Because of the unbearable heat, food delivery was booming, and the daily supply of big, crispy chicken leg rice meals was insufficient to meet demand.

The community forum for the Eighth Cafeteria was always bustling with comments.

[I finally managed to snag a giant chicken leg rice bowl today! The skin is thin and the meat is tender; it’s the best big chicken leg I’ve ever had.]

[This chicken leg is a delicacy found only in heaven; how often can one taste it on earth?]

[The big chicken leg rice meal at the Eighth Cafeteria is a bit pricey, but the taste is totally worth the price. The high price isn’t the owner’s fault, it’s my fault for being poor, sob sob.]

[First of all, I am not Versailles¹. I managed to snag a big chicken leg rice meal every day, but for some reason, today’s was especially delicious; all the flavorful parts were perfectly extracted. If I were to use a rating system, the previous big chicken leg rice was amazingly perfect, but today’s was simply divine!]

[I specifically came to the group chat to talk about this; today’s chicken legs were absolutely amazing. The cooking time was perfect; any less and they’d be raw, any more and they’d be overcooked. It was all perfectly timed.]

Luo Huai’an read through the replies in the community and was very happy. She was truly exceptionally intelligent; no one could be as clever as her to discover the wonderful uses of Phoenix’s true fire.

At that time, she was wandering around Danxue Mountain, hoping that Phoenix would come down the mountain to see her.

Phoenix did not partake of mortal food but lived by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. However, this Pixiu, after witnessing the life of an emperor in the mortal world, was infected by his extravagance and debauchery, and loved to eat delicacies and drink fine wines.

However, the only food available near Danxue Mountain was fruit, dew, and raw food.

If it weren’t for enduring humiliation and bearing the burden of taking revenge on Azure Dragon, Pixiu couldn’t have borne staying there at all.

One day, in order to keep her away from his dwelling, Phoenix lit a fire near Danxue Mountain to keep her out.

Pixiu was heartbroken and frustrated. Seeing that she couldn’t move the proud Phoenix no matter what she did, and that life here was too harsh, she was about to give up. However, just as she turned to leave, she suddenly discovered that the wild beasts roasted over the fire smelled incredibly delicious, a flavor that no human chef could ever replicate.

While she was munching on those delicious wild beasts, Phoenix actually came down from the mountain.

After walking around and finding no trace of Pixiu, he felt a sense of relief mixed with a subtle, complex emotion.

After Pixiu finished devouring the delicious wild beast, she emerged from the forest to find Phoenix descending the mountain. “Phoenix, did you come down the mountain to find me?”

Phoenix turned his head away and snorted softly, “You’re overthinking it.”

When Pixiu saw that Phoenix had finally come down the mountain, she refused to let him go no matter what and began to ramble on about how cruel and vicious Azure Dragon was. “He used his magic weapon to hit my head so hard, and he also plundered my cave. My pockets are cleaner than my face. Since you hate Azure Dragon too, why don’t you and I form an alliance and make that bastard Azure Dragon pay the price?”

When she got to the sad parts, she even let out a long sob.

To Pixiu’s delight, Phoenix, with a cold expression that clearly showed his disgust for Azure Dragon, actually agreed to her request.

Luo Huai’an, recalling the roasted wild animals she had eaten in the mountains, couldn’t help but swallow hard. She picked up a large chicken leg from the plate and stuffed it into her mouth. Savoring the salty and savory flavor, she sincerely exclaimed, “Phoenix’s fire is truly wonderful for grilling!”

As she recalled the past, she began to ponder other uses for phoenix fire.

Since Qi Ze was going to work at the Eighth Cafeteria, she must make sure he experienced the joys of work.

Why not come up with a new dish that required roasting?

As she thought of this, three famous picnic dishes immediately came to mind: roasted sweet potatoes, beggar’s chicken, and bamboo rice.

Bamboo rice once appeared in the Analects of Confucius, and it was a famous dish with a very long history, the origin of which was unknown.

This dish combined the aroma of glutinous rice and bamboo, its fragrance wafting for miles, making one’s mouth water.

She really wanted to make bamboo rice, but bamboo rice was best when cooked over a campfire. Other methods could certainly cook it, but it would lack the soul of the dish.

Now that Phoenix has arrived, everything would be much easier.

Luo Huai’an returned to Fragrant Mountain and walked towards the bamboo forest beside the lake. The bamboo here was nourished by spiritual energy and grew very in a very lush manner.

Instead of rushing to cut down the bamboo, she tapped on the bamboo joints. After hearing the sound of something dripping, she nodded in satisfaction. There was indeed water inside the bamboo.

If the environment was unfavorable or the season was unsuitable, this ‘water’ called bamboo sap could not be found. It was extremely precious and rare. 

In the Compendium of Materia Medica, Li Shizhen referred to it as ‘divine water’, believing it could clear heat and detoxify the body. Modern technology has discovered that it contained many trace elements, corroborating the experiences of people in the ancient past.

Luo Huai’an cut down the bamboo. She brought it back to the Eighth Cafeteria, then she poured out the bamboo sap. The bamboo sap was a transparent light green, without any impurities, and emitted the unique fragrance of bamboo.

Just then, Qing Niao returned from delivering food, so Luo Huai’an casually handed him a cup of bamboo sap.

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

---

T/N: Compendium of Materia Medica, compiled by herbologist Li Shizhen was first publish in late 16th century. It’s an encyclopedic listing of traditional Chinese medicine known at the time, including plants, animals, and minerals that were believed to have medicinal properties.

KO-FI UPDATE: Ko-fi has denied my appeal. How wonderful! Some of you have been supporting me from Day 1 and I can’t even reach out because Ko-fi won’t let me DM my subscribers. I hope your coffee is always hot and your pillow cold on both sides.

In the meantime, check out my PATREON. You can subscribe to get advance access to all ongoing translation works, single work only, or bundled works. Thank you for your support! 

FOOTNOTE:

1. Versailles. It means to humble brag. ‘My boyfriend gave me this Chanel bag but it’s too small to use for groceries ugh!’
   It came from the opulent Palace of Versailles and used to mean any ostentatious, wish-fulfillment literature—like the MC having a fleet of sports cars. It slowly morphed to its current, negative, annoying meaning. ↩︎