Chapter 213: Chapter 212: The Great Dao Is Simple, Turning the Mundane into the Miraculous

Jiang Zuo wasn’t paying much attention to Su Qi and the others.

Let them guess. There was no evidence, anyway.

Of course, Jiang Zuo went over to the Tofu Boss. The kitchen had no restrictions, so he walked right in.

Once inside, Jiang Zuo saw the middle-aged man from before frying stinky tofu.

The stinky tofu here wasn’t the same as what you’d find outside. There was a fundamental difference.

The tofu itself contained a faint Spiritual Qi. It had to be made from a Spirit Plant.

The Tofu Boss glanced at Jiang Zuo. "You’re that little gal Su Qi’s husband?"

Jiang Zuo nodded. "I am."

The Tofu Boss said as he worked, "The two of them used to come here once or twice during the sacrificial rites. What they talked about was almost always you. You could say I watched them grow up. A young man ought to cherish the one he has."

Jiang Zuo nodded again. "I know. I will cherish her. I definitely won’t leave myself with any regrets."

The Tofu Boss looked at Jiang Zuo, a little surprised. ’From the moment he walked in until now, he hasn’t shown any particular expression. He’s so calm.’

’Can an ordinary person be this calm?’

’I just saw him smile at Su Qi, which means he isn’t stone-faced.’

’So he only smiles for Su Qi?’

’Quite the character.’ The Tofu Boss shook his head and chuckled softly.

Of course, he didn’t say this out loud; that would be impolite.

Jiang Zuo looked at the middle-aged man. He didn’t know if this was the same person who made tofu all those years ago. He remembered the man from back then had a different aura and looked different.

The man from before had been on the verge of death from old age, while this one was in the prime of his life.

Then, Jiang Zuo looked at the tofu and said, "The tofu is delicious."

The Tofu Boss smiled faintly. He was about to offer a few words of polite modesty when Jiang Zuo’s next sentence stunned him: "But it has a major flaw."

The Tofu Boss didn’t fly into a rage. Instead, he looked at Jiang Zuo and asked, "My young friend, you’re familiar with this trade?"

Jiang Zuo shook his head. "I only know some theory. I can’t cook or make anything particularly tasty."

The Tofu Boss didn’t take the flaw Jiang Zuo mentioned to heart. ’It’s normal for young people to want to show off.’

Jiang Zuo walked over to the tofu, pinched a piece, and said, "The texture is wrong. Ideally, it should feel like it’s melting as you chew it. You’d get the sensation of both chewing and melting at the same time."

The corner of the Tofu Boss’s mouth twitched. "Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?"

In truth, the Tofu Boss was no ordinary chef. He was an Immortal Chef who had already stepped onto the Dao of Cooking. Even with this ordinary recipe, very few in the world could surpass him.

Jiang Zuo looked around and found a few items. They weren’t anything rare for a kitchen like this.

They weren’t things you could find just anywhere, however. They were all special seasonings used in Cultivation.

And even for Cultivators, these seasonings were quite common.

Jiang Zuo took these common ingredients and poured them one by one over the tofu.

Then he said to the Tofu Boss, "I’ve heard that chefs who are Cultivators have special methods for blending seasonings. You could try it on this tofu."

The Tofu Boss’s brow furrowed. If Jiang Zuo weren’t Su Qi’s husband, he might have already thrown him out. ’This person is just dumping seasonings randomly, without any rhyme or reason.’

’How could these ingredients possibly create the texture he just described?’

’If the Dao of Cooking were this simple, could it even be called the Dao of Cooking?’

’Still, if he wants to make a fuss, I might as well play along. I’d hate to make things awkward for the two ladies outside.’ He felt rather helpless. After all, one was a Saintess and the other a Candidacy Saintess.

’Their status is high enough.’

Then, the Tofu Boss began to use his Dharma Gate to refine the seasonings. Calling it "blending" was incorrect; it was more like fusing the seasonings with the raw ingredients.

Before long, the Tofu Boss was finished. He asked, "Now what?"

"Just cook it like you normally would," Jiang Zuo said.

He showed very little emotion throughout the whole process.

’The truth is, I really don’t know how to do it,’ Jiang Zuo thought. ’Otherwise, I’d have done it myself.’

The Tofu Boss said nothing and began to prepare his stinky tofu. Soon, it was in the fryer.

A moment later, a fresh batch of stinky tofu was scooped out.

It was golden-brown and looked appetizing. Moreover, none of the aroma escaped. The Tofu Boss’s culinary skill was indeed quite high.

"Want to try some?" the Tofu Boss asked Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo shook his head. "This was just an experiment. You try it. You’ll understand how to adjust the seasonings."

The Tofu Boss had to admit he was a little impressed with Jiang Zuo. ’He says it all with such a straight face. If I hadn’t been in this business for so many years, I might have actually believed him.’

Then he picked up a piece of tofu. The moment he bit down, he froze. He chewed once and was utterly shocked.

He swallowed, his eyes now filled with utter disbelief.

’What did I just eat?’

’Is this tofu?’

’How is this possible?’

He took another bite, then finished off the rest of the pieces. ’There’s no mistake... this is that texture he was talking about. It melts as I chew. It feels like I’m chewing, but it also feels like it’s melting away by itself.’

’So profound, so mysterious... it’s simply sublime.’

’What in the world just happened?’

He looked up at Jiang Zuo, desperate for an answer.

Just then, Jiang Zuo said lightly, "The Great Dao is simplicity itself. The three thousand paths of the Dao aren’t as difficult as one might imagine. To turn the rotten into the miraculous is enough."

"The Dao itself is hard to express in words. It exists only in the heart and is understood through intent."

At that moment, the Tofu Boss had an epiphany. He felt as if he had been blessed with sudden, pure enlightenment. He could feel a wondrous advancement and saw the very gates of the Great Dao.

Lost in this mystical sensation, he felt his way to the threshold of the Dao of Cooking. One more step... just one more step, and he might be able to step into the Great Dao itself.

He would become a true Daoist.

Jiang Zuo naturally saw this happening, but he felt nothing in particular. He simply said, "I’ll have three orders of the tofu made like this."

The Tofu Boss finally snapped back to reality. He stared at Jiang Zuo in disbelief. ’What did he just do?’

’Was he... guiding me to enlightenment?’

’How is that possible?’

’Isn’t he just an ordinary person?’

The Tofu Boss didn’t hesitate, replying numbly, "Okay... okay."

With that, Jiang Zuo turned and left. ’It’ll be nice to have that kind of tofu,’ he thought. ’It’ll be great for Su Qi to try it, too.’

But the Tofu Boss was now completely unable to see through Jiang Zuo. ’Is this man really just an ordinary person?’

******

By the time Jiang Zuo returned to their table, Su Qi was no longer talking about Duan Qiao and the others.

Instead, they were discussing how to save her master.

Seeing Jiang Zuo return, Su Qi asked curiously, "What were you doing in there? What took you so long?"

Jiang Zuo said, "The Tofu Boss is making a new kind of tofu. I ordered three servings for us to try."

Su Qi was surprised. "A new recipe? I’ve been eating here for so many years and I’ve never seen the Tofu Boss try anything new. Isn’t this kind of thing better when it’s traditional? Don’t new versions lose that authentic flavor?"

To that, Jiang Zuo had no rebuttal.

"Maybe your husband just felt like having something new, so the Tofu Boss had a sudden burst of inspiration," Jingyue said idly from the side. "It’s just like that time he wanted to sit next to you, and all those ’accidents’ kept happening that made it impossible for you to get away."