Chapter 8: Unlocking a Sub-Profession—Spirit Chef!

Fujitaka Kinomoto had to care for his two children while balancing his work. He played both father and mother. Since his wife passed away, he had been doing the chores, cooking, and raising the children. He had raised Sakura with his own two hands.

It was perfectly reasonable for his study to be filled with such books. Imagine a researcher, late at night under the desk lamp, solemnly opening a thick volume titled: "One Hundred Methods for Changing a Baby's Diaper Without Getting It on Your Hands!"

Ye Hui shook his head, refusing to dwell on such an abstract image. He reached out and pulled out a cookbook. He didn't hold much hope for it. Its glow was dull and barely perceptible, the weakest among the "sealed treasures" in the study.

[Detected a seal on the verge of breaking. Would you like to repair it...]

Repair it??

Ye Hui’s eyes lit up. He hurriedly chose to decline, his anticipation instantly reaching a peak. Could this be the breakthrough he had been waiting for?

Ye Hui continued to flip through the pages.

[You continue to attempt to break the seal. Although it has no effect and yields no results, your actions have caused the weak spiritual power cycle to accelerate its dissipation...]

[Ding! You have obtained the item "Fragment of the Immortal Chef's Notes." Do you wish to use this item to unlock the sub-profession "Spirit Chef"? Yes/No]

Uh?

Spirit... Chef?

Wait, what about the ancient immortal talismans? The body-tempering secret arts? The supernatural powers to move mountains and fill seas?

Over the past two years, he had called out to the system countless times. However, Chinese martial arts had to be practiced personally; they couldn't be loaded with a single click like a skill book. He had tried searching for traces of magic but found nothing.

When he discovered the game's sect dungeon had opened, his hopes were understandable. This was the supernatural hope he had been yearning for over the last two years! And the result... was just to make him a cook? Even if this cook was an "Immortal Chef," what of it? Wasn't he still just a person who made food! He would rather die, he would jump off the steps of this basement...

"Huh? Spirit Chef?"

Ye Hui blinked. He noticed this sub-profession seemed a bit different. It wasn't "Immortal Chef," but "Spirit Chef."

Forget it, cooking is cooking. As a mortal with a杂灵根 (mixed spiritual root), what more could he ask for? He would just have to start as a cook and fight his way to immortality!

"Select, Yes."

In an instant, Ye Hui felt a cool sensation surging from outside his body. It felt as if he had been suddenly showered by a sprinkler. He shivered involuntarily, goosebumps rising on his skin. But soon, a warmth began to rise. It felt as if he were slowly sinking into a hot spring, a sudden heat at the soles of his feet spreading upward...

"Whew!"

Ye Hui felt his body become light and clear.

"Is this what it feels like to absorb spiritual energy?"

Ye Hui was surprised and quickly opened the system log.

[You feel like a husky hidden among a pack of wolves. Everyone thinks your spiritual roots are weak, but they have no idea that you don't even have spiritual roots at all...]

[You pride yourself on having a bit of emotional intelligence and being good at using favors and gifts, finally managing to mix into the outer sect's kitchen as a vegetable-chopping laborer.]

[A cook who doesn't steal won't prosper. You steal ingredients containing spiritual energy, gradually acquiring weak spiritual power.]

[You have no spiritual roots and cannot cultivate, but your basic culinary skills from your previous life allow you to rise through the ranks in the sect's kitchen, finally unlocking the sub-profession "Spirit Chef." You have obtained "Basic Culinary Arts"! You can gain culinary experience by creating gourmet food to increase your sub-profession level.]

[You have obtained spiritual energy. Attribute panel opened.]

[Attributes: Strength 0.5, Spiritual Power 0.1, Bone Structure 0.1, Comprehension 1, Luck 2, Divine Sense 0.1]

[Talent: Spiritual Energy Perception (Basic)]

[Skill: Basic Culinary Arts]

...

"After more than two years, I can finally cultivate..."

Seeing the opened attribute panel, Ye Hui couldn't help but tear up. Heaven knows how he had survived these two years! He was truly tired of that three-meter-wide bed!

However, although he had it rough, the "Ye Hui" in the system log had it even worse! Unable to cultivate immortality in the sect and ending up as a cook. How pathetic and lamentable!

Ye Hui was certain that the "Ye Hui" in these sub-profession logs was definitely not himself. After all, he, Ye Hui, had accepted the main quest, was going to become Sakura's "arch-nemesis," and turn Tomoyo against her! How could he possibly end up as a pitiful cook for his whole life?

"Ye Hui-kun, why are you crying?"

Sakura's voice suddenly rang out. The study door was open, and Ye Hui had been lingering here for a long time, trying things one by one, which had taken quite a while. Sakura had gone back to check on the yellow doll—it was still there—and after warning it not to wander off, she had come to check on Ye Hui.

