Chapter 179 Victory or Loss
Lai He saw that the people in the judging panel seemed to be in a fantasy world. The expressions on their faces became calm and relaxed. The feeling of happiness lingering around them could be easily sensed by anyone.

It was as if they were not on a battlefield of life and death, but at home, sitting on a recliner with their eyes closed and taking a nap. It was so peaceful, soothing, quiet and natural.

This performance is definitely not something that can be achieved by the taste of the dish!

Could it be that……

Is it a thoughtful gesture?

That kind of extraordinary skill is rarely possessed even by top chefs in the bright culinary world.

It is said that it is a communication between hearts, conveying the chef's intentions to diners through the taste of food.

Lai He had never actually seen it, but he had heard others talk about it. Those chefs who had failed under the influence of their own will all found it extremely difficult to handle.

The taste of delicious food is only a sensory enjoyment of the body, however, the deliciousness that contains the heart is a resonance of the body and mind, and it is the perception and enjoyment from the body to the mind.

From this point of view alone, the thoughtfulness goes beyond simple deliciousness.

Some even say that no matter how skilled a chef in the dark cuisine world is, he will be defeated in front of his heart.

Because they have only honed their skills to the highest level, but are unable to resonate with their diners spiritually.

He may be able to have success against other chefs, but once he meets a chef who can use his mind, he will be defeated miserably.

Fortunately, there is something as mysterious as the mind, which not many people possess even in the bright culinary world.

Otherwise, the dark culinary world would not have been able to maintain the stalemate with the light culinary world until now.

However, at this moment, Lai He had a vague feeling that the dish made by Xu Qing might be a dish that contained thoughtfulness.

But this kid is so young! How could he possibly know such a profound skill!
There's no point thinking about this now.

Lai He's face was gloomy and uncertain.

Fortunately, he had a trick up his sleeve. Even though this kid's strength had exceeded his expectations many times, the outcome of this duel would definitely be within his plan!

Lai He said loudly: "All the dishes have been tasted, now let's read out the results!"

His shout woke up Jidi and Li Yan who were immersed in their thoughts.

Hearing Lai He was so impatient, they temporarily put aside their comments on Xu Qing's dishes. It would not be too late to comment on them after the results were announced.

Jidi nodded and said, "Okay. Then let's announce the result. My choice is..."

"Hold on!"

Lai He suddenly said, "Let the girl speak first. She was specially selected by this boy to be the most impartial judge. She discarded all the influence of experience and skills and only came to the answer based on her experience of the delicious food itself. You should have no objection to her choice."

Lai He looked at Xu Qing and said with a smug look on his face.

Seeing Lai He's expression of success, Xu Qing's heart suddenly tightened.

I'm afraid Mary is being taken advantage of.

But when did he do this?
Before they arrived?
No, probably not.

After all, they didn't know that Mary would be a judge before that.

That could only have happened after they arrived and before the cooking showdown.

Xu Qing frowned and thought, carefully going through the scenes since their arrival in his mind and thinking about them carefully.

Jidi didn't think much about it and said, "Okay, Meili, you go first."

After all, the winner between these two dishes is really obvious.

The thoughtfulness that Xu Qing put into that dish alone is enough to crush Lai He’s dish.

What’s even more amazing is that the ingredients Xu Qing used are not inferior to the Eight Delicacies of the Sea in taste.

In terms of taste and skills, Xu Qing and Lai He were evenly matched, but the intention became the final weight, which completely tilted the balance of victory to Xu Qing's side.

Such exquisite delicacy, this feeling that spreads to the heart, even people who don't know the slightest about cooking can easily distinguish it. Meili hesitated for a moment and said, "I chose... the first dish."

"what?"

Jidi took off the blindfold in shock, and then he noticed that Meili had hardly touched the food in front of her, while the porcelain bowls in front of him and Li Yan were clean, without even a grain of rice left.

How could this be?
Xu Qing's dish tasted so good that even after he finished eating it, he still felt unsatisfied, let alone ordinary people.

When Mary heard her father's voice, she began to panic and realized that she had made the wrong choice.

Jidi helped her take off the blindfold and saw that her eyes were filled with tears. Mary's tears instantly rolled down.

Meili choked up and said, "I... I don't know. When I was eating the second dish, I suddenly felt it was unpalatable. There was no taste in my mouth, as if I were eating wax... Father, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I..."

Jidi sighed softly, hugged Meili, who was trembling with fear and self-blame, and comforted her gently.

At this time, Xu Qing suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Master Jidi, please check the top of Meili's head."

On top of your head?
Jidi parted Meili's hair and examined it carefully, and suddenly found a silver needle as thin as an ox hair on it.

Jidi carefully pulled out the silver needle and asked in shock: "What's going on?"

Xu Qing looked at Lai He, "I'm afraid he was the one who did it. Master Jidi, do you remember? Lai He once patted Meili's head affectionately, which was unusual for him. I'm afraid it was at that time that he inserted the silver needle into Meili's head."

Lai He saw that his conspiracy was exposed, and said very proudly: "Yes! It was indeed me who did it. The dark cuisine world has studied the meridians and acupoints of the human body far more than the light cuisine world. After continuous experiments and research, we found that there is an acupoint on the top of the head that can temporarily enhance the human sense of taste after proper stimulation, but then it will lead to loss of taste. Don't worry, this little girl just needs to rest for a day, and her sense of taste will return to normal the next day. But now, the winner has been decided! Xu Qing, you lose!"

Xu Qing heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that Meili was fine.

He said calmly: "The remaining two judges have not yet expressed their opinions, and the winner has not yet been announced."

"Haha! Of the remaining two people, one is yours and the other is mine. Your people will naturally choose you as the winner, and my people will naturally choose me as the winner. The final result is two to one, and you lose!"

"is it?"

Xu Qing looked at Li Yan, who was wearing armor, and asked, "Mr.... Mr. in armor, what is your choice?"

Lai He sneered and said, "Do you even need to ask? Of course..."

"Tie."

Li Yan said in a deep voice.

Lai He's eyes widened immediately and he yelled, "What did you say? Say it again!"

"I said, it's a tie."

Li Yan repeated calmly.

Master Jidi, who was standing by, suddenly felt relieved.

He looked at Li Yan with a complicated look.

Li Yan took Meili away from him and took her hostage to avenge him.

But at this moment, he saved Meili and Xu Qing's lives at the critical moment.

This made Ji not know how to face him at first.

Xu Qing was not that surprised.

He knew Li Yan's past, and this dish was made specifically for Li Yan, targeting the weakest part of his heart.

The mind is such a terrible thing. If a chef has evil intentions, he can easily control people's hearts with his dishes.

Fortunately, only chefs in the bright culinary world can master the heart. Without a sincere heart, you will never be able to possess the heart.

"You! Have you forgotten your identity!" Lai He said angrily.

Li Yan picked up the bowl in front of Meili and said, "I didn't forget. It is precisely because I am a chef in the dark cuisine world that I said this is a draw. In fact, the winner of this duel is obvious. There are still some dishes left, you can try them yourself."

(End of this chapter)