Chapter 409 Conditions
Xu Qing intuitively felt that Jinghua's visit this time might not be as simple as a cooking showdown.

He walked quickly into the hall and saw several people who were dressed in a very unique way.

Jinghua was drinking tea boredly while listening to the waiter introducing the various specialties of Juxialou like reading out the names of dishes.

The waiter was very eloquent. He described the various famous dishes handed down by successive chefs vividly, combining them with the creative background of the time, and the few people except Jinghua listened with great interest.

Jinghua had something on his mind, and he listened with his left ear but it just came out with his right ear, so he couldn't really take it to heart.

From time to time, he glanced towards the kitchen, staring at the people coming and going.

Suddenly his eyes fixed and he stood up subconsciously.

This strange behavior attracted the attention of several other people, and the leader raised his hand to stop the waiter from explaining.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the young man walking towards them.

The guy took a look at the current situation and tactfully withdrew.

Jinghua nodded and greeted, "Xu Qing."

"Jinghua, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

"Feel sorry."

"No need to apologize. Since you're here, let's continue the cooking duel we agreed on last time."

Xu Qing was quite eager to try it.

He had just sharpened the knife and was about to find someone to test it to see whether it was still sharp or not.

Jinghua, however, remained strangely silent for a moment, then said, "...I'm sorry."

This "sorry" made Xu Qing a little confused.

The man sitting in the main seat said, "Xu Qing, unfortunately, we didn't come to you this time for the cooking showdown between you and Jinghua."

Jinghua sat down in silence, feeling very depressed.

Xu Qing asked: "Why is that?"

The man said, "We have important information about the dark cuisine world, and we came here to tell you."

Xu Qing asked in confusion: "Tell me? As far as I know, you Phoenix Eight Immortals and the Dark Cuisine World are enemies. Since you have information about the Dark Cuisine World, why don't you deal with the Dark Cuisine World instead of telling me?"

The man raised his eyebrows and said, "It seems that you know us well. Yes, we, the Phoenix Eight Immortals, and the dark cuisine world are indeed enemies, but this does not mean that we will be hostile all the time. This time, we do not want to interfere."

After listening to this, Xu Qing figured out what was going on. "You don't want to get involved, or you can't get involved? It seems that the people sent by the dark cuisine world this time are very difficult for you."

The man did not get angry, but praised: "Smart. Yes, it is indeed difficult for us to deal with the people sent by the dark cuisine world this time, but this is only temporary. When we collect enough legendary kitchen utensils, we will not be afraid of anyone in the dark cuisine world."

Xu Qing spoke quickly and asked, "Including Kaiyou?"

This question immediately put everyone into silence.

There was an awkward silence.

Seeing their behavior, Xu Qing became more wary of Kaiyou.

It seems that Kaiyou is indeed not easy to deal with.

The name alone left these people speechless, and they couldn't even brag about it.

Seeing that the atmosphere was really awkward, Xu Qing had to break the silence and said, "As far as I know, Jinghua has obtained the legendary kitchen utensils. It is said that you, the Eight Immortals of Phoenix, have the legendary kitchen utensils, which will give you even more power. Why don't you let Jinghua deal with it?" Now the other people were no longer embarrassed, and Jinghua became the embarrassed person.

Jinghua lowered his head and stared at the floor, trying to find a crack to crawl into.

The leader coughed twice and said, "I'm afraid Jinghua may not be able to win even if he has the legendary kitchen utensils."

"How can you be so sure?"

Before the man could speak, Jinghua spoke up himself, "Not long ago, I fought that man and lost."

Xu Qing asked, "Did you use the legendary kitchen utensils?"

Jinghua nodded, "I used it, but the other party didn't."

This time Xu Qing gasped, he was really curious.

"So powerful? Who is it?"

The man did not answer the question, but said: "Before telling you the information, we need to test your ability to see if you are capable of dealing with that person. If you are not capable, I hope you can hand over the Eternal Spirit Sword and Reincarnation Pot in your hands to us, and we, the Phoenix Eight Immortals, will stop the Dark Cuisine World."

Xu Qing sneered, "So this is your purpose, to take the Eternal Spirit Sword and the Reincarnation Pot from me."

The man shook his head and said, "Not really. If you are capable enough to stop that person, then the Eternal Spirit Blade and the Reincarnation Pot will naturally be yours, and we will go back to look for other legendary kitchen utensils. If you are not capable enough, I hope you can understand that the legendary kitchen utensils must not fall into the hands of the dark culinary world."

Xu Qing said bluntly: "In my opinion, the mysterious Phoenix Eight Immortals and the dark cooking world are equally untrustworthy. I don't want to hand over the legendary kitchen utensils to any of you."

The man smiled and said, "It depends on your ability to protect the legendary kitchen utensils. Do you agree to the conditions I mentioned before?"

Xu Qing said: "If I fail, the two legendary kitchen utensils will be given to you. If I win, you tell me the information about the dark cuisine world, and I will deal with the dark cuisine world. No matter how you look at it, you are the ones who have gained all the benefits, and I will not gain anything whether I win or lose."

The man said, "At the very least, the dark cuisine world is now our common enemy. Moreover, the intelligence also contains the whereabouts of the legendary kitchen utensils. If you have the ability, you can not only thwart the conspiracy of the dark cuisine world, but also get another legendary kitchen utensil."

Xu Qing sighed and said, "Okay, let's do as you say. How do you want to test my level? A cooking duel?"

The man shook his head and said, "Without the legendary kitchen utensils, our strength is not complete. And Jinghua, unfortunately, his state of mind has not yet calmed down. If he fights with you again, I'm afraid there will be only one result, and he will lose."

Hearing the man's cruel words, Jinghua said nothing.

Jinghua, who was holding the legendary kitchen utensils and was full of confidence, was easily defeated by someone who did not have the legendary kitchen utensils. This caused a great setback to Jinghua and almost made him unable to recover.

Especially since the opponent is the destined rival of the Phoenix Eight Immortals, the dark culinary world.

If Jinghua had lost to Xu Qing, he wouldn't have felt so bad.

But losing to the dark culinary world was not just a matter of face, he himself couldn't get over it.

Xu Qing glanced at Jinghua and knew very well that Jinghua was now in a trough. He was probably not as strong as when they first met.

"Then how do you want to compare?"

Xu Qing asked.

The man looked around and asked, "Are you the chef of this restaurant?"

"The chef is recovering from illness, I will take over temporarily."

"Just cook a dish for us. If it can satisfy our appetites, you'll pass. But I warn you in advance that we are picky eaters."

　I will start updating tomorrow

　　
　
(End of this chapter)