Chapter 69: Cooking Competition

"Are we... underground now?"
Following Ling Chengfeng, Yang Xuan looked around as he walked.
He had a feeling of déjà vu, as if he had returned to the real world, to the cave passage where Bai Gou and Ye Bingbing were.
However, as he walked on, Yang Xuan found that there were some unusual places in this passage.
"What is this?"
Yang Xuan felt that the soles of his shoes seemed to have stuck to chewing gum, and every time he lifted his feet off the ground, there was a sticky feeling.
Looking down, I noticed that the ground beneath my feet was an eerie shade of crimson and oozing a sticky, adhesive-like substance.
"Mm, I noticed it too."
Ling Chengfeng had also already noticed the strangeness under his feet and said, "Don't worry, I just checked and this type of liquid is harmless to the human body. It's not just underneath our feet, it actually secretes from the walls too."
"Besides, I can't confirm if we are underground or not. When I use my Heavenly Eyes to look above, my line of sight is blocked by a hard shell and I can't see beyond it."
"Actually, even in this corridor, I can't see far away places, I can only see one or two other corridors that are close together."
"Ah? Is that so?"
Yang Xuan reached out and touched the wall next to him, feeling a soft, strange texture. The entire wall seemed to pulse at times, and could secrete a sticky substance. When his palm was pressed against the wall, it soon became sticky.
"Hmm, I feel like this passage is moving...maybe it's just my imagination,"
Lin Chengfeng led Yang Xuan towards the corner on the right, as he said this. Just then, they heard faint voices and some commotion up ahead. It seemed like there were a lot of people near the exit.
Both of them hastened their pace and arrived at the exit of the passage, but did not rush out. Instead, they stood by the exit and observed the situation outside.
"What is this place exactly?"
Yang Xuan discovered that beyond the exit was a spacious hall, with tents and booths set up everywhere, arranged like a large market, with people of all kinds coming and going.
The top of the cave emitted a soft light, and the whole hall was not too dim.
Meanwhile, the passage they were in was located in a relatively remote and rear area. It was quiet in front of the cave entrance, and almost no one passed by.
"Let's go, let's take a look outside."
Ling Chengfeng walked out, preparing to investigate the situation here.
"Uh, is it okay for me to just come out like this?"
Yang Xuan hesitated for a moment and didn't take a step forward.
He is now wearing only a pair of briefs, and just now in the aisle it was okay because there were no outsiders, but now if he has to walk like this in front of everyone, he admits that he does not have the courage.
"Then you wait for me here, I'll go look for some clothes for you."
"Hmm, okay."
For the sake of his small face, Yang Xuan stayed in the passage while Ling Chengfeng went into the crowd. During this time, it was inevitable that some people would cast a few more glances at his silver armor.
After all, Ling Chengfeng's outfit is quite distinctive in this cave hall.
After a while, Ling Chengfeng returned to the entrance of the corridor.
"So fast?"
Yang Xuan reached out and took the set of clothes handed over by Ling Chengfeng. Although he was a little surprised, he had also gradually become accustomed to Ling Chengfeng's efficient and fast work style.
Ling Chengfeng shook his head and laughed, saying, "I just ran into a drunkard in that corner over there. He was so drunk that no matter how hard I pushed him, he wouldn't wake up..."
"Huh?"
Yang Xuan, who was putting on his clothes, was stunned and looked at Ling Chengfeng in astonishment, "So, is this outfit also ripped off from someone else?"
"Well, it's alright. You can wear them for now until we find our own clothes. I'll return them to him later. It seems like he won't wake up anytime soon."
"Alright then."
After putting on the remaining clothes, Yang Xuan was surprised to find that the outfit fit him perfectly.
"Let's go."
This time, Yang Xuan followed Ling Chengfeng into the cave hall.
"Is this really a market here?"
Yang Xuan found that there were many stalls in the cave hall, but there were not many goods on the stalls, and each stall owner seemed listless and lazy to call out to passersby.
Two people walked around the market and didn't find any special booths. They were hoping to find the person who had pulled their clothes off, but it seemed hopeless now.
"Hey, Feng, look, there's a patrol team here."
After wandering back and forth unwillingly, Yang Xuan noticed a patrol team patrolling inside the market.
The members of this patrol team look like humans, but they have bird beaks and a pair of large wings on their backs. The bottoms of their wings rest on the ground, and when they walk, they lean on the ground with one wing on the left and one wing on the right, like two crutches."
"They're from Huantou Country,"
Ling Chengfeng recognized the origin of the members of this patrol team and continued, "Since there are patrols here, there must be someone in charge. Let's go ask and see if we can get their help."
"Understood."
So the two of them came to the patrol team.
"Yes?"
The leader of the patrol team saw that the two of them were blocking their way and immediately asked, "What's the matter with you two?"
"Our things have been stolen."
Ling Chengfeng briefly explained the alarming situation.
"Isn't this normal?"
However, to the surprise of both of them, the leader of the group was accustomed to this attitude towards the situation.
Only heard the head of the noise casually said: "If something is stolen, it will be stolen. The people who stole things here are all thinking about using them as cooking tools to compete and gamble."
Speaking of this, the leader stopped for a moment and looked at Yang Xuan again. He said, "I can tell you're a chef from your outfit. Today, Mr. Zhou is going to have another cooking competition, and you know about it, don't you?"
"If you want to retrieve your belongings, it's better to go there and take a look. After all, if there's anything valuable, it's already been used as a gambling chip."
Chef? Cooking competition?
Yang Xuan and Ling Chengfeng silently exchanged a glance.
"Okay, got it. Thank you."
Ling Chengfeng thanked and the two made way, the patrol team did not stop and continued forward.
"Cooking competition?"
As the patrol team walked away, Yang Xuan looked at Ling Chengfeng, confused and asked, "What's going on? Is my outfit a chef's uniform?"
"That explains it. No wonder there's a set of knives and tools in your clothes."
Ling Chengfeng made a sudden realization expression and said, taking out a bag of leather sheath from under his cloak from behind. Inside the sheath were various sizes of knife handles visible on the surface.
"Ah? You really are a chef!"
Yang Xuan was speechless and found it somewhat amusing. He never expected that the clothes that Ling Chengfeng casually pulled off a drunkard turned out to be a chef's clothes.
“走吧，我们去找找那个厨艺比拼，看看是怎么个回事。”
凌乘风说着，将皮套递了过来：“那这套刀具你也就先拿着吧，我原本是想替哪人保管好的。”
"Alright then."
He reached out and took the leather case, which felt quite heavy in his palm.
As Yang Xuan fastened the knives around his waist, he said, "Just to be clear, I don't know how to cook, so don't count on me to participate in any cooking competitions."