Chapter 8 - Doubt

……

Smoke, and spices, and the beautiful sound of the wood's crackling fire. These were things most people took for granted, thought of as simple, and unimportant, yet they were essential things all cooks had come to cherish, turning any kitchen into a safe haven for them.

Lei found peace in his station as he poured all the worries clouding his mind into the boiling waters. The notion of cooking in a cauldron still felt alien to him, but it made for a good soup, and he was beginning to like it.

The first dish on the menu today was his mother's chicken soup, again. After he and his fellow cooks had stepped inside through the old doors, Elder Brother Bai pulled him over to a side, trembling like an excited kid. He'd told him that one particular Elder liked the soup so much that he ordered one more cauldron to be served to him, and him alone.

Though Lei had little idea who this Elder was, he thought there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with being acquainted with an Elder, even in a roundabout way. So after he left three whole chickens to boil inside the cauldron, he wiped his hands on his apron and took a deep breath.

Now, things didn't work that well for Fatty Lou. The man seemed to have lost a couple of pounds in just a day or two, and his eyes darted madly left and right as he pulled this ingredient or that. He would sniff, touch, or even lick some awful-looking things.

Like a man standing on the edge, he was always ready for Elder Brother Bai's orders. He would bolt off when given an order, shocking the people in the Kitchens as he gathered all the ingredients fast, and furiously. Fortunately, nobody was foolish enough to stand on his path whenever he got into this task-oriented episode.

Best luck to you, my friend.

Lei sighed deeply as he gazed out into the other side of the Kitchens. He was trying to come up with a simple, yet elegant dish for the evening, but it wasn't easy when you're cooking for some seriously troubled people.

Troubled, indeed, but not the kind of troubles I can relate to, I'm sure.

Then again, it was the little things all people shared. So Lei tried to focus on that while thinking it'd be a good idea to stroll around the other cooks. Maybe, he thought, the other cooks could inspire him in some different way.

It didn't take long before he scowled in confusion while watching the others. Beyond the threshold, the chaos was ever present, people in a mad rush to stick one ingredient after another into the already brimming cauldrons. Pork, chicken, it didn't matter, as long as they could get some in their hands.

This… Can't be true, right?

He blinked, just in case, but the scene remained the same. And the smell was something out of a nightmare, a mix between a sweaty sauna and a slaughterhouse. At some point, Lei had to stop himself from interfering with the process, as he came dangerously close to screaming at a man who crushed all those juicy, fat-rich meat chops with an oversized masher, splashing boiling water all around him.

Why? Just why are you trying to smash everything into a slop?

Yet it wasn't one man, but all the cooks who did the same. Over a hundred of them mashed the meats altogether, producing sick-looking, sweat-smelling gruels, making Lei question the very scene he was witnessing with his own eyes.

He raised a quick hand, waving at Wang Fei who stood watching before a cauldron, drops of sweat heavy on his face. The man mumbled something under his breath before making his way toward him.

"Hey," Lei said as he closed a hand over his nose to keep the smell away. He pointed at the cauldrons. "Is this the porridge that Elder Brother Cui had problems with?"

Wang Fei nodded, keeping his gaze low.

"Now I'm beginning the understand where that sword had come from," Lei said with a scowl. "Can you tell me the reason? Rather, is there any reason at all, or are you just trying hard to make those people sick?"

"What do you mean?" Wang Fei glared at him. "We're not trying to make people sick, we're trying to feed them!"

"Yes, but this…" Lei waved a hand around him. "This isn't feeding. I'm surprised you haven't killed the bastards yet."

"Look," Wang Fei said, staring about himself before stepping closer. "I know Elder Brother Bai likes you, but don't think of yourself as some genius worthy of a hundred praises. We've seen many people like you before, and they were all arrogant bastards thinking they knew all the answers. But here, we don't ask questions, nor do we need any answers. Here, we all do as Elder Brother Bai says."

"You mean this meat porridge was his idea?"

"Of course it was!" Wang Fei poked him with an index finger. "So, if you have any problems with the way how we do things here, then you better go and say it to Elder Brother Bai's face. I'm sure he'll like hearing all about it."

Lei frowned after him when Wang Fei left him there, alone and baffled. But instead of losing himself in thinking about all the possible answers to this question, he reckoned addressing the real issue would be the fastest way.

