Chapter 3: The Three Ruan Heroes, Refining Essence, Nourishing Qi, and Pregnant Spirit

In mid-autumn, the scenery of Shijie Village with "lush green mountains and green mulberry trees piled up in the clouds" is no longer visible.

Looking around, all the grass is withered, all the trees are desolate, a crane flies above the clouds in the clear sky, and thousands of peaks are towering in the sunset.

It has a unique charm.

Cao Jie's thatched cottage was surrounded by curling smoke and wafting out wisps of tempting aroma.

He had already spent most of the silver ingot Song Wan gave him: he made an iron pot, bought some medicinal herbs and spices that were much more expensive than meat, and bought five pounds of beef, three or five pieces of game, and two large jars of good wine.

Today I’m going to show off my cooking skills and invite the three Ruan brothers to our home.

Friendships are built through getting along with each other. After a few drinks, everyone becomes brothers.

The world is in chaos, and without a few reliable brothers, it's difficult to move forward.

The three heroes of the Ruan family are the backbone.

A pot of braised rabbit meat came out of the pot, covered with wild coriander to form a small hat. Cao Jie couldn't help but curl his lips, thinking that the golden finger was too stingy!
"Why hasn't the Chef's soul appeared yet?"

"It seems that the appearance of this soul is related to occupation. Although I can cook, it does not mean that I am a chef."

"If I want to activate the chef, then I need others to think that I am a cook... just like others recognize that I am a foot doctor."

Snapped!
Cao Jie snapped his fingers. He had already summed up several rules of the golden finger.

Several dishes are ready, with large portions and enough to fill you up.

If you are stingy when inviting people to dinner, people will look down on you.

The meat must be good, the wine must be good, and if you have money, the hostess must also be good.

This is the correct attitude when entertaining guests, and only then can things be done successfully.

Looking at the sky, the setting sun is like blood, the mountains are like the sea, and the three Ruan brothers should be here.

Sure enough, three tall men came along the path shaded by sparse bamboos. One of them was carrying a big fish, one was holding a jar of wine, and one was holding fresh fruit. They were talking and laughing all the way.

"Erlang, we are here."

From a distance, Ruan Xiaoqi said loudly.

"Seventh brother..."

Cao Jie appeared at the tattered wooden door and said with a bow, "Second Brother Ruan, Fifth Brother Ruan. Come to our house for a drink, how can I let you spend money?"

"Haha, we are all brothers, why should we be so polite? Let's not go home until we are drunk tonight."

Ruan Xiaoer was holding two jars of wine and walking with great strides.

How did this person look like? He had a sunken face with two raised eyebrows, a slightly drooping mouth and fists on all sides. His chest was covered with a band of yellow hair, and there were two horizontal ribs on his back.

His arms were swollen, as if he had thousands of pounds of strength, and his eyes were cold and murderous.

It is the Tai Sui of the Earth!

Next to him, Ruan Xiaowu sniffed, raised his eyebrows, and asked curiously, "Erlang cooked it so deliciously! It made me ravenous."

Unlike his two brothers, Ruan Xiaowu wore a tattered turban on one side, a big red chrysanthemum with a gold back on his temples, and an old cloth shirt, revealing a leopard tattooed on his chest. He tucked his trousers in and wore a chess piece cloth handkerchief over them.

People in the Song Dynasty did love to wear flowers, but Xiaowu was the only one in Shijie Village who wore a flower.

Don't be fooled by his coquettish appearance, the aura he exudes is particularly terrifying.

Short-lived Erlang, the Erlang God who has a short life.

When these three brothers appeared together, the sky seemed to darken by three points.

Cao Jie calmed down and said with a smile: "Fifth brother, a few pounds of yellow beef and three or two side dishes, come in quickly, we won't leave until we are drunk today."

"Erlang is so heroic."

In the Great Song Dynasty, it was not easy to eat beef. The table set by Cao Jie was indeed magnificent.

The four of them sat down and filled large bowls with wine.

The three Ruan brothers looked at the table full of fish, their stomachs growling and their mouths watering.

The delicacies of the previous life were so delicious that they were crushing.

"Three brothers, let's drink one bowl first."

"Do X3"

"Eat meat!"

"Eat x3"

They drank from large bowls and ate large chunks of meat. Soon, the bowl of meat collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Erlang, your cooking skills are far better than the chef at the Shuige Hotel. If you open a restaurant, all the restaurants in Yuncheng will go bankrupt."

Ruan Xiaoqi spat out the chewed meat and bones, his eyes a little dazed.

Not only did he enjoy the drink, but his two brothers also enjoyed it, and they echoed: "Erlang, you have this skill, so you don't have to worry about not making money... Even if you find a restaurant in the city, it is much better than digging for food in the lake."

