Hidden Moth-Chapter 433 - 242: Evening Scents of Fire and People

Chapter 433: Chapter 242: Evening Scents of Fire and People

Awakening Incense is not an elixir; making it is not difficult and doesn’t require an alchemy furnace, as long as one has Tier Four Cultivation. The biggest challenge in crafting it is sourcing materials, which require the finest quality Cold Needle Jade and Celestial Palace Curtain, but for He Kao, these are not issues.

During his successful crafting of the first batch of Awakening Incense, he also learned the art of incense making, including processing coiled incense and incense sticks... High-tier Sorcerers indeed learn everything quickly.

Not only does he acquire skills quickly, but collecting rare aromatics is also convenient for him; in a blink, he can reach the places of origin. Opening a shop like a Fragrant Cottage would be a good business, but he still works at his original workplace.

There’s no need to exhaust one’s means; cultivation is fundamental. The point is to be comfortable. When the Awakening Incense was completed, it was already January of the New Year, and He Kao’s business trip for Huishiming Brand finally ended.

Originally, he wanted to stay until Spring Festival, returning to work after the holidays. But the leadership at Huishiming Brand directly gave him a vacation and even offered to cover for him, claiming he was still working in Nanhua before the festival.

He Kao is an honest person, and he knew that the so-called cover-up wouldn’t fool anyone; from company leadership to department managers, from Sect Law Hall Elders to Sorcerers in Qi Yuan, who wouldn’t know his whereabouts? So he returned honestly to Qi Yuan.

The department manager was quite kind to him, acknowledging his long and tiring trip outside, and gave him a few more days off to recover.

The current department manager is still Gao Xue’e, but a deputy manager named Huang Si has been added. Huang Si also remains a team leader, still overseeing the project group where He Kao is located.

According to President Qian’s prior plans, promoting Huang Si to deputy manager is just the first step; the next step is to promote Gao Xue’e to vice president, with Huang Si naturally becoming department manager... making He Kao’s life more comfortable.

He Kao himself hadn’t considered promotion but hadn’t planned to resign either. He found the job quite interesting and increasingly effortless.

Many people have imagined that if a layperson suddenly stumbled upon a golden finger, like obtaining a "system panel," becoming rich and capable, what would they do?

This person would likely resign, and not just resign but also pretend to be grandiose, displaying level, prestige, and a ceremonious atmosphere... leaving onlookers surprised, with those who looked down on them caught off guard.

Those who have wronged them would face retaliation, especially those anthropomorphized leaders. But not everyone is an enemy, like President Qian, who treated him well.

You could say at this time, "Old Qian, you’re a good person, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to come to me..."

"Buddha said a golden finger, thus is not a golden finger, so it is named a golden finger." This is the "Threefold Argument of the Diamond Sutra," difficult for many to understand. However, Captain Jia’s inverse version is straightforward—

"Without a golden finger, I have to work; with a golden finger, I still have to work, isn’t the golden finger wasted?"

This clearly expresses dissatisfaction with the current situation, a desire for a breakthrough in circumstances, wanting freedom to choose—yet He Kao never considered not working.

Because it no longer troubled him or caused anxiety, including the once troublesome family of his aunt.

The so-called current situation is dynamic, constantly changing, though He Kao remains a programmer at the company, he feels quite concealed in the city.

So what if cultivation is high? Elder Jiang’s treasured disciple and Lingxi Sect’s Tier Five Wanderer, Wei Luo, also came to work in Qi Yuan, and the Alchemy Sect Leader, Tier Six Peak Sorcerer Mei Guyu, is coming soon.

Moreover, He Kao achieved the familiar fantasy trope "capturing the beautiful and charming female manager" at the onset of his cultivation.

"I feel you’re acting strange, feeling somewhat mischievous, what are you thinking?"

He Kao’s drifting thoughts are interrupted by Wei Luo opposite him, feeling strange is correct as he was beginning to ponder inappropriate things.

Regaining his composure, He Kao smiles instead, "I was just thinking about work, summing up some workplace experiences. Too bad you plan to resign, they say you won’t continue after Spring Festival?"

Wei Luo: "There’s nothing worthy in this lousy company, I’ll leave after taking my year-end bonus. Even if I return to the job market, I plan to switch jobs."

He Kao: "You actually plan to switch jobs, are you addicted to working? Have you considered starting your own business?"

Wei Luo: "If I venture independently, that would just be work addiction. Although this company isn’t great, working here is quite interesting, gaining a lot of insight."

He Kao: "You look troubled, is it because you’re about to resign?"

Wei Luo sighs, "Not really! I just regret... after this meal, I’ll have to fast, your cooking is too delicious, um..." Speaking to the end, she unexpectedly makes a strange sound.

Wei Luo picks up a piece of slightly browned pork belly, dips it in He Kao’s sauce, adds some other ingredients, wraps it in a tender tree leaf into a square, takes a bite, and chews carefully, closing her eyes in a look of bliss.

When Old Man Jiang met in Phoenix Tail Town, the old man specially mentioned a few words to He Kao, saying that in the past two months, even after returning to Qi Yuan, he hadn’t found Wei Luo to dine, hinting a touch of dissatisfaction.

So upon returning to Qi Yuan, He Kao, taking advantage of these days off, specially invited Wei Luo for a meal at the family courtyard in Pugang Town. In today’s Magic Sect, such a banquet is quite high-standard, an Elder Level treatment.

