Song Que thought for a moment and really read the two textbooks. Apart from anything else, it would do him no harm to learn about modern medical knowledge.
After Wei Shu was tricked into learning cooking, she came to complain to him every day about how harsh her culinary master was, while also bringing half-finished dishes to feed Song Que.
Song Que wasn’t very picky about food. At that moment, he took a slice of duck from Wei Shu, picked a piece with slightly crispy roasted skin, added some special sauce and shredded green onions, wrapped it in a flatbread, and took a bite.
The flatbread absorbed the grease from the duck skin that had been roasted, the green onion strips added a slight spiciness, and when mixed with the duck meat, it perfectly masked any gamey taste. The sauce blended seamlessly with the duck and the flatbread.
Song Que couldn’t help but sigh: “Satisfied, it’s delicious.”
Wei Shu also made one for herself. After eating it, she frowned slightly. After multiple setbacks, she had already developed the ability to detect flavor discrepancies. At this moment, she was carefully analyzing which part of the process went wrong.
Song Que took the opportunity to wrap a few more and eat them. Wei Shu slapped her hand, realizing where the problem was.
Song Que said: “To be honest, if you practice your cooking skills in real life more, you’ll improve.”
Wei Shu sneered: “You’re just trying to trick me into practicing more so you can satisfy your appetite, aren’t you?”
Although she said that, Wei Shu still pushed the sliced duck meat towards Song Que to make it easier for him to pick it up.
Song Que said: “You can’t say it like that. Although that might be one of the reasons, skills in real life can affect in-game actions, so why can’t the things learned in the game have an effect on reality? Did he use a lot of surreal methods when teaching you how to cook?”
Wei Shu fell into thought.
The life system of 《Jianghu Strategy》 was quite unique. It has two forms. One was like a typical game, where you purchase the corresponding equipment, add the raw materials, and combine them. But the best items were always handmade, containing the value of the person behind them. Many players who maxed out their life skills in real life could even support themselves by being life players in 《Jianghu Strategy》.
Wei Shu seemed to have thought of something. Chef Li had always said that she lacked innovation, but if she casually added something new, it would ruin the taste of the food, and she would be relentlessly criticized by Chef Li. Now she realized that just because she didn’t have different recipes didn’t mean there were none in real life. Regardless, it’s worth a try.
Seeing Wei Shu was about to leave, Song Que said: “I’ll teach you a little trick. It doesn’t require a rich vocabulary or extraordinary combat experience, but it can be a wonderfully effective way to sarcastically insult someone. Want to learn?”
Wei Shu: ” You go ahead.”
Song Que said: “Praise him with rich emotion.”
Wei Shu said: “Are you kidding?”
Song Que looked at her and said, “You are truly the most talented and smartest student I’ve ever seen. ”
Wei Shu: “…I see. Wait, did you just say that the food I made was delicious?”
Song Que smiled but did not explain, and Wei Shu walked away with a belly full of complaints.
Wei Shu was constantly dissed by Chef Li and nervously learned to cook, while Song Que was being force-fed education by the miracle doctor. Every time Song Que finished reading the textbooks he was given and sought him out, the miracle doctor would give him a test, and after Song Que passed, he would toss him two more books. Although the rewards for passing the test were generous, this testing method left Wei Shu speechless. She even secretly felt grateful that she was a cook. In any case, cooking was much better than reading books and taking tests.
The two of them also took some time to visit the Yamen. In 《Jianghu Strategy》, there were official factions as well as players who had joined these factions, so the yamen didn’t feel as insignificant as in typical martial arts novels. However, the game developers hadn’t paid attention to this detail. There was limited information about the Shi family’s massacre, and they still could not confirm if the owner of the footprints was the murderer.
Wei Shu mocked Song Que: “I told you, your way of investigating relies too much on the game company’s control over the details. See? They can’t account for everything.”
Song Que nodded and said: “Yes, but it’s worth a try. Even if we don’t find anything, there’s no loss.”
Wei Shu was already happy enough to have gotten a retort from him and didn’t press further.
During this period, Song Que’s life was like that of a medical student before exams, constantly going over books and taking exams. The textbook was said to be boring, but for Song Que, it was full of useful information and found himself enjoying the process. Once he finished reading the textbooks, the Divine Doctor began assigning him cases to work on.
Song Que was extremely excited and said to Wei Shu: “This game definitely hired professional medical consultants.”
Wei Shu said wearily: “Oh, I think they might have also hired a real chef and copied his bad temper.”
As she made progress, Chef Li became stricter with her, and Wei Shu started to question her life after being scolded. She wanted to use Song Que’s method, but she didn’t have his standard fake smile that could double the effect of sarcasm. Chef Li was completely unaffected.
Song Que’s daily tasks now consisted of two things, one was taking on the patients assigned to him by the Divine Doctor, and the other was reviewing the past cases recorded by the divine doctor. The collection of cases was a thick series, and Song Que had only gone through about thirty percent of it. It included very common cases, some classic ones, as well as difficult and complex cases, with some that remain unsolved to this day.
Wei Shu made Xiao Long Bao today, and Song Que successfully developed the bad habit of eating while reading. Fortunately, he moved quickly and didn’t let the book get stained.
It was clear that the Divine Doctor repeatedly reviewed the cases he had recorded, using different colors of ink to mark revisions. Just like the case in front of him, it was about a patient whose meridians had been severed from a blow to the back, and he barely managed to use his true qi to protect the faint breath in his chest. The Divine Doctor had no method to treat him at the time and could only help improve the situation slightly. It still required a large amount of inner strength to keep him alive, and if that inner strength failed to keep up, the patient would die. Sixteen years had passed, and now the Divine Doctor had finally come up with a complete solution, but he had no way of knowing whether the patient was still alive.
