Gourmet of Another World

Bu Fang left with the customer, leaving behind the horrified Liu Mu and the master chef. The two of them exchanged a glance—both of them felt that this was just a dream.

Liu Mu swallowed and thought to himself, ‘So those things I read on the Internet are real? People with strange powers… really do exist. I just saw them with my own eyes!’

His eyes lit up. Then, without hesitation, he pulled out his smartphone, went to a forum, typed what he saw and heard today into a thread, and published it.

…

The customer was a Beastmaster, which was actually a group of people with special powers, specifically the ability to communicate with animals.

Of course, there were limitations to his ability. Because he had comprehended it when he was drowning, whenever he controlled his spirit beast, his body would become all wet and dripping with water as if he was a monster who had just crawled out of a lake.

He had lost all hopes, but when the ability came to him, he thought perhaps heaven did not want him dead yet. So, he worked hard to stay alive. However, his hatred for humanity drove him to keep ordering his little carp to harm people.

This was a man with a twisted mind, and it could be seen from the occasional glint of resentment in his eyes as he led the way with a bowed head.

He had a very sensitive identity: a criminal being sought by the state agency. He knew that if he showed up this time, he would certainly attract the attention of the authorities.

In fact, he did not want to go anywhere near the nine-tailed fox so early. But he had no choice. The guy behind him was looking at him like a lofty god, giving him so much pressure that he could hardly breathe. If there was a chance, he really wanted to run away.

They took a taxi out of the city and into the suburbs. Another rain of spiritual energy began to fall, but it was a drizzle this time. The Beastmaster let the rain fall on him with a crazy and greedy look. He loved the feeling of getting wet because the spiritual energy in the rainwater improved his ability.

“The nine-tailed fox is in this mountain…” said the Beastmaster. He glanced over his shoulder at Bu Fang, and the resentment in his eyes vanished for a moment.

“In this mountain?” Bu Fang squinted at the lofty mountain. Half hidden in the shadow of the forest, a path led up the mountain, and it appeared to be dark and gloomy.

“Since you know about the nine-tailed fox, do you know the girl who accompanied her?” Bu Fang asked after thinking for a while.

The Beastmaster paused. ‘A girl? How can there be a girl accompanying the nine-tailed fox?’ To Bu Fang, he said, “No, the fox is alone. It fled into the mountain to escape the people who tried to hunt it down, and it was not accompanied by anyone…

“Also… Here’s a reminder for you. Once you step on this path, you are within the target range of all. The supernatural agency of Hua, Beastmasters, as well as some Qi cultivators of hermit families will notice you… so it will not be so easy for you to rescue this nine-tailed fox!” said the Beastmaster.

“Just lead the way.” Bu Fang glanced at him, expressionless.

The Beastmaster was helpless—he had no choice but to turn and step onto the path.

As soon as they stepped onto the path, Bu Fang felt spiritual energy gush out from the ground, which was so bright that he was forced to close his eyes.

The Beastmaster’s eyes lit up. He knew that his chance to run away had come! Taking advantage of the moment, he ran frantically to the side of the path and rushed into the woods, ignoring the thick branches. In just a flash, he was gone.

“Trying to run away from me?” Bu Fang twitched the corner of his mouth and patted Shrimpy on his shoulder.

Eyes rolling, Shrimpy squeaked and sped away, turning into a golden ray and vanishing in an instant. Before long, a miserable shriek could be heard coming from the woods, but it was cut off abruptly.

With a whistling sound, the golden ray shot out of the woods and landed on Bu Fang’s shoulder, turning back into Shrimpy. Its body glowed dazzlingly.

Vaguely, the sound of people sucking in their breaths could be heard coming from different hiding spots. It belonged to those who were watching Bu Fang in the dark ever since he stepped onto the path.

“Someone else is coming… He seems to be a Beastmaster…”

“What is that thing? A golden mantis shrimp?”

“Do mantis shrimps also have such strong fighting prowess? What level of Beastmaster is this?”