So, he got back to his stall in no time and patted Elder Brother Bai on the shoulder who was busy whistling a different tune.

"Eh?" Elder Brother Bai said with a look over his shoulder. "There's our genius!"

"Elder Brother Bai." Lei greeted him with a nod. "I wished to ask you a simple question."

"I'm all ears," Elder Brother Bai said and then frowned just when Lei was about to speak. He leaned closer to the cauldron, took a long sniff from it, then raised a finger into the air. "Fatty, get me two highland apples, and a pinch of skywhale's ashes!"

Lei had never seen Fatty Lou bolt across the distance like this. The man seemed to have gained a set of wings behind his back, flowing out from between the cauldrons with ease. He swept two head-sized, green apples, and a bottle filled with rainbow-colored ashes into his hands before making his way back to Elder Brother Bai's side.

Elder Brother Bai sent the apples straight into the cauldron without cutting them and then opened the bottle, took a sniff from it, and added some into the mix. That little pinch of ash turned the color of the liquid bubbling inside the cauldron into a darkish brown, making it seem more like a concoction of some wicked origin than a simple dish.

"Now, now." Elder Brother Bai nodded his approval at Fatty Lou who, in turn, tried to force a smile onto his lips. He waved a hand. "I believe you were about to say something?"

"Well, yes," Lei said, scratching the back of his neck. "Is there any particular reason why you've told all those cooks on the other side of the kitchens to cook that porridge?"

Elder Brother Bai stirred the mix before closing his eyes. He stood there, in silence, before he smiled. "Good, it'll be ready in a minute," he muttered, seemingly happy with that black, boiling liquid. "And yes, there's a reason I ordered them to cook that porridge, and it's a good one."

Lei gulped in nervous expectation for some reason. The man's black eyes had that crafty glint about them, and his lips parted halfway to reveal a knowing smile.

"Because it's what's good for the disciples," he said, wiping his hand on his apron. "You see, most people think that spiritual energy alone would be enough to satisfy a cultivator's body, that anyone who steps into the ranks of cultivators miraculously gains the ability the maintain their bodily needs with one or two breaths, but as we know, its simply a ridiculous tale shared amongst the lowly mortals who love to exaggerate such things when it comes to cultivators."

I certainly didn't know that.

Lei kept the words inside, for it seemed Elder Brother Bai hadn't finished with his speech.

"So how, one may ask, these power-hungry people can keep their bodies strong and sturdy?"

Lei shuffled under Elder Brother Bai's gaze before answering. "With food?"

"Of course!" Elder Brother Bai snapped his fingers with a smile. "What else could it be? You have to understand, Little Brother, that even breathing the spiritual energy through your pores requires energy, and that energy comes from your meals. Without a good meal, most kids here would find themselves shaking and broken with fatigue."

"You're definitely wise, Elder Brother Bai, but I still find it hard to understand the reasoning behind that awful porridge," Lei couldn't help but say. "We have the means to cook something more appealing than that thing, right?"

Elder Brother Bai's smile died on his lips as he stared at him coldly. "Why?"

"Why?" Lei was taken aback.

"Yes, why would we do such a thing?" Elder Brother Bai said. "Do you think those scum are worthy enough for our effort? Do you think they will smile, and pat you on the back if you give them a beautifully cooked, and seasoned dish? Do you really think they are capable of having such thoughts, those fools? They should count themselves lucky we're giving them that porridge."

"Er…" Lei squirmed anxiously under Elder Brother Bai's chilling gaze.

"Look, Little Brother," Elder Brother Bai said with a shake of his head. "You've yet to understand how the other side of the world works, and that's all right. You will, in time, learn that no favors are left unpunished between the cultivators. The things you've seen today should serve you as an example."

Though Lei nodded, he couldn't help but think otherwise. It seemed clear to him that all those disciples hated the guts of these kitchen folk because of their awful dishes. He thought a little effort could completely change the relationship between both groups.

"Can I..." Lei said, trying to look Elder Brother Bai in the eye. "At least give it a try?"