At this point in time, Song Que became a bit sensitive. He paid special attention to the names and occupations in almost every case from that year, and this one was no exception. He glanced at the patient’s name and sect: Fang Ci, Dajueyin Temple.
Fang Ci, Yuan Ci.
Song Que jumped up and went to find the Divine Doctor. This case had been repeatedly marked by the Divine Doctor, who had proposed many new treatment methods and only confirmed the best approach this year. As a result, when Song Que asked, the Divine Doctor immediately recalled the scene from that time.
The Divine Doctor was able to remember it so clearly, partly because of the complexity of the case, and partly because the scene at the time was truly unusual. Anyone who had witnessed it would surely never forget.
The patient was a monk with a newly grown layer of stubble on his head. His robe from Dajueyin Temple was torn and ragged, as if he had just fled from somewhere. He said his name was Fang Ci. A monk who didn’t use a monastic name, combined with the fact that his head hadn’t been shaved for a long time, made the Divine Doctor have some suspicions. However, he wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs. What truly left an impression on him, was the person who accompanied Fang Cii. It was a nun, wearing the robe from Changshengzhai. Although she was wearing a hat, the parts that the hat couldn’t cover showed short, newly grown hair. Her clothes were not as ragged as Fang Ci. The only difference was that while Fang Ci’s face was deathly pale, hers had a healthy flush. The Divine Doctor suspected that these were two people who had betrayed the sect’s rules and eloped together like a pair of young lovers.
Almost as soon as the divine doctor finished speaking, Song Que was already certain of their identities: Yuan Ci and Wu Hen.
After asking a few more questions, Song Que bid farewell to the Divine Doctor, saying he would be leaving for a while but would return in the future.
The Divine Doctor was somewhat reluctant, but after thinking he agreed. Before Song Que left, he gave him a few more textbooks and handed over the entire series of cases to him.
Song Que had originally been a bit amused, but after all this, he actually felt a bit reluctant to leave.
After handling things with the divine doctor, he went to find Wei Shu. Wei Shu had already returned to Chef Li’s place and was currently being scolded while having fish grilled.
Song Que took a look, and the fish smelled really good. Oh no, Wei Shu was the one who was truly miserable.
When Song Que explained his purpose, Wei Shu nearly split her mouth from laughing. She wasn’t the patient type to begin with. If she hadn’t been thinking that Song Que had a quest to do here, and had to endure the scolding while being forced to learn to cook the dishes for so long, she would have run off already.
Chef Li was a strict old man with a lean but with a tough, sinewy build, which was a stark contrast to the divine doctor. If Song Que were a bit more cynical, he might even suspect that Chef Li purposely fattened the divine doctor up to make himself seem more ethereal and otherworldly.
Wei Shu had developed a reflex from all the scolding. As soon as Chef Li spoke, she immediately replied, “I really, really don’t want to leave you, Master.”
But Song glanced at her: Not bad, you’ve really mastered the essence of it.
Wei Shu cupped her hands: Exceptional performance, exceptional performance.
Chef Li said nothing, took out a recipe book from his pocket, and threw it into Wei Shu’s arms. He turned and walked away, saying, “Actually, among all the disciples I’ve taught, your talent is pretty decent. The most important thing is, you can endure hardship. Even without me supervising you, don’t slack off.”
Wei Shu was stunned for a moment. She opened the recipe book, and inside were all the dishes she had made. The only difference was that each dish had a special ingredient added. Wei Shu knew what this was, it was the little secret that made every ordinary dish stand out. She paused for a moment, then looked up, only to see the old man had already walked away with his hands behind his back.
Wei Shu was silent for a while and said, “It’s kind of… unsettling.”
Song Que patted her shoulder.
Wei Shu quickly cheered up and said, “Where are we going now?”
Song Que said, “If Yuan Ci is still alive, this illness would make him extremely sensitive to the cold. He would have to stay in the south just to barely survive the winter.”
Wei Shu said, “The south is such a vast area. That’s like saying nothing at all.”
Song Que shot her a sideways glance and said, “Why are you so impatient? I haven’t finished yet. So, we’re first going to Dajueyin Temple and Changshengzhai to check where these two were from before they joined the sect. If one of them is from the south, they are likely to return to their hometown at a time like this.”
Wei Shu asked, “Do you think they’re still alive?”
Song Que said, “Who knows? But we have to look for them, anyway.”
The two of them were heading north, and when they passed through Luoyang, they suddenly triggered a quest. Song Que was the first to stop his horse and looked at Wei Shu. Wei Shu nodded and also stopped. It was clear that both of them had triggered this quest at the same time.
The quest only displayed a prompt, but there was no description. For now, the two of them had no idea what kind of quest it was.
Wei Shu immediately decided, “Let’s finish this quest before we leave…”
She looked at Song Que eagerly.
Song Que looked around, starting to search for clues that might be related to the quest, and then he saw a female NPC.
The woman was wearing white mourning clothes, looking haggard. She was kneeling on the ground, selling herself to bury her father.
Song Que motioned to Wei Shu to look over and said, “it’s her.”
Wei Shu looked for a while, then glanced at Song Que skeptically. “Aside from the fact that this NPC is particularly beautiful, I don’t see any reason you’re pointing her out. There are plenty of NPCs who sell themselves to bury their fathers. Are you planning to buy her and have her travel with us?”
Song Que said: “If you don’t believe me, let’s go over and take a look.”