Many people were murmuring in the dark. Bu Fang naturally knew who these people were. They should be Beastmasters or superhumans. Of course, they were superhumans not recognized by the authorities. He paid them no mind. With both hands clasped behind his back, he walked down the path.

The rugged path went up a slope. Halfway, the cement-paved passage turned into a muddy track or broken flights of stone steps. Bu Fang had no idea where Foxy was, but he knew he would find her if he kept walking up the mountain.

When he was halfway up, however, Bu Fang was stopped by someone. It was a group of men and women in khaki coats. Expressionless, they blocked his way, preventing him from going further.

“Mister, there’s danger ahead. Please turn back from here,” said a middle-aged man with an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.

“What’s going on up there?” Bu Fang asked with a straight face.

“Nothing special. A landslide blocked the path,” the man said, then glanced suspiciously at Shrimpy. He seemed to sense something strange in Bu Fang.

“A landslide?” That gave Bu Fang pause, but he just twitched his lips. He knew that was only an excuse. “I thought there is a nine-tailed fox up there?”

“Oh? How did you know about the nine-tailed fox? Are you a… Beastmaster?” The middle-aged man froze. “Impossible. I know all the Beastmasters in Jiangdong, and you are not one of them. Who are you? Are you a Beastmaster from another city?”

The look in the middle-aged man’s eyes grew serious. He wondered if the news about the nine-tailed fox had spread so far? If the Beastmasters from other cities or even other provinces were here, he feared that he and his men from the Jiangdong branch might not be able to keep them in check, not to mention the fact that many other superhumans were watching in the dark.

Bu Fang shook his head and did not explain. “Let me through.”

“No, we can’t let you go up there. Please leave here, mister,” the man said seriously. Then, he pulled out an ID from his pocket and showed it to Bu Fang, hoping that it would convince the latter to leave.

The man had already prepared to take Bu Fang down, but to his surprise, Bu Fang stepped back after glancing at his ID and walked away slowly.

‘Ha, this lousy ID is quite useful sometimes.’

“Chief Luo! There are more and more spiritual energy points… The numbers of superhumans and Beastmasters on this Hidden Tiger Mountain are now… over one hundred!” a young and pretty girl said to the middle-aged man. She was wearing a set of headphones and holding a laptop.

The face of the middle-aged man who the girl called Chief Luo grew serious. “Xiao Ai, do you see that man? Can you help me find out the size of his spiritual energy point? I want to know what class he is,” he said, watching with a frown as Bu Fang left.

The girl nodded. After determining Bu Fang’s location, she began to search on the computer. “Eh? Chief… there is no spiritual energy point on that man. He is likely an ordinary man.”

‘An ordinary man? No, he is not an ordinary man…’ Chief Luo thought to himself. “How’s the situation of the nine-tailed fox? Is the Beast-binding Rope working?” he asked.

‘The Beast-binding Rope is a weapon we created based on the immortal artifact in ancient mythology, which has a great suppression effect on the spirit beasts born from the revival of spiritual energy… Although this nine-tailed fox is an S-class spirit beast, the rope has successfully reduced its spiritual energy level to A-class,” said Xiao Ai as her fingers danced over the keyboard.

“Very good. Keep it that way… When the nine-tailed fox’s spiritual energy level is reduced to B-class, we will strike at once and capture it!

“We must act fast. The appearance of the S-class nine-tailed fox has attracted too much attention. The Beastmasters from other cities, even the superhumans from other countries are eyeing it now… I’ve requested reinforcement from the HQ, but we need to solve this problem by ourselves and do it as quickly as possible. We can’t give our enemies any chance!”

Upon hearing his words, the team members hiding in the dark all nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Chief Luo frowned. He saw that the young man who had left had come back once again. ‘Xiao Ai didn’t detect any spiritual energy in this young man… Could he really be an ordinary man? But how could an ordinary man know about the nine-tailed fox? Or is he just a curious Internet user who got the rumors from somewhere?’

“Excuse me… If I may ask, what do you plan to do after capturing the nine-tailed fox?” Bu Fang looked at Chief Luo with an expressionless face.