Lei stared down his hands in the following silence, but he'd thought he had no other choice. It was one thing keeping away from certain eyes, but the Outer Sect had thousands of disciples strolling about the peak. Who could say with certainty one day he wouldn't find himself facing all those angry, white-robed disciples on the road to the Kitchens? Who could say that those disciples would give a damn even if he told them he was new here?

And he had his doubts about whether Elder Brother Bai would be there at any minor inconvenience. The man could be an Inner Sect disciple, but just this morning Lei had seen for himself how his reputation wasn't much different than a scarecrow. If he hadn't arrived in time, that Elder Brother Cui wouldn't simply have left there with mere words.

It was the thing about bullies. Either you make them happy to keep your head over your shoulders, or you make them angry, trying to fight back without having the means to do so, and get a thrashing. In this case, Lei lacked even a whiff of spiritual energy to even think of a scenario having him fight back against scores of cultivators.

So, he was trying to come up with a way to make them happy, and full.

Elder Brother Bai sighed as if he was expecting this. "I keep forgetting that you can't force your own experience into a youngster's head. Headstrong, ambitious, and full of arrogance. These things can make for a genius," he said gravely. "But can also break them."

"I…"

"I understand, you don't have to say anything," Elder Brother Bai said before leaning closer to him. "Pick a couple of our boys from the other side, and make sure Wang Fei is there. I'll keep an eye on you, but you're only allowed to try your chances for this once. After you've learned your lesson, you'll do as I say just like the others, understood?"

Lei nodded.

……

Lei braved the heavy stench of the other side as he regarded his modest team of cooks. There were six of them, and though they each had their defining features, they shared one thing in common: doubt. Doubt creasing their faces into scowls, doubt making them wave their hands impatiently, and doubt rendering them tired, and sick.

Lei took it all in. He took it all in and smiled despite their questioning gazes. He was doing this for the Kitchens, he kept reminding himself, doing this for the Kitchens to eliminate the knife hanging over their heads. If they could make those people happy, then they could go about their lives without any lingering worries.

Then again, it was starting to seem a little doubtful to his eyes, but guessed he didn't have much choice. These were doubtful, and dangerous times, is all. Yes, there was nothing he could do to change that fact.

"Today," he began with a strong, loud voice. "We'll prepare a dish so cunningly simple, yet so delicious that those bastards will gulp their own fingers while eating it, without giving a rat's ass about it. We'll make them understand that we're not the enemy, that we're just simple people trying to make their lives a touch more bearable. Now, who's with me?"

His fellow cooks stared at him with little enthusiasm. But there was one man, a fat man who seemed just happy to have found a chance to get away from Elder Brother Bai. He was standing to one side, eyes staring round at Lei with stars in them.

"Chicken, pork, I don't care," Lei said, donning the mask of a master chef, trying not to think about his team's lack of interest. He pointed a finger to the ingredient table which was rich with multiple animal carcasses. "I will demonstrate a simple technique to show you how you should cut that meat into glorious slices."

He slapped a hand across the table that stood by him, making all the cooks flinch at the sound. Then he caressed gently the whole chicken breast that lay over on it. With one hand he flourished the sharp knife, and cut into the chicken, careful not to go too deep, slicing a clean fillet in a single motion. It was about two fingers thick and five inches long.

"You see this?" Lei raised the fillet in the air, giving it a little shake. "I want hundreds of such clean cuts, seasoned with a mix of garlic, black pepper powder, salt, and a touch of cinnamon. Do pay attention to the amount of cinn—" Lei sighed out a long breath. "You know what, I'll ready the seasoning. You just cut those meat, and make sure to keep each kind separated. Don't mix the pork with chicken, understood?"

The team nodded and was about to make their way toward the carcasses when Lei remembered he'd forgotten a crucial part.

"And don't throw the fat. We'll need it, so put it on the side," Lei called after them, and smiled a little smile as they all turned at him.

It was then that Fatty Lou sprung forward, staring expectantly at him.

"What about me?"

"You?" Lei's smile widened. "You and me, brother, we have some serious work to be about. First, we need firewood. Lots of them. And metal bars."

"Oh?" Fatty Lou rubbed his chin as he raised an eyebrow at him. "What for?"

"That's where we'll cook all those meat, on those bars," Lei said. He patted him on the shoulder, pulling him closer when Fatty Lou gave him a doubtful look. "Don't worry. Those people… They won't know what hit them."

…