"After eating your meat today, what should we do in the future?" Ruan Xiaowu sighed.

A little tipsy, Cao Jie vaguely saw the candlelight flickering in front of him, illuminating three lines of words.

[Soul aspect: Chef (knows a little bit about chopping, slicing, scraping, frying, cooking and deep-frying)]

[Experience: Level 1 (17/200)]

[Talent: Food Hunter LV1 (Use sixth sense to discover or process ingredients to obtain edible parts)]

Is this it? !
Since your talent is gourmet hunter, why not give you gourmet cells!
The talent for cooking ingredients is useless. I’m not a chef.

Rubbish Goldfinger.

After taking a quick glance and putting aside his newly acquired talent, Cao Jie said, "If my three brothers think highly of me, you can come here to eat every day. It will only cost a few more sets of bowls and chopsticks. I'm used to a carefree life. I can't stand going to the city to find work and being driven around by others."

Ruan Xiaoqi's eyes lit up and he slammed the table: "I can't stand being ordered around. Erlang, if you want to do it, you should be the shopkeeper. I don't want to be humble and humble."

Cao Jie also slammed the table and said, "Seventh Brother is right. A real man is born between heaven and earth. How can he be depressed and inferior to others for a long time? No, a real man is born in troubled times. He should carry a three-foot sword and accomplish extraordinary deeds."

"Erlang has become a different person after going through this great ordeal..."

After saying that, Ruan Xiaoer frowned tightly and asked again: "Has Erlang started practicing?"

"Practice?"

Cao Jie's blurry eyes focused slightly, and he shook his head and asked, "What kind of practice?"

Ruan Xiaowu drank another bowl of wine and said in a muffled voice, "Medical skills and cooking skills, it seems that Erlang was a scholar in his previous life."

Cao Jie took a deep breath, his eyes brightened:
"My three brothers, I did suddenly get the hang of it and mastered all of this. Is it the same for you brothers?"

The three Ruan brothers looked at each other and laughed together.

Ruan Xiaoqi was a carefree person, and he immediately said, "Erlang, a person has three souls: heaven, earth, and man. Among them, the heavenly soul is also called the soul of rebirth, which is the main soul of a person. After a person dies, the heavenly soul returns to heaven and is responsible for reincarnation. In our case, the heavenly soul has awakened the memory of the previous life..."

Yeah!
Cao Jie nodded his head vigorously. These 108 generals were demons reincarnated, awakening their memories of their past lives and mastering the methods of cultivation. The logic made sense.

It is not known whether these three are really the reincarnations of "Tai Sui God, Erlang Shen, and Yama King".

After taking a sip of wine to moisten his throat, Ruan Xiaoqi continued, "For example, the three of us brothers have awakened memories of refining essence and nourishing qi. This is not a big secret. Emperor Taizu of Song compiled a secret book called Taizu Changquan, which talks about the method of refining essence."

"We brothers have verified with each other that the methods of refining essence are all similar. They are nothing more than skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and internal organs. They are just to strengthen the body. It is very superficial."

"Cultivating Qi is very different, there is no commonality, and you can't practice it randomly."

"Oh, right, a few years ago I met Scholar Wu, and he told me that in addition to refining essence and nourishing qi, there is also a method for conceiving a spirit, which is extremely mysterious and profound..."

"According to what he said, if one cultivates to a high level, one can call the wind and rain, travel through the vast universe, and become an immortal!"

"Haha, Master Wu is just drunk and bragging."

The three of them talked to each other and shared a lot of useful information.

"Refine the essence, nourish the qi, and conceive the spirit? Essence, qi, and spirit."

Cao Jie chewed these words in his heart for a long time, and said with a wry smile: "I really don't have any memory of this!"

One's soul is the body from the previous life, so where did one get the cultivation techniques from the previous life?

It’s over, everyone is a reborn person, and they are all reborn people with cheats.

The difficulty rises directly to hell level.

Facing Cao Jie's hopeful gaze, the three Ruan brothers filled their glasses with wine and stood up.

Ruan Xiaoer raised his wine bowl and said solemnly, "Erlang, we came to your house today to acknowledge you as our brother. Bandits are rampant everywhere, the government is only concerned with plundering the people, and natural and man-made disasters are everywhere. I think the world will be in chaos sooner or later. We know each other well, so we should support each other."

The bruised leopard on Ruan Xiaowu's chest seemed to come alive: "The three of us brothers only know how to fight and compete. Who knows, one day we might get hurt. With Erlang's medical skills, we can rest assured."

Ruan Xiaoqi patted his chest and said, "Erlang, if you want to learn how to refine your essence, I'll teach you."

"Really?"

"Our Xiaoqi's spit is as sharp as a nail..."

(End of this chapter)