner can get Chaotic Energy? Dammit…… Don’t stop me. I want to go to District A! Why is this kind of good thing not held in District B?!”


  Nobles from other districts were making all kinds of noises. Of course they knew Bu Fang, and this behavior of his today was a painful one for them, for they all craved for Chaotic Energy! However, when they learned that many viscounts had failed to pass the challenge, their curiosity grew.

  The projection arrays were all pointing at the restaurant door. Finally, it opened with a creak, and then a figure slowly walked out of it.

  Bu Fang had a good sleep, and he was going to start preparing today’s dark cuisine. Looking at the large crowd outside the restaurant, he could not help but smile faintly. He knew he had succeeded in piquing the interest of District A.

  “The second day of the Dark Cuisine Challenge is about to begin…… Challengers, are you ready to feel despair?”


  2