But different from hosting others, the food choice for this meal was whatever could be found nearby, mostly homestyle dishes, because Wei Luo has such a fastidious palate.

The fastidiousness isn’t about taste, but rather her ability to discern the origin of various ingredients. For example, in a bowl of spicy soup, Wei Luo can sense the origins, transportation, and processing of various elements.

The tender leaves and bud tips of Celestial Palace Curtain are also ingredients, they can be stir-fried with meat or used in soups. If the tender leaves were used to wrap the roast meat, they’d be more fragrant than the Cloud Dawn leaf on the table, but He Kao dared not present them.

Actually, the Cloud Dawn Leaf is not an ordinary item either. Its texture when wrapping roast meat is better than Perilla Leaf, mainly because it’s picked from the nearby Bai Ma Mountain.

If an ingredient’s origin seems suspicious, Wei Luo might detect it and then deduce some clues, potentially exposing He Kao’s secret.

Whenever He Kao meets Wei Luo, he habitually does a thorough check, not like going to the hospital, but ensuring that the clothes he wears and the items he carries don’t have problematic origins, including the dishes served.

The only exception is the fake Beast Claw Pendant, which he had worn since they first met, and many people know its origin, so He Kao continues to wear it, leaving this as his only flaw.

It turns out, even a Tier Five Wanderer can’t directly recognize the Hidden Moth Object. Of course, He Kao doesn’t dare to pull out the pendant and let Wei Luo carefully sense it directly.

Fortunately, as far as He Kao knows, this ability of the Wanderers isn’t foolproof; it doesn’t work on "people."

Even ordinary people possess vitality and divine qi, constantly in circulation, washing away lots of information, making it challenging to directly interpret detailed experiences, especially for those with higher cultivation.

Otherwise, a glance from Wei Luo, or a touch here and there, would determine that He Kao is the Hidden Moth just by biting him a few times if needed.

While direct judgment is difficult, sorcerers from the Lingxi Sect have plenty of indirect ways to reach surprising conclusions, so He Kao remains very cautious in Wei Luo’s presence.

Seeing Wei Luo so exaggerated, He Kao humbly said, "It’s just ordinary home cooking, not as good as you say."

Wei Luo opened her eyes and said, "Home cooking? Whose household employs alchemy techniques in their cooking?"

He Kao laughed again: "Recently, I’ve been learning alchemy; although I haven’t refined any spirit pills, I’ve gained some insights into controlling the cooking fire."

Wei Luo ate another leaf-wrapped piece of meat, swallowed it down contentedly, then asked, "What kind of meat is this? So tender and fragrant!"

He Kao was slightly taken aback; could she not taste it? Why pretend to be so curious? But he cooperatively replied, "Wild boar meat."

Wei Luo: "Wild boar meat isn’t that delicious, doesn’t have this texture."

Knowing she was acting, He Kao also got interested and explained with a smile: "It’s young wild boar, the kind with stripes, the meat isn’t tough nor gamey, actually makes for great roast piglet too, but I didn’t have time today."

Wei Luo: "Poor little piglet."

He Kao: "Is it tasty?"

Wei Luo wrapped another piece of roast meat, stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling unclearly: "Very tasty, gotta eat in big bites, mustn’t waste it... Where did you get the young wild boar?"

He Kao: "Caught it in the nearby Bai Ma Mountain. A few years ago, hunting wild boar wasn’t allowed, but they’ve become a disaster now, and the township just issued notices recruiting people to hunt them.

I didn’t report to the town to become a hunter, just went up the mountain and caught a small one, which can be considered a silent contribution."

Wei Luo widened her eyes and said, "A nameless hero! I heard there’s a bounty for hunting boar, two thousand per boar."

He Kao: "Forget about the bounty, better save some funds for the government."

Wei Luo: "But the way you fried it, it’s too fragrant, not just because of the meat and leaves."

He Kao: "Because the oil I use is also special, Parasol Tree Seed Oil — Jade Parrot Tree Seed Oil."

Wei Luo: "No wonder, this meal is so extravagant!"

He Kao: "How should I put it, not a penny spent, the cost is almost entirely in labor."

Parasol seeds can be pressed for oil, and from the Jade Phoenix Tree in Pugang Town, every year sees different parasol seeds maturing, with some ordinary ones and those aged three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen, nineteen, and twenty-three years.

Jade Parrot Tree Seeds aged seven years and above can be used to concoct cultivation spirit medicine, while the other seeds have nourishing effects, can be roasted and eaten directly as snacks, or pressed for oil.

He Kao is relatively extravagant, he set aside three kinds of Jade Parrot Tree Seeds aged seventeen, nineteen, and twenty-three years, directly consuming them as elixir for vitality and divine qi according to Old Man Jiang’s guidance.

As for the other various seeds matured last year, he pressed them all for oil. Despite being a towering tree of hundreds of years, collecting all the seeds didn’t yield much, resulting in under three pounds of oil.

That’s still with He Kao using the Spiritual Awareness Extraction Method, wasting not a single drop, whereas ordinary pressing methods wouldn’t even yield two pounds.

So the oil used for frying the pork belly today is actually a spirit medicine for nourishing primordial qi, whether nourishing or not aside, the taste with He Kao’s culinary skills is indeed fragrant.

**

PS: Double monthly ticket requests!