Chancellor Wen pushed his bicycle and walked with Tao Tie towards Aero U.

Chancellor Wen was approachable and eloquent, and he had a very good impression of Tao Tie. So he kept chatting with him and soon learned about how Tao Tie had been cheated by a conman.

Chancellor Wen looked at the handsome Tao Tie and felt a pang of sadness. This young man was truly pitiful; an orphan, injured in the past, he had only come down the mountain last year to find work, and then he was tricked into joining a pyramid scheme. In the end, the pyramid scheme kicked him out because he ate too much.

Chancellor Wen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He put his hand on Tao Tie’s shoulder and comforted him, “A person’s appetite is limited. You were actually kicked out because you eat too much. This organization is terrible. You’re so unlucky.”

Tao Tie felt that Chancellor Wen was absolutely right, and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. “Yes, there is too little food there, I can’t get enough to eat at all.”

Thinking of this, Tao Tie felt a surge of sadness, and his wet eyes filled with dejection, “I have never had a full meal.”

Upon hearing this, Chancellor Wen was greatly shocked. Could Tao Tie really be in such a terrible state?

He couldn’t help but imagine Tao Tie as an impoverished, hungry, and cold orphan, and his heart immediately clenched.

Chancellor Wen was filled with sympathy and couldn’t help but look at Tao Tie with pity. “By the way, you’re not from our university, so you can’t eat in the university cafeteria. You just helped me, so to thank you, I’ll treat you to a good meal.”

When Tao Tie heard that someone was going to treat him to a good meal, his eyes immediately widened, filled with joy. “Okay.”

Chancellor Wen led Tao Tie into the school through the southeast gate, and soon they arrived at the entrance of the Eighth Cafeteria. Chancellor Wen parked his bicycle in the parking area at the entrance and looked at Tao Tie with affection. “Then let’s go in and eat.”

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Qi Ze didn’t have any classes this morning, so he came to the Eighth Cafeteria to eat wontons.

Luo Huai’an saw him and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. She walked up to him and said, “Qi Ze, are you working this morning? If you are, we can have more bamboo rice and big chicken legs on the shelves at noon.”

Qi Ze’s skin was as white as cold jade. He held a ceramic spoon, making it impossible to tell whether his hands or the ceramic was whiter. Hearing Luo Huai’an’s words, Qi Ze’s hand holding the spoon paused slightly.

He has met all sorts of people who praise and respect him because of his family background or his abilities.

However, he had never met anyone like Luo Huai’an. In her eyes, he seemed not to be a good-looking man but a mere production machine.

In fact, Qi Ze didn’t care about other people’s opinions and was always calm and composed, but he was still affected by Luo Huai’an’s attitude.

Qi Ze sighed helplessly and compromised. “I’ll come to work after I finish eating.”

Qi Ze thought Luo Huai’an would be happy as before, but her expression suddenly turned serious, and she turned her gaze into the distance, as if she hadn’t heard him at all.

Qi Ze asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Luo Huai’an stared intently in one direction, a brilliant light swirling in her eyes, her spiritual power gradually solidifying and enveloping her body. Her hair moved without wind, her body poised to strike, and she instinctively assumed a defensive stance.

She smelled the scent in the air and said in a deep voice, “… I smell the scent of Taotie.”

“Taotie?” Qi Ze was extremely surprised and offered his opinion, “Are you talking about Old Tao?”

Because gluttons were known for their enormous appetites, some people now refer to foodies who were extremely fond of gourmet food as ‘Old Tao’.

Luo Huai’an’s voice was deep: “If it were Old Tao, that would be better. At least he would give me money. I’m talking about the ominous beast Taotie.”

Upon hearing this, Qi Ze immediately began searching his memory for information about Taotie, realizing something was amiss. “Taotie, an ancient ominous beast, how could it be here?”

“I have no idea.”

Taotie was an extremely powerful ominous beast, listed as one of the Four Fiends of antiquity, which gave you an idea of ​​its immense strength. Luo Huai’an had never fought it, only seen it from afar, and knew that Taotie was no weaker than her.

Once, while searching for treasures, Pixiu saw Taotie on a desolate mountain.

The ominous beast ate everything in sight, devouring all the flowers, trees, birds, and beasts on the mountain. But even after eating so much, the ominous beast still felt ravenously hungry, lying on the ground and howling with hunger.

Taotie was utterly bewildered. It looked at the sky for a while, then at the ground, but couldn’t find anything else to eat.

A moment later, Taotie had a flash of inspiration: even the earth and sky could be eaten! So he lowered his head and began to gnaw on the soil.

She was busy looking for her treasure and didn’t want to bother with this ominous beast whose mind was like that of a toddler. She didn’t want to cause trouble for herself, so she turned around and left.

Because she smelled the scent of Taotie, Luo Huai’an felt an unprecedented pressure. As a Pixiu that sought good fortune and avoided misfortune, Luo Huai’an originally wanted to leave to avoid disaster after discovering that Taotie was approaching.

But just as she turned around, she saw hundreds of innocent students in the cafeteria eating with their heads down.

She gritted her teeth and stopped herself from taking another step. If she left, the students here would surely die—no, not just the students, but also the supernatural beasts working in the kitchen.

Because Taotie’s huge mouth could devour all the people and beasts here.

She had to stop Taotie!

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

---

T/N: The food blogger’s name is Tao Tie (陶鐵), which are real surnames; it means something like ‘indestructible pottery’. Taotie (饕餮) is a mythical ominous beast from ancient times said to be composed solely of ravenous hunger. Its hanzi means ‘extreme greed’ or ‘gluttony’. 

Ominous beasts refer to mythical beasts that are considered terrible and inauspicious—the opposite of dragons and pixiu. Classical texts and iconography depict the Taotie as a zoomorphic mask with bulging eyes, fangs, and often lacking a lower jaw—signifying an appetite that consumes without end.

It is commonly grouped with 3 other ancient ominous beasts, together called the ‘Four Perils’. For Westerners, imagine Pestilence from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding its steed towards your cafeteria and you can understand Luo Huai’an’s agitation.

And Chancellor Wen just offered to treat it to a meal 😅

T/N: Enjoying my translations? Check out my PATREON. You can get advance access to all ongoing translation works, single work only, or bundled works. Or just leave a tip! Thank you for your support.