Another World Trip: Journey with My Cat and an Otaku Loli Goddess Chapter 221 - Dinner Guests

She couldn’t hold her curiosity back and wished to inquire. “Long Di, you—”

Suddenly, a peaceful and benevolent voice drifted over. “Amitabha, don’t frighten the young benefactor.”

****

Yaomu Shou was shocked by the new arrival and quickly rushed even closer to Long Di’s side with her sword drawn.

She looked over to where the voice came from to see a young monk approaching them with the Anjali Mudra on display.

His head was bald and there was a single dot on the centre of his forehead. His entire skin was a beautiful bronze colour.

His eyebrows were shaped like crescent moons while his smile was warm and inviting.

One would take him for a sincere monk if it wasn’t for the grease that covered his mouth and the oil-stained Kasaya he wore. This instantly destroyed his image as a monk who followed Buddhist teachings.

“Who are you!?” Yaomu Shou was wary of this new arrival since his strength was a cut above those she’d seen so far.

Though she didn’t take her cultivation seriously because of her free-spirited nature, she was well aware of her strength. It was not something that just anyone in the younger generation could come close to, so she grew suspicious of this monk’s identity.

Even more weird was that Long Di didn’t react to this.

“Amitabha,” the monk stated once again before he bowed toward Yaomu Shou with that same smile. His eyes smiled so much that they were closed into slits.

He continuously sniffed the air, obviously enamoured by the scent of the roasting meat.

“Dear benefactor, this monk was taking a stroll to celebrate the ending of my fast when I saw the two benefactors enjoying each other’s company. I thought I would pay a visit, is all, to spread the teachings of Buddha.”

Though the monk spoke to Yaomu Shou, his eyes never left the roasting Monarch Gale Crow.

“Then why are you drooling?” Yaomu Shou asked with her sword still pointing at him.

The monk didn’t even try to hide the drool that drained from the side of his mouth before he used his Kasaya to wipe it off in a sloppy manner.

“Is the benefactor aware that feeding a starving monk can increase one’s karma?” the monk asked shamelessly.

Yaomu Shou was stunned at the monk’s shamelessness. She had met monks before, but none like this.

The monk moved closer to them, which caused Yaomu Shou to tense up. However, he simply sat opposite them with his eyes on the blazing fire that covered the Monarch Gale Crow.

Enlightenment dawned before he exclaimed in surprise, “Amazing! Benefactor is truly incredible! To have the Crimson Horizon Flame at such a young age.”

Yaomu Shou didn’t feel any hostility from the monk, so she finally sat down, but she held the sword in her hand, just in case.

Long Di was unaware of all of this. He had entered a profound state while controlling the Crimson Horizon Flame.

He remembered when he had once read a cultivation novel where the focus of it was on cooking. The protagonist was a cold but gifted chef who embarked on the dao to become the god of cooking.

In it, Long Di remembered several methods that the chef used to cook his dishes. As of now, Long Di was using one of those methods to cook the bird.

Of course, Long Di wasn’t expecting to be anywhere near the level of the chef in the novel and just wanted a decent meal.

This didn’t mean that this was Long Di’s first time cooking. This was far from the truth since Long Di was quite skilled around a stove.

He actually incorporated that chef’s methods to prepare the bird the way he knew to do it. His spiritual force even replaced his hands as he used it to massage the bird to seal in the flavour.

This skill didn’t come out of nowhere. There were many times that he was forced to cook for his uncle. The first few times brought him a level of punishment that he would never forget, as they were above the norm, even for him.

He was well aware that his Uncle would find any and every reason to punish him. It didn’t matter how big or small the issue was, once it qualified as an issue, Long Di would feel his wrath.

Whatever he was cooking for his uncle couldn’t be too salty, too sweet, or too bland. The dishes had to be perfect at every point in time no matter what they were.

As a result, he quickly tried to raise his skills to lessen his punishment. Unfortunately, this never worked when it came to suffering less punishment. This was the case even when his skills reached an extremely high level. Of course, this only left him with more trauma and very little else.

Nevertheless, the conflicting thoughts pulled him into a realm where he was able to see the form of the Monarch Gale Crow clearly and the flow of the Crimson Horizon Flame.

Was this some sort of cooking realm? Was the necessary qualifications to enter this realm, trauma and an unhealthy obsession with cultivation novels? Because if that was it, then Long Di had that in spades.

However, he put that aside and used this ‘cooking realm’ to better roast the crow. He realised that some parts of the flame had to be hotter than other parts and even though it was his first time, he found it effortless and easy within the ‘cooking realm.’

With the help of this mysterious state, he was able to complete the roasting with very few hiccups.

Long Di opened his eyes and saw a scene that he couldn’t quite explain.

Yaomu Shou was now beside him… that was fine. Mina had returned at some point too, and that was okay too. But opposite them was a monk he didn’t know holding a plate and staring at the Monarch Gale Crow.

In addition, the Overly Bombastic Brawler Rabbit was also sitting to the side, staring at the Monarch Gale Crow with a plate in hand.

What the heck happened while he was under!?

[Author’s Note: The Anjali Mudra is a hand gesture where both palms are pressed together in front of the sternum. It is used for both greetings and farewells. There is a deeper meaning to it but that can be researched on the internet.]