That night.
Qin Mu finished his training in the Eighteen Halls and returned to his own home.
The chef he had hired had already arrived.
After greeting the chef, Qin Mu went straight to the cooking counter.
"Teacher, please increase my training volume."
Chen Sanwei, the chef at the Ghost Market Grand Restaurant, looked at the young ghost officer in front of him.
He subconsciously replied, "Culinary skills can't be rushed."
"..."
Qin Mu looked at his teacher, believing in specialization.
When it came to cooking, he was not as good as the chef.
He always showed respect to ghosts who were better than him.
"Teacher, you also said yesterday that learning to cook requires a lot of practice."
"And you know, my purpose for learning to cook was never to make delicious dishes."
He learned to cook to cultivate and enhance his strength.
Hearing this, Chen Sanwei was stunned for a moment.
He recalled the first time he met Qin Mu.
At that time—
He was simmering soup in the restaurant when an usher walked over and told him.
"You need to go to private room number 03 in a moment."
Chen Sanwei looked at the soup in the pot. "Is that the room that ordered the duck soup? Is something wrong?"
The usher said, "You'll know when you go. It's a good thing for you."
A good thing?
Chen Sanwei didn't suspect anything, as he had a good relationship with the usher.
After the duck soup was ready, he personally delivered it.
As soon as he entered, he saw Qin Mu sitting in the center of the private room.
Qin Mu looked at him with a slight appraisal.
Even without doing anything, his young face carried an air of arrogance.
"Guest, I have placed your soup here."
Chen Sanwei placed the soup down and wiped his hands on his apron.
He didn't leave in a hurry, but waited to see if the guest had anything else to say.
Qin Mu looked at the three dishes and one soup on the table, all of which were made by Chen Sanwei.
The soup was undoubtedly excellent; Chen Sanwei's soups were quite famous in the Ghost Market.
As for the dishes…
He had tasted them just now, and they were perfect in color, aroma, and taste.
Most importantly, his knife skills were good.
The shredded potatoes were cut into distinct strands.
He stood up, his expression serious, and said, "I want to hire you as my teacher and teach me how to cook."
"You don't need to come all day. Just guide me when we are both free."
"The salary will make you satisfied."
Hearing this, Chen Sanwei pondered for a moment.
He politely declined, "Thank you for your kindness, but I have no plans to take on any other part-time jobs at the moment.
The work at the restaurant has already consumed a lot of my energy.
As I get older, I don't have as much energy for such endeavors."
Besides… his salary at the restaurant was already sufficient.
"If you have nothing else, sir, I will not disturb your meal."
He said this and turned to leave.
There was silence behind him.
When he reached the door, Qin Mu's voice rang out again:
"What if it's a ghost artifact?"
"How about using a ghost artifact as payment?"
"You still have a junior in the human world, right? Even if you don't use it, it's good to leave it for him."
It had been mentioned before that not everyone could possess a ghost artifact.
Even most ghost officers only had the crying stick issued by the underworld.
Let alone these ordinary ghost citizens?
In the Ghost Market, a small number of ghost artifacts might circulate secretly in some places.
But those were not something ordinary ghosts could get their hands on.
They were mostly held by powers and the wealthy.
These words successfully made Chen Sanwei stop in his tracks.
Qin Mu continued, "I can give you a defensive ghost artifact. Although it's not particularly high-level, it's more than enough for a new ghost."
…
He had initially thought Qin Mu was an arrogant young master,
but after Chen Sanwei agreed, Qin Mu respectfully called him 'Teacher'.
Then, they synchronized their schedules and immediately set the future learning plan.
Because he wanted to learn cooking for cultivation,
it was different from Chen Sanwei's simple pursuit of making delicious food.
Chen Sanwei didn't know much about ghost energy.
All he could teach Qin Mu were ordinary cooking methods,
and the experience he had accumulated over many years as a chef.
"When you cut this, your hand must be steady."
"Here, you can flip it over before continuing to cut…"
"When you put it into the pot, check the oil temperature and be careful not to let any clear water drip in."
…
Since Qin Mu was a complete novice in the kitchen, Chen Sanwei had to supervise him the entire time at the beginning.
He would occasionally offer reminders or suggestions.
Sizzle—
The shredded potatoes were stir-fried in the pot.
Chen Sanwei looked at the young man in front of him and pondered inwardly.
Increasing the training volume…
As far as he knew, after finishing his work every day, Qin Mu would go to the Eighteen Halls to practice.
Coupled with his studies with Chen Sanwei after returning,
it could be said that Qin Mu's training volume was already very large.
It seemed…
even after becoming a ghost officer, it wasn't as easy as the rumors suggested.
However, it was somewhat surprising that someone with Qin Mu's background and resources was still so diligent and worked so hard.
Thinking of his living junior in the human world – Chen Jiaming.
Chen Jiaming was always lazy and complained about being tired.
Looking at Qin Mu now…
The contrast was too stark.
…
…
That night.
After leaving Qin Mu, Chen Sanwei thought about it repeatedly.
He increasingly felt that he couldn't let that junior continue on his current path.
So, around five in the morning.
In the human world—
Chen Jiaming, who was having a grand dream in his bed, suddenly discovered that his ancestor had entered his dream!
He jolted awake instantly.
The beautiful women and seas of flowers in his dream were all gone.
Only his ancestor was left, looking at him with disappointment and anger.
He said indignantly, "At your age, how can you sleep!?"
At your age, how can you sleep?!
At your age…
The ancestor's voice echoed repeatedly in the dream like a loudspeaker,
causing Chen Jiaming to wake up completely.
After waking up, he reached for his phone by the bed and looked at it.
It was only 5:10 AM!
It wasn't even dawn outside the window yet!
"Ancestor… do you have to be so harsh."
He lay flat on the bed, completely unwilling to move.
However, as soon as he thought of what his ancestor had just said, his mind became exceptionally clear.
He didn't dare to sleep any longer.
"Sigh… why can't I rest properly even after becoming a boss."
Chen Jiaming grumbled, but eventually got out of bed.
In recent years, as his culinary skills improved,
his business had also expanded.
Now, he was considered a small boss with several employees.
Although he often complained about his ancestor and had even thought about cooking with ghosts,
he actually deeply admired his ancestor in his heart.
His ancestor was skilled in making good soup and knew a lot about various dishes.
Most importantly, he had made a name for himself in the underworld.
That was the underworld, after all.
With numerous ghosts and many experienced ones.
Although it was the underworld… wasn't his ancestor bringing glory to the family?
…
On the other side.
Qiao Linglong, who had been driven to despair while peeling potato skins in the kitchen space, ran all the way back to her home.
She carefully opened the door.
…