Ye Hui came back to his senses and quickly wiped his face. "Ah, it's just emotion. I suddenly felt that this book was very good..."

Tap, tap, tap!

Sakura came down to the basement and crowded next to Ye Hui, seeing the cover of the book.

"Eh, is that the Complete Collection of Chinese Cuisine?" Sakura's eyes widened slightly.

"No, this is a secret manual. I have already learned the immortal arts within it..." Ye Hui said with a straight face.

Sakura's expression was odd. Her eyes flickered with confusion as she glanced at the book again. The result, of course, was that she couldn't see anything at all. But Ye Hui looked so serious... Could it really be a treasure she couldn't understand? Yet, she clearly remembered that this was the most boring one among the few food books her father collected. It had a lot of text but very few color pictures.

Could it be that Ye Hui saw the text about Chinese cuisine in the book and remembered his late parents? Thinking of this, Sakura didn't dare to speak anymore.

Just then, Ye Hui said, "By the way, I was just observing the surroundings with a detection spell and found that some things in the Kinomoto house are emitting spiritual light, like two cards..."

That’s right, Ye Hui was dropping spoilers. He had some impressions of the anime plot and vaguely remembered that the magic cards Sakura released could act on their own. Logically, they should have left the Kinomoto house, which was a dangerous place. Yet, cards like "Wood" and "Rain" had chosen to stay in the house. Eventually, Sakura picked them up while cleaning. As for where exactly they were? Ye Hui had forgotten a bit. He couldn't just turn someone else's house upside down right now, could he?

"Cards?"

Sakura's large eyes flickered. Could Ye Hui-kun really have seen them all? What should she do... Sakura didn't know how to respond to Ye Hui. The doll named Keroberos hadn't told her about these things. Sakura naturally didn't know that not everyone could see the magic cards.

In fact, Ye Hui wasn't sure if his "Spiritual Energy Perception" talent would allow him to see supernatural objects containing magic beyond the system's "treasures." However, this system had always been a trap. He would have to find a chance to verify it and check on the cards and Kero...

"Yes, I remember there is one in the study, but I'm sorry, I've forgotten the exact location. Why don't you look around..."

"Eh, Ye Hui-kun, don't you have a spell that lets you see the light?"

Forget it. Since Ye Hui-kun had already seen them, and he could use spells, what was the point of her trying to hide it? It would be better to build a good relationship with him and see if he could help her out.

"This..." Ye Hui wanted to say he was just bluffing her. The basic talent wasn't strong enough; when he looked around, there were light spots everywhere, making his eyes ache, and he couldn't distinguish anything. Only by staring intently could he tell the strength of the light. And using the talent was very draining. After scanning the study, he had felt exhausted, only feeling better after gaining spiritual energy.

"Right, I remember in the animation, the card in the study wasn't on the bookshelf. Where was it..." Ye Hui pondered, but it had been so long that he couldn't quite remember; he only recalled it being in some obscure corner. He scratched his hair. "Sorry, there are too many treasures emitting light in this cave, and I just got a bit dizzy. Why don't you try to focus and feel which area has a special sensation, Kinomoto-san..."

Sakura tried closing her eyes to feel. At that moment, Ye Hui finally remembered. It seemed that when Sakura was cleaning, she had sucked a card up with the vacuum cleaner. Two cards appeared together; Ye Hui still had an impression of that.

A vacuum cleaner? The floor?

"I remember now, it seems to be near the desk. You can try looking there, Kinomoto-san..."

"The desk?"

Sakura was half-believing. As for the feeling Ye Hui mentioned, she didn't have any particular reaction. Ye Hui examined the area around the desk. Good heavens, not only was the desk itself glowing, but even the desk lamp was flashing with a faint, precious light. Could this be a magic lamp that grants wishes? Ye Hui muttered to himself. In this study, the desk, the chair, the pens, the ink bottle... many items were vaguely emitting a faint light. With this level of light, they all appeared to be in a sealed state.

Ye Hui's mouth twitched. "It really is a treasure cave. Who would have thought that one day I would be troubled by seeing too many treasures..."

Sakura circled the desk. "There's nothing here!"

Ye Hui was a little surprised. He remembered it was a card that got stained with ink. However, this card was very mischievous, intentionally causing rain to cause trouble everywhere. The reason why "Rain" stayed here might be because it wanted to play pranks, which was completely different from the gentleness of "Wood." Of course, it was also possible that "Rain," being a little brat, had special feelings for "Wood," so since "Wood" didn't leave, "Rain" stayed too. However, since it was a mischievous brat, Ye Hui didn't know what it was thinking.

Could it have already run away?