“It will be brought to our HQ and kept in captivity. A nine-tailed fox is a very dangerous creature… For the safety of the public, this is the only way.” For some reason he did not know, Chief Luo explained his plan to the young man.

“I see.” Bu Fang nodded. Then, he put his hands behind him, turned, and left.

Xiao Ai thought Bu Fang might be mentally ill.

Suddenly, Bu Fang turned around once again and walked up to them…

Chief Luo and Xiao Ai were both speechless.

“Mister, please leave at once. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to put you under arrest!” Xiao Ai cried out in a cold voice, her brows furrowing.

As soon as her voice rang out, a few men in coats slowly approached them from a distance.

“Well… After careful consideration, I feel that the nine-tailed fox is my little fox who has been separated from me, so… I can’t let you take her away. She is used to the food I cooked, and I don’t think she will like the food you prepare for her…” Bu Fang said seriously. Shrimpy, perching on his shoulder, also nodded in agreement.

Chief Luo and Xiao Ai twitched the corners of their mouths, staring at Bu Fang as if they were looking at an idiot.

‘What a liar… The nine-tailed fox is yours? Why don’t you tell us you are a god?!’ Xiao Ai thought.

“Mister, you are making trouble out of nothing, which is beyond our tolerance and seriously hinders our work. We will put you under arrest for now, and we will let you go once our job is done here,” said Chief Luo.

“Xiao Ai, lift your hand.”

“Ah?” That gave the girl pause, but she eventually raised her hand. With a clicking sound, a cold handcuff was clipped on her wrist, which linked to another one that was clipped on Bu Fang’s slim, fair arm.

“You’re a technician, so you don’t have to be involved in the actual capturing operation. Watch over this guy for the time being…” Chief Luo cleared his throat. Then, he turned and walked away, ignoring Xiao Ai’s blazing eyes.

Bu Fang raised his hand and looked at the handcuff, which appeared to be as weak as if it was made of paper. The corner of his mouth twitched.

“You better behave yourself! Let me warn you, I’m a C-class superhuman! So don’t you harbor any ill intention! I’m very strong!” Xiao Ai could not reject the order, so she said that to Bu Fang with a fierce attitude.

…

A few moments later…

“Aye, Shrimpy is so cute! I never knew a mantis shrimp can be so adorable!”

Xiao Ai, sitting to the side with a handcuff on her wrist, was playing happily with Shrimpy. As for Bu Fang, he also sat on the ground, but his face was expressionless, and he did not move at all.

The girl kept talking as she was playing with Shrimpy, but no matter what she said, Bu Fang did not even bat an eye. Suddenly, Bu Fang furrowed his brows and turned to look at the mountaintop.

At this moment, a series of whistling sounds rang out, and countless figures could be seen moving fast through the surrounding woods.

In the distance, Chief Luo rose to his feet abruptly. “At last, they could wait no longer! All team members, follow me up the mountain!” His eyes turned sharp in an instant. Then, with a rumbling sound, his hair burst into flames—he seemed to have turned into a burning man.

The surrounding team members also unleashed their superpowers, then they all began rushing up the mountain after Chief Luo.

“Xiao Ai, stay where you are and keep an eye on the guy!”

Chief Luo’s voice came drifting over from a distance, instantly freezing the girl, who had already opened up her laptop excitedly and was about to stand up and join the team.

“Hey… Do you know a Beastmaster who keeps a little carp?” Bu Fang glanced at Xiao Ai and asked.

“Ah? A Beastmaster who keeps a carp? Let me see…” Xiao Ai paused for a moment, then began to search in her laptop. “Found him… You must be referring to Zhang He, who is a wanted B-class Beastmaster. Why? Do you have any intelligence about him? A B-class Beastmaster is a very terrifying existence…”

“Hmm… So his name is Zhang He. Well… When I was on my way here, I accidentally killed him. Does this count as intelligence?” Bu Fang said, twitching the corner of his mouth.

Xiao Ai was stunned.